The purpose of this research was to determine the level of nutrition knowledge of students in four-year hospitality programs; their attitudes toward nutrition in general (general attitudes); and their attitudes toward its role in commercial foodservice (restaurant attitudes). Correlations between knowledge and attitudes and differences based on gender, age, college classification, and completion of a college nutrition course were also examined. Hospitality management majors in baccalaureate programs at three Texas universities completed 454 usable questionnaires. Although knowledge was not extensive, general and restaurant attitudes were positive. Knowledge was influenced by all factors except gender. General attitudes were influenced by gender, age, and classification. Only gender influenced restaurant attitudes. Knowledge was positively correlated with favorable attitudes.

The purpose of the study was to determine (a) types of marketing strategies, (b) perceived success of marketing strategies, (c) importance of marketing strategies, (d) amenities offered to consumers, and (e) negatives (problems) in marketing strategies by bed and breakfast owners/operators. A questionnaire to assess areas of concern covered in the research questions was developed. The questionnaire contained closed- and open-ended questions, with nominal, interval, and ratio levels of measurement. The sampling frame included the 1,140 bed and breakfast owners/operators listed in the Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Accounts Report, first quarter, 1998, as interpreted for this study. A sample of 775 of this population was randomly chosen, using a random numbers table. A response rate of 36% was obtained.

The commercial value for Bed and Breakfasts and Country Inns did not kept pace with other lodging establishments. Lodging real estate investment trusts (REITs) grew in the 1990's by acquiring hotels and motels but not the smaller Inns. This study investigated what sale terms and conditions an Inn owner would sell their property to a REIT. The study examined what conditions an innkeeper would manage the property for the REIT once the sale was closed. This study concluded that a REIT was not a feasible exit strategy for Inn owners.

The purpose of this study was to investigate supply chain relationships within the apparel retail product development process under a single site case study setting. Relationship determinants (i.e. drivers, facilitators and barriers) that facilitated or impeded the degree of collaborative efforts between the retailer and the supply chain members were identified. As the retailer integrated its product development process with its suppliers, a triangular relationship was formed between the retailer, the overseas manufacturers, and the designated suppliers. The study found that the retailer sought operational efficiency in its business relationships with supply chain members, but continued to seek long-term commitment in these relationships to establish a virtual vertical company.

A number of lifestyle merchandising and advertising strategies are being used in the home furnishings industry. However, there is limited research regarding the effectiveness of these strategies. The purpose of this study was to explore consumers' attitudes toward the lifestyle concept. Analyses of several consumer behavior variables and descriptors offered noteworthy findings for the home furnishings industry. This study found that although lifestyle orientation is a valuable tool for delineating consumer markets, these segmentations were not significant determinates of consumers' preference for elements of the lifestyle construct. Retailers and manufacturers are not simply creating home furnishing collections that target the needs of specific psychographic segment, but rather creating lifestyles being aspired to obtain. Although respondents scored the attitude variables neutral, the current market environment offers many examples of successfully home furnishing implementations of the lifestyle concept. These success stories coupled with additional findings indicate consumers' positive response to lifestyle merchandising.

The purposes of the study were to: 1) identify Indian tourists' demographics and travel patterns; 2) examine Indian tourists' motivation to take the Bangkok area trip; 3) examine the level of importance of information sources; 4) identify the level of satisfaction of Indian tourists on their travel experience on the Bangkok area attributes; and 5) examine the intention to return and willingness to recommend the Bangkok area and Thailand. The findings showed that Indian tourists were motivated to visit the Bangkok area by both push and pull factors. Family and/or friends and the Internet were considered as important sources in trip decision making. Indian tourists were generally satisfied with the Bangkok area's attributes. They also showed the desire to revisit and recommend Bangkok and Thailand as travel destinations.

The purpose of this study was to develop a test blue-print for a hospitality management capstone course to measure programmatic student learning outcomes. A total of 50 hospitality industry professionals and hospitality management faculty were interviewed through focus group discussions, and a post-focus group survey was conducted to determine a weighted percentage for each of the nine determined content domains. A test blueprint was developed from the weighted proportions determined by this study and a process by which other educational institutions could follow to establish a consistent and accurate evaluation method for a capstone course was described.

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the study compared fashion personality characteristics and shopping behaviors of African-American and Caucasian-American college students. Secondly, this study examined characteristics of leadership in general, and fashion leadership specifically, on fashion personality characteristics. The fashion personality characteristics studied included fashion leadership, fashion involvement, shopping enjoyment, and fashion consciousness. The participants consisted of 268 African Americans and 239 Caucasian Americans from two universities in the United States. Ethnicity was found to be an influence on fashion personality characteristics and shopping behaviors in this study. African Americans in the sample were found to have higher levels of fashion personality characteristics and shopping behaviors than Caucasian Americans. Fashion leadership was found to be positively related to general leadership, fashion involvement, shopping enjoyment and fashion consciousness. General leadership was found to be positively related to fashion involvement, shopping enjoyment, fashion consciousness, academic classification level. However, there was no significant difference found between general leadership and age.