In this dissertation, the phonetic perception abilities of simultaneous bilingual (SB) language users exposed to both Canadian English (CE) and French (CF) from birth were tested to examine mechanisms underlying this process. It is well established that monolingual speakers' speech perception abilities are highly tuned to the sounds of their native language, and that this language specificity affects how they distinguish the sounds of a second language. However, it is not well understood how the speech perception skills of simultaneous bilinguals, who are native speakers of two languages, are shaped. In order to investigate speech processing in this population, two studies were designed to assess the vowel perception abilities of monolingual and SB users of CE and CF at two different stages of speech processing. In Study 1, using a behavioral vowel categorization paradigm, we measured how the control of active language mode or language context (English, French, or bilingual) affects the perception of acoustically similar cross-language vowel categories (specifically, front /y/ and back /u/ high vowels). As expected, monolingual speakers demonstrated a language-specific perceptual pattern for the vowels; however, the SB participants displayed different patterns in each active language mode and were able to accommodate acoustically similar vowel categories relevant in the target language, which was achieved by dissimilation (separation) of the categories. These findings indicate that SB listeners rely on a finely detailed perceptual space and are flexible as they adapt their perception to different language environments.In Study 2, using event-related brain potentials, we recorded pre-attentive processing involved in vowel perception as reflected by the mismatch negativity (MMN). The SB listeners exhibited a MMN pattern that was distinct from both monolingual listener groups even during the earliest levels of speech processing, as the SB pre-attentive system is tuned to access sub-phonemic detail with respect to both of their input languages, including detail that is not readily accessed by either set of monolingual peers. This automatic access to fine phonetic detail may be essential in supporting the SBs' ability to make rapid, effortless shifts in perception across different communication contexts (French, English, bilingual). / Dans le cadre de la présente thèse de doctorat, nous avons examiné la perception de la parole chez des individus bilingues simultanés (IBS) exposés au français canadien (FC) et à l'anglais canadien (EC) dès la naissance, afin de caractériser les mécanismes de base de la perception de la parole chez ces individus. C'est bien établi que la perception de la parole chez les locuteurs monolingues est hautement sélective pour les sons de leur langue maternelle, et que cette spécificité linguistique affecte la manière dont ces individus perçoivent les sons de langues secondes. L'organisation de la perception de la parole chez les IBS, lesquels sont des locuteurs natifs de deux langues, est beaucoup moins bien comprise. Afin d'examiner la perception de la parole chez ces individus, nous avons effectué deux études sur la perception des voyelles, à deux niveaux de traitement différents, chez des locuteurs monolingues et bilingues simultanés du français et de l'anglais canadien. La première étude mesure l'impact du contexte linguistique (français, anglais, bilingue) sur la perception de voyelles acoustiquement similaires existant dans les deux langues (plus précisément, la voyelle haute frontale /y/ et la voyelle haute postérieure /u/). Tel qu'attendu, les locuteurs monolingues démontrent un patron perceptif spécifique à leur langue maternelle. Les IBS, au contraire, démontrent un patron différent pour chaque contexte linguistique et sont capables de distinguer des voyelles acoustiquement similaires appartenant à chacune des deux langues--un résultat qu'ils obtiennent grâce à la phénomène de dissimilation. Ces résultats indiquent que les IBS possèdent un espace perceptuel remarquablement détaillé ainsi que la capacité à passer aisément d'un mode perceptif à un autre en fonction du contexte linguistique. La deuxième étude a utilisé les potentiels cérébraux évoqués, plus spécifiquement la négativité de discordance (MMN), pour étudier le rôle des mécanismes pré-attentionnels dans la perception de la parole. Les résultats de cette étude révèlent des patrons de MMN distincts entre les locuteurs monolingues de chacune des deux langues et les IBS, et ceci même lors des stades les plus précoces du traitement de la parole, un résultat qui démontre que le système pré-attentionnel des IBS est sensible au détail phonétique des sons de chaque langue, détail auquel les locuteurs monolingues de chacune de ces langues n'ont pas nécessairement accès. Cet accès automatique au détail phonétique pourrait être une composante essentielle de l'habileté des IBS à passer rapidement et sans effort d'un mode perceptuel à un autre en fonction du contexte linguistique (anglais, français, bilingue).

Information technology (IT) enabled information systems (IS) are widely used within most organisations today. Since the introduction of IT enabled IS in the 1980’s, there have been numerous reports of problematic and failed implementations. The implementation stage has been emphasised as the stage in the IS life cycle where a large number of issues arise, and the implementation phenomenon has been widely studied. Despite this research focus, there is still not a consensus within the IS research community about what factors lead to implementation failure, and what factors facilitate implementation success. There are many studies that examine the use of IS through models of user behaviour, typically focussing on explaining the variance of a particular variable such as usage frequency. Two such studies raised questions that were important in framing this thesis. Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, G. and Davis, F. (2003) asked whether or not efforts put into understanding factors that contribute to increased usage actually help predict IS success, and to what degree systems considered to have been successfully adopted are actually successful from an organisational perspective. Jasperson, Carter and Zmud (2005) suggested that research should look further than simple dependent variables such as usage, and that uptake of system features might be a better indicator of implementation success. Further, it was suggested that the implementation outcome might be influenced by behaviours and factors that occurred after the installation of IS, and that few models of implementation actually contained a post-adoptive stage. In order to answer these and other questions concerning the implementation of IS within organisations, a longitudinal, qualitative study of the implementation of an enterprise wide IS within an organisation was conducted using the ethnographic methodology of participant observation. The focus of the study was the impact of individual and group behaviour on the implementation success of IS. This focus necessitated exploration of the concept of implementation success, its measurement and how implementation success is perceived throughout an organisation. An important outcome from this study was a Conceptual Model of Information System Implementation within Organisations (CMISIO). The CMISIO, based upon observations from the study, describes implementation as a multi-faceted phenomenon guided within organisational constraints to achieve a pre-determined organisational fit. Organisational fit captures the notion of success, which was seen to vary depending upon the perspective of an observer within the organisation. In this way implementation success was seen to be a multi-faceted phenomenon. The intent of the model was not to reduce the implementation phenomenon to components, but rather to capture those organisational factors that lead to site-specific variations in IS implementation. There were a number of important findings from the study that have relevance for both IS researchers and practitioners. The IS implementation process can take much longer than is widely reported. Studies that only focus upon a part of the process might fail to capture salient factors that are important in the overall implementation outcome. Evidence to support the importance of Jasperson et al.’s (2005) adoption phase, as well as a later phase of adaptation was found. Adaptation, where organisational users adapt the new IS to their particular needs, can take months or years, and a lack of organisational support within this phase can lead to eventual implementation failure. An IS within an organisation is only special for a certain time, and management focus can shift before the implementation process has been completed. The organisational climate that exists at the time of implementation provides constraints that IS project teams must recognise and work within. Elements of the organisation’s culture can also be important factors in understanding motivations behind behaviours that may be either supportive of or detrimental to the implementation. The study found evidence that some behaviours seen as negative towards the IS implementation were likely motivated by psychological reactance (Brehm, 1966), where individuals react to real or perceived threats to their organisational freedom. The reactance was generated by factors not just associated with the IS, and this finding suggests that in order to predict the implementation outcome within an organisation it is necessary to understand factors other than those directly associated with the IS being implemented. Finally, the scientist-practitioner model used within psychology was suggested as a working model that could be used to help integrate the large body of IS research into organisations. The model focuses on the integration of science-based research and day-to-day practice whereby each informs the other through involvement. This proposal addresses a perceived gap between the researchers looking at IS on the one hand and practitioners implementing IS within organisations on the other.

Information technology (IT) enabled information systems (IS) are widely used within most organisations today. Since the introduction of IT enabled IS in the 1980’s, there have been numerous reports of problematic and failed implementations. The implementation stage has been emphasised as the stage in the IS life cycle where a large number of issues arise, and the implementation phenomenon has been widely studied. Despite this research focus, there is still not a consensus within the IS research community about what factors lead to implementation failure, and what factors facilitate implementation success. There are many studies that examine the use of IS through models of user behaviour, typically focussing on explaining the variance of a particular variable such as usage frequency. Two such studies raised questions that were important in framing this thesis. Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, G. and Davis, F. (2003) asked whether or not efforts put into understanding factors that contribute to increased usage actually help predict IS success, and to what degree systems considered to have been successfully adopted are actually successful from an organisational perspective. Jasperson, Carter and Zmud (2005) suggested that research should look further than simple dependent variables such as usage, and that uptake of system features might be a better indicator of implementation success. Further, it was suggested that the implementation outcome might be influenced by behaviours and factors that occurred after the installation of IS, and that few models of implementation actually contained a post-adoptive stage. In order to answer these and other questions concerning the implementation of IS within organisations, a longitudinal, qualitative study of the implementation of an enterprise wide IS within an organisation was conducted using the ethnographic methodology of participant observation. The focus of the study was the impact of individual and group behaviour on the implementation success of IS. This focus necessitated exploration of the concept of implementation success, its measurement and how implementation success is perceived throughout an organisation. An important outcome from this study was a Conceptual Model of Information System Implementation within Organisations (CMISIO). The CMISIO, based upon observations from the study, describes implementation as a multi-faceted phenomenon guided within organisational constraints to achieve a pre-determined organisational fit. Organisational fit captures the notion of success, which was seen to vary depending upon the perspective of an observer within the organisation. In this way implementation success was seen to be a multi-faceted phenomenon. The intent of the model was not to reduce the implementation phenomenon to components, but rather to capture those organisational factors that lead to site-specific variations in IS implementation. There were a number of important findings from the study that have relevance for both IS researchers and practitioners. The IS implementation process can take much longer than is widely reported. Studies that only focus upon a part of the process might fail to capture salient factors that are important in the overall implementation outcome. Evidence to support the importance of Jasperson et al.’s (2005) adoption phase, as well as a later phase of adaptation was found. Adaptation, where organisational users adapt the new IS to their particular needs, can take months or years, and a lack of organisational support within this phase can lead to eventual implementation failure. An IS within an organisation is only special for a certain time, and management focus can shift before the implementation process has been completed. The organisational climate that exists at the time of implementation provides constraints that IS project teams must recognise and work within. Elements of the organisation’s culture can also be important factors in understanding motivations behind behaviours that may be either supportive of or detrimental to the implementation. The study found evidence that some behaviours seen as negative towards the IS implementation were likely motivated by psychological reactance (Brehm, 1966), where individuals react to real or perceived threats to their organisational freedom. The reactance was generated by factors not just associated with the IS, and this finding suggests that in order to predict the implementation outcome within an organisation it is necessary to understand factors other than those directly associated with the IS being implemented. Finally, the scientist-practitioner model used within psychology was suggested as a working model that could be used to help integrate the large body of IS research into organisations. The model focuses on the integration of science-based research and day-to-day practice whereby each informs the other through involvement. This proposal addresses a perceived gap between the researchers looking at IS on the one hand and practitioners implementing IS within organisations on the other.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1995. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-04, Section: B, page: 2895.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1996. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-08, Section: B, page: 5350.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1997. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 59-07, Section: B, page: 3723. Adviser: Anita L. Greene.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 2003. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 64-06, Section: B, page: 2949. Adviser: Stephen Hibbard.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 2005. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-11, Section: B, page: 6306. Adviser: Amy M. Wisniewski.

Thesis (PH.D.) -- Syracuse University, 2007. / "Publication number AAT 3281730"

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Psychology and Cognitive Science, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-09, Section: B, page: 6353. Adviser: Robert M. Nosofsky. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 9, 2008).