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Fear Factor: Can We Learn to Live with Predators Among Us?
Elizabeth Grossman
As residential communities move farther into wildlife habitat and highly adaptable coyotes move into suburban and urban areas, traditional urban/rural divisions break down.
On a bright July day about 10 years ago, I set out for a hike on the steep and forested Pacific Crest Trail above the McKenzie River in the foothills of Oregon's Cascade Mountains. Rounding a switchback, I stopped at a gap in the trees to admire the distant snow-covered peaks. As I was gazing at the view, I heard a loud thwock! — the sound of something heavy moving. I turned toward the noise expecting to see a large bird or fallen limb. What I saw instead, about 20 feet away, was a thick rope of tail curved around a tree trunk, a broad tawny face, and tufted ears. At first I thought it was a fox. But I quickly realized it was a big cat. I could see the flecks in its eyes and sense the power of its muscle and mass. Unsure of what to do, I stood utterly still, holding my breath. The cougar and I eyed each other for a moment. Then the cat leapt off the tree and ran uphill through a tumble of basalt. I swiftly made my way down the trail, the words thank you and I will not be lunch running through my head.
Photo by John Harrison
I have been told that people can spend a lifetime in this part of the world without ever seeing a cougar. I have now seen two. I have also watched wolves from atop a snowy ridge in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park while a family of coyotes frolicked in a meadow nearby. I have hiked through grizzly country in the northern reaches of Montana and Wyoming, shouting, clapping, and clattering what are sometimes jokingly referred to as "bears' dinner bells." I've carried pepper spray and, once, a friend's rifle, as we bushwhacked on an Alaskan island, and have spied on a grizzly cub munching late summer willow shoots along a stream north of the Arctic Circle.
But it's one thing to encounter these powerful predators on excursions into wilderness areas and quite another to meet them in your backyard — or in a restaurant, as happened last year when a coyote wandered into a sandwich shop in downtown Chicago. Reactions to these encounters vary from a sense of privilege and wonder to fear, hostility, and an urge — well ensconced in the American tradition — to eliminate whatever might pose a threat to personal security and livelihood.
Historically, Americans have a troubled relationship with the animals at the top of the continent's food web — bears, cougars, coyotes, and wolves. Newcomers to the New World worked systematically to remove them, and attempted to trap, shoot, and poison predators into submission. We continued this agenda as we put more and more of the American landscape into urban, industrial, and agricultural development. As a result, by the mid-20th century, the lower 48 had lost most of its cougars, grizzlies, wolves, and coyotes. But in recent decades these predators have begun to rebound. During the 1960s, mountain lions were classified as game animals, and controlled hunting seasons that limited their killing were established. Then, in the 1970s, the Endangered Species Act was introduced, under which grizzlies and gray wolves were protected. By the 1990s, wolf reintroduction programs had begun in some states. At the same time, in many places, the absence of the very top predators — particularly mountain lions and wolves — allowed coyote populations to expand so that the canines are now once again found in every state but Hawaii.
"If you go back far enough," says Michael Robinson, conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, "you can see major improvements in the status of predators." Yet at the same time, says Robinson, the threats to these animals are "unprecedented."
With little undeveloped country left in the US, people and predators increasingly find themselves sharing the same fragmented habitat, and encounters have become more frequent. Consequently, we are now navigating new territory in our relationship with animals that not only have the ability to snack on small pets but also the potential to overpower and kill people and livestock. While the wilderness that defines these predators is, in many ways, more remote, imperiled, and ecologically precious than ever, these emissaries of the wild are pushing us to rethink our relationship to the land and our ecosystems. But as current debate over Oregon's cougar management plan shows, predators remain an emotional subject for both staunch defenders of the animals and those eager to defend against them.
When it comes to wolves and grizzlies, "there are so few of them," says Brian Vincent, communications director of the Earth Island project Big Wildlife, that for many people "there's a mystery or allure about them." Cougars' status as charismatic megafauna has earned them protection from hunting with dogs in Oregon and Washington, and, since the 1970s in California, protection from any sport hunting at all. Attitudes towards predators, however, very much depend on species and place, says Robinson. He points out that bears have long been a popular icon in American culture, whereas coyotes have been maligned as varmints — or as Vincent puts it, "big rats." The large outdoor outfitter Cabela's sells a whole line of "varmint/ coyote" hunting products.
Both Robinson and Vincent point to an urban/rural divide in attitudes toward predators. Vincent says there is an historical bias against predators among farmers and ranchers, as well as from hunters, who fear large populations of top predators will negatively affect game animals like deer and elk. "People moving into exurban developments," says Robinson, "may have an inordinate fear" of predators.
But Camilla Fox of Project Coyote, another Earth Island Institute-sponsored effort, notes that as residential communities move further into historical wildlife habitat, and — in the absence of their predators — highly adaptable coyotes move into suburban and urban areas, the traditional urban/ rural division begins to break down. This, she says, can provide an opportunity to help people everywhere learn to live with predators. "Coyotes," Fox says, "provide a focal point for shifting attitudes toward other large predators from what it's been in the last century."
It is against this backdrop of apprehension and reverence that Oregon legislators, wildlife agency officials, and citizens are now debating how to manage the state's growing mountain lion population. In the early 1960s, when cougars were first classified as a game animal in Oregon, there were thought to be no more than 200 left in the state. By the mid-1990s, tightly controlled hunting, and what the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) calls "fully available habitat," allowed cougar populations to increase to an estimated several thousand. Since then, Oregon voters further restricted cougar hunting by outlawing the use of dogs to hound and tree big cats. State wildlife authorities estimate Oregon's current mountain lion population to be about 5,000. "We have some of the highest density of cougars anywhere in the West, especially in southern Oregon," Roy Elicker, director of ODFW, told legislators at a hearing on September 12, 2008.
The primary objectives of Oregon's 2006 cougar management plan — managing "the state's cougar population at a level well above that required for long-term sustainability" and solving conflicts between human interests and cougars — encapsulate the issues surrounding our behavior toward predators. Are we willing to live with them? If so, how will we accommodate them while protecting our domestic animals and ourselves? If hunting is allowed, under what conditions and to what end will we allow the killing of animals more often regarded as trophies than meat? How will a conflict between humans and cougars be defined? Is seeing a mountain lion near your house a conflict, or must the animal first threaten you, your children, or your pets and livestock?
The controversy in Oregon points to the difficulty many states and local communities have had in meshing management policies with the most current findings in wildlife biology and ecology — as well as the difficulty in calming age-old fears about predators. Animal defenders like Vincent's Big Wildlife suspect that by establishing the 1993 and 1994 Oregon population levels of 3,000 cougars as "sustainable," the state wildlife agency aims to allow some 2,000 to be killed. Vincent and others
— including state representative Peter Buckley (D-Ashland) — wonder if this decision has a sound scientific basis, and if it may encourage liberalized hunting, contrary to intentions of Oregon voters.
A basic challenge of a numeric approach to managing cougars is how difficult they are to count. "It's hard to track a cryptic animal like the cougar," Robinson says. These are wide-ranging animals. An individual male cougar's territory can be anywhere from about 50 to more than 100 square miles, depending on habitat, availability of prey, and the proximity of other mountain lions. These are generally solitary animals. Siblings may stay together for several months or more after birth, but then strike out on their own, sometimes traveling as far as 100 miles from their birthplace. And it is adolescent cougars, particularly the young males, who most often get into trouble as they move into increasingly fragmented habitat.
Ron Anglin, ODFW wildlife division administrator, says that the current estimate for Oregon cougars comes from mathematical modeling based on hard data collected in the state over 14 years. "ODFW has never used complaints or anecdotal information to estimate populations," he says. "From an agency standpoint, if someone calls to say they saw a cougar, this is interesting but not significant." A cougar is counted only if there is verifiable evidence, Anglin says.
Yet assuming the estimate of 5,000 cougars is accurate, the ODFW decision to allow the killing of what could be as many as 2,000 animals remains controversial as a matter of hunting policy and also from a wildlife biology perspective. Oregon state policy allows the killing of "problem" animals, those documented to be a threat to people, pets, or livestock. In recent years, the state has also dropped the price of a cougar-hunting license from $50 to $10, which hunting opponents see as state encouragement to kill cougars. To go after cougars caught in conflict with humans, ODFW makes an exception to the state's ban on using dogs to hunt them. In the absence of available agency employees, ODFW has been deputizing citizens to take on this task. Representative Buckley questions the scientific basis of this policy and wonders, citing lobbying pressure in the legislature, whether this is a political decision — simply a way for the agency to allow otherwise banned cougar hunting with hounds — or an appropriate way to track down problem animals. Anglin assures me that the process for selecting deputized hound-hunters is rigorous, and that no killed animals can be kept by these volunteers, removing any incentive for trophy hunts. Still, wildlife advocates question whether this policy subverts the voters' intention and undermines biology in favor of hunting interests.
Recent studies of cougar behavior, including one conducted by Robert Wielgus, a biologist at Washington State University, indicate that removing young males from a cougar population where conflicts with humans were occurring did not reduce the incidence of such conflicts. Other young males simply moved into the same territory. In fact, Wielgus says, such removal can result in increased livestock depredation as more inexperienced cougars move into recently vacated territory.
Camilla Fox explains that coyotes also respond to lethal control with biological mechanisms that increase their numbers. "When [depredation] happens, they tend to have bigger litters," she says. Fox points out that removing both top predators like cougars and meso-predators like coyotes can have what she calls "a deleterious effect" on the entire ecosystem. With these predators absent, those further down the food web, such as raccoons and foxes, increase. Large populations of these animals that are not subject to natural controls can have a negative effect on ground-nesting birds and songbirds. The upshot is that taking significant numbers of young, particularly male, cougars and coyotes may not produce the desired reduction in conflicts with people and livestock, and may eventually lead to imbalances throughout a local ecosystem, including serious declines of smaller birds.
"It's a very emotional subject," Anglin says. "We don't want the population to get below 3,000 animals. If at or below 3,000, we'll stop all hunting seasons and actions." Whether this will satisfy the Oregon Farm Bureau, whose members would like to see aggressive action to reduce conflicts with livestock, remains to be seen. Yet when asked, Farm Bureau spokesperson Katie Fast says that despite a rise in cougar numbers and increased concern for safety among Farm Bureau members, there had not been any recent rise of cougar livestock depredation.
"There are people in this state who feel passionately that cougars should not be hunted or harmed under any conditions, and who feel cougars are a self-moderating population that don't need any management," says Oregon State Senator Alan Bates (D-Ashland). "On the other side are concerns about elk and deer populations, and rural communities concerned about interactions with humans." The next step, he explains, is to wait and see what the cougar population is over the next 18 months and how many are killed. "If it's 2,000, we've got a problem," Bates says. Meanwhile, Representative Buckley is calling for further scientific review of Oregon's management plan, and intends to submit a bill in the next legislative session to suspend the plan pending "better scientific understanding."
Part of that understanding, explains Fox, is shifting from lethal to non-lethal control. "Part of our message," she says of Project Coyote, "is encouraging proactive action to reduce uncomfortable encounters." Essentially, don't let the animals become habituated to feeding, whether it's on garbage, pet food, or other edibles left in the open, or even on the pets themselves. When the food is livestock, the measures are more complicated, but ranchers in wolf country have had success with nonlethal protection of sheep and cattle, especially when coupled with a compensation program. While coyotes are far more prevalent than cougars will ever be, the same holds true for these top predators, as it does for others, including the dexterous black bear. "Man is here to stay and we need to manage food for human beings first," said a citizen testifying at the September 12 Oregon hearing, weighing in on the side of aggressive predator management. But, Fox says, these are top keystone predators and an integral part of their ecosystem. The landscape has changed and these animals are adapting, she explains. "Love them or hate them, they're here to stay," Fox says.
How predators fare in the 21st century depends on how we adapt.
Elizabeth Grossman is the author of High Tech Trash. Her next book is called Redesigning the Future and will be published in 2009. Originally published on Project Coyote, a project of Earth Island Institute.


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In a move announced last month to incentivize transportation that causes less pollution, the Banco de Comercio Exterior de Colombia (Bancóldex) said that it will no longer finance public transport vehicles that operate on diesel.
The public development bank, which is based in a capital where buses crisscross the city belching out black smoke, said that its board of directors made this decision to promote transportation alternatives that are more friendly for the environment.
As it looks to expand the Transmilenio rapid bus transit system in Bogotá, the mayor's office has been fielding proposals based around new-generation buses that are said to contribute less to air quality problems than traditional options.
Bancóldex, which partnered with the regional Inter-American Development Bank last year to issue around $70 million USD (200 billion pesos) in green bonds through the national stock exchange in a move that was the first of its kind, noted that this new anti-diesel initiative applies nationwide.
This includes the second largest Colombian city, Medellín, where air quality issues reached crisis levels earlier this year, and public officials have been working on ways to lower the pollution and particulate levels in the air.
The problem was severe enough that, amid pressure from environmental groups and other stakeholders, state-controlled oil company Ecopetrol cut the sulphur levels in the diesel it was delivering to the city by 40%-50% in March, according to the company.
Just one year earlier, in March 2017, a corporate-sponsored "Green Race" that sought to raise environmental awareness in Medellín was postposed due to a citywide public "red alert" warning issued " after "air quality reached critical levels," according to Banco de Bogotá, one of the event's sponsors.
"We are participating in a cleaner alternative through this decision, which may mean a sacrifice of our financial interests but constitutes a reaffirmation of a policy in line with improving quality of life of our population," said Mario Suárez, president of Bancóldex, about the bank's decision to end financing for diesel-guzzling vehicles.


Mother's Day is a special day for both moms and kids. It's a day for kids to let their creativity shine in honor of their mom. There are so many fun ways that kids can shower their mom with love on Mother's Day – here are some fun Mother's Day brunch ideas to help inspire some creativity.
Create Homemade Placemats: Have your little ones create a personalized placemat to serve Mom's meal on. Here are some fun suggestions for creations.
Create a Menu Card: After Dad & the kids decide what they are going to make, the kids can make a cute menu card to leave on the placemat for Mom. This can include the menu and some fun drawings.
Fun Napkin Designs: With a little bit of Google research, you can create a fun folded napkin to go on Mom's food tray (for breakfast in bed) or place setting on the table.
Fruity Drinks: A plastic champagne glass can be used for a fruit smoothie creation invented by the kids.
Fresh Flowers: Setting fresh flowers on the breakfast tray or on the table is a sweet touch that any mommy would love!
Breakfast & a Show: While Mom is enjoying her special meal, the kids can put together a special talent show in her honor. This could include magic tricks, singing, dancing, poem reading, etc.
You'll also want to check out this post with links to some great FREE Mother's Day printables that you can use with your Mother's Day brunch ideas (including the free printable menu card by Amanda's Parties To Go featured in the photo above).
For more fun Mother's Day ideas, check out our Holiday Fun page and scroll down to May for the Mother's Day section.
From my family to yours, Happy Mother's Day! I hope you have a special day full of fun with your family.
We're always adding new ideas for family fun. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Bloglovin'.


United States Steel Corporation and Kobe Steel, Ltd. have announced their agreement to begin construction of a new continuous galvanizing line (CGL) at their subsidiaries' joint venture, PRO-TEC Coating Company in Leipsic, OH, in response to an increased demand for advanced high-strength steels (AHSS). The new CGL, an investment of approximately $400 million, will have a yearly capacity of 500,000 tons. This line, which will utilize a proprietary process, will be capable of coating steel that will help automakers manufacture economically lightweight vehicles to meet increasing fuel efficiency requirements while maintaining high safety standards. The line is expected to commence startup in 2019.
U.S. Steel provides its exclusive cold-rolled Generation 3 steels, which provide enhanced formability and high-strength properties while using a low-alloyed approach for robust weldability. The new CGL line will allow PRO-TEC to produce these Generation 3 steels with a hot-dipped zinc coating. Automakers can utilize these steels with their existing stamping and assembly methods to produce safe, strong and cost-effective structural components for vehicle bodies.
Of the announcement, U. S. Steel President and CEO David B. Burritt said, "This line will be the first of its kind and utilizes proprietary technology capable of producing the high-quality, cutting-edge advanced high-strength steels that will meet our automotive customers' needs and solve some of their most pressing challenges. Our Generation 3 steels continue to reinforce why steel remains the lowest cost, strongest, safest and most environmentally efficient material of choice."
Burritt added, "We are proud to be taking this step toward the future with Kobe. We thank the JobsOhio team and Ohio's regulatory authorities as well as the local, state and federal elected officials for their support of our investment."


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No One Is Paying Attention To The Way Wireless Companies Could Destroy Internet Freedom
Steve Kovach
Over the past few months, there's been a lot of anger, debate, and misinformation regarding the FCC's plans for net neutrality. Since the FCC introduced a proposal that would essentially prioritize some internet traffic over other traffic, something net neutrality advocates fear could ruin the internet.
But the irony is the debate around net neutrality largely ignores the wireless industry. As much of our computing shifts to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, wireless carriers are increasingly becoming the primary gatekeepers to the web.
Two recent moves by AT&T and T-Mobile have net neutrality advocates freaking out. In January, AT&T announced its Sponsored Data program, which lets content providers pay AT&T so usage of their apps and services don't count against a customer's data plan. In June, T-Mobile announced a plan that will let customers stream all the music they want from select services like Spotify without it counting against data plans.
With AT&T's Sponsored data, the fear is that it will allow rich companies that can afford to pay gain an unfair advantage over scrappy startups. That will, in turn, create monopolies over some services and will ultimately result in higher prices and fewer choices for consumers.
T-Mobile's case isn't as blatant of a violation against the core principles of net neutrality, but the notion remains that the carrier is inadvertently giving customers an incentive to choose one of its preferred music apps over competitors. If you're a T-Mobile customer, why would you sign up for a service like Rdio when you know you'll be able to stream all you want from Spotify without being penalized?
And while these moves seem good for the consumer in the short term, there's a chance they could set a precedent for some point in the not-so-distant future when the majority of our online activity is on mobile devices, not gadgets tethered to wired broadband.
"No one is bringing wireless into the conversation," BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield said an in interview with Business Insider. "The whole world is going wireless, and yet the big push right now is to heavily regulate what's happening on wired lines."
It's the slippery slope argument. If wireless carriers start giving preferential treatment to some apps and services now, how does that affect the playing field down the road when people rely on it for most, if not all, of their internet access? Won't the wireless carrier moves we're seeing today translate into a few services becoming so big and so dominant that others won't have a chance?
Gary Greenbaum, the CEO of Syntonic Wireless, AT&T's newest Sponsored Data partner, had an alternative take. He sees sponsored data programs like AT&T's as a better way to get content to the consumer without the consumer having to worry about eating into his or her data plan. Syntonic Wireless works with mobile content and app makers to provide their stuff to users without it counting against data plans. Greenbaum's plan is to make online mobile content more like the way TV works today — users should pay for the stuff they want to see, not necessarily the networks that deliver it.
And the little guys don't have to worry, Greenbaum said.
"I signed up for [AT&T Sponsored Data] and I'm a startup," Greenbaum said. "I'm a small company. I don't see any disadvantage in what we're doing. A lot of smaller companies come up to me and see the opportunity, too."
There are even more practical advantages to sponsored data, according to Greenbaum. For example, a school district can provide free access to an online curriculum for students who can't afford internet access at home. And businesses can pay carriers so usage of certain enterprise apps don't count against their employees' data plans.
Even though wireless net neutrality has largely been ignored in the current debate, there's a chance it could get some attention as we see more consolidation in the industry. As has been widely reported, Sprint and T-Mobile are considering a merger, and could formally start the process before the summer is over.
BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk said in an interview with Business Insider that Softbank, the Japanese telecommunications giant that owns a majority of Sprint, could throw in a lot of offers that'll make net neutrality advocates happy in order to sweeten the deal for U.S. regulators. For example, Sprint and T-Mobile could commit to offering unlimited data plans, making sponsored data plans a non-issue.
"As part of the merger discussions with companies trying to gain approval, there's an opportunity for the FCC to do some things on wireless net neutrality," Piecyk said.
Satya Nadella Is Cleaning Up Steve Ballmer's Mess
BlackBerry Is Tanking Following Apple's Big Partnership With IBM
There Are Only Three Smartphone Makers That Matter Right Now

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home	Corona Virus	Everything about 2019–20 Coronavirus Pandemic – That Wikipedia Censored
Everything about 2019–20 Coronavirus Pandemic – That Wikipedia Censored
by Jacob Blanca March 13, 2020
written by Jacob Blanca March 13, 2020
Everything about 2019–20 Coronavirus Pandemic – Wikipedia
Table of ContentsAll About Flight Centre To Close 100 Stores And Virgin To Cancel Flights …Not known Incorrect Statements About Nsw Coronavirus, Live Updates: Grand Prix Cancelled, Scg … Fascination About U.s. Coronavirus Death Toll Reaches 17; At Least Half Of U.s. …
Upgraded Flight Centre will close 100 shops throughout Australia in action to the coronavirus. In a declaration to the Australian Securities Exchange, the travel business said the "virus's spread and increased travel constraints indicate demand is softening significantly and [the] timeframe for healing is uncertain". The variety of task losses is unclear.
The business stated it was implementing other short-term methods consisting of: presenting versatile work arrangements to allow staff to switch from full-time to part timereduced trading hours in some remaining stores staff motivated to take leave during a slowdown tipped for March and Aprila recruitment freeze, and deferral of some non-essential jobs and capital expenditureThe business stated executives would also go without performance rewards. corona virus hurts economy.
Australia coronavirus response: F1 …
Coronavirus: American Airlines union …
Flight Centre's headquarters is located in South Brisbane. Today Queensland Health validated eight more cases in that state taking the total number to 35. Authorities have also approximated almost 3,000 individuals are in self-isolation in your home (flight center closes stores). epidemics-and-pandemics, air-transport, federal– state-issues, health-policy, travel-health-and-safety, occupational-health-and-safety, federal– state-issues, government-and-politics, diseases-and-disorders, infectious-diseases-other, industry, business-economics-and-finance, company-news, respiratory-diseases, brisbane-4000, qld, southport-4215, australia First posted.
Flight Centre will close 100 shops across Australia in reaction to the coronavirus. In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, the travel company stated the "virus's spread and increased travel limitations suggest demand is softening considerably and [the] timeframe for recovery is unclear". The variety of task losses is uncertain.
The company stated it was implementing other short-term strategies including: introducing versatile work arrangements to enable personnel to switch from complete time to part timereduced trading hours in some remaining storesstaff motivated to depart during a slowdown tipped for March and Aprila recruitment freeze, anddeferral of some non-essential jobs and capital expenditureThe business said executives would also go without efficiency benefits (corona virus hurts economy).
Flight Centre's head office lies in South Brisbane. Today Queensland Health confirmed 8 more cases in that state taking the total number to 35. Authorities have actually also estimated nearly 3,000 people are in self-isolation at house. Space to play or stop briefly, M to silence, left and best arrows to look for, up and down arrows for volume.
Here's the timeline of how the Coronavirus break out developed from Wuhan city in China and spreading its arms throughout the world. The variety of brand-new cases in the Netherlands grew 22% to 614 on Thursday, according to health authorities. The Dutch National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) noted that 273 of the infections remain in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.
An overall of 2,968 cases have been reported so far. Loading … The Covid-19 death toll in Iran reached 429. Health Ministry spokesperson Kianush Jahanpur reported an overall of 10,075 infections. Iran asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for $5bn emergency funding to control the coronavirus break out. The Armenian main bank announced strategies to change used banknotes in an effort to control the coronavirus spread.
Not known Incorrect Statements About Airlines Canceling Flights Outside Of China Amid Coronavirus …
Thailand health officials validated 11 new cases, taking the total to 70. Malaysia reported nine brand-new cases today to overall 158. South Africa's first case of local transmission is a 32-year-old male who entered contact with a Chinese business person, said health ministry. The variety of confirmed cases in the nation reached 17.
When Can We Expect Travel To Return To …
The country's prime minister will hold further meetings through video conference. Singapore will close all mosques for a minimum of 5 days for deep cleansing. The closures would work on Friday, stated the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore. The country reported a total of 178 cases. Austria reported its very first Covid-19 death as a 69-year-old guy in Vienna.
Poland's first coronavirus death happened in Poznan, reported broadcaster TVN24 – working from home. The nation verified 47 cases to date. First death from Covid-19 in Algeria has happened today. The variety of cases in the nation stand at 24. South Korea verified 114 brand-new cases, which take the overall to 7,869, consisting of 66 deaths.
The Ministry of Health and Household Welfare stated that the total number of cases in India reached 73. Of the total patients, 17 are foreign nationals. The variety of cases in Saudi Arabia increased to 45, with 24 new infections reported early today, stated the state news firm. Of the 24 new cases, two individuals returned from Iraq, one had contact with infected person from Iran, and 21 had contact with an Egyptian visitor who previously checked favorable.
Guyana reported its first Covid-19 case in a 52-year-old woman who passed away after returning from the United States last week. The patient had hidden illnesses and evaluated favorable for coronavirus after death. French Polynesia's first case is political leader Maina Sage who returned from Paris on 7 March. St Vincent and the Grenadines validated its first case in a woman who had taken a trip to the UK.
The government banned public events of more than 500 people. Greece's very first fatality is said to be a 67-year-old guy who had recently returned from Israel and Egypt. Oscar-winning star Tom Hanks and his other half Rita Wilson have checked favorable in Australia. In a tweet, the star said that he is working on a movie in Australia and was evaluated along with his spouse after experiencing minor fevers.
Deaths from Covid-19 have reached to more than 4,600, including 3,169 in mainland China, since completion of 11 March. Global infections have increased to nearly 126,140, with a total of roughly 68,200 recoveries. In action to the escalating Covid-19 outbreak, the WHO has actually declared the scenario to be a pandemic.
And we have never in the past seen a pandemic that can be controlled at the exact same time." Ireland health ministry reported the country's first coronavirus death. The variety of cases in the country reached 43. Cuba validated its very first 3 cases in travelers who evaluated favorable today. The government asked people to make their own masks, in addition to its textile market, in the middle of decreasing materials worldwide.
The 6-Second Trick For Flight Centre To Close 100 Stores And Virgin To Cancel Flights …
The US has limited travel from Europe for thirty days in an effort to control the quick spread of coronavirus. President Donald Trump said that the limitation, which will enter result on midnight Friday, does not apply to Britain. The country has 1,322 validated cases and 38 deaths up until now.
This increase the overall cases to 262. These brand-new clients live in the same compound as 3 individuals who were identified on Sunday. The variety of cases in Spain increased to 2,277, consisting of 55 deaths. In capital Madrid, the number of cases had actually risen to 1,024 from 782 on Tuesday, reported health authorities.
Egypt reported 7 brand-new cases taking the total to 67. The overall cases in Costa Rica increased to 22 from previously verified 13. Italy has actually tightened its nationwide lockdown to consist of shutting of bars, hair stylists and dining establishments. The number of cases on the country have actually raised to 12,462 and death toll increased to 827.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair an emergency situation committee on 12 March (flight center closes 100 stores). The conference is to discuss moving to the 'delay phase' from 'contain'. Honduras verifies initially two cases of Covid-19, 2 women with travel history to Spain and Switzerland. Total cases in Maldives has increased to eight, consisting of 2 freshly reported cases.
Denmark has reported 78 additional cases, bringing the nation's total to 340. Philippines has verified 16 new cases of Covid-19 in the nation. The overall validated cases in the country stand at 49. Malaysia has actually reported additional 20 cases of Covid-19, taking the overall to 149. South Africa's Minister of Health has announced six new cases, bringing the total to 13.
The country's total stands at 76. Bahrain signed up 77 new cases among evacuees from Iran, taking the overall to 189. Indonesia's Health Ministry has actually announced the death of a 53-year-old foriegn lady due to Covid-19. She is reported to have remained in major condition when she was confessed. Belga news firm stated that the Belgium's health ministry reported the first death in the nation.
The country reported nearly 20 new cases to overall 35. 13 of the new patients were on a Vietnam Airlines flight from London to Hanoi on 2 March. The variety of cases in Australia has actually increased to 122, including three brand-new cases of females who checked out Europe. The nation revealed a A$ 2.4 bn ($ 1.56 bn) health plan to assist battle the coronavirus break out.
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Welcome to the inaugural issue of "RiskIntegral" - an occasional newsletter about the analysis and management of risk, mainly (but not exclusively) in projects, by Risk Integration Management Pty Ltd (RIMPL).
• Why management of risk matters more now!
Why management of risk matters more now!
Risk is an integral part of almost everything humans and organisations set out to do, because it is about the uncertainty of achieving objectives in the future. In fact, the definition of risk is "effect of uncertainty on objectives" (AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009).
Australia, where we are located, has experienced an unprecedented sustained boom in investment in Mining and Oil & Gas over the last 10 years or so, thanks largely to the extraordinary growth and development of China.
Unfortunately, there has also been a recurring pattern of failure to achieve project completion dates and budgets. Independent Project Analysis, Inc. (IPA), the pre-eminent international projects bench-marking organisation, has identified failure of Australian project owners to plan projects adequately, including proper assessment and management of risk, as a primary cause of this problem.
Until recently, a persistent business risk saving such projects has been the opportunity presented by continually rising commodity prices. These have more than compensated for cost and schedule overruns. But as the growth of China cools and changes with the maturing of its economy and with the advent of shale gas in the US and elsewhere, commodity prices have started to fall as demand has fallen and supply has increased. In this more challenging business climate, getting risk assessment right has become much more important in assessing and approving projects. This is even more important in already committed projects where major risks must be regularly re-assessed and effective risk treatments devised to ensure project value is protected and project objectives are achieved as far as possible.
It is proper risk assessment and management that is our passion. We have been involved in analysis of risk on major and complex projects in the Oil & Gas, Mining, Petrochemical and Infrastructure sectors around Australia, as well as in training personnel in cutting edge Schedule Risk Analysis (SRA). In recent years, we have developed and delivered SRA training courses for major Australian contractors in response to their mandating of risk analyses and consequent need to up-skill personnel in what is rapidly becoming an industry standard process.
Our Integrated Cost & Schedule Risk Analysis (IRA) methodology and software, developed and refined over a number of years, have been applied to projects ranging from a few million dollars to more than $15 billion.
We welcome enquiries or questions about these or other services and particularly welcome questions about risk analysis and risk management, through our Knowledge Base or through contacting us.
When Schedule Risk Analysis (SRA) based on the Monte Carlo (MC) Method of randomness simulation was first developed, the tools available imposed practical limits on the size of schedule. Schedules were limited to around 100 activities or less. Since then, software and hardware advances have enabled SRA models to become much larger. How big should such models be? And does it matter?
To answer these questions, we need to deal with two effects with opposite implications.
If we have two identical strings of activities and resources to do them, each with a 50% probability of being finished by the target finish date, what is the probability of both being finished by that date?
This is the same as working out the probability of throwing dice and getting only sixes. The probability of throwing a six for any one dice is 1/6. The probability of throwing multiple sixes is (1/6)n, where n is the number of dice.
When this is translated to project schedules, it is known as the Merge Bias Effect (MBE). It means that where there are logic nodes in a project schedule, where several strands of schedule logic come together in a milestone, the probability of achieving that milestone by the planned date is the product of the probability of each logic strand being completed by the planned date.
As more strands of schedule logic are joined into milestones representing completion of portions and phases of work, these logic nodes become points resisting the schedule finishing earlier because each logic strand would have to finish earlier simultaneously, which rapidly becomes less and less likely as more detail is added to the project schedule and more intermediate milestones are created.
If a detailed project schedule represents the way that the project will be executed, summarising it will remove details including intermediate milestones that have to be achieved. This will remove logical resistance points to earlier completion such that a MC simulation model built on a summary schedule is likely to produce a falsely optimistic forecast of the likelihood of finishing the project by the planned date.
Second, producing realistic results from MC simulations with progressively larger schedules is increasingly difficult.
To explain why we need to understand how MC SRA simulations work. The foundation of SRA is the replacement of single durations for activities with duration ranges represented by probability distributions, such as shown on the left, representing a task with a duration somewhere between 58 and 77 days long. This recognises that for most tasks we can only say with confidence that they will not be shorter than some Optimistic duration, nor longer than some Pessimistic duration, with a Most Likely duration somewhere in between, where the probability is at a maximum (64 days in this case).
Simulations consist of hundreds or even thousands of iterations of critical path calculations, randomly substituting sampled durations from each task's duration probability distribution. The software selects the duration for each iteration so that it matches the probability distribution defined for that task. So more samples are taken around the Most Likely values than toward the extremities of the ranges.
An inherent assumption of MC simulation software is that each element in the model is completely independent of every other. This assumption is relatively safe when using a highly summarised model but progressively breaks down as the number of activities increases. So one task representing all earthworks will be relatively independent of another task representing all civil works and a further task for structural steel installation, etc.
But if there are 50 tasks describing in detail earthworks to create, for example, access roads, the ROM Pad and the building of tailings dam walls, some, perhaps all will be related to each other to varying degrees. We tell the software the extent to which tasks are related to each other through duration correlation: 100% represents a perfect positive relationship, 0% represents complete independence and -100% represents a perfect inverse relationship. Normally the relationship is positive and somewhere between weak (say 10-30%), moderate (say 30-60%) and strong (say 60-90%).
If we did not tell the software the extent to which tasks are related, it would choose short durations in combination with long ones and vice-versa, such that they would tend to cancel each other out over the iterations and lead to the calculation of very narrow distributions (e.g., a 2 week range between the P10 (10% probable) project finish date and the P90 date in a 2 year project (less than a 2% range)).
This effect is due to the rising impact of the Central Limit Theorem (CLT). As the number of activities increases in the SRA model and the average task duration decreases, the distribution produced tends to a normal distribution and narrows in its spread. The narrowness of the distribution is called "kurtosis"*.
Countering this to produce realistically spread distributions becomes increasingly difficult as the size of the schedule increases. Strategies for countering the CLT tendency include the application of risk factors and increasingly sophisticated correlation models.
To produce the most realistic SRA modelling requires the use of the largest practical SRA schedule model, preferably based on a Level 3 Master Control Schedule for the project and the application of comprehensive correlated risk factors and carefully developed duration correlation models. Achieving this is much harder than producing summarised schedule models, but the results are much more likely to reveal useful information on what is driving the schedule and how best to manage the drivers to maximise project objectives.
Using Oracle's Primavera Risk Analysis (PRA) and a fast PC, it is practical to analyse a schedule with up to about 5,000 activities in it. Around 1,000 activities is more practical to handle. Provided true critical paths can be identified and the schedule realistically represents the planned project strategy and scope, this size schedule should produce good and useful results.
*Kurtosis describes the "peakedness" of a distribution. The diagram, below right, shows the different types of kurtosis.
Skewness is also important. Most SRA output distributions are skewed in a positive direction (because there are more ways for a project to be late than early!). Positive and negative skewness are illustrated here.
Skewing is important because it is in the low probability skewed "tail" that significant low probability, high impact risk events tend to be concentrated. These are often the cause of schedule blowouts of major projects.
There is an Australian way of thinking about kurtosis in this context. In SRA output distributions, we wish to follow the platypus rather than the boxing kangaroos.


The Tibbies are the only dogs that have gotten under my skin the way the Borzoi have. I love them for their loyalty, intelligence, and independence. There are few sights as beautiful as a pack of Tibbies skimming the earth in a joyful run (unless they are escaping...).
Buffy lived her whole long life as my companion, even though she was supposed to be my mother's Christmas present. I taught her many tricks, such as roll over, play dead, sit-up, pray, speak, jump through the hoop and crawl. She excelled at speak, sometimes speaking when I didn't want her to. She had a sweater I crocheted her that she hated and also had an intense dislike of our neighbor's chessie named PH. All I had to do to make her psycho was to utter his name.
Raki was given to me at age 5 after his specials career by my friend Sandy. He was the ultimate Tibbie for me. He exuded Tibbie Type and also had that special Tibbie Personality. I was supposed to train him for obedience work, but Raki trained me instead. He taught me to come by sliding under the coffee table and howling, and he taught me never EVER to let him off leash of even a nanu-second because he would edge away and be gone in a flash. He loved riding in the car but would politely refuse to get in if he thought the air was too hot when I opened the car door. Raki loved two people in the world, Sandy and me. He politely tolerated lesser beings. I miss him a lot, and maybe someday I can have another Tibbie that would measure up to him and enjoy the blessed experience of the Tibbie-Mind-Meld.


Charles Walker leads a Parliamentary debate on deaths in mental health detention and the lack of a mechanism for independent investigation of those deaths.
Mr Charles Walker (Broxbourne) (Con): I rise to congratulate Deborah Coles and INQUEST on publishing an extremely important document entitled "Deaths in Mental Health Detention: an Investigation framework fit for purpose?". INQUEST's report focuses on the deaths of those detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. There are two sad truths. First, too many people are dying in mental health detention—on average more than 300 people a year in each year between 2003 and 2013. Secondly, there is no mechanism for independent investigation of those deaths.
Mental health patients have an absolute right to life, and that right must not be forgotten, abused or cast aside. That absolute right to life extends to the state having a positive duty to safeguard those patients from taking their own life. When there is a death in custody, the police have the Independent Police Complaints Commission to investigate it. The Prison Service has the prisons and probation ombudsman to investigate, but the NHS has nothing that could be classed as independent.
should be scrutinised at inquests before a coroner sitting with a jury. However, in almost all cases in the NHS, the relevant trust or care provider is the investigating agency. So we have the NHS investigating itself when someone dies while in its care. There are many problems with that.
One of the main problems is that coroners are reliant on the reports provided by the NHS body that is investigating itself when someone dies in its care. Also, families are too often excluded from the investigation processes conducted by NHS trusts, and the length of time that an inquest can take is enormously variable. Some can be done very quickly, resulting in families feeling railroaded; others can take years. One anomaly that needs to be addressed is that any inquest that takes a year and a half or more is deemed as having taken a year and a half. So an inquest can wait to be heard for five years, yet for the purpose of statistics it has been waiting for only a year and a half—that is unacceptable.
"experience is that the practice of NHS Trusts in investigating these deaths, and the issues raised by them, is consistently falling short of the existing guidance".
INQUEST reports that over the past five years it has been unable to identify a single independent investigation at the evidence-gathering stage following a self-inflicted death.
INQUEST goes on to cite the following deficiencies in the process: a lack of family liaison with trusts following a death; families not being provided with any information about the investigation process or informed of their right to be involved in that process; no information being provided to families as to where they can find independent advice and support; families having little, if any, opportunity to raise concerns or questions; families not being provided with the terms of reference of an investigation; trusts refusing to provide families with the final versions of reports; and trusts failing to pass on a copy of the final report to the coroner. This situation is absolutely devastating for families and its impact on their morale cannot be overstated. It is wrong and something needs to be done. Sadly, the list I have read out is incomplete, but time prevents me from adding further points.
More generally, the superficial nature of investigations and the speed at which some cases move to the inquest hearing stage leaves many families without any meaningful chance of establishing the circumstances of their relative's death and, crucially, whether the death was preventable. As I said a few moments ago, there is another option for trusts keen to avoid their responsibility or owning up to their responsibility. One option is to push the investigation through extremely quickly, railroading people, but the other option is to drag one's feet. As I said, an investigation that took five or six years to complete would still be deemed as having taken a year and a half when the coroner's court reported. That is unacceptable.
"This incomplete or tainted evidence then flows through the inquest system and is effectively 'fruit of the poisonous tree'".
So if we are to continue with the current discredited system—I hope we are not—at the very least NHS trusts and health care providers need clear guidance, not just on the form of their investigations, but on who is responsible for undertaking them. Ultimately, what we need is the independent investigation of deaths, along the lines of the investigations undertaken by the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the prisons and probation ombudsman. We need an independent investigation that involves the families of the deceased, which, at its conclusion, produces a rigorous investigation report that is published and made widely available. That and only that will allow for robust inquests that get to the truth.
At these inquests there must be equality of representation. As I said earlier, it is simply not acceptable for the agents of the state to be represented by QCs funded by the taxpayer, while the families of the deceased are means-tested to see what they can afford. Quite simply, if someone is in the care of the state, the state has a duty of care.
If we are to have the proper investigation of deaths in mental health settings, we need greater investigatory independence matched to a coherent data set on the number of deaths in mental health settings. These data should record age, gender, ethnicity, the location of the death and the type of death—for example, whether it was self-inflicted, restraint-related or from natural causes. As death rates by individual units or clinical commissioning groups are not published, the statistics currently available in the public domain do not enable identification and analysis of where deaths in mental health settings take place. Again, this lack of transparency must be addressed.
The lack of publicly available data is particularly concerning in relation to ethnicity, where there are significant concerns about the continued over-representation of black people in mental health settings and the coercive use of force that features in some of their deaths. I would like to take this opportunity to briefly congratulate and thank Matilda MacAttram of Black Mental Health UK on her fantastic campaigning in this important area. I see that the Policing Minister is on the Front Bench; I am sure that he will pass on his congratulations to Matilda as well.
The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Mike Penning) indicated assent.
Mr Walker: Perhaps most worryingly, it is difficult, if not impossible, to identify from the current statistics the number of children who have died in mental health settings. This is simply not good enough. Children are detained in mental health settings and sadly, on occasions, some of those children are dying while being detained. We really need to minimise that occurrence as a matter of utter urgency.
The Minister replying to this debate will know that deaths in custody—or, more accurately, deaths while in the care of the state—is the topic of much debate at the moment, with the Equality and Human Rights Commission publishing its paper and concerns earlier this week. That paper was launched in the House of Commons. There is growing concern, and it is clear that there is a demand from many quarters, across the United Kingdom—people with a stake in this issue—for decisive action to be taken. Although for the past 10 years the overall trend has been downwards, deaths in mental health settings still account for 60% of all deaths in state custody.
More than half the deaths in mental health settings are ascribed to natural causes, but this in itself is a cause of concern, because the descriptor "natural causes" may mask deaths where contributing factors include the side effects of high-dose, multiple medication on the individual's physical health. There is too much uncertainty hidden under the heading of "natural causes", and it will stay that way until in-house investigators are replaced by independent investigators and independent oversight; because in an ideal world, where there is a violent death —a death that involves suicide, the use of force or restraint—the default position should be for an independent investigation. In cases where natural causes are suspected, an independent body could review the initial findings of the NHS trust before accepting them or asking for more information, with a view to mounting a formal investigation.
Seeing that the Policing Minister is here, I cannot let this occasion pass without saying that there is still widespread concern that on too many occasions police officers are being called to mental health wards—NHS environments—to restrain patients. Police officers are not trained to do that. I know this is causing the Minister concern; I know it is causing police officers concern. It should cause us all concern.
In conclusion, there is much work to be done to ensure that where a tragedy does occur in a detained mental health setting, there is a robust, independent system of investigation that gets to the truth, provides both closure and reassurance to grieving families and, through initiating changes in existing processes and procedures, prevents future deaths. I met some of the families last week who attended the launch of the INQUEST paper. It was a very sobering experience. These are good people who are seeking answers as to why husbands, wives—people they love—have lost their lives while in the care of the state. We need to be better at providing those answers.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jane Ellison): I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne (Mr Walker) on securing this debate on the investigation of deaths in mental health settings. He has shown considerable interest in this area of policy over many year, and has championed the thorough investigation of deaths of people in custody settings. I commend him on his valuable work. It is important that he gives a voice here in Parliament to people who feel, on occasion, voiceless. He has spoken out on the human rights of those detained in custody, and of their families. He alluded to a recent meeting with some of the affected families, who I am sure are appreciative of his efforts on their behalf.
In my hon. Friend's thoughtful speech, he stressed the need for vigorous and transparent investigations of deaths in all custody settings. He has highlighted to all of us the distress endured by the families of people who have died, especially when it seems that the death may have been preventable, and how important it is that mental health providers ensure that the investigation does not cause further distress. He also rightly highlighted the need for investigations to be held in a timely manner, and for families to be informed and involved throughout. It is important that investigation findings are clear and indicate what can be done to prevent future deaths, so that families have the comfort of knowing that their loved ones did not die in vain and that lessons have been learned.
My hon. Friend highlighted the report by the charity INQUEST, which calls for better investigations of deaths in mental health settings and makes a number of recommendations for change. I will turn to each of those recommendations and make comments, but I first wish to make some more general points about the ways in which the Government are trying to respond to the issue of mental health crises, and about work involving the police. It is good to be joined on the Front Bench by the Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims, who is showing his interest in this important subject.
Although today's debate focuses on investigating the deaths of people detained in mental health settings, it is also important that we focus our efforts on preventing people from being detained in hospital and, where we can, diverting people with mental health illness away from police custody and prison. That is why this Government have invested £33 million this year in developing early intervention services for psychosis, and in supporting people in a mental health crisis to access the right care in the right place.
Last year, we published the mental health crisis care concordat, which is an agreement between more than 20 national bodies on the care and support that people need in a mental health crisis, and we are now working with local areas to ensure that they have local action plans in place for providing that support. We are investing an extra £35 million to develop and expand liaison and diversion services to ensure that people of all ages with mental illness who come into contact with the criminal justice system have their needs identified as soon as possible and are referred to appropriate mental health services.
Hazel Blears (Salford and Eccles) (Lab): I am grateful to the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Mr Walker) for raising this issue in the House. Clearly, it is a matter of significance to our communities. Is the Minister aware of the excellent work being done by Greater Manchester police and by the chief constable, Peter Fahy, around the whole issue of mental health? Sir Peter is very concerned that his officers do not have the necessary skills—this is exactly what the hon. Gentleman said in his contribution—to deal with many circumstances, so the pressure on the police forces is intense. I am delighted that the Policing Minister and the Health Minister are here today. A greater degree of integration at local level would be extremely helpful in ensuring that we get the right people in the right place with the right skills to support the people the hon. Gentleman mentioned.
Jane Ellison: As ever, the right hon. Lady makes an extremely good point. My right hon. Friend the Policing Minister has confirmed that he has been to Greater Manchester and seen the work in progress. I will touch on street triage, which is an aspect of the work going on in this area, but first let me say that the right hon. Lady is absolutely right. As a constituency Member, I have been out on a Friday night with my local police's rapid response team. Very caring young police officers have stressed to me the importance of not only equipping them with skills, but ensuring that they are not asked to do things that are not part of their core duties, and that they get proper support to deal with people in a sensitive way. The right hon. Lady's point was very well made.
Police forces are piloting a street triage initiative, in which mental health professionals travel with police officers on patrol, providing on-the-spot help to people with possible mental health needs who come into contact with the police. There have been positive results in the Leicestershire pilot area, where street triage has led to a reduction in detentions under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983. I know from a Backbench Business debate a few weeks ago that that is an impressive reduction in detentions, and the right hon. Lady mentioned progress in her area, too.
We are also investing a further £30 million next year to further develop liaison psychiatry services to support people with mental illness in accident and emergency and when being treated for physical illness in a general hospital setting. As well as focusing on preventing people from being detained in mental health settings, we must also look at preventing avoidable harm and deaths when people find themselves in hospital. My hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne mentioned that.
INQUEST's report highlights the issue of suicides in mental health settings. Earlier this year, the Government announced our ambition for the NHS to adopt a zero suicide strategy to reduce dramatically suicides in health settings and in the community. At the beginning of the year, we also laid before Parliament the revised Mental Health Act 1983 code of practice, which comes into effect from April and strengthens our commitment to safeguarding the rights of people detained under the Act. The revised code of practice gives greater prominence to the need for better and more rigorous risk assessments, and for care planning that is centred around the patient and involves their carers and relatives wherever possible. That picks up on the well-made point from my hon. Friend about the need to involve families and to ensure that patients are treated in safe environments.
Let me turn to the recommendations in INQUEST's report. The first concerned the system for investigating deaths and the matter of independence. Coroners' inquests provide independent investigation, and we must consider the evidence carefully to inform us on how to improve the quality and independence of investigations in the mental health settings. It is right that we focus on improving the way deaths in such settings are investigated. Clear guidance should be given to the NHS to improve the integrity and quality of investigations.
NHS England is reviewing the NHS serious incident framework, which describes how serious incidents, including deaths, should be reported, investigated and learned from to prevent them happening again. I understand that NHS England is finalising the guidance and have been advised that it is being reviewed by the chief nursing officer. This is an opportunity to re-emphasise the responsibilities of providers and commissioners by holding providers to account for how they respond to serious incidents, and holding commissioners to account for overseeing the response to ensure that it is objective, proportionate and timely.
Secondly, the report recommends the proper and meaningful involvement of families in the investigation of deaths, so that it is on a par with the way in which deaths in other custody settings are investigated. NHS England's guidance on managing investigations in the NHS will set out the commissioner's responsibility for ensuring that all those affected by an incident are involved, and that the investigation is conducted in an open and honest manner. The commissioner will also have the opportunity to inform the terms of reference of the investigation, and can consider and will be consulted on the investigation's findings. The efforts to engage those affected by the incident should also be recorded in the response to the investigation. It is therefore essential that people should be able to not just liaise with the family, but demonstrate how they have done so, and record how they did it.
Thirdly, the report recommends the better collation and publication of statistics on deaths in mental health settings, including further details on the circumstances and characteristics of the death. I was struck by what my hon. Friend said about some of the uncertainties in this regard, and about the need for people to be transparent about something so important. I am aware that the Care Quality Commission is piloting ways to improve how it collects and analyses data, in partnership with NHS England. That can help to improve the way the CQC monitors the Mental Health Act.
I understand that the Care Quality Commission is looking at how it might link data from hospital episode statistics and from the mental health and learning disabilities data set to enable better cross-referencing of the information it receives through notifications of deaths, which should help it to improve the availability of data at a national level so that it supports policy responses to deaths in detention. That important work is ongoing.
Mike Penning: And Justice Minister.
Jane Ellison: Yes, he is wearing both hats today. He has confirmed that he will take this matter forward in the Ministry of Justice, and I am grateful to him for that. The fact that, in the last Adjournment debate of the parliamentary week, the two Departments most closely involved in responding adequately to these matters are represented by Ministers shows how important they are.
My hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne might wish to raise his concerns about the robustness of inquests directly with the Office of the Chief Coroner. However, let me tell the House about another way in which the better use of data is helping in this situation. I understand that the Care Quality Commission is undertaking analysis of the information available from coroners' investigations and inquests, along with other information it already receives on expected and unexpected deaths, which should help it to target requests from coroners better.
The Care Quality Commission is also working with the Coroners Society of England and Wales and the Office of the Chief Coroner to establish a memorandum of understanding, with the aim of achieving better working relationships and sharing of information. I am sure that my hon. Friend, having had the chance to highlight the importance of this issue today, will want regularly to ask questions, presumably in the next Parliament, about how this work is progressing and what the timetable is. Indeed, the Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims has heard his request for vigour and energy behind that work.
In conclusion, it is absolutely right that we should seriously consider how to improve the investigation of deaths in mental health settings.
Mr Charles Walker: The reason independent investigation is so important is that people can be detained against their will under the Mental Health Act 1983. There needs to be some oversight of their welfare, and they need to be safeguarded, but it is difficult if that is provided only by the NHS, the organisation that is responsible for detaining them. That is why independent oversight and safeguarding is needed.
Jane Ellison: I absolutely understand that point, which my hon. Friend has made with some power. I certainly undertake to speak with my colleague the Minister of State, the right hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb), who leads on mental health matters in the Department, and ensure that he is aware of my hon. Friend's strength of feeling about the issue. I will refer him to the Hansard report of this debate. I am sure that my hon. Friend will continue to press the case. I hope that the issues I have touched on in my response give him some sense that work is in train to look at this. The seriousness of the issue is very much acknowledged in both the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice.
It is important that we set out clear requirements for rigorous, transparent and timely investigations of serious incidents, including deaths, and for all those affected, including the families, to be involved throughout those investigations. We must continue to seek to improve the overall process of learning from deaths to prevent further avoidable tragedies. The Department of Health, NHS England and the CQC continue to look at ways of improving the system, along with colleagues in other Departments, particularly in relation to transparency and ensuring that lessons are learned. I congratulate my hon. Friend once again on bringing these important matters to the attention of the House.


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Sophie joins the News team at Cromer
Richard Batson
Published: 6:30 AM January 8, 2013 Updated: 9:18 AM October 11, 2020
Sophie Wyllie is the latest recruit to the North Norfolk News' team of reporters.
The 25-year-old was born in Norfolk, went to school at Thurston in Suffolk, and has a BA Honours degree in journalism from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston.
During a gap year she did voluntary work in Peru, helping children with learning disabilities and teaching English.
After two years on a twice-weekly paper, she joined the News' parent company Archant in September 2011 and has been working at Dereham before her move to Cromer.
Sophie has just qualified as a senior reporter and is looking forward to working in north Norfolk.
The keen walker, who enjoys the Peak and Lake districts, also 'likes the seaside the rugged local coastline', she said.
She also cycles and goes to the gym in her spare time, enjoys local produce and good food - and is preparing for her wedding in May to former EDP crime correspondent Ben Kendall who is now the East Anglian reporter for the Press Association news agency.
9 Man in 20s dies and three hurt as Audi crashes into wall
10 Londoners fined for travelling to stay at second home in Norfolk
Sophie is contactable on 01263 513160 or sophie.wyllie@archant.co.uk.


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Wood Rods
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We may communicate with you if you've provided us the means to do so. For example, if you've given us your email address, we may send you promotional email offers on behalf of other businesses, or email you about your use of the Services. Also, we may receive a confirmation when you open an email from us. This confirmation helps us make our communications with you more interesting and improve our services. If you do not want to receive communications from us, please indicate your preference by changing your preferences.
Information Collected Automatically:
Whenever you interact with our Services, we automatically receive and record information on our server logs from your browser or device, which may include your IP address, device identification, "cookie" information, the type of browser and/or device you're using to access our Services, and the page or feature you requested. "Cookies" are identifiers we transfer to your browser or device that allow us to recognize your browser or device and tell us how and when pages and features in our Services are visited and by how many people. You may be able to change the preferences on your browser or device to prevent or limit your device's acceptance of cookies, but this may prevent you from taking advantage of some of our features. If you click on a link to a third party website or service, such third party may also transmit cookies to you. Again, this Privacy Policy does not cover the use of cookies by any third parties, and we aren't responsible for their privacy policies and practices.
Information Collected From Other Websites and Do Not Track Policy:
Through cookies we place on your browser or device, we may collect information about your online activity after you leave our Services. Just like any other usage information we collect, this information allows us to improve the Services and customize your online experience, and otherwise as described in this Privacy Policy. Your browser may offer you a "Do Not Track" option, which allows you to signal to operators of websites and web applications and services (including behavioral advertising services) that you do not wish such operators to track certain of your online activities over time and/or across different websites. Our Services do not support Do Not Track requests at this time, which means that we collect information about your online activity both while you are using the Services and after you leave our Services.
III. WILL ANGLERSLAGOON.COM SHARE ANY OF THE PERSONAL INFORMATION IT RECEIVES?
We neither rent nor sell your Personal Information in personally identifiable form to anyone. However, we may share your Personal Information with third parties as described in this section:
Information that's no longer personally identifiable:
We may anonymize your Personal Information so that you are not individually identified, and provide that information to our partners. We may also provide aggregate usage information to our partners, who may use such information to understand how often and in what ways people use our Services, so that they, too, can provide you with an optimal online experience. However, we never disclose aggregate usage information to a partner in a manner that would identify you personally, as an individual.
We may deliver a file to you through the Services (known as a "web beacon") from an ad network. Web beacons allow ad networks to provide anonymized, aggregated auditing, research and reporting for us and for advertisers. Web beacons also enable ad networks to serve targeted advertisements to you when you visit other websites. Because your web browser must request these advertisements and web beacons from the ad network's servers, these companies can view, edit, or set their own cookies, just as if you had requested a web page from their site. You may be able to opt-out of web beacon tracking conducted by third parties through our Services by adjusting the Do Not Track settings on your browser; please note that we don't control whether or how these third parties comply with Do Not Track requests.
Affiliated Businesses:
In certain situations, businesses or third party websites we're affiliated with may sell or provide products or services to you through or in connection with the Services (either alone or jointly with us). You can recognize when an affiliated business is associated with such a transaction or service, and we will share your Personal Information with that affiliated business only to the extent that it is related to such transaction or service. We have no control over the policies and practices of third party websites or businesses as to privacy or anything else, so if you choose to take part in any transaction or service relating to an affiliated website or business, please review all such business' or websites' policies.
We employ other companies and people to perform tasks on our behalf and need to share your information with them to provide products or services to you; for example, we may use a payment processing company to receive and process your credit card transactions for us. Unless we tell you differently, our agents do not have any right to use the Personal Information we share with them beyond what is necessary to assist us.
User Profiles and Submissions:
Certain user profile information, including your name, location, and any video or image content that such user has uploaded to the Services, may be displayed to other users to facilitate user interaction within the Services or address your request for our services. Please remember that any content you upload to your public user profile, along with any Personal Information or content that you voluntarily disclose online in a manner other users can view (on discussion boards, in messages and chat areas, etc.) becomes publicly available, and can be collected and used by anyone. Your user name may also be displayed to other users if and when you send messages or comments or upload images or videos through the Services and other users can contact you through messages and comments.
We may choose to buy or sell assets. In these types of transactions, customer information is typically one of the business assets that would be transferred. Also, if we (or our assets) are acquired, or if we go out of business, enter bankruptcy, or go through some other change of control, Personal Information could be one of the assets transferred to or acquired by a third party.
Protection of Anglerslagoon.com and Others:
We reserve the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose any information that we believe is necessary to comply with law or court order; enforce or apply our Terms of Use and other agreements; or protect the rights, property, or safety of Anglerslagoon.com, our employees, our users, or others.
Facebook preferences
Social preferences
The information you can view, update, and delete may change as the Services change. If you have any questions about viewing or updating information we have on file about you, please contact us at [email protected]
You may be able to add, update, or delete information as explained above. When you update information, however, we may maintain a copy of the unrevised information in our records. Some information may remain in our records after your deletion of such information from your account. We may use any aggregated data derived from or incorporating your Personal Information after you update or delete it, but not in a manner that would identify you personally.
VII. WHAT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS POLICY?
If you have any questions or concerns regarding our privacy policies, please send us a detailed message to [email protected], and we will try to resolve your concerns.
In accordance with the DMCA, we've adopted the policy below toward copyright infringement. We reserve the right to (1) block access to or remove material that we believe in good faith to be copyrighted material that has been illegally copied and distributed by any of our advertisers, affiliates, content providers, members or users and (2) remove and discontinue service to repeat offenders.
Remember that your use of Anglerslagoon.com's Services is at all times subject to the Terms of Use, which incorporates this Copyright Dispute Policy. Any terms we use in this Policy without defining them have the definitions given to them in the Terms of Use.
Procedure for Reporting Copyright Infringements:
If you believe that material or content residing on or accessible through the Services infringes your copyright (or the copyright of someone whom you are authorized to act on behalf of), please send a notice of copyright infringement containing the following information to the Anglerslagoon.com's Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement (our "Designated Agent," whose contact details are listed below):
Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing including information regarding the location of the infringing materials that the copyright owner seeks to have removed, with sufficient detail so that Anglerslagoon.com is capable of finding and verifying its existence;
A statement that the notifier has a good faith belief that the material identified in (1)(c) is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
Once Proper Bona Fide Infringement Notification is Received by the Designated Agent:
Upon receipt of a proper notice of copyright infringement, we reserve the right to:
remove or disable access to the infringing material;
notify the content provider who is accused of infringement that we have removed or disabled access to the applicable material; and
terminate such content provider's access to the Services if he or she is a repeat offender.
If the content provider believes that the material that was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing, or the content provider believes that it has the right to post and use such material from the copyright owner, the copyright owner's agent, or, pursuant to the law, the content provider may send us a counter-notice containing the following information to the Designated Agent:
A physical or electronic signature of the content provider;
A statement that the content provider has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material; and
Content provider's name, address, telephone number, and, if available, email address, and a statement that such person or entity consents to the jurisdiction of the Federal Court for the judicial district in which the content provider's address is located, or, if the content provider's address is located outside the United States, for any judicial district in which Anglerslagoon.com is located, and that such person or entity will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of the alleged infringement.
If a counter-notice is received by the Designated Agent, Anglerslagoon.com may, in its discretion, send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing that person that Anglerslagoon.com may replace the removed material or cease disabling it in 10 business days. Unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against the content provider accused of committing infringement, the removed material may be replaced or access to it restored in 10 to 14 business days or more after receipt of the counter-notice, at Anglerslagoon.com's discretion.
Please contact Anglerslagoon.com's Designated Agent at the following address:
Copyright Agent Legal Department
C/O Anglerslagoon.com
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Mary Beth Hart serves as Graduate Assistant in the Kogod Center for Career Development and the Office of Student Activities. Splitting her time between both departments, Mary Beth provides career advisement for undergraduate students at KCCD and programming assistance to student-led organizations within the Office of Student Activities.
Prior to beginning at American University, Mary Beth worked as a corporate government affairs representative for the DuPont Company. In her role she monitored and lobbied corporate policy issues and developed employee outreach programs including grassroots get-out-the-vote campaigns and Political Action Committee initiatives and fundraisers.
Currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Education and Human Development from The George Washington University, Mary Beth has had a longtime interest in Student Affairs. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, MN and is originally from Ankeny, IA.