Projective representations of quivers

We prove that P1 →f P2 is a projective representation of a quiver Q=•→• if and only if P1 and P2 are projective left R-modules, f is an injection, and f (P 1)⊂P 2 is a summand. Then, we generalize the result so that a representation M1 →f1  M2  →f2⋯→fn−2  Mn−1→fn−1  Mn of a quiver Q=•→•→•⋯•→•→• is projective representation if and only if each Mi is a projective left R-module and the representation is a direct sum of projective representations

Asymmetric effects of online consumer reviews

Consumers tend to seek heuristic information cues to simplify the amount of information involved in tourist decisions. Accordingly, star ratings in online reviews are a critical heuristic element of the perceived evaluation of online consumer information. The objective of this article is to assess the effect of review ratings on usefulness and enjoyment. The empirical application is carried out on a sample of 5,090 reviews of 45 restaurants in London and New York. The results show that people perceive extreme ratings (positive or negative) as more useful and enjoyable than moderate ratings, giving rise to a U-shaped line, with asymmetric effects: the size of the effect of online reviews depends on whether they are positive or negative

Nonresponse Bias in Internet-based Advertising Conversion Studies

This study examines the extent of nonresponse bias in online advertising conversion studies. Two indicators (i.e., conversion rates and travel expenditure) assessing the tourism advertising effectiveness were compared using unweighted and weighted data sets. The results of this study using 24 locations throughout the U. S. confirm the conclusions of previous studies, showing consistent overestimates in advertising effectiveness. Several methodological and managerial implications of these findings are discussed

Differentiated effect of advertising: Joint vs. separate consumption

In a context of intense competition, cooperative advertising between firms is critical. Accordingly, the objective of this article is to analyze the potential differentiated effect of advertising on two basic consumption patterns: individual products (i.e. hotel, restaurant) vs. bundle (i.e. hotel + restaurant). This research adds to the extant literature in that, for the first time, this potential differentiated effect is examined through a hierarchical modelling framework that reflects the way people make their decisions: first, they decide whether to visit or not a region; second, whether to purchase an advertised product in that region; and third, whether to buy products together or separately at the region. The empirical analysis, applied to a sample of 11,288 individuals, shows that the influence of advertising is positive for the decisions to visit and to purchase; however, when it comes to the joint or separate consumption, advertising has a differentiated effect: its impact is much greater on the joint alternative (“hotel + restaurant”) than the separate options (“hotel” and “restaurant”). Also, the variable distance moderates the advertising effect

The role of education in promoting gender equality in post-genocide Rwanda

The end of large-scale armed conflict provides a window of opportunity to reshape social norms and promote gender equality in post-conflict societies. Rwanda, for example, has widely been considered as a success story of gender equality since the 1994 genocide. As laid out in Rwanda’s national development plan launched in 2000, girls’ education has been an integral part of the country’s promotion of gender equality. Whereas emphasis is on girls’ access to education and their potential contribution to development, scant attention is paid to the effect of girls’ education on pupils’ lives not just during adolescence but also into adulthood. Drawing on the lived experiences of both women and men, my doctoral research shows that girls’ education has done little to change everyday gender relations on the ground. Taking a qualitative approach, this research explores the extent to which girls’ education has influenced the lived experiences of young women and men in Rwamagana district in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. The data was collected through participant observation, repeated semi-structured and unstructured interviews with 30 Rwamagana residents from diverse backgrounds, and informal spontaneous conversations with others whom I met during my fieldwork. The fieldwork findings were complemented and contextualised by one-off structured interviews with two government officials and two NGO practitioners and official government documents including statistics and policy papers. The empirical findings of this research point to the fact that the recent changes in gender relations are attributed more to what the political leader preaches, than to what is taught in school. Despite the Rwandan government’s proposal to transform school curricula, textbooks, teaching and learning materials and practices, the focus remains largely on girls’ access to and representation in school. According to the majority of my participants, schools indeed changed curricula and textbooks, but many teachers were not trained enough to utilise those and continued to treat girls and boys differently in the classroom. Due to such a gap between policy and practice, girls’ education appears to have played a negligible role in instilling gender-equitable attitudes and behaviours amongst pupils. The lived experiences of my participants suggest that gender relations have changed to an extent because of what is preached by President Kagame, who is considered as a national hero for stopping the genocide in 1994 and has been promoting gender equality throughout his presidency. His 20- year-long top-down approach has created an environment where Rwanda’s younger generations grow up constantly learning about and being exposed to various gender issues. During my fieldwork, I observed that the president and other politicians often speak on national television and radio about gender-based violence, girls’ education, and women’s entrepreneurship. The implication of this is that what Rwandans hear from their political leadership tends to be more influential than what they learn in school. The key contribution of this dissertation is its relevance to the literature on topdown approaches to promoting gender equality in a post-conflict context and its concomitant effect on gender relations on the ground. The empirical findings of this study show that girls’ education is often entwined with women’s representation in public life and contribution to development, rather than with the simple reason that it is girls’ right to be educated. Drawing upon the concept of developmental state (Johnson, 1982) and the capability approach (Sen, 1993; 1999), I devise a framework to investigate the rationale for educating girls as a way of promoting gender equality in a post-conflict context and to capture women’s and men’s lived experiences of it. In doing so, I analyse whether, and if so how, their lives have changed as a result. The foundation of my theoretical contribution is that the adoption of gender-responsive curricula and textbooks is not guaranteed to lead to meaningful change in gender relations. As is the case in post-genocide Rwanda, political discourse can reshape social norms if its focus remains the same for a very long period of time. For girls’ education to bring about lasting change, it is necessary for the Rwandan state to resolve the ambiguities around who and what gender equality is intended for, to move its focus beyond access, representation and growth, and finally to actively challenge existing beliefs about gender roles and relations

Modeling Tourism Advertising Conversion in the United States

This study attempts to develop tourism advertising conversion modeling throughout the United States. Geographic and demographic data were taken into account for developing the model using multivariate technique such as logistic regression and CHAID. The results of this research showed that residence states are the most important factor affecting the conversion and interestingly, the information that is relevant with the focal destination is more important than number of brochure information travelers received. This research ends with discussion of theoretical and practical implications for destination marketing

Metrics for Destination Marketing in An Era of Interactive Marketing

Destination marketing has shifted from one-to-many and one-one to completely interactive communication, and therefore requires new metrics which reflect the immersive nature of marketing interactivity. These metrics include traditional quantifiable outcomes such as awareness, brand position, and product purchase but, because of the transformation of destination marketing, must include a range of new metrics which reflect the social structure of the Internet. This paper proposes a number of metrics that destination marketing organizations should use to evaluate the effectiveness of their marketing efforts

Online Purchase of Travel Products

The Internet has become the primary channel for the purchase of travel-related products such as airline tickets and hotel reservations. This study examines the range and pattern of travel-related products purchased online by American travelers. The results indicate that American travelers can be classified into three travel product groups, ranging from the “Core Traveler” to “Complete Traveler.” Importantly, travelers in these three groups are significantly different in terms of demographic characteristics, information search behavior, and travel planning activities. These findings offer a number of important theoretical and practical implications for destination marketing

Mobile Technology, Everyday Experience and Travel

Connected mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have evolved into extremely effective tools that support travelers. In order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between everyday use of connected mobile devices and the travel experience, this study explores the mechanisms shaping the changes of travel experience through a two-stage model. The first stage describes the factors in people’s daily lives influencing the use of connected mobile devices. The second stage describes the impact of use of mobile devices on different dimensions of the travel experience. The results of this study confirm that the use of mobile devices in daily life is significantly correlated with use of mobile devices in the travel context. However, the results point to a need for a stronger theoretical foundation identifying the processes shaping the transition from the daily context to travel