2014 Impact Factor of Biosemiotics record-high

The Impact Factor (IF) for the journal Biosemiotics (published by Springer) for 2014, calculated by Thomson Reuters, is 0.593. This is an increase from 2013, when the IF was 0.488, and the journal´s highest IF yet.

The Impact Factor is a measure of how many times the articles published in a journal are being cited. The 2014 Impact Factor says something about how many times articles published in Biosemiotics in 2012 and 2013 were cited on average in 2014, in indexed publications.

EMP151 reporting for 2014

In the very beginning of February I reported 2014 activities to the research project "Animals in Changing Environments: Cultural Mediation and Semiotic Analysis" (EMP151).

2nd most-publishing scholar at Dep. of social studies; 10th at Dep. of health studies

Preliminary overviews indicate that in 2014, I was the 2nd most-publishing researcher at University of Stavanger´s Department of social studies, and at the same time the 10th most-publishing researcher at Department of health studies. I have been credited with 1,7 publication points for Department of social studies and 1,5 publication points for Department of health studies, in total 3,2 publication points (vs. 3,13 in 2013).

In a previous post, I estimated that I would be credited with 3,7 publication points. The difference is explained by the fact that a book chapter I co-authored appeared in December 2014 but will be considered a 2015 publication since the official, printed publication year was 2015.

Another round of contributions to 2014 grant report

Yesterday I contributed, in a second round, to the annual grant report for 2014 for the Estonian-Norwegian research project "Animals in changing environments: Cultural mediation and semiotic analysis" (EMP151), for which I am the Norwegian project leader. The report of activities stands at around 18 pp, plus appendices.

457 posts in 2014

In 2014, as many as 457 posts appeared in this blog, Utopian Realism. The previous record, from 2013, was 286. I have posted more than 100 times a year since 2009. The blog - or rather academic log - was established in 2008.

Despite the frantic activity last year, I still have a considerable backlog of activities to report.

Metting on Norwegian Animal Ethics Conference 2014 attended

Today I took part in a meeting of the organizing committee of the Norwegian Animal Ethics Conference 2014 (Dyreetikkonferansen 2014). Ahead of the meeting I had proposed a budget - the budget was revised slightly following the meeting. I am furthermore responsible for registration and related communications.

Norwegian Animal Ethics Conference 2014 receives funding from Dag S. Stiansen's foundation

Minding Animals Norway has upon application received 40.000 NOK (ca. 5.000 EUR) from Dag S. Stiansen's foundation designated to the organising of the Norwegian Animal Ethics Conference (Dyreetikkonferansen) 2014. The theme of this year's conference, which is the third in this annual conference series, is fish welfare/happiness (Fiskelykke).

This year's Norwegian Animal Ethics Conference, which will take place in Trondheim Wednesday August 20th as part of the fair Nor-Fishing 2014, is organised by Norway's Council for Animal Ethics, University of Oslo's Centre for development and the environment (SUM, UiO), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Minding Animals Norway and Norwegian Seafood Federation (FHL). The latter represents some 500 member companies.

Session at 12th world congress of semiotics: "Biosemiotic ethics"

A week ago or so I composed an abstract for what will be either a roundtable or a study session at the forthcoming 12th world congress of semiotics, which will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria September 16-20th 2014. Individual abstracts can be sent straight to me - see address below. This session abstract has been posted on the webpage of the world congress, in the Biosemiosis blog, and on my Academia.edu page.

Biosemiotic ethics

Morten Tønnessen, University of Stavanger, Norway (mortentoennessen@gmail.com) 

A dozen to 20 years ago, two of the most central biosemioticians, first Jesper Hoffmeyer and then Kalevi Kull, addressed connections between biosemiotics and ethics. The last ten years a new generation of scholars have started working out a biosemiotic ethics. The foundational idea is that if all living systems are semiotic, then biosemiosis can serve as basis for justifying attribution of moral status to human and non-human individuals and to various ecological entities. Most of the scholars involved in this endeavor have taken Jakob von Uexküll’s Umwelt theory as their starting point. Recent relevant publications include a translation of Uexküll’s 1917 article “Darwin and the English Morality”, with a framing essay entitled ““Darwin und die englische Moral”: The Moral Consequences of Uexküll’s Umwelt Theory”. 

Relevant questions for discussion include but are not limited to the following: In what ways does a biosemiotic ethics potentially take us beyond sentience-centered approaches? Does biosemiotic ethics represent a new form of consequentialism, or should it be placed within some other tradition? What ramifications do different views on the semiotic threshold have within the context of normative ethics? Is there (something akin to) normativity in the very constitution of the Umwelt? Does the semiosphere at large (qua biosphere) have intrinsic value? And what, in terms of biosemiosis, is the origin of value?

Remaining part of parental leave to take place early 2014

This week I have received a letter from NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (see previous posts on their repeated inability to deliver on what are my rights according to Norwegian law), confirming that they have accepted my application for parental leave in the beginning of 2014. Specifically, I will have graded parental leave (75 %) from January 1st 2014 to March 13th 2014. At the same time I have, for the first half of 2014, a 25 % position at University of Stavanger's Department of health studies.

Follow-up to 2008 "statistician's guide to utopia" article finished - on population

This last night I finished the academic article "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 millennium], which is to be published early in 2014 (in Norwegian). The first "statistician's guide to utopia" was devoted to the topic of the future of economic growth.

Remaining parental leave; plans for spending time with my son

I have applied for taking what remains of my parental leave, after the birth of my son Matias Laurits October 10th 2012, January 1st - March 15th 2014, with 75% graded leave and 25% work for University of Stavanger. This amounts to 39 full days of parental leave.

Furthermore, my wife and I are making plans for the care for our son this next academic year. I want to have some time with him some weekdays at daytime as well, and will therefore alternately work on daytime and in the evening. The same goes for next Spring, both during my remaining parental leave and after. We are hoping to get a kindergarten to have him in its care for three days a week.

See also:

Another round with Norwegian bureaucracy

Contract for another year at UiS signed

April 15th I signed another contract with the University of Stavanger - my third. I will be employed in a 100% position from July 1st to December 31st 2013 and in a 25% position from January 1st to June 30th 2014. As in the current academic year, my responsibility will envelop teaching and grading in Examen Philosophicum - introductory philosophy (regular course in autumn, internet/gathering-based course in spring), and a master course in the philosophy of science and ethics (in autumn).

I started in my position as an Associate professor at Department of Health Studies January 1st 2012. It is in the main related to the research leave of Professor Sebastian Rehnman.

ISCB launches annual conference series - 2017 conference to be organised in Norway by me

The International Socity for Code Biology (ISCB), where I am a member of the Governing Board, is making plans for an annual conference series which will start in 2014. As can be seen from the partial overview below, I have been asked, and agreed, to organise the 4th conference in Norway, in 2017.

• 1st International Conference in Code Biology (2014): Paris, France - organised by Chris Ottolenghi
• 3rd International Conference in Code Biology (2016): Urbino, Italy - organised by Almo Farina
• 4th International Conference in Code Biology (2017): Stavanger*, Norway - organised by Morten Tønnessen
• 5th International Conference in Code Biology (2018): Braga, Portugal - organised by João Carlos Major
• 7th International Conference in Code Biology (2020): Stellenbosch, South Africa - organised by Jannie Hofmeyr

* depending on where I'll be working

I will soon post on Why I joined the ISCB, a post which will make clear how I am relating to the current split in the biosemiotic community. For now, let it suffice to say that I will only regard the enterprise of the International Conferences in Code Biology as truly successful if they result in greater and not less interest in biosemiotics as a field. Consequently, a measure of their value will be whether they bring more people into biosemiotics, or simply contribute to fragmentation of the biosemiotic community. A further criterion for success is naturally how the ISCB conference series will affect the overall development of the discipline of biosemiotics in qualitative terms. 

At any rate, from 2014 onwards there will be two annual conference series in biosemiotics. The already established conference series is the International Gatherings in Biosemiotics (organised by the International Society for Biosemiotic Studies, ISBS), the 13th of which is to be held in Castiglioncello, Italy this June.