Mairead Cain
Mr. Ippolito
A/B Odd
15 November 2017
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). "Automated fingerprint analysis is one step closer to reality: Scientists have developed an algorithm that automates a key step in forensic fingerprint analysis, which may make the process more reliable and efficient.." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 August 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170814120933.htm>.
For my current event article, I decided to read and analyze the article “Automated Fingerprint Analysis is One Step Closer to Reality,” from the online news source Science Daily.
The article discusses the scientific developments of researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Michigan State University. These scientists are in the process of developing an “algorithm that automates a key step in the fingerprint analysis process,” make the identification process of fingerprints much more consistent and subsequently much more efficient. The algorithm was imputed into a computer system by the researchers. Then, the system was trained to be able to identify different types of fingerprints. From strenuous testing, the researchers involved in the project concluded that “the scoring algorithm performed slightly better than the average of the human examiners involved in the study.” This result may sound substandard, but in all reality it is a breakthrough for the process of fingerprint identification. Since the process of fingerprint identification has been accused of erroneous results in the past, any better than average result is a good result. Researchers behind the project credit their success to a large excess of usable fingerprints, given by the local Michigan police station. Considering the fact that the main part of the project was focused towards the training of the computer system with the algorithm, the team’s access to a large supply of fingerprints gave the researchers more opportunities to conduct even more trials. However, Elham Tabassi, a computer engineer who worked on the project extensively, believed that they should be testing even more fingerprints to make sure the system is definitely accurate. "We've run our algorithm against a database of 250,000 prints, but we need to run it against millions. An algorithm like this has to be extremely reliable, because lives and liberty are at stake."
Considering the fact that this article concerns the use of an algorithm that would make fingerprint identification easier and more reliable, it is evident that it plays an extremely important role in the future of forensic science. If the algorithm system is perfected and dispersed among law enforcement institutions across the world, then the processes of fingerprint identification and analyzation will be much easier and more effective. This can lead to quicker arrests and more trustworthy evidence to be offered during court trials. This would surely lead to a safer world as arrests would be much more definite and conclusive. Despite this, it is evident that the system still has a long way to go before it will be properly introduced into the world of forensic investigation.
Overall, I believe that the article “Automated Fingerprint Analysis is One Step Closer to Reality,” from the online news source Science Daily was extremely well written and equally informative. The authors were able to describe the complicated and advanced system developed while relating back to it’s uses and how it could deeply change the world of forensic science. The authors go into amazing detail surrounding the exact functions and why the system needs further development before it will be properly introduced into the world of forensic science. In an effort to improve the article, the authors should have supplied the reader with more information surrounding the development of the algorithm. It would be interesting to know when exactly the researchers estimate the system will be introduced after further testing and trials. The authors could have also further improved the article by describing the ideas behind the creation of the algorithm and how, exactly, it came to be.
6 comments:
Lucy Rizzo
November 15, 2017
Forensics
Current Event #9
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). "Automated fingerprint analysis is one step closer to reality: Scientists have developed an algorithm that automates a key step in forensic fingerprint analysis, which may make the process more reliable and efficient.." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 August 2017. .
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170814120933.htm
I read Mairead’s summary on the article “Automated fingerprint analysis is one step closer to reality: Scientists have developed an algorithm that automates a key step in forensic fingerprint analysis, which may make the process more reliable and efficient.” Mairade did a really good job summarizing the article, including important facts about the new testing method, and she also further developed these thoughts to include her own opinions on them. Her inclusion of direct quotes brought life to her summary and further enhanced the points she was making and wanted us, the readers, to take notice of. Mairead's inclusion of her own opinions on the article brought the overall meaning of the article back down to a level where many readers could easily understand. Her use of diction created a compelling argument for why the technology was an important advancement and coerced the readers to agree with her.
If Mairade was to improve her summary she could have included examples of how the technology could possibly be used in the future, or if there were current investigations where these methods were being tested. I also think it would have been interesting to have read the other side of the argument where some may not see this new discovery as an advancement, as well as Mairead's opinion on this.
Overall I think Mairade did a really good job summarizing her article. She created a compelling arguments from what she read, and has intrigued me to further research these finding and forumalte my own thoughts.
Hayley Berry
Mr. Ippilito
November 15, 2017
Current Event 6
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). "Automated fingerprint analysis is one step closer to reality: Scientists have developed an algorithm that automates a key step in forensic fingerprint analysis, which may make the process more reliable and efficient.." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 August 2017. .
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170814120933.htm
While reading the well-written review that Mairead created, I thought that it included all of the necessary key points that were given in the article. When she started to describe the new way of making fingerprinting more reliable, it really gave me more of an understanding why the system that is in place now is not that good. Also, I thought that the connecting to the science world was very interesting because it said that the new process would make the arresting and the evidence easier and more reliable which will really help convict the people of the crime they committed. Another great thing that was presented well in the review was the overall summary of the article. It gave a backstory to the way fingerprinting is now and how it could change if the whole world went to the new system.
Although this review was very good, there are some minor things that I would change that could help the review be better. One thing that I would add would be a detailed explanation of how the new fingerprinting method would make arrest easier. This would give us just a little more of an understanding of what happens during an arrest and how this new process would make it easier. Another thing that I think would make the article come together more is adding some quotes from the article. I think that this would help back up some statements that were made and make the overall flow of the article a little bit better.
Overall, I was very impressed with the review that Mairead put together about that article. I thought that one thing she did very well connect all three paragraphs together which made it very easy to read. The beginning was a very good connection, not only to the article but to the outside world as well.
Catherine Faville
Forensics
Current event 8
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). "Automated fingerprint analysis is one step closer to reality: Scientists have developed an algorithm that automates a key step in forensic fingerprint analysis, which may make the process more reliable and efficient.." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 August 2017. .
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170814120933.htm
I read the informative review by Mairead, on the article “Automated fingerprint analysis is one step closer to reality” from the news source Science Daily. She did a excellent job in giving detailed descriptions of what the article consisted of, she discussed new testing methods and added her own personal opinions to the facts. She also added quotes from the article to backup her claims, this also dissected the article in a way that made it much easier to understand. The article talked about how the the computer can run the algorithm to a database of 250,000 prints, this type of large database needs to be accurate due to the lives at stake. This shows how important and valuable the advancement of technology is.
However if she wanted to improve her summery by describing the benefits and the downsides of this type of technology can be in the future and now. Also if she added some cases where this new method has be used and it has worked. By adding this it would have made the summery much more interesting to read, and educational.
Mairead did a really good job in creating a well written summary of a interesting complicated article, her way of analysis simplified the article greatly. Her use of her own personal opinions really made a difference in my own opinions of the matter.
Isabella Dibbini
Mr. Ippolito
Current Event Comment
26 November 2017
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). "Automated fingerprint analysis is one step closer to reality: Scientists have developed an algorithm that automates a key step in forensic fingerprint analysis, which may make the process more reliable and efficient.." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 August 2017. .
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170814120933.htm
Mairead wrote an excellent review of the article “Automated Fingerprint Analysis is One Step Closer to Reality,” from the online news source Science Daily. Her summary was very detailed and discussed all of the main points from the article. Mairead did a great job of explaining her points, with direct quotes from her article. For example, she states "We've run our algorithm against a database of 250,000 prints, but we need to run it against millions. An algorithm like this has to be extremely reliable, because lives and liberty are at stake” and further goes on to explain the importance of this quote. Overall, Mairead’s review was very well written and incorporates many details and quotes to support her main ideas she addressed throughout her summary.
Although this review is very well written, there are a few things that can be improved. If Mairead made more connections between the article and its affects on society it would be more interesting. Also, although she incorporated few quotes from the article, she could have included more textual evidence to make her arguments more compelling.
By reading Mairead’s review on the article “Automated Fingerprint Analysis is One Step Closer to Reality,” I learned how this issue is relevant in today’s society. She goes into great detail which makes her readers want to continue reading her review. By reading this, I expanded my knowledge on forensics. Overall, her review was very well written and shows a great understanding of this article.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). "Automated fingerprint analysis is one step closer to reality: Scientists have developed an algorithm that automates a key step in forensic fingerprint analysis, which may make the process more reliable and efficient.." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 August 2017. .
Mairead’s review of the article, “Automated Fingerprint Analysis is One Step Closer to Reality,” was very well written and detailed. I thought that she did a good job in summarizing what the article was about to provide readers with a detailed explanation and background to the advancements being made in fingerprint analysis. I also thought that she did a good job of incorporating her own opinions to emphasize the importance of this new breakthrough. Mairead discussed the importance of such breakthroughs in forensic technologies very well, helping readers better understand the impact it can have on society.
Although Mairead’s article was overall well written, there were some areas which could be improved upon. I wish that she had included a comparison between the new fingerprint analysis and the previous method, in doing so, it would help in showing how much of an improvement and breakthrough the new process was. Also, I wish that Mairead had included more quotes in her review in order to provide more input from other experts to be able to provide more context.
Overall, I thought that Mairead’s review was very well written and detailed. I thought that her review was very interesting as well as informative. I found it fascinating to be able to learn more about what sort of advancements and scientific breakthroughs could be made in such fields like forensic fingerprint analysis
Donna Napolitano
Forensics, E/F Block Odd
Current Event Comment
10-27-21
Link to Original Article: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170814120933.htm
Link to Student’s Review: https://bhscsi.blogspot.com/2017/11/automated-fingerprint-analysis-is-one.html
After reading Mairead’s article about the new technology of automated fingerprints, I noted multiple sections of her writing that stood out to me. First off, I liked how Mairead established her credibility as a writer. For instance, when she wrote, “The article discusses the scientific developments of researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Michigan State University,” readers are immediately engaged as they understand that what Mairead is explaining is true and credible as every test and report has been backed with evidence from strong sources. Readers also now take the importance of this automated fingerprint test in the forensic science field more seriously. Additionally, another thing about Mairead’s article that stood out to me was the diction she had written with, making her writing increasingly intriguing and engaging. For example, she wrote “This result may sound substandard, but in all reality it is a breakthrough for the process of fingerprint identification. Since the process of fingerprint identification has been accused of erroneous results in the past, any better than average result is a good result.” The sophistication in which Mairead wrote with, automatically made readers feel as if they have experienced the impact this technology has had on the forensic science field in person. To add to that, Mairead’s diction helps outsiders understand why exactly these fingerprint tests are so monumental. Lastly, I appreciated the amount of detail the current event consisted of. Everytime Mairead stated a new idea, she would spend time thoroughly explaining the concept in depth, helping her writing become more comprehensible and understandable to readers. While the details also enriched the writing and made it more enjoyable to read.
Although Mairead’s article was very well-written, there were a few things that I believe she could have improved upon. For instance, I feel as if there were numerous words Mairead overused in her current event. The words “algorithm” and “fingerprint” are examples. I believe that those two words could have been substituted with “design” and “trace” or other synonyms like that. Essentially, Mairead’s repetitiveness took away from her article’s main idea and distracted readers as they were more focused on her diction, rather than the new technology that was being introduced. Furthermore, I also wish Mairead went back and revised her article as some parts of the writing seemed jumbled and disorganized. I believe that if she spent more time editing her article, everything would have fallen into place and would have been in a more chronological order.
All in all, after reading Mairead’s article about the new automated fingerprint technology, I was able to gain a further understanding of the forensic breakthroughs society has recently experienced. Yet there was one specific thing about Mairead’s paper that truly impressed me as a reader and as a forensic science student. Basically, I really enjoyed how Mairead chose to write about something we do not hear about everyday. She raised awareness to a specific event that people need to learn to understand and appreciate. These types of technologies often go unnoticed and are underappreciated, therefore I am glad that Charlotte wrote about this automated fingerprint system as she explained to readers a type of technology that not many people know exist, helping to inform others about situations and scientists we often do not acknowledge and/or celebrate.
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