The administration of a test of enterprising tendency showed that business ownermanagers were significantly more enterprising than other occupational groups, namely teachers, nurses, civil servants, clerical trainees and lecturers and trainers. This test, which aims to measure key characteristics of enterprising people, is described within this paper. Key enterprise characteristics may include a high need for achievement, a high need for autonomy, calculated risk-taking, an internal locus of control and a creative tendency. The result of this pilot study may suggest that the occupation of setting up and managing a business requires an enterprising tendency, unlike other occupations. However, it could reflect the fact that business owner-managers are the most studied sample of enterprising people and that the test is drawn from this literature. However, further studies are required to clarify distinctions within occupational groups and to determine if business owner-managers are more enterprising than other occupational groups. It would be especially interesting to compare the enterprising tendency of business owner-managers with managers and enterprising people from other occupational groups.
This paper presents results from a UK Open University project which surveyed consumers' reasons for adoption, and non-adoption, of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy systems -collectively called low and zero carbon technologies -and their experiences of using these technologies. Data was gathered during 2006 via an online questionnaire with nearly 400 responses, plus 111 in-depth telephone interviews. The respondents were mainly environmentally-concerned, 'green' consumers and therefore these are purposive rather than representative surveys. The paper outlines results, for four energy efficiency measures (loft insulation, condensing boilers, heating controls, and energy-efficient lighting) and four household renewables (solar thermal water heating, solar photovoltaics, micro-wind turbines and wood-burning stoves). These green consumers typically adopted these technologies to save energy, money and/or the environment, which many considered they achieved despite rebound effects. The reasons for considering but rejecting these technologies include the familiar price barriers, but there were also other obstacles that varied according to the technology concerned. Nearly a third of the surveyed consumers had adopted household renewables, over half of which were wood stoves and 10% solar thermal water heating systems. Most adopters of renewables had previously installed several energy efficiency measures, but only a fifth of those who seriously considered renewables actually installed a system. This suggests sell energy efficiency first, then renewables. There seems to be considerable interest in household renewables in the UK, especially among older, middle-class green consumers, but so far only relatively few pioneers have managed to overcome the barriers to adoption.
The last ten years in the U.K. have witnessed an acceleration of interest in enterprise education. The aims of enterprise education initiatives include helping people to start businesses; promoting awareness of enterprise; and creating the educational conditions for people to become more enterprising (Jamieson, 1984). This diversity of aims implies that enterprise is perceived differently by educationalists involved in enterprise education. This paper seeks to clarify the meaning of enterprise by exploring some key questions:
Smart city developments integrate digital, human and physical systems in the built environment. With growing urbanization and widespread developments, identifying suitable evaluation methodologies is important. Case-study research across five UK cities-Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Milton Keynes and Peterborough revealed that city evaluation approaches were principally projectfocused with city-level evaluation plans at early stages. Key challenges centred on selecting suitable evaluation methodologies to evidence urban value and outcomes, addressing city authority requirements. Recommendations for evaluation design draw on urban studies and measurement frameworks, capitalizing on big data opportunities and developing appropriate, valid, credible integrative approaches across projects, programmes and city-level developments.
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