A The possibility of seeing events without being present at them was a dream of humanity for countless centuries. When the telephone emerged as a practical device in the late 1870s, the idea of also 'seeing by electricity' caught the public imagination, and as early as 1878 a cartoonist conceived of the 'telephonoscope', a vividly accurate prediction of global video communication. Various experiments were conducted, and two forms of television were invented almost simultaneously: the electronic and the mechanical.

B In 1897 a German physicist, Ferdinand Braun, developed a method of displaying electronic traces on a fluorescent screen coated inside an evacuated glass bulb. He called this the cathode-ray oscillograph. A few years later a British scientist, A. A. Campbell Swinton, realized that Braun's device could be used to display pictures transmitted electronically. Campbell Swinton wrote about the possibility of a television system in a scientific journal, Nature, in 1911. However, at that time it could not be built, as the components were not available.

C The real originator of electronic television was Vladimir Zworykin. His interest in the field developed when he worked on a cathode-ray tube receiver in St. Petersburg. In 1918 he left Russia for the United States, and in 1923 he patented the principles of the lconoscope, a camera tube, and in 1924 the Kinescope, or television receiver. The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) recognized the potential of Zworykin's ideas, and in 1929 funded a laboratory for him to continue his research. The work was conducted in secret and Zworykin did not publish his paper describing the lconoscope in detail until 1933. This was the breakthrough that made electronic television a practical possibility. For the first time, a pick-up device could televise studio and outdoor scenes at a standard of definition that would bear comparison with the cinema.

D Meanwhile, in Britain, public interest in television was stimulated by a Scotsman, John L. Baird. He loved experimenting and, in 1922, found the cause to which he was to devote his life-to invent mechanical television. As he lacked a real understanding of electronics, and would probably have been unaware of Zworykin's work, he began his research using very simple mechanical equipment. Baird successfully transmitted his first crude images in April 1925, and gave the first public demonstration of television in 1926. But it was not until 1929 that the government accepted that the technical quality of his pictures had improved sufficiently to allow broadcasting. Transmissions began on frequencies available when normal radio programs had finished for the day. Baird used the late transmission time to his advantage-it became an opportunity to encourage performers from top London shows to the medium. They dropped into his nearby studio after finishing on stage and performed a song or a dance for one of his shows. He developed a large amount of material, and in 1931 he televised the Epsom Derby horse race live.

E However, at the beginning of the 1930s, interest in television in Britain was spreading beyond Baird. The research departments of Britain's two largest record companies came together and formed Electric and Musical Industries Ltd. (EMI) in 1931. The new department of brilliant scientists was led by Isaac Shoenberg, who, like Zworykin, had once worked in Russia. The group first looked to develop cathode-ray receivers, retaining mechanical scanning for generating the picture. However, work on an electronic camera tube started in 1933, after Zworykin's paper was published.

F The EMI team made a successful electronic tube in January 1934 and they called the design the Emitron. This was fundamentally the same as Zworykin's lconoscope, though there were manufacturing differences that gave it a superior performance. EMI did not immediately give up mechanical scanning, but they now joined forces with the Marconi Company to design the components and circuits of an all-electronic system of television. Very soon the technical superiority of the Marconi-EM! system was so obvious that, on 30 January 1937, the BBC ended transmissions using Baird's television equipment.

G In 1936 television receiving sets were very expensive, possibly costing as much as a small car. Fewer than 500 were in use when the broadcasting service started, and growth was slower than had been hoped for. The signals could only be received clearly within a radius of about 30 miles from the television studio. Gradually the cost of sets came down, and just under 19,000 had been sold by 1939, when television in Britain abruptly came to an end for security reasons. War was about to be declared. The screens were to be dark for nearly seven years until, in 1946, the British government decided to restart television.

H Transmissions restarted with a broadcast of the Victory Parade in London. Television remained confined to the London region until 1949 when studios in Birmingham opened. From then on, coverage gradually spread across Britain. Many people had their first experience of television watching Queen Elizabeth's 1953 coronation ceremony. Households with television receivers opened up their homes to friends and neighbors. As the better-off purchased their new sets, so their old ones were sold on, which enlarged the audience still further. With quality entertainment now cheaply available at home, people went out far less often. Many cinemas and theatres closed down, and town centers became much emptier at night. The television age had finally arrived.

1 The Teen Entrepreneurs Competition (TEC) is an enterprise education programme developed by the Business Studies Division at the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) the major training body for school teachers in Hong Kong. It has the following key objectives: to enable secondary school business students to integrate their conceptual learning with real business practices: to promote a collaborative approach to enterprise education; and to build up formal links between HKIEd, schools and entrepreneurs.

2 Among the various enterprise programmes in Hong Kong. TEC is unique as it is principally organised by pre-service teachers on their B.Ed course. At the beginning of the academic year, these pre-service teachers form an executive committee. They are advised by tutors in the Business Studies Division and some of them are selected to act as TEC instructors. These instructors attend a series of training sessions that cover the concepts of entrepreneurship and practical skills for business start-ups. They are then sent to the schools to co-work with teachers and meet the competition teams.

3 Over a three-month period, the teams are required to brainstorm an innovative business start-up that is suitable for the Chinese New Year. They then draft a business proposal, tum this into a real business by sourcing or creating their products, and set up a market stall at the HKIEd campus. The teams' business ideas and sales performance are assessed by an adjudicating panel that is made up of entrepreneurs, school principals, teachers, students and customers.

4 TEC has run annually for three years and has received favourable responses from both the education and local communities. In a recent evaluation survey, most participants ranked themselves in the satisfactory performance category and considered they had gained practical skills to run a small business. A typical response was: 'I understand enterprise better and have developed a good team spirit.' Moreover, positive views were obtained from some participants despite the fact that they had not had a good experience. For example, one participant reflected: 'I initially received a lot of criticism and even thought about giving up.

5 However, I eventually learned to work in a systematic way.' The positive evaluation outcomes came not only from participants but from other stakeholders as well. The adjudicators commented that most of the business plans demonstrated an adequate understanding and application of entrepreneurship in the context of seasonal sales. In addition, the school teachers stated that TEC was a good platform in that it enabled their students to engage in business. They felt the zero drop-out rate strongly supported their views on the promising future of TEC.

6 The positive post-activity evaluations were indications of the programme's success, but an assessment of how well TEC met its objectives will clarify how sustainable it is as an enterprise education programme. One objective was to provide participants with the opportunity to integrate conceptual learning with real business situations. The research studies that were carried out indicated that the school students taking part in TEC were able to apply entrepreneurial knowledge gained in their studies to the authentic business situations created by the programme. In fact, participants not only succeeded in doing this, but also increased their overall understanding of business enterprise.

7 However, the financial and manpower support required by this kind of practical experience is beyond the resources of many schools. In fact, most teachers have little choice but to adopt a limited range of teaching methods, mostly based around traditional ones. Moreover, the dominant examination-orientated culture leads teachers to concentrate on written tests rather than explore practical experiences. TEC, however, is able to empower participants to be active learning agents, and provides a feasible means of filling the gap in educational provision.

8 The research studies also demonstrated that the objective of promoting a collaborative approach to enterprise education was met. From the very start of the programme considerable emphasis was placed on collaboration and teamwork. The participants had to cope in a learning environment which was full of ever-changing challenges, and this meant they had to find ways to deal with events as they occurred. This involved participants taking responsibility for their assigned role within the team and working closely with other team members. Moreover, at certain points, participants had to collaborate with other TEC stakeholders such as entrepreneurs and members of the local community.

9 The third aim was to develop a network between business and the business education field. Local entrepreneurs acted as sponsors and had an important role in ensuring the programme financially viable. The network broadly consisted of three tiers. The first tier was made up of key players, including the participants, the teachers, the instructors and the executive committee. There was close collaboration amongst these groups: members of the committee communicated regularly with instructors to disseminate information to participants, and the school teachers and instructors met often to provide suitable guidance to participants. The second tier was an organisational level that mainly consisted of the participating schools and the HKIEd. The contribution of the teacher training institute was to provide logistical support for implementing the programme, including the provision of a venue and a credible point of contact between the schools and the committee. Finally, the third tier consisted of the entrepreneurs who served as judges or sponsors, community groups, the local press and the customers themselves. The positive responses of all these stakeholders and their continuing support is a vote of confidence for the sustainability of TEC in Hong Kong.