Judging and Judgment in Contemporary Asia: Editor’s Introduction to this Special Issue

Although the figure of the wise judge may be a universal trope, respect is not automatically accorded every person who passes judgment on another. To be perceived as legitimate, judges must occupy an institutional status with the power to decide controverted cases and must have access to specialized or even sacred knowledge and moral authority. Historically, Asian judges could claim legitimacy through their connection to transcendent legal principles, such as dhamma or dao or shari’a. In contemporary Asia, however, conceptions of law and legal legitimacy have become pluralistic, contested, and contradictory. Judges may to some extent retain a connection to the sacred and the transcendent, yet that connection is no longer sufficient in itself to insulate their judgments—or their character—from criticism. How, then, can the “good judge” be distinguished from judges who fall short of the mark? In this Special Issue, five distinguished scholars explore the crisis of legitimation as it affects judging and judgment in Sri Lanka, India, China, Indonesia, and Thailand.

What Makes a Good Judge? Perspectives from Indonesia

In May 2018, Artidjo Alkostar retired from the Supreme Court of Indonesia after a judicial career spanning almost two decades. Over this period, he presided over many of Indonesia’s most prominent and controversial criminal cases and became renowned for routinely rejecting corruption appeals and increasing prison sentences. In the celebratory publications that marked his retirement, Alkostar was held up as a model judge, with senior legal figures, including Supreme Court judges, singling out his strong work ethic, integrity, simplicity of character, and firmness. Curiously absent from the list of praiseworthy attributes were pre-requisites for effective judging, including adequate legal knowledge, transparent legal reasoning and decision-making, objectivity and avoiding the perception of bias. An analysis of Alkostar’s most notorious decisions suggests that he, and the judges who served with him, did not always clearly display these pre-requisites. This article considers what this says about judging in Indonesia and what might, in practice, be the defining characteristics of a good judge there.

Assessment methods in entrepreneurship education, challenges and opportunities in developed and developing nations: a comparative study of Nigeria and England

PurposeWith the growth of entrepreneurship education adoption in higher education institutions (HEIs), the importance of assessments as a tool to gauge and enhance learning is of utmost importance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence and appropriateness of current assessment methods for engineering and technology students in Nigerian and British HEIs.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a qualitative research method with a case study approach to investigate the impact and suitability of assessment methods currently used within entrepreneurship education in Nigeria and England.FindingsThe results reveal that lecturers across both countries believed that assessment methods currently in use were appropriate, but were not uniform in its influence on learning. However, students were unanimous in that most assessment methods currently used were not effective at enhancing their learning, not very appropriate, and were not a good judge of their work and effort. The results were used in building a framework to understand the importance of assessment methods in entrepreneurship education.Originality/valueIn light of the inadequate literature, this paper covers an acute gap in the field. This will allow policymakers and different interested parties to reassess the development of suitable assessment methods to involve students as key stakeholders.

The Social Accuracy Model

The social accuracy model (SAM) is a componential model of interpersonal perception that estimates perceiver, target, dyadic, and other effects for different components or elements of accuracy. For instance, Percy may be a good judge in that she is generally accurate in her perceptions of others. As well, Taylor may be a good target in that she is generally accurately perceived by others. The SAM allows one to estimate such individual differences in components related to accuracy, bias, and generalized knowledge as well as examine moderators of such components. The present chapter provides a broad overview of the SAM, its history, and how it compares to other modeling approaches, and provides a detailed discussion of how to interpret the elements of the SAM. Finally, an appendix is provided that discusses how to create variables, analyze the model, and interpret the output from a social accuracy model analysis using R.

Characteristics of the Judge That Are Related to Accuracy

There exists a substantial body of work, dating back nearly a century, exploring individual differences in the ability to accurately judge the personality traits and characteristics of other people. While the picture of the good judge of others’ personality remains somewhat abstract, there are some characteristics that consistently bear out as important, such as intelligence and emotional stability. Overall, there are five characteristics that have been investigated as correlates of this ability: (1) cognitive functioning, (2) personality, (3) motivation, (4) gender, and (5) behavior. This chapter opens with an introduction to this area of scholarship, a brief coverage of the conceptual framework, and the definitions and measurement of accuracy. A description of the research within each of the five areas is then provided. Next, some theoretical considerations for ongoing research on the good judge are illuminated. Finally, this chapter concludes with some worthy directions for future research related to the good judge of personality.