Virginia Creeper

Portrait of Billy Mayerl; Hands playing piano surrounded by artistic borderhttps://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cht-sheet-music/13654/thumbnail.jp

Puppets

Two people and a dog as string puppets in various poseshttps://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cht-sheet-music/13884/thumbnail.jp

Marigold

Vase with artistic design, filled with flowershttps://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cht-sheet-music/13830/thumbnail.jp

Jazz Master

Portrait of Billy Mayerl; Cover information surrounded by artistic bordershttps://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cht-sheet-music/13826/thumbnail.jp

All-of-a-Twist

Portrait of Billy Mayerl; Hands playing the piano surrounded by an artistic borderhttps://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cht-sheet-music/13698/thumbnail.jp

Hollyhock

Flowers in the middle, with the cover information above and below themhttps://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cht-sheet-music/13770/thumbnail.jp

Response Latency Measurement in Surveys: Detecting Strong Attitudes and Response Effects

The paper reports on measurement and data treatment of response latencies in computer assisted surveys. Applying response latencies as a measure of mental processes, empirical hypotheses are tested to explain the occurrence of response effects (here: acquiescence bias) and the predictive power of generalized attitudes. Theoretically, it is assumed that behavioural and other specific evaluative judgments in surveys are stronger influenced by acquiescence bias and generalized attitudes when answering in a rather automatic-spontaneous response mode, i.e. when response latencies are fast. Additionally, it is assumed that chronic attitude accessibility acts as a moderator of acquiescence effects and predictive power of attitudes within spontaneous mode processing. Empirical tests show evidence in favour of these assumptions, demonstrating the usefulness of response time measurement in surveys

The Functional Significance of Structural Novelty in the Locomotor Apparatus of Turtles

The relationship between form and function can have profound impacts on the evolution and ecology of a lineage. Because of this relationship, variation in the morphology of a lineage has often been linked to adaptive radiations. However, form-function relationships are not linear, and variation in morphology does not necessarily predict variation in function due to the pervasive presence of mechanical equivalence in physiological systems. This possibility is often investigated through the lens of biomechanics, which uses physical principles to create a framework for comparing different systems with similar mechanical behaviors. Turtles represent an excellent system for studying how variation in structure might impact function. All extant turtles have descended from an aquatic common ancestor, and can be differentiated into two clades: cryptodires and pleurodires. These two clades can be distinguished by their pelvic girdle morphology. Cryptodires have an ancestral pelvic girdle morphology where the pelvis articulates with the sacral vertebrae at a joint, whereas pleurodires possess a derived morphology in which the pelvic girdle has been fused to the shell. My dissertation investigates the functional role of pelvic girdle fusion in pleurodire turtles by studying functional differences in the musculoskeletal system between pleurodires and cryptodires, and then by investigating how these functional differences might impact performance in water and on land. First, I evaluate differences in girdle movements between cryptodire and pleurodire turtles using X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology. Next, I examine how pelvic girdle fusion impacts muscle function and use during walking and swimming. Third, I studied the potential for this novel structure to influence swimming performance. Finally, I compare the bone loading regimes of pleurodires with cryptodires during terrestrial locomotion. Data from these studies provide insight into the functional importance of novel structures and how they can impact the ecological and evolutionary history of lineages

Responding to Socially Desirable and Undesirable Topics: Different Types of Response Behaviour?

Social desirability describes the tendency of respondents to present themselves in a more positive light than is accurate and is a serious concern in surveys. If researchers are better able to understand the underlying mechanisms responsible for social desirability bias, they may be able to devise ways to identify and correct for it. One possibility involves determining whether social desirability is more of a deliberate ‘editing’ of responses or an automatic, perhaps 'self-deceptive', act. Then researchers could potentially flag conspicuously fast or slow responses to improve data quality. We outline dual-process-related theoretical arguments for both scenarios and test their plausibility using data gathered in a tablet-based CASI survey of pre-service teachers in Germany that were asked to assess their suitability for their chosen profession. Our analysis involves the use of fixed-effects multilevel models that enable us to control for unobserved differences between respondent- and item-characteristics while also examining cross-level interactions between the predictors at various levels. Specifically, we examine the classic respondent- (i.e. need for social approval) and item-related characteristics (i.e. trait desirability) associated with social desirability bias, as well as the speed at which the respondents gave their answers. Doing so allows us to observe under what circumstances the respondents tended to overstate positive characteristics as well as understate negative ones. We find evidence for social desirability as an automatic as well as a deliberate response behaviour. However, the mechanism responsible for determining whether social desirability occurs automatically or deliberately seems to be whether the item content is desirable or undesirable. Desirable traits seem to elicit faster socially desirable responses whereas undesirable traits seem to elicit slower socially desirable responses