"Semiotic agency" book now my most cited text

On Google Scholar´s count, the book Semiotic agency: Science beyond mechanism (official publication year 2021, but appeared only in 2022), which I co-wrote with Alexei Sharov, has now overtaken "Umwelt transitions: Uexküll and environmental change" (published 2009 as the key article in my ph.d. work) as my most cited research publication (with 102 vs. 101 citations overall, and 10 vs. 2 so far this year).

See my profile in Google Scholar.

Google Scholar: "Umwelt transitions: Uexküll and environmental change" (2009) reaches 100 citations

According to my Google Scholar profile, my article "Umwelt transitions: Uexküll and environmental change" (2009), the signature article from my ph.d. work (completed and defended 2011), has now reached 100 citations, with 12 of them being from 2024. This is my first text to reach 100 citations. On Springer´s count, the article has been accessed more than 6.000 times.

Google Scholar: 918 citations; "The ethics of laying hen genetics" 4th most cited

According to Google Scholar (cf. my profile) my research has to date attracted 918 citations (+16 since March 31st). Of these 61 are from 2023 (+16 since March 31st). My i10-index remains 34 and my h-index 17.

With 39 citations, including 18 last year and 4 so far this year, "The ethics of laying hen genetics" (2020) is now my 4th most cited text.

With 76 citations, "Umwelt transitions: Uexküll and environmental change" (2009), the key text from my ph.d. work (2011), remains my most cited text. It was cited 13 times last year and has been cited 9 times so far this year.

Google Scholar: 850 citations; 115 in 2022; h-index 18; i10-index 33

According to Google Scholar (cf. my profile), my research has to date attracted 850 citations (+21 since November 1st). This includes 115 citations in 2022 (+18 since November 1st). My h-index is now 18 (+1 since November 1st) and my i10-index 33 (+2 since November 1st), meaning that 18 of my articles/texts have been cited at least 18 times each, and that 33 of my articles/texts have been cited at least 10 times each.

My most cited article, "Umwelt transitions: Uexküll and environmental change", has been cited 12 times in 2022 (more than in any other year) and 66 times altogether.

Google Scholar: 829 citations; i10-index 31; h-index 17

According to Google Scholar (cf. my profile), my research has to date attracted 829 citations (+29 since October 2nd). This includes 97 citations in 2022 (+9 since October 2nd), which makes 2022 my second best year to date. My i10-index is now 31 (+1 since October 2nd), meaning that 31 of my texts have been cited 10 times or more. My h-index is now 17 (+1 since October 2nd), meaning that 17 of my texts have been cited at least 17 times each.

My two most cited articles in 2022 are:

"The ethics of laying hen genetics" (2020) 12 - total: 30 (#7 all time)

"Umwelt transitions: Uexküll and environmental change" (2003) 11 - total: 65 (#1 all time)

Google Scholar: 779 citations, h-index 16, i10-index 29

According to Google Scholar (cf. my profile) my research has to date attracted 779 citations (+17 since June 28th). I now have an h-index of 16 (+1 since June 29th) and an i10-index of 29 (+1 since June 29th). 69 citations so far in 2022 (+15).

After 7 citations to date in 2022 and 59 in total, "Umwelt transitions: Uexküll and environmental change" is my most cited article as of now. With 9 citations so far in 2022 and 27 to date, "The ethics of laying hen genetics" is my 7th most cited article to date.

Recordings of my and other presentations from 20th gathering in biosemiotics

Recordings from the 20th Gathering in biosemiotics are available on YouTube here. My presentation "Introducing a three-dimensional interactive semiotic model of environmental change" was held on day one (November 27th) and starts at 4:31:14 on the recordings from that day.

Model of environmental interplay and change presented at 20th Gathering in biosemiotics

Today I have presented my paper "Introducing a three-dimensional, interactive semiotic model of environmental change" at the 20th gathering in biosemiotics, which is being held digitally today and throughout the weekend. Some 70 people watched the presentation live via Zoom. The conference is also streamed via YouTube and recorded for later use.

Talk at 20th Gathering in biosemiotics scheduled for live presentation on November 27th

My presentation «Introducing a Three-Dimensional Interactive Semiotic Model of Environmental Change» has been scheduled for oral, live presentation at the 20th gathering in biosemiotics (run from Palacký University, November 27-29th) on Friday 27th of November at 17.20–17.40. 

The all-digital conference program runs from 13 to 18.30 each of the three days.

To present at fully digital conference 20th Gathering in Biosemiotics

I have registered for the 20th Gathering in biosemiotics, which will be fully digital given the circumstances of the ongoing pandemic. At the conference I will present my paper "Introducing a Three-Dimensional Interactive Semiotic Model of Environmental Change".

20th gathering in biosemiotics: Paper accepted; abstract to appear in book

I have been notified that my paper "Introducing a three-dimensional interactive model of environmental change" has been accepted to oral presentation at the 20th gathering in biosemiotics (which is being postponed until November, cf. previous post). The notification also included information about a book that will appear in relation to the gathering (published by University of Tartu Press), where the abstract of my paper will be included.

Abstract for 20th gathering in Biosemiotics (Olomouc): "Introducing a Three-Dimensional Interactive Semiotic Model of Environmental Change"

I have just submitted my paper abstract for the 20th gathering in biosemiotics, to be held in Olomouc, the Czech Republic, this July.

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"Introducing a Three-Dimensional Interactive Semiotic Model of Environmental Change"

In this paper I present a three-dimensional interactive semiotic model of environmental change which incorporates some elements from my previous work and introduces new, related elements. The paper draws directly on work from my recently published article “What can be known about future Umwelten?” (Tønnessen 2019).  

This model is interactive because it demonstrates the constant interplay between different forms of causation and signals. It is three-dimensional because it takes three dimensions of living nature into consideration (see Table 1 below; taken from Tønnessen 2019: 419), namely the Innenwelt, the Umwelt and the Umgebung of a creature endowed with an Umwelt (typically an animal, a human being or a microorganism) (von Uexküll 1921). By applying a subjective perspective focused on the inner world (Innenwelt) and outer world (Umwelt) of animals and humans, and the subjective worlds´ relation to relevant aspects of the physical environment (Umgebung), the model builds directly on von Uexküll´s Umwelt theory.

The organism relates to its physical environment in two fundamentally different ways, namely by way of signification and by way of efficient causation, and it is thus involved in both semiotic and physio-chemical processes, with the former being endosemiotic in the Innenwelt and exosemiotic in the Umwelt.

The complex interplay between the three dimensions of living nature is illustrated in Figure 3 below (taken from Tønnessen 2019: 420). The interplay between the various dimensions involve environmental signals (originating from the Umgebung) which triggers Umwelt signals (originating from the Umwelt) which triggers Innenwelt signals (originating from the Innenwelt) which in turn triggers action and thus semiotic causation, or in other words “the bringing about of changes [in the Umgebung] under the guidance of interpretation” (Hoffmeyer 2008: 149).     

The change from one interplay cycle to another can be understood as an Umwelt transition, and seen in context, several Umwelt transitions can be understood as constituting an Umwelt trajectory. Change from one interplay cycle to another also constitutes an Innenwelt transition, and seen in context, several Innenwelt transitions constitute an Innenwelt trajectory: i.e., the course through time taken by the Innenwelt of a creature as defined by its changing relation to itself and its own body.

As we see in this complex, dynamic model of environmental change, changes in, e.g., identity, experience, and the physical environment are interrelated, and change in one dimension can be triggered by changes in the other two dimensions. While the physical environment is constantly affected by living creatures (via semiotic causation), it also changes irrespective of the actions of Umwelt creatures—via efficient causation. This in turn affects environmental signals that again, in ever new cycles, trigger new Umwelt signals, which trigger new Innenwelt signals, which trigger new actions and thus new forms of semiotic causation, and so on.   

References 

Hoffmeyer, Jesper 2008. Semiotic Scaffolding of living systems. In Marcello Barbieri (ed.), Introduction to Biosemiotics: The New Biological Synthesis (Dordrecht: Springer), 149–166.  

Tønnessen, Morten 2019. What can be known about future Umwelten? The American Journal of Semiotics 35(3-4): 401–429. DOI: 10.5840/ajs202012359 

von Uexküll, Jakob 1921. Umwelt und Innenwelt der Tiere (2nd edition). Berlin: Verlag von Julius Springer.

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)

Baltic-Norwegian research application submitted

By yesterday we submitted our Norwegian-Baltic research project application "Semiotic strategies for addressing environmental change as a path to better inclusion in multicultural societies". While University of Tartu is project promoter, University of Stavanger is a partner along with Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. My main collaborators in the application is Timo Maran (Estonian Project Leader) and Dario Martinelli (Lithuanian Project Leader), while I am Norwegian Project Leader for a group also involving Ingvil Førland Hellstrand and Kathrine Skoland.

New title; full reference for forthcoming book "Animal Umwelten in a changing world"

The forthcoming book previously work-titled Animal Umwelts in a changing world – Semiotic studies of human-animal relations will be titled Animal Umwelten in a changing world – Zoosemiotic perspectives. Full reference:

Timo Maran, Morten Tønnessen, Kristin Armstrong Oma, Laura Kiiroja, Riin Magnus, Nelly Mäekivi, Silver Rattasepp, Paul Thibault and Kadri Tüür, forthcoming, 2016. Animal Umwelten in a changing world – Zoosemiotic perspectives (Tartu Semiotics Library 18). Edited by Timo Maran, Morten Tønnessen and Silver Rattasepp. Tartu: Tartu University Press.

Peer-review for Anthropocene Review

This autumn I have peer-reviewed a paper for The Anthropocene Review, published by SAGE.

Concerned Scientists petition signed

Today I have signed a petition organised by Concerned Scientists Norway, entitled “Omstillingen til et bærekraftig lavkarbon-samfunn må starte nå" [Adjustments to a sustainable low carbon society must start now].

To appear on stage during researcher stand-up in Stavanger

I am one of 12 researchers who will take part in the event "Forsker StandUp" [researcher stand-up] during Forskningsdagene [the research days] in Stavanger in September. The title of my 15 minute talk, to be given September 22nd, is "Det menneskeskapte økologiske hierarki i Anthropocen" [The human-made ecological hierarchy in the Anthropocene].

See also University of Stavanger news story: "Forsker StandUp på Sting".

"Animals in changing environments" launches Norwegian language website

The Norwegian language homepage of the research project "Animals in changing environments: Cultural mediation and semiotic analysis" has now been launched.

See also:

The research project "Animals in changing environments"launches website [in English]

Term "Umwelt transition" applied in landscape studies chapter

As I have been made aware, my 2009 article "Umwelt transitions" has been quoted in the following book chapter:

Benediktsson, Karl 2010. A Stroll through Landscapes of Sheep and Humans [176, 190, cf. 179 – Tønnessen 2009b, quoted as Tønnesen 2009]. In: Karl Benediktsson and Katrín Anna Lund (eds): Conversations with landscape, 173-191. Farnham (UK), Burlington (US): Ashgate.

Excerpt (p. 176):

There is, as Tønnesen (2009) has discussed in detail, a certain static quality to von Uexküll’s conceptualisation . His is a world where organisms and their Umwelten are a perfect match; with no consideration being given to temporal change, gradual or sudden, that might upset this harmonious whole. In a world where global environmental change is being discussed with ever more urgency, this seems more than a little quaint. Tønnesen (2009) proposes the concept of Umwelt transition to accommodate the notion of change with this set of thinking.

The notion of Umwelt transition is further applied on p. 179:

The subsequent story is well known: the vegetative character of the landscape changed drastically in the centuries following settlement (Arnalds 1987). The wood cover shrunk considerably, due to direct clearing and burning by humans as well as animal browsing pressure. Over time the unsustainability of the land use system became evident. Especially in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and coupled with particularly harsh climatic conditions as well as large volcanic eruptions, soil erosion reached catastrophic proportions. An Umwelt transition was taking place. Gradually, the conversation between animals and humans via landscape became less and less amicable.