Female juvenile murderers: Biological and psychological dynamics leading to homicide

The increasing involvement of girls under 18 in violent crime has been a matter of growing concern in the United States in recent years. This article reviews the arrests of female juveniles for violent crime and then focuses specifically on their involvement in homicide. Arrests of girls for murder, unlike arrests for assault, have not risen over the last 30 years, suggesting that the dynamics that propel female juveniles to engage in lethal violence differ from those contributing to assaultive behavior by this same group. A review of the literature indicates that theories as to why female adolescents kill do not take into account recent scientific findings on brain development and the biological effects of early trauma in explaining serious violent behavior by girls. Three cases, evaluated by the authors, involving female adolescents charged with murder or attempted murder, are presented. The authors focus on the biological and psychological dynamics that help explain their violent behavior. They discuss the effects of insecure attachment and child maltreatment, and trace a critical pathway between these early experiences and future risk of violent behavior. The dynamics of child maltreatment in fostering rage and violence are discussed thereafter in terms of offender accountability. The article concludes with a discussion of treatment and recommendations for future research.     

Governmental filtering of websites: The Dutch case

Following the example of Norway and other European Countries, such as Sweden and Denmark, in April 2007 the Dutch government started filtering and blocking web pages with child pornographic content. In this paper we present a research into the technological, legal and practical possibilities of this measure. Our study leads us to the conclusion that the deployment of filters by or on behalf of the Dutch government is not based on any founded knowledge concerning the effectiveness of the approach. Furthermore, the actions of the Dutch law enforcement authorities do not avail over legal powers to filter and block internet traffic. Consequently the Dutch filtering practice was found to be unlawful. The government could enact a law that provides the police with the relevant powers. However, child porn filters always cause a certain amount of structural overblocking, which means that the government is then engaged in structural blocking of information that is not against the law. This would be in conflict with basic rights as laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and in national legislation. Maintaining a blacklist that is serious in size (a necessary condition for being effective), and at the same time is up-to-date and error-free (which is needed to prevent overblocking), is very labour-intensive, if not impossible to maintain. From the Dutch national police policy perspective it follows that putting so much labour in maintaining a blacklist cannot be considered as a police task. Why then did the Dutch police start filtering? In a society where child pornography is judged with abhorrence, in which safety is rated higher then privacy, and in which managers and politicians frequently have a naive faith in technology, the advocates of internet filters against child pornography quickly find wide-spread support. Although this paper refers to the situation in The Netherlands, it includes a number of elements and issues that are relevant to other European States as well.     

Fatal case of Rapunzel syndrome in neglected child

Rapunzel syndrome is very extreme form of trichobezoar formation where the tail of the trichobezoar extends from the stomach into the small intestine. Death resulting from this condition is rare and is usually associated with gastric or intestinal perforation. We report a fatal case of Rapunzel syndrome in a 3 years and 10 months old girl. Review of the literature indicates that this case involves the youngest child to have died from this syndrome. Furthermore, this case is unique due to the clear association with the parent's neglect with failure to provide the child with adequate health care.     

试论北京奥运会志愿服务的德育功能

当前,高校德育的实效还没有达到社会的期望。提高高校德育实效性的重要环节就是要改变传统“灌输式”的德育模式,结合时代背景和社会热点,构建大学生德育教育体系。奥运会具有国际化和全民性的特征,是高校开展德育的重要契机,奥运期间及奥运后的大学生志愿服务活动具有特殊的德育功能。     

论我国公益公诉制度之构建

随着我国经济和社会的发展,环境保护、消费者权益保护等方面的矛盾逐渐凸现,因此建立公益诉讼制度日益成为社会公众的一个迫切要求。虽然法学界对建立公益诉讼制度的重要性和迫切性已经到达了一致认同,但是在具体的制度设计方面还存在较大的差异。在本文中,笔者力图通过介绍公益诉讼的相关概念,阐述公诉权理论,分析检察院提起公益诉讼的必要性,来对我国公益诉讼制度的具体构建提出若干可行性建议,以期对我国公益诉讼制度的构建有所裨益。     

志愿服务:青少年公民教育的新途径

志愿服务作为青少年公民参与社会活动、履行社会责任的崭新方式,日益成为青少年公民教育的有效途径。本文尝试探讨青少年通过参与志愿服务,从而增强公民意识、提升公民素质、实现公民成长;同时,公民教育的深入开展,又是促进公民参与志愿服务、实观志愿服务兴旺发展的重要基础,两者互相效力,共同发展。     

儿童证人问题的心理学分析

在心理认知科学发展的背景下,对儿童作证主体之适格性问题的争论已经转变为对儿童证言的可靠性的判断。儿童证人由于其生理和心理的特点决定了其记忆信息的编码、贮存、和提取方面存在着不足,但不能因此否认儿童作证的适格性。相反,应根据儿童的身心特点,制订出相应可行的实践操作原则以提高儿童证人证言的可靠性。     

论环境与资源诉讼中的公益理念

环境权从某种意义上属“社会性”权利 ,无论在立法还是司法实践中 ,这一权利都带有明显的公益色彩。为保障公民环境权的实现 ,我国应借鉴西方国家经验 ,放宽对环境诉讼起诉资格的限制 ,对现行司法制度进行制度创新     

产品责任:北美视角的比较法评论

美国采纳严格产品责任的主要原因是:早期的法律不能给消费者提供充分的保护;调整保证的法律不是从消费者的角度出发的;美国的社会福利很大程度上不如其他西方国家。当今美国主要对于设计和信息性缺陷适用过失责任制度,严格产品制度仅适用于制造缺陷和非制造缺陷的销售者。欧洲和其他法域的严格产品制度远比美国严格。各种结构化和程序化的事务赋予美国公民更多诉至法院的机会。