Abolishing the monarchy would remove an obstacle to genuine democracy in Britain

The United Kingdom is a democracy, but nonetheless has an unelected and hereditary Head of State in Queen Elizabeth II. Eventually, she will give way to her son, Prince Charles. Richard Ridyard argues that this state of affairs cannot be justified, and that the continuing presence of a monarch – particularly an influential one – is incompatible with democratic maturity

The government’s rehabilitation policy is in crisis due to the Justice Secretary’s ready embrace of austerity

Government rehabilitation policy is in crisis, with the Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling presiding over a series of monumental policy errors which have combined to erode prisoner rights and derail the “Rehabilitation Revolution” promised by his predecessor Ken Clarke, according to Richard Ridyard. He argues that Grayling’s devotion and justification of the Government’s austerity policies are the root cause of the crises, and calls for their reversal

Toward a Bank Shareholder-Orientated Model: Using Double Liability to Mitigate Excessive Risk-Taking

The conventional model for corporate governance depends on the rarely articulated assumption that the costs of failure are largely internalised by the firm and so are taken into account when shareholders determine their risk appetite. In this paper I argue that, when applied to banks, this view is mistaken. Banks do not internalise the costs of failure, hence the risk appetite of bank shareholders is socially excessive. I show that shareholder pressure on their management to accept greater risk can help explain the excessive risk-taking of banks. My analysis indicates that recent corporate governance reforms that attempt to tighten the alignment of managerial and shareholder interests cannot be expected to address the problem I identify. To adequately understand what policies should be explored, we must first recognise that excessive risk-taking is also partly a product of the conventional model. I therefore propose a modification to the conventional model: a regime of double liability that is triggered by bank failure. I analyse how this will reduce bank shareholders’ risk appetite and make excessive risk-taking less likely. Welfare improvement occurs because of heightened risk awareness and enhanced risk-taking controls, decreasing the likelihood of failure. Finally, examining a range of possible objections, I conclude that they do not provide a good basis for opposing a regime of double liability and the burden is now on proponents to justify the current limited liability regime for bank shareholders

Comportement et caractérisation des boues d'un système de traitement des eaux usées par étangs aérés augmentés

Le traitement des eaux usées par étangs aérés facultatifs est la méthode de traitement la plus répandue au Québec. Depuis l’adoption du ROMAEU (Règlement sur les ouvrages municipaux d’assainissement des eaux usées), plusieurs municipalités doivent faire une mise à niveau de leur station de traitement pour se conformer aux nouvelles normes de rejet, soit une concentration à l’effluent en MeS de 25 mg/L ainsi qu’une concentration en DBO5C de 25 mg/L. De plus, plusieurs stations ont, à ce jour, atteint leur vie utile et/ou leurs charges hydraulique ou organique sont dépassées. Ainsi, pour augmenter la capacité des étangs, quelques solutions ont été développées, dont le système KAMAKMC conçu par la compagnie Bionest, qui consiste en deux réacteurs à milieu fixe insérés dans un étang entre trois zones de décantation. Peu de données sont actuellement disponibles pour assurer une compréhension approfondie de ce procédé et de ses sous-systèmes. La présente étude consiste donc en l’analyse du comportement des boues au sein de cette nouvelle filière de traitement, principalement dans les zones de décantation. L’étude a été réalisée sur un système KAMAKMC installé dans le premier tiers de l’étang aéré de Grandes-Piles, en Mauricie. Le suivi de l’accumulation de boues a été effectué de mai 2016 à mai 2017 inclusivement, à raison d’une fois par mois. Les mesures ont été prises à l’aide d’une jauge à boues à différents points dans les zones de clarification. À titre de comparaison, des mesures avec un sonar ont été effectuées 3 fois durant la période du suivi (avril et octobre 2016 ainsi qu’en mai 2017). En parallèle aux mesures de hauteurs de boues, un échantillonnage a été effectué pour faire certaines analyses, dont les solides totaux (ST) et les solides totaux volatils (STV). De plus, une mesure de gaz in situ ainsi qu’en laboratoire ont été réalisées pendant la période estivale permettant de mieux caractériser la digestion anaérobie survenant dans ces zones de décantation. La température de l’eau durant la période de suivi a varié entre approximativement 2 °C et 22°C. Les taux d’accumulation trouvés pour Cl2 et Cl3 sont respectivement de 0,05m3an-1hab-1 et de 0,06m3an-1hab-1 . Par contre, la première zone de décantation possède un taux d’accumulation de boues annuel de 0. Cela suggère que l’aération fournie dans Cl1 limite l’accumulation de boues à 0,6m et que les solides primaires se déplacent vers Cl2 et Cl3. À partir du ratio STV/ST, il a été possible de remarquer qu’en température froide, le ratio était plus élevé dans les zones de décantation, tandis qu’en température chaude ce ratio était diminué. Pour la récolte de gaz in situ, des valeurs de 18 LCH4m-2d -1 et 4 LCH4m-2d -1 ont été trouvées dans ces deux zones et ils étaient composés de 62,8% de méthane en moyenne et 1,4% de CO2. Le peu de gaz carbonique est probablement attribuable à une solubilisation du gaz dans l’eau sous-jacente au montage de récolte de gaz.In Quebec, wastewaters are mostly treated with aerated facultative lagoons. Since the adoption of the Regulation respecting municipal wastewater treatment works, many municipalities need to upgrade and improve their wastewater treatment station to comply with the new requirements, which are a concentration of suspended solids (SS) less than or equal to 25 mg/L and a concentration of the 5-day carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD5) less than or equal to 25 mg/L. Moreover, many stations have arrived at the end of their operating life expectancy and other stations have even exceeded their organic loads or flowrate loads. One solution that would help these municipalities would be to improve these stations with the new KAMAKMC technology developed by Bionest. This new technology incorporates two reactors containing BIONEST® inert media placed directly in a lagoon, between three clarification zones. At this time, there is a lack of technical data to ensure a good understanding of the KAMAKMC system. The aim of the present study is to characterize sludge accumulations in this new technology, especially in the clarification zones. Tests were conducted with a KAMAKMC system installed in the first third of an aerated lagoon belonging to the municipality of Grandes-Piles, in province of Québec. Between May 2016 and May 2017, measurements of sludge accumulations are taken monthly with a sludge judge in the clarification zones. To compare these measurements, sonar testing is taken 3 times during the year (April and October 2016 and May 2017). Sludge samples are taken during the year to measure total suspended solids (TSS) and volatile suspended solids (VSS). Moreover, gas sampling equipment sits over the lagoon to retrieve samples during the summer months of 2016, to allow a better characterization of anaerobic digestion in the zones. Water temperature during this follow up was between 2°C and 22°C. The sludge accumulation rate in the second and the third clarification zones were 0,05m3y -1hab-1 et de 0,06m3y -1hab-1 . In fact, the first clarification zone had a sludge accumulation rate of 0. This indicates that aeration in the first zone was high, restraining the sludge accumulation to a value of 0,6m and that primary solids were probably displaced in the next two clarification zone due to excessive aeration. The VSS/TSS ratio indicates that in cold temperature, the ratio was constant in every zone, while during the summer months a lower ratio was observed. Values of 18 LCH4m-2d -1 and 4 LCH4m2d -1 in Cl2 and Cl3 were found with the gas collector on the lagoon. Average methane concentrations in the gas collector were 62,8% and 1,4% of CO2. The low percentage of CO2 might be caused by the gas solubilization in the water