Alternative Garantien bei Lebensversicherungen

Seit einiger Zeit werden fondsgebundene oder anderweitig kapitalmarktgebundene Versicherungen mit einer Garantieleistung angeboten. Die Garantie bezieht sich oft darauf, dass dem Kunden zum Fälligkeitszeitpunkt eine Summe in Höhe der gezahlten Beiträge zur Verfügung steht . Dies ist auch bei der Höchststandsicherung der Fall, sofern das Fondsguthaben nicht zu bestimmten, vertraglich festgelegten Zeitpunkten in der Vergangenheit höher war – diese werden dann für die Zukunft garantiert. Denkbar sind aber auch andere Varianten, die die Sicherung des Beitrags in Höhe von 0-100% erlauben. Im Ergebnis bieten diese neuen Produkte also Vorteile für den Versicherungsnehmer als Anleger, da er Chance auf Kapitalmarkterträge hat, ohne jedenfalls in vollem Umfang das damit verbundene Anlagerisiko zu tragen. Dazu werden moderne Finanzinstrumente und Asset-Management-Strategien eingesetzt, die sich ohnehin nur mit relativ geringen Zinsgarantien vertragen und mit denen ein Transfer der entsprechenden Risiken auf den Kapitalmarkt einhergeht, was aus Sicht des Versicherers auch dazu dient, die bilanziellen Anforderungen an die Kapitalausstattung zu reduzieren . Damit ergibt sich für den Versicherer die Möglichkeit, sich Risiken zu entledigen, die er bei klassischen Lebensversicherungen bilanztechnisch mit Rückstellungen versehen und für die er Eigenmittel vorhalten muss. Dabei zeigt jedoch schon der Umstand, dass ein Teil dieser Produkte überwiegend aus dem Ausland heraus angeboten wird, die Konfliktträchtigkeit mit deutschem Bilanz- und Aufsichtsrecht auf, das von dem Gedanken größtmöglicher Sicherheit geprägt ist, der in einer sehr weitgehenden Regulierung seinen Ausdruck findet. Dieser Konflikt setzt sich auf der Ebene des Vertragsrechts fort. Kann dem Versicherungsnehmer zugemutet werden, nur eine endfällige Garantie eingeräumt zu bekommen, die gerade nicht greift, wenn er vorzeitig kündigt? Ist es möglich, und wenn ja wie weit, dass Kapitalerträge einer individuellen Zurechnung weitgehend entzogen werden, um eine Rücklage für künftige Verluste zu bilden? Hier streiten Produktgestaltungsfreiheit und Verbraucherschutz als, wenn man die entsprechende Diskussionen verfolgt, scheinbar unversöhnliche Gegenpole um den Vorrang. Eine Position ist die, dass durch eine transparente Information die Anwendung entsprechender materieller Kontrollmaßstäbe entbehrlich werde. So wurde durch die Dritten Versicherungsrichtlinien von 1992, etwa RL-Leben 92/96/EWG, den Versicherern die Pflicht auferlegt, vor Abschluss eines Vertrages den potentiellen Versicherungsnehmern Verbraucherinformationen zuzuleiten. Gegenstimmen verweisen auf das Ziel des Verbraucherschutzes, der es auch rechtfertigen soll, bestimmte Produktgestaltungen als solche zu verhindern. Beide Positionen erscheinen dabei in ihrer Absolutheit angreifbar. Eine Aufklärung in transparenter Form kann bestimmte Nacheile allenfalls dann aufwiegen, wenn sich das Leistungsprofil und auch das Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis für mehrere Produkte vergleichen lassen. Bei komplexen Versicherungs- bzw. Anlageprodukten ist kaum zu erwarten, dass Versicherungsnehmer die Fähigkeit oder – das wird oft unterschlagen - zumindest die Zeit haben, sich in derart komplizierte Zusammenhänge einzufinden. Andererseits ist es auch nicht überzeugend, Abweichungen von bestimmten, konservativen Produktgestaltungen von vornherein die Existenzberechtigung abzusprechen. Dabei spielt insbesondere der Zusammenhang mit dem sehr restriktiven Aufsichtsrecht eine überragende Rolle. So richtete sich die Produktgestaltung lange Zeit nach der Aufsichtsbehörde aus, die den Geschäftsplan, der für die vertragliche Leistung relevant war, zu genehmigen hatte. Nach der diesbezüglichen Deregulierung ist es aber gerade nicht statthaft, die althergebrachten Formen der Lebensversicherung für einzig maßgeblich zu halten. Gerade bei neuen Produkten, die sich einer eindeutigen rechtlichen Einschätzung entziehen, muss die methodische Ableitung der Ergebnisse an die Stelle der Orientierung an althergebrachten Grundsätzen treten. Dabei ist vertragsrechtlich der erste Anknüpfungspunkt die AGB-Kontrolle, die auf die Angemessenheit abstellt. Jedoch liegt die Auslegungsbedürftigkeit dieses Begriffes auf der Hand. Wortlaut und Systematik des VVG zur Lebensversicherung bieten dabei wenig Hilfestellung, eher zeugt es von eigener Hilflosigkeit des Gesetzgebers, wenn umfangreich auf „anerkannte“ Grundsätze oder aufsichtsrechtliche Kategorien verwiesen wird, die ihrerseits unklar sind oder in ihrer vermeintlichen Klarheit ins Wanken geraten. These der vorliegenden Arbeit ist dann in diesem Zusammenhang, dass sich all diese rechtliche Probleme lösen lassen, indem auf die jeweils einschlägigen Geschäftstypen abgestellt wird und aus deren Eigenheiten Rückschlüsse gezogen werden. Um eine rechtliche Einordnung überhaupt vornehmen und Anwendungsfälle verwandter Rechtsinstitute ausscheiden zu können, ist es insbesondere im Vertragsrecht anerkannte Vorgehensweise, eine typologische Betrachtung anzustellen und in deren Rahmen auf typische Merkmale abzustellen . Grundlage derselben ist die Annahme, dass keine festen Merkmale der Versicherung und anderer Geschäfte existieren, sondern nur bestimmte Kriterien, die nicht allesamt vorliegen müssen, sondern dazu dienen, eine Wertung vorzunehmen, inwieweit welcher Vertragstyp vorliegt . Diese Kriterien ergeben sich aus empirisch vorhandenen Geschäftsmodellen, aber auch der Normierung durch den Gesetzgeber – der allerdings seinerseits maßgeblich auf den realen Rechtsverkehr abstellt . Die typologische Wertung ist also darauf gerichtet, sich vor allem an der Gesamtheit der gesetzlichen Regelungen zu dem Vertragstyp zu orientieren, selbst wenn sie disponibel sind . Insbesondere ist es statthaft, den Vertragstyp davon abhängig zu machen, ob die damit verbundenen Rechtsfolgen sachlich angemessen sind . Damit ist der Weg der weiteren Untersuchung schon vorgezeichnet: Erst einmal müssen die empirischen Merkmale der Produkte herausgearbeitet werden, um sie dann normativen Typen zuordnen zu können. Aus den dazu geltenden Grundsätzen lassen sich rechtliche Folgerungen ableiten, die idealerweise mit dem Parteiwillen übereinstimmen und die typologische Einordnung bestätigen

Vi er alle annerledes: fokussamtaler med noen pedagoger om annerledeshet og normaliseringsmakt i barnehagen.

Dette er en masteroppgave i barnehagepedagogikk fra Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus, Norge. Jeg har valgt å kalle oppgaven: «Vi er alle annerledes: fokussamtaler med noen pedagoger, om annerledeshet og normaliseringsmakt i barnehagen». Tittelen baserer seg på temaet for oppgaven, fenomenet annerledeshet, hvor jeg gjennom refleksjoner ønsker å utfordre normalitetens hegemoni. Jeg har jobbet som barnehagelærer i 17 år. De senere år har jeg registrert et stadig økende fokus på kartlegging, mål- og resultatstyring. Barn blir i større grad enn tidligere kartlagt og kategorisert, med et mål om å hjelpe barnet. Jeg har opplevd utviklingen som påfallende, og jeg har undret meg over hva som egentlig kan karakteriseres som normalt? Hvordan påvirker stat, barnehageeier og pedagoger maktstrukturene rundt hva som defineres som annerledes, og hva som defineres som normalt i barnehagen? Min interesse for annerledeshet er basert på mine erfaringer som barnehagelærer, og egne erfaringer med en søster som var «annerledes». For å hjelpe meg å utforske fenomenet annerledeshet, hadde jeg vinteren 2012 og våren 2013 til sammen tre fokussamtaler med fem pedagoger. Fokussamtalene med pedagogene var lærerike og nyttige, og gav grunnlag for analysene mine. Områder som stod frem etter analysen og som jeg har reflektert noe over mot slutten av oppgaven er: pedagogisk klokskap, teknisk pedagogikk og sammenligningsmakt. Oppgaven har et teoretisk fundament. Teksten er basert på Kristevas tanker om fenomenet annerledeshet, og Foucaults tanker om begrepet normaliseringsmakt. Poesi blir, i deler av oppgaven, brukt som forsterkere av temaet. Annerledeshet har opptatt meg både profesjonelt og personlig, og jeg har valgt å bruke fortellinger fra eget liv for å understøtte teksten.This is a master thesis in Early Childhood Education from the University of Oslo and Akershus, Norway. I have chosen to call the thesis «We are all different: Focus group conversations with some educators, about otherness and normalizing power in pre-school». The title is based on the theme for this thesis, the phenomenon otherness, where I through reflection, wants to challenge the hegemony of normality. I have been working as a pre-school teacher for 17 years. Over the last years I have registered an increasing focus on mapping-, goal- and result management. Children are, more than previously, mapped and categorized, with a goal to help the child. This has been a striking experience, and I have wondered, what can be characterized as normal? How does the state, the municipality and the educators affect the power structures of what can be defined as otherness, and what can be defined as normal in a pre-school. My interest for otherness is based on my experiences as a teacher in pre-school, and my own experiences with a sister that was «different». To help me explore the phenomenon otherness, I had three focus group interviews in 2012/2013, with five educators in pre-school. The focus group conversations gave useful reflections, and my analyses are based on text from the conversations. Interesting areas was visible after the analyses. These areas I have reflected in the end of the thesis. The areas are: educational wisdom, technical education and power comparison. This thesis has a theoretical foundation. The text is based on Kristevas thoughts of the phenomenon otherness, and Foucaults thoughts of the term normalizing power. In parts of the thesis, I also use elements of poetry as amplifiers in the text. I have both professional and personal involvement in the phenomenon otherness. That is why I also use stories from my own life in the text.Master i barnehagepedagogik

Odor Evaluation and Gas Emission from Manure of Dairy Heifers Fed High/Low - Forage Quality and High/Low-Concentrate Diets

A heifer feeding trial evaluated the impact of high/low forage quality and high/low concentrate level nutrient-balanced diets on simultaneous odor and gas emissions from the manure. Gas concentration was determined using an infrared photoacoustic analyzer over a 24-hour period using a steady-state flux chamber setup containing urine:feces as-excreted from eight individual heifers. Odorous air samples were collected from chamber headspace and evaluated by six human assessors for pleasantness, intensity and detection threshold using a forced-choice dynamic olfactometer. Ammonia emission ranged from 0.64 to 3.94 mg NH3 cm-2 d-1 across diets. Average ammonia emission from the low concentrate (80% forage) diets (2.11 mg NH3 cm-2 d-1) was larger than the high concentrate (20% forage) diets (1.69 mg NH3 cm-2 d-1), but not significantly different. Carbon dioxide emission was significantly higher (p= 0.0143) in the low concentrate diets. There was a linear increase of methane emission as reduced quality forage (corn stover) was increased in the low-concentrate diet (p = 0.030). Nitrous oxide emissions were similar and low in all diets. Highest average odor emission (8.58 OU m-2 sec-1) was from the low concentrate, high forage quality (80% corn silage) diet while lowest emission (5.01 OU m-2 sec-1) was measured when forage quality was reduced (32% silage; 48% stover). Odor emission tended to be reduced with lower quality forage diets, but with no significant difference. The volume of feces produced from the high concentrate diet was about half that from the low concentrate diet heifers. But total manure produced by the high concentrate diet heifers was 23% higher due to increased urine production

Ammonia Emission, Manure Nutrients and Egg Production of Laying Hens Fed Distiller Dried Grain Diets

A USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Conservation Innovation Grant project coordinated by the United Egg Producers (UEP) conducted concurrent demonstrations in Iowa and Pennsylvania (PA) at commercial laying hen facilities. The goal was to document manure nutrient and gas emission improvements through the use of dried distiller’s grain with solubles (DDGS) diets and/or other dietary modifications while maintaining or improving hen productivity. Results of the PA trial are presented here. Diets containing 10% corn DDGS with (D+P) or without (D) the probiotic Provalen™ were compared to a corn-soybean based control diet (CON). The isocaloric, amino acid balanced diets were fed to three groups of 39,800 Lohmann hens in one house. Hens were 20-65 wk of age with each diet provided to 2 of 6 rows of stacked cages with manure belts (six decks high). Feed intake, water consumption, hen body weight (BW), egg production (EP,) egg case weight, mortality, feed cost (FC), and egg income (EI) were provided weekly by the cooperating egg company. Replicated monthly data, including egg weight (EW), albumen height (AH), Haugh units (HU), yolk color (YC), shell strength (SS) and shell thickness (ST), were determined from eggs collected from six 4-cage sections of hens on each diet. Replicated monthly samples of hen manure (fresh and from storage) were analyzed for moisture and major nutrients. Ammonia (NH3) gas measurements utilized a non-steady state flux chamber method coupled with photoacoustic infrared gas analyzer. There was no clear trend in the magnitude of NH3 emissions relative to the diets within the hen house as measured on the manure belt. At 32 and 36 wks of age, NH3 emissions were significantly (P \u3c 0.10) higher in D while D+P and CON were lower and similar. At 48 and 52 wks, NH3 emissions from D were similar to D+P and significantly lower than CON. Emission rate from belt manure averaged 0.42 ±0.025 g bird-1 d-1 for all treatments and dates. There was no significant impact of diet on BW, EW, HU, SS, or ST (P =0.10 to 0.66), however, CON hens had lower EP, AH, and YC compared to D and D+P hens (P=0.05). Fresh manure total phosphorus (P2O5) was higher for CON samples (P \u3c 0.05) while other major agronomic nutrients and moisture were not significantly different among treatments. Stored CON manure samples had increased moisture and NH4-N compared to those of D and D+P treatments (P \u3c 0.10). Weekly EI minus FC averaged $6,146,$6,215, and $6,209 for the CON, D, and D+P diets, respectively

Allelic variation in rice \u3ci\u3eFertilization Independent Endosperm 1\u3c/i\u3e contributes to grain width under high night temperature stress

A higher minimum (night-time) temperature is considered a greater limiting factor for reduced rice yield than a similar increase in maximum (daytime) temperature. While the physiological impact of high night temperature (HNT) has been studied, the genetic and molecular basis of HNT stress response remains unexplored. We examined the phenotypic variation for mature grain size (length and width) in a diverse set of rice accessions under HNT stress. Genome-wide association analysis identified several HNT-specific loci regulating grain size as well as loci that are common for optimal and HNT stress conditions. A novel locus contributing to grain width under HNT conditions colocalized with Fie1, a component of the FIS-PRC2 complex. Our results suggest that the allelic difference controlling grain width under HNT is a result of differential transcript-level response of Fie1 in grains developing under HNT stress. We present evidence to support the role of Fie1 in grain size regulation by testing overexpression (OE) and knockout mutants under heat stress. The OE mutants were either unaltered or had a positive impact on mature grain size under HNT, while the knockouts exhibited significant grain size reduction under these conditions

Evaluation of odor emissions from amended dairy manure: preliminary screening

Manure amendments have shown variable effectiveness in reducing odor.  Twenty-two amendments were applied to dairy manure then evaluated for odor reduction efficacy after storage at 20℃ for 3 d and 30 d.  Amendments represented differing primary modes of action including: microbial digestive, oxidizing, disinfecting, masking, and adsorbent.  Each amendment was added to 2 kg dairy manure (1:1.7 urine:feces; 12% total solids) following recommended rates.  In this preliminary screening, one sample (n=1) of each amendment was evaluated along with untreated manure (Control).  Odor emission from each treated manure and Control was estimated twice by five or six qualified odor assessors (n=10 or 12) after each storage duration, using an international standard for triangular forced-choice olfactometry.  Odor quality was defined using hedonic tone, Labeled Magnitude Scale and ASTM methods for supra-threshold odor intensity, and an odor character wheel for descriptors.  For selected treatments, odor emissions were significantly reduced relative to Control at 30 d versus 3 d incubation (P<0.0001).  However, no amendment was significantly effective for both incubation times.  Likewise, for all amendments tested, aging the manure slurry for 30 d significantly reduced odor emission and odor intensity (P<0.0001).  A proprietary microbial amendment (Alken Enz-Odor + Clear Flo: aerobic/ facultative microbes with growth factors), disinfectant (hydrogen peroxide), and masking agent (Hyssopus officinalis essential oil) provided significant short-term control of odor (P <0.06).  However, after 30 d seven amendments significantly increased odor emission (P<0.02) while only two amendments offered a significant efficacy (P<0.0001): a proprietary microbial aerobic/facultative product (Bio-Regen) and a proprietary mix of chemicals (Greaseater), both with weekly re-application.  Hedonic tone observations suggested an improvement to “slightly to moderately unpleasant” smell versus untreated manure for all amendments except clinoptilolite zeolite adsorbent.  Hedonic tone improvement was correlated with reduced manure odor supra-threshold intensity.Keywords: odor, hedonic tone, odor strength, amendments, additives, dairy manure, United States of Americ

Manure amendments for mitigation of dairy ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions: preliminary screening

 Amendments can be practical and cost-effective for reducing ammonia [NH3] and greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions from dairy manure.  In this study, the effect of 22 amendments on NH3 and GHG carbon dioxide [CO2], methane [CH4] and nitrous oxide [N2O] emissions from dairy manure were simultaneous investigated at room temperature (20℃).  Dairy manure slurry (2 kg; 1:1.7 urine: feces; 12% total solids) was treated with various amendments, representing different classes of product, following the suppliers’ recommended rates.  In this screening of products, one sample of each amendment was evaluated along with untreated manure slurry with repeated measurements over 24 h.  Gas emissions were measured after short (3 d) and medium (30 d) storage duration using a photoacoustic multi-gas analyzer.  Six amendment products that acted as microbial digest, oxidizing agent, masking agent or adsorbent significantly reduced NH3 by >10% (P = 0.04 to <0.001) after both 3 and 30 d.  Microbial digest/enzymes with nitrogen substrate appeared effective in reducing CH4 fluxes for both storage times.  Most of the masking agents and disinfectants significantly increased CH4 in both storage periods (P = 0.04 to <0.001).  For both CH4 and CO2 fluxes, aging the manure slurry for 30 d significantly reduced gas production by 11 to 100% (P<0.001).  While some products reduced emissions at one or both storage times, results showed that the ability of amendments to mitigate emissions from dairy manure is finite and re-application may be required even for a static amount of manure.  Simultaneous measurement of gases identified glycerol as a successful NH3 reduction agent while increasing CH4 in contrast to a digestive-microbial product that significantly reduced CH4 while enhancing NH3 release.Keywords: methane, greenhouse gas, emission, amendment, additive, dairy manure, ammonia, mitigatio