Most published and posted commentaries on the RH bill show poor public understanding of science. I am sharing here a summary of my comments posted at the online forum on Philippine science. It is focused on the nature and role of science. The objectives of science are not to find the truth. They are aimed…
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Family Planning: Dangers without contraceptives
After a decade of campaigning by global health scientists and civic organisations, the survival of mothers, newborns, and children had finally been embraced as an emergency that demands unprecedented action by all governments. That has been articulated in a Family Planning Series of the medical journal Lancet…
Bahay Kubo Research Database site enhancements: Making it more social
It’s been awhile since we’ve updated or added features to the BKR database. Today, we are happy to announce additional features recently implemented to enhance the database’s functionality. The main motivation of these enhancements is to increase the visibility of the research output of Filipino…
Is PNoy succeeding where his predecessors failed?
This can be seen in his third SONA — whether his programs and claimed achievements are sustainable, whether the programs are guided by the accepted basic prerequisites of growth, and whether the progress is measured by indicators of equitable well-being. The three internationally proven prerequisites…
Enhanced performance of superconducting thin films by ion milling
YBa2Cu3Oy (YBCO) belongs to a class of oxide materials collectively referred to as “high-Tc (critical temperature) superconductors (HTS),” i.e., materials that exhibit superconductivity above the boiling point (77K) of liquid nitrogen. However, as these materials are typically brittle, in order to be used for potential…
Research productivity in education and psychology
In a recent paper entitled “Research productivity in education and psychology in the Philippines and comparison with ASEAN countries” published in Scientometrics, Lorelie Vinluan (University of the Philippines, Diliman) examined the country’s research productivity in the field of education and psychology. This type of study…
DOST-JSPS Joint Research Program Call for Research Proposal
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is now soliciting research proposals from Filipino researchers working in local universities and research institutions for the DOST-JSPS Joint Research Program (JRP). Here’s the link to the announcement in DOST’s website. For the fiscal year 2013, the deadline…
Research Productivity: Philippines’ Most Productive Institutes and Researchers in 2011
About a year ago, I posted an article here in the BKR blog examining the country’s research productivity in terms of publications for the year 2010. As a follow-up, this time I will examine the research productivity for 2011 and compare it to 2010’s analysis.…
Beam shape corrections to the Law of Reflection
The law of reflection states that with respect to an imaginary line that is perpendicular to the surface of the reflecting object, light will be reflected at the same angle and at the same plane as it was incident. Euclid, writing in Catoptrics, already had a mathematical…
Climate change: What more can science organizations do?
From global terrorism and the spread of disease to the dangers of global warming, we are increasingly facing the sorts of threats for which governments everywhere will need to turn to their scientists. (“The scientific impact of nations,” Nature, 15 July 2004.) Perhaps no other problems…
Coming Home for Good: for Real?
By now it is likely that most PhDs outside the country must be aware of the UP Balik PhD Recruitment Program launched last February. In case you have somehow missed it, here is the link to the memo from the Office of the Vice-President for Academic…
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