Job interviews attendance; committee work

About a month ago I took part in job interviews with two candidates for a ph.d. position in social work at University of Stavanger´s Department of social studies. I was part of the evaluation committee and also contributed to the committee´s assessment report.

Involvement in ph.d. assessment and defense of Margrethe Voll Storaas

Earlier this year I have taken part in the assessment of the ph.d. thesis of Margrethe Voll Storaas for the  Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (specifically their Department of Sport and Social Sciences), along with Ørnulf Seippel and Kathinka Evers. In a couple of weeks I will act as first opponent at her public ph.d. defense, which has been scheduled for October 17th (see announcement).

Programme:

10.15–11.00 Trial lecture on the topic “The ecology of the non-human body in the Anthropocene: Comparing the human and non-human body" 

13.00–16.00 Public defense of the thesis "As Agent and Environment: A Biosemiotic Understanding of the Moving Body within Ecology and Technology through Case Studies in Sport" followed by a discussion 

In addition to in person attendance, it will also be possible to watch the defense live on the YouTube channel of the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences.

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.

Opponent at Mathias Klitgård´s 90% ph.d. seminar

Today I have served as the internal opponent at Mathias Klitgård´s 90 % ph.d. seminar devoted to discussion of their work, at University of Stavanger, digitally. Birgit Kaiser was the external opponent.

Jacob Tom´s midterm evaluation attended

On Wednesday this week, the 13th of September, I attended Jacob Tom´s midterm evaluation, involving discussion of his ongoing ph.d. work, at the University of Stavanger. I am Jacob´s co-superviser. John Brumo (NTNU) and Helge Jordheim (UIO) served as discussants.

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.

Ph.d. supervision session

Today I have taken part in a ph.d. supervision session - the first for a while.

Mention of concept "Umwelt transition" in University of Tartu news story

My concept "Umwelt transition" is mentioned in a news story from university of Tartu, "Research news: binge eating, sexually transmitted infections, zoosemiotics and rainfalls" which includes a description of Mirco Cerrone´s ph.d.:

Zoosemiotics helps to understand interspecies communication  Interspecies communication is a hotly-debated topic in ever-expanding environments like cities, where it shapes the quotidian interactions of different animal agents, including humans. In a recently defended doctoral thesis, the interspecies communication taking place in hybrid environments was analysed semiotically, focusing on the interaction of humans and apes in zoological gardens and research laboratories. It was analysed through the lens of zoosemiotics, enabling the researcher to abandon an anthropocentric perspective and adopt that of other species. The umwelt model used in the research proves to be an inspiring and powerful tool that we can use to (partially) access the world of other organisms. In the thesis, the author develops the concept of "umwelt overlap", namely the idea that the umwelt should not merely be understood as a species-specific nor as an organism-specific model, but should rather be expanded to encompass areas of shared meanings. The thesis shows how interaction can lead to mutually intelligible languages that allow two different species to communicate. For instance, the acquisition and usage of new signs remarkably modify the semiotic environment of different animal species and is therefore linked to the concept of umwelt transition. The study also reveals that animals in captivity can shape institutional practices and other human-made sign systems, such as animal handling practices. The research proposes several practices to improve animal welfare in captivity.   

Read more in the doctoral thesis.

A meeting, a ph.d. defense, and a ph.d. celebration event

Today I have attended a meeting concerning development of a master degree, the ph.d. defense of Ida Bruheim Jensen of her thesis "Ways of seeing children: Perspectives of social workers in Chile and Norway", and helped organize a celebration event for Ida at the department, with food and drinks. Tonight I will attend the ph.d. defense dinner.

A grading meeting and 3 job interviews

Today I have attended a grading meeting with an examiner at University of Oslo, and three job interviews in relation to a ph.d. position at Department of cultural studies and languages (UIS).

A meeting and a job interview

Today I have attended the meeting of Norway´s Council for animal ethics, and a job interview for a ph.d. position (as tentative co-supervisor).

Interview on wolves on Agder recounted and reprinted in Fædrelandsvennen

In todays regional daily Fædrelandsvennen, there is a recount and reprint of an interview with me that was published 10 years ago, with the heading "Vil gi ulven plass i Agder" (loosely, Wants to let the wolf be in Agder), by journalist Tarald Reinholt Aas.

UIS has asked Ministry of Education for ph.d.s and post.doc.s for Cognitive Lab; UIS news story

The UIS news story "UIS ønsker flere studieplasser og rekrutteringsstillinger" (University of Stavanger wants more study places and recruitment positions) makes mention of the Cognitive Lab I have suggested to establish at the university, following our faculty´s visit to University of Twente last autumn. The university has communicated to the Ministry of Education and Research that a number of recruitment positions (ph.d. and post.doc.s) could be established this autumn in relation to the establishment of such a lab. The proposal has been made in relation to Norway´s revised state budget for 2020.