This paper focuses on successes and failures in the history of technology. It attempts to assess the wisdom of possible future courses of action with regard to technology in e-learning and education.

Reports on the problem of adult functional illiteracy in the workplace and discusses how some companies and business-sponsored organizations are dealing with this problem. Describes Polaroid Corporation's in-house literacy training program in detail. (CH)

Describes a functional literacy program successfully carried out in a very remote district in the mountains of Nepal. Describes the program's successes in increasing literacy, self-confidence, community awareness, and social awareness among Nepali women. Discusses keys to this success. (SR)

Describes functional literacy for those interested in office-based occupations. Components of office literacy include computer and cultural literacy, as well as reading skills. Offers six propositions that have implications for office literacy curriculum development. (CH)

There are more than 4 million small businesses across the country that provide more than half of private sector employment, generate 47 percent of the gross national product, and generate two out of every three new jobs in the United States. Because small businesses provide the majority of new workers with their first work experience, they are at…