1.
Polygraph Bits & Pieces
- by Ralph Hilliard
The Final 'Relevant Issue'...in this format
I've grappled with a dilemma for some time now: Too much polygraph news/info and not enough time to put together this newsletter. It takes about 16 hours of concentrated time to put one Relevant issue together and I've had to accept that is just not working for me. This has also meant that a ton of timely relevant polygraph information doesn't get to you. I end up tossing all sorts of news by the time I get to the newsletter because it is no longer relevant.
It is time for change.
I believe I have found a way to fill several of the gaps our profession needs in one place. I have created a Blog called 'Real Polygraph Lie Detection News' (It is specifically named this to be relevant to terms regular people use in search engines to find information on polygraph). It will be a combination of a listserve and blog. If you don't know what those are....no worries, it means this: I will be sending out bites of polygraph related news on a more frequent basis via email (the listserve) and those information bites will also be posted on a site for 'anytime' reference (the blog part)
The Benefits:
1. I can get more quality polygraph related information to you and the public in a more efficient manner.
2. Info will be in small, bite size chunks so you can scan an email in seconds to see if the news is of interest to you. If it is...read on. If not, click delete and go on about your day as that info will always be on the blog for future reference.
3. The blog (short for weblog - a log of events posted on the web) allows for comments/feedback by you. You may have a piece of information I don't have that is relevant to a particular entry and you can post that for all to benefit from.
4. This will help us get solid polygraph information to the public (to counter the truck loads of misinformation) I will be working to get the blog picked up by search engines. Not only that, but you can add links on your own sites to any entry that is pertinent and helpful to you and your clientele. This will help with search engine attention for your website and ours.
5. The blog will automatically archive entries and these entries will be searchable. This means we will be effortlessly building a database of information/articles that all of us can reference/download/print at anytime.
6. It will work hand and hand with the Examiner's Private Forum. Anything that does not need to be in the public realm can be referenced in the blog, but stored in the forums for more detailed discussion. (If you are an examiner and haven't already joined the private forum, now would be a good time to do so.)
Important things to remember:
1. Any replies/comments made to a blog entry will be accessible by the public. Use good judgment.
2. You don't have to do or sign up for anything! Nothing will change from your perspective except you will receive shorter, more frequent email notifications. (NerdNote - you can subscribe to the blog via RSS feed if you like)
3. Thank you in advance for your willingness to embrace change to further the entire profession.
You will be receiving an email soon that has a link to the blog and its first entry.
Ralph Hilliard
The Polygraph Place
P.S. - For those who may miss the longer format of The Relevant Issue, I'd like to suggest an alternative publication. Jim Wygant has been publishing a more traditional 'newspaper format' newsletter available in digital pdf format. He does an excellent job with this and I look forward to each new issue. Jim's publication is called Polygraph News & Views.
Jim's Polygraph News & Views is published every other month and is only available to examiners. To subscribe:
Send Jim an email at jrwygant@gmail.com. Include in that email enough information so he can easily verify you are an examiner. Jim stated the easiest way is to include your APA membership details.
New ONLINE Polygraph Texas Hold 'em Poker Group - This is not real $$ gambling, it is completely fun and completely free.
This is community building that is fun, free and accessible to all, even our international colleagues. If you hate poker on all levels, no problem, this is completely voluntary.
The basics:
1. Every skill level is welcome! You can play even if you have never played poker in your life. This is an online, automated system so the learning curve for the basics is super short and easy.
2. This is not just for guys, gals love this game as well. Nadine will be in there playing too, so if you were thinking there will be too much testosterone in the game, come and play and help balance that out.
3. We will start by having a once a month, 3-Hour drop in game. (You can play 3 minutes or all 3 hours, totally up to you)
4. The first game will be on held on Saturday, April 25th from 8PM to 11PM EST. I've chosen this time in hopes the game will not be too late or too early for East and West Coasters respectively. I am open to adjustments for future games, but we have to start somewhere.
5. The game will be hosted through a private table in the Facebook version of the Zynga hold 'em application. The table name will be 'Polygraph1' with a password of 'chart'.
I think I'd like to play...but I don't have a clue where to begin. What do I do?
Rookie Step by Step Instructions:
1. Register a free facebook account if you don't already have one or if you want a private one just for playing poker with us. Visit:
http://www.facebook.com - Signup is just a few fields right on this page. (You do not have to go through all the other stuff facebook may ask you for after the first page...all you need is an account.)
2. While still logged into your new facebook account, open a 2nd browser window and visit the following page on Zynga.com:
http://www.zynga.com/games/index.php?game=texasholdem - Once on the page, there is a small rectangular gray button that says "Click to play on Facebook". Go ahead and do that. This will open up the application inside the facebook interface and it will begin loading the software for you to play.
3. Whatever you do, DON'T BUY CHIPS (unless you really want to). There are a gazillion ways to get free chips. The easiest way is to simply visit and play a little each day. You'll get anywhere from 100 to 750 chips for free each day just by playing. This would be a great way for you to learn the system and build up your chips for our first game. If you are not finding any way to get chips, click the button at the top of the page that says 'Earn Chips' and then click on the 'free' link on the page that comes up. You'll probably have to take a survey or do some other annoying free trial, but you don't have to give any credit card for the truly free offers. If it asks for a card, just pick a different offer.
4. While playing your first rounds of hold'em, be sure to bookmark the facebook page. This will make it easy to return not only to facebook, but directly to the poker application inside facebook.
5. Once in the poker lobby in Facebook, you must first get to the right Casino to find our Private Room. There are many casinos. At the top right of the lobby, there is an area that shows the casino you are currently in (the system automatically puts you into a casino randomly). There is also a gray/silver button there that says 'change casinos'. You will want to click on that and choose 'San Francisco' for your casino and it will connect you to the San Francisco casino. Next, look for and click the 'Private Tables' Tab. Look for and enter the one labeled "Polygraph1". The password to enter the room will be 'chart' . If we have more than nine players show up at once, we will open up more tables as necessary and they will be labeled Polygraph2, Polygraph3, etc. All rooms will have the same password of 'chart'.
That's it. I strongly suggest that if you want to play with us but are unfamiliar with the system, go ahead and do steps 1 - 4 as soon as possible to get familiar. If you hit a roadblock you can't get past, no worries, just email or call myself or Nadine and we'll walk you through it.
Ralph - detector@polygraphplace.com
Nadine - nadine@polygraphplace.com
Phone: 770.794.1325
NerdNote - If you are savvy to the Zynga system, you already know there are many avenues to play hold 'em, including on your iphone, yahoo, myspace, etc. but keep in mind that these games will hosted through the facebook version of the Zynga Hold Em Application in a private room.
2.
The DLST - Directed Lie Screening Test (Blalock, Nelson, Handler)- "In case you didn't already know" - by Ralph Hilliard
The new Directed Lie Screening Test (DLST) has already been printed in publications by the APA and AAPP. In an effort to keep all conscientious examiners up to date on research based advances in techniques, I have permission from the authors to publish the bare-bone basics of the technique here. Full versions with background rational, supporting documentation and pre-test instruction script are available upon request.
**** Please note that this technique is available in the latest edition of our Polygraph Techniques - Quick Reference Guide. The guide is available for online purchase for $10 plus shipping.****
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A Focused Polygraph Technique for Law Enforcement Screening & PCSOT
Ben Blalock, Raymond Nelson and Mark Handler
Test Description
Following existing practices we defined a screening technique we call the Directed-Lie Screening Test (DLST) that contains two neutral questions (N1, N2), a sacrifice relevant question (SR), two separate relevant questions (R1, R2) and two comparison questions (C1, C2).
The sequence is as follows;
N1- Neutral or Irrelevant question
N2- Neutral or Irrelevant question
SR- Sacrifice Relevant question
1C1- First presentation of DLC#1
1R1-First presentation of R1
1R2-First presentation of R2
1C2-First presentation of DLC#2
2R1-Second presentation of R1
2R2-Second presentation of R2
2C1- Second presentation of DLC#1
3R1-Third presentation of R1
3R2-Third presentation of R2
2C2-Second presentation of DLC#2
Presentation of the question sequence is intended to be standardized except when it is necessary to present an additional neutral question before proceeding with the next test question. Additional presentations are allowed when three artifact-free presentations of each have not been obtained. In the latter case, examiners are permitted to present the question sequence a fourth time. This can take place as a fourth presentation of the test stimuli within the single examination chart or through the completion of a second shorter chart, consisting of the following sequence (N1, N2, SR, 3C1, 4R1, 4R2, 3C2).
Test Data Analysis and Decision Criteria
The test data are hand-scored with validated scoring criteria by comparing the relevant question response to the stronger response of an adjacent comparison question per each component sensor. In consideration of the cautions expressed by Bell, Raskin, Honts, and Kircher (1999) regarding artifacted or uninterpretable data, examiners should be careful to assign scores only to pneumograph data of arguable authentic quality and interpretive value. One cautionary issue exists in scoring DLC exams. Kircher and Raskin (2002) and Kircher et al. (2001) have reported that the data collected from pneumographs in DLC examinations do not appear to have diagnostic value.
Test data analysis can be automated by dividing the single examination chart of three presentations of each test stimulus into three virtual charts, using the following sequences:
Chart 1: (1C1, 1R1, 1R2, 1C2)
Chart 2: (1C2, 2R1, 2R2, 2C1)
Chart 3: (2C1, 3R1, 3R2, 2C2)
If a fourth presentation of the test stimulus is completed, the sequence will be (2C2, 4R1, 4R2, 3C1) or (3C1, 4R1, 4R2, 3C2) depending on whether the fourth presentation of the stimuli was completed as part of the single examination chart sequence or as separate short examination chart respectively.
Hand-scored results for each relevant question are totaled along with the grand total for the examination as a whole. A spot total of -3 or lower at either spot, or a grand total of
-4 or less results in an opinion of Significant Response (SR). No Significant Response (NSR) opinions are the result of a grand total of +4 across the two relevant targets, as long as there is a positive numerical subtotal for each target. If the result is neither SR nor NSR it is Inconclusive or No Opinion (NO) can be rendered. Many examiners will recognize these cutting scores as identical to those for the “You-Phase” two-question Zone Comparison Technique (Department of Defense, 2006).
Feedback? Drop me a line. detector@polygraphplace.com
3. Upcoming Polygraph Association Seminars by Ralph Hilliard
** Important Update** We have added a section below to have your seminar flyer available here for download.
Just email us the flyer in either Microsoft Word or PDF format.