Thesis (M.S.)--Oklahoma State University, 2009. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Eng.)--University of Louisville, 2006. / Title and description from thesis home page (viewed Jan. 30, 2007). Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science. Vita. "August 2006." Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-82).

Thesis (M.S.)--Oklahoma State University, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-66).

Thesis (M. S.)--Oklahoma State University, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

A death scene investigation (DSI) forms an integral part of the inquiry into death, particularly for sudden unexpected death of infants (SUDI). Global guidelines exist for DSI, however, it is unclear how many countries adhere to them, and to what extent they are followed. Therefore, a systematic literature review was undertaken to assess the scope of SUDI DSI performed internationally. It was found that national protocols have been established in some countries, and have shown value in guiding medico-legal examinations. Further, South Africa did not routinely perform DSI for SUDI cases, nor was there a protocol. This was largely attributed to the burden of SUDI cases as well as the lack of resources. Therefore, this study aimed to suggest realistic and feasible ways to improve DSI for local SUDI cases. This research study consisted of three phases: 1) A twoyear review of medico-legal case files from SUDI cases investigated at Salt River Mortuary; 2) The prospective observation of DSI for ten SUDI cases, using a semi-structured checklist; and 3) he distribution and analysis of a survey regarding SUDI DSI to all registered, qualified forensic pathologists in South Africa. The results showed that the SUDI death scenes were assessed in 59.2% of cases at Salt River Mortuary, with inconsistent levels of documentation or photography. Death scenes were never investigated in cases where the infant was pronounced dead on arrival at a medical facility. In both scene observations (n=10) and retrospective analysis (n=454) only one case incorporated a re-enactment, but the majority of infants were moved prior to DSI. The findings support the need for a standardised approach to DSI, coupled with specialised training for staff. Based on the available resources, this should focus on the establishment of guidelines pertaining to photography, handling medicine and scene reconstruction, as well as accurate use of relevant documentation.

Violent crimes involving bloodshed may result in bloodstains spattering on the surrounding surfaces. Accurate analysis of bloodstains at the scene can provide investigators with insights into the series of events that occurred during the execution of a violent crime. At a crime scene, blowflies feed on bloodstains and deposit artefacts that may cause confusion during crime scene reconstruction. Experimental cages of two possible crime scene surfaces (paper to simulate wallpaper and linoleum) were developed such that fly artefacts can be characterized and differentiated from legitimate bloodstains. Pooled bloodstains were created within the experimental cages and blowflies were allowed access to the cages. A total of 10739 and 740 artefacts deposited on paper surfaces and linoleum walls respectively were examined. Clear differences between fly artefacts and legitimate bloodstains were noted and unique characteristics of fly artefacts resembling true blood spatters with a possibility of confounding crime scene reconstruction were distinguished.

Where the investigation into computer-based crime occurs between two or more countries, there is a need for the two teams to understand the legal and cultural differences between them. Whilst the legal differences are written, interpreted and can be made explicit, there is less knowledge on the cultural differences between two countries, working in an emerging scientific field. The outcomes of this research directly compare the Australian and Taiwanese cultures as they apply to the field of computer forensics. As such, the most tangible outcome is a framework for Australian and Taiwanese law enforcement, forensic science community, and the court. / The suggestions for cross-cultural, cross-border and collaborative digital forensic investigations can be provided based on the discoveries of this research. This thesis essentially helps the mutual understanding between Australian and Taiwanese computer forensic investigators. The understanding is able to improve the chances of success of future cooperation between Australia and Taiwan. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2008.

Digital forensics investigations become more time consuming as the amount of data to be investigated grows. Secular growth trends between hard drive and memory capacity just exacerbate the problem. Bloom filters are space-efficient, probabilistic data structures that can represent data sets with quantifiable false positive rates that have the potential to alleviate the problem by reducing space requirements. We provide a framework using Bloom filters to allow fine-grained content identification to detect similarity, instead of equality. We also provide a method to compare filters directly and a statistical means of interpreting the results. We developed a tool--md5bloom--that uses Bloom filters for standard queries and direct comparisons. We provide a performance comparison with a commonly used tool, md5deep, and achieved a 50% performance gain that only increases with larger hash sets. We compared filters generated from different versions of KNOPPIX and detected similarities and relationships between the versions.

Mestrado em Ciências Forenses / Master Degree Course in Forensic Sciences

Mestrado em Ciências Forenses / Master Degree Course in Forensic Sciences