Cognitive bias and the order of examination in forensic anthropological non-metric methods: a pilot study

Research has established that contextual information has the potential to influence the decisions of examiners in various forensic domains, including forensic anthropology. Studies have demonstrated that the non-metric sex estimation methods are susceptible to issues of cognitive bias, however the different types of stimuli that can influence the decision-making process remain understudied. As forensic anthropologists will examine multiple skeletal elements to estimate the sex of skeletal remains, a pilot study was designed to assess the potential of cognitive bias resulting from the order of examination. Two groups performed a non-metric sex estimation of the innominates and the skull with methods from Standards on one individual complete skeleton. Group A examined the skull first followed by the innominates, while Group B examined the innominates first followed by the skull. Results reveal a significant difference between the two groups in the sex estimation of the innominates and the complete skeleton (p = 0.020 and p = 0.022, respectively). This research demonstrates that order of examination for sex estimation may act as context and potentially influence the subsequent analyses. Additional research is necessary to broaden the understanding of decision-making and aid in the establishment of standard operating procedures designed to mitigate the potential effects of cognitive bias

Sex estimation from virtual models: exploring the potential of stereolithic 3D crania models for morphoscopic trait scoring

UNLABELLED: Modern computed tomography (CT) databases are becoming an accepted resource for the practice and development of identification methods in forensic anthropology. However, the utility of 3D models created using free and open-source visualization software such as 3D Slicer has not yet been thoroughly assessed for morphoscopic biological profiling methods where virtual methods of analysis are becoming more common. This paper presents a study that builds on the initial findings from Robles et al. (2020) to determine the feasibility of estimating sex on stereolithic (STL) 3D cranial models produced from CT scans from a modern, living UK population (n = 80) using equation 2 from the Walker's (2008) morphoscopic method. Kendall's coefficients of concordance (KCC) indicated substantial agreement using cranial features scores in an inter-observer test and a video-inter-observer test. Fleiss' Kappa scores showed moderate agreement (0.50) overall between inter-observer sex estimations, and for observer sex estimations in comparison to recorded sexes (0.56). It was found that novice users could virtually employ morphoscopic sex estimation methods effectively on STL 3D cranial models from modern individuals. This study also highlights the potential that digital databases of modern living populations can offer forensic anthropology. KEY POINTS: First example of Walker's (2008) method applied to a living UK population.Open-source software is a valuable resource for crime reconstruction approaches.Male scoring bias was observed in method application.Forensic anthropologists would benefit from virtual anthropology training to use and interpret 3D models.Digital databases offer more ethical, diverse, modern populations for future research

The value of eye-tracking technology in the analysis and interpretations of skeletal remains: A pilot study

This initial study is the first to use eye-trackers as a tool in order to study gaze pattern strategies and decision making processes involved in the assessment of skeletal remains. Three experienced participants were asked to wear eye-tracking glasses (Tobii Pro Glasses 2) when estimating sex and age-at-death of one set of skeletal remains from a known archeological sample. The study assessed participants' fixation points (the features of the skeleton focused on), fixation duration (the total time spent on each assessment and feature) as well as visit count and duration (the total number of visits and the duration of visits to particular areas). The preliminary results of this study identified differences in gaze “strategies” with regards to fixation points, visit duration, and visit counts between the participants. The data generated provide a starting point for assessing how such technologies could be used in order to more fully understand the decision making processes involved in forensic anthropological interpretations and their role in forensic reconstructions

Human identification: An investigation of 3D models of paranasal sinuses to establish a biological profile on a modern UK population

Medical imaging is a valuable source for facilitating empirical research and provides an accessible gateway for developing novel forensic anthropological methods for analysis including 3D modelling. This is especially critical for the United Kingdom (UK), where methods developed from modern UK populations do not currently exist. This study introduces a new approach to assist in human identification using 3D models of the paranasal sinuses. The models were produced from a database of 500 modern CT scans provided by University College London Hospital. Linear measurements and elliptic Fourier coefficients taken from 1500 three-dimensional models across six ethnic groups assessed by one-way ANOVA and discriminant function analysis showed a range of classification rates with certain rates reaching 75–85.7% (p < 0.05) in correctly classifying age and sex according to size and shape. The findings offer insights into the potential for employing paranasal sinuses as an attribute for establishing the identification of unknown human remains in future crime reconstructions

Sex estimation from virtual models: Exploring the potential of stereolithic (STL) 3D crania models for morphoscopic trait scoring

Modern computed tomography (CT) databases are becoming an accepted resource for the practice and development of identification methods in forensic anthropology. However, the utility of 3D models created using free and open-source visualisation software such as 3D Slicer have not yet been thoroughly assessed for morphoscopic biological profiling methods where virtual methods of analysis are becoming more common. This paper presents a study that builds on the initial findings from Robles et al. 2020 to determine the feasibility of estimating sex on STL 3D cranial models produced from CT scans from a modern, living UK population (n=80) using equation 2 from the Walker (2008) morphoscopic method. Kendall's coefficients of concordance (KCC) indicated substantial agreement using cranial features scores in an inter-observer test and a video-inter-observer test. Fleiss's kappa scores showed moderate agreement (0.50) overall between inter-observer sex estimations, and for observer sex estimations in comparison to recorded sexes (0.56). It was found that novice users could virtually employ morphoscopic sex estimation methods effectively on STL 3D cranial models from modern individuals. This study also highlights the potential that digital databases of modern living populations can offer forensic anthropology

Using Bayesian networks to guide the assessment of new evidence in an appeal case.

When new forensic evidence becomes available after a conviction there is no systematic framework to help lawyers to determine whether it raises sufficient questions about the verdict in order to launch an appeal. This paper presents such a framework driven by a recent case, in which a defendant was convicted primarily on the basis of audio evidence, but where subsequent analysis of the evidence revealed additional sounds that were not considered during the trial. The framework is intended to overcome the gap between what is generally known from scientific analyses and what is hypothesized in a legal setting. It is based on Bayesian networks (BNs) which have the potential to be a structured and understandable way to evaluate the evidence in a specific case context. However, BN methods suffered a setback with regards to the use in court due to the confusing way they have been used in some legal cases in the past. To address this concern, we show the extent to which the reasoning and decisions within the particular case can be made explicit and transparent. The BN approach enables us to clearly define the relevant propositions and evidence, and uses sensitivity analysis to assess the impact of the evidence under different assumptions. The results show that such a framework is suitable to identify information that is currently missing, yet clearly crucial for a valid and complete reasoning process. Furthermore, a method is provided whereby BNs can serve as a guide to not only reason with incomplete evidence in forensic cases, but also identify very specific research questions that should be addressed to extend the evidence base and solve similar issues in the future.This research was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council of the UK through the Security Science Doctoral Research Training Centre (UCL SECReT) based at University College London (EP/G037264/1), and the European Research Council (ERC-2013-AdG339182-BAYES_KNOWLEDGE)

Case Based Representation and Retrieval with Time Dependent Features

Abstract. The temporal dimension of the knowledge embedded in cases has often been neglected or oversimplified in Case Based Reasoning sys-tems. However, in several real world problems a case should capture the evolution of the observed phenomenon over time. To this end, we propose to represent temporal information at two levels: (1) at the case level, if some features describe parameters varying within a period of time (which corresponds to the case duration), and are therefore collected in the form of time series; (2) at the history level, if the evolution of the system can be reconstructed by retrieving temporally related cases. In this paper, we describe a framework for case representation and retrieval able to take into account the temporal dimension, and meant to be used in any time dependent domain. In particular, to support case retrieval, we provide an analysis of similarity-based time series retrieval techniques; to support history retrieval, we introduce possible ways to summarize the case content, together with the corresponding strategies for identifying similar instances in the knowledge base. A concrete ap-plication of our framework is represented by the system RHENE, which is briefly sketched here, and extensively described in [20].

The prevalence of seasonal influenza vaccination in pregnant women referring to tertiary hospitals of kerman, iran

Background: Influenza vaccination is the most effective strategy to prevent comorbidity and mortality of this infection in pregnant women. Objectives: The current study aimed at evaluating the influenza vaccination rate and its related factors among pregnant women. Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted on 520 pregnant women referring to antenatal clinics of tertiary hospitals affiliated to Kerman University of Medical Sciences from January to April 2019 in Kerman city, Iran. The collected data through a form distributed among the subjects were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: The influenza vaccination coverage rate was 30.0 (95 confidence interval (CI): 26.1-34.1) among the pregnant women. Age older than 30 years (AOR = 3.79; 95CI: 1.55-9.24), being employed (AOR = 2.44; 95CI: 1.01-5.88), having an underlying chronic disease (AOR = 4.39; 95CI: 1.33-14.51), receiving recommendation to undergo influenza vaccination (AOR = 65.76; 95CI: 11.04-391.48), and having good knowledge of influenza vaccine (AOR = 9.64; 95CI: 3.87-24.02) increased the likelihood of receiving influenza vaccine. Conclusions: The current study highlighted that the influenza vaccination coverage rate was suboptimal. Also, findings of the current study suggested that influenza vaccination, as an important component of antenatal care services, should be considered by health policymakers. Furthermore, educating pregnant women and healthcare providers can improve compliance with influenza vaccination. © 2020, Author(s)