Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Technology and Workplace Skills for the Twenty-First Century examines many of the rapid changes taking place at the intersection of workplace demands and higher education throughout the Asia Pacific region. The globalized, interdependent twenty-first century workforce is built around computing, communication, and automation. These characteristics have changed the ways in which higher education is connected to the workforce and raised the stakes for educating students for the changing workforce. In this book, scholars and education leaders throughout Asia Pacific and the US investigate how the changing needs of the workforce have shaped higher education's curriculum, methods, and orientation, and show how different Asia Pacific countries have responded differently to these challenges.

This volume examines the changes taking place within graduate education in the Asia Pacific Region. A collection of essays by distinguished scholars from eight Asia Pacific nations links profound changes occurring in the economies and societies of the region to the many changes taking place within higher education. Focusing on how the dynamics of a changing global economy are affecting the ways higher education institutions are responding, particular changes are seen to be taking place in graduate education as many societies experience the need to produce graduates of high quality with elevated qualifications. Such changes are not without challenge or difficulty as issues of finance. Questions of appropriate directions of innovation and overall higher education capacity continue to frame the broader issue of the changing nature of graduate education.

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. This volume presents several case studies highlighting the latest findings in Industry 4.0 projects utilizing S-BPM features. Their potential is explored in detail, while the limits of engineering a company from a communication-centred perspective are also discussed. After a general introduction and an overview of the book in chapter 1, chapter 2 starts by condensing the industrial challenges driven by the German "Industry 4.0" trend to form a concrete vision for future production industries. Subsequently, chapter 3 introduces the basic concepts of S-BPM and its capabilities, in particular for supporting the restructuring of processes. The next three chapters then present various case studies, e.g. at an SME offering the production of atypical, unique and special purpose machinery, equipment and technologically complex units particularly useful in the automotive and electronic industries; and at a further SME producing highly-customized floor cleaning machines. Rounding out the coverage, the last two chapters summarize the achievements and lessons learned with regard to the road ahead. Overall, the book provides a realistic portrait of the status quo based on current findings, and outlines the future activities to be pursued in order to establish stakeholder-centred digital production systems. As such, developers, educators, and practitioners will find both the conceptual background and results from the field reflecting the state-of-the-art in vertical and horizontal process integration.

Asia is rapidly developing a wide variety of regional organisations and interactive patterns, reflecting in large part its increasing role in the global economic and political engagements. Higher education constitutes a distinct sphere of activity within this overall pattern of regionalization.