Does climate change matter to the travel trade?

This study evaluated the awareness of, attitudes toward and opinions about the ability of travel agencies in Hong Kong to help address tourism's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. The retail travel agent sector is a major player in the tourism distribution system, accounting for about 25% of travel activity, and is the primary distributor of package tours. In-depth interviews were conducted with senior managers and owners/operators of a sample of travel agencies in Hong Kong, followed by a survey of 485 front line staff. The study revealed senior managers adopted a range of neutralisation techniques to abrogate themselves from any personal or corporate responsibility in this issue. Front line staff were largely unaware and ill-informed, and mainly see their role as simply pushing products. Cluster analysis revealed five groups with diverse views: Cluster 1, the “Deeply concerned” group (11%); Cluster 2, the “Deep knowledge” group (6%); Cluster 3, the “Moderate knowledge and awareness” group (18%); Cluster 4, the “Concerned but unaware” group (31%); and Cluster 5, the “Neither concerned nor aware” group (34%). The combination of lack of leadership among managers and ignorance among front line staff means that neither feels responsible for, nor able to, address this issue.     

Indoor air quality in new hotels’ guest rooms of the major world factory region

The Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of Guangdong province has been developed rapidly in recent years, and many new hotels have been built. Nevertheless, the indoor air quality (IAQ) of hotels is seldom investigated and reported. Therefore this study aimed at examining the air quality in newly opened hotels in the region. A 2-day field test was carried out in each of the eight sampled hotels, investigating both indoor and outdoor air qualities. Major air pollutants including individual volatile organic compounds (VOC) and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), as well as physical background parameters such as air temperature (T_a), relative humidity (RH), and ventilation rate were investigated. The results showed that most of the sampled hotels were unable to provide a completely healthy indoor environment. Compare with findings of similar studies, this study found that in terms of air quality, new hotels were more polluted than older hotels and residential buildings. The dominant pollution sources came from indoor, rather than ambient environment. At the end of this paper, some recommendations for improving hotel IAQ are presented.     

AIRPORT CONGESTION PRICING AND ITS WELFARE IMPLICATIONS: THE CASE OF VARIABLE PASSENGER TIME COSTS

This paper develops an analytical framework for airport congestion pricing by considering variable passenger time costs. We find that, first, congestion delays will not be fully internalized at the carrier level under different market structures, including those airports dominated by a monopoly airline. Therefore, congestion pricing is necessary regardless of the market structures. Second, although congestion pricing is welfare‐improving, it may not be Pareto‐improving. This might explain why congestion pricing is unpopular in the real world.     

谈高校图书馆特色馆藏的建设

本文简述了高校图书馆特色馆藏建设的原则,并从地方特色、专业特色、虚拟馆藏建设等三个方面进行了探讨.     

Public Report,Price, and Quality

A monopolist produces a good with two qualities. All consumers have the same valuation of the first quality, but their valuations of the second vary, and are their private information. A public agency can verify qualities, and make credible reports to consumers. In Full Quality Report, the public agency reports both qualities. In Average Quality Report, it reports a weighted average of qualities. The equilibrium prices and qualities in Full Quality Report can be implemented by Average Quality Report. Equilibrium prices and qualities in Average Quality Report give higher consumer surplus than Full Quality Report. Bertrand competition under Average Quality Report yields first‐best prices and qualities.     

A Relook into the Impact of Divestitures in the Presence of Agency Conflicts: Evidence from Property Subsidiary Sell-Offs in China

We analyze property subsidiary sell-offs in China to examine her market reaction to firms’ divestiture decisions. Overall, the response from the stock market is neutral. However, detailed analysis reveals that the market reacts differently to property subsidiary sell-off announcements by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-SOEs. Consistent with findings from extant literature, we find statistically positive market returns associated with non-SOE sell-off announcements. However, we find statistically negative market returns associated with SOE sell-off announcements. We suggest that this divergent market reaction is influenced by the institutional feature of the Chinese market and is consistent with the high agency costs associated with state ownership.