Understanding the Impact of Scientific Testimony on Potential Jury Members: Independent and Interactive Effects of Expert Characteristics and Jury Member’s Social Location

As science and technology evolve, they impact society at different levels. With these changes, it is important to understand how members of society will be affected. One area where there has been a rise in the use of scientific information is in jury trials. Those who are on trial for a criminal offense are more often relying on forensic evidence, and forensic experts, to aid in their defense, and those who are prosecuting a criminal case are also relying on forensic evidence and forensic experts. However, forensic evidence is not consistent in type or interpretation – what one person may find at a crime scene could differ than what another person does, and how one forensic scientist interprets a piece of forensic evidence can differ from what another forensic scientist will find. Because of inconsistencies in forensic science, and other scientific disciplines generally, there is a legal standard that judges use to evaluate whether a potential expert has the scientific expertise to be allowed to give testimony in a criminal trial – namely, the Daubert standard. However, who is a scientific expert will vary – an expert will have different credentials, professional experience, and personal characteristics that will influence how a potential juror will perceive them. Despite there being a vast body of academic literature focusing on forensic expert testimony, there are gaps in understanding how indicators of credentials and expertise specific to forensic science are understood by potential jurors. And, it is not only important to understand the characteristics that potential jurors associate with a “good” scientific expert; it is also important to understand how a juror’s own social characteristics and experiences will influence their perceptions of forensic expert testimony. Using an experimental design, this dissertation sought to better understand how an expert’s credentials impact how a potential juror will evaluate a forensic expert’s testimony. Participants were recruited using MTurk, resulting in 857 usable responses. Participants were randomly assigned one of eight vignettes designed to be understood as an excerpt of a court transcript, where an attorney was questioning a forensic expert about blood spatter patterns. The vignettes varied in how the expert was addressed, indicating the expert’s credentials (Dr. vs. Mr.), the expert’s laboratory affiliation (State vs. Private), and the forensic expert’s gender (Tim vs. Amy). Three studies were constructed from the data. Each study utilized a combined-scale variable representing credibility as the measurable outcome. The first study (n = 857) used the vignettes as a control variable, focusing solely on understanding how a juror’s own social characteristics influence how they perceive forensic expert testimony, generally. The second study (n = 211) focused on the expert’s gender, and how the expert’s perceived gender influences how a potential juror will evaluate the expert testimony. Finally, the third study (n = 646) focused on how the credentials of the expert, along with their laboratory affiliation, impact how a participant rated the forensic expert testimony

Framing effects on fear of terrorism and willingness to sacrifice civil liberties

The purpose of this research was to determine whether differences in the way the media frames an act of violence leads to different reactions by consumers. In particular, it was hypothesized that the ideology and race of the perpetrator would lead to differences in perceptions of whether or not the attack was terrorism. A vignette-style experiment was performed using respondents recruited via MTurk. Four versions of the vignette were evenly distributed to 441 respondents, changing whether the frame contained a photo, the ideology, and the name of the perpetrator. Using measures of fear from this data it was then investigated whether or not fear made respondents more willing to trade their civil liberties for a feeling of increased security. Though few significant findings were discovered in this research, it is believed that the findings will contribute to the broader topic by suggesting new directions for terrorism and media framing research in the future

The Properties of Red Blood Cells from Patients Heterozygous for HbS and HbC (HbSC Genotype)

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the commonest severe inherited disorders, but specific treatments are lacking and the pathophysiology remains unclear. Affected individuals account for well over 250,000 births yearly, mostly in the Tropics, the USA, and the Caribbean, also in Northern Europe as well. Incidence in the UK amounts to around 12–15,000 individuals and is increasing, with approximately 300 SCD babies born each year as well as with arrival of new immigrants. About two thirds of SCD patients are homozygous HbSS individuals. Patients heterozygous for HbS and HbC (HbSC) constitute about a third of SCD cases, making this the second most common form of SCD, with approximately 80,000 births per year worldwide. Disease in these patients shows differences from that in homozygous HbSS individuals. Their red blood cells (RBCs), containing approximately equal amounts of HbS and HbC, are also likely to show differences in properties which may contribute to disease outcome. Nevertheless, little is known about the behaviour of RBCs from HbSC heterozygotes. This paper reviews what is known about SCD in HbSC individuals and will compare the properties of their RBCs with those from homozygous HbSS patients. Important areas of similarity and potential differences will be emphasised

Aspirin inhibits the acute venodilator response to furosemide in patients with chronic heart failure

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the effect of aspirin on the venodilator effect of furosemide in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) BACKGROUND: Furosemide has an acute venodilator effect preceding its diuretic action, which is blocked by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The ability of therapeutic doses of aspirin to block this effect of furosemide in patients with CHF has not been studied. For comparison, the venodilator response to nitroglycerin (NTG) was also studied. METHODS: Eleven patients with CHF were randomized to receive placebo, aspirin at 75 mg/day or aspirin at 300 mg/day for 14 days in a double-blind, crossover study. The effect of these pretreatments on the change in forearm venous capacitance (FVC) after 20 mg of intravenous furosemide was measured over 20 min by using venous occlusion plethysmography. In a second study, the effect of 400 μg of sublingual NTG on FVC was documented in 11 similar patients (nine participated in the first study). RESULTS: Mean arterial pressure, heart rate and forearm blood flow did not change in response to furosemide. After placebo pretreatment, furosemide caused an increase in FVC of 2.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] −0.9% to 5.2%; mean response over 20 min). By comparison, FVC fell by −1.1% (95% CI −4.2% to 1.9%) after pretreatment with aspirin at 75 mg/day, and by −3.7% (95% CI −6.8% to −0.7%) after aspirin at 300 mg/day (p = 0.020). In the second study, NTG increased FVC by 2.1% (95% CI −1.6% to 5.8%) (p = 0.95 vs. furosemide). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with CHF, venodilation occurs within minutes of the administration of intravenous dose of furosemide. Our observation that aspirin inhibits this effect further questions the use of aspirin in patients with CHF