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	<title>BKR Blog</title>
	<atom:link href="http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net</link>
	<description>Filipino researchers blogging for Philippine science</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sat, 25 Aug 2012 04:55:17 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>The RH bill: Resolving the controversy with science</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/08/25/the-rh-bill-resolving-the-controversy-with-science/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/08/25/the-rh-bill-resolving-the-controversy-with-science/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Aug 2012 04:55:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>guest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[In Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RH bill]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=275</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 to understand nature and the universe. Researchers do studies to produce information, which is used for education, development programs, policy-making, etc. for the people&#8217;s well-being. Many studies are meant to build up or strengthen scientific consensus, as in evolution and climate change. These are factual conclusions &#8212; that is, supported by valid data. They are not the truth nor are they permanent; they can be changed by more studies. This is the progressive nature of science. That nature of science explains why most harmful predictions &#8212; like Paul Ehrlich&#8217;s “Population Bomb” (1968) &#8212; have largely failed. Continued research stopped the serious threats. The same corrective actions of science can stop side effects or unexpected results &#8212; serendipitous nature of scientific research. The discovery of DDT for saving lives from malaria had unexpected by-product, which damage ecosystems. On the other hand, the threats on the economy [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/08/25/the-rh-bill-resolving-the-controversy-with-science/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Family Planning:  Dangers without contraceptives</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/08/04/family-planning-dangers-without-contraceptives/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/08/04/family-planning-dangers-without-contraceptives/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Aug 2012 03:50:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>guest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[In Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RH bill]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=267</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 (14 July 2012). The articles include &#8221;The rebirth of family planning,&#8221;  &#8221;Making family planning a national development priority,&#8221; and &#8220;Giving women the power to plan their families.&#8221; A key component of all family planning programs is the use of contraceptives (now recognized in the Millennium Development Goals); for example, in preventing, delaying, or spacing of pregnancy. Obstacles (e.g., cost of contraceptives, exaggerated fear of side effects, and opposition from spouses), including suggested alternatives to artificial contraception, have resulted in unwanted pregnancies, with heartbreaking consequences &#8212; like rampant abortion and maternal death. The status and outcome of all pregnancies in the developing world in 2008 has been reviewed.  And it shows that nearly 40% of all pregnancies are unintended or unwanted. Of these unwanted pregnancies, 48% end in abortions, 12% end in miscarriages, and   40% in unintended births, with detrimental health and economic effects for many women and their families. The study is reported by J. Bongaarts &#38; S. Sinding in Population [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/08/04/family-planning-dangers-without-contraceptives/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bahay Kubo Research Database site enhancements: Making it more social</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/25/bahay-kubo-research-database-site-enhancements-making-it-more-social/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/25/bahay-kubo-research-database-site-enhancements-making-it-more-social/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jul 2012 03:36:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>myguide</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Site Update]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BKR database]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DOI]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=258</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s been awhile since we&#8217;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 researchers on the internet. Toward this end, we have incorporated social features to the site, which makes it easier to share the available information in the database to your social networks. New in this update: The Facebook Like button – all journal titles are now displayed with a Facebook “Like” button. Facebook users can click this button to automatically share the information to their Facebook friends. The shared information contains a link back to the article’s detail page, where visitors can post comment using another Facebook’s social plugin – the comment box. The Facebook comment plugin – this can be found in the detailed view of every journal article. Facebook users can leave comments and, if desired, share the comment back to their Facebook profiles. Aside from Facebook, visitors can also post comments using other internet accounts including Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail. For registered Filipino researchers, we have also added a digital object identifier (DOI) [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/25/bahay-kubo-research-database-site-enhancements-making-it-more-social/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Is PNoy succeeding where his predecessors failed?</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/23/is-pnoy-succeeding-where-his-predecessors-failed/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/23/is-pnoy-succeeding-where-his-predecessors-failed/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Jul 2012 18:37:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>guest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[In Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[President Aquino]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SONA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=251</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This can be seen in his third SONA &#8212; 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 of sustainable prosperity are higher education, science, and right people in charge. Measuring progress with GDP has proven to be faulty in some developed countries. It has not benefited our poor communities. How then would you rate the SONA along these lines? In previous papers (samples cited below), I discussed the reasons why we have been left behind by most of our neighbors during the past 5 decades. Every new administration, starting with that of President Marcos, had its development programs of reform and a new set of officials-in-charge. Yet every succeeding administration inherited more problems from the previous one. Persistent problems include poverty, fast population growth, poor basic education, resource overexploitation, environment degradation, graft and corruption, and common crimes. I have explained that those problems are interrelated, forming vicious circles of cause-and-effect. For example, poverty is partly due to corruption; corruption, partly due to poverty. The same relation exits between poverty and overpopulation; and [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/23/is-pnoy-succeeding-where-his-predecessors-failed/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Enhanced performance of superconducting thin films by ion milling</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/17/enhanced-flux-pinning-in-ybco-thin-films-by-ion-milling/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/17/enhanced-flux-pinning-in-ybco-thin-films-by-ion-milling/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jul 2012 04:50:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>myguide</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Research News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[superconductors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thin films]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[YBCO]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=233</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 applications they have to be processed into a useable form, such as long-length wires or tapes. While this is not an easy feat, advances in materials processing technology have enabled the fabrication of thin layers (micrometer thickness) of YBCO on flexible metal tapes with buffering metal oxides, known as coated conductors. The high cost of materials processing, however, is a main challenge that needs to be hurdled in order to make coated conductors a commercially viable alternative compared to conventional copper. There are two routes that can be explored: investigation of low-cost processing techniques such as solution-based film deposition methods, and enhancement of current-carrying property of the film, which will also cut down the cost drastically (i.e., fabricating a thinner layer with high current-carrying performance is more economical than a thicker layer but with low current-carrying performance). In simple terms, this current-carrying property is controlled by the effectiveness of existing defects in the film to [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/17/enhanced-flux-pinning-in-ybco-thin-films-by-ion-milling/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Research productivity in education and psychology</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/12/research-productivity-in-education-and-psychology/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/12/research-productivity-in-education-and-psychology/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jul 2012 05:18:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>myguide</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Research News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[psychology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research productivity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=228</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 is important as it will help determine available experts in the field. In addition, this is particularly timely with regards to the recent implementation of the K+12 education program – introducing universal kindergarten and lengthening the basic education cycle from 10 years to 12 years. It matters to know the state of research in education in the country because it will play an important role in forming education policies and possible reforms. To assess the country’s research productivity, the author used bibliometric data from the Institute for Scientific Information’s Social Science Citation Index (ISI-SSCI) database, which consists of articles from over 2,700 social science journals. Using the journal article as the unit of analysis, individual, institutional and national levels of productivity were assessed. The paper used the following search criteria: address = “Philippines”, timespan = 1969 to 2009, document type = {article, note, letter, review} and subject areas related to education and psychology (see paper [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/12/research-productivity-in-education-and-psychology/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>DOST-JSPS Joint Research Program Call for Research Proposal</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/09/dost-jsps-joint-research-program-call-for-research-proposal-2/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/09/dost-jsps-joint-research-program-call-for-research-proposal-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jul 2012 01:14:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>myguide</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Announcement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DOST]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[joint research program]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JSPS]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=224</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 for submission is July 30, 2012. All proposals should be submitted not later than this date. JRP is a bilateral research exchange program between DOST and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Its purpose is to provide support for research activities to be jointly conducted by Filipino and Japanese researchers. The project usually runs for a maximum of three years with an annual evaluation conducted by the two organizations. For this program, Filipino researchers are required to establish or have an existing collaboration with Japanese researchers, who will also submit a corresponding proposal to JSPS. Research topics should be within the DOST Priority Programs, which include: Health Nutrition and Environment; Climate Change; and in Emerging Technologies such as Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, Genomics, Advanced Food Production Technology, and Advanced Manufacturing Technology. Any Filipino with a doctorate degree and working full-time in DOST-recognized national, public, or private universities or research institutions may apply. For basic [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/09/dost-jsps-joint-research-program-call-for-research-proposal-2/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Research Productivity: Philippines&#8217; Most Productive Institutes and Researchers in 2011</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/06/research-productivity-philippines-most-productive-institutes-and-researchers-in-2011/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/06/research-productivity-philippines-most-productive-institutes-and-researchers-in-2011/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Jul 2012 06:06:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>myguide</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[In Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISI-journal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research productivity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=197</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[About a year ago, I posted an article here in the BKR blog examining the country&#8217;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. TABLE 1 (Column 3: Number of papers)  Summary Initial Search Terms address = Philippines year published = 2011 database = SCI-expanded Records: 1,039 Refinement Document-type = articles (825), reviews (42), letters (18) Records: 885 Top 5 Subject Areas 1. Agronomy 87 2. Plant Sciences 74 3. Environmental Studies 52 4. Agricultural Multidisciplinary 48 5. Biology 46 Most Published Authors 1. Raymond Tan De La Salle University 17 2. Bhagirath Chauhan IRRI 12 3. David Johnson IRRI 11 4. Arvin Diesmos National Museum of the Philippines 10 5. Arvind Kumar IRRI 9 5. Shi-Kang Li IRRI 9 Top 10 Institutions 1. University of the Philippines 343 2. International Rice Research Institute 139 3. De La Salle University 48 4. University of Santo Thomas 29 5. Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center 21 5. Mindanao State University 21 6. Research Institute for Tropical Medicine 18 7. University of San Carlos 17 8. World Health Organization 16 9. Ateneo [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/07/06/research-productivity-philippines-most-productive-institutes-and-researchers-in-2011/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Beam shape corrections to the Law of Reflection</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/03/13/beam-shape-corrections-to-the-law-of-reflection/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/03/13/beam-shape-corrections-to-the-law-of-reflection/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Mar 2012 03:29:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>guest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Research News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[law of reflection]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[optics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[orbital angular momentum]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=177</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 description of this law in 300 BC [1]. In the 18th century, Isaac Newton conjectured that light can be reflected before hitting the surface [2]. Although not contradicting Euclid, it seems that Newton saw that reflection is not as simple as what Euclid thought. By the 20th century, researchers began to take a second look at reflection specially since a real physical beam has a finite width. Goos and Hänchen in 1947 reported the first quantitative measurement of a longitudinal shift of the centroid of the beam as in see fig. 1 [3].  A year after, a mathematical description was given by Artmann [4]. This is somewhat similar to the shift that Newton had in mind. However, Goos and Hänchen saw that the reflection with a dielectric happens at the back of the reflection surface. A reflection similar to Newton&#8217;s query occurs when the index of refraction is complex such as with metals [5]. A [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/03/13/beam-shape-corrections-to-the-law-of-reflection/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Climate change: What more can science organizations do?</title>
		<link>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/03/11/climate-change-what-more-can-science-organizations-do/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/2012/03/11/climate-change-what-more-can-science-organizations-do/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:26:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>guest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[In Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[information caravan]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.bahaykuboresearch.net/?p=173</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 in this century threaten us more, in magnitude of destruction and death. From impacts of climate change alone &#8212; e.g., typhoons, floods, landslides &#8212; we have seen samples of their increasing frequency and damages, with the government still unprepared. And to think that yet to come are impacts on food production systems (agriculture and fisheries), communicable diseases, displacement, migration, etc. Our underdevelopment, persistent poverty, and archipelagic conditions make the Philippines more vulnerable. The scientists referred to are the researchers &#8212; in natural and social sciences, engineering, technology, and math &#8212; who produce information, which can be useful information &#8212; knowledge &#8212; if research is done properly. Hence, the importance of doing research properly (see Fig. 1 in Doing research for development) In addition to producing information/knowledge, scientists also have the social responsibility to disseminate useful information (through community service), and to use it for development programs, education, policy-making, etc. Together with research, they are what we [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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