Brookings-Sadat Forum: Algeria

The following is the edited text of a discussion at the Sadat Forum held at the Brookings Institution on September 10, 1998. The cosponsors are the Brookings Foreign Policy Program and the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland.     

欧洲对美国的看法

目前,欧洲民众对美国的评价跌到了历史最低点。从短期看,这次美国在欧洲的民意危机主要是来自两方面:布什总统和美国出兵伊拉克。2004年夏,仅有不到五分之一的欧洲人对美国总统有好感,而四分之三多的欧洲人认为伊拉克战争是个错误。美国士兵虐俘的骇人图片进一步恶化了美在欧洲人心目中的形象。但是此外还存在着更深刻和长期的政治、经济、社会发展等方面的因素。这些因素影响着跨大西洋的关系和欧美相互的看法。2004年6月,布什三访欧洲:参加诺曼底登陆日的六十周年纪念活动、出席爱尔兰欧美峰会和伊斯坦布尔北约峰会。当他被问及欧洲及其他地区对其支持率不高     

When lawyers question children

This study assessed the impact of some complex question forms frequently used by attorneys who examine and cross-examine witnesses in the courtroom. Fifteen males and 15 females from each of four student populations (kindergarten, fourth grade, ninth grade, and college) viewed a videotaped incident and then responded to questions about the incident. Half the questions were asked in “law-yerese” (i.e., using complex question forms); the remaining half asked for the same information using simply phrased question forms of the same length. Lawyerese confused children, adolescents, and young adults alike. Questions that included multiple parts with mutually exclusive responses were the most difficult to answer; those that included negatives, double negatives or difficult vocabulary also posed significant problems. Results suggest that complex question forms impede truth-seeking and should be prohibited in court.