Combining experimental evidence with machine learning to assess anti-corruption educational campaigns among Russian university students

This paper examines how anti-corruption educational campaigns affect the attitudes of Russian university students towards corruption and academic integrity. About 2,000 survey participants were randomly assigned to one of four different information materials (brochures or videos) about the negative consequences of corruption or to a control group. Using machine learning to detect effect heterogeneity, we find that various groups of students react to the same information differently. Those who commonly plagiarize, who receive excellent grades, and whose fathers are highly educated develop stronger negative attitudes towards corruption in the aftermath of our intervention. However, some information materials lead to more tolerant views on corruption among those who rarely plagiarize, who receive average or above average grades, and whose fathers are less educated. Therefore, policy makers aiming to implement anti-corruption education at a larger scale should scrutinize the possibility of (undesired) heterogeneous effects across student groups

Evaluating an information campaign about rural development policies in (FYR) Macedonia

This paper investigates the effects of an information campaign about a governmental rural development program (RDP) in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on the farmers’ intention to participate in the RDP. In the course of a survey among farmers, the treatment group received an information brochure with relevant details on selected RDP measures, while the control group received no information. Even though the intervention had been planned as experiment, randomization was not properly conducted, requiring sample adjustments and controlling for observed covariates in the estimation process. The results suggest that while the intervention succeeded in informing farmers, it had a negative, albeit marginally statically significant, effect on farmers’ reported possibility and intention to use RDP support in the near future. Evidence from further outcome variables suggests that this may be due to the information about administrative burden associated with RDP participation provided in the brochure. We also find that the negative effect is driven by the subsample of unprofitable farmers

Direct and indirect effects under sample selection and outcome attrition

This paper considers the evaluation of direct and indirect treatment effects, also known as mediation analysis, when outcomes are only observed for a subpopulation due to sample selection or outcome attrition. For identification, we combine sequential conditional independence assumptions on the assignment of the treatment and the mediator, i.e. the variable through which the indirect effect operates, with either selection on observables/missing at random or instrumental variable assumptions on the outcome attrition process. We derive expressions for the effects of interest that are based on inverse probability weighting by specific treatment, mediator, and/or selection propensity scores. We also provide a brief simulation study and an empirical illustration based on U.S. Project STAR data that assesses the direct effect and indirect effect (via absenteeism) of smaller kindergarten classes on math test scores

On the sensitivity of wage gap decompositions

This paper investigates the sensitivity of average wage gap decompositions to methods resting on different assumptions regarding endogeneity of observed characteristics, sample selection into employment, and estimators’functional form. Applying five distinct decomposition techniques to estimate the gender wage gap in the U.S. using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we find that the magnitudes of the wage gap components are generally not stable across methods. Furthermore, the definition of the observed characteristics matters: merely including their levels (as frequently seen in wage decompositions) entails smaller explained and larger unexplained components than when including both their levels and histories in the analysis. Given the sensitivity of our results, we advise caution when using wage decompositions for policy recommendations

THE IMPROVEMENT OF BETULIN-3, 28-DIPHOSPHATE WATER-SOLUBILITY BY COMPLEXATION WITH AMINES–MEGLUMINE AND XYMEDON

Objective: To study betulin-3,28-diphosphate (BDP) water solubility improved by forming salt complexes with hydrophilic amino alcohols: meglumine as acidosis corrector and xymedon as the water-soluble antioxidant. Methods: We used 13C-, 31P-NMR, UV-spectroscopy and potentiometric titration to study the BDP-amine salt complexes formation and their solubility using HPLC-analysis. Results: The participation of xymedon in the proton transfer reaction with BDP in aqueous solutions was confirmed by the bathochromic shift of the carbonyl band from 299.1 nm to 304.2 nm, and by a hyperchromic effect (molar extinction ε from 8508 to 10 441 l·mol-1·cm-1) in UV-spectra. BDP complexation with meglumine was estimated by UV-spectral molar ratio method at 256 nm. Molar ratio of BDP-amine complexes (1:4) was proved by 31P-NMR. The chemical shift of phosphorus at C-3 atom of BDP (δ =-0.58 ppm) changed to+3.39 ppm, and at C-28 atom (δ =+0.28 ppm)–to+4.60 ppm. BDP solubility increased 100-600 fold according to HPLC-analysis. Conclusion: BDP interaction with amine in an aqueous solution was shown to proceed via a proton transfer due to relatively weak forces such as London forces, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. In general, the formation of BDP salt complexes with amines in solution determines BDP water solubility. Water-soluble BDP enables to develop hydrophilic dosage forms

ANTIOXIDANT, METABOLIC AND ANTITUMOR ACTIVITY OF TRITERPENOIDS COMBINATION WITH CYTOSTATICS

Objective: To study the effect of betulin derivatives combination with 5-fluorouracil or hydrazine sulfate on the ROS generation, the SOD and LDH activity using rat blood, as well as the effect of combination drugs on Ehrlich carcinoma in experiments on mice. Methods: We used a chemiluminescence technique to study the ROS generation, and spectrophotometry to determine the MDA level and the SOD and LDH activity. The model of transplanted Ehrlich ascites carcinoma was investigated on mice using a cytological analysis of ascitic fluid cells according to Pappenheim`s method. Results: In vitro experiments on rat blood at the doses of 2, 5 and 10 μg per ml revealed the dose-dependent effect of combination drugs on the antioxidant properties. In plasma, the ROS generation and the MDA level increased by 10-300% in comparison with control at the doses of 5 and 10 μg per ml only. Still, the SOD and LDH activity in general increased by 10-130% in comparison with control under the action of the studied combination drugs. The study on mice showed the effectiveness of a combination of triterpenoids and cytostatics in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma therapy. The state and behavior of the animals improved, the volume of ascites fluid decreased by 40-50% after treatment for 10 d. Conclusion: The combination of betulin derivatives with cytostatics can be used as antitumor drugs in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma therapy that is due to metabolic plasticity, increased ROS generation in enhanced antioxidant enzyme protection

Psychology of Mobbing as a Form of Conflict in the Workplace: Finding and Testing Project-Based Learning in Students’ Education

Project-based learning has long been used in universities when preparing students. However, project-based technologies are currently being increasingly used in work with students. The authors found various options for the application of these technologies in teaching psychological and pedagogical disciplines. The research aims to determine the practice of implementing project-based learning to provide a deeper practice-oriented understanding of academic disciplines. The authors use a set of methods of theoretical analysis and practical psychological techniques. The authors present the research results in the form of several generalizations. The first one concerns the fact that mobbing has recently become a stable trend in teams; a conflict often manifests itself in the form of mobbing. The study of various organizational cultures and their models shows that the optimal and morally oriented model of organizational culture is the barrier preventing the development of mobbing in the company. The practical application of the developed theory provides methodological support for training a successful specialist