University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Soc Stud Sci. 2022 Aug;52(4):561-580. doi: 10.1177/03063127221101171. Epub 2022 Jun 28.
Even as new elements of a research infrastructure are added, older parts continue to exert persistent and consequential influence. We introduce the concept of sedimentary legacy to describe the relationship between infrastructure and research objects. Contrary to common accounts of legacy infrastructure that underscore lock-in, static, or constraining outcomes, sedimentary legacy emphasizes how researchers adapt infrastructure to support the investigation of new research objects, even while operating under constraining legacies. To illustrate the implications of sedimentary legacy, we track shifting objects of investigation across the history of the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network, focusing especially on recurrent ecological investigations of 'human disturbance' as researchers shift to study socioecological objects. We examine the relationship between scientific objects and the resources collected and preserved to render such objects tractable to scientific investigations, and show how the resources of a long-term research infrastructure support the assembly of certain objects of investigation, even while foreclosing others.
即使研究基础设施的新元素不断增加，旧的部分仍会持续产生深远的影响。我们引入了“沉积性遗产”这一概念来描述基础设施与研究对象之间的关系。与强调锁定、静态或限制结果的传统基础设施遗产观念相反，沉积性遗产强调了研究人员如何适应基础设施以支持对新研究对象的调查，即使在受到限制的遗产条件下也是如此。为了说明沉积性遗产的含义，我们追溯了长期生态研究（LTER）网络历史上调查对象的变化，特别关注“人类干扰”的反复出现的生态调查，因为研究人员转向研究社会生态对象。我们研究了科学对象与为使这些对象便于科学研究而收集和保存的资源之间的关系，并展示了长期研究基础设施的资源如何支持某些调查对象的组合，即使排除了其他对象。
