David Richards
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View article: Professor Peter Haggett (1933–2025)
Professor Peter Haggett (1933–2025) Open
Short Abstract This is an obituary of the geographer Peter Haggett (1933–2025), written by colleagues at the University of Bristol.
View article: Change and Continuity in British Politics: Can the Starmer Government's Approach to Governance Resolve the Crisis in the British State without Radical Reform?
Change and Continuity in British Politics: Can the Starmer Government's Approach to Governance Resolve the Crisis in the British State without Radical Reform? Open
In this article, the key dilemmas that will confront the new Labour administration in Britain during its initial period in power are examined. The Starmer government is seeking to use the state pragmatically to improve British economic per…
View article: The inefficiency of centralised control and political short-termism: the case of the Prison Service in England and Wales
The inefficiency of centralised control and political short-termism: the case of the Prison Service in England and Wales Open
A paradox of the New Public Management reform – an influential school of thought in the management of public services in some countries – is that, despite its rhetoric of discretion for public managers, governments frequently reassert dire…
View article: The asymmetric power model 20 years on
The asymmetric power model 20 years on Open
It is over 20 years since the publication of the Asymmetric Power Model (APM). In the ensuing period, Britain has faced multiple challenges: the increasing fragmentation of public services; austerity politics; devolution; and, most recentl…
View article: The challenge of devolved English governance and the rise of political spatial inequality
The challenge of devolved English governance and the rise of political spatial inequality Open
The UK is characterised by spatial inequality between and within regions, alongside an over-centralised asymmetric model of governance. In England especially, these features are stark, and throughout the last decade, politicians have respo…
View article: ‘Hyper-active incrementalism’ and the Westminster system of governance: Why spatial policy has failed over time
‘Hyper-active incrementalism’ and the Westminster system of governance: Why spatial policy has failed over time Open
This article seeks to explain why spatial policy in England has been so ineffective in recent decades. It offers a novel framework – ‘Hyper-Active Incrementalism’ – to conceptualise the way that public policy in this area is prone to being…
View article: Lost in transit: exploring the first-year domestic and international student experience
Lost in transit: exploring the first-year domestic and international student experience Open
Research by others has shown that student attitudes and approaches to tertiary learning have significant dependence on their expectations of university study. An aim of the pilot project detailed in this paper is a better understanding of …
View article: Levelling Up the <scp>UK</scp>: If not the Conservatives, will Labour Learn the Lessons from Past Policy Failings?
Levelling Up the <span>UK</span>: If not the Conservatives, will Labour Learn the Lessons from Past Policy Failings? Open
This article considers the levelling‐up agenda in the UK, examining the Johnson government's original proposals to tackle regional and local inequality and its continuation under new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak following the short‐lived pre…
View article: Crisis and state transformation: Covid-19, levelling up and the UK’s incoherent state
Crisis and state transformation: Covid-19, levelling up and the UK’s incoherent state Open
This article provides a novel account of recent UK governance reforms, describing what can be termed an ‘incoherent’ state, ill-equipped to address complex, multi-dimensional policy challenges. This is evidenced through two interrelated ca…
View article: English Devolution and the <scp>Covid‐19</scp> Pandemic: Governing Dilemmas in the Shadow of the Treasury
English Devolution and the <span>Covid‐19</span> Pandemic: Governing Dilemmas in the Shadow of the Treasury Open
This article explores the question of devolution in the light of the Covid‐19 pandemic's impact on English local government. Criticism of the government's handling of the crisis is widespread and tends to focus on the highly centralised na…
View article: Cummings and Gove cannot reform Whitehall without reforming the Treasury
Cummings and Gove cannot reform Whitehall without reforming the Treasury Open
Dave Richards, Diane Coyle, Martin Smith, and Sam Warner explain why there is little that is novel in Gove and Cummings’s agenda for Whitehall reform. They argue that reformers would do well to consider why reform has been discussed for ov…
View article: The ability to assess the state of the fundus in patients with lens opacities of varying intensity, including patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, using quantitative analysis of images made with a fundus camera. А pilot study
The ability to assess the state of the fundus in patients with lens opacities of varying intensity, including patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, using quantitative analysis of images made with a fundus camera. А pilot study Open
Purpose. To evaluate a quantitative method for grading the "blurriness" of ocular fundus images in patients with varying degrees of cataract including diabetes mellitus type II in order to improve the quality of fundus examination when it …
View article: Criticisms of the Westminster model of politics are not new: can the system survive the latest wave of anti-politics?
Criticisms of the Westminster model of politics are not new: can the system survive the latest wave of anti-politics? Open
Criticisms of the highly centralised, elitist, top-down Westminster model are by no means new. Consecutive Prime Ministers – from Blair to May – vowed to take on vested powers and interests, challenge the status quo, and change the way pol…
View article: Westminster’s Brexit Paradox: The contingency of the ‘old’ versus ‘new’ politics
Westminster’s Brexit Paradox: The contingency of the ‘old’ versus ‘new’ politics Open
The embedded nature of the British Political Tradition has created a series of pathologies about the way politics in Westminster is conducted. The endurance of the British Political Tradition emanates from its resilience to pressures for r…
View article: Automated Method of Grading Vitreous Haze in Patients With Uveitis for Clinical Trials
Automated Method of Grading Vitreous Haze in Patients With Uveitis for Clinical Trials Open
The work offers a rapid, unbiased, standardized means of assessing vitreous haze for clinical and telemedical monitoring of uveitis patients.
View article: Local short-term variability of retinal thickness measurements with SD-OCT
Local short-term variability of retinal thickness measurements with SD-OCT Open
The purpose of this work was to investigate the short-term reproducibility and variability of total retinal thickness in Heidelberg Spectralis SD-OCT. 18 eyes of 9 healthy volunteers (2M and 7F, age range 19–60 yrs.) were imaged with poste…
View article: ‘Things were better in the past’: Brexit and the Westminster fallacy of democratic nostalgia
‘Things were better in the past’: Brexit and the Westminster fallacy of democratic nostalgia Open
Dave Richards and Martin Smith examine why Brexiteers want to ‘take back control’ and how this desire is not only paradoxical but part of a ‘democratic nostalgia’ which could further exacerbate political disengagement.
View article: Are political statecraft and populism compatible?: Lessons from Corbyn and Trump
Are political statecraft and populism compatible?: Lessons from Corbyn and Trump Open
Although Jeremy Corbyn and Donald Trump share no common ideological ground, as political strategists they both reject the political establishment and the rules of traditional statesmanship. Kingsley Purdam, Dave Richards, and Nick Turnbull…
View article: Understanding the perceived barriers/enablers to Health Information Management professionals undertaking research
Understanding the perceived barriers/enablers to Health Information Management professionals undertaking research Open
Research is essential for societal development and economics. For a profession, it builds the theoreticalunderpinnings of the discipline, enables practitioners to staying current with developments and technology,and allows the profession t…