Knowledge creation rhythms of a science project, in and beyond remote Ny-Ålesund in the Arctic

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article discusses how a temporary gathering of researchers in the remote and peripheral Ny-Ålesund research station (78°55’N, 11°54’E) affected the rhythms of knowledge creation in an international research project. Periods of co-presence are crucial for creating knowledge in projects whose members usually work in different geographical locations. Gathering to cities and clusters has been shown to be practical and beneficial, but not enough is known about the meaning of a peripheral place for knowledge creation or how the process continues afterwards. Also, the role of the physical-natural environment for knowledge creation is too little understood. Therefore, in this article, we apply Henri Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis and its basic concepts (polyrhythmia, eurhythmia, arrhythmia, isorhythmia) to investigate the work of a research group during and after their field campaign in Ny-Ålesund. According to the key results, the gathering in Ny-Ålesund supported an intense and focused eurhythmic ensemble in which rhythms were aligned, the environment became a participant in the knowledge creation process, and a spur in knowledge creation was achieved. However, as the rhythms changed, also the eurhythmia started to dissolve. By zooming in time and space, beyond the gathering, we notice that knowledge is created further through an arrhythmia, an arrhythmia that may also be necessary for achieving innovative scientific knowledge.