The Role of Cybermediaries in the Hotel Market

The advent of the Internet changed the way buyers and sellers interact. Although access to information seems unlimited, non-expert agents find it difficult to identify the information they can confidently use. A third-party expert or a cybermediary (an intermediary in the cyberspace) can help sort out the information for the contracting partners. In this paper, we study the case of the online hotel market and the role of the cyber travel agent (CTA). We claim that CTAs encourage hoteliers to exert effort in service quality and provide empirical evidence that these hotels are compensated with a price premium.Cybermediaries, Internet, travel agents, reputation, hotel market, Agricultural Finance, Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

The Economics of Collective Brands

We consider the consequences of a shared brand name such as geographical names used to identify high quality products, for the incentives of otherwise autonomous firms to invest in quality. We contend that such collective brand labels improve communication between sellers and consumers, when the scale of production is too small for individual firms to establish reputations on a stand alone basis. This has two opposing effects on member firms’ incentives to invest in quality. On the one hand, it increases investment incentives by increasing the visibility and transparency of individual member firms, which increases the return from investment in quality. On the other hand, it creates an incentive to free ride on the group’s reputation, which can lead to less investment in quality. We identify parmater values under which collective branding delivers higher quality than is achievable by stand alone firms.

Please, talk about it! When hotel popularity boosts preferences

Many consumers post on-line reviews, affecting the average evaluation of products and services. Yet, little is known about the importance of the number of reviews for consumer decision making. We conducted an on-line experiment (n= 168) to assess the joint impact of the average evaluation, a measure of quality, and the number of reviews, a measure of popularity, on hotel preference. The results show that consumers' preference increases with the number of reviews, independently of the average evaluation being high or low. This is not what one would expect from an informational point of view, and review websites fail to take this pattern into account. This novel result is mediated by demographics: young people, and in particular young males, are less affected by popularity, relying more on quality. We suggest the adoption of appropriate ranking mechanisms to fit consumer preferences. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd

EXPLORATION OF PHASE STEP OPTICS

As the global population ages, the need for optimal presbyopic solutions increases. Despite many multifocal contact lenses (CLs) marketed over the last 20 years, satisfactory vision and comfort at all distances remains elusive. ‘Phase step’ (PS) optics, a technology offering extended depth of focus (EDOF), could augment presbyopic CL correction. This thesis aimed to confirm whether PS designs can improve presbyopic near vision. The study investigated if PS design parameters can be manipulated to affect visual performance and explored influence of pupil size and spherical aberrations (SAs), on visual performance with PS designs. Furthermore, computational prediction of in vitro and in vivo on PS lens performance was assessed. A three-modality method was employed: theoretical (computational ray-tracing analysis), in vitro (optical bench system with anatomically correct model eye), and in vivo (human clinical study). A systematic battery of PS designs were designed, fabricated on hard CL and phase plates; and trialled in vivo and in vitro. The three-paradigm model confirms PS optics can provide presbyopes with EDOF performance. Theoretical and in vitro results demonstrated optical modified performance through lens parameter optimisation with raw visual acuity (VA) providing qualified in vivo support. Uniformity Index (UI), a novel metric quantifying stability of VA, distinguished EDOF designs as demonstrating the most stable VA. In bifocal PS designs, the interplay between optic zone diameter (OZD) and pupil size is important. Increased pupil size in PS EDOF designs decreased near performance in the theoretical and in vivo results, with qualified in vitro support. Decentration effect correlates with the OZD-pupil size relationship. This is the first study to report SA effect on PS performance is design-dependent; generally increasing SA to the 50th SA percentile results in stable performance across object vergences for EDOF designs. Inducing moderate positive SA may aid in EDOF of these PS designs. Good agreement was found between the theoretical and in vitro results, followed by the in vitro and in vivo and, closely by the theoretical and in vivo agreement. Pupil size and SA affect visual performance and must be considered early in design or during prescribing. Systematic evaluation of theoretical-to-bench-to-clinical studies represents an effective and efficient framework for further development of PS solutions and potentially, future presbyopia designs

The Role of Cybermediaries in the Hotel Market

The advent of the Internet changed the way buyers and sellers interact. Although access to information seems unlimited, non-expert agents find it difficult to identify the information they can confidently use. A third-party expert or a cybermediary (an intermediary in the cyberspace) can help sort out the information for the contracting partners. In this paper, we study the case of the online hotel market and the role of the cyber travel agent (CTA). We claim that CTAs encourage hoteliers to exert effort in service quality and provide empirical evidence that these hotels are compensated with a price premium

Sociability and the timing of first marriage

This paper investigates, both theoretically and empirically, the effect of sociability on the age of marriage. Theoretically, a more sociable individual has higher chances of finding a suitable partner for marriage early in life, and hence is expected to marry earlier than an otherwise similar unsociable individual. On the other hand, a more sociable individual can afford to be more selective in choosing a mate and therefore will tend to postpone marriage until the most suitable partner is found. Using a survival model applied to Israeli data, we show that the first effect is dominant for relatively less sociable individuals, whereas the second effect is dominant for relatively more sociable individuals. Hence, people with intermediate levels of sociability will tend to marry earlier. In an era of increasing individualism and decreasing sociability, these results have important implications for marriage rates, fertility, housing markets and financial markets

The Economics of Collective Brands

We consider the consequences of a shared brand name such as geographical names used to identify high quality products, for the incentives of otherwise autonomous firms to invest in quality. We contend that such collective brand labels improve communication between sellers and consumers, when the scale of production is too small for individual firms to establish reputations on a stand alone basis. This has two opposing effects on member firms’ incentives to invest in quality. On the one hand, it increases investment incentives by increasing the visibility and transparency of individual member firms, which increases the return from investment in quality. On the other hand, it creates an incentive to free ride on the group’s reputation, which can lead to less investment in quality. We identify parmater values under which collective branding delivers higher quality than is achievable by stand alone firms

Effect of ageing on keratoconic corneas

Purpose: To explore the potential effect of ageing on the corneal curvature and corrected visual acuity in patients with long-term keratoconus because of the paucity of these patients older than 50 years. Methods: Records of keratoconic patients, who had initially presented to a specialized contact lens clinic and followed for more than 20 years after disease onset, were reviewed. Collected information included age, gender, date of first and last examination, date of onset of the disease, central corneal curvature, refraction, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), therapeutic modality and clinical signs. Results: Age of patients at last examination was 53.8 years ± 7.2 (range 44–67 years). Disease onset was self-reported to be at age 18.4 years ± 3.8. First examination was at age 25.1 years ± 9.4 and the mean number of years between first and last examination was 28.7 years. Mean central corneal curvature was 6.87 mm (48.77 D) ± 0.65 and 6.56 mm (51.09 D) ± 0.74, at first and last examination, respectively, a difference which was significant (p < 0.001). However, the last measurement of corneal curvature was found to remain approximately constant over the years from about 20 to 50 years after onset. Mean BCVA was not significantly different between first and last examination and was found to be approximately constant over the years. Conclusion: Corneal curvature became steeper possibly within the first 20 years after disease onset but remained approximately unchanged afterwards. Likewise, BCVA remained practically constant over the years indicating relative stability of the disease after 20 years