The Ergonomics Society The Society's Lecture 1988 FUNCTIONAL LITERACY: READING AND WRITING AT WORK

Abstract

The activities of reading and writing are shown to be important components of many jobs, and the phrase functional literacy is used to refer to the information design and management skills needed in contemporary working life. Researchers have explored the cognitive processes of writing and how readers' comprehension is influenced by the design of written materials such as procedural instructions; but computers provide tools and pose challenges for the way people handle written information. Much research remains to be done, particularly on graphic rather than verbal representations. However, research findings alone are insufficient to improve the quality of written materials in the work place. Writers need to ask questions about reader's information needs and to explore design alternatives for meeting these needs. A simple heuristic, intended to facilitate this approach, is applied to the problem of signposting within a hospital. From the conjunction of basic research on reading and writing processes and the applied concern with the processes of information design and management it is suggested that information design is emerging as a research domain in its own right, a domain which both receives inputs from and generates outputs to related disciplines. As working life becomes more information intensive, so a better understanding of how to design and manage written information becomes more urgent. In this sense reading and writing may become core topics in future ergonomics courses, a functional literacy requirement for human factors specialists.