Resources for making information accessible for people with disabilities
Links to other sites, mostly aimed at keeping up with US legislation on accessibility.
posted by Anne Vespry at 4/24/2001 02:00:58 PM

Government of Canada: Communications and Publishing - Policies and Publications Includes links to the Internet Guide and information on accessible communication.
posted by Anne Vespry at 2/14/2000 06:44:40 PM

Online Dictionaries and TranslatorsGreat source of lots of these.
posted by Anne Vespry at 1/20/2000 12:37:59 PM

Survey Engine - feedback processing application.
Survey Engine is a Free Web Based Application that automates the entire creation and administration of online feedback forms and lets you access results instantly from the Web browser. Easy to use online interface gives you access to Real Time reports and administration settings...
posted by Anne Vespry at 12/8/1999 08:43:27 PM

Digital Solutions - Online applications for all your needs!
Create Interactive Surveys, Feedback forms, Polls or Voting Booth for your Website absolutely FREE! Collect user data online and generate your graphs automatically in real time!
posted by Anne Vespry at 12/8/1999 08:42:56 PM

Guide to Grammar and Writing
Thorough and sometimes challenging...
posted by Anne Vespry at 12/3/1999 12:43:09 AM

Grammar Bytes! Index of Grammar Terms
Below you will find detailed explanations of the grammar terms used in Grammar Bytes! As this section of Grammar Bytes! is under heavy construction, please check back often for new additions.
posted by Anne Vespry at 12/3/1999 12:17:25 AM

Plain language applications in the NAFTA context: a Plain Language in Progress presentation by Nicole Fernbach
Reporter: Bruno LeGal
Ms. Nicole Fernbach, is from the Montreal firm of JURICOM. Founded in 1982, JURICOM is a legal translation agency serving the public sector and private businesses in North America, Latin America and Europe.
Though most people associate plain language concepts with a given language (usually English), it was clear from Ms. Fernbach's standpoint and the views expressed by audience members that the plain language movement is equally at home in a multitude of linguistic contexts. The following summary of Ms. Fernbach's comments is broader than the heading implies and reflects some of the writer's own views on the wonderful world of words. ...

Preferences:

English, French, and Spanish What is sauce for the goose is not necessarily sauce for the gander. Some rules that apply to English do not necessarily apply in French or Spanish. For example:

• French and Spanish are inclined to be more "literary" than English.
• English prefers nouns; French and Spanish prefer verbs, which brings them closer to the plain language style.
• English is comfortable with word clusters, but they should be avoided in French and Spanish.
• Foreign words are equally resented by writers of English, French and Spanish.
• Short words are perfectly acceptable in English. French and Spanish tolerate tri-syllabic (and longer) words more easily.
• English prefers concrete words to abstract ones.
• French and Spanish have a higher tolerance to abstraction and vagueness.
• In plain language, the use of "you" as a form of address makes English more reader-oriented, whereas French and Spanish address others in the third person as a matter of deference. "You" would be too familiar or trivial.
• French and Spanish are as comfortable with the active voice as English, but they have a higher tolerance for the passive voice in administrative prose.
• English uses shorter sentences than French and Spanish, which are more verbose in their style of expression.
• French and Spanish were inspired by the civil law system, English by the common law system where the role of the courts is different.
• Enumeration is used in English but less frequently in French and Spanish.
• All three languages take exception to the use of double negatives.
• Under French and Spanish rules, the masculine gender is considered neuter; there is no need to deal with the awkward sex neutral "he/she" form, for instance.
• Good structure is the same in all three languages; all aspire to a logical order of ideas and a logical flow between ideas. Generally, they use one idea per sentence, except in literary contexts and court cases.
• The graphic presentation of English, French and Spanish is the same now that the use of computer technology is universal. However, pictograms and icons have to be devised for individual language communities. These are very much tied to the local culture.

posted by Anne Vespry at 11/30/1999 09:35:13 PM

Boîte à outils - Rédaction
Principales de règles de lisibilité

• Phrases de structure simple
• Éviter les tournures passives inutiles :
  • "Trois problèmes ont été constatés"
  • "Les méthodes de Bill et Boule (1993), de Tournesol et Haddock (1990) et, enfin, de Star et Treck (1996) seront examinées."
• Éviter les expressions négatives inutiles :
  • "On n'est pas sans savoir que..."
• Éviter les inversions, les enchâssements qui déséquilibrent la phrase :
  • "Le seul problème qui se pose est, comme il a été constaté lors de la dernière réunion et lors des discussions qui en ont résulté, celui de l'espace disponible."
• Employer les phrases énumératives avec disposition verticale :
  • "Nous avons observé les caractéristiques suivantes :
    1. […];
    2. […];
    3. […];
    4. […]."
• Phrases ou segments de phrase courts (18-20 mots)
• Recours aux verbes de préférence aux noms
• Pronoms non ambigus
• Charnières logiques explicites ("en effet", "par conséquent", "c'est pourquoi", etc.)
• Titres et intertitres balisant clairement le texte
• Mise en pages travaillée, visuelle Présentation soignée

Sources : Cajolet-Laganière, Laganière et Collinge, 1997, p. 227-240. Vinet, Chassé et Prégent, 1996b, p. C3.4-C3.7.
posted by Anne Vespry at 11/30/1999 09:26:48 PM

1813 Grammar Sites
GRAMMAR WEB SITES
Here are some interesting grammar web sites. Some are very comprehensive; others deal with only one or two points
posted by Anne Vespry at 11/30/1999 09:24:05 PM

A Web of Online Dictionaries II
posted by Anne Vespry at 11/30/1999 02:07:02 AM

Expert Legal Systems Limited - Visual WorkForm for Windows An Overview WorkForm is an expert system that helps you create legal documents very rapidly and accurately on a question and answer basis. Using WorkForm you can create multiple documents simultaneously from the same transaction information. It relegates the mundane and time consuming drafting to the computer, saving you, your clerks or your secretary hours of editing and word processing.
posted by Anne Vespry at 11/18/1999 01:25:08 AM

The Case-Based Reasoning Group Welcome to the CBR Web Server The Case-Based Reasoning Group is part of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. You can find specific information here about our research, publications, abstracts, and personnel.
posted by Anne Vespry at 11/11/1999 04:28:17 PM

[1995] 2 Web JCLI Introduction Computers have long been utilised in the sphere of law. Basic applications such as word processors, spreadsheets and databases have all found their way into legal offices. Recently, more sophisticated tools such as computerised legal research systems, document drafting packages, and practice management systems have become increasingly common. Most exciting however, has been the prospect of using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to create 'automated legal reasoning systems', computer systems that reason with and apply the law in an effort to resolve legal disputes. Examples of such systems include legal expert systems. However, the practical benefits of such automated reasoning systems have fallen short of optimistic early predictions; they have not resulted in computer systems that can independently and inexpensively provide expert advice about substantive law.
posted by Anne Vespry at 11/11/1999 03:37:19 PM

INTRODUCTION TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND EXPERT SYSTEMS
posted by Anne Vespry at 11/11/1999 03:34:30 PM

ISTITUTO PER LA DOCUMENTAZIONE GIURIDICA RESEARCH DOMAINS: Research carried out at the Institute relates to the study and use of methodologies and techniques specifically oriented towards informatics, logic and artificial intelligence in the field of law.
posted by Anne Vespry at 11/11/1999 02:54:23 PM

ISTITUTO PER LA DOCUMENTAZIONE GIURIDICA RESEARCH DOMAINS: Research carried out at the Institute relates to the study and use of methodologies and techniques specifically oriented towards informatics, logic and artificial intelligence in the field of law.
posted by Anne Vespry at 11/11/1999 02:44:55 PM

Jurix
posted by Anne Vespry at 11/11/1999 02:41:42 PM

ICaR Systems - Information Consulting and Reasoning

ICaR:

• Will consult you, i.e. apply the general knowledge of the Law, and give its opinion on a specific case you describe (consulting function)
• Will let you have a full explanation of all the expert’s opinions (reasoning function),
  OR
• Will offer you to master the laws by yourself, i.e. to read, to understand and to apply correctly the legal texts (information function),

Mission - to put the expert knowledge into a "can" of expert system.

Download ICaR Demo, take a look at the screenshots of consulting and operating ICaR, order it through ComponentSource.

You can start consulting on-line through a page with pure HTML (Active Server Pages), ActiveX or Java Applet.

You can find a description about what is ICaR, how it works and how to operate it - About ICaR and Help.

posted by Anne Vespry at 11/11/1999 02:38:17 PM

ACT Attorney General's - Primary Resources
posted by Anne Vespry at 11/11/1999 02:35:27 PM