THE DISCOURSE OF REQUESTS

A corpus of transcribed, oral requests used in a previous study of compliance-gaining strategies (Tracy, Craig, Smith, & Spisak, 1984) is examined interpretively from the perspective of the politeness theory of Brown and Levinson (1978). Findings include the following: (1) politeness strategies occur in great abundance and variety; (2) superstrategies are mixed in varyingly skillful ways; (3) goals are accomplished through multifunctional discourse; (4) the interpretation of politeness strategies confronts several kinds of indeterminacy; (5) facework strategies that fall outside the scope of the politeness theory, including aggravation and speaker-oriented strategies, are much in evidence. In response to the several theoretical problems that emerge in the course of the analysis, six tenets on which to build a new theory of facework are proposed.     

当代西方语篇阅读信息加工过程理论的分歧与整合

当代西方语篇阅读研究过程中产生了多种理论与模式,它们试图对读者阅读过程的信息加工过程做出解释。文章从发展的角度介绍了建构主义理论、最低限度假设理论和记忆基础的文本加工观的历程、基本假设和实证研究,从中可以看出各种理论派别的分歧与整合的趋势。     

FEMINIST POSTSTRUCTURALISM AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

In this article I suggest that feminist poststructuralism (Weedon, 1987) is of great potential value to feminist psychologists seeking more satisfactory ways of theorizing gender and subjectivity. Some key elements of this theoretical perspective are discussed, including an understanding of knowledge as socially produced and inherently unstable, an emphasis on the importance of language and discourse, and a decentering of the subject. Discourse analysis is discussed as one way of working that is consistent with feminist poststructuralist theory. To illustrate this approach, an example is presented from my work on the sexual coercion of women within heterosexual relationships.     

THE QUR'AN,SCIENCE, AND THE (RELATED) CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM DISCOURSE

We discuss the special place of the Qur'an in the Muslim discourse in general and on science in particular. The Qur'an has an unparalleled influence on the Muslim mind, and understanding the Islamic treatise on science and religion must start from this realization. We explore the concept of science in the Islamic culture and to what extent it can be related to the Qur'an. Reviewing various Islamic discourses on science, we show how a simplistic understanding of the plan to adopt modern science within an Islamic revival program has been corrupted in the form of the theory of “scientific miraculousness of the Qur'an.” We assess and dismiss this theory but use it to show how a serious misunderstanding of the nature of modern science and a narrow view of the Qur'an has led to that embarrassingly popular yet misguided theory. We conclude by promoting a multiplicity of readings of the Qur'an and show that this allows for an enlightenment of one's interpretation of Qur'anic verses, using various tools at one's disposal, including scientific knowledge. We uphold Averroes's principle of “no possible conflict,” which can be used to persuade the Muslim public of a given idea not by proving that it can be found in the Qur'an but rather by showing that at least some readings of it are fully consistent with the given scientific theory.     

THE CHURCH AND MENTAL HEALTH: THEOLOGICAL AND PRACTICAL RESPONSES

Over the past few years, the number of Christian projects and charities working in the mental health sector in the United Kingdom has increased dramatically. At the same time, scientific and medical understandings of mental health have been advancing rapidly. These parallel trends beg a serious question: is the Christian Church's response to mental health authentically engaging with a changing scientific picture? Are theological questions like responsibility, sin, redemption, and reconciliation taking account of a changing landscape? This is not a theoretical question, but has major practical consequences for developing practical pastoral responses.     

重读与信息结构对语篇理解加工的影响

该研究利用口语动窗技术和双重任务范式,探索了重读与信息结构的匹配关系对语篇理解加工的影响、以及其发挥作用的内部机制。结果表明：与控制条件相比,不一致性重读阻碍语篇的理解加工,而一致性重读对语篇理解的促进作用相对不明显;重读促进焦点词汇的加工,而不重读促进非焦点词汇的加工,从而说明重读影响语篇理解不仅仅是由于它能调控听者的注意力分配,更重要的是重读的有无传达着不同的信息加工方式。