city:surrey

  • Universities watchdog threatens fines over grade inflation

    Proportion of degrees that are first class rose from 16% to 27% in six years, OfS finds.

    The higher education watchdog has issued a stark warning to universities that they will be fined or even removed from the official register if they fail to tackle spiralling grade inflation at degree level.

    Research by the Office for Students reveals for the first time the scale of the problem, which is virtually sector-wide with 84% of universities seeing significant unexplained increases in the number of first-class degrees awarded.

    Overall, the proportion of first-class honours awards has risen from 16% of all degrees awarded in 2010/11 to 27% six years later, according to OfS analysis of results at 148 universities and higher education providers.

    At the University of Surrey the proportion of firsts has more than doubled, from 23% in 2010/11 to 50% in 2016/17, while at Bradford University it has almost tripled, from 10.6% to 30.9%.

    The OfS, which is the new regulator of the higher education sector in England, called on universities to take urgent action to address the problem and warned of severe sanctions if they failed to do so.

    Nicola Dandridge, the OfS chief executive, said: “This report shows starkly that there has been significant and unexplained grade inflation since 2010-11. This spiralling grade inflation risks undermining public confidence in our higher education system.”

    According to the OfS regulatory framework, one of the conditions of functioning as a university is that “qualifications awarded to students hold their value at the point of qualification and over time”. If a university is found to be in breach of the condition, it may be fined, suspended from the register or deregistered altogether.

    Ministers have become increasingly concerned about the growing proportion of firsts and upper-class second degrees being awarded at universities. According to the latest research, the proportion of firsts and 2:1s combined has increased from 67% in 2010/11 to 78% six years later.

    The education secretary, Damian Hinds, called on the OfS to crack down on institutions found to be inflating grades. “I sincerely hope today’s figures act as a wake-up call to the sector, especially those universities which are now exposed as having significant unexplained increases,” he said.

    “Institutions should be accountable for maintaining the value of the degrees they award. I am urging universities to tackle this serious issue and have asked the Office for Students to deal firmly with any institution found to be unreasonably inflating grades.”
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    Increases in first-class degrees among students entering university with lower A-level results are particularly striking. Graduates who achieved the equivalent of two Cs and a D were almost three times more likely to graduate with first-class honours in 2016/7 compared with six years earlier.

    There is no parallel increase in degree attainment among graduates with top A-level results, and in the main it is the institutions with lower entry tariffs where the highest unexplained increases have been found.

    Universities have defended themselves in the past, saying the sector has changed significantly with more emphasis on the quality of teaching, alongside the fact that with higher tuition fees students are working harder to achieve higher grades.

    The OfS has used statistical modelling at the individual student level to try to account for factors that might influence attainment. It concludes that a significant element of the increases cannot be explained by changes to the graduate population and attainment and therefore remains cause for concern.

    Across the sector as a whole, the OfS found that 11.6 percentage points of the increase in first-class degrees awarded between 2010-11 and 2016-17 were unexplained, though in some universities the figure is much higher. At Surrey it is 27.3 percentage points; other universities where there are relatively high unexplained increases include Huddersfield, Greenwich, Coventry and Essex.

    Dandridge said it was crucial that degrees held their value over time. She said she recognised how hard students worked for their degrees and accepted that improved teaching, student support and pre-university qualifications could explain some of the increase in grades.

    “However, even accounting for prior attainment and student demographics, we still find significant unexplained grade inflation,” she said. “This analysis may make uncomfortable reading for some universities. It shows that individual and collective steps are needed to ensure that students can be confident that they will leave higher education with a qualification that is reliable, respected and helps ensure they are ready for life after graduation.”

    Alistair Jarvis, the chief executive of Universities UK, which represents 137 universities, said the sector was already taking steps to tackle grade inflation. “It is essential that the public has full confidence in the value of a degree,” he said.

    Of the 124 universities (84% of the sample) with significant unexplained increases in the number of first-class degrees, 77 showed a statistically significant unexplained increase relative to both the sector and their own level in 2010-11. A further 28 showed a statistically significant unexplained level of attainment above that of the sector level, and 19 showed a statistically significant unexplained increase relative to their own level in 2010-11.

    https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/dec/19/universities-watchdog-threatens-fines-over-grade-inflation?CMP=Share_An
    #université #UK #Angleterre #effets_pervers #taxes_universitaires #frais_d'inscription #it_has_begun #qualité #chantage #statistiques #chiffres #éducation

  • Quand tu meurs et que tes proches n’ont pas les moyens de payer des funérailles décentes ...

    Le cercueil low-cost est arrivé, et il est anglais | Slate.fr
    http://www.slate.fr/story/166517/anglais-croque-mort-low-cost-funerailles-publicite

    De longs cheveux blonds agités par le vent, les lunettes de soleil tombant sur le nez, une jeune femme en maillot rouge sourit à son compagnon, courant dans l’eau. Sous leurs bras, on pense, au premier coup d’oeil, que le couple extatique tient des planches de surf. Au deuxième coup d’oeil, on comprend qu’il s’agit de cercueils de bois clairs.

    Ces publicités à l’humour noir décomplexé proposent un « aller simple pour la mort » à travers une crémation « low-cost, sans chichi », comme « l’occasion d’une vie ». À l’origine de cette campagne, on trouve la compagnie de services funéraires Beyond, et surtout un homme : son cofondateur, Ian Strang. Originaire du Surrey, le quadragénaire a d’abord lancé une application, « si quelqu’un avait besoin d’un enterrement tout de suite », explique-t-il. « J’ai toujours travaillé dans des start-ups et l’industrie de la mort était la dernière à ne pas avoir franchi la frontière du digital. Alors, je me suis dit pourquoi pas. » Au Royaume-Uni, le coût moyen pour un enterrement s’élève entre 4.000 et 5.000 livres (entre 4.400 et 5500 euros environ) et 3.000 livres pour (environ 3.300 euros) une crémation. Beyond propose des prix plus bas : 1.195 livres l’incinération. « Pour qu’on vienne chercher le corps, qu’on l’incinère et qu’un livreur le ramène chez vous après. »

    #low_cost

  • Surrey earthquakes: Scientists call for oil drilling ban as mysterious tremors continue to strike region | The Independent
    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/surrey-earthquakes-ban-oil-drilling-fossil-fuels-bgs-newdigate-a84794

    Four senior geologists have highlighted the risks to public health and the environment after 12 earthquakes struck the region within four months.

    They said there could be unstable geology that had not been identified when oil companies were given permission to explore for fossil fuels at several sites across Surrey.

    #séismes #hydrocarbures

    • New figures reveal at least 449 homeless deaths in UK in the last year

      On the streets, in a hospital, a hostel or a B&B: across the UK the deaths of people without a home have gone unnoticed.

      Tonight we’re attempting to shed new light on a hidden tragedy.

      Research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism suggests at least 449 homeless people have died in the UK in the last year – at least 65 of them on the streets.

      The homeless charity Crisis says the figures are “deeply shocking”. They want such deaths to be better investigated and recorded.

      https://www.channel4.com/news/new-figures-reveal-at-least-449-homeless-deaths-in-uk-in-the-last-year

      #statistiques #chiffres

    • “A national scandal”: 449 people died homeless in the last year

      A grandmother who made potted plant gardens in shop doorways, found dead in a car park. A 51-year-old man who killed himself the day before his temporary accommodation ran out. A man who was tipped into a bin lorry while he slept.

      These tragic stories represent just a few of at least 449 people who the Bureau can today reveal have died while homeless in the UK in the last 12 months - more than one person per day.

      After learning that no official body counted the number of homeless people who have died, we set out to record all such deaths over the course of one year. Working with local journalists, charities and grassroots outreach groups to gather as much information as possible, the Bureau has compiled a first-of-its-kind database which lists the names of the dead and more importantly, tells their stories.

      The findings have sparked outrage amongst homeless charities, with one expert calling the work a “wake-up call to see homelessness as a national emergency”.

      Our investigation has prompted the Office for National Statistics to start producing its own figure on homeless deaths.

      We found out about the deaths of hundreds of people, some as young as 18 and some as old as 94. They included a former soldier, a quantum physicist, a travelling musician, a father of two who volunteered in his community, and a chatty Big Issue seller. The true figure is likely to be much higher.

      Some were found in shop doorways in the height of summer, others in tents hidden in winter woodland. Some were sent, terminally ill, to dingy hostels, while others died in temporary accommodation or hospital beds. Some lay dead for hours, weeks or months before anyone found them. Three men’s bodies were so badly decomposed by the time they were discovered that forensic testing was needed to identify them.

      They died from violence, drug overdoses, illnesses, suicide and murder, among other reasons. One man’s body showed signs of prolonged starvation.

      “A national disgrace”

      Charities and experts responded with shock at the Bureau’s findings. Howard Sinclair, St Mungo’s chief executive, said: “These figures are nothing short of a national scandal. These deaths are premature and entirely preventable.”

      “This important investigation lays bare the true brutality of our housing crisis,” said Polly Neate, CEO of Shelter. “Rising levels of homelessness are a national disgrace, but it is utterly unforgivable that so many homeless people are dying unnoticed and unaccounted for.”
      “This important investigation lays bare the true brutality of our housing crisis"

      Our data shows homeless people are dying decades younger than the general population. The average age of the people whose deaths we recorded was 49 for men and 53 for women.

      “We know that sleeping rough is dangerous, but this investigation reminds us it’s deadly,” said Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis. “Those sleeping on our streets are exposed to everything from sub-zero temperatures, to violence and abuse, and fatal illnesses. They are 17 times more likely to be a victim of violence, twice as likely to die from infections, and nine times more likely to commit suicide.”

      The Bureau’s Dying Homeless project has sparked widespread debate about the lack of data on homeless deaths.

      Responding to our work, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has now confirmed that it will start compiling and releasing its own official estimate - a huge step forward.

      For months the ONS has been analysing and cross-checking the Bureau’s database to create its own methodology for estimating homeless deaths, and plans to produce first-of-their-kind statistics in December this year.

      A spokesperson said the information provided by the Bureau “helps us develop the most accurate method of identifying all the deaths that should be counted.”
      Naming the dead

      Tracking homeless deaths is a complex task. Homeless people die in many different circumstances in many different places, and the fact they don’t have a home is not recorded on death certificates, even if it is a contributing factor.

      Click here to explore the full project

      There are also different definitions of homelessness. We used the same definition as that used by homeless charity Crisis; it defines someone as homeless if they are sleeping rough, or in emergency or temporary accommodation such as hostels and B&Bs, or sofa-surfing. In Northern Ireland, we were only able to count the deaths of people registered as officially homeless by the Housing Executive, most of whom were in temporary accommodation while they waited to be housed.

      For the past nine months we have attended funerals, interviewed family members, collected coroners’ reports, spoken to doctors, shadowed homeless outreach teams, contacted soup kitchens and hostels and compiled scores of Freedom of Information requests. We have scoured local press reports and collaborated with our Bureau Local network of regional journalists across the country. In Northern Ireland we worked with The Detail’s independent journalism team to find deaths there.

      Of the 449 deaths in our database, we are able to publicly identify 138 people (we withheld the identity of dozens more at the request of those that knew them).

      Of the cases in which we were able to find out where people died, more than half of the deaths happened on the streets.

      These included mother-of-five Jayne Simpson, who died in the doorway of a highstreet bank in Stafford during the heatwave of early July. In the wake of her death the local charity that had been working with her, House of Bread, started a campaign called “Everyone knows a Jayne”, to try to raise awareness of how easy it is to fall into homelessness.

      Forty-one-year-old Jean Louis Du Plessis also died on the streets in Bristol. He was found in his sleeping bag during the freezing weather conditions of Storm Eleanor. At his inquest the coroner found he had been in a state of “prolonged starvation”.

      Russell Lane was sleeping in an industrial bin wrapped in an old carpet when it was tipped into a rubbish truck in Rochester in January. He suffered serious leg and hip injuries and died nine days later in hospital. He was 48 years old.

      In other cases people died while in temporary accommodation, waiting for a permanent place to call home. Those included 30-year-old John Smith who was found dead on Christmas Day, in a hostel in Chester.

      Or James Abbott who killed himself in a hotel in Croydon in October, the day before his stay in temporary accommodation was due to run out. A report from Lambeth Clinical Commissioning Group said: “He [Mr Abbott] said his primary need was accommodation and if this was provided he would not have an inclination to end his life.” We logged two other suicides amongst the deaths in the database.

      Many more homeless people were likely to have died unrecorded in hospitals, according to Alex Bax, CEO of Pathways, a homeless charity that works inside several hospitals across England. “Deaths on the street are only one part of the picture,” he said. “Many homeless people also die in hospital and with the right broad response these deaths could be prevented.”
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      Rising levels of homelessness

      The number of people sleeping rough has doubled in England and Wales in the last five years, according to the latest figures, while the number of people classed as officially homeless has risen by 8%.

      In Scotland the number of people applying to be classed as homeless rose last year for the first time in nine years. In Northern Ireland the number of homeless people rose by a third between 2012 and 2017.

      Analysis of government figures also shows the number of people housed in bed and breakfast hotels in England and Wales increased by a third between 2012 and 2018, with the number of children and pregnant women in B&Bs and hostels rising by more than half.

      “Unstable and expensive private renting, crippling welfare cuts and a severe lack of social housing have created this crisis,” said Shelter’s Neate. “To prevent more people from having to experience the trauma of homelessness, the government must ensure housing benefit is enough to cover the cost of rents, and urgently ramp up its efforts to build many more social homes.”

      The sheer scale of people dying due to poverty and homelessness was horrifying, said Crisis chief executive Sparkes.“This is a wake-up call to see homelessness as a national emergency,” he said.

      Breaking down the data

      Across our dataset, 69% of those that died were men and 21% were women (for the remaining 10% we did not have their gender).

      For those we could identify, their ages ranged between 18 and 94.

      At least nine of the deaths we recorded over the year were due to violence, including several deaths which were later confirmed to be murders.

      Over 250 were in England and Wales, in part because systems to count in London are better developed than elsewhere in the UK.

      London was the location of at least 109 deaths. The capital has the highest recorded rough sleeper count in England, according to official statistics, and information on the well-being of those living homeless is held in a centralised system called CHAIN. This allowed us to easily record many of the deaths in the capital although we heard of many others deaths in London that weren’t part of the CHAIN data.

      In Scotland, we found details of 42 people who died in Scotland in the last year, but this is likely a big underestimate. Many of the deaths we registered happened in Edinburgh, while others were logged from Glasgow, the Shetland Islands and the Outer Hebrides.
      “We know that sleeping rough is dangerous, but this investigation reminds us it’s deadly”

      Working with The Detail in Northern Ireland, we found details of 149 people who died in the country. Most died while waiting to be housed by the country’s Housing Executive - some may have been in leased accommodation while they waited, but they were officially classed as homeless.

      “Not only will 449 families or significant others have to cope with their loss, they will have to face the injustice that their loved one was forced to live the last days of their life without the dignity of a decent roof over their head, and a basic safety net that might have prevented their death,” Sparkes from Crisis. No one deserves this.”

      A spokesperson from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said:

      “Every death of someone sleeping rough on our streets is one too many and we take this matter extremely seriously.

      “We are investing £1.2bn to tackle all forms of homelessness, and have set out bold plans backed by £100m in funding to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and end it by 2027."


      https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2018-10-08/homelessness-a-national-scandal?token=ssTw9Mg2I2QU4AYduMjt3Ny
      #noms #donner_un_nom #sortir_de_l'anonymat

    • Homelessness kills: Study finds third of homeless people die from treatable conditions

      Nearly a third of homeless people die from treatable conditions, meaning hundreds of deaths could potentially have been prevented, a major new study shows.

      The research by University College London (UCL), which was exclusively shared with the Bureau, also shows that homeless people are much more likely to die from certain conditions than even the poorest people who have a place to live.

      The findings come as the final count from our Dying Homeless project shows an average of 11 homeless people a week have died in the UK in the last 18 months. We have been collecting data dating back to October 2017 and telling the stories of those who have died on the streets or in temporary accommodation; our tally now stands at 796 people. Of those people we know the age of, more than a quarter were under 40 when then they died.

      While many might assume hypothermia or drug and alcohol overdoses kill the majority of homeless people, this latest research by UCL shows that in fact most homeless people die from illnesses. Nearly a third of the deaths explored by UCL were from treatable illnesses like tuberculosis, pneumonia or gastric ulcers which could potentially have improved with the right medical care.

      In February 2018, 48-year old Marcus Adams died in hospital after suffering from tuberculosis. The same year, 21 year old Faiza died in London, reportedly of multi-drug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis. Just before Christmas in 2017, 48-year-old former soldier Darren Greenfield died from an infection and a stroke in hospital. He had slept rough for years after leaving the army.

      “To know that so many vulnerable people have died of conditions that were entirely treatable is heartbreaking,” said Matthew Downie, Director of Policy and External Affairs at Crisis. The government should make sure all homeless deaths were investigated to see if lessons could be learned, he said.

      “But ultimately, 800 people dying homeless is unacceptable - we have the solutions to ensure no one has to spend their last days without a safe, stable roof over their head.
      “To know that so many vulnerable people have died of conditions that were entirely treatable is heartbreaking”

      “By tackling the root causes of homelessness, like building the number of social homes we need and making sure our welfare system is there to support people when they fall on hard times, governments in England, Scotland and Wales can build on the positive steps they’ve already taken to reduce and ultimately end homelessness.”
      Twice as likely to die of strokes

      Academics at UCL explored nearly 4,000 in-depth medical records for 600 people that died in English hospitals between 2013 and 2016 who were homeless when they were admitted. They compared them to the deaths of a similar group of people (in terms of age and sex) who had somewhere to live but were in the lowest socio-economic bracket.

      The research gives unprecedented insight into the range of medical causes of homeless deaths, and provides yet another reminder of how deadly homelessness is.

      The homeless group was disproportionately affected by cardiovascular disease, which includes strokes and heart disease. The researchers found homeless people were twice as likely to die of strokes as the poorest people who had proper accommodation.

      A fifth of the 600 deaths explored by UCL were caused by cancer. Another fifth died from digestive diseases such as intestinal obstruction or pancreatitis.

      Our database shows homeless people dying young from cancers, such as Istvan Kakas who died aged 52 in a hospice after battling leukaemia.

      Istvan, who sold The Big Issue, had received a heroism award from the local mayor after he helped save a man and his daughter from drowning. Originally from Hungary, he had previously worked as a chef under both Gordon Ramsay and Michael Caines.

      Rob Aldridge, lead academic on the UCL team, told the Bureau: “Our research highlights a failure of the health system to care for this vulnerable group in a timely and appropriate manner.”

      “We need to identify homeless individuals at risk earlier and develop models of care that enable them to engage with interventions proven to either prevent or improve outcomes for early onset chronic disease.”

      Of the deaths we have logged in the UK 78% were men, while 22% were female (of those where the gender was known). The average age of death for men was 49 years old and 53 years old for women.

      “It is easy for them to get lost in the system and forgotten about”
      The spread of tuberculosis

      In Luton, Paul Prosser from the NOAH welfare centre has seen a worrying prevalence of tuberculosis, particularly amongst the rough sleeping migrant community. A service visits the centre three times a year, screening for TB. “Last time they came they found eight people with signs of the illness, that’s really concerning,” said Prosser.

      “There are a lot of empty commercial properties in Luton and you find large groups of desperate homeless people, often migrants, squatting in them. It is easy for them to get lost in the system and forgotten about and then, living in such close quarters, that is when the infection can spread.”

      “When people dip in and out of treatment that is when they build a resistance to the drugs,” Prosser added. “Some of these people are leading chaotic lives and if they are not engaging that well with the treatment due to having nowhere to live then potentially that is when they become infectious.”

      One man NOAH was helping, Robert, died in mid-2017 after moving from Luton to London. The man, originally from Romania, had been suffering from TB for a long time but would only access treatment sporadically. He was living and working at a car-wash, as well as rough sleeping at the local airport.

      Making them count

      For the last year the Bureau has been logging the names and details of people that have died homeless since October 1, 2017. We started our count after discovering that no single body or organisation was recording if and when people were dying while homeless.

      More than 80 local news stories have been written about the work and our online form asking for details of deaths has been filled in more than 140 times.

      Our work and #MakeThemCount hashtag called for an official body to start collecting this vital data, and we were delighted to announce last October that the Office for National Statistics is now collating these figures. We opened up our database to ONS statisticians to help them develop their methodology.

      We also revealed that local authority reviews into homeless deaths, which are supposed to take place, were rarely happening. Several councils, including Brighton & Hove, Oxford, Malvern and Leeds have now said they will undertake their own reviews into deaths in their area, while others, such as Haringey, have put in place new measures to log how and when people die homeless.

      Councillor Emina Ibrahim, Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, told the Bureau: “The deaths of homeless people are frequently missed in formal reviews, with their lives unremembered. Our new procedure looks to change that and will play an important part in helping us to reduce these devastating and avoidable deaths.”

      Members of the public have also come together to remember those that passed away. In the last year there have been protests in Belfast, Birmingham and Manchester, memorial services in Brighton, Luton and London, and physical markers erected in Long Eaton and Northampton. Last week concerned citizens met in Oxford to discuss a spate of homeless deaths in the city.

      In a response to the scale of the deaths, homeless grassroots organisation Streets Kitchen are now helping to organise a protest and vigil which will take place later this week, in London and Manchester.

      After a year of reporting on this issue, the Bureau is now happy to announce we are handing over the counting project to the Museum of Homelessness, an organisation which archives, researches and presents information and stories on homelessness.
      “The sheer number of people who are dying whilst homeless, often avoidably, is a national scandal”

      The organisation’s co-founder Jess Turtle said they were honoured to be taking on this “massively important” work.

      “The sheer number of people who are dying whilst homeless, often avoidably, is a national scandal,” she said. “Museum of Homelessness will continue to honour these lives and we will work with our community to campaign for change as long as is necessary.”

      Matt Downie from Crisis said the Bureau’s work on the issue had achieved major impact. “As it comes to an end, it is difficult to overstate the importance of the Dying Homeless Project, which has shed new light on a subject that was ignored for too long,” he said. “It is an encouraging step that the ONS has begun to count these deaths and that the stories of those who have so tragically lost their lives will live on through the Museum of Homelessness.”

      The government has pledged to end rough sleeping by 2027, and has pledged £100m to try to achieve that goal, as part of an overall £1.2bn investment into tackling homelessness.

      “No one is meant to spend their lives on the streets, or without a home to call their own,” said Communities Secretary James Brokenshire. “Every death on our streets is too many and it is simply unacceptable to see lives cut short this way.”

      “I am also committed to ensuring independent reviews into the deaths of rough sleepers are conducted, where appropriate – and I will be holding local authorities to account in doing just that.”

      https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2019-03-11/homelessness-kills

      #statistiques #chiffres #mortalité

    • Homeless Link responds to Channel 4 report on homeless deaths

      Today, The Bureau Investigative of Journalism released figures that revealed almost 800 people who are homeless have died over the last 18 months, which is an average of 11 every week. The report also shows that a third (30%) of the homeless deaths were from treatable conditions that could have improved with the right medical care.
      Many other deaths in the study, beyond that third, were from causes like suicide and homicide.

      Responding Rick Henderson, Chief Executive of Homeless Link, said: “These figures bring to light the shocking inequalities that people who experience homelessness face. People are dying on our streets and a significant number of them are dying from treatable or preventable health conditions.

      “We must address the fact that homelessness is a key health inequality and one of the causes of premature death. People who are experiencing homelessness struggle to access our health services. Core services are often too exclusionary or inflexible for people who are homeless with multiple and complex needs. This means people aren’t able to access help when they need it, instead being forced to use A&E to “patch up” their conditions before being discharged back to the streets. Services need to be accessible, for example by expanding walk-in primary care clinics or offering longer GP appointment times to deal with people experiencing multiple needs. We also need to expand specialist health services for people who are homeless to stop people falling through the gaps.

      “This research also highlights the other causes of death that people who are homeless are more likely to experience. Research shows that people who are homeless are over nine times more likely to take their own life than the general population and 17 times more likely to be the victims of violence.

      “Homeless Link is calling on the Government in its upcoming Prevention Green Paper to focus on addressing these inequalities, start to tackle the structural causes of homelessness, and make sure everyone has an affordable, healthy and safe place to call home and the support they need to keep it.”

      https://www.homeless.org.uk/connect/news/2019/mar/11/homeless-link-responds-to-channel-4-report-on-homeless-deaths

  • Plus de 10% des gens ont de la cocaïne sur les doigts, même s’ils n’en consomment pas - SciencePost
    https://sciencepost.fr/2018/03/plus-de-10-des-gens-ont-de-la-cocaine-sur-les-doigts-meme-sils-nen-conso

    Plus de 10 % des gens ont des traces de cocaïne et d’héroïne sur les doigts, même s’ils n’en ont jamais consommé, nous révèle une nouvelle étude menée par six chercheurs de l’université du Surrey, en Grande-Bretagne.

    Il y a beaucoup de cocaïne et d’héroïne dans le monde, et il y a de bonnes chances que vous en ayez un tout petit peu sur votre corps en ce moment, même si vous criez haut et fort n’avoir jamais sciemment touché à « ces choses-là ». C’est du moins la conclusion d’un nouvel article publié dans la revue Clinical Chemistry, révélant que 13 % des participants à une étude avaient des traces de ces substances sur leurs doigts, alors même que ces derniers n’en consommaient pas.
    […]
    Notons que le test permet de distinguer les traces attestant d’une réelle consommation de cocaïne, des traces issues d’un transfert secondaire. L’équipe de chercheurs envisage maintenant de réitérer l’expérience pour dépister le cannabis, les amphétamines et d’autres substances contaminantes.

  • Theresa May mieux que Sarkozy Le Grand Soir - Bernard GENSANE - 5 Juin 2017
    https://www.legrandsoir.info/theresa-may-mieux-que-sarkozy.html

    On se souvient que Sarkozy avait supprimé près de 13 000 postes dans les forces de police et de gendarmerie. Cameron, suivi par Theresa May, ont fait mieux : une suppression de 15% des forces de l’ordre. Le gouvernement a imposé une réduction de budget de 20 % aux forces de police. La police des West Midlands a supprimé 2 764 postes de 2013 à 2015. Dans tout le pays, ce devrait être le cas pour 34 000 postes, au cours du même laps de temps.


    Derrière ces chiffres impressionnants, il y a des réalités humaines. Imaginons une telle suppression dans une chaîne de supermarchés, dans les écoles primaires d’un département français, dans une maternité du Morbihan. Comment les personnels susceptibles d’être victimes d’une telle mesure vont-ils vivre cela, vont-ils réagir à une telle menace ? Comment chaque individu ne va pas regarder son voisin du coin de l’œil et le considérer, soit comme un danger personnel, soit comme un parasite à éliminer ?

    Par delà les coupes claires, Les conservateurs britanniques ont lancé un vaste programme de privatisation de la police. Cela a débuté en 2013, avec un transfert au secteur privé et à ses actionnaires de près de 4 milliards d’euros. Pour justifier d’une manière libérale ce « faire mieux avec moins », le porte-parole de l’association des chefs de la police du grand Manchester (une ville qui a beaucoup souffert récemment, n’est-ce pas ?) expliquait – ce qui est une vaste blague – qu’il y a deux types de missions policières et que l’une peut être confiée à des entreprises privées : « cette offre permettra de fournir du personnel qui pourra mener des tâches de routine et répétitives à un coût réduit, et fournira l’accès temporaire à du personnel qualifié – comme des équipes d’enquête sur les meurtres. Celles-ci pourront être employées pour des événements qui sont rares, mais pour lesquels toutes les forces doivent garder en permanence un groupe de personnel très coûteux. Il sera alors possible de dépenser plus pour les services qui requièrent, en raison de leur complexité, de leur impact sur la sécurité publique ou de leur rôle central, d’être menés entièrement par des officiers assermentés ».

    Mais le privé ne va pas se contenter du suivi des chiens écrasés, actionnaires obligent. La société privée G4S, qui a raflé la mise, a ses exigences. Deux mots sur cette entreprise. Elle emploie 620 000 personnes dans 120 pays de notre joli monde. Elle est, par exemple, implantée au Luxembourg depuis 1971. Cette seule filiale a un chiffre d’affaires de 60 millions d’euros. Il faut dire que ce riant pays compte plus de banques que de voleurs à la tire ! GS4 fut choisie comme prestataire officiel pour les Jeux Olympiques de Londres. Elle « reconnut ne pas pouvoir honorer son contrat du fait d’une pénurie de main-d’œuvre. » Le 2 avril 2013, de vilains garçons attaquent le siège de l’entreprise à l’explosif et tirent sur des policiers avant de s’enfuir.

    Le 12 juin 2016, une boîte de nuit d’Orlando, fréquentée par des homosexuels, fait l’objet d’une fusillade de masse. 49 personnes sont tuées. L’auteur du massacre est un employé de GS4 d’origine afghane ayant échoué aux examens d’entrée dans la police et, par ailleurs, violemment anti-homosexuel.

    Deux régions du Royaume-Uni, le West-Midlands et le comté du Surrey, ont confié à GS4 des missions délicates : suivi d’individus à haut risque, détention de suspects potentiellement dangereux. Sans pouvoir d’arrestation, cela dit. Ce pouvoir reste la prérogative de la vraie police qui est plus autonome que la police française, par exemple. Les directeurs de police britannique se disent indépendants de tout contrôle politique. Ils ne sont pas, comme en France, sous la coupe des autorités judiciaires pendant le déroulement de leurs enquêtes. Ils détiennent un pouvoir d’inculpation.

    Après les trois dernières tueries de masse, on comprend que Theresa May ait reconnu, mais un peu tard, qu’il fallait repenser entièrement les missions de la police et sa place dans la société.

    Trois PS qui n’ont rien à voir, mais qui ont à voir tout de même. Suite à la tuerie du Pont de Londres, Theresa May a remis en question le modèle communautariste qui donne, par exemple, pleins pouvoirs à des tribunaux islamiques pour régler des problèmes de justice civile (ce qu’elle a personnellement toujours accepté). Ce modèle communautariste fonctionne depuis la deuxième moitié des années soixante. Il a donc déjà concerné trois générations. Si Theresa May parvient à renverser la vapeur, je lui tire mon chapeau.

    Emmanuel Macron qui, décidément, n’éprouve guère d’empathie pour les petites gens qui souffrent, a supprimé le secrétariat d’État aux victimes du terrorisme mis en place par Hollande.

    Les caméras de surveillance ne servent qu’à retrouver plus rapidement les criminels et autres auteurs de délit. Elles ne les empêchent pas d’agir. Y compris à Londres, l’une des villes les plus maillées au monde. Dans chaque station du métro de Lyon, un panneau nous informe charitablement que les caméras nous « protègent ». Mensonge ! Elles permettent seulement de repérer les délinquants une fois que le mal a été fait.

    Publié aussi sur : https://blogs.mediapart.fr/bernard-gensane/blog/050617/theresa-may-mieux-que-sarkozy
    #Theresa_May #Manchester #Police #Angleterre #budget #atentas #conservateurs #privatisation #G4S #Victimes_du_terrorisme #caméras_de_surveillance

    Bernard GENSANE Theresa May mieux que Sarkozy

  • The Nine Lives of #John_Ogilby review – a cunning cartographer | Books | The Guardian
    https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/28/nine-lives-john-ogilby-alan-ereira-review

    John Ogilby’s greatest legacy is his Britannia, the first road map of England and Wales, published in 1675-76 just before he died. The antiquary John Aubrey was one of the people Ogilby engaged to help compile Britannia, but from the start Aubrey was wary of the royal cosmographer, whom he thought to be “a cunning Scott”. Aubrey spent months researching the county of Surrey, only for Ogilby to announce he would neither pay him for his work nor include it in the printed volume. Disappointed and out of pocket, Aubrey nevertheless preserved biographical notes on Ogilby that serve as hints or clues to one of the 17th century’s most mysterious lives.

    Aubrey recorded that Ogilby had “such an excellent inventive and prudential wit” that when he was undone by misfortune “he could shift handsomely” and reinvent himself. The title of Alan Ereira’s new biography builds on Aubrey’s suggestion that Ogilby had an exceptional cat-like capacity for survival. Ereira became interested in the cartographer when writing and producing Terry Jones’s The Great Map Mystery for the BBC. He approaches Ogilby’s life as a series of riddles.

    #cartographie #histoire #cartographie_ancienne

  • Les Diggers, du XVIIe siècle en Angleterre
    au XXe siècle en Californie

    Alex Forman

    http://lavoiedujaguar.net/Les-Diggers-du-XVIIe-siecle-en

    Quand un petit groupe d’hommes commença à retourner (dig) la terre et à planter sur les terrains communaux de St. George’s Hill dans le Surrey en 1649, ce fut le point culminant et radical des nouvelles forces de changement qui résultaient de la Réforme dans l’Empire germanique. Car avec l’effondrement de la suprématie totale de l’Église romaine, ces nouvelles forces dépassaient la révolte de Martin Luther. La destruction de la raison d’être de l’omnipotence de l’Église conduisit le peuple jugulé à mettre en question le pouvoir exercé par des formes autres de la structure d’autorité en décadence. Cela peut mieux se voir dans la révolte des paysans dans l’Empire germanique ainsi que dans la Guerre civile anglaise. Car non seulement l’Église était mise en question, mais également les institutions de l’État et le système de la propriété des terres. Les Diggers — ce petit groupe d’hommes ainsi connu — mettaient en question l’ordre existant dans sa totalité : ils avaient des griefs contre le clergé, les juges, les hommes de loi, le Parlement et les nobles. (...)

    #Diggers #histoire-sociale #Angleterre #contre-culture #Californie #SanFrancisco #hippies #anarchisme

  • Britain destroyed records of colonial crimes | UK news | The Guardian
    http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/apr/18/britain-destroyed-records-colonial-crimes?CMP=share_btn_fb

    Thousands of documents detailing some of the most shameful acts and crimes committed during the final years of the British empire were systematically destroyed to prevent them falling into the hands of post-independence governments, an official review has concluded.

    Those papers that survived the purge were flown discreetly to Britain where they were hidden for 50 years in a secret Foreign Office archive, beyond the reach of historians and members of the public, and in breach of legal obligations for them to be transferred into the public domain.

    The archive came to light last year when a group of Kenyans detained and allegedly tortured during the Mau Mau rebellion won the right to sue the British government. The Foreign Office promised to release the 8,800 files from 37 former colonies held at the highly-secure government communications centre at Hanslope Park in Buckinghamshire.

    The historian appointed to oversee the review and transfer, Tony Badger, master of Clare College, Cambridge, says the discovery of the archive put the Foreign Office in an “embarrassing, scandalous” position. “These documents should have been in the public archives in the 1980s,” he said. “It’s long overdue.” The first of them are made available to the public on Wednesday at the National Archive at Kew, Surrey.

  • New courses aim to kick out homophobia in British football | Gay Star News
    http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/new-courses-aim-kick-out-homophobia-british-football041012

    New courses aim to kick out homophobia in British football
    UK Football Association continues drive to tackle anti-gay discrimination in sport with new training programs
    04 October 2012 | By Matthew Jenkin
    UK Football Association continues drive to tackle anti-gay discrimination in sport with new training programs

    British football associations have launched ’groundbreaking’ courses to encourage more lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to get involved in the sport which has been marred by homophobia for years.

    Working in partnership with Pride Sports, the governing bodies of Kent and Surrey soccer have announced training programs for LGBT referees and coaches.

    The iniatives are part of the Football Association’s Opening Doors and Joining In program to tackle abuse of LGBT people both on and off the pitch.

    ’One of the key parts of the plan is about taking positive action to be more inclusive and there’s an acknowledgement at the moment that LGBT people need a bit of encouragement to get into football, coaching and management,’ Louise Englefield of Pride Sports told Gay Star News.

    She added: ’It’s significant because it’s the first time the FA has specifically targeted LGBT people in this way.

    ’It’s groundbreaking really and I suspect it’s probably the first time a governing body anywhere in the world has run something like this.’

    Opening Doors and Joining In was launched in February. The FA’s six-point action plan outlined ways in which the sport will combat the increasingly high profile problem of homophobic abuse, both among players and fans, from greater education and raising awareness, to better reporting of abuse.

    The football referee course is open to LGBT people across the UK and will run at the Kent FA offices in Aylesford on 17 and 18 November. To enter, email stephanie.gadd@kentfa.com or call 01622 792140.

    To enter the Level One Football Coaching Course at Surrey’s Grafham Grange School from 26 to 30 October, click here.

  • [Vizu] Sécurité olympique » OWNI, News, Augmented
    http://owni.fr/2012/07/27/securite-jeux-olympiques-londres-g4s

    Le fiasco de G4S aura eu deux conséquences sérieuses. Ruiner les chances de G4S pour l’appel d’offre concernant la gestion de neuf prisons et la privatisation la police dans les régions des Midlands de l’Ouest et du Surrey, un contrat record de 1,5 milliards d’euros. Et militariser le pays pendant toute la période des Jeux Olympiques.

    Face aux lacunes de G4S, les autorités ont décidé de faire appel à l’armée. 17 000 militaires seront déployés, une situation inédite depuis… la Second guerre mondiale. Clou – acéré – du dispositif : des missiles sol-air ont été installés sur plusieurs sites à l’intérieur de la capitale, y compris sur les toits d’immeubles d’habitations.

    Les habitants de la Fregg Wing Tower, dans l’Est de Londres, ont tenté de s’y opposer. En vain. La justice a donné raison à la sécurité. L’un des avocats des habitants, Martin Howe, l’a expliqué à Rue89 :

    C’est la première fois, dans l’histoire de la Grande Bretagne, que pendant une période de paix des troupes, des armes sont postées dans une aire résidentielle, avec des citoyens lambda. La dernière fois, c’était pendant le Blitz, en 1941, quand la Luftwaffe est venue. C’était quand même très différent comme situation.

  • Revealed: government plans for police privatisation
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/02/police-privatisation-security-firms-crime

    Private companies could take responsibility for investigating crimes, patrolling neighbourhoods and even detaining suspects under a radical privatisation plan being put forward by two of the largest police forces in the country.

    West Midlands and Surrey have invited bids from G4S and other major security companies on behalf of all forces across England and Wales to take over the delivery of a wide range of services previously carried out by the police.

    The contract is the largest on police privatisation so far, with a potential value of £1.5bn over seven years, rising to a possible £3.5bn depending on how many other forces get involved.

    #police #privatisation #Angleterre

  • A Bit of Fry and Laurie - Privatization of the Police Force - YouTube
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6CkltzGAxY&feature=youtu.be

    Private companies could take responsibility for investigating crimes, patrolling neighbourhoods and even detaining suspects under a radical privatisation plan being put forward by two of the largest police forces in the country.

    West Midlands and Surrey have invited bids from G4S and other major security companies on behalf of all forces across England and Wales to take over the delivery of a wide range of services previously carried out by the police.

    The contract is the largest on police privatisation so far, with a potential value of £1.5bn over seven years, rising to a possible £3.5bn depending on how many other forces get involved.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/02/police-privatisation-security-firms-crime?CMP=twt_gu
    This scale dwarfs the recent £200m contract between Lincolnshire police and G4S, under which half the force’s civilian staff are to join the private security company, which will also build and run a police station for the first time.

  • Zander : : Tree, Line.
    http://www.zanderolsen.com/Tree_Line.html

    ‘This is an ongoing series of constructed photographs rooted in the forest. These works, carried out in Surrey, Hampshire and Wales,involve site specific interventions in the landscape, ‘wrapping’ trees with white material to construct a visual relationship between tree, not-tree and the line of horizon according to the camera’s viewpoint.’


    #photographie