Monja A. Knoll

Avian cerebellar floccular fossa size is not a proxy for flying ability in birds

Extinct animal behavior has often been inferred from qualitative assessments of relative brain region size in fossil endocranial casts. For instance, flight capability in pterosaurs and early birds has been inferred from the relative size of the cerebellar flocculus, which in life protrudes from the lateral surface of the cerebellum. A primary role of the flocculus is to integrate sensory information about head rotation and translation to stabilize visual gaze via the vestibulo-occular reflex (VOR). Because gaze stabilization is a critical aspect of flight, some authors have suggested that the flocculus is enlarged in flying species. Whether this can be further extended to a floccular expansion in highly maneuverable flying species or floccular reduction in flightless species is unknown. Here, we used micro computed-tomography to reconstruct “virtual” endocranial casts of 60 extant bird species, to extract the same level of anatomical information offered by fossils. Volumes of the floccular fossa and entire brain cavity were measured and these values correlated with four indices of flying behavior. Although a weak positive relationship was found between floccular fossa size and brachial index, no significant relationship was found between floccular fossa size and any other flight mode classification. These findings could be the result of the bony endocranium inaccurately reflecting the size of the neural flocculus, but might also reflect the importance of the flocculus for all modes of locomotion in birds. We therefore conclude that the relative size of the flocculus of endocranial casts is an unreliable predictor of locomotor behavior in extinct birds, and probably also pterosaurs and non-avian dinosaurs.

Using the Internet for speech research: an evaluative study examining affect in speech

The Internet has rarely been used in auditory perception studies due to concerns about standardisation and calibration across different systems and settings. However, not all auditory research is based on the investigation of fine-grained differences in auditory thresholds. Where meaningful ‘real-world’ listening, for instance the perception of speech, is concerned, the Internet may be a more appropriate and ecologically valid setting to collect data. This study compared affective ratings of low-pass-filtered infant-, foreigner- and British adult-directed speech obtained with traditional methods in the laboratory, with those obtained from an Internet sample. Dropout rates and demographic distribution of participants in the Internet condition were also assessed. The results show that affective ratings were similar for both the Internet and laboratory samples. These findings indicate the viability of Internet-based research into affective speech perception and suggest that precise acoustic environmental control may not always be necessary.

Motherese and Chinese: Evidence of acoustic changes in speech directed at infants and foreigners

Infant‐directed speech (IDS) is characterized by hyperarticulation, increased pitch, and high emotional affect, which is in turn thought to reflect a linguistic and emotional role for IDS. If the linguistic role is an independent contributor of the changes in IDS, then similar hyperarticulation should also occur in foreigner‐directed speech (FDS) but without positive affective changes. To test this, nine mothers were recorded talking to their infants, and British‐ and foreign‐adult confederates. Mothers were provided with toys to elicit the target words shark, sheep, and shoe, containing the corner vowels /a/, /i/, and /u/. Speech samples were analyzed to determine mean pitch and formant 1 and 2 (F1/F2) values of target vowels. Low‐pass filtered speech samples of the mother’s interactions in each condition were rated on positive and negative vocal affect by 24 independent raters. Results showed that mothers hyperarticulated their vowels (indexed by F1/F2 values) in both IDS and FDS relative to ADS. Furthe...

The Theory of Planned Behaviour as a framework for understanding parental experiences with homework

Research into parental homework-related experiences has predominantly focused on parental attitudes to homework. This research has shown that parental attitudes can affect the formation of attitudes in children and subsequently their academic success. Most research has focused on a secondary school context, but there is still a lack of knowledge within primary school contexts. The present study qualitatively investigated parental homework-related experiences in a Scottish primary school context and the factors influencing these experiences, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour as a framework. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 Scottish parents (12 mothers, mean age [M] = 35, standard deviation [SD] = 2.7; and one father, age = 38 years) and were analysed using a hybrid approach to Thematic Analysis. The three themes identified were: “theory of planned behaviour”, “factors influencing parental control” and “coping mechanisms”. Parents provided help with homework regardless of their attitude to homework but their homework experience was influenced by factors encountered during homework and the coping mechanisms adopted.