"Have you trapped birds inside the ceiling?"
Reactions varied widely when PhD fellow Maham Riaz carried out an experiment on her unsuspecting colleagues. Riaz is a researcher at the RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion at the University of Oslo, and in one of her studies she placed speakers playing birdsong inside the center's offices.
One speaker was hidden in a recycling box in the kitchen; another was concealed in a cardboard box close to the printer. The sound came and went, triggered by sensors detecting movement.
"When we are indoors, we usually remain in static environments - at the office, at home, or in the library. When birdsong suddenly appears, it affects us, and most often in a positive way," says Riaz.
