Explore the vast range of titles available.

This thesis is essentially an exploration of the interaction between top-down and bottom-up processes in the assimilation of new information from expository texts.It is my contention that little attention has been given to the investigation of on-line comprehension of informative texts (i.e. texts which contain new information relative to the background knowledge of the reader). The bulk of research into text processing has concentrated on the recall paradigm, which is limited to the discovery of the product of comprehension, not the on-line processes which give rise to the final representation.In order to identify salient psycholinguistic factors implicated in the complex process of learning from informative text, I first develop a theoretical framework in which I attempt to resolve various inter-related dichotomies subsumed by the general issue as to whether coherence is resident in texts or is supplied by the reader. Adopting a schema-theoretic approach, I argue that these dichotomies are essentially facile, since the degree to which coherence is constructed (from the bottom up) or supplied (from the top down) depends on various factors, including the degree of informativity of the text (the KNOWLEDGE factor), the linguistic competence of the reader (the LANGUAGE factor), and the degree to which the reader can apply analytic processing strategies for the purpose of building up a cumulative text-internal representation (the LOGIC factor).In order to gain access to the processes implicated in the assimilation of new information, I develop an exploratory methodology for eliciting on-line expectations (prediction protocols) during reading. The methodology is applied to Preliminary Year students at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, and their performance on the prediction task is compared to that of native-speaker informants.Qualitative analysis of the protocols clarifies many of the general issues developed in the theoretical exposition, and also identifies specific problems faced by non-native-speaker readers of EST (English for Science and Technology) texts in a developing country.

Such a catch-all label fraudulently blurs the distinction between two kinds of objectors: those who have solid reasons for denouncing his views, and those whose minds are as trivial as his own.

Sir: Would it be too cynical to suppose that our troops were not supplied with adequate equipment to protect them from...

As a riposte to his insulting views, I would remind him of a truly great politician and visionary thinker, Alija Ali Izetbegovic, former president of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The marginalization of the humanities - of literature, history, archaeology, geography, and modern languages - will only ensure that ignorance of the richness of human heritage and diversity is compounded by incompetence in cross-cultural communication. Dialectical thinking and the intellectual connectedness it promotes should be one of the major planks of a holistic education, along with deep reflection (which fosters spiritual connectedness by enabling learners to connect with their innermost selves) and conversation and dialogue, which enable individuals to develop empathy and to connect with others and the society in which they live.

The marginalization of the humanities - of literature, history, archaeology, geography, and modern languages - will only ensure that ignorance of the richness of human heritage and diversity is compounded by incompetence in cross-cultural communication. Dialectical thinking and the intellectual connectedness it promotes should be one of the major planks of a holistic education, along with deep reflection (which fosters spiritual connectedness by enabling learners to connect with their innermost selves) and conversation and dialogue, which enable individuals to develop empathy and to connect with others and the society in which they live.

The wisdom given to us in the Islamic revelation is not the exclusive, inwardlooking and parochial property of Muslims, to be jealously defended and set apart from all other formulations, or retreated into as a sullen refuge for a victimized minority, but is a universal gift to all mankind. Islamic civilization has more to offer the world than apologetic imitations of the worst aspects of utilitarian education systems, even if the best aspects of any system can serve to remind Muslims of what made their own civilization a great one.

Muhammad Asad eloquently reminds us of this in his foreword to The Message of the Qur'an, that the spirit of the Qur'an helped revive the culture of inquiry in Europe: \"Through its insistence on consciousness and knowledge, it engendered among its followers a spirit of intellectual curiosity and independent inquiry, ultimately resulting in that splendid era of learning and scientific research which distinguished the world of Islam at the height of its cultural vigor; and the culture thus fostered by the Qur'an penetrated in countless ways and by ways into the mind of medieval Europe and gave rise to that revival of Western culture which we call the Renaissance, and thus became in the course of time largely responsible for the birth of what is described as the 'age of science.'\" But the process of learning and inquiry engendered by the Qur'an was not restricted to a \"rational\" concept of \"enlightenment,\" which in its most debased form has reduced a rich and multi-layered scientia sacra to the poverty of scientism. [...] without understanding the intellect and an awareness of the moral and spiritual dimensions that animate human excellence, education in thinking skills can rarely go beyond the reductionism that focuses solely on sharpening the lower intellectual functions - the logical reasoning, argument and analysis that have been productive in scientific and technological advancement but cannot encompass the deeper needs of the soul and spirit.