Understanding citizen science and environmental monitoring: final report on behalf of UK Environmental Observation Framework

Citizen science can broadly be defined as the involvement of volunteers in science. Over the past decade there has been a rapid increase in the number of citizen science initiatives. The breadth of environmental-based citizen science is immense. Citizen scientists have surveyed for and monitored a broad range of taxa, and also contributed data on weather and habitats reflecting an increase in engagement with a diverse range of observational science. Citizen science has taken many varied approaches from citizen-led (co-created) projects with local community groups to, more commonly, scientist-led mass participation initiatives that are open to all sectors of society. Citizen science provides an indispensable means of combining environmental research with environmental education and wildlife recording. Here we provide a synthesis of extant citizen science projects using a novel cross-cutting approach to objectively assess understanding of citizen science and environmental monitoring including: 1. Brief overview of knowledge on the motivations of volunteers. 2. Semi-systematic review of environmental citizen science projects in order to understand the variety of extant citizen science projects. 3. Collation of detailed case studies on a selection of projects to complement the semi-systematic review. 4. Structured interviews with users of citizen science and environmental monitoring data focussing on policy, in order to more fully understand how citizen science can fit into policy needs. 5. Review of technology in citizen science and an exploration of future opportunities

What's New About the New Economy? Sources of growth in the managed and entrepreneurial economies

The purpose of this paper is to document the fundamental shift that is taking place in OECD countries. This shift is from the managed economy to the entrepreneurial economy. While politicians and policy makers have made a plea for guidance in the era of entrepreneurship, scholars have been slow to respond. This paper attempts to make a first step identifying and articulating these differences. We do this by contrasting the most fundamental elements of the newly emerging entrepreneurial economy with those of the managed economy. We identify fourteen trade-offs confronting these two polar worlds. The common thread throughout these trade-offs is the increased role of new and small enterprises in the entrepreneurial economy. A particular emphasis is placed on changes in economic policy demanded by the entrepreneurial economy vis-?-vis the managed economy

Does Entrepreneurship Reduce Unemployment?

The relationship between unemployment and entrepreneurship has been shrouded with ambiguity. There is assumed to be a two-way causation between changes in the level of entrepreneurship and that of unemployment-- a "Schumpeter" effect of entrepreneurship reducing unemployment and a "refugee" or "shopkeeper" effect of unemployment stimulating entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to try to reconcile the ambiguities found in the relationship between unemployment and entrepreneurship. We do this by introducing a two equation model where changes in unemployment and in the number of business owners are linked to subsequent changes in those variables for a panel of 23 OECD countries over the period 1974-1998. The existence of two distinct and separate relationships between unemployment and entrepreneurship is identified including significant "Schumpeter" and "refugee" effects

Gibrat's Law: are the services different?

Several noted surveys on intra-industry dynamics have recently reached the conclusion from a large body of evidence that Gibrat's Law does not hold. However, almost all of these studies have been based on manufacturing. There are compelling reasons to doubt whether these findings hold for the services. In this paper we examine whether the basic tenet underlying Gibrat's Law - that growth rates are independent of firm size - can be rejected for the services as it has been for manufacturing. Based on a large sample of Dutch firms the evidence suggests that growth rates are, in fact, independent of firm size. Validation of Gibrat's Law in the services suggests that the dynamics of industrial organisation for services may not simply mirror that for manufacturing

SMEs in Europe 2003

Entrepreneurship and SMEs have emerged as the engine of economic and social development throughout the world. The role of entrepreneurship has changed dramatically and fundamentally, so that it is now seen as a requisite ingredient generating employment, economic growth and international competitiveness in the global economy. The purpose of this report is first to explain why the role of SMEs is crucial for international competitiveness and a strong economic performance in Europe, and then to document the role that SMEs play in Europe. Entrepreneurship and SMEs are related but certainly not identical concepts. Entrepreneurs, for example, are the main drivers of the firm creation process where young and small firms play a role. On the other hand, the entrepreneurial energy of a country, region or industry is often described using phenomena such as firm creation and turbulence (Carree and Thurik, 2003). The impact that SMEs have on economic performance in Europe is explained in Chapter 2. A careful measurement of the structure and role of SMEs is required to understand the different roles that SMEs play and how these roles are evolving throughout Europe. In particular, a measurement of SME activity in Europe provides (in Section 3.1) what the (static) role of SMEs is in Europe, how the role of SMEs varies across specific countries and how it is benchmarked against the other major areas in the world. How the economic role of SMEs has been changing over time is presented in Section 3.2. The way in which the measurement of the structure and role of SMEs is set up hinges on two views: first it attempts to illustrate the theory-based results surveyed in Chapter 2. Second, it is in line with the measurements given in earlier versions of the SME Observatory reports 'SMEs in Europe'. A report about SMEs in Europe would however not be complete if no attention is paid to the current economic setting. The European economy is recovering from an economic downturn. Very little information is available about the roles of SMEs in the business cycle and in particular how do SMEs respond to economic adversity. This issue is dealt with in Chapter 4. Finally a Synthesis is presented in Chapter 5

An Eclectic Theory of Entrepreneurship: Policies, Institutions and Culture

The level of entrepreneurship differs considerably across countries and periods. Both the causes and consequences of entrepreneurship are a matter of extensive scientific debate as well as of great policy importance. A high level of entrepreneurial activity is assumed and shown to contribute to innovative activities, competition, economic growth and job creation. The present paper deals with the determinants of entrepreneurship. An eclectic theory of entrepreneurship is introduced. This eclectic theory provides an integrated framework, drawing on disparate strands of literature, to create a better understanding of the different role that entrepreneurship plays in different countries and time periods. This framework is designed to guide future empirical research in this area and to provide insights for policymakers striving to promote entrepreneurship

Impeded Industrial Restructuring: the growth penalty

This paper documents that a process of industrial restructuring has been transforming the developed economies, where large corporations are accounting for less economic activity and small firms are accounting for a greater share of economic activity. Not all countries, however, are experiencing the same shift in their industrial structures. Very little is known about the cost of resisting this restructuring process. The goal of this paper is to identify whether there is a cost, measured in terms of forgone growth, of an impeded restructuring process. The cost is measured by linking growth rates of European countries to deviations from the optimal industrial structure. The empirical evidence suggests that countries impeding the restructuring process pay a penalty in terms of forgone growth

Are small firms really sub-optimal?: compensating factor differentials in small dutch manufacturing firms

The advent of a growing share of small firms in modern economies raises some intriguing questions. The most intriguing question undoubtedly is why so many smaller firms, which have traditionally been classified as sub-optimal scale firms, can exist. We suggest that, through pursuing a strategy of compensating factor differentials, that is by remunerating and deploying factors of production differently than their larger counterparts, small firms are able to compensate for size-inherent cost disadvantages. Using a sample of over seven thousand Dutch manufacturing firms, we find considerable evidence that such a strategy of compensating factor differentials is pursued within a European context. When viewed through a static lens, the existence of such a strategy, while making small and sub-optimal scale firms viable, suggests that they impose a net welfare loss on the economy. However, when viewed through a dynamic lens, the findings of a positive relationship between firm age and employee compensation as well as firm age and firm productivity suggest that there may be at least a tendency for the inefficient firm of today to become the efficient firm of tomorrow. 5 Are Small Firms Really Sub-Optimal

The role of the North Atlantic Oscillation in controlling U.K. butterfly population size and phenology

Copyright @ 2012 The Authors. This article can be accessed from the links below.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.1. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) exerts considerable control on U.K. weather. This study investigates the impact of the NAO on butterfly abundance and phenology using 34 years of data from the U.K. Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS). 2. The study uses a multi-species indicator to show that the NAO does not affect overall U.K. butterfly population size. However, the abundance of bivoltine butterfly species, which have longer flight seasons, were found to be more likely to respond positively to the NAO compared with univoltine species, which show little or a negative response. 3. A positive winter NAO index is associated with warmer weather and earlier flight dates for Anthocharis cardamines (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), Melanargia galathea (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), Aphantopus hyperantus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), Pyronia tithonus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), Lasiommata megera (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) and Polyommatus icarus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). In bivoltine species, the NAO affects the phenology of the first generation, the timing of which indirectly controls the timing of the second generation. 4. The NAO influences the timing of U.K. butterfly flight seasons more strongly than it influences population size.This study was supported by a multi-agency consortium led by the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), including the Countryside Council for Wales, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the Forestry Commission, Natural England, the Natural Environment Research Council, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage. This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund