Competitiveness of entrepreneurs and salaried workers

We measure the willingness to compete of entrepreneurs and salaried workers in an experiment. Participants can choose between a piece-rate and a tournament scheme either in private or in public. We find that in the private condition entrepreneurs are less competitive than salaried workers, but that in the public condition this ordering is reversed. Survey data suggest that perceived norms of appropriate behavior, along with beliefs about the instrumental value of competitiveness for professional success, can explain why entrepreneurs are more competitive when decisions are publicly observable. We also find that the latter condition improves the quality of experimental decisions

Accents, group identity, and trust behaviors: evidence from Singapore

We study discrimination on the basis of national origin in Singapore by exploring how the group identity discernible in a speaker's accent affects trust. In the trust game, Singaporean Chinese (SGC) senders were asked to listen to audio clips in which responders with either an SGC or a Mainland Chinese (MLC) accent read a two-sentence script before the senders decided how much money to send. We also used the strategy method to elicit the senders' beliefs about the trustworthiness of responders with an MLC accent versus those with an SGC accent. Contrary to our expectations and the common perception in Singapore, we found that Singaporean senders tended to place more trust in responders with an MLC accent than in responders with an SGC accent. We explain this difference on the basis of the Singaporean senders' beliefs about trustworthiness: they believed that people with an MLC accent would return more money to senders than would the in-group Singaporean counterparts. To bolster our findings, we confirmed in a separate experiment that the difference in response to the accents was not due to the speech rate or vocal pitch

TECHNIQUE AND EXPERIENCE OF SEISMIC ZONING OF THE CITIES OF ULAANBAATAR AND ERDENET

Optimum approach to an engineering-seismological assessment of mastered territories in regions of the Mongol-Baikal seismic zone is developed. On this basis seismic zoning of the cities of Ulaanbaatar and Erdenet is carried out. As a result schematic maps of the studied cities are made and the short characteristic of the allocated zones is given on the basis of calculated and experimental values of seismic effects parameters for the predicted large earthquakes

Contributions to the Mammalogy of Mongolia, with a Checklist of Species for the Country

We present accounts for 40 species of mammals collected from 15 localities in the Mongolian People\u27s Republic. Accounts include taxonomic, morphometric, reproductive and ecological information, as well as trap effort and success. In addition, we include a brief history of mammalogical work within Mongolia, a taxonomically updated species list for the country, and a list of institutions with holdings of Mongolian mammals

In Memoriam, Academician Prof. Dr. Osor Shagdarsuren (1929-2010)

Academician, Professor Osor Shagdarsuren passed away due to apoplexy on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at the age of 81. He was one of the most respected Mongolian ornithologists, biologists, and educators. The Mongolian scientific community has lost one of its greatest members, the premier Mongolian ornithologist

Effect of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine six years post-introduction on pneumococcal carriage in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Limited data from Asia are available on long-term effects of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduction on pneumococcal carriage. Here we assess the impact of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) introduction on nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage prevalence, density and antimicrobial resistance. Cross-sectional carriage surveys were conducted pre-PCV13 (2015) and post-PCV13 introduction (2017 and 2022). Pneumococci were detected and quantified by real-time PCR from nasopharyngeal swabs. DNA microarray was used for molecular serotyping and to infer genetic lineage (Global Pneumococcal Sequence Cluster). The study included 1461 infants (5-8 weeks old) and 1489 toddlers (12-23 months old) enrolled from family health clinics. We show a reduction in PCV13 serotype carriage (with non-PCV13 serotype replacement) and a reduction in the proportion of samples containing resistance genes in toddlers six years post-PCV13 introduction. We observed an increase in pneumococcal nasopharyngeal density. Serotype 15 A, the most prevalent non-vaccine-serotype in 2022, was comprised predominantly of GPSC904;9. Reductions in PCV13 serotype carriage will likely result in pneumococcal disease reduction. It is important for ongoing surveillance to monitor serotype changes to potentially inform new vaccine development

Reliable quantification of the potential for equations based on spot urine samples to estimate population salt intake: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Methods based on spot urine samples (a single sample at one time-point) have been identified as a possiblealternative approach to 24-hour urine samples for determining mean population salt intake.Objective: The aim of this study is to identify a reliable method for estimating mean population salt intake from spot urinesamples. This will be done by comparing the performance of existing equations against one other and against estimates derivedfrom 24-hour urine samples. The effects of factors such as ethnicity, sex, age, body mass index, antihypertensive drug use, healthstatus, and timing of spot urine collection will be explored. The capacity of spot urine samples to measure change in salt intakeover time will also be determined. Finally, we aim to develop a novel equation (or equations) that performs better than existingequations to estimate mean population salt intake.Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data will be conducted. A search has been conductedto identify human studies that report salt (or sodium) excretion based upon 24-hour urine samples and spot urine samples. Therewere no restrictions on language, study sample size, or characteristics of the study population. MEDLINE via OvidSP (1946-present),Premedline via OvidSP, EMBASE, Global Health via OvidSP (1910-present), and the Cochrane Library were searched, and tworeviewers identified eligible studies. The authors of these studies will be invited to contribute data according to a standard format.Individual participant records will be compiled and a series of analyses will be completed to: (1) compare existing equations forestimating 24-hour salt intake from spot urine samples with 24-hour urine samples, and assess the degree of bias according tokey demographic and clinical characteristics; (2) assess the reliability of using spot urine samples to measure population changesin salt intake overtime; and (3) develop a novel equation that performs better than existing equations to estimate mean populationsalt intake.Results: The search strategy identified 538 records; 100 records were obtained for review in full text and 73 have been confirmedas eligible. In addition, 68 abstracts were identified, some of which may contain data eligible for inclusion. Individual participantdata will be requested from the authors of eligible studies.Conclusions: Many equations for estimating salt intake from spot urine samples have been developed and validated, althoughmost have been studied in very specific settings. This meta-analysis of individual participant data will enable a much broaderunderstanding of the capacity for spot urine samples to estimate population salt intake

Trust, trustworthiness, and business success: lab and field findings from entrepreneurs

This article contributes to the literature on trust and small businesses in developing countries by linking the level of trust in others that entrepreneurs display in a lab setting to sales data outside of the lab. The results show a robust positive correlation between trust and business success (with sales used as a measure of success): The successful entrepreneurs invested in trust more than the less successful ones did. In the lab, trusting in others is highly profitable, with successful entrepreneurs doing so to the degree required to maximize revenue. However, I found no association between trustworthiness and business success