Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States


Book Description

Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community. The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators.




Huber and Headrick's Handwriting Identification


Book Description

"Forensic document examination is the study of physical evidence and physical evidence cannot lie. Only its interpretation can err. Only the failure to find it, or to hear its true testimony can deprive it of its value."—Roy Huber This is a comprehensive update of Huber and Headrick's seminal work on handwriting examination. New coverage includes a review of forensic handwriting examination research, handwriting analysis training and proficiency, revised methods and procedures, an updated listing and clarification of terminology and electronic signatures, the analysis of digitized handwriting, and other related technological advances. The book includes updated photographs, several added illustrations, and advances in techniques based on the scientific research conducted in the area over the last 20 years. Features of the new edition include: The latest on electronic signatures, digital handwriting, automated handwriting verification, and the many advances in technology and research over the last two decades An overview of the fundamentals of handwriting examination with updated discussion of the intrinsic and extrinsic variables associated with handwriting identification A review of the criticism of handwriting expert opinions and methodology, addressing both the strengths and scientific limitations of the area Fully revised while remaining true to the spirit and approach of original authors Roy Huber and A. M. Headrick Addition of nearly 200 new references and new glossary terms representing advances in research and methods. With extensive photographs to help clearly illustrate concepts, Huber and Headrick’s Handwriting Identification: Facts and Fundamentals, Second Edition serves as an invaluable reference to law libraries, practicing document examiners, forensic and criminal justice students, and every lawyer handling cases in which the authenticity of handwriting and documents might be disputed.




Survey of the State of the Art in Human Language Technology


Book Description

Languages, in all their forms, are the more efficient and natural means for people to communicate. Enormous quantities of information are produced, distributed and consumed using languages. Human language technology's main purpose is to allow the use of automatic systems and tools to assist humans in producing and accessing information, to improve communication between humans, and to assist humans in communicating with machines. This book, sponsored by the Directorate General XIII of the European Union and the Information Science and Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation, USA, offers the first comprehensive overview of the human language technology field.




Ballad for Sophie


Book Description

A young journalist prompts a reclusive piano superstar to open up, resulting in this stunning graphic sonata exploring a lifetime of rivalry, regret, and redemption. 1933. In the small French village of Cressy-la-Valoise, a local piano contest brings together two brilliant young players: Julien Dubois, the privileged heir of a wealthy family, and François Samson, the janitor’s son. One wins, one loses, and both are changed forever. 1997. In a huge mansion stained with cigarette smoke and memories, a bitter old man is shaken by the unexpected visit of an interviewer. Somewhere between reality and fantasy, Julien composes, like in a musical score, a complex and moving story about the cost of success, rivalry, redemption, and flying pianos. When all is said and done, did anyone ever truly win? And is there any music left to play?




The Incredible Adventures of Dog Mendonca and PizzaBoy


Book Description

What do an overweight Portuguese werewolf, a seven-year-old girl who's actually a six thousand-year-old demon, and a downtrodden pizza boy have in common? In this smash-hit import, the unlikely team bands together to ward off occult evils, Nazis, and impending global doom! * Werewolves! Demons! Mad scientists! Pizza! * Introduction by An American Werewolf in London director John Landis!




Handwriting and Drawing Research


Book Description

A collection of articles representing progress in the major areas of fundamental and applied handwriting research. Areas covered are: behavioural and cognitive science; development, education and neuroscience; computer analysis and recognition; and forensic document examination.







Sound, Music, and Motion


Book Description

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Computer Music Modeling and Retrieval, CMMR 2013, held in Marseille, France, in October 2013. The 38 conference papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 94 submissions. The chapters reflect the interdisciplinary nature of this conference with following topics: augmented musical instruments and gesture recognition, music and emotions: representation, recognition, and audience/performers studies, the art of sonification, when auditory cues shape human sensorimotor performance, music and sound data mining, interactive sound synthesis, non-stationarity, dynamics and mathematical modeling, image-sound interaction, auditory perception and cognitive inspiration, and modeling of sound and music computational musicology.




Human-Computer Interaction


Book Description

This book provides a broad overview of the contributions of experimental research in psychology and related disciplines to the domain of human-computer interaction. Four major topics are considered. The first deals with the presentation of visual information and basic aspects of visual information processing. Some relevant applications are also illustrated in the domains of texts and visual presentation of statistical information. The second major topic is concerned with the representation of knowledge. The interaction between man and machine is most effective if both components have an adequate representation of knowledge. Several techniques of representation are shown, and the compatibility between human representation and machine representation is discussed. The development of expert systems will in many respects change the nature of the interaction between man and machine in artificial intelligence. In the third part, future developments, the current state of expert systems as compared with human experts and the characteristics of productions systems which are so prominent in most expert systems are all discussed. Finally, some features of interaction with systems are reviewed, including the ergonomic value of key boards and advanced input modes like handwritten text and speech. Procedures for searching for information in large databases and for the use of natural language in the interaction between man and machine are increasingly important.