T E M P L E TIPSHEET
A LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD June 1 - June 9, 2000
OFFICE OF NEWS AND MEDIA RELATIONS
(215) 204-7476
Fax: (215) 204-4403
[email protected]
FINDING FRIENDLIER SKIES ON THE 'NET':
In an unprecedented move by a travel Internet site, Biztravel.com has declared that it will refund customers for inconveniences or flight cancellations on American, Continental, US Airways, British Airways and Air France, and pay for unmet service needs on the part of Biztravel.com.
"This is a very bold move," says Temple professor David West, who specializes in electronic commerce in the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management.
"The bar has definitely been raised on customer service and acquisition on the Internet." While it's the largest e-commerce category, travel has one of the lowest visitor-to-buyer ratios, notes West. Biztravel.com expects this aggressive attempt to capture the travel market share will improve the numbers. "Fifty-six percent of people with Internet access research travel at sites like Travelocity, Expedia, and Biztravel.com, but only 17 percent make a purchase online."
He cautions that Biztravel.com could face a serious outflow of revenue since the International Air Transport Association projects that cumulatively, flights will experience over 27 million minutes of delay in the year 2000. "They're counting on the revenue gained from increased online booking outweighing the costs of paying for delays and cancellations."
Reach West at his office, 215-204-1474, by e-mail [email protected], or through Temple's Office of News and Media Relations, 215-204-7476.
THRILL-SEEKING VACATIONS: LADIES' CHOICE
Are more women ditching sunbathing and lollygagging at the beach in favor of skydiving, bungee jumping and other blood-pumping, adrenalin-rushing, thrill-seeking vacations?
"What I've seen is that more women are getting involved in thrill seeking, period," says Temple psychologist Frank Farley, who has studied thrill seekers for decades and developed the term "Type T personality."
"People used to say it's biological, that men naturally took more risks than women. But I've always said it's the social opportunities and social restraints that have affected women's risk-taking." With more opportunities now for women in their careers and in society, notes Farley, "women's risk-taking is changing as society has changed."
Like their male counterparts, today's highly successful--and often highly stressed--women sometimes pursue recreation that is much different from what they do day to day, says Farley. "They want something that is different from the day, something that stands out from the backdrop of everyday life."
Reach Dr. Farley at his office, 215-204-6024, or through the Office of News and Media Relations.
PHONE HOME--FOR LESS?
The FCC claims its proposal to reduce the charges paid by long distance carriers to local phone companies will be a real win for the residential user who makes few or no long distance calls.
But the real fall-out may be decreased participation by the poor in the "new, telecommunications-based economy," suggests Dr. Concetta Stewart, dean of Temple's School of Communications and Theater and an expert in telecommunications.
"The FCC ruling may reflect the realities of the current marketplace, but it fails to address the core issue: telecommunications is increasingly vital to how we live our lives, and more and more of the family budget is going to pay for a variety of communications services (including the Internet)."
Rather than rewarding consumers for not using telecommunications services, the FCC should find ways to enable low-income individuals and families to participate more fully in the "new economy," she contends.
Reach Dean Stewart through the Office of News and Media Relations.
ARE TEEN FATHERS FLIGHTY?
The belief that teenaged fathers don't make good dads because they dodge responsibility is not the preliminary finding of Temple University researchers Marina Barnett, Ph.D., and Jay Fagan, Ph.D.
According to Barnett, "The fathers are there before and after the babies are born. The fathers are willing to be interviewed and are willing to have their stories told. They are there for their children even when they are no longer romantically involved with the mothers," says Barnett, the principal investigator of the study on teenaged fathers who stay connected to their children.
Phase one of the three part study, which includes interviews with 45 couples, will be completed next month. In addition to Barnett and Fagan, Valerie Whiteman, M.D., director of obstetrics at Temple University Hospital, is an investigator in the two-year research project, which involves 150 teenaged mothers and the fathers of their children.
Reach Barnett at her office, 215-204-1228, or through the Office of News and Media Relations.
nb-819 *** June 2, 2000
VISIT THE NEWS AND MEDIA RELATIONS WEBSITE: http://www.temple.edu/news_media
RSS