#24,5

Today I have had half an article writing day, with work done on the wolf socialization article I co-write with Laura Kiiroja. I also went through correspondence related to "Live better" articles. This brings the number of writing days this Autumn up to 24,5 including 9 article writing days.

Wolf socialization article outline rejected by Animal Behaviour

A preliminary outline of our article "Socialization of captive wolves (Canis lupus) in zoos improves animal welfare and expands behavioral repertoire" which we submitted to Animal Behaviour a few days ago has been rejected due to the focus of the article on one species only.

#17,5

Today I have had a final article writing day ahead of my autumn holidays the upcoming week, with some 1.200 words written on my parts of the "Human agency" chapter for our book Semiotic agency (co-written with Alexei Sharov). I have also drafted a cover letter for the article on socialization of wolves which I co-write with Laura Kiiroja.

Number of article days so far this autumn is up to 17,5.

#13

 Today I have had what ended up as half an article writing day, with some 500 words written on the wolf socialization article I co-write with Laura Kiiroja, and for the historical chapter on agency in the book Semiotic agency: Science beyond mechanism which I co-write with Alexei Sharov.

Half writing day - eco-crisis; wolf socialization

Today I have had half an article writing day devoted to revising "Anticipating the societal transformation required to solve the environmental crisis in the 21st century" and planning for finishing the article "Socialization of captive wolves improves animal welfare and expands behavioral repertoire" with Laura Kiiroja. Some 400 words written. Total number of writing days in Spring is up to 47.

Some writing at writing trip´s last day

At the last day of this writing trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, where I have stayed at Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel for 98% of the time, I have made edits to "Socialization of captive wolves improves animal welfare and expands behavioral repertoire", which I co-write with Laura Kiiroja, and finished my article "Human development, inequality and social risks in Latin America and the Nordic countries".

And now I am off to Christmas vacation, in a few hours.

Planning of two wolf-themed articles

Today I took part in a Skype call with a colleague (should have been two) to plan for two belated wolf-themed articles we are co-writing based on video material from Wolf Park and our own field work with video-recorded interviews in Norway.

Popular scientific summary of field work prepared

The last week or so I have prepared a 7 page PDF document with text, images and links that sums up field work on people´s perception of wolves and related animals carried out at various locations in Norway in Spring 2015 as part of the project "Animals in changing environments: Cultural mediation and semiotic analysis", specifically the subproject "Representations (both Problematic and Romanticizing) of Large Mammals, especially Wolves". The document will be distributed and made publicly available shortly.

Program for 4th and final "Animals in changing environments" research seminar

The program for the 4th and final Norwegian research seminar of the Estonian-Norwegian research project "Animals in changing environments: Cultural mediation and semiotic analysis" is now available online, at the webpage of the project (in English and in Norwegian).

Copied here:

4th Norwegian research seminar of ”Animals in changing environments: Cultural mediation and semiotic analysis” (EMP151)

Venue: Lecture room KA-U-020 (Kjell Arholms hus)

Thursday December 15th

10.00-10.20 Morten Tønnessen (UIS): Welcome

10.20-11.00 Kadri Tüür (University of Tartu): ”The Semiotics of nature representations”

11.00-11.40 Kristin Armstrong Oma (AM/UIS): ”Living with animals in the Bronze Age”

11.40-12.20 Laura Kiiroja (University of Tartu): "Socialization of wolves"

12.20-13.20 Lunch break

13.20-14.00: Nelly Mäekivi (University of Tartu): ”Semiotic analysis and modelling of zoological gardens: an overview of PhD thesis”

14.00-14.40: Paul Thibault (University of Agder): ”Multimodal cultural thematic analysis of the interview data”

14.40-15.20 Riin Magnus (University of Tartu): ”The semiotics of guide dog work”

15.20-15.30 Break

15.30-16.30 General discussion

 — Ideas about theoretical synthesis, developing research programs

 — Future plans, possible collaboration

Friday December 16th

10:00-10.40 Silver Rattasepp (University of Tartu): ”Animals and the empirico-transcendental doublet”

10.40-11.20 Timo Maran (University of Tartu): ”Premises and lineaments of a general research model in Zoosemiotics”

11.20-12:00 Morten Tønnessen (UIS): ”The semiotics of predation and the nature of human beings”

”Fear not! Socialization of captive wolves” presented in Prague

Today, along with Laura Kiiroja, I presented our paper ”Fear not! Socialization of captive wolves” at the 16th gathering in biosemiotics (Prague July 4-8). Some 45 people were present.

Two wolf-related papers scheduled for presentation at 16th gathering in biosemiotics, Prague

My presentation with Laura Kiiroja "Fear not – socialization of captive wolves" has been scheduled for presentation at the 16th gathering in biosemiotics, to be held in Prague July 4th to 8th, on Wednesday July 6th at 12.00-12.30. My presentation "A brief history of the cultural semiotic of wolves and sheep" has been scheduled for presentation the same day at 10.00-10.30.

Abstract book for 16th gathering in biosemiotics now online - my two abstracts

The book of abstracts for the 16th gathering in biosemiotics, to be held in Prague July 4th to 8th, has been uploaded online. I am involved in two abstracts, "Fear not – socialization of captive wolves" (p. 34) along with Laura Kiiroja, and "A brief history of the cultural semiotic of wolves and sheep" (p. 56) as sole presenter.

"Umwelt transitions" paper cited in Kiiroja MA

My article

Tønnessen, M. 2009. Umwelt transitions: Uexküll and environmental change. Biosemiotics 2(1): 47–64.

is referred to in

Kiiroja, Laura 2014. The zoosemiotics of socialization: Case-study in socializing red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Tangen Animal Park, Norway. Master thesis. Tartu: University of Tartu. Available online: http://dspace.ut.ee/handle/10062/43977.

Excerpts:

"Umwelt theory which, in this thesis, is predominantly based on the works of Jakob von Uexküll and Morten Tønnessen." [p. 6] 

"While Uexküll claimed the most important functional circles in most animals’ Umwelts to be the circles of physical medium (i.e. the surrounding environment), food, enemy, and sex (Uexküll 1982: 67), it might be more adequate to adjust those circles as physical medium, food, enemy and partner (Tønnessen 2009: 54). This adjustment is important when considering the various kinds of social relationships besides the reproductive ones, that function as partnerships in the animal’s Umwelt. At least in a zoo environment, these other kinds of partnership obtain a comparable value for the animal as the relationship with a potential breeding partner has.

Perhaps, the importance of Umwelt apprehension in the zoo animals is most adequately described by Norwegian philosopher and biosemiotician Morten Tønnessen. Tønnessen has brought out the concept of ontological niche, being inspired by Danish biosemiotician Jesper Hoffmeyer’s theory of semiotic niche. While Hoffmeyer’s semiotic niche involves all the interpretive challenges offered for the animal by its ecological niche (Hoffmeyer 2008: 13), then Tønnessen’s ontological niche involves the set of the animal’s active relationships at the current moment of the history of nature (Tønnessen 2009: 54). The ontological niche, therefore, determines the area in the phenomenal world occupied by the animal. Here, Tønnessen has depicted the ontological niche as phenomenal fields, where one animal’s phenomenal fields overlap with those of the other animals with whom it is in interaction. (Tønnessen 2009: 54) Such ontological map sufficiently describes the possibilities of human-animal relationships (as well as animal-animal relationships). For facilitative reasons, it must be realized that in order to establish positive human-animal relationships, man has to “move” from the enemy phenomenal field (functional circle) of the animal to the partner phenomenal field (functional circle). It seems to the author that such Umwelt reconstruction is not as simple, but includes transition-phases of “rather negative significane”, “neutral significance”, “rather positive significance” of people, before people in general obtain a meaning-carrier of a partner in the animal’s Umwelt. To make it even more complicated, it so happens that some people, who have a strong positive relationship with the animal, are considered as partners, where unfamiliar people could still, by default, carry a meaning of an enemy. The importance of Umwelt reconstruction (with a goal to change the meaning-carrier of people in general) is crucial for captive animal welfare, and, in the opinion of the author, should be consciously aimed in zoos, where different human-animal encounters are inevitable. Socialization is the part of animal welfare programme, which predominantly solves this problem." [p. 25-26] 

"Only in means of positive experience is it possible to move man’s meaning-carrier from the phenomenal field (or functional circle) of enemy to the phenomenal field of partner in the animal’s Umwelt (Tønnessen 2009: 54)." [p. 68]

Wolf socialization article renamed

My article-in-progress with Laura Kiiroja "Socialization of wolves" is tentatively retitled "Socialization of captive wolves facilitates animal welfare and behavior".

”Synchronicity in human perception of animals” paper scheduled for presentation April 22

My paper ”Synchronicity in human perception of animals” has been scheduled for presentation at NoSP 2016: Phenomenology and Beyond (Reykjavik April 21-23) on Friday April 22nd at 12.15-12.45 (in the session “Phenomenological Approaches to the Anthropological Difference”, convened by Cristian Ciocan).

Paper abstract with Laura Kiiroja for GiB16: "Socialization of captive wolves"

For the 16th Annual Gathering in Biosemiotics (Prague, 4-8 July 2016), Laura Kiiroja and I submitted the abstract below.

***

Socialization of captive wolves

Laura Kiiroja & Morten Tønnessen  

Wolves give rise to controversy not only in the wild but also in captivity. Due to their genetically inherited fear of humans, wolves in captivity are notorious for persistent escape attempts, self-destructive behaviours, stereotypical behaviour and over-all suffering. Socialization of wolves with humans makes the animals more suitable for living in captive environments by reducing their fear of humans. Although proven effective, it is still a widely unknown and often misunderstood method of improving animal welfare for captive wolves. 

In this paper, a semiotic approach is used to explain the essence and proper methodology of socialization of wolves with humans for animal welfare purposes. Emphasis is put on understanding the changes in the animal’s Umwelt and in the human–animal relationship. The interdisciplinary theoretical contribution will be supported by Laura Kiiroja’s practical experiences with socialization of wolves in USA and Germany, and by Morten Tønnessen’s studies of wolf socialization in two Norwegian zoos (Langedrag mountain farm and wildlife park and Polar Zoo). Additionally, Kiiroja has conducted semi-structured interviews with world-recognized experts.  

The study explains how proper socialization aims to change the human’s significance in the animal’s Umwelt from enemy to social partner. This requires social human-imprinting, and using consistently positive methods of taming and handling. In fact, using aversive techniques, such as dominance theory and punishment, damages socialization and results in dangerous situations. Working “on animal terms” and establishing effective inter-specific communication is crucial for avoiding conflicts and maintaining positive and healthy relationships. The authors suggest that a zoosemiotic approach complements more mainstream ethological knowledge in human–animal interactions and is capable of advancing animal welfare as well as give zoo visitors more realistic experiences of wolves. 

The pros and cons of socializing captive wolves will be analysed. Animal welfare will improve with more opportunities for enrichment, less stressful effect of visitors, and better veterinary routines and husbandry practices. Avoiding suffering caused by constant fear enables the animal to display a quite complete species-specific behavioural repertoire. This is a benefit for behavioural research on captive wolves. Additionally, seeing the wolves in close proximity or interacting with them triggers empathy and interest in visitors, and this may contribute positively to support for wolf conservation. On the downside, zoos and other facilities keeping socialized wolves should be aware of the possibility that visitors might misinterpret wolves as potential pets, and adjust their education program accordingly. The management of these facilities should furthermore invest in educated wolf personnel, to be able to meet the requirements of proper wolf socialization. 

Keywords: Umwelt theory, wolves, captivity, socialization, human–animal relationships, human–animal communication, animal welfare, animal behaviour

"Proto-language in wolves" accepted for presentation in Urbino

Today I was notified that the paper "Proto-language in wolves", which presents joint work with Paul Thibault, with the assistance of Laura Kiiroja, has been accepted for presentation at the Third International Conference in Code Biology (Urbino, Italy 24-28 May, 2016). 

Abstract for NoSP 2016: "Synchronicity in human perception of animals"

In the end of November, I composed the abstract below, for Phenomenology and beyond: 14th annual conference of the Nordic Society for Phenomenology, to be held at University of Iceland, Reykjavík,  21–23 April 2015.

***

Synchronicity in human perception of animals

Abstract

By Morten Tønnessen, Associate professor of philosophy, University of Stavanger, Norway

Part of the panel "Phenomenological Approaches to the Anthropological Difference”, convened by Cristian Ciocan

This paper presents findings from 13 video-recorded interviews conducted Spring 2015 in Norway focused on the respondents´ perception of wolves and related animals which are often perceived to be in conflict with wolves. The interviews were conducted in the rural municipalities Kautokeino (Finnmark county) and Rendalen (Hedmark county), and the urban municipalities Stavanger (Rogaland county) and Kristiansand (Vest-Agder county). In the interviews, the respondents were shown images, video-clips and audio featuring wolves, elk, dogs, sheep, reindeer and people, and prompted to explain what they saw and/or heard. In the course of these verbal explanations, accompanied by telling body language, it becomes clear how the respondents sought to interpret the media material and e.g. determine the species of featured animals, or understand the situation on display.

I will demonstrate different ways in which human perception of animals is synchronized, and show examples involving simultaneous display of multiple screens and video-recordings. A study of synchronicity in human perception of animals can reveal patterns and tendencies in such perception, and inform us about the respondents´ identity, attitudes and self-understanding. By making use of parameters including geography, demography (gender, age etc.), occupation and hobbies, this study sheds light on the ways in which human self-understanding is always based in part on our ideas about, and perception of, animals.

Acknowledgements: This work has been carried out thanks to the support of the research project Animals in Changing Environments: Cultural Mediation and Semiotic Analysis (EEA Norway Grants/Norway Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 under project contract no. EMP151). Paul Thibault took part in designing and conducting the interviews; Laura Kiiroja contributed by cataloguing the video-recorded interviews.

Abstract "Proto-language in wolves" submitted to Code Biology 3 (Urbino)

I have today submitted the abstract "Proto-language in wolves" (see previous posts), which presents joint work with Paul Thibault, with the assistance of Laura Kiiroja, for the Third International Conference in Code Biology (Urbino 24-28 May, 2016). 

See also:

"Proto-language in wolves" talk cancelled

"Human Perceptions of Wolves and other Animals in Contemporary Norway" presented by Laura Kiiroja

On Saturday September 19th, my and Paul Thibault´s presentation "Human Perceptions of Wolves and other Animals in Contemporary Norway" was given at the international conference "Animals in the Anthropocene: Human–animal relations in a changing semiosphere" (University of Stavanger September 17-19th). Our paper was presented by Laura Kiiroja, our research colleague.