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.

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

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.

10 vacation days left over

I have 10 unused vacation days that I have now applied for transferring to 2017.

EMP151 Steering Committee meeting attended; grant to be prolonged

Today I attended the Steering committee meeting for the Estonian-Norwegian research project "Animals in changing environments: Cultural mediation and semiotic analysis" (EMP151), along with Timo Maran. Among other things we agreed that the project will be prolonged from April 20th 2016 to December 31st 2016 (upon application).

Editing of collective monograph

The last couple of days I have contributed to commenting on/editing contributions to the collective monograph Semiotic Methods in the Study of Human-Animal Interactions (Tartu: Tartu University Press, forthcoming in 2016) - first drafts.

Plans for paternal leave 2016-2017

My wife is expecting twins - and I am expecting to be on graded paternal leave (50%) in the whole academic year 2016-2017.

Work title and publication year of Studies in Environmental Humanities volume

The book volume which is to be published in Rodopi's series "Studies in Environmental Humanities", where I will contribute with a chapter work-titled "A Critical Reading of the Mentions of Animals in Political Party Programs", has the work title "Framing Nature". The book will be published in 2016 (not 2015 as I was previously informed).

See also:

To write chapter on mentions of animals in political party programs

4th Animals in changing environments research seminar scheduled for April 2016

The 4th research seminar of the Norwegian-Estonian research project “Animals in changing environments: Cultural mediation and semiotic analysis” (EEA Norway Grants EMP151) has been scheduled for Friday April 29th 2016. The research seminar, which will likely be the last event to be held within the framework of this project (which expires April 30th 2016), will take place at the University of Stavanger.

Research project application on "Animals in changing environments" successful

Yesterday I was informed by my collaborator Timo Maran, based in Tartu, that our joint application for support to the research project "Animals in Changing Environments: Cultural Mediation and Semiotic Analysis" (2013-2016), submitted in March, has proven to be successful. The project will be funded with a total of 192.552 Euro (under the EEA Norway Grants mechanism), which is to be divided quite equally by the Estonian research group and the Norwegian one, which will be headed by me. The Norwegian research group will be based at the University of Stavanger.

Formally the research project will be initiated immediately, since it begins September 2013.

See also:

Further info on Estonian-Norwegian research project application (April 2013)

Contribution to Estonian-Norwegian research project application (March 2013)

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.

Application for research project 2011-2016

I am involved in an application for the prospective research project "Environmental Semiotics: Theory and applications in changing culture and environment". Timo Maran is the project's Principal Investigator and head. Through the project, which would span over the years 2011-2016 (until I'm 40...), I would have a research position (full work load), with the title 'Extraordinary researcher'. Other scholars involved include Jelena Grigorjeva, Kati Lindström, Riin Magnus, Ene-Reet Soovik, Renata Sõukand and Kadri Tüür.

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If the application proves successful, it will imply that I establish ties to the University of Tartu for the years after I have completed my PhD (beyond my obligations partaking in the research project Dynamical Zoosemiotics and Animal Representations, until 2012).