Differential effectiveness of the cognitive interview in a simulation of testimony

The cognitive interview (CI) is a set of forensic evaluation procedures that has proven its efficiency. Nevertheless, little investigation has been made into its usage on witnesses with the intention of lying. With the aim of proving whether the efficiency of the CI is maintained where the witness is lying we carried out two experiments and we included instructions to tell the truth or to lie as independent variables. We used a 2 Type of interview (SI/CI)×2 Statement Condition (True/False)×2 Interviewee Gender (Male/Female) design with 18 interviewers in a sample group of 240 gender-matched university students being interviewed and the classic measures from the CI as dependent variables: the total number of details, details of actions, details about people and details concerning objects. In a first experiment, participants who lied exculpated the protagonist of a film fragment from rape, whereas in a second, those who lied accused an innocent protagonist. The results, in accordance with previous studies, showed a globally better efficiency for CI. Nevertheless, analysing the material based on type of details, this efficiency is only found in details concerning actions and objects. We discuss the forensic importance of these findings.     

Two cultural worlds in one family

The author discusses the problem of continuity and discontinuity over three generations of a Russian family while describing cultural change in everyday practice during a long historical period. The issue of cultural transmission is investigated because the couples' lineages belonged to conflicting cultural worlds representing two ideologically alien discourses during the Soviet times. While analyzing these two cultural worlds as systems and the conflict between them, the author seeks to answer the question on why both cultural models were rejected by the next generation. What was the character and mechanism of transmission in this case? What are the consequences of cultural conflict for the future of the family itself and for the wider social context in the future cultural discourse in Russia?     

Confronting Religion: Veiled Witnesses,the Right to a Fair Trial and the Supreme Court of Canada's Judgment in R v N.S.

The Supreme Court of Canada's decision in R v N.S. is significant because the majority seems to endorse an understanding of confrontation that assumes a defendant's right to a fair trial is imperilled by a witness who seeks to give evidence while wearing the niqab. The case is of interest because it permits reflection upon the interrelationship between the right to a fair trial and the right to confront witnesses enshrined in Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Given that the European Court of Human Rights conceptualises confrontation in epistemic terms, it is argued that it would be unlikely to find that a conviction based upon evidence from a niqab‐wearing witness would infringe the right to a fair trial. This note examines the value of demeanour evidence and whether the majority in R v N.S. was correct that the abrogation of the ability to assess demeanour evidence necessarily undermines trial fairness.     

Fengxian County – A Model for China’s New Countryside简

正EVERY time we travel to the countryside for an interview,we gain a new understanding of China that transcends that of large metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai.Fengxian County of Jiangsu Province offered us just that;its steps towards rural transformation and development show what can be done to help the countryside reclaim its dynamism.     

Voices

正"China has undergone some remarkable changes over the past 30 years.My wife can speak Chinese.She brought me to China in the 1980s,when the country had just kicked of its policies of opening-up and reform,and I immediately fell in love with the place.When I went back 30 years later,I was amazed at the velocity of its growth.In a country of such openness all are moving briskly towards a better future,"     

公务员结构化面试系统化培训模式的构建

创新公务员结构化面试培训模式是提升公务员考生竞争力的重要举措。公务员结构化面试系统化培训模式包括培训原则、培训内容、支撑体系、培训流程等。其中,循序渐进、因材施教、共性与个性培养相结合、心理调适、集体学习的原则是指针;思维方式训练和语言表达训练是主要内容;题库建设、培训团队建设是保障;入学测评、礼仪与服饰搭配、理论面授、分模块培训、面试前热身是具体实施,四者构成了系统化培训的完整体系。