Scientific conferences, socialization, and the Covid-19 pandemic: A conceptual and empirical enquiry

Abstract

Since the 1970s social analysts have seen communication between scientists not solely as information exchange (the algorithmical model), but as a process of socialization into overlapping and mutually embedded scientific domains (the enculturational model). Under the algorithmical model, the impact of the Covid-19 shutdown on travel would be easily remedied by replacing face-to-face communication with online platforms. Conferences and similar gatherings are costly, elitist, and environmentally damaging, but under the enculturational model abandoning them could be disastrous for science, which depends on the development of cross-national trust and mutual agreements through face-to-face interaction and, in turn, disastrous for science’s role in democracy. We explore the problem theoretically and empirically, arguing against recent proposals from some scientists for the wholesale and permanent replacement of conferences with remote communication.

Is UK Animal Research Governance Facing a ‘New Normal’? Considering the Risks and Benefits of ‘Going Online’

“…Insights from social science may be helpful here — for example, thinking about science in general, some have argued that there is a key role for face-to-face interaction, as it is in-person that we get to energise ideas, build trust among colleagues, transfer tacit skills, as well as use body language to convey meaning or “settle disagreements quickly and efficiently”. 17,20 Such factors are arguably particularly important for the governance of animal research, in relation to both inspection and ethical review. Those who share this opinion note the need to actively foster that which may be lost online.…”

Collaborative Ethnography of Global Environmental Governance

“…Regular interactions and 'meetingness' (Boden & Molotch, 1994;Urry, 2003) give rise to a unique milieu of social actors, a governance community with its own culture, rules, rites and practices. The co-presence of otherwise geographically dispersed communities is a key motivator for conference attendance more generallythere is no real replacement for bringing people together in one place for a certain amount of time (Collins et al, 2023;González-Santos & Dimond, 2015). This makes UN conferences ideal field sites for ethnographic observation.…”

Barcelona…… ‘I had the perfect dream’*

“…However, it became clear that we had underestimated that online meetings could only partially replicate complex human interactions. Subtleties of communication were missing and it became clear that for a society like EUSEM with one of its primary goals of nurturing and developing as a successful scientific society, we needed to maintain a significant element of face-to-face gathering as this appeared critical in stimulating ideas and partnerships [1]. This does not mean we should overlook developments accelerated by COVID but we need to harness these to bolster rather than replace the congress, especially with the powerful potential of such technology to overcome inequality in accessing learning and as a society, we will continue to explore this potential.…”

“…Emergency services and those who commit to working in them continue to remain under intense pressure. Wellness surveys have shown EM trainees are especially under immense pressure with high rates of burnout [3]. Gathering together at Congresses and other events to share stories and experiences will continue to be an important part of recovery as we go forwards.…”