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Journal

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Forensic science

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Full-Text Articles in Science and Technology Studies

The Accumulation Of Wear On Footwear Pattern Analysis, Sarah Pawloski May 2019

The Accumulation Of Wear On Footwear Pattern Analysis, Sarah Pawloski

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Wear is defined as the erosion of a shoe’s outsole or the loss of tread pattern, and it happens gradually over time with use. After a shoeprint is collected from a crime scene, it is questioned whether an individualization can be made if an exemplar is created after additional use of the shoe. The shoes of ten volunteers at San Jose State University were analyzed over a period of 40-45 days. Wear and Randomly Acquired Characteristics (RACs) were analyzed over time to determine if there were any observable changes or additions to the already present wear. It was hypothesized that …


Novice Ideas: Handwriting Comparisons Conducted By An Untrained Individual, Maia Lister May 2019

Novice Ideas: Handwriting Comparisons Conducted By An Untrained Individual, Maia Lister

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Forensic analysis of questioned documents includes chemical analyses of paper and ink as well as handwriting comparisons. Several elements affect handwriting analyses, including the presence of discriminatory factors that can individualize a handwriting sample and whether the handwriting has been disguised. Five handwriting samples were gathered from six individuals comprising of one reference, three natural unknowns, and one disguised sample per person. A novice conducted analyses on every collected sample and conducted comparisons of the reference sample to the unknown and disguised samples in an attempt to correctly source the unknown and disguised samples. The novice showed a high level …