Nigel Newbutt, Matthew M. Schmidt, Giuseppe Riva and Carla Schmidt
The purpose of this paper is to identify three key areas where autistic people may find themselves impacted through COVID-19, namely, education; employment; and anxiety.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify three key areas where autistic people may find themselves impacted through COVID-19, namely, education; employment; and anxiety.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper provides some views based on the extensive experience of using immersive technologies for the utilisation and application with autistic groups during COVID-19.
Findings
This paper offers some examples of immersive technology application that might be helpful for practitioners, services and others to consider in overcoming possible challenges faced by people with autism.
Originality/value
This opinion piece offers expert insights to the role immersive technologies and virtual reality might play during COVID-19 in the lives of autistic groups.
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Matthew Schmidt, Hannes Hobbie and Philipp Hauser
The purpose of this paper is to develop an analytical framework toward facilitating the quantitative measurement of interdisciplinary understanding regarding sustainable energy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop an analytical framework toward facilitating the quantitative measurement of interdisciplinary understanding regarding sustainable energy systems with an application in the area of capacity-building projects in higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
The analytical framework is developed using the portfolio representation measurement approach in combination with a survey questionnaire. The subsequent assessment is carried out using the statistical measure of mean signed deviation to capture variation from an established baseline across the project group and visualized via radar diagrams.
Findings
The results provide a quantitative assessment framework for evaluating the degree of interdisciplinary understanding in the project groups. The application of the framework to the DESIRE project indicates the most significant degree of variation across economic and regulatory dimensions of sustainability. Discrepancies in general and educational contexts are observed.
Research limitations/implications
The exploitable value of the results is sensitive to the derivation of composite indicators of the dimensions defined as well as the survey design. The case study was carried out on an ex-post basis, potentially biasing the results reported and limiting their interpretability and theoretical value.
Practical implications
The analytical framework can be used as a basis for assessing and engaging in discussions on interdisciplinarity understanding at the outset of capacity-building projects.
Originality/value
The contribution of this paper is practical in scope and entails the development of a quantitative framework for measuring interdisciplinarity in the specific context of capacity-building projects in the field of sustainability research in higher education institutions.
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Matthew M. Schmidt and Noah Glaser
The purpose of this paper is to present evaluation findings from a proof-of-concept virtual reality adaptive skills intervention called Virtuoso, designed for adults with autism…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present evaluation findings from a proof-of-concept virtual reality adaptive skills intervention called Virtuoso, designed for adults with autism spectrum disorders.
Design/methodology/approach
A user-centric usage test was conducted to investigate the acceptability, feasibility, ease-of-use and relevance of Virtuoso to the unique needs of participants, as well as the nature of participants’ user experiences. Findings are presented from the perspectives of expert testers and participant testers with autism.
Findings
This paper offers findings that suggest Virtuoso is feasible and relevant to the unique needs of the target population, and that user experience was largely positive. Anecdotal evidence of skills transfer is also discussed.
Research limitations/implications
The research was conducted in limited settings and with a small number of participants. Multiple VR hardware systems were used, and some experienced instability. This could be accounted for in future research by deploying across multiple settings and with a larger number of participants. Some evidence of cybersickness was observed. Future research must carefully consider the trade-offs between VR-based training and cybersickness for this vulnerable population.
Originality/value
This paper reports on cutting-edge design and development in areas that are under-represented and poorly understood in the literature on virtual reality for individuals with autism.
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This paper aims to explore why a country with significant under-investment in water infrastructure has not successfully imposed domestic water charges. Drawing on an economization…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore why a country with significant under-investment in water infrastructure has not successfully imposed domestic water charges. Drawing on an economization lens, it examines how an economy emerged in the imposition of water charges but was subsequently hidden due to their politically motivated suspension.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on documentary evidence, a theoretically informed examination of the “economization” process is set out. This examination recognizes the central role sustainability plays in water management but illustrates how sustainability must be integrated with environmental, social, economic, cultural and political factors.
Findings
The findings set out the challenges experienced by a state-owned water company as they attempt to manage domestic water charges. The paper reveals that while the suspension of water charges has hidden the “economy” within government subvention, the economic and sustainable imperative to invest in and pay for water remains, but is enveloped within a political “hot potato” bringing about a quasi-political/quasi-economic landscape.
Practical implications
The findings demonstrate how the effective and sustainable management of domestic water supply requires collaboration between multiple participants, including the government, the European Union, private citizens and the water protest movement.
Social implications
While highlighting the challenges faced by a country that has seriously under-invested in its water resources, the paper reflects the societal consequences of charging individuals for water, raising important questions about what water actually is – a right, a product or a political object.
Originality/value
Showing how an economy around domestic water supply in Ireland was revealed, but subsequently hidden in “the political”, the paper illustrates how sustainability is as much about economics and politics as it is about ecological balance and natural resources.
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Alexander von Selasinsky, Daniel Kurt Josef Schubert, Thomas Meyer and Dominik Möst
The paper aims to analyse whether experiencing a supply interruption affects the valuation of security of electricity supply.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to analyse whether experiencing a supply interruption affects the valuation of security of electricity supply.
Design/methodology/approach
A blackout in Munich, Germany, in November 2012 is utilised as a natural experiment by conducting a contingent valuation survey around two months after the event. The characteristics of the supply interruption allow for distinguishing between households that were affected by the blackout and those who were not. This provides the opportunity to compare the willingness to pay (WTP) for avoiding and the willingness to accept (WTA) for enduring a supply interruption between affected and non-affected Munich households.
Findings
The results show that households who were affected by the outage had a higher WTP for avoiding a hypothetical supply interruption. Although affected households also had a higher WTA for enduring an outage, the WTA-differences between the two groups are not statistically significant. Furthermore, the results indicate that experience with power outages can increase the perceived relevance of the policy objective “security” at the expense of the objective “environmental sustainability”.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature in three general respects. First, the assessment of the relationship between outage experience and the valuation of supply security is based on a natural experiment which avoids most of the shortcomings of previous studies. Second, the paper uses both the WTP and the WTA measure to approximate the valuation of supply security and discusses the differences in their outcomes. Third, these monetary valuations are complemented and compared with general attitudes towards a reliable electricity system.
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Carolyn MacCann, Gerald Matthews, Moshe Zeidner and Richard D. Roberts
This article provides a review and conceptual comparison between self‐report and performance‐based measures of emotional intelligence. Analyses of reliability, psychometric…
Abstract
This article provides a review and conceptual comparison between self‐report and performance‐based measures of emotional intelligence. Analyses of reliability, psychometric properties, and various forms of validity lead to the conclusion that self‐report techniques measure a dispositional construct, that may have some predictive validity, but which is highly correlated with personality and independent of intelligence. Although seemingly more valid, performance‐based measures have certain limitations, especially when scored with reference to consensual norms, which leads to problems of skew and restriction of range. Scaling procedures may partially ameliorate these scoring weaknesses. Alternative approaches to scoring, such as expert judgement, also suffer problems since the nature of the requisite expertise is unclear. Use of experimental paradigms for studying individual differences in information‐processing may, however, inform expertise. Other difficulties for performance‐based measures include limited predictive and operational validity, restricting practical utility in organizational settings. Further research appears necessary before tests of E1 are suitable for making real‐life decisions about individuals.
This chapter examines EI, presents a history of EI including the various models, and a discussion of the three streams approach to classifying EI literature. The author advocates…
Abstract
This chapter examines EI, presents a history of EI including the various models, and a discussion of the three streams approach to classifying EI literature. The author advocates for the efficacy of the Stream One Ability Model (SOAM) of EI citing previous authors and literature. The commonly used SOAM instruments are discussed in light of recent studies. The discussion turns to alternate tests of the SOAM of EI including Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs). Recommendations include an analysis of SOAM instruments, a new approach to measurement, and increased use of SJTs to capture the four-branch ability model of EI.
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Emotional intelligence (EI) has been embraced by many practitioners and academicians without clear empirical support for the construct. In this rejoinder and extension of an…
Abstract
Emotional intelligence (EI) has been embraced by many practitioners and academicians without clear empirical support for the construct. In this rejoinder and extension of an earlier comment, I highlight the importance of using methodologically defensible scientific criteria for conducting or evaluating research. I review literature demonstrating that EI models are beset with problems concerning their validity and show that support for the EI construct may be based more on tangential speculation than on empirical findings. Although I find some common positions with EI researchers such as Prati et al., I underline contradictions and inconsistencies which may cast doubt on the necessity of EI for understanding and predicting leadership effectiveness.