Night Matters—Why the Interdisciplinary Field of “Night Studies” Is Needed

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

As this is an opinion piece, rather than research summary, there is relatively little to add as a reviewer. The article offers a clear rationale for the codification of a night studies interdisciplinary area, and shows potential benefits of this. It should be published. I have two comments for reflection:

There may be some scope, particularly around the start of page 3, to note the pioneering work by Melbin in attempting to outline a sociology of the night. While there are several good reasons to move on from his work, it stands out as an attempt to think holistically about the night in a way that few others have done In a few places the authors discuss policy areas in which they are also activists (night mayors, dark skies). I don't think that this is a problem - it could be a strength - but the paper may benefit from a brief reflection on this, insofar as how the possible emergence of a new interdisciplinary research approach might be shaped by proximity to people advocating for specific policy or technical solutions to some of the problems being discussed 

These are non-essential changes, but could deepen the paper's insights if the authors consider them worthy of inclusion.

Author Response

As this is an opinion piece, rather than research summary, there is relatively little to add as a reviewer. The article offers a clear rationale for the codification of a night studies interdisciplinary area, and shows potential benefits of this. It should be published. I have two comments for reflection:

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Answer: We thank the reviewer for the kind words

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There may be some scope, particularly around the start of page 3, to note the pioneering work by Melbin in attempting to outline a sociology of the night. While there are several good reasons to move on from his work, it stands out as an attempt to think holistically about the night in a way that few others have done

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Answer: Yes indeed. We thank the reviewer for the excellent suggestion. We added citation

Melbin, M. (1978). Night as frontier. American Sociological Review, 3-22.

And adjusted the text to incorporate it within the first paragraph.

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In a few places the authors discuss policy areas in which they are also activists (night mayors, dark skies). I don't think that this is a problem - it could be a strength - but the paper may benefit from a brief reflection on this, insofar as how the possible emergence of a new interdisciplinary research approach might be shaped by proximity to people advocating for specific policy or technical solutions to some of the problems being discussed

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Answer: That is an interesting point. However, we think that this argumentation is not at the core of what we want to transport in this opinion piece.

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These are non-essential changes, but could deepen the paper's insights if the authors consider them worthy of inclusion.

Reviewer 2 Report

I strongly agree with the opinion that the phenomenon of night-time life expansion we observe today causes many problems for humans and the environment and that many consequences have not even comprehended yet. For this reason, the issue does require careful exploration and an interdisciplinary approach, and further institutionalization would serve well.

However, I have several remarks on the presentation of the paper.

First and foremost, I think the article would strongly benefit from a more cool-headed style. That is, I suggest that the authors would avoid negative generalizations like "lack of professionalization" (page 2, line 65). 

Second, the introduction section would be more pronounced and include appropriate key references on nowadays expansion of artificial light at night and its impact on human and non-human beings.

Finally, Table 1 looks excessive, the first sentence of the paragraph "We are a set of researchers and practitioners from diverse backgrounds in the natural and social sciences, humanities, and NGOs" is sufficient.

Author Response

Reviewer 2

 

I strongly agree with the opinion that the phenomenon of night-time life expansion we observe today causes many problems for humans and the environment and that many consequences have not even comprehended yet. For this reason, the issue does require careful exploration and an interdisciplinary approach, and further institutionalization would serve well.

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Answer: We thank the reviewer for this positive feedback

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However, I have several remarks on the presentation of the paper. First and foremost, I think the article would strongly benefit from a more cool-headed style. That is, I suggest that the authors would avoid negative generalizations like "lack of professionalization" (page 2, line 65).

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Answer: We adjusted some phrases on page 2

“lack of balance between investigations”  -> “few investigations”

“…fragmentation, lack of professionalization and institutionalization hampers….”

“…fragmentation and the lack of the “professionalization” of night studies as a field to date hamper…”

Note that we do not mean a lack of professionalism, but rather professionalization: the process by which certain areas become formalized and institutionalized through practices like official professional societies, journals, conferences, degrees, new disciplines, etc.

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Second, the introduction section would be more pronounced and include appropriate key references on nowadays expansion of artificial light at night and its impact on human and non-human beings.

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Answer: We wanted to advocate for a holistic and interdisciplinary view on the night, not artificial light at night (which is only a small part of the issue). We think that this topic is covered well enough in the manuscript. However, we also moved citation 2 to the introduction.

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Finally, Table 1 looks excessive, the first sentence of the paragraph "We are a set of researchers and practitioners from diverse backgrounds in the natural and social sciences, humanities, and NGOs" is sufficient.

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Answer: That is a good point. We did not intend to put ourselves in the center of attention, but we do want to explicitly demonstrate the breadth of the group. We moved the table to the appendix and added Fig. 1 showing the Earth as seen from the moon using NASA data and Earth and Moon Viewer. https://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/