DSpace-CRIS tutorial

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Frequency-Domain and Wide-Pulse Time-Domain Measurements of Lanthanide Luminescence and Lanthanide-Based Resonance Energy Transfer

Resonance energy transfer (RET) is a non-radiative transfer of the excitation energy from the initially excited luminescent donor to an acceptor. The requirements for the resonance energy transfer are: i) the spectral overlap between the donor emission spectrum and the acceptor absorption spectrum, ii) the close proximity of the donor and the acceptor, and iii) the suitable relative orientations of the donor emission and the acceptor absorption transition dipoles. As a result of the RET process the donor luminescence intensity and the donor lifetime are decreased. If the acceptor is luminescent, a sensitized acceptor emission appears. The rate of RET depends strongly on the donor–acceptor distance (r) and is inversely proportional to r6. The distance dependence of RET is utilized in binding assays. The proximity requirement and the selective detection of the RET-modified emission signal allow homogeneous separation free assays. The term lanthanide-based RET is used when luminescent lanthanide compounds are used as donors. The long luminescence lifetimes, the large Stokes’ shifts and the intense, sharply-spiked emission spectra of the lanthanide donors offer advantages over the conventional organic donor molecules. Both the organic lanthanide chelates and the inorganic up-converting phosphor (UCP) particles have been used as donor labels in the RET based binding assays. In the present work lanthanide luminescence and lanthanide-based resonance energy transfer phenomena were studied. Luminescence lifetime measurements had an essential role in the research. Modular frequency-domain and time-domain luminometers were assembled and used successfully in the lifetime measurements. The frequency-domain luminometer operated in the low frequency domain ( 100 kHz) and utilized a novel dual-phase lock-in detection of the luminescence. One of the studied phenomena was the recently discovered non-overlapping fluorescence resonance energy transfer (nFRET). The studied properties were the distance and temperature dependences of nFRET. The distance dependence was found to deviate from the Förster theory and a clear temperature dependence was observed whereas conventional RET was completely independent of the temperature. Based on the experimental results two thermally activated mechanisms were proposed for the nFRET process. The work with the UCP particles involved the measurement of the luminescence properties of the UCP particles synthesized in our laboratory. The goal of the UCP particle research is to develop UCP donor labels for binding assays. In the present work the effect of the dopant concentrations and the core–shell structure on the total up-conversion luminescence intensity, the red–green emission ratio, and the luminescence lifetime was studied. Also the non-radiative nature of the energy transfer from the UCP particle donors to organic acceptors was demonstrated for the first time in aqueous environment and with a controlled donor–acceptor distance.

Target audience analysis in cyber domain

This thesis aims to find an effective way of conducting a target audience analysis (TAA) in cyber domain. There are two main focal points that are addressed; the nature of the cyber domain and the method of the TAA. Of the cyber domain the object is to find the opportunities, restrictions and caveats that result from its digital and temporal nature. This is the environment in which the TAA method is examined in this study. As the TAA is an important step of any psychological operation and critical to its success, the method used must cover all the main aspects affecting the choice of a proper target audience. The first part of the research was done by sending an open-ended questionnaire to operators in the field of information warfare both in Finland and abroad. As the results were inconclusive, the research was completed by assessing the applicability of United States Army Joint Publication FM 3-05.301 in the cyber domain via a theory-based content analysis. FM 3- 05.301 was chosen because it presents a complete method of the TAA process. The findings were tested against the results of the questionnaire and new scientific research in the field of psychology. The cyber domain was found to be “fast and vast”, volatile and uncontrollable. Although governed by laws to some extent, the cyber domain is unpredictable by nature and not controllable to reasonable amount. The anonymity and lack of verification often present in the digital channels mean that anyone can have an opinion, and any message sent may change or even be counterproductive to the original purpose. The TAA method of the FM 3-05.301 is applicable in the cyber domain, although some parts of the method are outdated and thus suggested to be updated if used in that environment. The target audience categories of step two of the process were replaced by new groups that exist in the digital environment. The accessibility assessment (step eight) was also redefined, as in the digital media the mere existence of a written text is typically not enough to convey the intended message to the target audience. The scientific studies made in computer sciences and both in psychology and sociology about the behavior of people in social media (and overall in cyber domain) call for a more extensive remake of the TAA process. This falls, however, out of the scope of this work. It is thus suggested that further research should be carried out in search of computer-assisted methods and a more thorough TAA process, utilizing the latest discoveries of human behavior. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on löytää tehokas tapa kohdeyleisöanalyysin tekemiseksi kybertoimintaympäristössä. Työssä keskitytään kahteen ilmiöön: kybertoimintaympäristön luonteeseen ja kohdeyleisöanalyysin metodiin. Kybertoimintaympäristön osalta tavoitteena on löytää sen digitaalisesta ja ajallisesta luonteesta juontuvat mahdollisuudet, rajoitteet ja sudenkuopat. Tämä on se ympäristö jossa kohdeyleisöanalyysiä tarkastellaan tässä työssä. Koska kohdeyleisöanalyysi kuuluu olennaisena osana jokaiseen psykologiseen operaatioon ja on onnistumisen kannalta kriittinen tekijä, käytettävän metodin tulee pitää sisällään kaikki oikean kohdeyleisön valinnan kannalta merkittävät osa-alueet. Tutkimuksen ensimmäisessä vaiheessa lähetettiin avoin kysely informaatiosodankäynnin ammattilaisille Suomessa ja ulkomailla. Koska kyselyn tulokset eivät olleet riittäviä johtopäätösten tekemiseksi, tutkimusta jatkettiin tarkastelemalla Yhdysvaltojen armeijan kenttäohjesäännön FM 3-05.301 soveltuvuutta kybertoimintaympäristössä käytettäväksi teorialähtöisen sisällönanalyysin avulla. FM 3-05.301 valittiin koska se sisältää kokonaisvaltaisen kohdeyleisöanalyysiprosessin. Havaintoja verrattiin kyselytutkimuksen tuloksiin ja psykologian uusiin tutkimuksiin. Kybertoimintaympäristö on tulosten perusteella nopea ja valtava, jatkuvasti muuttuva ja kontrolloimaton. Vaikkakin lait hallitsevat kybertoimintaympäristöä jossakin määrin, on se silti luonteeltaan ennakoimaton eikä sitä voida luotettavasti hallita. Digitaalisilla kanavilla usein läsnäoleva nimettömyys ja tiedon tarkastamisen mahdottomuus tarkoittavat että kenellä tahansa voi olla mielipide asioista, ja mikä tahansa viesti voi muuttua, jopa alkuperäiseen tarkoitukseen nähden vastakkaiseksi. FM 3-05.301:n metodi toimii kybertoimintaympäristössä, vaikkakin jotkin osa-alueet ovat vanhentuneita ja siksi ne esitetään päivitettäväksi mikäli metodia käytetään kyseisessä ympäristössä. Kohdan kaksi kohdeyleisökategoriat korvattiin uusilla, digitaalisessa ympäristössä esiintyvillä ryhmillä. Lähestyttävyyden arviointi (kohta 8) muotoiltiin myös uudestaan, koska digitaalisessa mediassa pelkkä tekstin läsnäolo ei sellaisenaan tyypillisesti vielä riitä halutun viestin välittämiseen kohdeyleisölle. Tietotekniikan edistyminen ja psykologian sekä sosiologian aloilla tehty tieteellinen tutkimus ihmisten käyttäytymisestä sosiaalisessa mediassa (ja yleensä kybertoimintaympäristössä) mahdollistavat koko kohdeyleisöanalyysiprosessin uudelleenrakentamisen. Tässä työssä sitä kuitenkaan ei voida tehdä. Siksi esitetäänkin että lisätutkimusta tulisi tehdä sekä tietokoneavusteisten prosessien että vielä syvällisempien kohdeyleisöanalyysien osalta, käyttäen hyväksi viimeisimpiä ihmisen käyttäytymiseen liittyviä tutkimustuloksia.

Breaking down the boundaries to storing, sharing and publishing research data

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Intelligence acquisition methods in cyber domain : examining the circumstantial applicability of cyber intelligence acquisition methods using a hierarchical model

Phenomena in cyber domain, especially threats to security and privacy, have proven an increasingly heated topic addressed by different writers and scholars at an increasing pace – both nationally and internationally. However little public research has been done on the subject of cyber intelligence. The main research question of the thesis was: To what extent is the applicability of cyber intelligence acquisition methods circumstantial? The study was conducted in sequential a manner, starting with defining the concept of intelligence in cyber domain and identifying its key attributes, followed by identifying the range of intelligence methods in cyber domain, criteria influencing their applicability, and types of operatives utilizing cyber intelligence. The methods and criteria were refined into a hierarchical model. The existing conceptions of cyber intelligence were mapped through an extensive literature study on a wide variety of sources. The established understanding was further developed through 15 semi-structured interviews with experts of different backgrounds, whose wide range of points of view proved to substantially enhance the perspective on the subject. Four of the interviewed experts participated in a relatively extensive survey based on the constructed hierarchical model on cyber intelligence that was formulated in to an AHP hierarchy and executed in the Expert Choice Comparion online application. It was concluded that Intelligence in cyber domain is an endorsing, cross-cutting intelligence discipline that adds value to all aspects of conventional intelligence and furthermore that it bears a substantial amount of characteristic traits – both advantageous and disadvantageous – and furthermore that the applicability of cyber intelligence methods is partly circumstantially limited.