Viewers' Recognition of Brands Placed Within a Film

Product placement in motion pictures has grown enormously in recent years, but there is very little empirical research regarding its communication effectiveness. The few prior empirical studies have all assessed viewers' recall of and attitudes towards brands placed in a film. This study examines whether or not viewers can even recognize brands placed within a film. Two films containing multiple product placements are used, and results suggest that viewers are able to correctly recognize brands placed in their respective film, while correctly distinguishing among those brands that did not appear in the film they viewed.     

Problem-based learning: merging of economics and mathematics

We present problem-based learning as a strategy to assist students to integrate both mathematics and economics knowledge as well as develop other skills. We present basic information about problem-based learning, provide an example of an economics problem that could be used in an early undergraduate mathematics course, and provide sources for additional economics problems and information about problem-based learning. While faculty will seldom have a class composed entirely of economics students, the examples that we provide do not require in-depth knowledge of economics but will help undergraduates develop some understanding of the economic world they live in.     

ESTIMATION AND INFERENCE BY THE METHOD OF PROJECTION MINIMUM DISTANCE: AN APPLICATION TO THE NEW KEYNESIAN HYBRID PHILLIPS CURVE*

The stability of the solution path in a macroeconomic model implies that it admits a Wold representation. This Wold representation can be estimated semi‐parametrically by local projections and used to estimate the model's parameters by minimum distance techniques even when the stochastic process for the solution path is unknown or unconventional. We name this two‐step estimation procedure “projection minimum distance” and investigate its statistical properties for the broad class of models where the mapping between Wold coefficients and parameters is linear. This includes many situations with likelihood score functions nonlinear in the parameters that would otherwise require numerical optimization routines.     

Successful movies: A preliminary empirical analysis

Our findings lend further support to existing, informal evidence that the characteristics of successful films have changed over the past forty years. Moreover, they also suggest that it may well be possible to develop empirical models relating a film's attributes to the likelihood of consumer demand. Unfortunately, such analysis cannot be undertaken without access to more detailed information on the performance and features of individual movies. Given the interesting characteristics of movies as ideal examples of differentiated products and of the institutional arrangements governing their production and distribution, such increased data availability would make this an exceptionally attractive area for applied micro‐economic research.     

Conceptualising convenience: Transportation practices and perceptions of inner-urban high density residents in Brisbane,Australia

High-density living in inner-urban areas has been promoted to encourage the use of more sustainable modes of travel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, previous research presents mixed results on the relationship between living in proximity to transport systems and reduced car-dependency. This research examines inner-city residents’ transportation practices and perceptions, via 24 qualitative interviews with residents from high-density dwellings in inner-city Brisbane, Australia. Whilst participants consider public transport accessible and convenient, car use continues to be relied on for many journeys. Transportation choices are justified through complex definitions of convenience containing both utilitarian and psycho-social elements, with three key themes identified: time-efficiency, single versus multi-modal trips, and distance to and purpose of journey, as well as attitudinal, affective and symbolic elements related to transport mode use. Understanding conceptions of transport convenience held by different segments of the transport users market, alongside other factors strongly implicated in travel mode choice, can ensure targeted improvements in sustainable transport service levels and infrastructure as well as information service provision and behavioural change campaigns.     

Pastoral Livelihoods in Tanzania: Can the Maasai Benefit from Conservation?

The Maasai pastoralists of Northern Tanzania live in areas of unique conservation value. There is a widespread belief dating from colonial times that Maasai cattle herding is unproductive and detrimental to the region's wildlife. The increase in the Maasai population has fuelled this belief and has led to their exclusion from their traditional land and a breakdown in their land management strategies. This decreases their capacity to maintain a livelihood, and so they must turn to non-traditional methods. This paper looks at how the Maasai have been excluded from their lands and why this has caused traditional livelihoods to become unsustainable. It then goes on to suggest that community-based tourism offers possible alternative sustainable solutions both to the Maasai and to conservationists.     

Climate Change and Tourism: An Overview

This paper presents an overview of the relationship between tourism and global climate change. On the one hand, the tourism industry may be one of the greatest economic victims of climate change. Yet, on the other hand, the broader tourism sector is also a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. This study traces the evolution of academic interest in tourism and climate change. Growth in this area has tracked growth in interest in climate change in general, with tourism-related papers representing consistently about 0.5% of the published research on climate change.