If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractA growing body of academic research has examined the effectiveness of entrepreneurship training and support initiatives, with recent studies focusing on the provision of training and other skills development opportunities. An important theme that has emerged from this work is the failure of many programmes and initiatives to take on board the particular needs of the entrepreneurs in developing training and support systems. By extending research in this area, this article considers the importance of education and training to the economy and focuses on the particular value of entrepreneurship education and training. Some of the fundamental themes in the literature are reviewed, including the difficulties involved in categorising entrepreneurship education and training; the issue of whether or not entrepreneurship can be taught; the content of entrepreneurship programmes and the cultural and evaluative considerations. The article discusses and compares training and support provision for entrepreneurs in Ireland and The Netherlands.

Increasingly, academics, practitioners and governments recognise the need to examine the role and effectiveness of entrepreneurship training and support. Studies to date have examined the importance of training and other skill development opportunities in promoting entrepreneurship in the context of different sectors, regions and countries. An important theme to emerge from the research is the failure of some programmes to take on board the cultural, educational and social background of the "entrepreneurs", leading to ineffective training and support. This paper investigates the effectiveness of training and support initiatives for entrepreneurs in Ireland and The Netherlands, examining the experiences of 57 entrepreneurs from the services, manufacturing and high technology sectors in Ireland and The Netherlands. The results highlight the value of nonformal support structures, such as mentoring and networking, and question the value of traditional formal business education and training strategies.

Entrepreneurial learning has recently become a topic of significant interest, with academics and economists alike recognising that the success of any new business venture is closely linked to the learning and knowledge of the entrepreneur. To date, research into entrepreneurial learning and the specific ways in which entrepreneurs learn is severally limited. By way of extending research in this area, this study examines the role of multinational companies (MNCs) as an important source of learning for entrepreneurs, and as a catalyst for new business creation and growth. Based on a small‐scale qualitative study of a group of indigenous entrepreneurs in the information technology sector in Ireland, this paper presents evidence consistent with the argument that multinational enterprises provide an important source of learning for mall to medium‐sized enterprise entrepreneurs. The evidence suggests that MNCs have a positive impact at the firm level, both at the formation and growth stage of development.

The Children's Learning in Science Research Group is working collaboratively with practising science teachers to explore the effectiveness of teaching/learning strategies for promoting conceptual development in science. Studies have been carried out in a number of concept areas where students' prior ideas have been identified, and teaching/learning strategies to address such ideas have been developed and trialled. One area which has been explored in some detail is that of conservation of mass on dissolving. Previous research has shown that many students do not believe that mass is conserved when a substance is dissolved. Instead they suggest that, on dissolving, a substance will either increase or decrease in mass or that it will have no mass at all. While such notions should be open to direct refutation by simple demonstration, many students appear to hold on to their prior ideas even after teaching. This paper describes an intervention study with 12-13 yearold students (year 8) which attempts to move students' thinking about matter and the dissolving process towards the school science view by use of activities and group discussion tasks which directly address some of the thinking underlying students' prior ideas. An examination of students' responses to the strategies employed yields information both on students' ideas about dissolving and on the ways in which they approach a series of linked tasks in the context of a science lesson.

Purpose -The purpose of this research is to discuss the nature of co-entrepreneurs (i.e. those companies that have a mixture of male and female founding members) within the ICT sector in Ireland. For the purposes of this paper, the term "co-entrepreneurship" is used to describe male and female business partnerships. The characteristics of co-entrepreneurs; their educational, skills and family backgrounds; their current role in the company, and the nature of the team founder structure are examined. A discussion on why the team approach was selected is also included. Other issues explored in the paper include the shareholding percentage of the co-entrepreneurs and the extent to which the business has a lead entrepreneur. Design/methodology/approach -In 2003 the authors compiled a database of 1,026 indigenous ICT companies, which were electronically surveyed for information regarding software production, ownership of company and gender of founding members. A total of 24 per cent (81) of the responding companies from this survey indicated that there was a mixture of male and female founding members. These companies were subsequently sent another survey designed to gather information on company background, profiles of co-entrepreneurs, co-entrepreneurs' motivational factors and co-entrepreneurs' roles. A total of 34 (43 per cent) of the companies responded, of which 23 were suitable for the research. Findings -The findings of the study indicate that the family business or spouse/partner structure represents a major component of mixed gender companies in the ICT sector in Ireland, and that such companies tend to be small, with well-educated and experienced founders. Originality/value -A particularly interesting contribution of this paper is the provision of insights into the co-entrepreneurial partnership through identifying the key differences between the male and female co-founders. A key conclusion of the study is that there would appear to be a recognition among co-entrepreneurs that complementary skills and knowledge are critically important in the exploitation of new business opportunities, especially in the IT industry.