- Introduction
- Literature Review
- Methodology
- Data Presentation & Analysis
- Results & Recommendations
- Appendix A: Overview of SSL
- Appendix B: Classroom Research
- Appendix C: Analysis of Sample Pamphlet
- Appendix D: Graphs & Manuals
- Appendix E: Survey Used in Melbourne, Australia
- Appendix F: Sample Pamphlet (1.22MB)
- References
Also available in the following formats.
Our liaison:
Mr. Mahmut Horasan
177 Salmon St
Port Melbourne, VIC 3207
Telephone: +61 3 9248 4900
Fax: (03) 9646-5165
Email: mahmut.horasan@agal.gov.au
Welcome! This is the project page for the Scientific Services Laboratory, a division of the Australian Government Analytical Laboratories. We are three WPI students spending WPI term D00 in Melbourne, Australia. Our task is to design an informational brochure for smoke alarms; our main audiences will be the illiterate, and those whose first language is not English (ESL speakers). The main project page includes descriptions of this project and others.
We are:
- Ken Gagne is a third-year WPI student. After studying computer science for two years, he switched his major to technical, scientific, and professional communication. He also has a weekly column with his hometown's newspaper, and assists in the written portions of this project.
Ken Gagne
WPI
Box 689
100 Institute Road
Worcester, MA 01609-2280
Phone: 508-363-2437
Fax : 978-343-4190
Email: kgagne@wpi.edu
-
Michael Ciman is a third-year computer science major. His background includes a human computer interaction project which included a pictorial (non-literary) interface. A summer '99 project involved interviewing which developed communication skills necessary for this project.
Mike Ciman
WPI
Box 1222
100 Institute Road
Worcester, MA 01609-2280
Phone: 508-831-6471
Email: hup32@wpi.edu
-
Michael Jacene is in his third year of studying biomedical engineering with a concentration in mechanical engineering. His classes have included qualitative and quantitative research methods, and also various design methods.
Mike Jacene
Theta Chi
85 Salisbury Street
Worcester, MA 01609
Phone: 508-363-3076
Email: michael@wpi.edu
To observe how this task has been accomplished in the past, we have contacted the following companies to receive sample instruction manuals:
- First Alert
First Alert is a manufacturer of smoke detectors; among their brands are BRK Brands.
- KIDDE
KIDDE is also a manufacturer of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, including the brand names Lifesaver and Kidde Fyrnetics.
- IKEA
IKEA produces assemble-yourself furniture, and are best known for their entirely pictorial assembly manuals. Their web page also features textless instructions.
The following smoke detector instructions have been obtained, and have been scanned for this web page. Each page is a JPEG file of approximately 250K.
-
FYRNETICS Photoelectric Smoke and Fire Alarm Users Guide, Model PE9
-
FYRNETICS Lifesavers Manual
Australia's Fire Safety Standards has been essential to our design. Official documents 3876 and 1670.6 regarding smoke alarm design and installation provide information regarding proper placement of alarms in the house.
We interviewed the following WPI faculty members regarding their experiences and thoughts on visual design:
- Prof. Lee Becker, who has been on WPI's computer science staff for many years advised the Visual Inter Lingua project by a PhD student.
- Prof. John Trimbur is a leading rhetorician and technical writer, and heads the tech writing department of WPI. As professor of many of WPI's visual rhetoric and design classes, his advice should be invaluable.
While in Australia, evaluation and testing of our manual design will be necessary. One method for doing so is to contact Melbourne's local education programs; we expect Melbourne to have programs similar to Worcester's which help teach illiterate adults. We will be working with these classrooms to speak to some students regarding their opinions of our designs.
Australia for Fun
For more about Australia, be sure to visit The Pacific Forum on CompuServe! It has files of information about the country, pictures of famous landmarks, plus you can chat with other tourists and Australians on its message boards or in its live chat rooms.
A List of Australian Beers
Differences Among Australians, Americans, and Canadians
Ten Reasons Why It's Great To Be Various Nationalities
QuickTime movie of Ken bungee-jumping in Cairns
Webmaster: kgagne@wpi.edu
