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Article
Publication date: 7 November 2016

Cosette M. Joyner Armstrong, Gwendolyn Hustvedt, Melody L.A. LeHew, Barbara G. Anderson and Kim Y. Hiller Connell

The purpose of this project is to provide an account of the student experience at a higher education institution known for its holistic approach to sustainability education.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to provide an account of the student experience at a higher education institution known for its holistic approach to sustainability education.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study was conducted at Green Mountain College (GMC), an environmental liberal arts school in Poultney, VT; 55 students participated in focus group interviews.

Findings

Students articulate that the most valuable gains that manifest at GMA are a variety of new capacities for science literacy, anthropological appreciation, the triple bottom line, a sense of place, systems, empathic decision-making and reasoning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and practical techniques supporting self-sufficiency. Prompting these emergent outcomes was a philosophy of practice at Green Mountain College, which included place-based techniques, empowerment, personalization, community ecology and charting polarity. Many students described their seeming metamorphosis as uncomfortable, and some felt isolated from the outside paradigm.

Research limitations/implications

A key implication of the study’s findings is that in a holistic setting, the line between the informal and formal curriculum are significantly blurred and what is implicitly communicated through university practices and values is what most transforms the students’ explicit understanding of sustainability.

Practical implications

Sustainability education is far more than technique, far more than what a lone instructor can manifest in students. While the persistence of individual faculty members is important, this evidence suggests that the fertile conditions for transformation may be more fruitful when faculty members work together with a collective sense of responsibility and a well-articulated paradigm.

Originality/value

The advantage of the present study is that it examines the perceived impact of a focus on sustainability across curricula and school by considering the educational environment as a whole. The experiences of students from many different majors who are involved in a holistic, sustainability-infused curriculum at a university with a history of successful post-graduation job placements in the sustainability field are explored here.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 17 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2000

Melody L. A. LeHew and Ann E. Fairhurst

In light of several successful US mall repositionings, industry experts have encouraged other less productive properties to follow their lead. This study investigates the…

4795

Abstract

In light of several successful US mall repositionings, industry experts have encouraged other less productive properties to follow their lead. This study investigates the relationship between selected mall attributes and productivity. A mail survey was sent to a random sample of mall marketing managers. Chi‐square and correlation analysis was used to identify the attributes that were significantly related to productivity. Super‐regional malls located in large, densely populated cities with high income residents were the most successful properties. The results suggest that the attributes of successful malls cannot be transferred or adapted by lower performing malls. Market strategy variables that could be duplicated were not significantly related to high productivity.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 28 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 April 2007

Melody L.A. LeHew and Scarlett C. Wesley

The purpose of this paper is to assess whether tourist shopper segments are an attractive market for shopping centers. This research aims to explore whether or not tourist…

8770

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess whether tourist shopper segments are an attractive market for shopping centers. This research aims to explore whether or not tourist shoppers are more satisfied than resident shoppers with their shopping experience and whether tourist shoppers have the intention to spend more than their resident shopper counterparts.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this report come from personal face‐to‐face mall intercepts of shoppers (n=578) in two new generation malls (West Edmonton Mall and Mall of America in Bloomington) and two heritage‐destination (Pier 39 in San Francisco and Forum Shops in Las Vegas) centers.

Findings

Analysis concludes that although the shopping center and retail industry place increasing emphasis on leisure shopping and tourism, the results of this study suggest that the tourist shopper market may not be the most valuable customer group. Resident shoppers of tourist‐focused shopping centers are more satisfied than tourist shoppers of those centers.

Research limitations/implications

The non‐random nature of the sample for this study is the primary limitation. Therefore, the results are not generalizable to the greater population of tourist focused shopping centers.

Practical implications

The shopping center and retail industry place increasing emphasis on leisure shopping and tourism, but the results of this study suggest that the tourist shopper market may not be the most valuable customer group. Resident shoppers of tourist‐focused shopping centers are more satisfied than tourist shoppers of those centers. These findings should encourage shopping center managers to use caution when modifying strategies to meet the needs of the tourist segment, as well as to not forget the importance of resident shoppers to their profitability.

Originality/value

These findings should encourage shopping center managers to use caution when modifying strategies to meet the needs of the tourist segment, as well as to not forget the importance of resident shoppers to their profitability.

Details

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6182

Keywords

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