Children don't always tell the truth

Although children are being more frequently called as witnesses in court proceedings, they often do not tell the truth. If lying is defined as giving a false statement for personal gain, then lying is only one of several causes for children not giving an accurate account of events. Other reasons include an immature brain, a congenitally acquired defect in the central nervous system, or the presence of an emotional disturbance such as psychosis or hysteria. The desire of a child to please others--that is, parents, therapists, or lawyers--may also result in an invalid statement. These factors and motivations should be considered in trying to interpret a youngster's statement.     

中国富豪的慈善真相

中国企业家的善举已屡见不鲜，但如何找到一条适合自身的慈善之路仍然没有清晰的答案     

The evidencer's eye: Representations of truth in the laws of evidence

University of Lancaster, Department of Law. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Costas Douzinas, Peter Goodrich, Shaun McVeigh and particularly Peter Rush for advice and inspiration while writing this paper. Any remaining proven faults are my own.     

Young children's classification of the corroboration of a false statement as the truth or a lie

This article reports on an investigation of children's definitions of the truth that can pertain to their ability to provide accurate information during an, investigation or trial: whether corroborating an inaccurate statement made by a parent is lying or telling the truth. Subjects were 133 preschool through third-grade children who were shown a videotape in which either a boy makes a false statement to a neighbor about the neighbor's daughter hitting him and his mother listens passively or a mother makes a similar false statement and the boy corroborates it. None of the children classified the corroboration as the truth. Only a small percent of the preschool and kindergarten children classified the boy's or mother's initial false statement as the truth; all of the older children classified these statements as a lie. About 20% of the children recalled incorrectly that the neighbor's daughter hit the boy.This project was supported with funds from the College Research Grant Fund of the College of Human Ecology, Cornell University. Great appreciation goes to several schools, including Groton Elementary (Joseph Amore, Principal), Montessori School of Ithaca (Carol Hill, Co-Administrator), Ithaca Community Child Care Center (Gloria Landis, Teacher), and Pinwheels Day Care Center (Kendra Maturo, Administrator). Virginia Alhusen, Ph. D., managed data collection and analysis for the project superbly.     

困境与出路:我国公民知情权的实现

目前 ,宪法修改的呼声越来越高 ,对此次修宪 ,人们议论最多的是如何进一步完善我国公民的基本权利体系 ,这既是宪法的一个根本问题 ,又是与国际人权公约接轨的需要 ,也是世界各国立宪经验的总结。就我国而言 ,由于现行宪法规定的公民基本权利不充分 ,因而应当入宪的公民基本权利较多 ,其中 ,当务之急 ,应将公民的生命权、财产权、知情权、公职权、迁徙自由权、公平审判权和生活环境权写入宪法。为此 ,本文对上述诸多权利进行了分析探讨。