{"id":{"repo_id":"ohiolink","oai_identifier":"oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:osu1366235256"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/ohiolink/oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:osu1366235256","repository":{"repo_id":"ohiolink","name":"OhioLINK","base_url":"https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/oai/oai"},"display":{"title":"A Mathematical Study of Purchasing Airline Tickets","abstract":"We have sought to apply ideas from foraging theory to the purchase of airline tickets from competing websites in an online shopping environment. We explore how consumers might distribute themselves among websites and different tickets dependent on parameters such as price of ticket, number of stops, input rate of tickets into the site, and so on. To facilitate our exploration of consumer behavior, we have developed a system of difference equations and rules as to why consumers may prefer one website over another. By tuning parameters such as quality of a ticket and input rate of tickets, different distributions of consumers are observed. Based on these distributions, we seek to determine the best way - measured by the average quality of ticket purchased - for consumers to distribute themselves among websites and ticket types.","abstract_html":"We have sought to apply ideas from foraging theory to the purchase of airline tickets from competing websites in an online shopping environment. We explore how consumers might distribute themselves among websites and different tickets dependent on parameters such as price of ticket, number of stops, input rate of tickets into the site, and so on. To facilitate our exploration of consumer behavior, we have developed a system of difference equations and rules as to why consumers may prefer one website over another. By tuning parameters such as quality of a ticket and input rate of tickets, different distributions of consumers are observed. Based on these distributions, we seek to determine the best way - measured by the average quality of ticket purchased - for consumers to distribute themselves among websites and ticket types.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Smith, Heather"],"institution":"The Ohio State University","degree_name":"Master of Mathematical Sciences","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Mathematics","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lou, Yuan","Hamilton, Ian"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-08-08","date_published":"2013-08-08","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:37:46Z","subjects":["Mathematics"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366235256","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lou, Yuan","Hamilton, Ian"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Smith, Heather"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2013-08-08"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The Ohio State University / OhioLINK"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mathematics"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Mathematical Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Ohio State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Mathematics"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366235256"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["We have sought to apply ideas from foraging theory to the purchase of airline tickets from competing websites in an online shopping environment. We explore how consumers might distribute themselves among websites and different tickets dependent on parameters such as price of ticket, number of stops, input rate of tickets into the site, and so on. To facilitate our exploration of consumer behavior, we have developed a system of difference equations and rules as to why consumers may prefer one website over another. By tuning parameters such as quality of a ticket and input rate of tickets, different distributions of consumers are observed. Based on these distributions, we seek to determine the best way - measured by the average quality of ticket purchased - for consumers to distribute themselves among websites and ticket types."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf","284.7 KB"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Mathematical Study of Purchasing Airline Tickets"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lou, Yuan","Hamilton, Ian"],"dc:creator":["Smith, Heather"],"dc:date":["2013-08-08"],"dc:description":["We have sought to apply ideas from foraging theory to the purchase of airline tickets from competing websites in an online shopping environment. We explore how consumers might distribute themselves among websites and different tickets dependent on parameters such as price of ticket, number of stops, input rate of tickets into the site, and so on. To facilitate our exploration of consumer behavior, we have developed a system of difference equations and rules as to why consumers may prefer one website over another. By tuning parameters such as quality of a ticket and input rate of tickets, different distributions of consumers are observed. Based on these distributions, we seek to determine the best way - measured by the average quality of ticket purchased - for consumers to distribute themselves among websites and ticket types."],"dc:format":["application/pdf","284.7 KB"],"dc:identifier":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366235256"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["The Ohio State University / OhioLINK"],"dc:rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"dc:subject":["Mathematics"],"dc:title":["A Mathematical Study of Purchasing Airline Tickets"],"dc:type":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mathematics"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Mathematical Sciences"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Ohio State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:37:46Z"}