In applied research, noise annoyance is often used as indicator of subjective reaction to aircraft noise in residential areas. The present study aims to show that the meaning which respondents attach to the concept of aircraft noise annoyance is partly a function of survey context. To this purpose a survey is conducted among residents living near Schiphol Airport, the largest airport in the Net...

The patent laws confer exclusive rights in inventions and discoveries in furtherance of a constitutional purpose "To Promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts."' Yet the idea that exclusive rights in new knowledge will promote scientific progress is counterintuitive to many observers of research science, who believe that science advances most rapidly when the community enjoys free access ...

This paper presents new concepts in the study of folliculogenesis and describes some of the current applications to reproductive biotechnology. The importance of better understanding this issue is addressed both for basic and applied research. After a brief review of the basic conceptions of the origin, formation, and growth of follicles according to established concepts, some controversial poi...

There are innumerable myths and misconceptions about breastfeeding that minimize its importance; these often keep health workers from providing effective care to support and protect breastfeeding. They are compounded by lack of basic and applied research, and by the cultural invisibility of breastfeeding in the United States. This paper highlights some of the blind spots and suggests the import...

Extremophiles are the microorganisms which can survive under extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, pH, salinity etc. They have gained much attention for their potential role in biotechnological and industrial applications. The large amount of experimental data in the literature is so diverse, that it becomes difficult and time consuming for the researcher to implement it in various areas...

BACKGROUND This article outlines a program of applied research and development known as Housing for Health that, over the period 1999-2012, targeted health-related improvements in housing for Indigenous householders in communities across regional and remote Australia. In essence, the program focuses on measuring the functionality of key appliances and structures (we term this "health hardware")...

This manuscript describes the implementation of two community-based programs of research with Latino immigrant populations exposed to intense contextual challenges. We provide background on our program of research and specific implementation of an evidence-based parenting intervention. We also describe how our research efforts were seriously affected by immigration-related events such as the IC...

Innovative materials for energy play an important role in major fields of science and technology, including life and environmental sciences and many interdisciplinary fields. This focus issue contains several reviews and primary research articles devoted to materials for energy conversion (photovoltaic, lighting, solid oxide fuel cells, etc.) and energy harvesting applications. This focus issue...

The purposes of the present study were two-fold: first, to evaluate whether reflection journal writing was effective in promoting self-reflection and learning, and whether students become better at self-reflection if they engage continuously in reflection journal writing. To that end, the reflection journals of 690 first-year applied science students at a local polytechnic were studied by means...

Landscape visualization is a useful tool in understanding forest dynamics and in assessing various management practices. However, the application of this technology remains very challenging. We propose criteria for landscape visualization so that users can judge the quality of the visualization. We also identify the challenges in developing visualizations and discuss the limitations and advanta...