In some situations, a handwriting expert may also compare the words or phrases used in the two documents. For instance, in U.S. v. Crisp, the state’s handwriting examiner concluded that the questioned document (a note confessing to a bank robbery) was consistent with a sample of the defendant’s handwriting based in part on the fact that the word “tomorrow” was misspelled in the same way on both documents. The “human factors” in the report’s title refers to a field of study that seeks to understand the factors that affect human capability and job performance. In forensic science, these include training, communication, technology and management policies, to name just a few. Are the letters and words equally spaced out, or are they bunched together? Or, is there seemingly no pattern to the spacing? 3. Size consistency

For handwriting analysis, 12 characteristics are taken into consideration by the experts. I have outlined each of them below. The 12 characteristics of handwriting This interpretation is reinforced by [insert additional piece of evidence, if using, and analyse]. . . Handwriting experts may also have experience studying and testing various inks. These skills can help the expert form opinions as to when a document was written or signed, or whether two samples of writing were created with the same ink. How Reliable Are the Methods Used by Handwriting Expert Witnesses?It is worth noting that a person may form a letter differently depending on where it appears in a word. Analysts like to find an example of each in the writing they are viewing. Give students Part One of the handout Mr Birling Model Analytical Paragraph Sentence Sort (Intermediate) to complete in pairs. For advanced-level students, use Mr Birling Model Analytical Paragraph Sentence Sort (Advanced). Please note that the advanced model includes a reference to the impact on the audience, but this has not been included on the other handouts. Handwriting experts are trained to compare a piece of questioned handwriting or a questioned signature with a set of specimen samples, with a view to giving an opinion on who may have written a piece of writing in question or signed a questioned document. Yin, F., Wang, Q.F. Zhang, X.Y. et al.: Chinese handwriting recognition competition (ICDAR)Washington D.C., USA, pp. 1464–1469 (2013) Eldridge MA, Nimmo-Smith I, Wing AM, Totty RN (1984) The variability of selected features in cursive handwriting measures. J Forensic Sci Soc 24:179–21

Sugiyama T, Kurauchi H (1986) Identification of handwriting in Chinese characters using discriminant analysis. Behaviormetrika 19:55–71 Yang, G., Lin, B.: Chinese Characters and Personality: an Exploratory Study, PhD dissertation of Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University (1964) It is more essential for the appraiser to make cross-examination on the court and to leverage its role for the opinion of the handwriting identification. Full cross-examination by the expert assistant appraiser, the parties in the trial hired by both sides, and one of the judges, for their expert opinion on technical investigation, is more conducive not only for the identification of exposed problems in the process, but also for the realization of justice of judiciary. Some people think that “Similar to handwriting identification, the expert opinion based on experience and knowledge requires substantive investigation for the specific identification process and the supporting reasons in the adoption of special needs.” Hence, the scientific expert conclusion should not be given unified treatment, and cross-examination should be considered to be particularly vital.[ 25]The field of forensic handwriting examination may have trouble attracting new blood. A report from NIST earlier this year found that the median age for handwriting examiners is 60, compared with 42 to 44 for people in similar scientific and technical occupations. That report, Forensic Handwriting Examination and Human Factors: Improving the Practice Through a Systems Approach, was published by NIST, but was written by 23 outside experts, including Will. I am one of the lead moderators on reddit.com for our subreddits focused on the subject of graphology. As part of the moderation team, I contributed and helped design the subreddit r/graphology and created r/handwriting_analysis (links below): For example, two people may form their y’s similarly, but the letters will be a different size. Two other people may have writing of the exact same size, but one of them dots their I’s to the left, and the other to the right.

Chaudhuri, A., Mandaviya, K., Badelia, P.: Optical character recognition systems. In: Optical Character Recognition Systems for Different Languages with Soft Computing, pp. 9–41. Springer, Cham (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50252-6_2 Does the writer lift the pen from the paper or is the writing continuous? Excessive pen lifts can hint at simulation — someone deliberately altering their natural handwriting or copying that of another. 5. Connecting strokes Although Mohammed started his career with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, today he is in private practice. In his current home base of northern California, he says, there are no government laboratories that still examine questioned documents. This reflects a nationwide trend — a report from the Department of Justice found that only 14% of publicly funded crime labs did their own questioned document examinations in 2014, down from 24% in 2002. Do the lines flow or are they shaky and irregular? This can indicate the speed of the writing. Prolonged writing can hint at someone copying the handwriting of another or trying to alter their own in some other way. 2. Word and letter spacing When choosing an expert – ask them about their training, whether they work to accredited procedures, if their work is peer reviewed and whether they will attend Court if necessary.

To increase recruitment, the report recommends replacing the unpaid apprenticeships that have been the traditional route of entry into the field with grants and fellowships. The report also recommends cross-training with other forensic disciplines that involve pattern matching, such as fingerprint examination. Is this evidence relevant to the sociohistorical context of the play, either when the play was set (1912) or when the play was written and first performed (1945)? If so, how?