title: A pluralist and interdisciplinary approach to encryption regulation

authors: Dizon, Michael

abstract: The importance of trust in encryption is paramount, influencing user adoption and acceptance of the technology. A pluralist and interdisciplinary approach reveal that trust extends beyond the technology itself to include those who develop, provide, and regulate it. If encryption is perceived as unsafe or insecure, trust is compromised. Mandatory backdoors, allowing unauthorized access, face opposition as they erode trust in the technology, the government, and potential malicious actors. Trust is foundational to encryption, encompassing not only the technology but also providers and regulators.

Proposed encryption regulations must be evaluated based on their impact on trustworthiness. Questions should be raised: Does the regulation strengthen, maintain, or weaken trust in encryption and among relevant parties? Measures that diminish trust should be discarded, while those supporting or building trust should be explored. Trust emerges as a core consideration in crafting encryption laws and policies.

A comprehensive approach considers legal, social, and technical dimensions when addressing the complex task of regulating encryption. Relying solely on legal means is insufficient. Rejecting a legal-centric mindset allows acknowledgment of plural normative orders in a digital networked world. Understanding the critical technical and social principles and values surrounding encryption regulation becomes essential. Therefore, when formulating technology laws and policies, a pluralist and interdisciplinary approach, incorporating fundamental principles and values, is crucial to comprehensively address the legal, technical, and social aspects of the technology at hand.

text: A pluralist and interdisciplinary approach to encryption regulation The importance of trust in encryption is paramount, influencing user adoption and acceptance of the technology. A pluralist and interdisciplinary approach reveal that trust extends beyond the technology itself to include those who develop, provide, and regulate it. If encryption is perceived as unsafe or insecure, trust is compromised. Mandatory backdoors, allowing unauthorized access, face opposition as they erode trust in the technology, the government, and potential malicious actors. Trust is foundational to encryption, encompassing not only the technology but also providers and regulators.

Proposed encryption regulations must be evaluated based on their impact on trustworthiness. Questions should be raised: Does the regulation strengthen, maintain, or weaken trust in encryption and among relevant parties? Measures that diminish trust should be discarded, while those supporting or building trust should be explored. Trust emerges as a core consideration in crafting encryption laws and policies.

A comprehensive approach considers legal, social, and technical dimensions when addressing the complex task of regulating encryption. Relying solely on legal means is insufficient. Rejecting a legal-centric mindset allows acknowledgment of plural normative orders in a digital networked world. Understanding the critical technical and social principles and values surrounding encryption regulation becomes essential. Therefore, when formulating technology laws and policies, a pluralist and interdisciplinary approach, incorporating fundamental principles and values, is crucial to comprehensively address the legal, technical, and social aspects of the technology at hand.

year: 2021-11

title: Doppler velocimetry lidar with amplified reference beam storage loop

authors: Shen, Jyi-Lai

abstract: Wind shear and clear air turbulence are phenomena in which wind speeds can change rapidly presenting a threat to aircraft and their passengers. Lidar is a proven technique for wind speed measurement but remains a research tool only and is not yet commercially viable as an early warning system. This is mainly due to the expense and bulk of the single frequency injection locked lasers required for long-range coherent measurements. 

A different design philosophy for a pulsed Doppler lidar system has recently been presented in the literature, where the reference beam pulse is stored in a fibre optic storage loop. Each successive reference pulse has travelled a distance equivalent to the measurement beam’s path length. This approach reduces the coherence requirements and allows the use of cheaper, smaller, and lower coherence sources. However, a major problem of this system is that the energy of the stored pulses decays exponentially. 

This thesis introduces a new and improved reference pulse storage loop, which includes an erbium doped fibre amplifier to compensate for the decay of the reference signal. Details of the design are presented. The original storage loop concept is transferred to the fibre optics telecommunication wavelength range of 1.55μm. The noise and gain of the system is characterized. Special attention is paid to avoiding laser oscillation while maintaining sufficient gain. The components, like isolators, filters, and polarisation controllers, required to achieve satisfactory operation are presented. Electronic and software techniques based on phase lock loop and wavelet transformation are included in the overall system design to reduce noise. The experiments prove that the amplitude of 16 stored pulses remains constant to within 10% fluctuation.

To prove the validity of the concept the velocity of a rotating mirror is measured at various measurement distances of 0 to 583 m that coincide with the 16 reference pulses. The experiments show successful optical mixing between the stored amplified reference and the delayed measurement beams. In the range 1 to 10 m/s the velocity can be determined to better than ±0.14 m/s (standard deviation). Software simulations of the system indicate that with improved equipment measurements should be possible for up to 70 stored pulses, which correspond to a measurement distance of 2,550 m.

The results obtained illustrate that the amplified reference beam storage loop is a viable concept for Doppler lidar velocimetry.

text: Doppler velocimetry lidar with amplified reference beam storage loop Wind shear and clear air turbulence are phenomena in which wind speeds can change rapidly presenting a threat to aircraft and their passengers. Lidar is a proven technique for wind speed measurement but remains a research tool only and is not yet commercially viable as an early warning system. This is mainly due to the expense and bulk of the single frequency injection locked lasers required for long-range coherent measurements. 

A different design philosophy for a pulsed Doppler lidar system has recently been presented in the literature, where the reference beam pulse is stored in a fibre optic storage loop. Each successive reference pulse has travelled a distance equivalent to the measurement beam’s path length. This approach reduces the coherence requirements and allows the use of cheaper, smaller, and lower coherence sources. However, a major problem of this system is that the energy of the stored pulses decays exponentially. 

This thesis introduces a new and improved reference pulse storage loop, which includes an erbium doped fibre amplifier to compensate for the decay of the reference signal. Details of the design are presented. The original storage loop concept is transferred to the fibre optics telecommunication wavelength range of 1.55μm. The noise and gain of the system is characterized. Special attention is paid to avoiding laser oscillation while maintaining sufficient gain. The components, like isolators, filters, and polarisation controllers, required to achieve satisfactory operation are presented. Electronic and software techniques based on phase lock loop and wavelet transformation are included in the overall system design to reduce noise. The experiments prove that the amplitude of 16 stored pulses remains constant to within 10% fluctuation.

To prove the validity of the concept the velocity of a rotating mirror is measured at various measurement distances of 0 to 583 m that coincide with the 16 reference pulses. The experiments show successful optical mixing between the stored amplified reference and the delayed measurement beams. In the range 1 to 10 m/s the velocity can be determined to better than ±0.14 m/s (standard deviation). Software simulations of the system indicate that with improved equipment measurements should be possible for up to 70 stored pulses, which correspond to a measurement distance of 2,550 m.

The results obtained illustrate that the amplified reference beam storage loop is a viable concept for Doppler lidar velocimetry.

year: 2003

title: Supervision of Maori doctoral students: A descriptive report

authors: McKinley, Elizabeth

subjects: Maori education

abstract: This report follows up a previous paper that outlined the goals and plans of a research project that focused on both theoretical and cultural questions regarding the supervisory process for Māori doctoral students (McKinley, Grant, Middleton, Irwin, & Williams, 2007). The major goal of the project is to enhance understanding of the teaching and learning process of supervision for students and supervisors, particularly around issues of culture that arise in research methodologies and practices. This paper reports on the completed project by providing further operational background, design features, the nature of the student and supervisor samples and a summary of interview findings. The results show that there are indeed distinctive issues arising within the supervision of Māori doctoral students. Some of these are to do with both pleasures and challenges found in the supervision relationship, while others relate to the kinds of projects the students undertake. Many projects for example, push at the disciplinary boundaries of Western knowledge and are often rooted in a political desire to enhance the everyday lives of Māori. Yet others are connected to identity formation processes that concern many Māori during their years as doctoral students. A central message for supervisors from this work is that the supervision of Māori doctoral students may require unfamiliar forms of engagement but that these are likely to be deeply rewarding in many different ways.

text: Supervision of Maori doctoral students: A descriptive report This report follows up a previous paper that outlined the goals and plans of a research project that focused on both theoretical and cultural questions regarding the supervisory process for Māori doctoral students (McKinley, Grant, Middleton, Irwin, & Williams, 2007). The major goal of the project is to enhance understanding of the teaching and learning process of supervision for students and supervisors, particularly around issues of culture that arise in research methodologies and practices. This paper reports on the completed project by providing further operational background, design features, the nature of the student and supervisor samples and a summary of interview findings. The results show that there are indeed distinctive issues arising within the supervision of Māori doctoral students. Some of these are to do with both pleasures and challenges found in the supervision relationship, while others relate to the kinds of projects the students undertake. Many projects for example, push at the disciplinary boundaries of Western knowledge and are often rooted in a political desire to enhance the everyday lives of Māori. Yet others are connected to identity formation processes that concern many Māori during their years as doctoral students. A central message for supervisors from this work is that the supervision of Māori doctoral students may require unfamiliar forms of engagement but that these are likely to be deeply rewarding in many different ways.

year: 2009