Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, May, 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xv, 159 p.; also includes graphics (some col.) Includes bibliographical references (p. 152-159). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Dark Patterns are a variety of different software designs that are used to manipulate and mislead the users of an application or service. These patterns range from making it harder to end a subscription service, adding additional charges to a purchase, or having the user give out data or personal information. With how widespread and varied dark patterns are, it led to us creating a way to detect and warn users of different dark patterns. In this study, we created Dark Pattern Detector, a Chrome extension that would help users detect and understand three different dark patterns: Hidden Costs, Disguised Ads, and Sneak into Basket. This extension was made to detect each of these patterns on any web page while not requiring any information from the user or their data. Study participants installed the extension and completed a series of tasks given to them that would occur on different websites containing the previous dark patterns. After completing the tasks, the users were surveyed to give feedback on what they thought of the extension and what suggestions for change they had. In the study, we had 40 participants and we found that 50% of the users were completely unfamiliar with dark patterns and that 77.5% have used extensions before. For the five tasks, each one had a majority of the participants successfully complete them. Finally, when asked about what they thought, the majority of the participants gave positive feedback claiming that they found the extension useful, interesting, and a good idea. Many participants also gave useful feedback about what changes or additions they would like to see. With our results, we can help users have a better understanding of dark patterns and have created a baseline for any future research done on dark pattern knowledge and detection. / Master of Science / Dark patterns are designs on the internet that websites use to trick its users. They may be used to hide advertisements, make the user spend more time or money on their website or more. Our goal was to create a way to help protect anyone on the internet and their information. For this study, we created a program called Dark Pattern Detector that would help the users see different dark patterns that appeared on websites. A study was conducted that had the participants use our program and give us feedback on what they thought of it as well as data on how well it worked. Out of the 40 participants, we found that half the users were unfamiliar with what dark patterns were. Once they completed the study, we saw that the majority of users were able to complete tasks while using our program and gave positive feedback. Seeing the positive feedback and results from our study, we believe that we can help users not get tricked by these patterns and help forward future research on Dark Patterns.

While deception is a common strategy in interpersonal communication, most research on interpersonal deception treats the sex as irrelevant in the ability to detect deceptive messages. This study examines the truth and deception detection ability of both male and female receivers when responding to both true and deceptive messages from both male and female speakers. Results suggest that sex may be an important variable in understanding the interpersonal detection probabilities of truth and of lies. An interaction of variables including speakers’ sex, receivers’ sex, and whether the message is truthful or deceptive is found to relate to detection ability. Both women and men were found to be significantly less accurate than chance in judging the veracity of statements made by men, especially when those statements are lies. On the other hand, both women and men were significantly more accurate than chance in judging the veracity of statements made by women, especially when those statements are truthful. This may suggest that men are better deceivers than women, while women seem more transparent in exhibiting feelings about their messages whether being truthful or deceptive. In recalling real life deceptions discovered previously, women reported that they discovered significantly more lies from female sources than from men they knew. This finding may reflect the previous finding that discovering lies told by women is more likely than is discovering lies told by men.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, August, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Among terrestrial orchids, and particularly among the subtribe Orchidinae, flies are underrepresented as pollinators. The European Neotinea ustulata, which developed specialized pollination by tachinid flies, is known to produce high relative concentrations of the floral cuticular alkenes (Z)-11-tricosene and (Z)-11-pentacosene (referred to as (Z)-11-C23/C25enes), which seem to be uncommon among orchid flowers. If the evolution of tachinid pollination is related to that of (Z)-11-C23/C25enes, we can expect that closely related species have a different floral chemical pattern and significantly small or no production of (Z)-11-C23/C25enes, independently of their pollinator guild identity (e.g., bees, flies, moths). We chemically compared the floral cuticular composition among Neotinea species, performed electrophysiological analyses, reconstructed the phylogenetic Orchidinae tree, and identified the evolutionary history of pollinator guild and (Z)-11-C23/C25enes production within the Orchidinae. Neotinea ustulata has evolved a markedly different floral cuticular composition compared to other Neotinea and produces both compounds ((Z)-11-C23/C25enes) in high relative quantities (i.e., above 8% in combination), which are detectable by tachinid antennae. Moreover, most Orchidinae taxa have minimal or no production of these alkenes, independently of the identity of their pollinator guild. Our ancestral reconstruction suggested that (Z)-11-C23/C25enes production was an evolutionary exaptation in Neotinea, whereas tachinid pollination was a unique evolutionary innovation for N. ustulata. Floral cuticular composition and, in particular, the combined production of (Z)-11-C23/C25enes at relatively high concentrations is intimately linked to the evolution of tachinid pollination within the Orchidinae.

No description available.

Background: Multi-level marketing (MLM) is a specific type of direct selling where distribution and sales are facilitated through various levels of independent distributors. The MLM industry has changed through social media and it has become a channel for the distributors to communicate with customers and potential distributors. The downside to this development is that Internet and social media has made lies and exaggerations, digital deception, more common. Purpose and research questions: The purpose of this research is to investigate deceptive social media practices done by distributors of MLM firms operating in Sweden and discuss them from an ethical perspective. 1. What characteristics drive distributors in MLM firms to participate in practices that can be perceived as deceptive? 2. What deceptive practices on social media by distributors can be identified? 3. How do former distributors view the ethics of their own practices versus the practices of other distributors? Is self deception an aspect to consider? Method: The study applies a qualitative method to an explorative, cross-sectional research design. The collection of empirical data was done by conducting 9 semi-structured interviews with former MLM distributors. Result: Characteristics that drive deceptive practices are training, authority, transferal of norms and validating behaviour. Six deceptive practices were identified: pretending to be consumers on other distributors’ posts, manipulating before and after pictures, lying and exaggerating about the benefits of the products, pretending to be potential recruits, falsely describing the benefits of the business opportunity and charging extra for shipping. Former distributors were more willing to blame other distributors for unethical behaviour than themselves, which may be due to self deception. Contribution of the study: This study contributes with a modern perspective of MLM distributors. It extends existing research of ethical issues within MLM and contributes with the addition of self deception to provide deeper understanding.