Promotie

Hoe sterker het belang van communiceren benadrukt wordt, des te lastiger is het om iets te zeggen. Dat is de centrale boodschap van dit proefschrift dat bestudeert hoe presidenten van centrale banken in normale tijden en in tijden van crisis spreken. Sinds de jaren negentig van de twintigste eeuw is voor centrale banken de communicatie een instrument om het monetaire beleid effectiever te maken. De achterliggende veronderstelling is dat centrale banken en het door hen gevoerde monetaire beleid transparant worden gemaakt en dat het publiek geïnformeerd zal handelen

Contested Communication; A Critical Analysis of Central Bank Speech

The more important words become, the more difficult it is to say things. This is the central message of this study on the communication by central bank presidents. Since the end of the twentieth century, central bank presidents see communication as an important means to influence expectations of their publics. In this book, we show how this happens: central bank presidents rely on fixed settings, speak at specified moments, and repeat certain words. Press conferences clearly illustrate this. This strict approach to communication, however, focuses attention on slips of the tongue and (speculative) interpretations of statements, made at planned or unplanned moments. In times of crisis, these communication ‘disturbances’ are enlarged – communication becomes severely contested. A crisis casts doubt on the legitimacy of authorities. Must we still listen to central bank presidents? Do central bank presidents say what they really think? A detailed analysis of statements by central bank presidents on the British Northern Rock and the Dutch/Belgium Fortis banks shows how central bank presidents communicate by ‘trial and error’. Everything they say can be used against them. Remaining silent is impossible, as silences can be dangerous as well. By combining philosophical and economic insights, this study not only sheds light on how communication in financial markets evolves, it also explains why communication can become contested. Instead of an instrumental understanding and usage of communication, this dissertation stresses the relevance of a critical-pragmatic perspective on financial communication

Toward social-transformative education: an ontological critique of self-directed learning

The aim of this paper is to critique the individualistic ontological premises of ‘self-directed learning’, as it has been developed in humanist education literature in the tradition of Carl Rogers. The authors suggest instead that social-transformative education and its critical social ontology serve the emancipatory promise of education better while offering the possibility to tackle the collective challenges of our time. Beginning with an analysis of Rogers’ concepts of Self, Knowledge and Society, the authors aim to show that self-directed learning fails to live up to its emancipatory promise. Instead, the paper picks up and develops on a debate in the early SDL literature between Rogers and Paulo Freire, suggesting that Freire’s ontological premises are incompatible with those of Rogers, yet better prepare students to identify and face social problems. The authors further develop this point through the cultural-historical analysis of speech of Lev Vygotsky, cementing a social understanding of the Self as the foundation of social-transformative education. The paper concludes on the implications of this analysis for educational practice

Insisting on Action in Education: Students are Unique but not Irreplaceable

Biesta distinguishes three functions of education: qualification, socialization and subjectification. We focus on subjectification. When first addressing this concept, Biesta referred to action as defined by Arendt, thereby stressing the importance of ‘the question of freedom’. More recently, the question of freedom (Arendt) is replaced by ‘the question of responsibility’ (Levinas). For Levinas responsibility is related to irreplaceability. While the concept of responsibility is valuable, we question the call upon irreplaceability in education. Actively taking responsibility where irreplaceability might not be either present or felt should be central to education. Unlike the morally clear examples invoked by Biesta, complex societal issues like the climate and refugee crisis are not accessible as an immediate appeal to a specific subject. Therefore, we propose a return to Arendt and her concept of action. Action allows and requires students to create the world anew, to take a position without pretending that the outcome can be controlled. Biesta refers to this as the impossibility of education. However, rather than repeating the theme of impossibility, we focus on the possibilities of education: there are several ways to create the world anew

Do loss profiles on the mortgage market resonate with changes in macro economic prospects, business cycle movements or policy measures?

__Abstract__ Over the years we see that mortgages with less risk of loss, due to more asset accumulation, have become more popular. We examine if this popularity resonates with macroeconomic features, business cycle movements and policy measures. Using detailed data from an important player in the Dutch mortgage market, covering 1990 to 2012, we seek to elicit the time series patterns of the loss profiles of customers. Over time we indeed find changes in loss profiles. The theoretical perspective used to situate this change in profile is prospect theory. Key findings of prospect theory are: interaction between framing of a decision, the attitude towards loss, and loss-averse behavior. Next, we find only very limited impact of changes in the macro economic situation on the loss profiles, that is, business cycle movements on the housing markets do not matter, nor do general business cycle movements. In contrast, we find that some changes in loss profiles are related to tax policy measures. Hence, we conclude that if policy makers want to stimulate loss-averse behavior through asset accumulation, they should actively encourage it

PBL and sustainable education: addressing the problem of isolation

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an innovative educational approach that dates back to the 1960s. However, the twenty-first century goal of sustainable education poses a challenge to PBL, especially as it relates to isolation. Here we discuss the underlying issue of isolation in three respects. First, the information-processing model of PBL depends on generalized skills, whereas real life problem-solving skills involve context-bound cognitive processes. Second, in all models of PBL, the focus on knowledge acquisition for a specific problem improves performance but separates education from the world at large. Third, the existing culture of measurement strengthens the aforementioned isolating effects. In response, we introduce a conceptual approach based on Hannah Arendt’s technical notion of ‘world’. We make suggestions to meet the criteria of sustainable education by reconnecting PBL to our shared world, and emphasizing a responsibility for this shared world

Waarom Burgers risico's accepteren en waarom bestuurders dat niet zien

Dit essay bestrijdt de mythe dat burgers sterk risicomijdend zijn. Deze mythe heeft in de gemeenschap van politici, bestuurders en ambtenaren nog steeds de status van waarheid. Dat lokt een tragische paradox uit: juist omdat de overheid veronderstelt dat burgers risicomijdend zijn, benadrukt ze steeds de veiligheid van haar plannen, waardoor het maatschappelijke verzet zich richt op die claims van veiligheid. Denk aan de CO2-opslag in Barendrecht of de vaccinatiecampagne tegen HPV, die leidden tot reacties waarin alleszins bescheiden risico’s werden uitvergroot om de legitimiteit van deze plannen te ondermijnen. Daarin ziet de overheid op haar beurt weer een bevestiging van de mythe, hetgeen dit tragische patroon verder versterkt. Toch is dit een verkeerde interpretatie van het maatschappelijke verzet. In essentie gaat het niet om de vaststelling van de precieze omvang van het risico, maar om de morele vraag waarom het acceptabel is om een risico aan bepaalde groepen op te leggen. Over deze morele vraag zwijgt de overheid. Haar morele pleidooi is impliciet: wij mogen u dit opleggen, omdat er eigenlijk nauwelijks sprake is van een risico. Geen wonder dat het verzet dan maar op een punt kan aangrijpen: de onderbouwing van de claim dat de risico’s bescheiden en beheersbaar zijn. Die onderbouwing kent per definitie tekortkomingen en dus zien de burgers al snel hun vermoeden bevestigd dat de overheid relevant risico’s ontkent. Deze tragische interactie mondt ook uit in wat we nu de risico-regel-reflex noemen: een disproportionele overheidsreactie op veiligheidsrisico’s en –incidenten. De overheid reageert zelf disproportioneel, maar toch ziet ze zich eigenlijk vooral als slachtoffer van dit probleem, niet als medeveroorzaker. Het zijn de anderen – de politiek, de media, maar uiteindelijk de burgers – die een disproportionele reactie zouden afdwingen. Waarom? Omdat burgers risicomijdend zijn, geen tolerantie meer zouden hebben voor pech. En daarmee zijn we weer terug bij de mythe

Fear of failure: a polynomial regression analysis of the joint impact of the perceived learning environment and personal achievement goal orientation

Background and Objectives: Alongside a strong emphasis on performance and achievement in the current higher educational system, researchers hav

When birds of the same feather fly together: the impact of achievement goal compatibility in collaborative learning

In their pursuit of student engagement and achievement, educational institutes have increasingly been implementing student-centred approaches to learning with collaborative learning. In this study, we assessed the (mis)match effects of personal and group members’ achievement goals on student engagement and performance. Students (N = 266) from 36 different groups rated their achievement goals, their group members’ achievement goals, and their engagement for a course. Their exam performance was also included in the analysis. The results of the polynomial regression analyses indicated that both the degree of the compatibility and the direction of the incompatibility in mastery goals related to engagement, while only the degree in incompatibility in mastery goals related to performance. Conversely, neither the compatibility nor the incompatibility in performance goals related to engagement or performance. The results show the importance of examining the interplay between students’ and their group members’ achievement goals for student outcomes in a collaborative learning environment