Talk:Michael Owren

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Need further review on article about Michael Owren[edit]

I have made significant modifications relevant to the Michael Owren article and I hope they are sufficient to make it possible to remove the "issues" statements. 1. I added numerous citations to Owren's work that occur in secondary sources, including textbooks and books of readings related to the topics where he was an expert and major contributor. 2. I added a link to the Owren article from the major article on Alarm Signals, the link being embedded within a paragraph that I added to the Alarm Signals article. Here is the addition: "Not all scholars of animal communication accept the interpretation of alarm signals in monkeys as having semantic properties or transmitting "information". Prominent spokespersons for this opposing view are Michael Owren and Drew Rendall,[15][16] whose work on this topic has been widely cited and debated.[17][18] The alternative to the semantic interpretation of monkey alarm signals as suggested in the cited works is that animal communication is primarily a matter of influence rather than information, and that vocal alarm signals are essentially emotional expressions influencing the animals that hear them. In this view monkeys do not designate predators by naming them, but may react with different degrees of vocal alarm depending on the nature of the predator and its nearness on detection, as well as by producing different types of vocalization under the influence of the monkey's state and movement during the different types of escape required by different predators. Other monkeys may learn to use these emotional cues along with the escape behavior of the alarm signaler to help make a good decision about the best escape route for themselves, without there having been any naming of predators." 3. I can put this sort of addition in several other Wikipedia articles if necessary.

Please consider removing the "issues" statement on the article about Michael Owren. I made these modifications more than a month ago, and am waiting for an update. I am not a sophisticate user of the Wikipedia communication system, and don't really know the technology well, so please give me advice if you can. I am planning to contribute regularly, but I need some help. Thanks, D. Kimbrough Oller Professor and Plough Chair of Excellence The Univ. of Memphis

kimoller Kimoller (talk) 15:52, 13 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]