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With robot sales on the increase ABB Robotics is in an optimistic mood. And, as president Stelio Demark recently told an international press gathering, it will invest $100 million in even more resources.

The global labor market has been upended and a new landscape has emerged. New models for ensuring the value and relevance of post-secondary education are needed. Learners need better understanding of the value and relevancy which the education provides and more immediate return on the educational investment. Education providers must ensure the relevance of the credentials. Employers require transparency into skills an individual possesses based on the credentials they hold. New models are needed to guide an understanding of credentials so that all have equitable pathways to opportunity. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objectives.

The authors in this paper discuss how Western Governors University implemented a Unified Credential Framework (UCF) for ensuring credentials are relevant, verified, transparent and portable. The UCF is predicated on the use of skills as an underlying foundation.

Using a structured theory for understanding skills and micro-credentials creates more transparency into what post-secondary credentials represent, and the value they hold for individuals, employers and education providers.

This paper represents a use case where the proposed solution is still emergent. Additional research is warranted as longitudinal data become available on student outcomes and impacts.

This paper presents a model that any organization can implement for clearer line of sight into the value and relevance of post-secondary credentials.

ABB is merging its robotics and paint finishing businesses into a single company, ABB Flexible Automation. All company names previously within these two business areas, some as a result of earlier acquisitions, will now operate under the single name.

There is little consensus among academics on how to treat management fashions. The aim of this paper is to point out how management scientists have previously dealt with consulting concepts and which ways of dealing with them seem to be appropriate.

The debate surrounding management fashions alludes to the topic, how academia demarks its borders. Thus, a concept is required with which management studies and practice can be described as distinct entities in order to juxtapose the two spheres. This is done by applying Niklas Luhmann's systems theory to the realm of management studies.

The development of academia's attitude toward consulting concepts can be subdivided into three different phases: management academics considered consulting concepts as quasi‐scientific element; these concepts were then interpreted as a “foreign body”: and, finally, they were an object of scientific reflection. The last phase includes a transformation that has started only recently. From the perspective of the theory of self‐referential systems this change can be described as a sound development and it seems unlikely that academic approaches and consulting concepts will converge. In this perspective the non‐academic character of such consultancy‐concepts becomes evident‐just like their hidden usefulness.

Provides insights on how management scientists deal appropriately with consulting concepts. The change in attitude towards fashionable management concepts provides information not only about the consultancy concepts, but also about an altered self‐conception of management studies.

In the twenty-first century, societies around the world are facing a wide range of daunting global mega-challenges: poverty, unemployment, income inequality, unequal distribution of political power, ageing populations, uncontrolled migration, segregated urbanisation, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and a massive decrease in biodiversity. In recent years, politicians, journalists and academic observers have singled out the Nordic countries, Denmark in particular, as model societies of trusting and happy people that have handled many of these challenges with remarkable effectiveness. And yet others warn against ‘becoming Denmark,’ painting a picture of a dysfunctional, socialist nightmare with high taxes, low job motivation and a general lack of private initiative. In this introductory chapter, the editors cut through the noise of the international debate and set the scene for the nuanced analyses presented here of contemporary public governance in Demark and its capacity to tackle some of the most pressing problems of our time. Specifically, the chapter discusses various conceptualisations of the Danish welfare state, delineates some of its most important historical and structural traits and outlines the main empirical features of contemporary Danish public governance. Finally, it outlines the structure of the book and briefly introduces each of its subsequent chapters.

To review the evidence from high quality human intervention studies that reported links between oat consumption and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.

Using Medline, a search was made for all randomized controlled trials published between 1990 and 2008 that met defined inclusion criteria. Studies had a minimum duration of 14 days, used oat products rather than purified extracts, and included plasma lipid levels as outcome variables.

A total of 21 eligible studies were located 13 of which reported significant reductions in total cholesterol when oats were consumed, while 14 reported significant reductions in low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol. A few studies found increases in high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol and more favourable cholesterol ratios when oats were consumed.

It was not possible to analyse differences in response between health and “at risk” subjects. A meta‐analysis would be a useful step forward, as would research on the long‐term impact of oats on body weight.

Intakes of oats in successful intervention studies were impractical for most consumers. However, expert bodies base approved health claims on an achievable 3 g β‐glucan per day. Additional research on portion sizes for commercially‐available foods would increase consumer awareness of how to access the cholesterol‐lowering benefits of oats. Effective portion sizes may differ by gender, age and CVD risk.

This review provides further evidence that regular oat consumption is an effective dietary strategy for helping to attenuate CVD risk and sets this within the context of claims for food stuffs.

This paper compares and contrasts forward and reverse logistics in a retail environment, with the focus on the reverse flow of product. Many differences between forward and reverse flows of logistics systems are presented. The impact of these factors depends to some extent on the supply chain position of a firm. Unlike much reverse logistics research, which is written from the perspective of the firm which will remanufacture or refurbish the product in the reverse flow, we consider the issues from the perspective of the firm generating the reverse flow.

Alternative credentials are rapidly evolving. The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges and opportunities arising from this evolution with particular reference to their role in education and employment.

The paper explores the credential initiatives with a unique perspective from introducing alternative credential initiatives that have been influential in recent national policy developments. The paper is led by the experiences of the former General Manager of Microsoft's Education Products Group, former Vice-Chancellor of The Open University and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University. His experiences and lessons learnt reflecting on alternative credential development during the last 30 years provides a unique insight in seeing the “signals” and moving beyond the “noise” of micro-credentials for successful integration into educational institutions.

A number of key findings are identified in terms of current development challenges that impact on alternative credential use and identifying further developments. Relevant examples and references are provided throughout, with a particular focus on North America, Europe and Australasia where the most progress has been made in alternative credentials.

Implications for those wishing to develop badging and microcredentialing solutions, especially in higher education, are identified for all seeking to maximise the success of alternative credential systems.

Martin Bean has a unique perspective having explored credential initiatives whilst General Manager of Microsoft's Education Products Group and whilst Vice-Chancellor of The Open University and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University. Martin Bean has also been influential in recent national policy developments in Australia. Martin Bean’s experiences and lessons learnt witnessing alternative credential development during the last 30 years across three continents, and within both public and private sectors, are summarised here to provide context for discussions of some of the key global concepts and related work.

This paper explores consumer understanding and perception of organic food, with specific reference to the relatively new concept of organic farmed salmon. Key themes associated with the term “organic” and its meaning, as determined by consumers, are explored and the role of labelling and regulatory authorities considered. Focus groups in five countries (UK, Germany, Spain, Norway and France) consisting of 196 participants showed that most consumers are confused about the meaning of the term organic and are largely unaware of the organic certification and labelling process. Many consumers were unsure, even sceptical about the concept of organic farmed salmon and display a large amount of distrust in the regulatory process. The implications for the concept of organic food and salmon production and directions for further research are discussed.