CD-I, IV-D: the challenge for technical manuals

Abstract

With the advent of IV-D (interactive video disc) and CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory) systems, the training manual has become electronic. Traditional theoretical approaches can prove inadequate when dealing with electronic information and new methods of learning. Some suggestions for creating a theory of interactive electronic technical communications are presented. The aim of such theoretical investigation is the development of a recursive, multifaceted heuristic with which to generate or evaluate communication. A possible framework would be to examine how communication serves its purpose by superimposing Jakobson's six elements of discourse onto the five canons of classical rhetoric and the three Aristotelian aspects of effective communication.<>