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This chapter examines widening access to higher education in Sweden from the 1960s onwards and contrasts the influence of two different political ideologies — social democracy and neo-liberalism. It provides an overview of the higher education system and student support. Sweden has made extensive use of alternative routes into higher education to enable access for those lacking traditional entry qualifications. These routes are outlined, changes over time are described and Sweden is compared to other European countries drawing on Eurostudent data. These data indicate that Sweden has made considerable advances in widening access through the use of alternative routes. However, the conclusion questions the extent to which current higher education policy, influenced by neo-liberalism, can lead to further progress.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of recognition of prior learning (RPL) as an alternative tool for access into learning programmes in South African Library and Information Science (LIS) schools.

The study adopted quantitative methods, and utilised questionnaires and document analysis to collect data.

The study found that despite an institutional “will” among the LIS schools to open up access to learners who come from diverse backgrounds; there are still aspects that inhibit the use of RPL as an alternative route of access into higher education and training.

In-depth interviews were not conducted to ascertain the veracity of the findings.

This study was valuable for institutions, policy makers, government and other stakeholders to assess the impact of RPL implementation in higher education and training.

Despite there been very little published concerning RPL implementation in higher education and training, use of RPL, as an alternative route to access into higher education and training is generally low. The paper seeks to highlight and promote RPL as an alternative route of access into higher education and training especially for non-matriculants from diverse backgrounds.

Recently, OCLC successfully completed a multi‐year network design, procurement, implementation, and user transition effort. At a cost of $70 million, this effort resulted in the implementation of a totally new telecommunications network. The packet‐switching nature of this new network has for the first time made it practical for OCLC to effectively address the risks imposed by the potential of major catastrophes within the telecommunications‐carrier infrastructure, and, for all practical purposes, to eliminate any resulting widespread service outages for OCLC users.

This chapter focuses on a case study of attempts at one South African university to widen access to adult learners from diverse race, class and gender backgrounds. It locates the education of adults within a post-apartheid policy framework aimed at transforming higher education on the one hand and pressures on universities brought about by changes in the global economy on the other. It then outlines the history of adult education programmes at the University of Cape Town, an institution that has an elite, colonial history and that privileges research over teaching. The chapter then considers the results of a 2008 survey of adult learners' experiences of the institutional culture and institution's systems, and the ways in which these present barriers to adult learners. It critically assesses three strategies adopted by staff on the ‘periphery’ of the institution to widen access to adult learners; these focus on: changing the institutional culture, developing policies and processes of recognition of prior learning (RPL) and transforming the curriculum. The chapter concludes that programme innovations have been possible with the aim of ensuring that curriculum is responsive to adult learners; however, widening access and increasing participation for adult learners also needs to be accompanied by significant changes in how the university is administered and run and that while alternative access routes into the university are theoretically possible, practical and political barriers remain.

This paper aims to analyze the demand for mobility in higher education to understand the critical elements of students' mobility and the potential impact of accessing sustainable alternatives. The demand for different means of transportation accounts for socioeconomic variables such as household income and size, gender, age, among other travel factors such as distance, time, speed and direct cost.

This research uses a unique data set encompassing a representative sample of households across gender and municipalities in the Monterrey Metropolitan Area in Mexico. This paper uses the value of transportation time savings approach to estimate the derived demand for mobility in higher education across different means. The empirical strategy uses a linear utility framework in a multinomial non-ordered logit model to analyze the conditional selection of transportation as a function of sociodemographics, direct monetary costs and travel determinants such as travel time, distance and speed.

Men students are more likely to use an unsustained transportation mode such as a car or cab than women. Income is a crucial determinant for transportation demand. There is a negative relationship between household income and walking or riding the bus but positive with driving a car. An increase in the time of the trip decreases the probability of walking while increasing the likelihood of using a car or riding the bus to school. Students who feel safe while riding a bus are more likely to use the bus or walk as transportation than using a car. Finally, having access to better quality sidewalks significantly incentive walking over other transportation options.

Results show that individuals would almost always choose private vehicles because of the personal comforts and time savings.

Understanding the demand for higher education and access to sustainable transportation might provide new insights into campus planning and development. Access to public transportation options can reduce the travel costs for students with lower incomes and enlarge options for students who have to commute longer distances by car. Sustainable transportation access plays a role in promoting equality and economic development.

This study’s results bring new light on how transportation becomes an essential component of the opportunity cost of college education and could define its role in promoting equality or increasing inequality. This study’s finding is of particular interest for cities where housing location seems to be independent of access to school, work or other amenities.

This study aims to examine the causes of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) disinclination towards subcontracting in public sector markets. Previous studies have revealed that UK SMEs are reluctant to do business with the public sector through the subcontracting route, but the reasons for this lack of enthusiasm have not been widely researched.

Drawing on semi-structured interviews with SMEs competing for public contracts in North West England, a qualitative study was performed, from which several themes emerged.

The findings were synthesised into a framework underpinned by attribution theory, to portray situationally and dispositionally caused factors that were used to interpret SMEs’ behaviour.

The findings can guide policy development and government interventions in developed and developing countries, aimed at using public procurement as a policy tool to develop the small business sector.

This paper contributes in a unique way to an emerging discourse on how subcontracting can facilitate the access of SMEs to government procurement spending. It adds to knowledge regarding the explanatory power of attribution theory – from its base in social psychology.

The authors explore the market agora and the shaping of markets as controversies over the meaning and practices related to sustainability evolved. This study aims to explore what happened in a market-oriented policy regime, which aimed to address sustainability in farming and food, to assess the impact of the policy on the vegetable sector in England and to consider whether the market-oriented policy regime created a more sustainable food system for Britain.

The authors examined policy documents – agenda setting reports, policy frameworks and operational plans – and conducted interviews with experts – including policymakers, agronomists and the growers themselves, from across this heterogeneous production sector.

The authors found that while controversy over the meaning of sustainability impacted on the evolution of food policy and grower business practices, market conceptualisations remained in a doxic mode – naturalised and beyond dispute throughout the market agora.

This is a study of a single sub-sector of the fruit and vegetable sector in a single European country and over a particular period of time. It presents a detailed, authentic representation of that sub-sector in context and diverse information sources were used to gain a variety of perspectives. However, it is acknowledged that this is a limited, qualitative study involving relatively few key informant interviews.

The authors’ explanation suggests that market doxa limited how policymakers and market agora understood the economic challenges and the solutions that could be deployed for English vegetable growers, a sector so pivotal for sustainability. The authors propose that ideas from industrial marketing can be used to reignite controversy, challenge market doxa, and in doing so create space for progress in creating sustainable markets.

The authors deploy an approach advocated by Blanchet and Depeyre (2016) and use controversy to explore the evolution of policy for sustainability and market shaping in the English vegetable sector agora. In doing so the authors create a novel explanation of why policy, which aimed to usher in a sustainable market, fell short of its aims and contribute to an under-researched area examining policy for sustainability in a B2B context.

This chapter is concerned with access to bank finance by ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) in the U.K., focusing particularly on the process of decision-making by bank managers with respect to credit applications by entrepreneurs from ethnic minority groups. The results reported in this chapter are taken from a major U.K. study that included two large scale surveys of EMB owners and a white control group, case studies with ethnic minority entrepreneurs and a programme of interviews with business support agencies. Whilst referring to other evidence, this chapter focuses on the findings from a series of interviews with bank representatives. The U.K. study was funded by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the Bank of England and the Small Business Service and supported by the Commission for Racial Equality.

Community-based forensic support services (CBFSSs) were commissioned nationally by National Health Service (NHS) England in 2017 in response to “Building the Right Support” (NHS England, 2015). CBFSSs provide multidisciplinary support to adults with intellectual disabilities and/or autism who are in (or at risk of) contact with the criminal justice system and those transitioning from inpatient secure care. This paper aims to highlight potential systemic barriers to accessing community forensic services for people from an ethnic minority background. in one CBFSSs in Northern England.

This paper provides preliminary reflections on potential systemic barriers within the criminal justice system and health-care services that have implications for service users from ethnic minority backgrounds accessing CBFSSs.

There is a paucity of data, policy and literature that focuses on people with intellectual disabilities and autism with forensic needs from ethnic minority backgrounds. This lack of data obstructs further reforms to meet the needs of this population.

CBFSSs are commissioned across England. While some regional variation is to be expected, services should be aware of the systemic barriers people from ethnic minority backgrounds within their region face. These barriers should be considered and addressed when evaluating service efficacy and delivery. Recommendations are made to review and address issues of under-representation of ethnic minorities within CBFSSs.