Users’ perceptions of two types of hotel reservation Web sites

Building on the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study examined users’ perceptions of reservation Web sites: hotel-owned and third-party. As an experimental study, this study tested whether a modified variant of the TAM could be used to evaluate users’ perceptions of two different channels for hotel online reservations. Perceived usefulness was a key predictor of users’ attitudes toward using hotel-owned Web sites, while perceived ease of use was a key predictor of users’ attitudes toward using third-party Web sites. Both perceived playfulness and attitudes were two key predictors of users’ intentions to use hotel reservation Web sites. However, no significant differences in users’ perceptions were found between the two types of Web sites. Overall, users had more favorable attitudes and higher intentions to revisit third-party Web sites than hotel-owned Web sites.     

Mortgage Put Options and Real Estate Markets

In this paper we offer direct evidence that financial intermediation does impact underlying asset markets. We develop a specific observable symptom of a banking system that underprices the put option imbedded in non-recourse asset-backed lending. Using a dataset for 19 countries and over 500 real estate investment trusts, we find that, following a negative demand shock, the “underpricing” economies experience far deeper asset market crashes than economies in which the put option is correctly priced.

Usury and Just Compensation: Religious and Financial Ethics in Historical Perspective

Usury is a concept often associated more with religiously based financial ethics, whether Christian or Islamic, than with the secular world of contemporary finance. The problem is compounded by a tendency to interpret riba, prohibited within Islam, as both usury and interest, without adequately distinguishing these concepts. This paper argues that in Christian tradition usury has always evoked the notion of money demanded in excess of what is owed on a loan, disrupting a relationship of equality between people, whereas interest was seen as referring to just compensation to the lender. Although it is often claimed that hostility towards ‘usury’ has been in retreat in the West since the protestant Reformation, we would argue that the crucial break came not with Calvin, but with Jeremy Bentham, whose critique of the arguments of Adam Smith, upholding the reasonableness of the laws against usury, led to the abolition of the usury laws in England in 1854. There has to be a role for law, whether Islamic or secular, in regulating financial relationships. We argue that by retrieving the necessary distinction between demanding usury as illegitimate predatory lending and interest as legitimate compensation, we can discover common ground behind the driving principles of financial ethics within both Islamic and Christian tradition that may still be of relevance today. By re-examining past ethical discussions of the distinction between usury and just compensation, we argue that the world’s religious traditions can make significant contributions to contemporary debate. Constant Mews is Director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology at Monash University. He holds PhD and Masters degrees in medieval history, and pursues research in medieval religion, thought and ethics. Ibrahim Abraham is a PhD student in the School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University, with degrees in religion studies as well as law. His research interests include religion and culture, fair trade, and human rights.     

森林资源资产抵押贷款价值评估研究

以现有的抵押贷款评估法律、法规及金融机构的相关规定为依据,结合资产评估的一般理论及森林资源资产的特点,探讨了森林资源资产抵押贷款评估的目的、假设等若干理论问题,深入分析了抵押贷款的价值类型,讨论了评估方法在森林资源资产抵押贷款评估中的选择与使用问题,提出了规范与完善森林资源资产抵押贷款的相关建议。     

Do Airbnb’s “Superhosts” deserve the badge? An empirical study from China

The “Superhost” badge is that Airbnb entitles the host provides good services. This study verifies Airbnb’s “Superhost” mechanism by applying text mining technologies, combined with Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and K-Means, to the entire dataset of tourists’ online reviews of Hangzhou city, China. Six kinds of hosts’ good services are identified, including “Three Meals or Night Snacks,” “Fruits, Drinks or Snacks,” “Travel Guides,” “Free Shuttle or Helping with Luggage,” “Chats,” and “Replies or Communications.” The study reveals the minority of “Superhosts” are mentioned of providing the majority of six kinds of good services, which means “Superhosts” do deserve the badge.     

上海地区大学生网购行为调查与分析

本文研究上海地区大学生网购行为的实证问题。通过调查问卷对上海地区大学生网购行为调查,来分析了解上海地区大学生网购的现状。其次分析购物群体特征和购物行为特征,对上海地区大学生网购行为中的选择商品类型、网站偏好、支配金额意愿、上网时间、网购频率、网购安全认识及网购动机进行调查。最后运用SWOT模型分析上海地区大学生网购行为,从而对上海地区大学生合理的网购提出一些建议。     

未来房地产网络营销在线交易模式

当前,我国电子商务技术得到了迅猛发展,房地产网络营销是必然的趋势,部分房企试水房产电商并建立独立的区域性体系,却收效甚微,弊端与瓶颈凸显。通过对我国房地产网络营销宏观和微观上现存问题的分析,提出未来房产的“整体－区域”在线交易模式的要点以及构建。首先,在政府引导下,房地产企业和第三方机构以购房者为中心,构建出四位一体的全国整体性营销信息平台体系;其次,在此基础上建立由企业、购房者、第三方机构组成的区域性在线交易三角关系;最后,诱导更多的企业进入,进而构建出有效的房产在线交易模式。     

我国P2P网络借贷发展现状及其监管思考

P2P网络借贷,是指帮助投资者与借款人实现直接借贷行为的中介服务行业。发展P2P网络借贷对缓解我国小微企业及个人融资难问题具有非常重要的意义。自2007年“拍拍贷”网贷平台成立以来,我国网络借贷平台数量日益增长,对小额贷款领域贡献明显,但同时由于监管的缺位,一些P2P网络借贷平台不规范操作引发的风险给整个行业发展带来一定的隐患。通过对我国现阶段P2P网贷平台运行模式、发展规模等现状进行梳理总结,发现网贷平台发展良莠不齐,存在借款利率过高和监管不力等问题,为此提出了加快制定相应规章制度、加强监管、完善平台信息公布和加强平台内外部合作等规范P2P网络借贷的政策建议。     

信息信义义务理论之批判

“信息信义义务”理论已掀起网络平台监管争论的汹涌波涛,该理论经由杰克·巴尔金（Jack Balkin）教授发展,旨在“一碗水端平”一般用户与搜集、分析、出卖个人信息为业的数据公司之间的关系。在处理医患关系、律师与客户、会计师与客户的关系时,法律课以医生、律师和会计师特殊的注意、保密和忠实义务。巴尔金教授主张,与之相类似,在处理脸书（Facebook）、谷歌（Google）和推特（Twitter）等公司与终端用户的关系时,也应课以公司类似的特殊义务。过去数年里,该论断赢得了广泛的支持,鲜有敌手。但信息信义义务理论存在潜在矛盾和模棱两可之处,其是否有能力解决上述问题使人生疑。故此,本文揭示上述理论缺陷,意在瓦解“信息信义义务”新理论共识。尽管我们同意巴尔金教授“占主导地位的网络平台造成损害,由此呼唤法律的介入管制”的论断,但我们质疑信息信义义务这套理论是否能充分、恰当地回应所谓的信息不安全问题,更勿论一些更为根本的问题——建立于监视渗透基础上的优势市场份额以及与商业模式相关的根本问题。我们也呼吁重视信息信义义务这一理论框架的潜在成本——我们担心,该理论框架会对网络平台的结构性权利产生一种盲目的自满,也过早地放弃了对公共监管的更美愿景。