DID I GET THAT RIGHT?!

When The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the recipient of the Nobel Peace prize, any reaction seemed inadequate an expression, of whether did I hear correctly or has the world been washed off racism completely or since when did awards as prestigious as these be awarded to someone in pure anticipation!!!!

The reactions varied, joyous feelings and those of skepticism prevailed and are still in the air, how does one begin to understand and justify this award. And as it turns out, Obama though the same as well, as he now admits that he doesn't really deserve it.

Yet the question in my mind that remains is that whether or not this was a correct decision, whether the decision to give such an award as an encouragement is correct and would the award then remain as inspiring as it is currently!? Awards such as these have been created to hail someone who has achieved something extraordinary and to commend the work of certain chosen people whose role has played a key role in changing lives. 

Obama has invariably been recognized for the unmistakable quality or being a powerful orator and a figure that represents that part of society, world over, that so far was discriminated against due to baseless notions that have developed over time. Therefore it would not be wrong to say that he has become an idol, a ray of hope for many. But can the fact that an award meant for those who have achieved something commendable, be given to someone who we hope will achieve something great, for his mere advocacy, can that be justified?!

As the question is twisted, so the solution can not be straight, in fact such questions rarely have a clear line of distinction of right or wrong. Yes it is worthwhile giving such an award for the purpose of encouragement, but what would be left of the glory of such an award. Should some other award have sufficed? That is a question I leave unanswered!!!

Mr. Obama is not completely worthy as yet, merely because the credentials fall short, not for any other reason!

Perhaps the Committee was hasty, one is sure that some one of Obama's caliber would be able to make a difference, but let us not be carried away by speeches and intent, that is'nt all the world needs! Let the efforts of Mr. Obama pay off, perhaps then he would be more worthy of the title he has been awarded...

Copyright © Kanica Soni 2008 owned by Kanica Soni. All Right Reserved

Change Should Breed Chnage

William Henry Drummond

NEW doth the sun appear,

The mountains' snows decay,

Crown'd with frail flowers forth comes the baby year.

My soul, time posts away;

And thou yet in that frost

Which flower and fruit hath lost,

As if all here immortal were, dost stay.

For shame! thy powers awake,

Look to that Heaven which never night makes black,

And there at that immortal sun's bright rays,

Deck thee with flowers which fear not rage of days!

Reading Between - The Forensic Graphology

When people learn that I have learnt the arts of graphology, the following question is on the lines as what is that or is that the same as handwriting analysis. On confirmation the enthusiastic question thrown back is “O, so you can read handwritings, so what does as extended ‘t’ mean?”



Handwriting analysis is often thought to be synonymous with the term graphology but the truth is that the 2 terms are related no doubt, but are 2 different things. Handwriting analysis deals with the psychological aspect of understanding handwriting & its uniqueness. Graphology is the science behind it. Where, in forensics we use graphology to support validity of written evidence in the court.

The psychological theory of handwriting comparison is developmental. Children learn to write by copying whatever style of writing is fashionable at the time and taught to them by teachers from textbooks. This style is known as the regular or national system, and for most of the twentieth century, it was either the Palmer system or the Zaner-Blosser system for cursive. Today, there are many systems, or no system. As the child grows, the act of writing becomes a subconscious effort and begins to pick up habitual shapes and patterns that distinguish it from all others. This is most evident with capital letters and numerals. Handwriting has individual characteristics due to it being largely unconscious behavior. The unconscious handwriting of two different individuals is never identical. Mechanical and physical factors, as well as the mental ones, make it highly unlikely that the exact same handwriting occurs in two different people.

Handwriting analysis is done on the basis of assumptions; these assumptions have some standards however vary from analyst to analyst. Hence they do not stand in the scrutiny of court. However knowing the basis of graphology as a science and its explanation of how and why no two people can have the same handwriting, its explanations are accepted in the court of law.



To elaborate the above point, one can consider the scientific basis of the uniqueness of each individual’s handwriting:

The written movement is under the direct influence of the central nervous system. The form of the written movement is modified further by flexibly assembled coordinative structures in the hand, arm, and shoulder, which follow principles of dynamical systems.

The neuro-physiological mechanisms which contribute to the written movement are related to conditions within the central nervous system and vary in accordance with them. The written strokes, therefore, reflect changes in the central nervous system such as development, influence of alcohol, and disease processes, such as Parkinson's disease

This has been proved over & over with the basis also in psychology where-in the mind set, subconscious & unconscious of a person is accepted to have a key role in the kind of handwriting the person has.
This is further the basis of handwriting analysis which is theoretical in nature. In handwriting analysis the analysts try to make assumptions of the nature of human behavior on the basis of their individual handwriting.

Simple well known concepts include that of the baseline, i.e. if the baseline is ascending the writing is in a happy mood. However this aspect is also subject to varying assumptions such as the writer can be in optimistic mood or that the writer is sets unrealistic goals. Hence as one can see these are mere assumptions and are subject to other factors such as paper used, pen used, habits etc.
Like that there are 30 interpretation systems known to exist.

In graphology however certain techniques are used to individualize handwriting. Proof of individualization qualifies it as evidence. Hence forensic document examiners use 4 main aspects for identification:

1. Form – refers to the elements that comprise the shape of the letters, proportion, slant, angles, lines, retracing, connections, and curves

2. Line Quality – refers to the results from the type of writing instrument used, and the pressure exerted, along with the flow and continuity of the script

3. Arrangement – involves the spacing, alignment, formatting, and distinctive punctuation

4. Content – this is the spelling, phrasing, punctuation, and grammar
In some cases, aspects of the handwriting will be quite unique, which gives them a lot of weight for evidential value. If there are significant dissimilarities between an exemplar and a questioned document, then it's likely that there are two different authors, unless the differences can be accounted for.

Handwriting analysis and their reports are however useful for guiding the investigating officer as such reports concluded by reputed organizations like that of the International Graphoanalysis Society (IGAS) in Canada have a high reliability.

In forensic science we utilize graphology and its branches to examine questioned documents (QD’s). A "questioned" document is any signature, handwriting, typewriting, or other mark whose source or authenticity is in dispute or doubtful. Letters, checks, driver licenses, contracts, wills, voter registrations, passports, petitions, threatening letters, suicide notes, and lottery tickets are the most common questioned documents, although marks on doors, walls, windows, or boards would also be included by definition.

QDE, or Questioned Document Examination, has been a profession at least since 1870, and frequently is found in cases of forgery, counterfeiting, mail fraud, kidnapping, con games, embezzlement, gambling, organized crime, white collar crime, art crime, theft, robbery, arson, burglary, homicide, serial murder, psychological profiling, and deviant sex crime.

Today in India we mainly have cases of threats, kidnapping ransom letter, forgeries etc. Since the act of handwriting has been conclusively been proved to be an unconscious act it's therefore important that samples, exemplars, or specimens (all synonymous terms for documents of known origin) be obtained under conditions as similar as possible to the conditions present at the time the disputed, doubtful, or original (all synonymous terms for questioned documents) was created. These conditions are an essential part of what are called standards of comparison:

• Care must be taken to avoid samples which are deliberately written in a crude, unnatural way, or so well thought out as to disguise the writer's natural style

• A sufficient number of samples must be taken, several pages if necessary, over and over again, to establish multiple (more than one) comparisons of single characteristics or combinations of common and uncommon characteristics

• Samples should be taken within two or three years of the disputed writing in order to rule out changes in style that may have occurred over time or with age

• The sample should include some dictated text, words, or phrases contained in the original document (but under no circumstances should the writer be shown the questioned document)

• Pen and paper, as well as writing position, should consist of the same conditions that existed at the time the questioned document was written (if these facts are known)

• The subject ought not to be shown the questioned document

• The subject is not to be told how to spell certain words or use certain punctuation

• The subject should use materials similar to those of the document

• The dictated text should match some parts of the document

• The dictation should be repeated at least three times

• The subject should be asked to sign the text

• Make sure an objective witness observes the procedure

Often in the case of forgery of signatures the problem occurs when a study conducted concluded that people have in general 3 signatures: (1) a formal one, used on important documents; (2) a routine one, used on regular correspondence; and (3) an informal one, used for jotting quick notes.

Another problem that often occurs is the fact that influence of any drug as well alters mood states & therefore has a direct effect on the handwriting of the person. This makes identification troublesome as some aspects might remain constant but the handwriting overall would change.

Problems can also occur when the writing has been deliberately disguised, such as in threatening or taunting letters. However, the form may change, but the type of words used and the sources that have influenced phrasing remain the same.

Hence there are no clear-cut rules or formulas to follow, so expertise develops from years of exposure. Today there are many automated techniques for making an analysis, such as FISH, or the Forensic Information System for Handwriting, but there are cases in which careful and experienced interpretation is necessary.

The admissibility of handwriting as evidence is accepted only to individualize handwriting in the court of law. A graphologist in no case can make an interpretation on the personality or behavior of the writer. The personality analysis of a person is not admissible in court. Hence as said before, the personality analysis of a suspect can aid investigations but do not stand under the scrutiny of court.

Copyright © Kanica Soni 2008 owned by Kanica Soni. All Right Reserved

The Case of Kujau, who forged the handwriting of Hitler

Below is a case that exemplifies the use of science and Graphology to solve a Crime involving forgery by a crook, who earned big bucks thanks to his talent of copying handwriting, however with the use of graphology and science the case was solved.

A German publishing company, Gruner and Jahr, was persuaded in the early 1980s that a collection of 60 hand-written notebooks comprised the diaries of Adolph Hitler, and they paid a sum of $2.3 million for the lot. They also bought a heretofore undiscovered third volume of his two-volume book, Mein Kampf. The most shocking revelation found in all of this material was that Hitler seemed to have been oblivious to "the final solution" that was used to exterminate millions of people. Apparently he had wanted the Jews to be resettled in the East. That meant that history books would have to be dramatically revised.

The story was passed around that the papers had been taken out of Berlin toward the end of WWII on board an airplane that had crashed. They were found by farmers and eventually came into the hands of a Nazi document collector, Konrad Kujau, via an unnamed general in East Germany. Kujau had taken them to a journalist, Gerd Heidemann, who was on the staff of Stern, a newspaper owned by Gruner and Jahr. Then Stern quickly began serializing the diaries, and sold publication rights to Newsweek in America and to The London Times.

It was the owner of the Times, after having serious doubts, who insisted that tests be performed to establish the authenticity of the diaries, but the experts were divided.

There were samples of handwriting available that were known to be Hitler's, and three experts compared these with the documents. Max Frei-Sultzer was the former head of the forensic science department for the police in Zurich, Switzerland, and Ordway Hilton was a specialist in document verification. The third man worked with the German police. All of them agreed that all of the texts had been written by the same person, and that person's handwriting was the same as that in the comparison sample. Astonishingly enough, the Hitler diaries appeared to be authentic.
However, forensics tests on the paper and ink showed otherwise.



SAMPLE OF THE HANDWRITING OF HITLER

Paper is generally classified according to the materials in its composition. They differ according to additives, the presence or absence of watermarks, and the surface treatments used, such as heat or resins. Specialists can determine the date when a particular type of paper was introduced.

Modern ink can be one of four basic types:
1. Iron salts in a suspension of gallic acid, with dyes
2. Carbon particles suspended in gum Arabic
3. Synthetic dyes with a range of polymers and acids
4. Synthetic dyes or pigments in a range of solvents and additives

The ink under question is tested with microspectrophotometry to determine the absorption spectrum or thin-layer chromatography to reveal the exact composition, and is then compared to the data base of over 3,000 ink profiles at the U. S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

The West German police put the paper under ultraviolet light and found that it contained an additive that had only been put into paper since 1954. The threads attaching the seals contained material manufactured after the war, and the type of ink used had not been available at the time the diaries were purportedly written. Then a test was used on the ink that involved the evaporation of chloride, and this proved that the documents had been written within the past year.

In addition, an analysis of the contents revealed a host of historical inaccuracies, apparently overlooked in the magazine's attempt to keep the scoop a secret until publication. One distinguished historian of Hitler's regime, Hugh Trevor-Roper, had actually vouched for their authenticity.

That meant they were on the lookout for a forger and swindler.

Yet how were the handwriting experts fooled? They'd had an actual sample of Hitler's handwriting, and all three had confirmed the striking similarities.

They ought to have looked into Kujau's background. As a child he'd sold the forged autographs of famous politicians for pocket change. Later he manufactured so-called Nazi mementos, including an introduction to a sequel to Mein Kampf and poems by Adolph Hitler. As it turned out, the clever forger had actually managed to forge the sample that the experts had put out to display.

Copyright © Kanica Soni 2008 owned by Kanica Soni. All Right Reserved

Outsourcing

As my co- blogger- Prashant ( http://enigmaticpieces.blogspot.com/2008/12/outsourcing-way-of-life.html ) has aptly defined outsourcing as a way to maximaze output and optimize the use of available resources, however on reading so, my mind began thinking in a direction that would prove the trend of outsourcing not only a cup that would  not be sweet for all kinds of companies but also prove to be dangerous in these times of financial crisis such as these.

As the tides have changed with the oncoming financial crisis, outsourcing, earlier an asset can now prove to be a dangerous arm that can be servered if the crisis serves as a severing axe.

Many companies, especially large comapnies with a consequently large workforce tends to outsource certain activities that work out cheaper, such outsourcing costs are further reduced by giving contracts to companies that are SMB'S.  it is this factor that poses a threat in the economic situation of 2009.

Although outsourcing has many multi-faceted benefits, it at the same time has cons that can not be ignored, these are what I want to point out, and leading on from there it is important to assess whether or not outsourcing is suitable for companies in all different fields.

Firstly a heavy dependance on another firm for your outsourcing causes the parent company to be vulnerable, because if the outsourcing firm cuts on their activities, the parent firm will suffer, this factor is especially applicable to the present times where there is a chance of the company to go bankrupt and stop its services, and that may cause for an arm of the parent company to become immobile.

Secondly, outsourcing requires the control of the process being outsourced by transferred to the service provider. thus a company can loose control over its process. This is ofcourse applicable in companies that require a precedure to be followed, that is as important as the end result, and for companies that want direct and strict control over processes.

Thirdly, there is an indirect threat felt by the employees that can cause problems in output of individuals as they feel threatened by the outsourcing company.

Fourthly, a valid and important point is from the view of ethics, where a company that has many different outsourced units, will tend to take the services of the labour of the developing nations as opposed to their native nations. This is unfair and it also causes loss of employment opportunity in the home country. 

Although the third and fourth problems are manageable, it is the first two that one should be weary of and must take all precautions to plan ways to back up their productions units internally if required, or a large company may suffer.

Copyright © Kanica Soni 2008 owned by Kanica Soni . All Right Reserved