Thesis (doctoral)--Friedrich-Wilhelm-Universität zu Breslau.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Duquesne University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p.116-119) and index.

Thesis (MSocSc(LegSt&CrimJus)) - University of Queensland, 2006. / Includes bibliography.

In this paper, I will discuss the production of my thesis film, Lost In The Fire. The main subjects of this paper are Writing, Directing, Production Design, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, and Technology. I will also be talking about the ways the Graduate Film program at UNO prepared me to accomplish this project. In addition, I will share my process and reflect on the failures and successes of making this film.

Systems of classifications are socially created and historically contingent. New classifications lead to the creation of new categories, new objects and new kinds of people. Over the last thirty years, some of the most successful categories have emerged from the study of seriality. This thesis examines the emergence of three categories of seriality, including serial murder, serial monogamy and serial arson through a genealogical analysis. This thesis argues that seriality is a complex category that involves a host of important attributes, traits, characteristics, social, legal and medical categories, institutions, expertise and knowledge. Combined, these factors shape our understandings and highlight the complexity of seriality by considering important aspects that are too often taken for granted. The focus on three diverse groups of seriality highlights the interdisciplinary nature of seriality and its growing dominance among both public and private discourse.

No description available.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--West Virginia University, 2005 / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 184 p. Includes abstract.

It is not uncommon for an individual to commit arson as a method of concealing a crime, whether the goal be to destroy a body, DNA evidence, or any other information that may link the suspect to the scene. Fortunately, for investigators, setting a fire to the crime scene does not always destroy all evidence. Some pieces of evidence are more resilient than others. For example, evidence such as ignitable liquids and other accelerants can often be detected after the fire. In the event that an item of evidence like clothing is not completely incinerated, the presence of biological fluids may also be detected through presumptive testing and eventually lead to the identification of an individual through DNA analysis. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not DNA analysis can be performed effectively after heated passive headspace concentration, without causing irreparable degradation to DNA evidence. Heated passive headspace concentration is a common procedure for extracting ignitable liquids from a substrate to identify and confirm the presence of that substance. This process requires long incubations at fairly high temperatures within a tightly sealed vessel to prevent evaporation. If practitioners can delay DNA analysis steps, move straight into heated passive headspace concentration, and lower the chances of losing a portion of the ignitable liquid to evaporation, it may assist in arson investigations. This study explores DNA quantity and quality in saliva and semen stains after incubation times and temperatures based on the recommended upper and lower temperature and timeframe limits of ASTM Guidelines E1412-19 and E1388-17 entitled “Standard Practice for Separation of Ignitable Liquid Residues from Fire Debris Samples by Passive Headspace Concentration with Activated Charcoal” and “Standard Practice for Static Headspace Sampling of Vapors from Fire Debris Samples,” respectively. Possible DNA analysis inhibitors such as gasoline, open flame, and burnt substrate were also explored. It was determined that while open flame in direct contact with a biological stain caused significant damage in all saliva stains and some semen stains, the presence of gasoline and burnt substrate did not appear to inhibit DNA analysis. Additionally, heated passive headspace concentration conditions did not appear to cause significant degradation or inhibition that would result in an incomplete genetic profile. Further experimentation is necessary given the presence of extraneous factors. For example, the initial amount of DNA deposited onto substrates was unknown. However, it is reasonable to state that performing heated passive headspace concentration before DNA analysis may be a feasible option if desired in a forensic laboratory.

The production of methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories presents a particular hazard due to the environmental hazards it poses. In addition to the dangers associated with using caustic and reactive solvents, these clandestine laboratories also have to potential to cause a fire or explosion. This danger has caused some states to redefine arson to include fires caused by the illicit manufacture of drugs. Arson investigation can be challenging due to the destructive nature of the crime. Much of the evidence that existed prior the fire can be consumed and evidence that does survive can be difficult to identify in the rubble. Despite these difficulties, methods have been developed to determine the types of accelerants present in addition to identifying illicit substances such as methamphetamine and the precursor drug pseudoephedrine. This study was designed to determine if solid phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry could be used to analyze burned samples of wood to which pseudoephedrine had been applied. In addition, an experiment was designed to determine what concentration of pseudoephedrine must be present before a fire in a controlled laboratory setting, for a detectable amount to remain. Samples were created by adding pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, either in powder form or dissolved in methanol, to blocks of Douglas Fir and exposing the surface to a flame for two minutes. Additional samples were created by adding trace amounts, i.e. microliter quantities, of pseudoephedrine standard to blocks of wood before placing them in a fire for ten minutes. A thermal degradation product of pseudoephedrine was detected in samples containing more than 15 mg of the drug. To verify that the detected product was a result of thermal degradation, 10 mg of pseudoephedrine were heated at 200 °C for one hour. The product of the thermal degradation study and the product detected following two minutes of exposure to a flame had the same retention time and mass spectrum. Therefore, it was concluded that the detected thermal degradation product may be used to indicate the presence of pseudoephedrine in a fire.

Fire models are routinely used to evaluate life safety aspects of building design projects and are being used more often in fire and arson investigations as well as reconstructions of firefighter line-of-duty deaths and injuries. A fire within a compartment effectively leaves behind a record of fire activity and history (i.e., fire signatures). Fire and arson investigators can utilize these fire signatures in the determination of cause and origin during fire reconstruction exercises. Researchers conducting fire experiments can utilize this record of fire activity to better understand the underlying physics. In all of these applications, the fire heat release rate (HRR), location of a fire, and smoke production are important parameters that govern the evolution of thermal conditions within a fire compartment. These input parameters can be a large source of uncertainty in fire models, especially in scenarios in which experimental data or detailed information on fire behavior are not available. To better understand fire behavior indicators related to soot, the deposition of soot onto surfaces was considered. Improvements to a soot deposition submodel were implemented in a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) fire model. To better understand fire behavior indicators related to fire size, an inverse HRR methodology was developed that calculates a transient HRR in a compartment based on measured temperatures resulting from a fire source. To address issues related to the uncertainty of input parameters, an inversion framework was developed that has applications towards fire scene reconstructions. Rather than using point estimates of input parameters, a statistical inversion framework based on the Bayesian inference approach was used to determine probability distributions of input parameters. These probability distributions contain uncertainty information about the input parameters and can be propagated through fire models to obtain uncertainty information about predicted quantities of interest. The Bayesian inference approach was applied to various fire problems and coupled with zone and CFD fire models to extend the physical capability and accuracy of the inversion framework. Example applications include the estimation of both steady-state and transient fire sizes in a compartment, material properties related to pyrolysis, and the location of a fire in a compartment. / text