Choice modelling with search and sort data from an interactive choice experiment

We present a highly structured, online, interactive choice environment containing a large number of alternatives, a search tool that eliminates alternatives that fail specified criteria, and a sort tool. A conceptual framework is developed that links tool usage and preference heterogeneity, and tested in the context of long-haul flight choice. Individuals who sort on price are more price sensitive; individuals who search on certain attributes have a greater marginal (dis)utility for that attribute; and individuals who perform certain non-price searches have a lesser price disutility. The method shows promise as a means for providing a richer picture of preference heterogeneity.     

Making Good Decisions with Minimal Information: Simultaneous and Sequential Choice

The adaptive pressures facing humans and other animals to make decisions quickly can be met both by increasing internal information-processing speed and by minimizing the amount of information to be used. Here we focus on the latter effect and ask how, and how well, agents can make good decisions with a minimal amount of information, using two specific tasks as examples. When a choice must be made between simultaneously-available options, minimal information in the form of binary recognition (whether or not each item is recognized) can be used in the recognition heuristic to choose effectively. When options are encountered sequentially one at a time, minimal information as to whether or not each option is the best encountered so far is sufficient to guide agents using a simple search-cutoff rule to high performance along several choice criteria. Both of these examples have important economic as well as biological applications, and show the power of simple fast and frugal heuristics to produce good decisions with little information. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Types of Word-of-Mouth Messages: Information Search and Credence-Based Services

Word-of-mouth communication (WOMC) has been recognized as a powerful marketing communication medium and a credible information-gathering tool. To date, the various types of WOM messages have not been adequately studied, especially in credence-based services (CBS). Using the individual interview technique, this study fills this gap by describing the three types of WOMC messages in CBS information-gathering. The results contribute to the ongoing development of WOMC theory and also advance management's understandings of the types of WOMC messages in the CBS information-gathering process.     

从“人肉搜索”看互联网的公共性

在网络公共领域,人肉搜索作为一种人性化搜索体验,在产生之初本是善良的,但是随着良莠不齐网民大量加入,其本意被扭曲,甚至产生网络暴力和网络暴民。究其根本,互联网的全民性、互动性、信息资源性、补充监督性、技术先进性是其作为新兴公共领域的独特之处。但是,互联网的有限性、制度缺失、公共性渐流失、权利和责任分离等缺点也导致了人肉搜索与公共性发生严重碰撞,其结果是近几年来网络暴力案件的频发和升级。这就需要我们从加强国家法制建设、公民法律意识建设、实行实名制、构建健康公共理性等方面来正确处理＂人肉搜索＂与公共性的关系。     

Metaheuristic algorithms for the multistage hybrid flowshop scheduling problem

We consider the multistage hybrid flowshop scheduling problem, in which each stage consists of parallel identical machines. The problem is to determine a schedule that minimizes the makespan for a given set of jobs over a finite planning horizon. Since this problem class is NP-hard in the strong sense, there seems to be no escape from appealing to heuristic procedures to achieve near-optimal solutions to real life problems. First, a series of new global lower bounds to be used to estimate the minimum makespan are derived. Then, two new metaheuristic algorithms first sequence and then allocate jobs to machines based on a particular partition of the shop. The optimization procedure is based on simulated annealing and the variable-depth search. Computational experiments show the efficiency of the proposed procedures.     

当前中美贸易摩擦问题的政策分析

由于中国已成为美国最大的贸易逆差来源,且这种贸易不平衡短期内不会解决,而中美贸易摩擦在未来较长时期却会存在。所以对该问题产生的背景原因、集中体现、结论对策进行深入分析就显得十分重要。     

The influence of colour on visual search times in cluttered environments

Fifty subjects participated in a series of visual search tasks where the aim was to explore the influence of colour on visual search times for targets situated in a series of cluttered distractor fields. The results supported previous findings regarding the effect of colour and showed that, even in cluttered environments, certain hues helped in the reduction of search times. The findings also indicated that there were interaction effects between the colour and positioning of the targets in the distractor fields.     

The analytics of search with posted prices

Summary. This paper investigates the characteristics of the optimal posted price in the standard sequential search paradigm. Much of the intuition gleaned from the extensive sequential search literature in which the seller adopts a reservation price does not carry over to the posted price setting. For example, an increase in buyer valuations can lead to a reduction in the optimal posted price. We do, however, provide sufficient conditions on the hazard rate function h which ensure that an increase in demand induces an increase in the optimal posted price. As exhibited herein, the analysis of the posted price model depends critically upon analytical properties of h. Amongst the issues treated are the elasticity of demand, finite horizon, sale of multiple units, and competitive equilibrium. Received: October 21, 1999; revised version: March 7, 2000     

Information search behavior of Hong Kong's inbound travelers‐a comparison of business and leisure travelers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the information search behavior of Hong Kong's inbound tourists, in particular business and leisure travelers. The study clearly shows that business and leisure travelers demonstrate different information search behavior. ‘Personal experience,’ ‘Travel agency/tour company,’ ‘Airlines’ and the ‘Internet’ are most frequently relied upon by business travelers in searching for travel information, while leisure travelers prefer ‘Travel agency/tour company,’ ‘Friends or relatives,’ ‘Travel guide books,’ and ‘Personal experience.’ The study also reveals that the total number of information sources used and the length of pre‐trip planning lead‐time are significantly different between these two groups of travelers. First time travelers also have a longer pre‐trip planning lead‐time than repeat travelers. Furthermore, business and leisure travelers perceive the levels of influence of several information sources, including ‘Corporate travel departments,’ ‘Friends or relatives,’ ‘Travel guide books,’ and the ‘Internet,’ differently. These information sources were classified into five different dimensions, including ‘Media,’ ‘Neutral,’ ‘Retail,’ ‘Interpersonal,’ and ‘Personal experience.’ Analysis based on travelers' purpose for traveling and demographic information was performed. Leisure travelers perceive the level of influence of ‘Neutral’ sources as significantly higher, and those with lower household incomes perceived the level of influence of ‘Personal experience’ as lower. The results of this study will allow marketers in Hong Kong to better understand travelers’ information search behavior so that they can more effectively tailor their marketing strategies to these two major markets.     

知识产权保护、技术创新与南北贸易摩擦成因

相关文献大量的分析知识产权保护与技术创新之间的关系,或者单就分析知识产权保护的国际争端,而对于贸易壁垒和贸易摩擦与技术创新之间的联系以及贸易壁垒对于知识产权的替代补充作用却较少被关注.论文通过扩展一个南北贸易模型的分析,得到在南北国家知识产权保护不足的情形下,降低南方国家的贸易壁垒可以起到激励技术创新和补充知识产权保护的效果,这就为南北贸易摩擦的发生找到了一个新的动因.同时,我们的模型结果得出了一个与先前文献不同的结论,即北方国家的贸易壁垒对于技术创新没有激励作用.