Mark E. Burbach

THE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS: A FIELD STUDY OF ELECTED OFFICIALS

Participants were 80 elected public officials in the United States and 3-6 direct-report staffers for each leader. Together they composed 388 leader-member dyads. The authors surveyed them to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership. The authors considered the 80 officials as leaders and the staffers as members. The present results showed that the emotional intelligence of the leaders shared significant variance with self-perceptions and rater-perceptions of transformational leadership. The present results also somewhat support the predictive value of emotional intelligence in antecedent leadership field research.

Deficient Critical Thinking Skills among College Graduates: Implications for leadership

Although higher education understands the need to develop critical thinkers, it has not lived up to the task consistently. Students are graduating deficient in these skills, unprepared to think critically once in the workforce. Limited development of cognitive processing skills leads to less effective leaders. Various definitions of critical thinking are examined to develop a general construct to guide the discussion as critical thinking is linked to constructivism, leadership, and education. Most pedagogy is content‐based built on deep knowledge. Successful critical thinking pedagogy is moving away from this paradigm, teaching students to think complexly. Some of the challenges faced by higher education moving to a critical thinking curricula are discussed, and recommendations are offered for improving outcomes.

Cultivating Leadership: The Need for Renovating Models to Higher Epistemic Cognition

More than ever before, people are reevaluating their lives and work as they search for deeper meaning. This “self-actualization” has only superficially appeared in leadership theory and research. This essay will discuss why adult development and higher levels of critical thinking in leadership is essential to effective leadership. The authors hypothesize that a “cultivated” aspect of leadership is currently lacking in leadership theory and research and is essential to leader and follower development. Additionally, the authors envision that impending organizations will necessitate more leaders with the ability to facilitate follower growth and development along these constructs.

Telework Considerations for Public Managers with Strategies for Increasing Utilization

Literature was reviewed to investigate the extent of teleworking in public organizations and to identify management strategies to encourage telework utilization. The benefits of teleworking are contrasted with its challenges. Concepts grounded in Expectancy Theory, Leonard, Beauvais and Scholl’s (1999) Meta-theory of Work Motivation, and to a lesser extent McClelland’s Needs Trichotomy (Mc Clelland, 1966) are integrated to provide support for high performance telework management strategies. These strategies include developing an inventory of diverse team skills and competencies, promoting cognitive diversity, utilizing a collaborative management style, promoting trust and unity, facilitating the use of collaborative technology, introducing interdependence to tasks, and implementing a fair reward system. Finally, conclusions with implications for management and suggestions for future research are offered.

A Theoretical Foundation for Empathy Conservation: Toward Avoiding the Tragedy of the Commons

A Theoretical Foundation for Empathy Conservation: Toward Avoiding the Tragedy of the Commons

Are Water-Related Leadership Development Programs Designed to Be Effective? An Exploratory Study.

Water resource professionals and others involved in managing water resources face increasingly complex challenges. Effective leadership development programs are needed to produce water leaders who can address these challenges. Leadership programs must be designed not simply to increase participants’ environmental and leadership knowledge but to develop in participants the requisite abilities and skills. This exploratory study determines the extent to which water-related leadership programs go beyond knowledge only, event-type workshops to determine what proportion are grounded in leadership theory, and employ developmental experiences with assessment, challenge, and support components. Results indicate that most water professionals and others seeking to develop 21 st century leadership abilities and skills to manage water resources are not getting the developmental experiences they need. Water-related leadership development programs must be grounded in evidence-based theory; provide assessment, challenge, and support; and offer a variety of developmental experiences and the opportunity to learn from experience. There is an urgent need for new or revised leadership development programs for those interested in water resource management.

Source identification of nitrate on Cheju Island, South Korea

Stable isotopes of nitrogen were used to identify sources of nitrate contamination to groundwater on Cheju, a subtropical island off the southernmost tip of the Korean peninsula. The δ15N ranges of potential animal waste and fertilizer N sources on the island were similar to those previously reported in the USA, Europe, and Africa. A total of 108 soil pore water samples were collected between January and October 1998 from fertilized soils below soybean fields and citrus groves. Low concentrations of nitrate below fertilized soybean fields indicated that it is highly unlikely that these fields contribute significant N to the groundwater problem on Cheju. The low average δ15N value of +1.9 ± 2.1‰ in pore-water nitrate and the even lower δ15N values after the fertilizer flush suggest that low levels of mineralized N are released from the bean roots or nodules. Located in the western region, the bean fields received less rainfall than the citrus groves in the southern region. Pore-water below citrus trees contained considerably higher nitrate levels, and the δ15N values became cyclically enriched after the initial fertilizer flush. Although denitrification can be expected in warm, wet soils high in organic-C content in the southern region of Cheju, it was not supported by pore-water or groundwater chemistry. Isotopic enrichment in soil pore-water is caused primarily by volatilization of ammonium-based fertilizers. Since isotopic fractionation in the soils did not exceed +4‰, source identification was possible. The dominant sources of nitrate contamination to Cheju groundwater were identified as commercial N-fertilizer applications to citrus, and, in the Seogwipo municipality, human or animal wastes.

A mixed-methods approach to assessing success in transitioning water management institutions: a case study of the Platte River Basin, Nebraska

To address increasing conflicts between surface water and groundwater users, the state of Nebraska has adopted a more localized and integrated approach in managing water resources. Integrated approaches offer promise in better managing connected water resources within the state; however, little review of the potential benefits and/or challenges of these actions has been conducted. This case study uses both qualitative and quantitative data collection efforts to take an in-depth look at how this new and innovative management system is working through the eyes of stakeholders living and working in the basin. Data collection reveals that overall the current water management system is working relatively well, even though it is still in its infancy. However, the system could be further improved by ensuring all that stakeholder interests are represented, providing increased opportunities to participate, and continuing to work toward more holistic and proactive water management.

Comparing Female and Male Response to Financial Incentives and Empathy Nudging in an Environmental Context

In the environmental context the combination of financial and non-financial incentives (specifically, empathy nudging) has been shown to be more effective than either of them individually (Czap et al., 2016). We investigate whether there are gender differences in the effectiveness of financial and non-financial incentives by using data from a framed laboratory experiment on environmental conservation behavior. Specifically, we compare the change in conservation efforts of females and males in response to financial incentives and empathy nudging applied separately and simultaneously. Our findings show that financial incentives affects males more than females, while empathy nudging affects only females. The combination of incentive and nudge lead to a synergetic effect for females, but not for males. This implies that policy makers can increase the effectiveness of environmental policy by accounting for these gender differences, especially as the number of farms headed by females in the US increases.

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING EDUCATION AND PRACTICE

Environmental plans provide an effective medium to examine the gaps between environmental planning education and practice. Although many studies have focused on the theories and procedures of environmental planning, few studies have directly addressed the education gaps in environmental planning practices. This paper provides a measurable approach to identify the environmental education gaps by evaluating environmen tal plan quality based on a set of indicators. The descriptive results indicate that major environmental education gaps exist in many region-wide, global-wide, long-term, cumulative, and strategically critical environmental elements. The regression results further highlight the factors that can reduce the gaps in environmental planning education. This study finally provides a framework of environmental planning education core courses to bridge the educational gaps.