Titre
A common framework to situate digital and physical traces in time
Type
article
Institution
UNIL/CHUV/Unisanté + institutions partenaires
Périodique
Auteur(s)
Weyermann, Céline
Auteure/Auteur
Vanini, Céline
Auteure/Auteur
Souvignet, Thomas
Auteure/Auteur
Liens vers les personnes
Liens vers les unités
ISSN
0379-0738
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2024-04
Volume
360
Numéro
7
Première page
112020
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Langue
anglais
Notes
Published in a Special Issue: The Sydney Declaration and the Status of Forensic Science
Résumé
In this article, three main approaches to situate forensic traces in time were revisited under the prism of the Sydney Declaration and adapted to be applicable to a large range of physical and digital traces. The first approach is based on time tags which are time-based characteristics produced as the result of an activity at a specific time. They can either be directly related to time (i.e.,time stamps) or indirectly (i.e., time indicators). While relatively straightforward, time tags require scientific knowledge to be correctly interpreted and to account for the risks of desynchronisation, anomalies and manipulation. The second approach is based on time dynamics and aim at measuring changes that occur as a function of time, such as caesium pulsation (i.e., on which international atomic time is based) or body cooling after death (i.e., from which time since death can be inferred). However, time dynamics phenomena are generally also influenced by other case-specific factors (e.g., environmental factors), and thus more difficult to reliably implement in practice. Finally, the third approach relies on relative sequences, using information unrelated to time, such as relative positions or dynamics of traces at the scene. As each approach has its potential and limitations, a combination of traces from different (both material and digital) sources and approaches is recommended to answer time questions in practice (When? How long? In whichsuccession?) and enhance the reliability of the dating endeavours. It is strongly recommended to consider the principles of the Sydney Declaration when implementing or developing dating methods, as they point at potential issues that are often forgotten in forensic research and practice, such as uncertainties linked to the concept of trace, scene investigation, the asymmetry of time, the importance of context and the multiplicity of purposes. Future research should focus on improving the reliability of these dating approaches by combining and systematising their usage in investigative practice, as well as in broader intelligence processes.
Sujets
PID Serval
serval:BIB_E5010591D9D3
PMID
Open Access
Oui
Date de création
2024-04-23T05:21:34.144Z
Date de création dans IRIS
2025-05-21T05:19:01Z
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Nom
Weyermann et al. (2024) Situating digital and physical traces in time.pdf
Version du manuscrit
published
Licence
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Taille
3.79 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
PID Serval
serval:BIB_E5010591D9D3.P001
URN
urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_E5010591D9D31
Somme de contrôle
(MD5):ab9322f684ce3175842bc4c0a8972660