Noise and productivity
And interesting paper on the relationship between noise pollution and decreased productivity: Noise, Cognitive Function, and Worker Productivity. This paper relates a 10dB noise increase to a 5% productivity decrease, lending credence to the idea that noise is in fact pollution like any other, unfortunately a rather novel and therefore not broadly accepted thesis. A half year ago, Dutch The Correspondent published an article trying to present literature that links noise pollution with decreased (mental) health.