Differences in Handwritings of Schizophrenia Patients and Examination of the Change after Treatment

The aim of this study was to analyze the differences between the handwritings of schizophrenia patients and healthy subjects in addition to the changes that occurred in schizophrenia patients' handwriting in response to the treatment. The test subjects were 29 schizophrenia patients and 29 healthy individuals with the same age, gender, and dominant hand. The changes in the handwritings were examined according to 14 different parameters. On the day of admittance, the percentage of extra letters was 16.7%, and after 7–10 days of hospitalization, it rose to 33.3%. The percentage of skipped words decreased from 29.2% to 16.7% after 7–10 days of hospitalization, and to 10% after 3 weeks. The letters written by schizophrenia patients are significantly larger in height and width compared to the control group. The schizophrenia patients showed a higher incidence of crossed-out letters, adding extra words, missing punctuation as well as missing words.     

On the discriminability of the handwriting of twins

As handwriting is influenced by physiology, training, and other behavioral factors, a study of the handwriting of twins can shed light on the individuality of handwriting. This paper describes the methodology and results of such a study where handwriting samples of twins were compared by an automatic handwriting verification system. The results complement that of a previous study where a diverse population was used. The present study involves samples of 206 pairs of twins, where each sample consisted of a page of handwriting. The verification task was to determine whether two half-page documents (where the original samples were divided into upper and lower halves) were written by the same individual. For twins there were 1236 verification cases -- including 824 tests where the textual content of writing was different, and 412 tests where it was the same. An additional set of 1648 test cases were obtained from handwriting samples of nontwins (general population). To make the handwriting comparison, the system computed macro features (overall pictorial attributes), micro features (characteristics of individual letters), and style features (characteristics of whole-word shapes and letter pairs). Four testing scenarios were evaluated: twins and nontwins writing the same text and writing different texts. Results of the verification tests show that the handwriting of twins is less discriminable than that of nontwins: an overall error rate of 12.91% for twins and 3.7% for nontwins. Error rates with identical twins were higher than with fraternal twins. Error rates in all cases can be arbitrarily reduced by rejecting (not making a decision on) borderline cases. A level of confidence in the results obtained is given by the fact that system error rates are comparable to that of humans (lower than that of lay persons and higher than that of questioned document examiners [QDEs]).     

The probative character of Forensic Handwriting Examiners’ identification and elimination opinions on questioned signatures

This 5-year study investigated the character of Forensic Handwriting Examiners’ (FHEs) authorship opinions on questioned signatures through the medium of blind validation trials. Twenty-nine thousand eight hundred and eleven authorship opinions were expressed by FHEs on trial kits comprising randomized questioned genuine signatures (written by the specimen writer), disguised signatures (written by the specimen writer) and simulated signatures (not written by the specimen writer). Results showed that, as a group, FHEs were significantly more confident at identifying writers’ genuine signatures than identifying writers’ disguised signatures or eliminating specimen writers from having authored simulated signatures. It is proposed that the difference in FHE confidence arises from the difficulty they have in deciding which alternative authorship explanation accounts for perceived combinations of similar and dissimilar features between specimen and questioned signatures.     

Simulation Detection in Handwritten Documents by Forensic Document Examiners

This study documents the results of a controlled experiment designed to quantify the abilities of forensic document examiners (FDEs) and laypersons to detect simulations in handwritten documents. Nineteen professional FDEs and 26 laypersons (typical of a jury pool) were asked to inspect test packages that contained six (6) known handwritten documents written by the same person and two (2) questioned handwritten documents. Each questioned document was either written by the person who wrote the known documents, or written by a different person who tried to simulate the writing of the person who wrote the known document. The error rates of the FDEs were smaller than those of the laypersons when detecting simulations in the questioned documents. Among other findings, the FDEs never labeled a questioned document that was written by the same person who wrote the known documents as “simulation.” There was a significant statistical difference between the responses of the FDEs and layperson for documents without simulations.     

The probative character of Forensic Handwriting Examiners' identification and elimination opinions on questioned signatures

This 5-year study investigated the character of Forensic Handwriting Examiners' (FHEs) authorship opinions on questioned signatures through the medium of blind validation trials. Twenty-nine thousand eight hundred and eleven authorship opinions were expressed by FHEs on trial kits comprising randomized questioned genuine signatures (written by the specimen writer), disguised signatures (written by the specimen writer) and simulated signatures (not written by the specimen writer). Results showed that, as a group, FHEs were significantly more confident at identifying writers' genuine signatures than identifying writers' disguised signatures or eliminating specimen writers from having authored simulated signatures. It is proposed that the difference in FHE confidence arises from the difficulty they have in deciding which alternative authorship explanation accounts for perceived combinations of similar and dissimilar features between specimen and questioned signatures.     

A Set of Handwriting Features for Use in Automated Writer Identification,

A writer's biometric identity can be characterized through the distribution of physical feature measurements (“writer's profile”); a graph‐based system that facilitates the quantification of these features is described. To accomplish this quantification, handwriting is segmented into basic graphical forms (“graphemes”), which are “skeletonized” to yield the graphical topology of the handwritten segment. The graph‐based matching algorithm compares the graphemes first by their graphical topology and then by their geometric features. Graphs derived from known writers can be compared against graphs extracted from unknown writings. The process is computationally intensive and relies heavily upon statistical pattern recognition algorithms. This article focuses on the quantification of these physical features and the construction of the associated pattern recognition methods for using the features to discriminate among writers. The graph‐based system described in this article has been implemented in a highly accurate and approximately language‐independent biometric recognition system of writers of cursive documents.     

Prepared Disappearing Ink and Deciphering of Documents

Disappearing inks can be used for forgeries in many fields. In this study, thymolphthalein indicator solution was prepared as a disappearing ink. A total of 54 different solutions containing thymolphthalein were prepared at six different concentrations and nine different pH values. Among the prepared solutions, 0.16 g/50 mL and 0.32 g/65 mL thymolphthalein at pH 14 were the optimum solutions that were not distinguishable from regular ink when applied to promissory note. Fountain pens were filled with the abovementioned ink solutions and applied to promissory notes for experimental purposes. After 40 h, ink residues were not visible on promissory notes written with the ink with the optimum pH (pH = 14) value. To decipher the entries that disappeared, an instrumental method (Video Spectral Comparator‐8000) and a chemical method (using NH₃ vapor) were used, succeeded at 0.32 g/65 mL, but failed at 0.16 g/50 mL thymolphthalein. Therefore, NH₃ had to be sprayed for 0.16 g/50 mL with negligible harm.     

Forensic Document Examiners’ Skill in Distinguishing Between Natural and Disguised Handwriting Behaviors

Abstract: Disguised handwriting is problematic for forensic document examiners (FDEs) and attracts higher misleading and inconclusive rates on authorship opinions than does genuine writing (Found B, Rogers D, International Graphonomics Society, 2005). There are currently no published empirical data on FDEs’ expertise in distinguishing between natural and disguised writing behavior. This paper reports on the skill of FDEs for determining the writing process of 140 pairs of natural and disguised writings and compares their results with those of a control group of laypeople. A significant difference was found between the examiner and lay group. FDEs’ expertise is characterized by their conservatism, where FDEs express a higher proportion of inconclusive opinions (23.1% for FDEs compared to 8.4% for the control group). This leads to the FDEs expressing a smaller percentage of misleading responses when calling writings as either naturally written or disguised (4.3% for FDEs compared with 12.2% for the control group).     

How Much Can a Forensic Laboratory Do to Discriminate Questioned Ink Entries?

Questioned document examiners are frequently required to determine whether the questioned ink entries on a document are written with the same ink, either for forged document identification or relative ink dating. How many methods are sufficient to discriminate potentially different inks? In this paper, 18 blue ballpoint inks were first nondestructively examined with a video spectral comparator. The ink entries were subsequently extracted with organic solvents for analysis of the volatile solvents and dyes by GC/MS, TLC, and LC‐MS/MS. The 18 ink samples were divided into 10, 9, 12, and 14 categories by these four methods, respectively. With the combined results, there were only two inks that remained indistinguishable, but they were further differentiated by microscopy. Therefore, to achieve effective discrimination of ballpoint ink entries, the authors suggest that a complete examination should include an analysis of their optical features, volatile solvents, and dyes as well as the ink quality.     

The Validity of Ear Prediction Guidelines Used in Facial Approximation*,†,‡

Abstract: This study examined eight previously published ear prediction methods by Welcker, Gerasimov, Fedosyutkin and Nainys, and Broadbent and Mathews. Computed tomography scans of 78 living adults (n₁) did not support any of these previously published recommendations. Free earlobes were found to accompany protruding supramastoid crests (Pearson’s χ² < 0.05); and ear length [l] and width [w] differed by sex (p < 0.05), correlated with age (r = 0.38[l]; 0.32[w]), and correlated with facial height (r = 0.37[l]; 0.30[w]). New regression equations (for ear length and width) were generated using these variables in several samples and, where possible, cross‐validated using independent data (n₁ = 78, n₂ = 2190, n₃ = 1328, n₄ = 1010, and n₅ = 47). As a result of these analyses, four valid and tested methods for ear prediction were identified, but large degrees of error continue to make accurate prediction of the ear, from the skull, problematic.     

Letters of love and loss in a time of revolution

While significant attention has been paid to migrant letters, usually as part of a correspondence over time, the single letter has received little attention as it has been suggested that it cannot reveal a depth of psychological insight. However, at times of crisis such as the upheaval of revolution, a single letter may provide insight into the confluence of revolution and family life. Three letters written by different members of one family present firstly, the chaos of family where the whereabouts of family members remain unknown and use coded references to family and friends as the ending of the 1956 revolution created an exodus from Hungary. The letters, written by family remaining in Hungary to a refugee mother and her young daughter, address loneliness and loss across the generations and provide evidence of the irrevocable loss of family ties and friends at the time, as an amnesty for those who left only came into effect in 1963. The letters present linguistic issues in relation to translation, ethics and the position of researcher/recipient with reference to the analysis of the letters which presents personal knowledge of their writers in the form of biographical information.     

The Influence of Lying Body Position on Handwriting

Although the problem of handwriting variability due to lying body position has practical significance, particularly for last will cases, it has not been sufficiently studied. The presented experiment aimed to recognize how such posture may influence handwriting features. Samples of text and signatures were collected from 50 healthy individuals, aged 23–58, produced in three postures: typical sitting position (SP) and two different lying positions (LP1 & LP2). Using the SP sample of each individual as a specimen, eleven characteristics in LP1 and LP2 samples were evaluated as similar or different. Nine other features were measured with a specialized software, and their conformity was tested with Student's t‐test. Although none of the characteristics differed significantly in most cases, variation occurred in pen pressure, margins, baselines, and heights of letters. Additionally, a series of blind tests revealed that lying position of the individuals did not hinder the possibility to identify their writings.     

The influence of gender on ability to simulate handwritten signatures: a study of Arabic writers

This study investigates whether a writer's gender can be determined from an inspection of simulated signatures written in the Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad. It is generally believed that the penmanship of female writers is superior to male writers. There is also reason to expect that superiority in writing skill might contribute to success in simulating the signatures of other writers. Simulated signatures produced by a large population of male (414) and female (312) Arabic writers were graded, and the results were statistically analyzed. Women were found to have a marginal advantage simulating all elements of the signatures, but there was no statistically significant difference between the genders on any of the elements examined.     

Analysis of the Effects and Relationship of Perceived Handwritten Signature's Size,Graphical Complexity,and Legibility with Dynamic Parameters for Forged and Genuine Samples

This article presents an analysis of handwritten signature dynamics belonging to two authentication groups, namely genuine and forged signature samples. Genuine signatures are initially classified based on their relative size, graphical complexity, and legibility as perceived by human examiners. A pool of dynamic features is then extracted for each signature sample in the two groups. A two‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) is carried out to investigate the effects and the relationship between the perceived classifications and the authentication groups. Homogeneity of variance was ensured through Bartlett's test prior to ANOVA testing. The results demonstrated that among all the investigated dynamic features, pen pressure is the most distinctive which is significantly different for the two authentication groups as well as for the different perceived classifications. In addition, all the relationships investigated, namely authenticity group versus size, graphical complexity, and legibility, were found to be positive for pen pressure.     

The dynamic character of disguise behavior for text-based, mixed, and stylized signatures

The aims of this study were to determine if dynamic parameters (duration, size, velocity, jerk, and pen pressure) differed for signing style (text-based, stylized, and mixed) and if signing style influences handwriting dynamics equally across three signature conditions (genuine, disguised, and auto-simulation). Ninety writers provided 10 genuine signatures, five disguised signatures, and five auto-simulated signatures. All 1800 signatures were collected using a digitizing tablet resulting in a database of each signature's dynamic characteristics. With genuine signatures, there were significant differences between styles for size, velocity, and pen pressure, and there were significant differences between genuine signatures and at least one of the un-natural signature conditions for all parameters. For velocity and size, these changes with condition were dependent on style. Changes with condition for the other parameters were similar for the three styles. This study shows that there are differences among natural signature styles and disguise behaviors that may be relevant in forensic signature examinations.     

An examination of handwritten signatures forged using photosensitive signature stamp

Signature examination is the most common examination performed by any document examiner. Determination of the authenticity of a handwritten signature on a questioned document is an important task for forensic document examiners in the forensic science field. As a result of continuous developments in technology, a signature stamp can now be created using a photosensitive seal to enable the reproduction of a handwritten signature. These stamps are commonly used in China and several other countries. In this study, 10 types of black photosensitive stamp-pad ink, 10 brands of fountain pen ink, 15 types of black gel ink and six types of black erasable gel ink found on the Chinese domestic market were collected and 10 photosensitive signature stamps were created using the signatures of 10 people. Microscopic analysis, infrared (IR) and fluorescence analyses and microspectrophotometry (MSP) techniques were used to examine the resulting photosensitive signature stamp impressions when applied to printing papers, writing papers and invoice papers. By comparing the printing and spectral characteristics of the photosensitive signature stamp impressions with those of the signatures executed using the fountain pens, gel pens and erasable gel pens, it was possible to determine whether each signature was written or stamped using a photosensitive signature stamp. To validate these results, a 96.7% absolute accuracy and a 99.3% detection rate were achieved over a total of 150 blind tests conducted by five forensic document examiners, thus demonstrating that a combination of the four analysis methods used in this work can provide a more scientific approach and improve the accuracy and the detection rate of the examination process.

KEY POINTS

• A signature stamp is a photosensitive seal made in the style of a handwritten signature.
• Although microscopic analysis can usually provide better examination results, a comprehensive examination method that includes microscopic analysis and ink composition analysis is required to improve the accuracy and the detection rate of the examination process.
• This study collected and tested photosensitive stamp-pad inks, fountain pen inks, gel inks and erasable inks.
• Infrared and fluorescence analyses and microspectrophotometry were able to distinguish the photosensitive ink from both erasable ink and fountain pen ink.

Supplemental data for this article are available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2021.1898755.     

Significance of sequence of strokes in Chinese handwriting examination

This paper reports a statistical study on the sequence of strokes of 61 commonly encountered Chinese radicals and characters written by 372 invited subjects. The distribution of different writing sequence of these Chinese radicals and characters was examined. Comparison of the sequence of strokes executed by the subjects with the standard rule of writing these Chinese radicals and characters revealed that around 60% of the subjects wrote in the correct sequence. Pair comparison of sequences of strokes in Chinese handwriting among the 372 subjects was also performed. The results demonstrated that no two individuals wrote all the 61 radicals and characters with the same sequence of strokes. The findings indicate that, despite some basic rules governing the writing sequence of Chinese characters, writers tend to develop their own habits. The findings also support the hypothesis that the handwriting of experienced writers is individual.     

传真文件检验技术及标准探讨

通过对传真机工作原理和性能的分析,判断传真文件痕迹特征的形成方式和过程,对传真文件检验的方法和技术进行系统研究,归纳出传真文件检验的要点,并提出了制定传真文件检验标准的必要性和可行性。     

Initials: A question of identity

It has been a generally accepted practice among document examiners to request known handwriting standards which duplicate the questioned material under examination.When initials are questioned it is not always possible to have initials duplicated and known signatures are sometimes substituted.A research study was conducted using a sample of 65 writers to determine if the letters in a group of initials were written in the same manner as the capital letters in a signature. The study showed that 69% of the writers in the sample made one or more changes or additions to their initials which were not present when they wrote their signatures.     

Dating of Iron Gall Ink Using the Dissolution‐Diffusion Method

In many criminal and civil cases, some questioned documents are written with iron gall ink. Determining the date when an iron gall ink entry was written can be important to assess the authenticity of a document. A dissolution‐diffusion method was successfully employed to draw aging curves of iron gall ink entries stored in controlled conditions over 40 months. Calibration curves were created to indicate the relationship between the average dissolution‐diffusion rate of ink components and the age of ink entries stored under natural aging conditions. As preliminary findings of this study, the mixed solution of dimethyl formamide (DMF) and anhydrous ethanol was suitable to dissolve the dye of iron gall ink strokes made at different time. It was also determined that brands of iron gall inks, types of paper, and thickness of iron gall ink strokes had varying impacts on estimating the dates of iron gall ink strokes.