VCU Media Lab

We propose the establishment of a VCU Media Lab – a professional creative media technology unit whose mission is to support the development, design, production and delivery of innovative media, multimedia, computer-based instruction, publications and tools in support of VCU education, research and marketing initiatives. This centrally administered, budgeted and resourced facility will acknowledge, refine, focus and expand media services that are currently being provided at VCU in a decentralized manner

The future of Cybersecurity in Italy: Strategic focus area

This volume has been created as a continuation of the previous one, with the aim of outlining a set of focus areas and actions that the Italian Nation research community considers essential. The book touches many aspects of cyber security, ranging from the definition of the infrastructure and controls needed to organize cyberdefence to the actions and technologies to be developed to be better protected, from the identification of the main technologies to be defended to the proposal of a set of horizontal actions for training, awareness raising, and risk management

Exploring the Perception Towards Enhancing Credentials by Certification of Latent Fingerprint Examiners in the Southern United States

With several applications of forensic processes coming into question, becoming a reputable expert witness in a court of law can be dire. This pilot study explores the professional opinions of latent fingerprint examiners employed by state criminal investigation departments. Research was geared towards measuring the notion that gaining certification through institutions such as the International Association for Identification (IAI) aids in the perception of latent fingerprint examiners’ credibility and confidence as expert witnesses. The sample population of latent fingerprint examiners (LFPEs) was gathered using a digital survey issued to the forensic laboratories and divisions housed within state criminal investigation units. The results found a majority of LFPEs who were certified exercising more perceptive levels of credibility and confidence than those without certification. There were also minute differences between the ideologies of credibility versus confidence. Further research is requested to gather larger sample sizes of latent fingerprint examiners in order to explore more variables related to latent print examiners’ field of forensic science

To Certify or Not to Certify? A Proposed Graduate Course and Universal Certification for Forensic Expert Witnesses

During a court proceeding, attorneys will oftentimes bring up evidence related to their case. Since attorneys are usually not an expert in the field of evidence that they are discussing, they will bring in an expert witness. Expert witnesses are asked “. . . to testify in court when complex or specialized knowledge, beyond that of the lay person, is needed to interpret the evidence” (Wilcox & NicDaeid, 2018, p. 100). Forensic expert witnesses and their testimony, especially, are becoming increasingly important regarding accuracy and delivery. It’s been found that juries tend to rely heavily on forensic evidence when reaching their verdict and that they value forensic testimony such as DNA and trace evidence over non-forensic evidence such as eyewitness statements (Eastwood & Caldwell, 2015). With forensic testimonies having a potentially large impact on the outcome of a case, one would think that there would be a certification required for these experts to give testimonies, but there is not. If a baseline certification were to be made for expert witnesses, then it would ensure that only the most credible and knowledgeable individuals would be able to make these life-altering testimonies. It has been found that many aspects of an expert’s testimony can change the juror’s views of the evidence presented, from the expert’s experience to how they verbalize their testimony (Eastwood & Caldwell, 2015). I propose that there should be a mandated certification for expert witnesses to testify in court, and I subsequently propose a graduate level class for Merrimack College Students which will aid them in completing this certification