SCIENTIST INTERACTING WITH THE ENVIRONMENT: LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS IN THE STUDY OF THE EARTH RECENT GEOLOGICAL PAST

Studying the environment through the fields of environmental science constitutes a particular way that humans have recently chosen to interact with … the environment. The purpose of this presentation is to analyze how environmental science came up with new approaches in the practice of the scientific endeavour. These approaches are the product of the multidimensional and global nature of the “environment” concept. This redefining of the way science is practiced led to further challenges in the way scientists interact. Through the definition of these challenges, this presentation analyzes how, theoretically and methodologically, studying environmental scientist can lead to particular insight into conducting science that crosses disciplinary and national boundaries. This framework is applied to a particular case study: the IMAGES program.

Founded in 1995, the IMAGES program was set up following the recognition that paleo- oceanography can not solely rely on individual researcher but has to be coordinated due to scale and cost that are associated with data collection. Up to this year IMAGES has been successful at coordinating several activities relating to data collection, standardisation and dissemination. The analysis of this international collaboration effort is undertaken through the conceptual triangulation of the following dimensions: linkage between scientific collaboration, its expression and the general social context, mutual learning resulting from the interactions of scientist, and the generation of new formal and informal networks of scientists. This presentation will illustrate how such a conceptual approach may lead to lessons that would benefit the scientific community in general and the administration of science in particular.

Finally it will be demonstrated how changes in the way humans interact with nature (i.e., new ways of conducting science) do lead to new ways for human to interact with human (i.e., new networks of scientists). Interaction with the environment, once it is changed, leads to new social relations. In the case of scientists involved in the study of the earth recent geological past, these new social relations may very well pave the way as a “best practice” for scientists that are involved in research that transcend the traditional disciplinary and national boundaries.