Field-based sciences must transform in response to COVID-19

Scerri, Eleanor M. L.; Kühnert, Denise; Blinkhorn, James; Groucutt, Huw S.; Roberts, Patrick; Nicoll, Kathleen; Zerboni, Andrea; Orijemie, Emuobosa Akpo; Barton, Huw; Candy, Ian; Goldstein, Steven T.; Hawks, John; Niang, Khadim; N'Dah, Didier; Petraglia, Michael D.; Vella, Nicholas C.

doi:10.1038/s41559-020-01317-8

Cited by 30 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The COVID-19 pandemic prevented the 2020-2021 URAP student from engaging in a field-based experience. The challenges of the pandemic for fieldwork are not unrecognized, and many researchers are reassessing a landscape in which there may never be a "return to normal" [19]. Thus, researchers must not rush to return to fieldwork in potentially risky situations, but rather develop new protocols to facilitate engagement without sacrificing safety.…”

Section: Field Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multi-Disciplinary Undergraduate Pedagogical Experience Looking at Attitudes Towards Solar Development in the Mojave Desert

Bernstein¹,

Audras²,

Dalisay³

et al. 2022

Pedagogy - Challenges, Recent Advances, New Perspectives, and Applications

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This research project aimed to integrate geography, spatial analysis, environmental studies, and social psychology to understand conflicts over solar development in the Mojave Desert region. A second objective was to empower the participating undergraduate student researchers with a deep-learning experience using multidisciplinary tools. This project ran from 2019 to 2021 under the Undergraduate Research Associates Program (URAP) at the University of Southern California. The students conducted site suitability analysis, survey research, interviews, and field studies. Results combined spatial analysis, attitudinal surveys, mapping, and detailed accounts of the students’ learning experiences. An important conclusion of this project was the discovery of a discrepancy between broad support for solar development at the state and national level, and a suspicion at the local level The student researchers went on to present multiple conferences and receive awards, and based on this project, both decided to attend graduate school in environmental studies and sciences. Recommendations for further research include interpolation of attitudes toward solar development, conducting a demographically representative survey, and participatory mapping. This approach can serve as a pedagogical strategy for other institutions, as students are increasingly eager to address environmental problem solving from the perspective of both the natural and social sciences.

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Section: Field Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multi-Disciplinary Undergraduate Pedagogical Experience Looking at Attitudes Towards Solar Development in the Mojave Desert

Bernstein¹,

Audras²,

Dalisay³

et al. 2022

Pedagogy - Challenges, Recent Advances, New Perspectives, and Applications

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“…For instance, geology students are required to spend over seventy days in the field; therefore, fieldwork is a degree requirement for these students. Most universities do not have aggressive virtual learning platforms for geological subjects that predominantly require a large amount of fieldwork, unlike many other subjects, simply because it is not a requirement given the in-thefield nature of the course (Scerri et al, 2020). Subsequently, the set-backs students pursuing these courses are facing as a result of the pandemic are far worse than many other subject areas.…”

Section: Hindrances To Fieldworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges Faced by UK University Students Due to the Coronavirus Crisis in the Higher Education

Kulkarni¹,

Chima

2021

Preprint

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The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the worst catastrophes that we have faced globally in recent years. It has not only taken its toll on the economic sector but also on the education sector. The social distancing norms that are in place as a direct response to the pandemic have turned conventional classroom teaching into a problematic minefield; as such, students all over the world have been forced into unprecedented situations that have served only to worsen the situation. The current pandemic has given rise to one of the worst crises the 21st Century has ever seen, resulting in a surge of unemployment. Many companies have taken the route of firing employees or making redundancies, as they cannot afford the monthly reimbursement for staff. While this issue primarily concerns full-time workers, it also carries significant consequences for students – a considerable number of students are required to earn their daily living costs, and, without a job, they cannot pay their educational fees, accommodation costs, or living expenses. This comprehensive study briefly discusses the multitude of problems faced by students in the UK regarding higher education, as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic. It contains six individual sections: a detailed introduction; the methodological procedures employed; educational disruptions, covering issues from hindrances in field research to examinations and student evaluations; personal problems experienced by students, such as accommodation and loss of income; concerns arising from the global pandemic; and finally, a conclusion and summary of the study’s findings.

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“…The Covid-19 public health emergency is accelerating current efforts to rethink how research in a predominantly field-based discipline such as archaeology is conducted (Ogundiran, 2020;Scerri et al, 2020). A considerable reduction in survey costs, the synoptic view afforded and the non-invasive nature of remote sensing provide an attractive, comprehensive and suitable method to approach the study of cultural landscapes, proving particularly successful in the survey of vast, underexplored and/or politically unstable territories across the globe, from tropical jungles to deserts (Harrower & Comer, 2013;Lasaponara & Masini, 2012;Parcak, 2009;Schaber & Gumerman, 1969;Schmidt, 1940;Wiseman & El-Baz, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monumental funerary landscapes of Dhar Tagant (south‐eastern Mauritania): Towards ethical satellite remote sensing in the West African Sahel

Linares‐Matás

Lim

2021

Archaeological Prospection

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The remembrance of the dead is a ubiquitous dimension of most human societies, and the spatial dimension of mortuary practices actively constitutes an essential element of the cultural significance of certain places in the landscape. The visual prominence of stone-built funerary monuments in dry upland areas is particularly conducive to their multiscalar study through above-ground remote sensing methods.In this paper, we characterize the nature and distribution of Late Holocene drystone funerary monuments in the Dhar Tagant region of south-eastern Mauritania using freely available, very high-resolution (VHR) satellite imagery. We contextualize them in relation to the monumental mortuary records of Senegal and Mali within the West African Sahel, exploring their similarities and differences with other monumental funerary landscapes in semi-arid environments. Ethical considerations and a selfreflective attitude must be at the forefront of archaeological research, and we discuss the ethics of remote sensing research in the study of funerary practices in Africa, as well as the opportunities and challenges for remote collaborative engagement with local communities in the context of fieldwork restrictions.

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Field-based sciences must transform in response to COVID-19

Abstract: The pandemic will allow us to fundamentally remodel the way field-based sciences are taught, conducted and funded-but only if we stop waiting for a 'return to normal'.

Cited by 30 publications

References 13 publications

A Multi-Disciplinary Undergraduate Pedagogical Experience Looking at Attitudes Towards Solar Development in the Mojave Desert

A Multi-Disciplinary Undergraduate Pedagogical Experience Looking at Attitudes Towards Solar Development in the Mojave Desert

Challenges Faced by UK University Students Due to the Coronavirus Crisis in the Higher Education

Monumental funerary landscapes of Dhar Tagant (south‐eastern Mauritania): Towards ethical satellite remote sensing in the West African Sahel

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