Research and society

Can you lie to children?

Opvoeding

Children swallow a bunch of lies without realising it. Parents and educators often brush them off with a (half-)lie and as a society we’re no angels either with St Nicholas, Santa and the Easter Bunny. So is lying pedagogically acceptable? We asked professor of historic and general pedagogy Lieselot De Wilde of the Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy.

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striking

What if trees could talk? Well, every so often they do. In doing so, they give a glimpse of the past. For example, a 250-year-old oak in the castle grounds at Elverdinge near Ypres tells us more about the First World War. The tree survived this war, despite the incessant bombs. The Woodlab at Ghent University tells us the touching story of this oak tree.

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Can the cause of Parkinson’s be found in our intestines? “More research is required, but that costs money”

Professor Vandenbroucke en Santens

There are currently an estimated 35,000 cases of Parkinson’s in our country. This figure increases every year. In fact, it is the fastest growing neurodegenerative illness, yet we know so little about it. Professors Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke and Patrick Santens are looking to gain knowledge of the disease with their research. “But that means that particularly large sums of money are required, and these are often unavailable”, they confirm.

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