30 Ex.phil. papers graded

The last couple of days I have graded 30 papers in Examen Philosophicum at Department of social studies (University of Stavanger), stepping in for my substitute. Paid as overtime.

Google Scholar: 401 citations, h-index 11; tenfold increase since 2013

According to Google Scholar my academic work has by now attracted 401 citations (cf. my Google Scholar profile). This is up 15 since November. My h-index is 11, meaning that 11 of my texts have been cited at least 11 times each. This is up 1 since November. My h10-index is 13, which is down 1 since November (an additional six papers have 8 or 9 citations and are this close to reaching 10 plus each).

2019 stands with 47 citations. This is only my fifth-best year.

Here is an overview of year-end accumulated totals (closest date recorded in same year):

2013 (28Apr): 38

2014: n/a 

2015 (30Sep): 88

2016 (6Dec): 155

2017 (19Dec): 261

2018 (22Nov): 351

2019 (26Dec): 401

Autumn´s last (half) writing day; 27.481 words written this autumn

Today I had half a writing day, with some 3,5 hours devoted to revising my hybrid natures article. This brings the total number of article writing days this autumn up to 32, with some 27.481 words written.

Council for animal ethics´ statement on oil fund ethical guidelines

Here is the statement (in Norwegian) from Norway´s Council for animal ethics to the Committee to review the Guidelines for Observation and Exclusion of Companies from the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), which was drafted by me.

 

Half writing day

Today I have had half an article writing day devoted to revision of my hybrid nature article. This brings the total number of writing days this autumn up to 31,5.

RCN application got grade 3

My research application sent to Research Council of Norway, "Assessing human and animal welfare in the Anthropocene", got grade 3 (scale 1-7) from the expert panel. Not a good result at all.

Ethics council statement drafted

On behalf of Norway´s Council for animal ethics, I have drafted the council´s statement to the Committee to review the Guidelines for Observation and Exclusion of Companies from the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), which will be submitted later today.

Virtual issue in honor of Jesper Hoffmeyer published

Biosemiotics has published a virtual issue in honor of Jesper Hoffmeyer. The virtual issue consists of the editorial "Jesper Hoffmeyer´s biosemiotic legacy" and all his Springer Nature publications (6 articles and 8 book chapters), which are freely accessible online for a period of 8 weeks.

Half writing day; work with hybrid nature article

Today I´ve had half an article writing day, bringing this autumn´s number of writing days up to 31. I spent some 3 hours revising my hybrid natures article for Biosemiotics. I added some 100 words, looked over use of number punctuation and citation marks etc., and changed the title to: "Current human ecology in the Amazon and beyond: A multi-scale approach".

One last meeting this autumn

Today I attended the appointments committee meeting at Faculty of social sciences, with my 4-year old son sitting next to me making drawings.

AHAWELL not funded by RCN

Today it was announced what research projects got funded by the Research Council of Norway following the April 10th deadline this Spring. My research project application "Assessing human and animal welfare in the Anthropocene" (AHAWELL) was not among them.

Two meetings

Today I have attended the faculty leadership group meeting at Faculty of social sciences, where we mostly discussed action plans for 2020, including action plan for research (drafted by me). I have also chaired the second meeting of the new ph.d. committee in the ph.d. programme in social sciences.

Four meetings

Today I have attended four meetings: a faculty leadership budget meeting; a work lunch on prospective Norwegian-Baltic research collaboration; a planning meeting for the faculty´s upcoming Fagdag (academic day), and an appointments committee meeting related to the position as Head of department of Department of media and social sciences.

Plans for publishing English-language scientific monograph on CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement

I have received a letter of intent from Universitetsforlaget (Scandinavian University Press) for the planned publication of an English-language scientific monograph work-titled Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. Tentative publication year is 2021.

Half writing day

Today I had half an article writing day devoted to revision of my article "Human ecology in the Amazonas and beyond: An ecosemiotic analysis". I deleted some 260 more words than I wrote. This brings total number of writing days this autumn up to 30,5.

Faculty leadership meeting; action plan for research drafted and discussed

Today I attended the faculty leadership meeting at Faculty of social sciences. At the meeting we discussed my draft for action plan for research in 2020.

EiC teleconference call with Springer

Today I have attended an introductory teleconference video call with two fellow Editors-in-Chief and our new Springer Publishing editor contact, Emi Kirilova.

Three meetings as Vice-Dean of research

Today - now back in Stavanger - I have attended three meetings:

* a meeting with people working with the regional plan for Jæren in the Rogaland county administration

* a meeting related to Network for welfare research and two related program areas for research

* a dialogue meeting with two representatives for UIS doctoral community

MC meeting; leaving Paris

Today I attended the second half of the Management Committee meeting of the COST action GroupHouseNet, at FIAP in Paris (I am a deputy representative for Norway). I was also there for a planned Working Group meeting which for most of those present did not materialize due to concerns over our trips home given the ongoing political strike affecting pubic transportation.

Laying hen ethics article presented at final GroupHouseNet congress in Paris

Yesterday I presented our article "The ethics of laying hen genetics" at the Final Congress og the COST action "Synergy for preventing damaging behavior in group housed pigs and chickens" (Grouphousenet), at FIAP in Paris. 15 minutes of fame. Some 100 people from 20+ countries attended the congress.

1,5 more writing days; revision of "What can be known about future Umwelten" finished

In the process of completing the revision of my article "What can be known about future Umwelten", submitted to The American Journal of Semiotics, I had half an article writing day on Monday (day before yesterday) and a full article writing day last evening. And complete the revised article I did, at 01.30 or so. This brings the total number of article writing days this autumn up to 30.

Autumn´s 28,5th article writing day

Today I had an article writing day, with some 6 hours devoted to work on revising "What can be known about future Umwelten?" I have made three more figures, namely "The minimal Umwelt generally", "Umwelt prediction" and "Umwelt scenarios" (the two latter improvements of earlier attempts, now that I am using Google Drawing), and added some 600 words to the text. 

This brings the number of article writing days this autumn up to 28,5.

Two meetings

Today I have attended the faculty leadership meeting at Faculty of social sciences, and a meeting with UIS´ Vice-Rector for research in relation to research strategy.

27,5th article writing day; revision plans; book plans

Today I have had half a writing day, with some 2,5 hours devoted to various academic writing work. This includes planning for the revision of "Current human ecology in Amazonas and beyond: An ecosemiotic analysis", and for the book project Semiotic agency: Science beyond mechanism (see previous post about recent acceptance). I also wrote some 200 words on "What can be known about future Umwelten?"

This brings the total number of article writing days this autumn up to 27,5.

Book proposal "Semiotic agency: Science beyond mechanism" accepted by Springer Nature

Today I was notified that our book proposal Semiotic agency: Science beyond mechanism has been accepted by Springer Nature with plans for publishing the book in their Biosemiotics book series. Planned publication is in 2021. Alexei Sharov is first author, whereas I am second author for the book.

One and a half meeting

Today I attended the appointments committee meeting of the  Faculty of social sciences - but only two people with voting rights were present. We had our say about some cases, awaiting written input from other members, and decided that one case is to be rescheduled for the next meeting.

I also attended a planning meeting related to Network for welfare research (workshop plans and efforts to establish the steering group).

Annual UIS research ethics seminar chaired

Today I have chaired the annual seminar in research ethics of University of Stavanger, arranged by the UIS research unit in collaboration with the faculties-initiative Forum for forskning. The topics were publication ethics (lecture by COPE council member Frits Rosendaal) and handling of sensitive personal data. Some 90 people attended, at Måltidets hus.

Two and a half meeting

Today I attended the rector meeting at University of Stavanger (for the second time - standing in for Dean at Faculty of social sciences Gro Ellen Mathisen), the Forskningsutvalget (research committee) meeting, and the first 15 minutes of the Vice-Dean for research meeting chaired by Vice-Rector for Research Merete Vadla Madland.

Keynes essay submitted to Samtiden

I have submitted my essay "Vårt salige bestemmelsessted" to the Norwegian general interest journal Samtiden.

Editorial "Jesper Hoffmeyer´s Biosemiotic legacy" published online

Our editorial "Jesper Hoffmeyer´s biosemiotic legacy" was published online in Biosemiotics on November 22nd. Read it by following this link: https://rdcu.be/bX1YN

Reference:

Tønnessen, Morten, Alexei Sharov & Timo Maran 2019. Jesper Hoffmeyer's Biosemiotic Legacy. Editorial. Biosemiotics 12(3). Published online November 22nd 2019. DOI: 10.1007/s12304-019-09369-5.

"The ethics of laying hen genetics" published online; reference; abstract

Our article "The ethics of laying hen genetics" was published online (Open Access) in Journal of agricultural and environmental ethics November 22nd. Already 332 downloads. Link for reading (and download): https://rdcu.be/bX1XR 

Reference:

Mia Fernyhough, Christine J. Nicol, James Yeates, Michael J. Toscano & Morten Tønnessen 2019. The ethics of laying hen geneticshttps://rdcu.be/bX1XR. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics. Published online November 22nd 2019. DOI: 10.1007/s10806-019-09810-2.

Abstract:

Despite societal concerns about the welfare of commercial laying hens, little attention has been paid to the welfare implications of the choices made by the genetics companies involved with their breeding. These choices regarding trait selection and other aspects of breeding significantly affect living conditions for the more than 7 billion laying hens in the world. However, these companies must consider a number of different commercial and societal interests, beyond animal welfare concerns. In this article we map some of the relevant dilemmas faced by genetics companies in order to outline the scope of opportunities to improve welfare under current market conditions. This includes identifying cases where different animal welfare concerns conflict. We discuss the moral responsibility of laying hen genetics companies and the welfare implications that derive from the choices they make and the policies they follow. In addition to evaluating a selection of predominant current practices and breeding goals, we outline different angles from where to assess the moral legitimacy of various industry practices and policies. We discuss specific issues such as injurious pecking, bone health, induced moulting, chick culling and the circumstances of breeding stock. 

Autumn´s 27th article writing day

Today I had this autumn´s 27th article writing day, with some 5 hours devoted to revision of "What can be known about future Umwelten?" I made two key figures (namely "Weak signals in relation to threatened and emerging Umwelten objects" and "Three-dimensional interactive semiotic model of environmental change"; where the latter incorporates the notions "Umwelt transition" and "Umwelt trajectory" within a larger whole) and wrote some 400 words.

Forum for forskning planning meeting

Yesterday I attended a planning meeting for Forum for forskning making plans for events in 2020. Four faculties are involved.

Presentation of sustainability-themed UHR conference at Greenhouse lunch

Yesterday, Thursday November 28th, I talked about the sustainability-themes Universities Norway conference held earlier this week in Oslo for The Greenhouse during the weekly Greenhouse Thursday lunch. Some 10 people attended.

Third gathering of hunting network attended in Oslo

Today I have attended the third gathering of the network "Jakt i endring" (Hunting undergoing change), in Oslo Science Park. The gathering amounted to a day full of presentations, including on preliminary findings from a Q survey conducted within the network on attitudes to hunting and related issues.

Conference of Universities Norway (UHR) attended

Today I have attended the annual UHR conference in Oslo (at Radisson Oslo Plaza). UHR, Universities Norway (the Norwegian name is Universitets- og høyskolerådet, which translates to "the university and university college council"), is a national association for Norwegian universities and university colleges. The topic for this year´s conference has been "Collaboration for a sustainable society". I attended the session "Education for transformation: Whose values and visions are shaping the future" by Karen O´Brien as well as all plenary session. I also attended the conference dinner.

Google Scholar: 386 citations; h-index 10; h10-index 14

On the count of Google Scholars, my academic publications have attracted 386 citations to date. This is up 35 since March. My h-index is 10 (up from 9 in March), and my h10-index 14 (meaning 14 papers have attracted at least 10 citations each). On top, "Umwelt transitions: Uexküll and environmental change" now has as many citations (37) as "Umwelt ethics", which has up to now been my most cited paper.

See my profile at Google Scholar.

"Umwelt transitions: Uexküll and environmental change": According to Springer, this paper has 1.900 downloads and 15 tracked citations.

Number of citations in 2019 is said to be 31.

NASS board meeting chaired

Today I chaired the first board meeting of the new board of the Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies, elected at this summer´s General Assembly in Stavanger during NASS XI. the meeting took place via Skype. 

Autumn 26th article writing day; 40.000 words written so far this year

Today I have had this autumn´s 26th article writing day, with some 5 hours devoted to revision work on my article "What can be known about future Umwelten?". I deleted ca. 1.100 more words than I wrote; reworked the disposition for the paper; drafted a list of planned figures; and searched for software for making academic graphics.

At 26 article writing days so far this autumn, the semester´s number of article writing days already by far surpasses that of the Spring semester (16 article writing days - I also had several application writing days). Next Spring even more article writing days is planned.

Year totals to date: 42 article writing days; ca. 40.000 words written in article/chapter format (ca. 14.361 words in Spring, 25.906 to date this Autumn).

Autumn´s 25th article writing day

Today I have had this autumn´s 25th article writing day, planning for the next semester´s writing day (see previous post) and working on the revision on my article "What can be known about future Umwelten". For the first time this autumn, the word count (written) was negative, since I deleted more than I added (additions were six new references). 

Writing plan for Spring 2020 composed; fewer conferences next summer

In consequence of my more busy work life now that I am Vice Dean for Research, I have, already, scheduled article writing days for next Spring. Counting 53 writing day as of now (with 2 writing days from home each week as the rule), this is the highest number of writing days I have planned for a semester so far. This Spring my research time was too pressed by the Vice Dean role; this autumn I have protected it a bit more strictly.

It also makes a difference that whereas I attended no less than 5 conferences etc. within five weeks June-July this year, I intend to attend fewer conferences next summer. For now I am just planning attending a symposium in May (invited) and 3 conferences next year (one in July, one in August, one in October, the latter invited). I am open to more if exciting opportunities show up, but don´t want to have as busy a summer next year as I had in 2019 - something that also meant I hardly had time to write this June.

To present "The ethics of laying hen genetics" at GroupHouseNet final dissemination event in Paris December 10th

I am scheduled to present our paper "The ethics of laying hen genetics" at the Final Dissemination Meeting of the COST action "GroupHouseNet", which takes place in Paris on December 10th. The paper is co-written with Mia Fernyhough (first author), Mike Toscano, Christine Nicol and Teun van de Braak - and will shortly appear Open Access in Journal of agricultural and environmental ethics.

20th gathering in biosemiotics to be held at Palacký university July 8-12th 2020

The call for papers for the 20th gathering in biosemiotics, to be held at Palacký university in Olomouc, Czech Republic July 8-12th 2020, has been released, see conference webpage. Abstract deadline is February 28th.

8th Norwegian Animal Ethics Conference held; panel chaired

Today the 8th Norwegian Animal Ethics Conference (Dyreetikkonferansen) was held, at Litteraturhuset in Oslo. I have been one of four members of the organizing committee. My role today was limited to chairing a panel discussion (see image). This year´s topic was "Menneskets mest avlede venn? Dagens hundeavl i etisk lys" (Human´s most bred friend? Current dog breeding in ethical light). Some 150 people attended the conference, including two school classes.

Photo: Anne Hilde Røsvik.

Laying hen ethics article proof-read

I have just completed proof-reading of our article "The ethics of laying hen genetics", which will soon appear Open Access in Journal of Agricultural and Environmental ethics.

Council for animal ethics meeting attended; pyton snake held

Today I have attended the second meeting of Norway´s Council for animal ethics in this period, at Adamstuen. The meeting included a lecture on reptiles, and a guided tour at Oslo reptilpark, where I held a pyton snake.

"What can be known about future Umwelten?" to be revised

I have received reviewer comments from The American Journal of Semiotics, with an invitation to revise and resubmit my paper "What can be known about future Umwelten?".

Hoffmeyer editorial proof-read

Today I have proof-read our editorial "Jesper Hoffmeyer´s biosemiotic legacy" (co-written with Alexei Sharov and Timo Maran) which will shortly appear in Biosemiotics.

Three meetings and then off

Today I have attended the faculty leadership group meeting, chaired the first meeting of the new ph.d. committee (for the ph.d. in social sciences), and attended a meeting deciding on (proposals for) estimation of work hours for some ph.d.-related tasks.

A forum and a meeting

Today I attended the biannual "Lederforum" (leadership forum) at University of Stavanger, which was focussed on strategy. I also attended a meeting of the steering group for the NORPART project "Cuban and Nordic welfare" (our first since this Spring).

Hearing statement on open science composed

Two days ago I composed the hearing statement of Faculty of social sciences on the University of Stavanger´s new policy for open science (brief comments to the recommendations of a working group).

Leadership group gathering in Twente attended; University of Twente visited

Thursday and Friday this week, i.e. November 14-15th, I attended the leadership group gathering of Faculty of social sciences in Enschede in the region of Twente in the Netherlands. The program included discussing strategy and visiting the University of Twente - where we had 7-8 appointments including being shown around at two labs. In particular, we met with people representing Faculty of Behavioral, Management and Social Sciences (BMS).

Party leader Ropstad cites my demography chapter in Bergens Tidende chronicle

CORRECTION: The newspaper says they added the link, not Ropstad.

***

Kjell Ingolf Ropstad, party leader for Kristelig folkeparti (the Norwegian Christian Democrats) has written a chronicle published in Bergens Tidende today entitled "Skaper vi menneskeverd, redder vi miljøet". In a paragraph about the environmental movement´s attitude to population growth, he cites a book chapter of mine (see link below):

Det kanskje mest bekymringsfulle, er når det tas til orde for drakoniske tiltak for å redusere verdens befolkning. Den norske økofilosofen Arne Næss mente at verden ikke tålte en befolkning på mer enn 100 millioner. På 1960-tallet førte alarmismen i boken The Population Bomb av den amerikanske befolkningseksperten Paul Erlich til at Vesten (herunder Norge) sponset «befolkningstiltak» i India og andre land som førte til grove brudd på menneskerettighetene.

Reference:

Tønnessen, Morten 2014. Statistikerens guide til utopia II: En demografisk analyse av øko-visjoner om befolkningsnedgang i det tredje årtusen [The statistician's guide to utopia II: A demographic analysis of eco-visions of population decline in the third milennium]. In the Festschrift Motmæle: En antologi til Kjersti Ericsson, Cecilie Høigård og Guri Larsen [Speaking out: An anthology for Kjersti Ericsson, Cecilie Høigård and Guri Larsen] (eds Heidi Mork Lomell and Liv Finstad), p. 435–453. Oslo: Novus forlag. Tilgjengelig via UiS Open Research Archive: http://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2367876/T%25C3%25B8nnesen.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

His assertion that Arne Næss thought 100 million people was all the Earth could take is not entirely accurate. What he did say at one point is that he thought a world population of 50 to 100 million people would be sufficient to maintain cultural diversity (and that a lower world population would be acceptable for humans and beneficial for non-humans overall).

Ropstad´s reference to my chapter refers to my Academia.edu page, where the chapter is also available.

Editorial on legacy of Jesper Hoffmeyer accepted for publication

Our editorial "Jesper Hoffmeyer´s biosemiotic legacy" has been accepted for publication in Biosemiotics. Handling editor was Kalevi Kull.

"The ethics of laying hen genetics" accepted for publication

Our article "The ethics of laying hen genetics" has been accepted for publication in Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics.

Enschede

Today I have travelled from Stavanger to Enschede in the region Twente in the Netherlands, to take part in the faculty leadership group gathering over the next two days.

Autumn´s 24th article writing day

Today I had this autumn´s 24th article writing day, with close to 5 hours devoted to my article "Wasted growth".

Half writing day - autumn´s total 23

Today I had half an article writing day, with some 3 hours devoted to my article "Wasted growth", and some 500 words added. Worked with calculations of nonincome HDI today. So far this autumn I have had 23 writing days.

Two meetings

Today I have attended two meetings, first appointments committee meeting regarding Head of department for Norwegian School of Hotel Management, then an information meeting centrally in relation to the NOKUT inspection next week. The latter was held in conjunction with the rector meeting (for 1 hour plus lunch).

Half writing day - new total 22,5

Today I had half an article writing day, reorganizing some writing day plans for the next couple of months and doing a little work on my article "Wasted growth". Now the fun part begins, with calculations of non income HDI and, soon, wasted growth.

Total number of article writing days this autumn is up to 22,5.

Interview on radio show "Ekko" on so-called pest animals

On October 23rd I was interviewed live on national radio, on NRK P2´s Ekko. Program host was Martin Jahr, and the topic "skadedyr" ("pest animals"). The episode featuring the interview can be heard here.

Public lecture on humans as global species given at Museum of Archaeology

On Tuesday November 5th I gave a public talk at Museum of Archaeology in Stavanger entitled "Mennesket som global art" (The human species as global species), as one of this autumn´s "tirsdagsforedrag" (Tuesday lectures). Some 55 people attended. The event lasted for some 90 minutes including questions/comments.

Photos: Helge Sivertsen

Writing day - autumn´s total now 22

Today I had half a writing day devoted to my article "Wasted growth", with some 400 words composed. Total number of article writing days this autumn is up to 22.

Two meetings or so

Today I have attended the faculty leadership meeting at Faculty of social sciences, and a meeting related to call for applications for the position as leader of Network for welfare research.

Writing day - autumn´s total now 21,5

Today I had a writing day with some 5 hours devoted to my article "Wasted growth", and some 600 words composed. Total number of article writing days this autumn is up to 21,5.

First "new" Forum for forskning chaired

Today I chaired the first Forum for forskning at University of Stavanger in the new forum series. This forum´s topic was open access publication. There was also a debate on the Dora declaration. Some 40 people attended.

A meeting or two

Today I attended the Faculty of social sciences´ leadership group meeting - which included a meeting with the Pro-rector for innovation and society Rune Dahl Fitjar.

Planning meeting

Today I have attended a planning meeting concerning tomorrow´s Forum for forskning, which I will be chairing (see also previous post).

Ad for public lecture on global species

This ad is in Stavanger Aftenblad today, ahead of my public lecture tomorrow at Museum of Archeology.

Two meetings and 50 emails to go

Today I have been attending a planning meeting for the faculty´s "fagdag" next year, and an info meeting in relation to the establishment (starting today) of research schools in the ph.d. program in social sciences.

50 emails to go...

Two more half writing days - total now 20,5

With half an article writing day yesterday, and half an article writing day today, this autumn´s total is now up to 20,5 article writing days, with 10 of them in October (a new record). Both (half) days I have been working on my article "Wasted growth - case study: The American nightmare". Some 300 words added today - meaning a table or two, with comments.

Accreditation application approved by UIS board

Today the board of the University of Stavanger has unanimously decided to approve the accreditation application for the ph.d. program in social sciences, which I am leading in my capacity as Vice Dean of Research at Faculty of social sciences. The reorganized programme, with five research schools, will be in effect from tomorrow.

Three meetings yesterday

Yesterday I attended a regular dialogue meeting with one of the faculty´s departments, the annual festivities (årsfest), with doctoral promotion and announcement of three prices, and a meeting related to the Network for welfare research.

Autumn´s 19,5th article writing day - "What can be known about future Umwelten?" finished

Today I have had this autumn´s 19,5th article writing day, finishing my article "What can be known about future Umwelten?", which I have now submitted to The American journal of Semiotics. With 2.360 words written, this is the third most productive writing day so far this autumn by that measure.

Abstract: This article addresses Umwelt futurology, the study of future Umwelten, i.e. semiotic lifeworlds. Umwelt futurology as I describe it is an interdisciplinary enterprise founded on Umwelt theory but also drawing on work done in other academic studies of future developments. Asking what can be known about future Umwelten, I ascertain that our most solid knowledge about any Umwelt situated on Earth whether in the present, in the past or in the future, is derived from an understanding of what constitutes the minimal Umwelt in general and more specifically in Earthly terms. In the design, as it were, of organisms and their lifeworlds, it is not at all the case that anything goes. Knowledge about the basic features of the minimal Umwelt in effect provides us with the foundational building bricks that we need to construct an empirically informed Umwelt futurology. I argue that both predictions and scenarios concerning future lifeworlds can be developed from within this theoretical framework. While Umwelt predictions are meant to be of a merely factual nature, Umwelt scenarios may feature both factual and normative elements. In the case of the latter, factual predictions are – at least implicitly – complemented with assumptions regarding our preferences or desires with regard to future lifeworlds. While Umwelt predictions can give us more informed ideas about the future, Umwelt scenarios can help us make more informed choices whenever we discuss actions, lifestyles or policies that have an impact on future lifeworlds.

 

Keywords: futures studies, Umwelt theory, minimal Umwelt, Umwelt futurology, Umwelt prediction, Umwelt scenario

Autumn´s 18,5th article writing day

Today - and in part yesterday - I have had this autumn´s 18,5th article writing day, with some 1100 words added to my article "What can be known about future Umwelten?"

Faculty leadership meeting

Today I attended the Faculty of social sciences´ leadership meeting (involving dean, director, and vice deans).

Biosemiotics editorial on the legacy of Jesper Hoffmeyer

I have just submitted our editorial for Biosemiotics entitled "Jesper Hoffmeyer´s Biosemiotic Legacy". It has been written by me, Alexei Sharov and Timo Maran.

Two meetings - Network for gender research renamed Centre for gender studies

Today I have attended a meeting of the Faculty of social sciences´ appointments committee (arriving late due to a late bus), and chaired the board meeting of the university´s Network for gender research, which has now been renamed Centre for gender studies (Senter for kjønnsstudier - see Norwegian language news story from the UIS intranet).

Ida Tingvik´s master thesis available online

This Spring I supervised Ida Bertelsen Tingvik´s master thesis in Master in Energy, Environment and Society at UIS, titled "How animals are affected by climate change - A Zoosemiotic investigation of polar bears and ringed seals on Svalbard". Now the master thesis, which refers to some of my work on Umwelt theory, is available online.

Two meetings; including last meeting of current Doctoral committee

Today I attended the Faculty of social sciences leadership group meeting, and chaired the last meeting of today´s Doctoral committee for the Ph.d. in social sciences (marked with cake and flowers). The accreditation application for the ph.d. programme in social sciences was treated and approved by the UIS Educational committee earlier this month, and will be treated by the UIS board October 31st.

Autumn´s 17,5th article writing day

Today I had the autumn´s 17,5th article writing day, with some 5 hours devoted to proof-reading of my chapter "The true value of "doing well" economically"; editing and finish our Biosemiotics editorial on the work of Jesper Hoffmeyer, and writing a little bit on my article "What can be known about future Umwelten"?

Autumn´s 16,5th article writing day; 20.000 words written this autumn

Today I have had this autumn´s 16,5th article writing day, with some 6 and a half hours devoted to my article "What can be known about future Umwelten?" I wrote some 1000 words, which means this is the 7th writing day this autumn I have written in excess of 1000 words, and that the autumn´s total has passed 20.000 words (with October having passed September´s word count as of today).

UIS news story on Network for welfare research posted on two more pages

The University of Stavanger news story about the establishment of Network for welfare research has now been posted on (linked to via) the UIS webpage´s Forskning (research) and Samarbeid (cooperation) pages.

Forum for forskning restarted - first event November 5th

I am involved in organizing a Forum for forskning event at University of Stavanger Tuesday November 5th. This is the first event under that name for two years, and represents a restart of Forum for forskning, in collaboration with 3 other UIS faculties.

This is the Forum for forskning homepage on UIS intranet. Here is presentation of the event November 5th, "Open Access og Dora-erklæringen" (Open Access and the Dora declaration).

Interviewed by NIFU in UIS strategy process

Today I was interviewed, along with a colleague, by NIFU in relation to their evaluation of the University of Stavanger´s current strategy (in preparation of our next strategy, for 2020-2030).

Two meetings

Today I have attended a meeting related to the establishment of a research school in welfare and social work, and a meeting with the Rogaland county authority (Rogaland fylkeskommune) in relation to their work on public health.

Autumn´s 15,5th article writing day

Today I have had what amounts to this autumn´s 15,5th article writing day, with some 5 hours devoted to wok on our editorial on Jesper Hoffmeyer and my article "What can be known about future Umwelten?", and some 1000 words written.

Two meetings

Today I have attended the Faculty of social sciences´ leadership group meeting - also featuring pro rector for education - and an appointments committee meeting for Head of department at Department of media and social science.

Book review of Svendsen published in Norsk Filosofisk Tidsskrift

My book review of Lars Svendsen´s Å forstå dyr (Understanding animals) has been published in Norsk Filosofisk Tidsskrift. Reference and link:

Tønnessen, Morten 2019. Lars Fr. H. Svendsen: Å forstå dyr: Filosofi for hunde- og katteelskere. Book review. Norsk Filosofisk Tidsskrift 54(3): 187–190. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1504-2901-2019-03-06

Network for welfare research established; news story, interview

Today a news story was published on the University of Stavanger intranet entitled "Nettverk for velferdsforskning er opprettet" (Network for welfare research has been established). The news story features an interview with me and is written by Nina Skarpsno Heide.

Preparation meeting, Network for gender research

Today I have attended a meeting in preparation of the board meeting of Network for gender research next week.

Autumn´s 14,5th article writing day

Today I have had half an article writing day, with some 2 and a half hours devoted primarily to my article "What can be known about future Umwelten?", and some 600 words written. Accumulated number of writing days this autumn is up to 14,5.

6000 reads on ResearchGate; RG score

My texts on my profile on ResearchGate have altogether reached 6.000 reads.

My ResearchGate score is 17.46.

Meeting with TTO representative

On Thursday (yesterday) I attended a meeting with Validé focused on Research Portfolio Screening with Technology Transfer in mind.

Autumn´s 14th article writing day

Today I have had the autumn´s 14th article writing day, with some 5 hours devoted to my article "What can be known about future Umwelten", and some 1000 words written.

Lunch lecture at the County Governor of Rogaland

Today I gave a lunch seminar at Fylkesmannen i Rogaland (County Governor of Rogaland, a federal function in the counties), for employees in their Agricultural department and their Environmental department, titled "Rovdyr og natur fra Amazonas til Hjelmeland". Some 30 people attended.

Two meetings

Today I attended a meeting of the Faculty of Social Sciences´ Appointments committee. Early morning...

Then a planning meeting concerning the university´s Network for welfare research, the establishment of which was formally approved last Friday.

Evaluation of Baltic-Norwegian research application

Our Baltic-Norwegian application received a positive evaluation, scoring 13,5 out of 15 possible points, I have been informed. However, to get funded, it would need 14,5 points or more, as only 7 of 130 applications were funded.

Autumn´s 13th article writing day

Today I had half an article writing day, drafting and sketching a Biosemiotics editorial on Jesper Hoffmeyer´s legacy, with some 900 words written. Total number of article writing days is now 13 this autumn.

12,5th article writing day this autumn

Today I have had another article writing day, with some 5 hours devoted to my article "What can be known about future Umwelten?", which is now some 900 words longer than it was yesterday. Total number of article days so far this autumn is 12,5.

Abstract for Sign Systems Studies article accepted by guest-editors

I have been notified that my abstract for the article "Anticipating the societal transformation required to solve the environmental crisis in the 21st century: Umwelt trajectories revisited" has been accepted by the guest-editors of the Sign Systems Studies special issue "Anticipation and change". A full draft is due by the end of January.

Autumn´s 11,5th article writing day

Today I have had half a writing day, with 2 and a half hour devoted devoted to my article "What can be known about future Umwelten?", and 4-500 words written. This brings the number of article writing days so far this autumn up to 11,5.

Two meetings

Today I have attended two meetings. First a faculty leadership meeting (with dean, director, and the other vice dean), and then a meeting related to the faculty´s research report.

Verdibørsen interview on how we talk about fish

Today I was interviewed live, along with veterinarian Stine Gismervik, on NRK P2´s Verdibørsen (national public radio), in the segment "Fiskevelferd og språk" (Fish welfare and language). Program host was Anne Bøhler. The program can be heard here. The segment lasts some 20 minutes.

Two more half writing days

Today I have had half an article writing day, focused on my article "What can be known about future Umwelten?" and some planning. I also had half a writing day on Monday, September 30th, finishing my Keynes essay. This brings the accumulated number of article writing days this autumn up to 11.

One meeting

Today I have had one meeting (but been busy even so), in relation to next year´s faculty budget.

No Norwegian-Baltic funding

I have been notified that our research application to the Baltic research programme (Estonian call) scheme was not funded.

See also:

baltic-Norwegian research application submitted (February 1st)

Keynes essay "2119" written and submitted to essay competition

Yesterday I wrote an essay entitled "2119" for an essay competition called by Norwegian daily Klassekampen and the Stavanger-based economics festival Kåkånomics. The framing of the competition is what the economy will look like in a hundred years (as Keynes discussed some 90 years ago).

Three meetings

Today I have attended the Forskingsutvalget (UIS research committee) meeting, a meeting on a cotutelle agreement, and a supervisory support group encounter in the book café.

Two invited plenary presentations given at zoo conference

Today I have given two talks at the conference of the Swedish zoo association (Svenska Djurparksföreningen), "Fremtidens dyreparker" (The zoos of the future). My talks were titled "Dyreparker i fremtiden - Om å møte samfunnets holdninger og forventninger" (Zoos in the future - about meeting society´s attitudes and expectations) and "Gjestemøter - snakker vi samme språk?" (guest meetings - do we speak the same language?). Some 40 people attended. My first lecture lasted for 70 minutes including questions, the second one 25 minutes. The conference takes place at Bjørneparken i Flå. This were invited plenary presentations.

Three meetings

Today I have attended three meetings. First the leadership group meeting at Faculty of social sciences. Then the ph.d. committee for the ph.d. in social sciences. And finally a planning meeting related to the Network for welfare research.

Autumn´s 10th article writing day

Today I have had this autumn´s 10th article writing day, devoted to work on my article "Wasted growth". Some 500 words written, this includes 2 tables generated and work on one more commenced.

COST expert

I have, upon request, confirmed my availability for review of a COST application.

Record turnout at Arne Næss Kunnskapstørst event

Yesterday I delivered the paper "Hadde Arne Næss rett om miljøkrisen?" (Was Arne Næss right about the environmental crisis?) at Måltidets hus under the banner of Kunnskapstørst and Forskningsdagene. Some 40 people attended - from what I am told, this is the biggest turnout to date for a Kunnskapstørst event in the Stavanger region.

Three planning meetings

Today I have attended a planning meeting concerning a research ethics seminar, another planning meeting on the faculty´s research report, and a planning meeting on the Norwegian Animal Ethics Conference (Dyreetikkonferansen) 2019.

Autumn´s 9th article writing day

Today I have had this autumn´s 9th article writing day, commencing work on my article "What can be known about future Umwelten?", with some 1500 words written/organized.

Dissertation dinner

Last evening I took part in a ph.d. dissertation dinner following Cato Hemmingby´s successful defense earlier the same day.

Second Ph.D. defense preceded over

Today I have preceded over the trial lecture and doctoral defense of Cato Hemmingby. He defended the ph.d. thesis "Terrorists and Targets: A Relationship Founded on Bad Intentions, Limited Capacities and Risk Willingness". His supervisors were Tore Bjørgo and Odd Einar F. Olsen. The dissertation committee consisted of Anja Dalgaard-Nielsen, John Morrison and Brynjar Lia.

Three meetings

Today I have attended three meetings, including the "rector meeting" at University of Stavanger (first time - features the rector and vice rectors, the deans, and selected directors), and a meeting on the Faculty of Social Sciences´ research report.

UIS PR for Forskningsdagene

The University of Stavanger has published a news story titled "Kan marknaden redde klimaet, eller går verda til helvetet?" (Can the market save the climate, or does the world go to hell?) about UIS events during Forskningsdagene. A profile photo of me is included. The same photo is featured in the most recent UIS newsletter (distributed by email today).

"What can be known about future Umwelten?" presented at world congress in Buenes Aires; article plans

Today, at the 14th world congress of semiotics, in Buenes Aires, at Universidad Nacional de las Artes (Artes Visuales), I presented my paper "What can be known about future Umwelten?" in a parallell session. Some 17 people attended; response was positive.

I am now planning to write a journal article based on today´s presentation, to be submitted to The American Journal of Semiotics.

1000 reads for "A hundred introductions to semiotics..."

Our review of semiotics textbooks, has reached 1.000 reads on Researchgate. Read it here:

A hundred introductions to semiotics, for a million students A hundred introductions to semiotics, for a million students: Survey of semiotics textbooks and primers in the world

NASS flag raised at UNA in Buenes Aires

Here in Buenes Aires I have, with the help of Alin Olteanu, raised the flag of the Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies (NASS) in the backyard of Universidad Nacional de las Artes (UNA), one of two venues for the ongoing 14th world congress of semiotics. NASS is associated with the International Association for Semiotic Studies (IASS) as a regional organization.

More on Næss lecture during Forskningsdagene

The Kunnskapstørst event September 19th is referred to on the intranet of University of Stavanger in an overview over Forskningsdagene (research days) events locally. There´s now also a Facebook event for my public lecture on Arne Næss (see also previous post).

Research days "Kunnskapstørst" talk announced

On Thursday September 19th I will give the talk "Hadde Arne Næss rett om miljøkrisen?" (Was Arne Næss right about the environmental crisis?) at 4 pm. at Måltidets hus (Stavanger). This is an "Kunnskapstørst" event (a popular science lecture series organized by Validé, University of Stavanger and Innovasjonspark Stavanger) that is part of Forskningsdagene 2019 (national research days). The event has been announced on the webpage of Validé. Register here (for free). Also announced by Forskningsdagene, here.

Tripartite Umwelt model applied and further developed in ecocriticism MA thesis of Hernández

Mauricio Sánchez Hernández has written the master thesis "Mariposas imaginando árboles de oyamel: Representaciones literarias del umwelt de la monarca migrante y del humano en la ecoliteratura de Homero Aridjis" (in Spanish) at University of Oslo. He refers quite extensively to an article, especially with regard to the tripartite Umwelt model:

Tønnessen, Morten (2015). “Umwelt and language”. En: E. Velmezova, Stephen J. Cowley y K. Kull (eds.), Biosemiotic Perspectives on Language and Linguistics (Biosemiotics 13): 77-96. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-20663-9_5

The thesis includes a section numbered 2.2.2 and named "El modelo tripartito del umwelt según Tønnessen". Hernández also further develops diagrams based on the tripartite Umwelt model, cf. below (imagen 5, p. 21, imagen 6, p. 21, imagen 7, p. 22).