Independent Inquiries Research Articles

Towards quantifying uncertainties in geological models for mineral resource estimation through outside-in deposit-scale structural geological analysis

Mineral Resource downgrades can be prevented by integrating better structural geological interpretations into project evaluations. Geological modelling for Mineral Resource estimation is presented as a systematic process of structural geological analysis at the deposit-scale using drill-sampled grade data. The initial step in this process is to use Maximum Intensity Projection (MIP) rendering to interpret axial symmetry and its orientation from the grade interval mid-points at the deposit-scale, thus reducing the modelling process’s degrees of freedom to only three—estimating the prolateness of the grade or lithological distribution. This approach contrasts with the brute-force methods for assessing modelling uncertainty because the axial direction is fixed to the down-plunge orientation, thus eliminating from the outset, structurally implausible geometric configurations and unrealistic geological scenarios common in brute-force methods. Adopting this new approach of creating geological models means moving away from conventional mining industry methods that prioritise operational considerations in constructing resource estimates but fail to explain the geometric complexities of mineral deposits. We use experiments and a practical case study of a historical gold mine in Western Australia to highlight the significance of analysing the structural control of a gold deposit at the deposit-scale using raw grade data. Our research is based on anecdotal evidence suggesting that erroneous geological modelling leads to unforeseen Mineral Resource downgrades. However, we cannot confirm this hypothesis because there have been few, if any, independent public inquiries into Mineral Resource downgrades. To establish the underlying reasons for significant resource downgrades with certainty, impartial investigations (modelled on accident investigations in the aviation industry) are imperative.

Facilitating teamwork in emergency management: The team process checklist

Emergency management (EM) teams typically operate in complex dynamic environments where they need to synthesize incomplete, contradictory or overwhelming amounts of information into intelligence and produce outputs in a short time-scale. Independent inquiries following large-scale emergencies highlight the central role that team processes such as communication, coordination, and cooperation play in enabling the effective performance of teams. This article describes the development and evaluation of the Team Process Checklist (TPC). The TPC is a 17-item checklist that is designed to help observers and/or team members better understand and manage EM teams both in real time and after the event (in debriefs and after action reviews). Items for the TPC were identified in the literature on communication, coordination and cooperation and then developed through five different regional coordination center (RCC) exercises by observers who used the TPC to evaluate the teamwork of the RCC. Following the development phase four evaluation studies were conducted with EM personnel. In these studies the TPC was rated as having very good usefulness, clarity, and comprehensiveness. The TPC therefore shows considerable promise as a simple, straight-forward way to help people in EM better understand and manage their teams in real time and after the event.

The 1926 Lake Denmark Explosion: An Extraordinary Mishap That Changed Military Safety Standards

Prior to 1926, the American Table of Distances did not adequately take into consideration the potential for munition storage facilities to exceed capacities. This study aims to provide an overview of the construction and use of munition storage facilities and examine how the American Table of Distances would dramatically change due to the 1926 explosion at the Lake Denmark Naval Ammunitions Depot. The historical literature examining the correlation between the American Table of Distances and storage capacities is limited, and independent inquiries by the United States Government and first-person accounts of the explosion exist. However, these sources had not been collectively assembled into a study to provide historical context. From this research, it can be determined that it was only a matter of “when” would a disaster strike, as storage facilities up and down the eastern seaboard were experiencing exceeded capacities. This disaster, while unnecessary, provided an opportunity for the Army to respond, make changes, and ultimately allow the government to update outdated safety standards. Additionally, this study serves the dual purpose of highlighting the newly established Navy Hill Historic District associated with the unfortunate disaster and its important legacy.

A 'Damaging Loophole' 'Long Overdue' for Closing: Extending Consumer Protections Against Unfair Contract Terms to insurance

As part of the Australian Consumer Law reforms of 2010, unfair contract terms protections were implemented nationwide across most sectors that use standard form contracts in their dealings with consumers, including financial services. However, until recently, these protections did not apply to general insurance contracts covered by the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth). Consumer groups, as well as a series of government and independent inquiries and reviews, have long called for reforms to bring insurance within the ambit of the unfair contract terms protections contained in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth). In February 2020, legislation was passed to remedy the situation. In this article, we examine the history that paved the way to these reforms, and evaluate their impacts for consumers and insurers. We argue that this legislation indicates a move away from the view of insurance contracts as having a ‘unique character’ that renders them ‘unsuited’ to the consumer protections that apply to other financial products and services. We suggest that the application of unfair contract terms protections to insurance contracts has potential to address consumer harm without resulting in prohibitive costs for the insurance industry.

Religious freedom, civic responsibility and local history: an embedded action inquiry

PurposeThis theory-into-practice article centers on American history through the optics of one religious organization's contestations – the Elim Springs Church of Jesus Christ, or Harshmanites as they are commonly known – with state and society. Secondary students explore the history and myriad responses from citizens and the federal government, which provides insight into what it means to be an American.Design/methodology/approachEmbedded action inquiry (EAI) couples investigation with informed action. This whole-class exploration of 19th and 20th century American history transforms into individual, independent inquiries about related historical and current civil liberty contestations. Students communicate newly generated, fully substantiated understandings first to an academic audience and then to the community.FindingsTeachers direct students' historical reading, thinking and writing toward informed civic participation. Engaging primary and secondary sources spark students' curiosity and scrutiny; writing prompts and scaffolding guide students' text-based articulations.Originality/valueHarshmanite history, initiated by an iconic leader and maintained by the congregation into its 3rd century, illuminates the best and worst aspects of America. Secondary social studies students can examine emergent, local tensions when citizens' religious freedoms confront civic duty and societal responses. Through EAI, a novel adaptation of inquiry, students make meaning out of the local history and contribute to civic dialogue.

Complicity in Vienna: Science and systemic denial after 1938

Summary Despite over seventy years of independent inquiries, institutional investigations, and ongoing scholarship in contemporary history, Austria continues to uncover tangible evidence that members of their medical and scientific communities shielded their own genocidal activities from the Nazi era until the end of the 20th century. To what extent does this point toward a cultural complicity, conscious or not, with compromised figures like Eduard Pernkopf or Heinrich Gross? A whole new generation of mostly Austrian researchers have challenged the “avoidance imperative” with increasing determination though often under international pressure. Yet the intransigence with which the Viennese academy safeguarded Nazi murderers in their midst after 1945 and arguably until today, compels us to re-examine what is known – and what is not. The tacit amnesty of Austrian Nazi scientists, whose story is less well-known than their German counterparts, may speak to a deeper malaise in the construction of Austrian national identity.

From the Northern Territory to Western Australia: fracking, public policy and social licence

There are significant differences in the experiences of the Northern Territory (NT) and Western Australia (WA), as a consequence of the processes, outcomes and recommendations, and ultimately political climate surrounding the development of unconventional gas. In the period 2016–18 both the NT and WA underwent independent inquiries into the environmental impacts of onshore hydraulic fracture stimulation. Each process included review of scientific research papers, numerous community and stakeholder meetings around the State and Territory and extensive public seminars. Final reports were released by both inquiries in 2018. However, the recommendations arising from each report on the findings of the inquiries were materially different, as were the political responses and implementation of outcomes. This paper analyses the differences in the respective reports, and comments on the implementation and future of development in the respective jurisdictions.

Industry and government responses to unconventional gas development in Australia

In Australia, a series of independent inquiries into onshore unconventional gas have all concluded that the technical risks can be managed, albeit pending changes to existing regulatory systems. This is confounded by regulations for unconventional gas development differing across the jurisdictional boundaries of three levels of government. The question of whether to develop unconventional gas resources has become highly political, influenced by a growth in activism and also by the contradictory pressures of transitioning to a low-carbon future and domestic gas shortages. A coal seam gas (CSG) industry was developed in the state of Queensland but exploration and development in other states has been stopped or delayed. In response to community concerns about the industry, and as issues relating to co-existence became apparent, there have been changes made to the regulatory and policy environments, as well as improvements in industry practice and transparency. In this viewpoint piece, we bring an industry and government perspective to the conversation about unconventional gas development by outlining industry and regulatory responses to development of the unconventional gas industry in Australia, largely over the past decade. We conclude that despite many and significant regulatory and industry responses, public acceptance of the industry remains low.

Reports of child protection and safeguarding concerns in sport and leisure settings: an analysis of English local authority data between 2010 and 2015

ABSTRACTThe abuse of children in sport has received considerable attention in recent years not least in the UK, where high-profile disclosures of abuse by former sports professionals have led to several independent inquiries and reviews. Subsequent public and media interest has focused on the potential scale of child abuse in sport. This scrutiny has highlighted how little data there are in this area, in a sector that thrives on statistics. This paper analyses official reports of child abuse in sport and leisure settings received by local authorities (LAs) in England during a five-year period (2010–2015) across a range of factors. Findings show that English LAs have varying capacity to provide data on sport/leisure contexts; receive substantively different volumes of reports of child abuse in sport/leisure; and record reports of sexual abuse in sport at higher levels than other forms of abuse. These data suggest that abuse in English sport is significantly underreported but that reports per annum increased over the period.

Mental capacity legislation and its impact on parents with learning difficulties involved in childcare and family law proceedings assessments in England and Wales

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact of mental capacity legislation when applied to parents with learning difficulties who lack capacity within childcare and family law proceedings in England and Wales. Design/methodology/approach The paper relies on a range of material including reports published by independent mental health foundations, official inquiries and other public bodies. It also refers to academic and practitioner material in journals and government guidance. Findings The paper critically reviews the application of the guidance when assessing mental capacity legislation as applied in England and Wales and offers by way of illustration several case examples where psychological assessments, and the enhancement of capacity, have assisted parents who were involved in childcare and family law proceedings. Research limitations/implications There has been little published research or governmental reports on the number of cases when parents involved in childcare and family law proceedings have been found to lack capacity. No published prevalence data are available on the times when enhancing capacity has resulted in a change of outcome in childcare and family law proceedings. Practical implications The duty is on the mental health practitioners assessing mental capacity that they do so in a structured and supportive role adhering to good practice guidance and follow the guiding principles of mental capacity legislation assuming that the individual has capacity unless it is established that they lack capacity. Guidance and training is needed to ensure that the interpretation of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and its application is applied consistently. Social implications For those who are considered to lack mental capacity to make specific decisions, particularly within childcare and family law proceedings, safeguards are in place to better support such individuals and enhance their capacity in order that they can participate more fully in proceedings. Originality/value While the MCA legislation has now been enacted for over ten years, there is very little analysis of the implications of capacity assessments on parents involved in childcare and family law proceedings. This paper presents an overview and, in places, a critical analysis of the new safeguarding duties of mental health practitioners when assessing for, and enhancing capacity in parents.

THE ROLE OF HABITUS IN DEVELOPING INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL STUDENT AT MA'HAD ALY AL FURQON, PONOROGO

The institution always expects the output quality and personality, but if the surroundings of education never give appropriate habitus, then the result will not be achieved. On the basis of this research, trying to peel about the role of habitus in developing intellectual capital which is a student at Ma'had synergy between the structure with an agency, how an intellectual capital created and run in a Ma'had university. The question of the Islamic College during this time, when students are extremely variable input, its ability to be tough in the formation and determination of the standard of their abilities. The results of this study found that the role of habitus intellectual capital improvement done in Mahad Aly Al Furqon Ponorogo there are seven models of the structure that supports the students ' intellectual capital development in Ma'had Aly Al Furqon Ponorogo. As for overcoming the Burnout, the students do a variety of activities that make students fresh so avoid burnout. The results of the intellectual capital developed in the Mahad Aly Al Furqon students achieved the target of memorizing a set amount and the more intellectual growth of students marked with a creative, independent inquiries, in drawing up the scientific agenda, active removing the arguments in different ways.

Is the Military’s Century-Old Frontline Psychiatry Policy Harmful to Veterans and Their Families? Part Three of a Systematic Review

The explicit mission of the military’s 100-year-old frontline psychiatry doctrine is to ensure that upwards to 95% of deployed service members diagnosed with war stress injury and/or psychiatric disorder are prevented from leaving war zones, unless they are either grossly incapacitated or pose imminent safety risks to self or others. In the final segment of this comprehensive three-part review, we examine systematically evidence that the military’s mental health policies may be harmful to veterans and their families in order to address unanswered clinical, moral, and legal questions. Our analysis reviews, empirical studies on the health effects from cumulative exposure to war stress, previously classified reports on frontline psychiatry, prevalence and treatment of mental health conditions among deployed personnel, risk and protective factors of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and prospective deployment research on health outcomes. There has not been the proper research undertaken comparing in situ treatment vs. evaluation, so conclusions are limited. Nevertheless, results show there is a body of evidence that repeated exposure to war stress appears associated a wide variety of long-term adverse medical, psychiatric, and social outcomes. The current findings, combined with our two previous reviews, provide support for the conclusion that veterans and their families appear possibly more likely to be harmed than helped by the US military’s policies and procedures. In this regard, it appears that frontline psychiatry is perhaps contributing to a generational cycle of self-inflicted wartime behavioral health crises. Several corrective actions including possible class action, as has happened in the UK, and a call for national independent inquiries with congressional oversight should be done.

Reform, revolution and disruption in mental health care: a consumer's perspective.

Mental health leaders, policy makers and successive national and state governments have tried countless incremental reforms. Yet, for decades in Australia, independent inquiries and reports have concluded that our mental health 'system of care' is a misnomer. It is fragmented, ineffective, inefficient and unfair. For far too long, people, families and communities have paid a heavy price for this. Reform in itself will not be the solution that we can hang all our hopes on. Disruptive innovations are now sneaking into the mental health sector and beginning to be taken up en masse. Sitting alongside this is a budding revolution - an unrest stirring in our communities that has not been seen before in the history of mental health. People are raising their expectations and communities are demanding better. With external (revolution, disruption) and internal (reform) forces colliding at a similar time, a perfect storm is being created for what could be the long-awaited and much-needed change we have longed to see. But it will not be without pain because, given a choice, most will opt for stability over change. But ignoring what is coming may not be wise.

Careers guidance and advice

Ofsted reviews, independent inquiries and employers' surveys have heaped much criticism on the standard of careers guidance in schools, but destination data suggests pupils are progressing well

Application and regulation of hydraulic stimulation across the states and territories

Hydraulic stimulation, to increase the productivity of petroleum and geothermal wells, has been applied onshore in Australia for more than 50 years. While most states and territories have employed hydraulic stimulation, the most significant application has been in SA and Queensland, driven by the development of significant gas resources in the Cooper-Eromanga and Bowen-Surat provinces. In Queensland, some 500 wells have been hydraulically stimulated in the past five years, driven by the appraisal and development of coal seam gas (CSG) resources. As global and domestic demand for natural gas continues to grow, and in light of the recent start-up of Queensland’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, industry will continue to optimise discovered resources while identifying new supply in under-explored basins and plays. Australia has substantial onshore prospective and contingent gas resources, a significant proportion of which are held in shale and tight sands. Commercialising this gas, at volumes sufficient to underpin associated major investment, will require the extensive application of hydraulic stimulation. The federal government and all states and territories bar Queensland have completed independent or parliamentary inquiries into hydraulic stimulation or unconventional gas development in general. A moratorium on hydraulic stimulation presently exists in Victoria and Tasmania. This paper summarises the historic application of hydraulic stimulation onshore Australia, the legislation presently in place to regulate and manage the activity, and a hypothetical scenario of the application of hydraulic stimulation to explore for and develop shale and tight gas resources at a field scale.

Setting the record straight

Over recent years nurses at all levels have received criticism from independent inquiries, health ombudsman’s reports, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the courts in relation to the quality of documentation and record keeping in patient records. Some of the resulting failings in care have been attributed to poor communication and poor quality of records. Further stipulations may emerge from the Francis enquiry. Record-keeping procedures are usually set by employers. The NMC recognises that, because of this, nurses and midwives may use different methods. However, the principles of good record keeping are well established (NMC, 2009), and should reflect the core values of individuality and partnership working. Good record keeping is an integral part of nursing and midwifery practice, and is essential to the provision of safe and effective care. It is not an optional extra to be fitted in if circumstances allow. National programmes for the use of information communication technology and electronic record keeping are being introduced throughout the UK. Although electronic records are evolving, it is clear from nurses and midwives that paper-based records are still commonly used. NMC guidance applies to both paper and electronic records. Good record keeping, whether at an individual, team or organisational level, has many important functions. These include a range of clinical, administrative and educational uses such as: ■ Helping to improve accountability ■ Showing how decisions related to patient care were made ■ Supporting the delivery of services ■ Supporting effective clinical judgements and decisions ■ Supporting patient care and communications ■ Making continuity of care easier ■ Providing documentary evidence of services delivered ■ Promoting better communication and sharing of information between members of the multiprofessional healthcare team ■ Helping to identify risks, and enabling early detection of complications ■ Supporting clinical audit, research, allocation of resources and performance planning ■ Helping to address complaints or legal processes. Documentation means ‘to give written information that is proof or support of something that has been done or observed.’ It is the written account of observations, the information the client, resident or family relates or states, the data you collect during care, and the care that you provide. A nursing/medical record is a collection of information about the person you are caring for. Rory Farrelly NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Director of Nursing Acute Services Division It is a legal and confidential record with pertinent information related to the care provided. Simply put, a nursing/medical record is the record of all care that is provided. If it is not recorded, it did not happen. If it is recorded incorrectly, it happened incorrectly. This is why it is so important to be accurate when documenting. Equally, if it was not done, do not record it and never record on behalf of a colleague or allow them to record on your behalf. Four commonly used forms of particular importance are nurses’ progress notes, graphic sheet for vital signs, care plans, and activities of daily living sheets. Documentation provides crucial legal protection. Admissible in court, the patient’s medical record must be documented in an accurate, complete, systematic, logical, concise, and timely manner. Courts will view the documentation in the nursing/medical record as proof and verification to patient care. By showing that the individual under your care received quality, adequate care, a well documented record can, and will most likely protect you legally. A large number of directors of nursing have been attempting to design a model and process to audit the record keeping and care planning documentation of nurses, health visitors and midwives. How about we try and take a quality improvement approach to review nursing records and care plans, as opposed to a traditional audit approach? This would be undertaken through the adoption of the quality improvement approach, which mirrors ongoing work in the Patient Safety Programme, for example, the Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) and Clinical Quality Indicators used across the NHS in each of the four countries. The rationale for this proposal is that, despite the numerous audit projects undertaken on record keeping, there is little evidence this has produced sustained or widespread improvement in the quality of nursing records or care plans. Teams can use the model-for-improvement tool as the preferred approach, by carrying out small tests of change around the primary drivers of reliable records, reliable record keeping, culture, and education and awareness. From this, a number of process measures can be established for aspects of nursing records and care plans, and to help teams determine whether the changes they are making are leading to improvements in their nursing records and importantly, in their patient care plans. BJN

Kitchen knives and homicide: A systematic study of people charged with murder in the Lothian and Borders region of Scotland

A recent English study demonstrated high rates of kitchen knife use in homicides by mentally disordered offenders subject to independent inquiries. Everyone accused of homicide in Scotland undergoes psychiatric examination; all such evaluations in a Scottish region between 2006 and 2011 were systematically analysed to identify homicide characteristics. It was hypothesised that kitchen knives would be the commonest sharp instruments used, and would be associated with unplanned domestic homicide against known victims, with no independent association with mental disorder. Kitchen knives were used in 32 of 55 homicides: 94% of 34 sharp object homicides (p < 0.05). No independent association was found between kitchen knife use and planning, location, relationship, intoxication or mental disorder. Kitchen knife use in homicide appears to be a significant public health issue, and not only in the mentally disordered population. Research is recommended into kitchen knife use in non-fatal violence, and weapon control in populations at increased risk of knife violence.

‘Death to Sarts’: History, injustice and a complex insult in Central Asia (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

Recently published independent inquiries and detailed chronologies of the violence that occurred in the southern Kyrgyzstan city of Osh in 2010 noted the frequent and threatening use of ‘Sart’ against Uzbek residents in the city's mahallas. This article explains the significance and potency of this insult as the confluence of perceived historical injustices, iniquities in post‐independence land privatizations, and current hardships of food insecurity and poverty. It considers the significance of narratives of ‘Soviet injustice’ (outlawing of pastoralism, collectivization, and land confiscation) for contemporary nationalist agendas which emphasize Kyrgyz harm. With increasing political fragmentation and social disunity, the fear of further inter‐communal violence is ever present, and it is suggested that twenty years on from independence the Kyrgyzstan government will need to find ways of openly debating such interpretations of the past without undermining national reconciliation.

Being of a Thing, State of Mind, Answers to Pre-Zeno Paradoxes; Interpreting the Genesis in Bible, Foundation of General Science

In this paper, we introduce a novel approach, owing to the penetrating work carved out by Heidegger and Wittgenstein in the first half of the 20th Century, to study classic Philosophical Inquiries and use it to develop solutions to three ancient Greek paradoxes that were all discovered before Zeno’s and are discussed by Roy Sorensen in the first three chapters of his ‘A Brief History of the Paradox’. They are Anaximander’s riddle of origin, Hiappasus’ incommensurability in reality and Parmenides’ argument against the possibility of thinking What is Not. In early times, they were treated as independent inquiries and were either resolved negatively, that is, given a No answer, or did not have consensus on the solution yet. Our new answers resolve them positively and show that the ‘Being of a Thing’ concept we introduce is the key to all. In addition, we deploy the solutions to analyze and re-interpret the Genesis 1: 1-31 and 2:1-3 in King James Bible, demonstrating the equal substance of original ideas on the beginning of our universe through presentation with contrasting form. As these inquiries are dealing with the elemental concepts in science, such as the origination of the universe, mathematic nature of the reality and analytical formation of human consciousness and intentionality, solutions to them is instrumental to develop the new foundation of natural philosophy and general science such that we would be able to advance research and study of frontier topics in various disciplines. Most important, the outcome also paves the way to exploring alternative solutions to Zeno’s Paradoxes so as to uncover a few pieces of fundamental truth about the universe and the human world of ours.

Being of a Thing

In this article, we introduce a novel approach, ‘Being of a Thing’, owing to the penetrating work carved out by Heidegger and Wittgenstein in the first half of the 20th Century, to study classic philosophical inquiries and use it to resolve three ancient Greek paradoxes, i.e. Anaximander’s riddle of origin, Hiappasus’ incommensurability in reality and Parmenides’ impossible to think ‘What is Not’. In early times, the three paradoxes were treated as independent inquiries and were either resolved negatively, that is, given a No answer, or did not have consensus on the solution yet. In this article, we resolve all of them positively with the new approach and show that they all contribute coherently to the understanding of ‘Being of a Thing’.