With the rise of information production resulting from society’ s gradual shift towards a globalized social system and increased use of connected devices, there is a greater responsibility today to remain well-informed about current affairs and news as a means of facilitating better decision-making and learning. For this reason, we face a greater pressure to consume more information despite the fact that our time resources prove to be restricted, along with the reality that our methods of information consumption have remained unchanged. Moreover, most information is consumed in textual form. My research seeks to explore ways in which to enhance an individual’ s reading ability through the utilization of alternative textual representations designed to improve reading by eliminating undesirable reading habits and efficiently guiding an individual through a textual passage. Through this research, I hope to preserve time spent reading by optimizing a reader’ s rate of information acquisition.

Due to my interests in human-computer interfaces and information design, I am drawn to the role that information representations play in organizing knowledge and aiding in effective and efficient understanding of data. With natural language being the chief modality of information transfer today, I found the lack of development in the area of alternative textual representations peculiar. I am participating in SuperUROP because I see it as an appropriate context for learning about hypothesis development with the guidance of leading professionals.