Provisionary member of university library complaint committee

I have agreed to be member of a committee that is to consider a complaint after a book (anthology) was rejected in regard to publication points by the university library of Stavanger. The case concerns 23 articles, 19 authors.

Research status report

Yesterday I gave a brief status report to the Norwegian Personvernombudet for forskning in relation to field work in "Animals in changing environments" (EMP151). Research is still ongoing.

Planning of Skopje stakeholder workshop

Today I attended a meeting via Skype in relation to planning of a stakeholder workshop to be held in Skopje, Macedonia on June 8th by the COST action GroupHouseNet (Synergy for preventing damaging behaviour in group housed pigs and chickens).

Wolf and sheep semiotic article published online

No. 2 of Pakistan Journal of Historical Studies, a special issue titled "Emotions, Humans and Animals" (Winter 2016, 157 pp) has just been published online, with my article "Historicising the Cultural Semiotics of Wolf and Sheep" included.

Special issue on biosemiotic ethics fully edited, revised

After further editorial work, we have finally sent off edited revisions of all articles for our special issue on biosemiotic ethics, appearing in Zeitschrift for Semiotik this Spring.

Obituary for John Deely

I have written an obituary for my dear colleague and friend John Deely, who passed  January 6th. The obituary, co-written with Yogi Hale Hendlin and Jonathan Beever, is titled "A world of signs: in memory of John Deely (1942–2017)" and will appear in Zeitschrift für Semiotik´s special issue on biosemiotic ethics, to which John contributed.

Course description for welfare state course reworked for application

The last few weeks, starting in early December, I have been involved in revising the course description for the MUNDUS course "Welfare state and welfare policy" (MEM110), in connection with an upcoming MFAMILY application to be sent in December by University of Stavanger and cooperating universities. A new version of the course description was sent today (third submission).

See also:

Work meeting on Erasmus Mundus course attended

Financial reporting for EMP151 finished

The last few weeks I have been involved in financial reporting for the year 2016 for the Estonian-Norwegian research project "Animals in changing environments: Cultural mediation and semiotic analysis" (EMP151). Today I was notified that the financial report from UiS for 2016 has been approved.

Anthology meeting

Today I attended a minimal meeting on the department´s book anthology in process. This versions of manuscripts are due February 10th.

Writing plan for 2017 and beyond

Today I have made a writing plan (book projects) for 2017, with preliminary plans for 2018-2021. Notably, I am taking a break from Utslippsfrie nye verden? Hva debatten om gasskraftverk sier om norsk natursyn, on CCS, to make room for the wolf-themed book I am co-writing this Spring. In parallel I´ll write on my novel Regnskap, as I have the last half year, until the summer (with another novel waiting in line this Autumn, along with continued writing on Utslippsfrie nye verden?).

Book meeting in Oslo

Today I have attended a 5-hour meeting at Vega forlag in Oslo in relation to a book project, working with the book´s disposition.

Google Scholar: 166 citations, i10-index of 5

In Google Scholar (see my profile) I now have 166 citations (+9), and an i10-index of 5 (+1). In terms of number of citations, 2016 is now my best year so far, with 47 citations (vs. 40 in 2015). Google Scholar has also recorded my first 4 citations in 2017.

See also:

Google Scholar: 155 citations; i10-index of 4 (December 2016)

Webpage of UiS Work group on ethical trade

Here is the webpage of the University of Stavanger´s Work group on ethical trade, of which I am a member. 

Meeting of UiS Work group on ethical trade attended

Today I attended a meeting of the University of Stavanger´s Work group on ethical trade. We completed the 2016 report to Ethical Trading Initiative Norway, and discussed Key Performance Indicators.

Paper "Uexküllian phenomenology" accepted to presentation in Kaunas

I have been informed that my abstract for the 13th IASS-AIS World Congress of Semiotics (Kaunas, June 26-30th) has been successfully reviewed by the scientific committee of the congress. This must concern my abstract for the session "Biosemiotics in dialogue", entitled "Uexküllian phenomenology".

First elements of wolf book

Today I have sent off a tentative disposition and sample text in relation to a book project on wolves.

Search image paper to appear in BioSystems

My paper in process "The search image as a link between sensation, perception and action" is part of a planned special issue on code biology. It is now clear that the special issue will appear in the Elsevier journal BioSystems. A call for papers has just been announced.

See also:

Search image paper to appear in special issue on code biology

Reference for "Agency in biosemiotics and enactivism" chapter

My chapter "Agency in biosemiotics and enactivism" is appearing these days, in a book that is officially a 2016 publication.

Full reference:

Tønnessen, Morten, 2016. Agency in biosemiotics and enactivism. In Jordan Zlatev, Göran Sonesson and Piotr Konderak (Eds.), Meaning, mind and communication: Explorations in cognitive semiotics. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 69–82.

General meeting at faculty attended

Today I attended a general meeting at the University of Stavanger´s Faculty of Social Sciences, on the ongoing reorganization process.

Preliminary results for 2016 publication points (CRIStin)

Preliminary reporting to Current Research Information System in Norway (CRIStin) shows that I currently stand with an estimated 2,4 publication points with the old system, and 3,5 publication points with the new system.

At University of Stavanger´s Department of social studies, this means that for now I appear to be 2nd most-publishing scholar according to the old system, and 2rd most-publishing (along with another scholar - so, top 3) according to the new system.

There are still two or three articles/chapters I have to report, but I am not sure whether they will be counted as 2016 or 2017 publications.

Biosemiotics 9(3) published - "Multilevel semiosis"

Biosemiotics 9(3) has been published. This is a special issue entitled "Multilevel semiosis: Towards a heterarchical perspective" and guest-edited by Luis Emilio Bruni and Franco Giorgi. The issue has free trial access until January 31st.

Promotional email for Biosemiotics distributed

Our publisher Springer has just distributed a promotional email titled "Read the latest special issues and learn more about the Biosemiotic Award", or, in the online version "Biosemiotic Award and Special Issues". It includes links to the article that won the first Annual Biosemiotic Achievement Award, and to our two special issues published in 2016, plus a presentation of the three Editors-in-Chief. The special issues has free trial access until January 31st.

Links to the special issues:

Semiosis of evolution (9/1)

Multilevel semiosis: Towards a heterarchical perspective (9/3)

Meeting the MFAMILY students

Today I have met the Erasmus MUNDUS students in MFAMILY and presented the course arrangements for "Welfare state and welfare policy", which I am coordinating this year. I also stayed for lunch.

Minding Animals video for Bachelor legate

A short PR video has been made for the Bachelor legate that Minding Animals Norway is launching. It can be seen on YouTube, among other places.

3 hours of Master teaching in political philosophy

Today I taught for 3 hours in the course "Velferdsstaten - politikk og teori" [The welfare state - politics and theory] at University of Stavanger´s Department of social studies. The topics were autonomy and paternalism.

Dissemination piece on wolves and sheep in DN

Today my dissemination piece "Ulv og sau - et naturlig par?" [Wolf and sheep - a natural couple?] is published in Dagens Næringsliv, a major national Norwegian daily newspaper. My University of Stavanger affiliation is credited along with the research projects "Animals in changing environments".

The research dissemination is behind a payment wall. I have repeated the text in my Norwegian blog Utopisk Realisme.

"The semiotics of predation and the nature of human beings" presented at UiS research seminar

On Friday December 16th, in the 4th and final Norwegian research seminar of the Estonian-Norwegian research project "Animals in changing environments: Cultural mediation and semiotic analysis", at University of Stavanger, I presented my paper "The semiotics of predation and the nature of human beings".

See also:

Estonian guests; 4th EMP151 research seminar

4th Norwegian EMP seminar held at UiS

Dissemination text on wolves and sheep rejected, resubmitted

My dissemination piece "Ulv og sau - et naturlig par?" [Wolf and sheep - a natural couple?] was rejected by Aftenposten Innsikt, but has since been shortened somewhat and submitted elsewhere.

See also:

Dissemination article on wolves and sheep

Podcast/video "Sosialkringkastingen" recorded

Today I was in NettOp´s studio at University of Stavanger with Joakim Jiri Haaland, to record the first episode of Joakim´s podcast "Sosialkringkastingen". About 1 hour. Will appear soon, as both podcast and YouTube video.

First hour of teaching this year

Today I taught for 1 hour, and followed teaching another hour, in the first of three lectures in academic writing for bachelor thesis students at University of Stavanger´s Department of social studies, along with Kjersti Ørvig.

34 (half) master exam papers graded

Today I finished grading 34 home exam papers in a philosophical master course in health science (my responsibility was the philosophy of science part) for University of Stavanger´s Department of health studies.

462 blog posts in 2016

With 462 blog posts, 2016 was the year I have posted the most blog posts in Utopian Realism in a year so far. The total number of blogposts stands at about 2.440 at year end.

Work hours 2016

Yesterday I looked over my logged work hours in 2016. Altogether I worked for 2.901 hours, which amounts to an average work week of 55,5 hours (vs. 54,6 hours in 2015). Of this 64,9% was spent on academic work (vs. 75% in 2015), 14,1% on book projects etc. (vs. 8,5% in 2015) and 21% on "other" activities (vs. 16,5% in 2015). Among activities that contributed to more spent time doing "other" activities were the Green Party, administrative work (for one thing because we bought a house and moved), and music-making.