The Enron Pension Jigsaw: Assembling Accountable Corporate Governance by Fiduciaries

This article explores the extent to which the potential and actual conflicts of interest that pervade pension fund administration and investment have influenced the corporate governance activities of these funds. The exploration of these issues is situated in the context of the events surrounding the collapse of Enron and the devastating effects of that collapse on the pension rights of Enron\u27s employees. The ability of conflicts of interest to influence outcomes in respect of corporate governance activity, as well as the degree of imprudence exhibited in the permitted investment choices of certain retirement plans, raises concerns about the efficiency of fiduciary duty as a means to control these conflicts

Is Your Defined-Benefit Pension Guaranteed?: Funding Rules, Insolvency Law and Pension Insurance

Defined-benefit pension plans do not offer complete security; there are policy alternatives that would clarify this and are more likely to improve pension security than would the much-discussed options of reforming insolvency law or the constitutionally complex process of negotiating the introduction of a national pension benefit guarantee scheme

An Illustrated Memoir and Historical Account of the Creation of the Orono Bog Boardwalk

In this account, the author describes how he was inspired to build the Orono Bog Boardwalk, the early planning and complex three-year building process, and the boardwalk’s first two years of operation. The most challenging part of the endeavor occurred before actual construction and installation. Much preparation had to be done, including but not limited to (1) marshaling community support, (2) engineering and drawing plans, (3) fundraising and soliciting free building materials and professional services, (4) writing applications for permits from local, state, and federal authorities, (5) choosing and surveying a boardwalk route, (6) engaging groups and individual volunteers to build it, (7) drafting and negotiating an agreement between the three organizations that I chose to have formal responsibility for constructing and governing it, and (8) setting up an endowment whose earnings would be available for ongoing maintenance and operation

Reflections on Representation in Australian Superannuation Governance

Studies have shown that pension fund governance has a measurable effect on returns on investment, thus the regulation of pension fund governance is an important issue for governments that provide substantial tax concessions to employment based pension schemes and rely on them to provide retirement income for their older citizens. Australia has a rapidly growing defined contribution superannuation scheme funded by mandatory contributions from employers. The governance of these schemes is primarily in the hands of a board of directors of a corporate trustee. For funds sponsored by certain industries the legislation mandates equal numbers of directors appointed by employers and by unions, these “industry funds” are operated on a non-profit basis. A proposal to change the governance arrangements of superannuation schemes has been adopted by the newly elected federal government in Australia. The proposal would require one-third of the directors of industry superannuation schemes to be “non-associated” or “independent” of any connections with the employers, unions or financial institutions involved and remove the equal representation requirement from industry funds. The article is critical of these changes because the justifications offered for the change offer a weak, abstract explanation of its necessity; provide no elucidation of a concrete, measurable goal by which to determine whether the change has produced the desired result; and fail to generate a persuasive narrative about why independence offers value in the context of superannuation fund governance. While “independence” of directors is considered to be important in the governance of corporations, this is seen as a solution to the collective action problems of dispersed shareholders in supervising management. However, superannuation scheme members have an alternative means of addressing collective action problems through the union’s appointment of directors and the unions have the resources and coordination necessary to protect plan members’ interests in the scheme. As well, superannuation scheme members will not have the power to remove the independent directors, unlike the shareholders of a corporation who can use their voting rights to hold director to account. To summarise the concerns, these non-associated directors — adrift from all but the most formal legal ties to the scheme members — will gravitate towards those with the power of appointment, and be vulnerable to capture by the full-time management of the scheme, because of insufficient resources and lack of information necessary to act as an effective constraint on their actions. The lack of a robust system of accountability to members will compound these problems

MP765: Creating the Orono Bog Boardwalk: A Facility for Education, Research, and Recreation

A memoir by Dr. Ronald Davis detailing the creation of the Orono Bog Boardwalk. The Orono Bog Boardwalk is a premier destination in the Bangor/Orono area for persons wishing to experience the beauty and fascinating plants and animals of a Maine bog. The 1-mile boardwalk loop trail begins at the forested wetland edge in the Bangor City Forest, and after 800 feet crosses the Orono town line into the portion of the Orono Bog owned by the University of Maine. Along the way the boardwalk passes through a wide range of changing vegetation and environments on its way to the open, peat moss carpeted center of the Orono Bog.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_miscpubs/1040/thumbnail.jp

TB146: The Eccentric Bogs of Maine: A Rare Wetland Type in the United States

The specific objectives of this project were to (1) map the distribution in Maine of eccentric bogs; (2) map the surface physical features and vegetation of a large sample of Maine\u27s eccentric bogs; (3) determine for these bogs the vascular plant, bryophyte, and lichen flora; types and structure of vegetation; peat interstitial water chemistry; relationships between vegetation-flora and water chemistry; subsurface features relating to origins and development; and (4) evaluate the bogs for their unique and exemplary characteristics an d recommend certain of them to the Maine Critica l Areas Program for designation as Critical Areas.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1203/thumbnail.jp

TB170: The Flora and Plant Communities of Maine Peatlands

The objectives of this study are (1) to classify and describe the plant communities of Maine peatlands, (2 ) to demonstrate the relationships between the communities, (3) to characterize the communities in terms of physical and chemical variables, (4) to show the geographic distribution of the communities, (5) to investigate the relationships between plant communities and peatland geomorphic/hydrologic types, (6) to report the areal cover of vegetation cover-types (aggregated communities ) for individual peatlands, and (7) to document the flora of Maine\u27s peatlands, including vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1046/thumbnail.jp

TB175: A Numerical Method and Supporting Database for Evaluation of Maine Peatlands as Candidtate Natural Areas

In Maine, non-tidal peatlands comprise the last major terrestrial ecosystem group remaining largely undisturbed by humans, and for which there still exists a full range of options for protection in near-pristine condition. To make the best choices of areas to protect, ecologically based prioritization of candidate natural areas is needed. This technical bulletin presents a quantitative method of evaluation of the natural features of peatlands—providing the fundamental tool for establishing peatland protection priorities. We apply the method to the evaluation of 76 Maine peatlands representing all the morphologic/hydrologic peatland types in the biophysical regions of the state.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1033/thumbnail.jp

Late Wisconsin and Holocene Geological, Botanical, and Archaeological History of the Orono, Maine Region

Guidebook for field trips in east-central and north-central Maine: 66th annual meeting October 12 and 13, 1974: Trip B-

TB88: Descriptive and Comparative Studies of Maine Lakes

This is a descriptive and comparative study of 17 lakes in Maine. The major objectives of this study are (1) to characterize the pelagial zone of the lakes physically, chemically, and biologically, (2) to assess bacterial pollution, (3) to compare the lakes to each other and classify them trophically, and (4) to compare the lakes to others in different geographic regions.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1117/thumbnail.jp