Forays into the backstage: volunteer tourism and the pursuit of object authenticity

Volunteer tourism is a form of travel that combines traditional leisure pursuits with opportunities to volunteer in an organized fashion. The popularity of volunteer tourism stems from many factors, but the one motivation that appears in virtually every study is a desire for object authenticity, defined as the authenticity of toured objects, people, and settings. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role played by object authenticity in the motivations and experiences of volunteer tourists in the province of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Based on interviews with 62 volunteers and 15 directors, managers, and staff members from volunteer tourism organizations based in Chiang Mai, this paper argues that volunteer tourists conceive of object authenticity both as a package of cultural stereotypes focused on authentic people, and as authentic backstage settings where ‘real’ Thai reside. Aside from demonstrating that the desire for object authenticity is the central motivation for international volunteers in northern Thailand, this study indicates that the pursuit of object authenticity is complicated by language barriers, the potential staging of authenticity on the part of locals, and the need to balance familiarity with alterity in the carefully selected ‘voluntourscapes’ in which volunteer tourism takes place.     

Social Media Communications and Marketing Strategy: A Taxonomical Review of Potential Explanatory Approaches

The growth of social media has captured the attention of companies, which have responded by increasing their advertising efforts toward social media users. Previous studies have devoted considerable effort to developing social media marketing strategies, but minimal effort has focused on examining the types of messages presented on firms’ social media platforms to communicate with customers. Practitioners face the challenge of identifying which types of social media message content to choose. In addressing this challenge, this article provides a comprehensive framework of social media content strategy, delivery, and impact on the consumers, including a taxonomical approach that helps firms’ understanding of firm-generated content on social media platforms.     

基于饰品网上商城的学生实践平台设计

随着中国电子商务的迅猛发展,网络购物人群激增,对电子商务人才的需求越来越大,但是,由于学生缺乏实践平台训练而无法满足企业的需求,进而导致电子商务专业毕业生就业率偏低。为此,本文设计一个实践平台,交由电子商务学生去经营管理和推广,在真实的平台上进行实践,不仅有利于掌握ASP、MD5安全加密等各项技术,也能掌握网上商城的运营管理方法,培养真正符合社会需求的电子商务人才。