All News

March 09, 2005
Eunice Moscoso, Cox News Service
Arizona Republic

Jeannette Kaplun and her friends in Miami couldn't find information in Spanish on trying to get pregnant, having a baby and being a parent.

The void–echoed by other young adults she encountered–inspired Kaplun to co-create Miami-based TodoBebe.com, a Web site that has evolved into a network of radio programs, newsletters, a network television show and partnerships with major retailers and baby fairs across the country.

The federal government has taken notice. The Agriculture Department and the Surgeon General's Office are partnering with TodoBebé, which means &lqt;everything baby,&lqt; to provide Hispanic families with health information, including promotion of pre-natal care, and warnings about listeria, a food-born bacteria that could hurt pregnancies. ...

The company has a strong partner in Miami Children's Hospital, which helps TodoBebé develop ideas and provides pediatricians and other experts for the Web site and television show.

The doctors receive media training and learn how to express themselves in a way that everyone can understand, without too much medical jargon. ...

Full Story: www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/0309hispanicbaby09.html##
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February 27, 2005
Alison Grant, Newhouse News Service
The Star-Ledger (New Jersey)

Stupefying clichés. Language fluffy as pie meringue. Financial statements opaque as mud.

There are plenty of offenders in the world of business jargon.

Business buzzwords are used to show expertise, leaving readers to decipher &lqt;accountability management&lqt; and &lqt;paradigm.&lqt;

Business buzzwords are used to hide unpleasant truths. As if we didn't know the real deal about &lqt;re-engineering&lqt; a work force.

And especially, buzzwords are used to inflate importance. As when a &lqt;core competency&lqt; is made &lqt;value added&lqt; to create a &lqt;win-win&lqt; situation. ...

Full Story: www.nj.com/business/ledger/index.ssf?/base/business-9/1109482249280650.xml#
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February 24, 2005

Daily Express (Malaysia)

Kuala Lumpur: The Securities Commission (SC) Wednesday released a guide to encourage the use of plain English in prospectuses in efforts to ensure that information in offer documents were easily understood by investors for them to make informed investment decisions.

Investors would be encouraged to read and will find it easier to comprehend prospectuses if those documents were written in plain English, as well as presented in a clear, concise and effective manner, the SC said in a statement here Wednesday.

It said that prospectuses provide vital information concerning the offer and the company as well as the risks of an offered investment.

The Plain Language Guide for Prospectuses outlines several approaches on how to provide clearer disclosures in prospectuses and is available on the SC website at www.sc.com.my.

Full Story: www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=32801
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February 06, 2005
Steve Fetbrandt
The Press-Enterprise (Southern California)

California's academics standards, adopted by the State Board of Education in English/language arts, math, science and social science/history, define the specific content and skills students should know by the end of each grade level. Following is an example of the state's expectation for fifth-graders:

&lqt;Literary Response and Analysis, 3.6–Evaluate the meaning of archetypal patterns and symbols that are found in myth and tradition by using literature from different eras and cultures. ... &lqt;

Here is Beaumont Unified School District's &lqt;kidified&lqt; translation:

&lqt;I can evaluate all kinds of writing from diverse cultures using different types of symbolism.&lqt;

Full Story: www.pe.com/localnews/pass/stories/PE_News_Local_pfriendly06.a1074.html#
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