Lecture on climate change by David F. Hendry attended

Tonight I attended a lecture titled "Climate change: Past, present and future" given by the British economist David F. Hendry of INET, Institute for New Economic Thinking, Oxford University (who is cited some 40.000 times on Google Scholar´s account). The lecture was very informative on certain points - for instance, I learned that UK´s carbon dioxide emmissions per capita was as high around 1860 as it was around 1975 (the second peak in UK history), and that carbon dioxide emissions per capital stock has gone down some 90 % in both the UK and US since its peak by that measure. 

The lecture was arranged by the Oxford Martin School.

NASS XI (Stavanger 2019) - preliminary info

Preliminary info about the 11th conference of the Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies (NASS), to be held in Stavanger June 2019, has been published on the NASS webpage.

To grade two master theses

I have agreed to take part in grading two master theses to be defended at University of Oslo (IFIKK), as external examiner.

TSOAR intro cited in Buscemi 2018

Our article

Tønnessen, Morten and Kadri Tüür 2014. The semiotics of animal representations: Introduction. In Kadri Tüür and Morten Tønnessen (eds), The Semiotics of Animal Representations (Nature, Culture and Literature 10), Amsterdam/New York: Rodopi, p. 7–30. 

is cited (p. 5) in:

Buscemi, Francesco 2018. The Ancestral Room of the State? Scotland and the United Kingdom on Jamie’s Great Britain. Journal of Communication Inquiry. Published online  March 27th 2018. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0196859918766880.

Excerpt (p. 5):

Biosemiotics is a branch of semiotics that extends the theory of signs to the natural environment and to the relationships between humans and Nature. For biosemioticians, natural systems are composed of signs and codes that represent, communicate, and signify (Tønnesen & Tuur, 2014). Biosemiotics is of interest for this article because it also focuses on how humans perceive and represent the relationships between Nature and Culture and has interestingly challenged traditional theories which used to see the two concepts as separate and even in conflict.

Plans for full writing days

From now on I plan to start having a full-day writing day, working at home, every week, whenever possible. I have made preliminary plans for the rest of this year.

LinkedIn

I currently have 429 connections associated with my LinkedIn profile. I don´t want too many of them, but it is always nice to connect with people with similar mindsets, or people with whom I have shared history.

Writing trip to Oxford

I am currently (27/4-2/5) in Oxford, at a hotel, on a writing trip. This is my very first writing trip (and my first visit to Oxford), but I intend to have another one at some point this summer (both funded with my Yngre Fremragende Forskere (Younger Outstanding Researchers) funds). I am primarily drafting (or at least getting started with) two articles, work-titled "The case for minimizing anthropogenic mortality in wildlife management" and "Introducing a notion of accumulated GDP".

Book chapter on cultural aspects of large predator conflict revised

Yesterday I finished revising my book chapter "Rovdyrstriden - det kulturelle bakteppet". Expected publication this autumn.

Three supervision sessions this week

This week I have had two supervision sessions with Bachelor thesis students - last round - and one with a Master thesis student.

Call for papers for "Semiotics of hybrid nature" conference

A call for papers for the conference "Semiotics of hybrid natures: Anthropogenic ecosystems, multimodalities, transformed umwelts" (Tartu, Estonia, November 8-10th) has appeared. I am involved as plenary speaker along with Nathalie Blanc and Kati Lindström. Abstract submissions are due May 31st.

PhD project description approved

The final project description of PhD student Joakim Jiri Haaland, whom I am supervising, has been approved by the PhD committee at Faculty of social sciences.

To share experiences on EEA funding info day at UiS

I have agreed to give a brief presentation of my experiences with EEA research funding at University of Stavanger´s upcoming EØS funding info day May 3rd. This concerns my role as Norwegian project leader for the Estonian-Norwegian research project "Animals in changing environments: Cultural mediation and semiotic analysis".

Lunch meeting with department PhD scholars

Today - accompanied by my youngest son, who is not quite in shape today - I met with PhD students at Department of social studies as part of their "sofaforelesning" (couch lecture) series involving faculty.

Program area "Philosophy and subjectivity" approved; launches May 1st

Yesterday we were notified that University of Stavanger, or more specifically the Dean of Faculty of Social Sciencesm has approved the establishment of the program area for research "Filosofi og subjektivitet" [Philosophy and subjectivity], with me among the core members. The program area is officially established May 1st and for now runs until December 31st.

JCSW special issue meeting

Today I have attended a meeting on a special issue of Journal of Comparative Social Work which will soon be announced, with fellow guest-editors, the Editor-in-Chief, and administrative staff.

Meeting on research methods teaching

Today I have, along with several colleagues, attended a department meeting on research methods teaching in the bachelor degrees at Department of social studies.

MSCA-IF proposal writing workshop attended

Today I am attending a UiS proposal writing workshop, held by Yellow Research, on MSCA Individual Fellowships (2018 call).

Two explanations of grading

Today I have provided two explanations of grading in "Philosophy of science and health care ethics".

PhD supervision seminar attended

Today I am attending a PhD candidates´ and supervisors´s seminar "Towards a successful relationship - roles, expectations and good conduct", held by University of Stavanger at Scandic Hotel Forum.

Book project description for Vekstkrisen submitted to text book prize competition

Last night I finished composing, and submitted, a contribution to Universitetsforlaget´s text book prize competition. The material submitted included CV, a sample chapter, and a 6 page project description for a book tentatively titled Vekstkrisen - Hva norsk økofilosofi sier om vekstøkonomien.

Most-publishing researcher at department; #3 at faculty

According to Cristin reporting for 2017, I was the most-publishing researcher at Department of social studies, with 4,8 publication points (6 publications), and 3rd most-publishing at Faculty of social science (which now consists of only 3 departments).

Top 5 for Faculty of social sciences:

#1 Kjell Hausken (SV-IMS/TN-IØRP) 10,6 points (9 publications)

#2 Lennart Rosenlund (SV-IMS) 5,0 points (3 publications)

#3 Morten Tønnessen (SV-IS) 4,8 points (6 publications)

#4 Svein Tuastad (SV-IS) 4,3 points (8 publications)

#5 Bjørn Ivar Kruke (SV-IMS) 3,6 points (7 publications)

Another NORPART meeting

Today I attended a meeting with two department colleagues and our visitor from Havana Angela Pena, in relation to our NORPART application. I am imvolved as a member of the project team and in developing, tentatively, a prospective course in "Inyercultural practice".

Supervision

Third supervision with one of my four Bachelor thesis students done today - this completes third round of BA supervision (one left).

Dates of 14th world congress of semiotics announced

The 14th world congress of semiotics, organized by the International Association for Semiotic Studies (IASS), will be held in Buenes Aires, Argentina, on September 9-13th 2019. "Trajectories" are mentioned as a thematic keyword for the congress - see congress homepage.

Ontogeny of early human Umwelt article cited in Rognini 2018

My article

Tønnessen, Morten 2014. The ontogeny of the embryonic, foetal and infant human umwelt. Sign Systems Studies 43 (2/3): 281-307.

is cited in:

Rognini, Paolo 2018. Vestigial Drifting Drives in Homo sapiens. Biological Theory. Published online April 6th 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13752-018-0297-7

Excerpt (p. 5, in the section "The Ecological Crisis: Two Examples of Dysfunctional Behavior"):

"Homo sapiens [... has developed] a strong, innate sense of acquisitiveness; a ravenous voraciousness. This could occur because: [...] (b) being born immature ([...] Tønnessen 2014) it bears a negative potential (an intrauterine parasitic stage), compensated for by [...] a hunger for "objects" from both the real and the ideal world [...]"

ResearchGate stats

According to the metrics of ResearchGate (see my profile) I currently have 101 citations and 2,761 reads of my papers registered there. My ResearchGate score is currently 16.56.

Preface and introduction for Ex.Phil. anthology written

Last night (sic) I finished a brief introduction and the preface for the Ex.Phil. anthology that Universitetsforlaget will publish this autumn (Ex.Phil. for sosialfag).

Lecture by Øystein Olsen on monetary policy attended

I have just attended a guest lecture by Norway´s central bank governor Øystein Olsen on Norway´s monetary policy, arranged by the UiS Business School.

Supervision

Another supervision today, the last this week.

Cake

Today we were served cake at Department of social studies, sponsored by the Faculty of social sciences, the leadership of which is happy about our relative progress in producing publication points.

NORPART meeting

Today I attended a meeting with two colleagues in relation to our NORPART application which is due by end of May.

Forskningsindeksen metrics and rankings as of 2016

According to Forskningsindeksen, as of 2016 I had 18.51 publication points the last 10 years (NB: I have only reported to Cristin, the Norwegian system, since 2012). This made me #2758 in Norway and #159 at University of Stavanger (UiS). In 2016 I was #77 at UiS and #1362 in the country, according to the same metrics, with 4.57 publication points.

Data for 2017 are not yet available in Forskningsindeksen.

PhD project plan response

Today I have responded thoroughly and for the last time to a PhD project plan, as supervisor. To be submitted now today.

Draft of CFP for JCSW

I have just drafted a Call For Papers for a special issue of Journal of Comparative Social Work, tentatively titled "Social change in South America and the Nordics". Awaiting feedback from fellow guest-editors and chief editor.

Google Scholar: 284 citations

According to Google Scholar (see my profile) my work has now been cited 284 times, including 10 times so far in 2018 publications. The total is up 5 since March 8th. 2017 now stands with 63 citations, as does 2016. 

My h-index remains 8 and my h10-index 7. 

Supervision

Today and tomorrow I engage in supervision of my PhD student and one of my Bachelor thesis students (written feedback). A PhD project plan is due tomorrow.

Field visit info and planning

Today I met with the MFAMILY class in the "Welfare state and welfare policy" course to inform the students about arrangements for a forthcoming field visit to Stavanger City Hall in May.

Publication point statistics for 2017

Publication point statistics by faculty and department were just released internally. These show a new record for University of Stavanger, with 1.021 publication points, and for Department of social studies, with 27,4 points.

As far as I understand my 2017 publications were credited with 4,8 publication points, given the new system (which rewards international co-authorship). This means I was responsible for 18% of the publication points of my department, and 5% of the publication points credited to Faculty of social sciences.

4 supervision sessions

This week I have supervised four students - one PhD, one Master, and two Bachelor thesis students.

Third lecture, song at gallery

Yesterday I gave the third and final lecture at Sølvberget galleri in connection with Eli Glader´s video art exhibition "Vitner". The lecture was titled "Vi er alle migranter - Flukt som menneskets situasjon", and attended by 18 people. Ahead of the lecture, "Herfra til ingensteder" by my musical alias The Schopenhauer Experience was played.

To guest-edit special issue of JCSW

I will be one of four guest editors for a forthcoming special issue of Journal of comparative social work (a peer-reviewed open access  journal), due to be published next Spring.

Chapter selection for new Ex.Phil. anthology

Yesterday i finished selecting chapters for a new edition of Ex.Phil. for sosialfag, edited by me this time (last version was edited by Jon Vegar Hugaas), to be published by Universitetsforlaget this autumn.

The anthology will feature a chapter by me ("Menneskeveldet") as well as an introductory chapter written by me, in addition to 15 other chapters.

Academia.edu stats

My Academia.edu profile has 12,882 views to date - 519 followers, and "author rank" 3.5. Currently lists 80 talks, 53 papers.