Blog 20 - Interview 4 Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?
I plan to interview Angel Gonzalez who is an AFIS Technician II at the Sheriff's Department of the County of Los Angeles.

2.  Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. Your focus should be finding answers to your EQ.

• How would you describe your job and what you do?
• How did you get to where you are now in your career?
• What obstacles did you have to face?
• What is your opinion on the broad topic of forensics?
• What is fingerprint analysis and what is AFIS?
• I understand fingerprint analysis is very tedious and involves a lot of room for errors. How do you deal with something like that?
• How do you deal with errors if any?
• How do you prevent errors?
• Would you say that say method would apply to other forensic fields? How?
• Do you think forensics is in badly need of reform? If so, why?
• Are you aware of the Innocence Project? If so, what is your opinion on it?
• How do you feel about the CSI effect?
• In what ways do you think it affects real life forensics?
• My EQ is How can a forensic scientist ensure that an analysis of a crime is correct. How would you answer it?
• Do you think quality assurance along with accreditation and also knowledge of modern technology can thoroughly answer my EQ?
• How are you able to know that the field of forensics will become more accurate after the possible solution is taken into place?
• How important is technology within the field of forensics?
• After researching on this topic for several months now, what kind of resources do you recommend that can help me get my answers into a concrete state?
• The government needs to provide more funding into forensics although the Coverdell Act is already in place and a lot of reform is needed within the labs. Do you think analysts need to be more frequently certified to improve forensics or is there another area/field that can make a greater impact?

Blog 19 - Third Answer

How can a Forensic Scientist ensure that an analysis of a crime is correct?

Forensic scientists need to keep up with their training in order to be kept up with any type of new emerging technologies and techniques that might affect their job.

There is new technology constantly emerging in today's society and a lot of which can help improve the work of forensics.
Without rigorous training and certification, forensic scientists would have no clue about improving forensics and what they can do to contribute to it.
There are many different techniques of forensics in the world today but not all are available to forensics within the U.S. thus explaining why scientists need to constantly be trained.

Interview 3
Mentorship

Many forensic scientists working now, already have the education and the credentials but just like teachers, they need to be constantly trained and accredited to ensure that they can give correct analysis' by keeping up with new emerging technologies.

Blog 17 - Interview 3 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  
The most important thing I learned from the interview, is that forensics isn't as bad as I thought it was. It still has some flaws but a lot of other careers do too and the benefit is that it is improving.

2. How has your approach to interviewing changed over the course of your senior project?
It has changed the course of my senior project because I found flaws in my essential question and answer that I need to fix.

Interview 3

Blog 16 - Independent Component 2 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.
For my Independent Component 2, I plan to make a Forensics magazine to let people know that forensics is more than just what Hollywood shows on TV. I want to let people know the real world of forensics and how much more complicated. I feel that forensics on tv, is given too much credit for not fully letting their viewers know what forensics is. I chose to do a magazine because it is the most modern form of physical communication besides social media. plan to start with a magazine template and write articles about different view points of my topic. I'll add relevant pictures that will catch readers attention to read the articles. I could even include interviews with my mentor or people who have an opinion towards forensics. I'll also include how to become a forensic scientist and what it takes to become a great one. Towards the end of my magazine, I'll show statistics of how people know about forensics. Whether it'd be from fiction tv shows, reality tv series or know someone in the field. After it's all done, I'll print it on fancy paper and bind it all together to make it look like a legitimate magazine. This was my IC #1 idea but I did not have a mentor at the time to give me suggestions.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.
For my forensics magazine, I plan to do research from the inside out on the history of forensics. Then write articles explaining what they actually do and how forensic scientists aren't paid enough for what they do. I'll also explain that there are some flaws of forensics and what we can do to fix this because it can cause innocent people to be convicted. The more people know about real life forensics, the more research and funding goes to creating a solid foundation of forensic science in the future. The more people know about what it takes to become a forensic scientist, the more people will appreciate it and respect it.

3.  Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.
Creating a forensic magazine will help me understand that as the technology of forensics is always evolving and improving, so should the analysis and projection of research towards this unique career. Forensic science is in badly need of reform and I feel that it is only possible if society knows what forensics is really about.

4.  Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.

Lesson 2 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?
I am most proud of my enunciation through out the presentation because I usually have a low volume while speaking. Also I am really proud of the organization of my presentation and how it flowed really well and caused me to meet the minimum time limit.

2. a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

           P         

     b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
According to the lesson 2 component contract, I give myself a P. I don't think I had any concern with professionalism because I spoke loud and clear, made eye contact, and engaged and interacted with the audience. No concern with the organization and creativity nor the audience involvement. Also, I provided more than 1 quality published research source cited.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
Having more time to present really helped me and worked for me in my lesson 2. I was able to say whatever I needed to say and go into depth about it. Another thing that worked was being able to have a powerpoint because it really helped organize my presentation and helped me stay on track with time.

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?
I would have done my activity differently. I would've came up with a more engaging and creative activity that helped the audience further learn my answer but 10 minutes was just not enough time to do a different more engaging activity. 

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?
I think my answer #2 is going to be the improvement of standards set in forensics with federal support. Basically, getting more funding to improve forensic techniques and further research to reduce human error and reduce the number of wrongful convictions.

Blog 15 - Independent Component 1

LITERAL

• I, Eden Reyna, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 31.5 hours of work.”
• Armenta, Terri. "Forensic Training Unlimited Online Academy." Forensic Training Unlimited Online Academy. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. and my mentor Terri Armenta who created these courses for dedicated forensic students and helped me know more about forensics.
• Independent Component Hours #1
• I enrolled in 5 different online courses on the Forensic Training Unlimited Online Academy. These courses being #1 Forensic evidence: types and classifications- know what to collect, #2 Unusual Suicides: Investigation, Pathology and evidence, #3 Underwater Forensics: Investigating Water Related Deaths, #4 Death Investigation Series: Positional Asphyxiation and Forensic Implications, and #5 Forensic Science Academy: Get hands-on training and start your forensic career. 

INTERPRETIVE 

This specific course taught me that there are different types of evidence and it is significant to my project because it provides more information that I can use to answer my EQ.

This course helped me learn the investigative process of forensics and some mistakes it has.

This course helped me learn about decomposition of a body and it also provided videos that helped me further comprehend the content.

This course about positional asphyxiation taught me another side of forensics that I didn't know about before and introduced me to some new forensic terminology.

This course taught me the many different views of forensic science and how I can start my career in forensics.

APPLIED

• The component helped me understand the foundation of my topic better by extending my research field. During the 30 hours that I have spent on these courses, I have been introduced to another field of forensics and a wide range of terminology that will help me extend my knowledge of forensics and help me pin point my answer for my EQ. The courses almost always provide real-life case studies to help the students further comprehend the curriculum and prove that it is a credible source for information.

Blog 14 - Interview 3 Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?
I plan to interview one of the forensic specialist that my mentor can get me in contact with. My mentor told me that she can have me meet some professionals but never gave me names. The person's area of expertise is a professional in the forensics field.

2.  Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule an interview.  What is the date and time of the interview? 
I have not called my interviewee yet. I am meeting with my mentor this weekend and I will ask for the contact info to schedule the interview. 

3.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you find research resources that would help to answer the EQ.
"After researching on this topic for several months now, what kind of resources do you recommend now that I've found a possible solution to my EQ?"

4.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you think about other useful activities you might do to help you answer the EQ (IC2, possible experts to talk to, etc).
"How are you able to know that the field of forensics will become more accurate after the possible solution is taken into action?"

5.  Phrase two open-ended questions that help you to understand your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ. 
"Do you think forensics is in badly need of reform? If so, why?"
"How do you feel when people ask you questions about your job based on what they've seen on TV? Do you think it is a major issue and needs to be solved?"