The internet has served as the virtual world since the beginning of the digital era, and it has provided consumers the valuable source of information and become a fundamental basis of e-commerce by passing the limit of time and distance of offline stores. It is hard to imagine our life without the internet. Because consumers store and access their private and financial information on the internet, information security is even more important than ever. Although many studies demonstrate the importance of information security to consumers, researchers have paid little attention to consumers\' inference processing underlying their perceptions of information security. We investigate how consumers infer and evaluate online information security based on consumer inference making process and metacognitive experience. We argue that consumers\' perceived security could be enhanced by simply increasing complexity, even if that increased complexity is meaningless. It is because consumers have a belief that security is achieved by sacrificing convenience or increasing complexity. We demonstrated that consumers evaluated a website more secure when asked to enter redundant information in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 suggested that disfluency and difficulty of retrieval could increase perceived security because metacognitive experience makes consumers misattribute their feeling of difficulty to technical difficulty. We found that the positive effect of disfluency was held when a product was not security-related. In Chapter 3, we focused on how to improve the accuracy of security judgments. We found that perceived security enhanced by meaningless complexity would be adjusted by asking specific dimensions of security (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability), and the positive impact of a disfluency effect could be debiased by providing participants the true source of their subjective difficulty. Furthermore, we demonstrated that consumers\' interpretation about accessibility experience varied depending on what kind of naïve theory was activated. Through a series of experiments, we demonstrated our arguments were valid and these results provided useful insights and implications about consumers\' inference processing and perception of information security. / Ph. D.

The influence of levels of hostility on the lateralized tasks of verbal and nonverbal fluency, and the concurrent cerebral regulation of autonomic nervous system functioning was examined. Forty-eight right-handed males were recruited for participation with half classified as low-hostile and the other half as high-hostile. Previous research has shown that high-hostile males, at rest, have greater right hemisphere arousal relative to low-hostile males. It was predicted that this heightened, at rest, arousal would lead to reduced capacity to perform right hemisphere lateralized proximal tasks simultaneously. Two commonly used neuropsychological tests sensitive to left and right anterior cerebral systems are the Controlled Oral Word Association Test and the Ruff Figural Fluency Test (RFFT) respectively. Nonverbal fluency, verbal fluency, and perseverative errors were assessed using these measures. Cardiovascular measures of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate were assessed using oscillometric technique with a digital blood pressure meter. A dual-task methodology was used to evaluate these anterior and posterior cerebral systems simultaneously. Since cardiovascular regulation and nonverbal fluency are both right-frontal tasks, it was predicted that high hostile men would evidence increased interference on cardiovascular regulation concurrent with the nonverbal fluency task in comparison with low hostile men. It was also predicted that high-hostile males would display more perseverative errors than low- hostile males on the nonverbal fluency task as a function of regulatory interference. The results supported a capacity-limited prediction in high-hostile males. High-hostile males evidenced significantly heightened systolic blood pressure responses during the nonverbal fluency task in comparison with low hostile males. Further, high-hostile males displayed more perseverative errors in nonverbal fluency than did the low-hostile males. No differences were found in the overall fluency scores (verbal or nonverbal). These results partially support the expectation that differences exist between high and low hostile males for right frontal functioning. Moreover, these differences manifest in multiple domains of associated right frontal functioning. These findings extend the evidence for the proposed anterior-posterior inhibition model of hostility. / Master of Science

O constante desenvolvimento das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TIC), sobretudo da internet, tem gerado impactos sobre diferentes aspectos da vida em sociedade. No âmbito educacional, o uso das tecnologias proporciona o surgimento de novas práticas e modalidades de ensino-aprendizagem, tal como a Educação online. Em se tratando dessa modalidade aplicada ao ensino-aprendizagem da expressão oral em Língua Estrangeira, as condições tecnológicas mais recentes possibilitam o desenvolvimento das competências para além da simples repetição, tornando-se centradas na interação (GUICHON; TELLIER, 2017). Assim, esta pesquisa tem como objetivos analisar o impacto das TIC na expressão oral dos alunos em contexto on-line, verificar em que medida as orientações e atividades podem a favorecer fluência oral e a fluência digital dos alunos e, por fim, avaliar o papel do professor durante as interações orais em ambiente on-line. A pesquisa desenvolvida é de natureza qualitativa-interpretativista com orientação metodológica da pesquisa-ação (BARBIER, 2007; THIOLLENT, 2009) por permitir ao professor se integrar de forma mais ativa ao contexto de investigação. A produção dos dados se deu através do curso Produções orais on-line, oferecido aos alunos da Licenciatura em Letras/Francês de duas universidades públicas brasileiras e realizado a distância por meio das ferramentas Google (Google+, Drive e Hangouts). O referencial teórico que orientou a análise dos dados remete aos conceitos de fluência oral e interação no ensino-aprendizagem de Línguas Estrangeiras (SILVA, 2000; NUNAN, 203; CICUREL, 2011), Letramento e Fluência Digital (DUDENEY, HOCKLY e PEGRUM, 2016; PINHO, 2011), uso das TIC na abordagem por tarefas (LOUVEAU, MANGENOT, 2006). Os resultados mostraram que as ferramentas do Ambiente Virtual Google potencializaram as interações orais quando deram maior espaço de atuação aos participantes-alunos durante as aulas on-line. A fluência oral deles saiu fortalecida, sobretudo após a realização de interações espontâneas na língua-alvo. Por fim, esta pesquisa traz contribuições para o ensino-aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras em contexto on-line, bem como para a formação de professores que desejem desenvolver, além das competências linguísticas, a fluência digital em suas práticas docentes. / The continued development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), especially the Internet, has generated impacts on different aspects of life in society. In the educational field, technologies use provides the emergence of new practices and teaching-learning modalities, such as on-line Education. When it comes to this modality applied to the teaching-learning of oral expression in Foreign Language, the most recent technological conditions allow skills development beyond simple repetition, becoming focused on the interaction (GUICHON; TELLIER, 2017). Thus, this research aims to analyze the ICT impact on oral expression of students in an online context, to verify to what extent the orientations and activities can favor students oral fluency and digital fluency and, finally, to evaluate the teacher role during oral interactions in the on-line environment. The research developed is qualitativeinterpretative with an action-research methodological orientation (BARBIER, 2007; THIOLLENT, 2009) for allowing the teacher to integrate more actively into the research context. The data was produced through the course \"On-line oral productions\", offered to the Literature/French Degree students of two Brazilian public universities and carried out at a distance through Google tools (Google+, Drive and Hangouts). The theoretical framework that guided the data analysis refers to concepts of oral fluency and interaction in the Foreign Languages teaching-learning (SILVA, 2000, NUNAN, 203; CICUREL, 2011), Literacy and Digital Fluency (DUDENEY, HOCKLY and PEGRUM, 2016; PINHO, 2011), ICT use in the taskbased approach (LOUVEAU, MANGENOT, 2006). The results showed that Google Virtual Environment tools enhanced oral interactions when they gave more space to the student-participants during on-line classes. Their oral fluency was strengthened, especially after spontaneous interactions in the target language. Lastly, this research brings contributions to the foreign languages teaching-learning in an on-line context, as well as for the training of teachers who wish to develop, in addition to language skills, digital fluency in their teaching practices.

English-language learners (ELLs) demonstrate lower levels of English reading proficiency than do native English-speaking students. Oral reading fluency (ORF), the number of words read correctly in 1 min, is one indicator of reading proficiency. Within second language (L2) reading research, there have been few studies of L2 ORF development. The purposes of this study were to: (a) model the trajectory (i.e., initial status and growth) of English ORF in Grades 2 and 3 for Spanish-speaking ELLs in bilingual education programs, and (b) determine the effect of a 4-year structured intervention in English language and reading on L2 ORF development. Data were archived from Project ELLA, a longitudinal, randomized study documenting ELLs' acquisition of English language and reading from kindergarten through third grade. Data included 1,470 observations of English ORF from 283 ELLs at 17 schools. Schools were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=8) or control (n=9) condition. In intervention schools, a one-way dual language program and a comprehensive ESL intervention were implemented. The intervention emphasized L2 oral language development in kindergarten and first grades, basic L2 reading skills in second grade, and content-area reading skills in third grade. In the control schools, the district's typical transitional bilingual education program and ESL curricula were implemented. L2 ORF was measured using DIBELS ORF on six occasions. Piecewise multilevel growth models were used for data analysis. In Grades 2 and 3, ELLs followed a two-stage linear growth trajectory in English ORF, with a large decrease in level between grades. Slope parameters were positive in both grades but decreased slightly in third grade. Participating in Project ELLA added 1.52 wcpm per month to students? ORF scores in Grade 2. Both intervention and control groups improved at the same rate in Grade 3; however, intervention students maintained the higher level of ORF that was attained during second grade. Therefore, the ELLA intervention accelerated L2 ORF growth in second grade, such that intervention students read with greater fluency compared to control students throughout second and third grades.

Thesis (Ed. S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Psychology, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 15-16).

O constante desenvolvimento das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TIC), sobretudo da internet, tem gerado impactos sobre diferentes aspectos da vida em sociedade. No âmbito educacional, o uso das tecnologias proporciona o surgimento de novas práticas e modalidades de ensino-aprendizagem, tal como a Educação online. Em se tratando dessa modalidade aplicada ao ensino-aprendizagem da expressão oral em Língua Estrangeira, as condições tecnológicas mais recentes possibilitam o desenvolvimento das competências para além da simples repetição, tornando-se centradas na interação (GUICHON; TELLIER, 2017). Assim, esta pesquisa tem como objetivos analisar o impacto das TIC na expressão oral dos alunos em contexto on-line, verificar em que medida as orientações e atividades podem a favorecer fluência oral e a fluência digital dos alunos e, por fim, avaliar o papel do professor durante as interações orais em ambiente on-line. A pesquisa desenvolvida é de natureza qualitativa-interpretativista com orientação metodológica da pesquisa-ação (BARBIER, 2007; THIOLLENT, 2009) por permitir ao professor se integrar de forma mais ativa ao contexto de investigação. A produção dos dados se deu através do curso Produções orais on-line, oferecido aos alunos da Licenciatura em Letras/Francês de duas universidades públicas brasileiras e realizado a distância por meio das ferramentas Google (Google+, Drive e Hangouts). O referencial teórico que orientou a análise dos dados remete aos conceitos de fluência oral e interação no ensino-aprendizagem de Línguas Estrangeiras (SILVA, 2000; NUNAN, 203; CICUREL, 2011), Letramento e Fluência Digital (DUDENEY, HOCKLY e PEGRUM, 2016; PINHO, 2011), uso das TIC na abordagem por tarefas (LOUVEAU, MANGENOT, 2006). Os resultados mostraram que as ferramentas do Ambiente Virtual Google potencializaram as interações orais quando deram maior espaço de atuação aos participantes-alunos durante as aulas on-line. A fluência oral deles saiu fortalecida, sobretudo após a realização de interações espontâneas na língua-alvo. Por fim, esta pesquisa traz contribuições para o ensino-aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras em contexto on-line, bem como para a formação de professores que desejem desenvolver, além das competências linguísticas, a fluência digital em suas práticas docentes. / The continued development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), especially the Internet, has generated impacts on different aspects of life in society. In the educational field, technologies use provides the emergence of new practices and teaching-learning modalities, such as on-line Education. When it comes to this modality applied to the teaching-learning of oral expression in Foreign Language, the most recent technological conditions allow skills development beyond simple repetition, becoming focused on the interaction (GUICHON; TELLIER, 2017). Thus, this research aims to analyze the ICT impact on oral expression of students in an online context, to verify to what extent the orientations and activities can favor students oral fluency and digital fluency and, finally, to evaluate the teacher role during oral interactions in the on-line environment. The research developed is qualitativeinterpretative with an action-research methodological orientation (BARBIER, 2007; THIOLLENT, 2009) for allowing the teacher to integrate more actively into the research context. The data was produced through the course \"On-line oral productions\", offered to the Literature/French Degree students of two Brazilian public universities and carried out at a distance through Google tools (Google+, Drive and Hangouts). The theoretical framework that guided the data analysis refers to concepts of oral fluency and interaction in the Foreign Languages teaching-learning (SILVA, 2000, NUNAN, 203; CICUREL, 2011), Literacy and Digital Fluency (DUDENEY, HOCKLY and PEGRUM, 2016; PINHO, 2011), ICT use in the taskbased approach (LOUVEAU, MANGENOT, 2006). The results showed that Google Virtual Environment tools enhanced oral interactions when they gave more space to the student-participants during on-line classes. Their oral fluency was strengthened, especially after spontaneous interactions in the target language. Lastly, this research brings contributions to the foreign languages teaching-learning in an on-line context, as well as for the training of teachers who wish to develop, in addition to language skills, digital fluency in their teaching practices.

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Aesthetic expressions have been seen as the manifest of human culture. The psychology of aesthetics have proposed various models, describing the various phenomena related to aesthetic experience, such as sensory pleasure derived from aesthetic stimuli, emotional response toward aesthetic depiction, cognitive mastering over aesthetic emotion, etc. However, further examination reveals current models have theoretical limits for the explanation of society-wide aesthetic preference due to limited scope of focus. Thus, the current project proposes a new theoretical framework to describe the process through which the society comes to converge on aesthetic preference. Examination of related theories and experimental evidence shows that the convergence process of our aesthetic preference is a function of several inter-related yet independent psychological mechanisms at the perceptual, affective, and cognitive stages of aesthetic processing. The proposed framework can inform future research in general psychology as well as other applications, such as the making of creative machines.Aesthetic expressions have been seen as the manifest of human culture. The psychology of aesthetics have proposed various models, describing the various phenomena related to aesthetic experience, such as sensory pleasure derived from aesthetic stimuli, emotional response toward aesthetic depiction, cognitive mastering over aesthetic emotion, etc. However, further examination reveals current models have theoretical limits for the explanation of society-wide aesthetic preference due to limited scope of focus. Thus, the current project proposes a new theoretical framework to describe the process through which the society comes to converge on aesthetic preference. Examination of related theories and experimental evidence shows that the convergence process of our aesthetic preference is a function of several inter-related yet independent psychological mechanisms at the perceptual, affective, and cognitive stages of aesthetic processing. The proposed framework can inform future research in general psychology as well as other applications, such as the making of creative machines.

The advent of digital typography has seen the printed letter permeate many aspects of our world, due to its function as the visual manifestation of verbal language. However, few scientific researchers have paid attention to these innocuous and ubiquitous characters. Furthermore, existing typeface research has generally been divided into two strands: For nearly ninety years, communicators (writing, marketing, business, and design professionals) have made attempts to investigate how typefaces of different classes and styles might indicate different personalities to the viewer, and explored the notion of typeface appropriateness. More recently, psychologists have taken advantage of word processing software to manipulate perceptual fluency by changing the fonts of different documents, finding several interesting effects. In this study, two experiments were conducted, with the aim of acknowledging and synthesizing both lines of inquiry. In Experiment 1, a restaurant menu was printed with either an easy-to-read, fluent font or a difficult-to-read, disfluent font. It was expected that reading the disfluent font would influence participants’ (n = 110) choices from the menu as well as certain judgments about the dishes. However, there was only one significant effect, whereby participants who read the disfluent font expected to enjoy their chosen dessert less than those who read the fluent font. In Experiment 2, participants (n = 94) judged a person of the opposite sex using the Big Five Inventory, a measure of human personality. The target photograph was paired with a name set in one of two fonts (familiar and unfamiliar). Female participants rated the target higher on the factor of Openness when the name was printed in the novel font. The results of the current study indicate that to some extent, document designers may safely continue selecting typefaces through intuition, and do not necessarily need the supplementation of additional empirical research.