These proceedings contain 3 speaker presentations and 17 workshop papers from a conference of experts who are involved in creating environments that encourage people to be creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial. The speaker presentations are "Creative Public-Private Sector Ventures--'The Success Series'" (Bettianne Welch), "Just Do It" (Wally…

The first part of this document provides materials from a project to develop a training workshop for vocational educators who plan to incorporate the teaching of entrepreneurship into their regular curriculum. Extensive appendixes to this part contain materials from the project and workshop. The second part is a curriculum for teachers who wish to…

This paper analyzes the reasons behind the success and failure of various entrepreneurs and their small businesses. Presented first is an overview of the increasing role of entrepreneurship as a way of earning a living in the United States today and the different challenges and outcomes new small business generally encounter. In the first three…

Using the case study method, research was synthesized on micro-enterprises in Europe and the effects of changes in work organizations on employee qualifications and vice versa. The research focused on retail operations employing 10 or fewer staff. Five case studies were conducted in each of four member states of the European Union--Greece,…

In the face of changing agriculture, an aging population, and the outflow of citizens seeking livable wages, rural Southern communities are challenged with how to enhance their economies to insure long-term business viability. Home-based businesses are an effective aspect of rural economic development. They allow flexibility and choice of work…

This dissertation discusses the results of two surveys--one of community college presidents and one of community college students--conducted to determine the existing and planned entrepreneurship credit and noncredit programs within the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) and the interest in these programs from students enrolled in business…

This document contains four symposium papers on adult learning in the workplace. "The Relationship between Workplace Learning and Employee Satisfaction in Small Businesses" (Robert W. Rowden, Shamsuddin Ahmad) reports the results of a study of the nature and extent of HRD, level of job satisfaction among workers, and correlation between…

A group of limited-resource small farmers in northern Florida's Jackson County, the USDA, the West Florida Resource Conservation and Development Council, Florida A&M University, and the Federation of Southern Cooperatives organized the New North Florida Cooperative to increase farm income by introducing improved methods of marketing…

This paper stems from an evaluation of Turkey's first microcredit project aimed specifically at women, which was carried out with data derived through the Foundation for the Support of Women's Work (FFSW)'s Management Information System (which tracks credit users and repayment performance), application forms from women who applied for and received…

The Centre for Research and Learning in Regional Australia is investigating the elements of social capital and developing a set of indicators that show when social capital is building. The indicators can be used where groups or organizations with a shared purpose engage in productive interactions that benefit not only the individual member groups…

"[I]n difficult economic times, political stakeholders in the technology transfer process usually view success in economic impact terms, and often from short-term and parochial perspectives--how many jobs in my state next year?" Although universities increasingly pressure their technology transfer specialists to become stewards of their…

Examines six federal programs offering direct credit assistance to nonfarm businesses in nonmetropolitan areas, 1983-89. The Small Business Loans Program provided 72% of funds. Nonmetropolitan areas overall received federal credit assistance proportional to nonmetro percentage of national population, but assistance was disproportionately low in…

Examines changing beliefs and practices among Korean American small business proprietors in Los Angeles around the time of the crisis marked by riots in 1992. It analyzes changing racial and ethnic tensions and whether Korean immigrants' notions of race and ethnicity have also changed as a result of the shift in hiring patterns. Racial meanings…

Proposes that any strategy designed to combat the problem of urban youth groups must (1) have high visibility; (2) be youth intense; and (3) use economic development approaches such as community-based small business enterprises. The proposed youth enterprise zones model is a youth and community revitalization strategy. (SLD)

Supporting a "structural relational" view of small business success, data from 423 small business owners in Iowa suggest that links between owner characteristics, social relational processes, business structure, and success operate differently depending on urban-rural location and owner sex. Female owners had more professional training…