This study examines alumni perceptions of the core curricula at the University of North Georgia’s College of Business to assess the gap between the skills employers need in new graduates and what the curricula offer. The research was conducted as part of the continuous improvement process for AACSB accreditation. The findings reveal that soft skills such as communication and problem-solving were highly rated as being useful, whereas the alumni rated calculus and international business skills as less important for daily job requirements. The study provides relevant information for colleges of business as they look to update their core curricula for business majors.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine farmers’ market consumer behavior through a regional food and culinary tourism lens to see the ways these festive and atmospheric markets can be used to develop a regional brand or identity surrounding food production. Design/methodology/approach This study was based on a survey of 270 participants in a farmers’ market in the USA. A combination of descriptive and statistical analyses was used to analyze consumer habits and spending. Findings The findings in this study suggest that while most of the customers live in a town where the market is located, a significant number of customers come from other locations, with some traveling significant distances, to participate in this market, particularly for the Saturday market. Many of the customers come to purchase organic and local foods. Research limitations/implications This work is limited, in that it is a case study at one farmers’ market in the USA, and the work is exploratory in nature. Practical implications This work has implications for market managers seeking to increase their consumer base. Markets that want to increase their reach would do well to promote their events to a wider geographic area. The results presented here showed that consumers are willing to drive upward of 40 miles to attend a high-quality market. Originality/value This work expands our conceptualization of farmers’ markets by suggesting that these markets have the potential to form the backbone of a region is food identity through the creation of a food destination.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer demands for local foods at a farmers’ market. This includes examining both what products consumers want more of at the market and also what factors influence consumers’ attendance for a weekday farmers’ market. Design/methodology/approach This study was based on open-ended comments from a market survey of 270 participants in a farmers’ market in the USA. Findings This study revealed that consumers want more products at the farmers’ market that require significant resources and time to grow, such as meat and fruit. Consumers reported that they would be more likely to attend a weekday market if it had better hours of operation and better selection. Consumer comments also revealed that consumers often perceive the market to run out of products and not have the full supply that they want to purchase. Research limitations/implications This research represents qualitative insights at one farmers’ market in the USA. While there are observations that may transfer to other markets, caution should be used when generalizing these findings. Practical implications This research is informative for farmers in providing them a list of consumer demands and also highlights the ways farmers need to make their market convenient to consumer work and life patterns. Originality/value This work adds value to the literature by expanding our understanding of specific foods customers see as limited in the farmers’ market, and it also provides much needed information regarding consumer behavior and weekday market attendance, which is not discussed as often in the literature.

Mexican immigrants working at a wholesale nursery were involved in developing user instructions for a computer-based instruction system. Sixty-one Latinos with 0 to 16 years of education completed user instructions delivered on the computer, and all but 3 completed training content about the nursery. Based on objective criteria, program use was rated as "somewhat easy" to "easy" for most participants with more than 3 years of education, whereas 50% of those with 0 to 2 years of education completed content with "difficulty" or "struggled. " Participants who completed the computer-based posttest (n = 22) had a mean performance of 96%, which was significantly better than the performance of 87% (n = 18) on an oral pretest (p = .003, d = 1.02). Thus, computer-based instruction can effectively train immigrant Latinos who have very limited formal education.

No abstract