title: Subjective assessment of blunt impacts.
abstract: An important role of an eyewitness to an assault is to effectively quantify the degree of force used; yet evidence of this form is often subjective and relies on personal opinion. Twelve subjects were asked to strike a load cell with a wooden bat, using varying degrees of force. The strikes were recorded by video camera and 50 people observed the video and were asked to grade the strikes. On average 44% accurately assessed the severity of the strikes, whilst 26% over-estimated. Results suggest that the evidence of eyewitnesses should be treated with caution.
authors.affiliation: Medical Engineering Research Unit, Cardiff School of Engineering, University of Wales, UK.
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Wheeler
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maylia
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Holt
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Nokes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D014743:Videotape Recording; D014754:Violence / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014852:Wales; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating