ERIC Number: EJ1444368
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Aug
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: EISSN-1938-1328
Hierarchical Activities Designed for High-Resolution Visualization and Quantitative Analysis of Fingerprint Sweat Pores
Hongyu Chen; Lu Tian; Meiqin Zhang
Journal of Chemical Education, v100 n8 p3017-3024 2023
Level 3 characteristics are increasingly important for fingerprint identification, particularly when the fingerprints are problematic and lack level 2 details. In practice, no reliable visualization methods for level 3 features are transferred into a course for the general public, forensic students, or investigators. Our group has reported the membrane/water technique and wet-membrane method as simple, instantaneous, high-resolution, and reproducible methods for visualizing level 3 features of latent fingerprints (LFPs). Herein, we designed a simple-to-operate laboratory course on sweat pore visualization and analysis via the two methods mentioned. Three modules are included, and students participate in different modular combinations according to their interests and specialties. Module 1, consisting of a 15 min lecture on fingerprint theory followed by a brief demonstration of visualization procedures, is designed for broad audiences ranging from primary school to college laboratories. In module 2, students explored the deposition force impact on level 3 features (for students majoring in forensic science). Module 3 customized for forensic upper-division undergraduates and postgraduates invites them to conduct Gaussian fitting of the pore area and adjacent pore distance. After discussion, students form their own opinions on the identifiable strengths of the above parameters in fingerprint matching. In a way, this experiment can be evolved into the elective course and specialized curriculum, where elective course containing module 1 can stimulate public interest in chemistry and specialized curriculum including modules 1-2 (or modules 1-3) may guide students to extract level 3 features and understand the role of level 3 features at a quantitative level.
Descriptors: College Students, Identification, Individual Characteristics, Crime, Chemistry, Science Instruction, Laboratory Equipment, Hands on Science, Visualization, Elementary Secondary Education, Curriculum Development, Lay People, Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Science Activities
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A