The impact of deposit insurance on the risk-taking willingness of banks: evidence from US Banks in the post-crisis period

A permanent increase in the maximum amount covered by the FDIC in the USin2010 following the financial crisis raised concerns that a larger safety net would foster moral hazard and risk taking among banks. Counterintuitively, this study finds a decreasing risk in ess of banks after the FDIC increase. This holds true for standalone bank risk and stock return volatility of publicly traded banks. Explicitly, the introduction of the higher coverage amount in creased the average bank’ sz- score and thus its distance from insolvency. However, this effect may also be caused by other regulations like higher capital ratio requirements and a more expansive monetary policy

Biophilic design and office planting: a case study of effects on perceived health, well-being and performance metrics in the workplace

The philosophy of building ‘lean’ workplaces, to maximise occupant performance, has seen an increase in the stripping away of nature within the built environment. However, the biophilia hypothesis indicates that a severance in human connection with nature can lead to significant reductions in human health, well-being and performance. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent introducing and removing living potted plants within an office environment can affect occupants’ perceived health, well-being and performance metrics. The experiment was set up in a modern office building in Reading, UK, where 40 occupants took part across 19 offices within the premises and planting was introduced (on average 2 potted plants per person in offices, and 8 in break-out spaces). Changes in occupants’ perceived health, well-being and performance-related metrics were tested using qualitative and quantitative questionnaires. Whether the location of planting (office or break-out spaces) impacted measured parameters as well as office occupants’ satisfaction with the work environment was also investigated. The introduction of plants into individual offices had a significant positive effect on occupants’ perceived attention, creativity and productivity; plants’ removal elicited a significant negative effect in perceived attention, productivity, stress and efficiency. Introducing plants in offices or break-out spaces had no significant effect on perceived health, tiredness, motivation or well-being. Furthermore, interactions with plants during break times had no significant effect on perceived performance metrics. Results showed occupants wanted an increase in visual and physical access to living plants within their offices. A positive relationship was observed between plant introduction into offices (but not break-out spaces) and overall satisfaction with office design. This study showed occupants to have improved satisfaction with their overall workplace environment when they have physical and visual access to plants within their individual offices and break-out spaces

Diagnosis-oriented support in inclusive mathematics on the primary level – professionalization through reflective practice in teacher education

Für den inklusiven Unterricht ist es von großer Bedeutung, dass Lehrkräfte individuelle Potenziale und Fähigkeiten aller Schüler*innen erkennen, fördern und (weiter)entwickeln. Bereits in der ersten Phase der Lehrer*innenbildung können Lehrveranstaltungen so gestaltet werden, dass grundlegende und handlungsnahe Kompetenzen zu Diagnose und Förderung erworben und gleichzeitig eigene Professionalisierungsprozesse reflektiert werden können. Der Beitrag stellt die Konzeption von Lehrveranstaltungen vor, die die (reflexive) Vermittlung fach- und fachdidaktischer sowie pädagogischer Wissensbereiche und reflektierter Praxiserfahrungen in der Diagnose und Förderung von Kindern mit besonderen Schwierigkeiten zum Ziel haben. Die Begleitforschung der Lehrveranstaltungen fokussiert über einen Fragebogen mit offenen und geschlossenen Items die retrospektive Selbsteinschätzung des eigenen Kompetenzzuwachses der Studierenden. Die Ergebnisse der qualitativen und quantitativen Auswertung zeigen, dass in den fachbezogenen Lehrveranstaltungen der Kompetenzzuwachs facettenreich wahrgenommen wird und dies sowohl im Bereich des Wissens als auch des Handlungspotenzials. Zudem zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass mit Varianten solcher Veranstaltungskonzepte, die vergleichbare zentrale Gestaltungselemente aufweisen, ähnliche Ziele erreicht werden können. (DIPF/Verlag)For teaching in inclusive settings, teachers have to identify, support, and develop the individual potentials and abilities of all pupils. Even in the first phase of teacher education, courses can be designed in that way, that basic and action related competencies with respect to diagnosis and support can be acquired, and at the same time own professionalization processes can be reflected. The paper presents the central ideas of teacher education courses that aim at (reflective) education of content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge as well as reflective practical experiences with respect to diagnosis and support for pupils with specific difficulties. For the accompanying research of the courses a questionnaire with open and closed items was used, focusing on the retrospective self-assessment of student teachers own competence development. The results of the qualitative and quantitative analysis show that the reported increase of competencies in the subject specific courses is perceived multifaceted, and this is true for the field of knowledge as well as for the potential for action. Moreover, the results show that variations of course conceptions with similar central design elements might reach comparable objectives