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This article aims to enhance understanding of the role of place in urban leadership by examining the way leadership changed significantly following the introduction of mayoral governance into a UK city. In 2012, 10 cities in England held referendums to decide whether to introduce a directly elected mayor model of leadership. Bristol was the only city to vote in favour of this radical change, and the Bristol Civic Leadership Project, set up before the first mayor was elected in November 2012, was designed to discover what differences the directly elected mayor model might make to the leadership and governance of a city. This article addresses two important questions: (1) Does the institutional design of local governance in a place influence leadership effectiveness? (2) How, if at all, do the leadership styles of the individual elected as mayor affect the quality of place-based governance? The article identifies three main reasons why place is important in public policy – expression of identity, strengthening democracy and enhancing governmental effectiveness – and considers how the leadership innovations in Bristol engage with these three dimensions of place. As well as presenting evidence documenting how bold civic leadership has transformed the governance of a particular British city, the article contributes to leadership studies by exploring the relationships between place, power and leadership.

This is a short, interesting, accessible, and authoritative book on leadership in local government in England. The authors draw on their expertise and empirical research to produce a publication th...

Background/Aims Physiotherapists generally have a positive view of research, but have identified a number of barriers to taking part, and have expressed challenges when attempting to integrate research findings into their practice. The aim of this study was to describe the self-reported impact of collecting data for a multicentre research study on physiotherapists' clinical practice. Methods Convenience sampling was used to select three of 11 NHS trusts involved in the original data collection. A questionnaire was emailed to the 28 of 34 physiotherapists working within these three Trusts who collected data and for whom contact details were available. Results A total of 21 (75%) physiotherapists completed the questionnaire. Out of the 21 physiotherapists, 15 stated they were aware of the study results; all of whom reported subsequent changes in their beliefs about prognostic factors for shoulder pain (subject of the original study) and some alteration in clinical practice. However, barriers to integrating further changes into practice were reported, including lack of time and a perception that patients would not engage with a more (bio)psychosocial approach. Overall, 85% of responders stated data collection had changed their understanding of the research process. Conclusions Clinicians' participation in the research process positively influenced practice. However, 29% were unaware of the results and only 33% of physiotherapists accessed the published article. There were perceived barriers to integrating results into practice.

Kolorob is a participatory platform connecting informal settlement communities with services and informal jobs in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Alongside technological systems, expertise from community, non-government, private-sector, volunteer and academic fields has been integral to the platform’s development. These socio-technical connections and networks, manifest through participatory design, agile software development and collaborative knowledge practices, have become productively entangled in the labour of platform production. We introduce a framework, participatory platform analysis, through which distinct layers – in the form of audiences, intermediaries, interfaces and databases – of this labour can be distinguished and examined. Our analysis draws upon focus group discussions, conducted in Mirpur in 2016 with emergent experts: youth facilitators, field officers and developers. We argue that the interests and tensions of co-designing participatory platforms relating to matters of public concern in South Asian mega-cities are reflective of the rising hybridity of expertise, generated through both institutional training and grass-roots practice, in contemporary urban life. The ‘narrative of expertise in the future’ compels us to recode knowledge production in the here and now: how we are making participatory platforms, the role of socio-technical expertise and the labour of communicating publics.

Within the context of debates regarding depoliticisation, this article considers how the introduction of a directly elected mayor system of governance impacts on urban politics. Directly elected mayors are now a fundamental feature of many political systems. They have been widely introduced as a reform to improve processes of local democracy, enhance the effectiveness of governing practices and to offer a more potent form of city leadership. This article focuses on developments in England, by presenting the case of Bristol, a city epitomising many aspects of modern neo-liberalised urban development. Bristol adopted a mayoral system in 2012 and the article presents empirical data from before and after this reform pertaining to two frameworks to understand city leadership. We conclude that the move to mayoral governance, in Bristol in the 2012–2016 period, eroded the influence of party politics and led to the adoption of elements of a leadership style associated with a depoliticisation of urban politics in the city. Nevertheless, the analysis suggests that the mayoral model also provides significant space for the expansion of political agency on the part of the city leader, not least because power becomes concentrated in the mayoral position.

This chapter opens the work by introducing directly elected mayors as political leaders in systems of urban government, and the expectations that are placed upon them. It identifies the core features of the directly elected mayor model, of direct election, of the creation of a single identifiable leader with a secure term of office, before discussing its advantages and disadvantages. Directly elected mayors are then placed in the context of urban governance, urbanization, and globalization. The chapter ends with a description of the other chapters that comprise the book.

This chapter considers whether the introduction of a directly elected mayor form of political leadership can make a difference to the governance of a city. To do so we present research results from a study of governance reform in Bristol, UK, which introduced a directly elected mayor in 2012. The views of Bristol citizens and civic leaders are analysed using an evaluation framework encompassing different aspects of urban political leadership. The new model of governance has led to: a startling increase in the visibility of city leadership, the development of a clear vision for the future of the city, and a boost to Bristol’s reputation as an inventive city. However, data shows public perceptions of trust in and timeliness of decision-making have not improved. Also, for some the mayoral model concentrates too much power in the hands of one individual, and impairs the quality of representative democracy because it weakens the vital role of councillors in the governance of the city. Conclusions are drawn highlighting themes emerging from the Bristol experience that could be of interest to wider debates about how to improve the quality and effectiveness of urban governance.

The challenges to providing adequate clinical care within primary care can be difficult. There is a shortage of GPs, and geographical and other factors contribute to difficulties attracting other clinicians. Alongside this comes an increasingly older population with complex comorbidities. It has been estimated that detrimental health behaviour is associated with 60% of deaths.1 Therefore, it is vital to encourage patients, who ultimately have the greatest influence over their health, to do more. Despite this, the training of health professionals in behaviour change is frequently limited at best. Perhaps it is time for a rethink? Health coaching (HC) is an intervention that may be effective in improving people’s health behaviours.2 The evidence base is growing, with a search of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s resources revealing over 1340 references.3 HC has been …

This article examines the strong mayor form of local political management in Spain. Drawing on empirical research conducted with members and officers in a Spanish municipality, the system is analysed according to leadership, representation and responsiveness, accountability, scrutiny, and decision-making. It finds that the model underpins concentrated individualised leadership exercised by the mayor. Representativeness and responsiveness in the system are hampered by the absence of electoral divisions within the municipality, meaning citizens do not have their own councillor, and by there being no institutionalised system of citizen participation or decentralisation. Elections every four years serve to hold incumbent mayors to account, and the full council has the power to recall the mayor, though such a recall is unlikely. There is little detailed scrutiny of the performance of the municipal government. It is argued that the security of tenure enjoyed by Spanish mayors is unlikely to be replicat...

Rather than the short-circuit current that would occur in a specific instance, International Electrotechnical Commission 60909 derives the maximum and minimum prospective short-circuit currents in a system for each specific location and time. This is reported using a series of parameters which relate to the rated short-circuit current of equipment and the tests required on equipment to prove that rating. The influence of arc voltage on short-circuit currents is then discussed.

This article explores change in local democracy through analysis of the views of councillors in Britain. It is argued that within an overarching representative process, local democracy takes representative, participatory, market and network forms. Using data gathered by questionnaire and interview, the article analyses the views of councillors on these different forms. It finds that there are differences between councillors in their attitudes to the different versions of democracy, although in the main councillors demonstrate most support for a traditional local representative democratic system. The article concludes that councillors continue to act in a manner that is out of step with the thrust of reform.

The International Electrotechnical Commission Standard 61482-1 describes procedures for measuring the thermal performance of fabrics and garments intended for use in clothing for workers exposed to electric arcs. This paper demonstrates that the tests in this Standard fail to produce controlled laboratory conditions. The dominant magnetic and thermal buoyancy forces have been minimized leaving two undefined and uncontrolled forces to randomly dominate arc motion, plasma flow, and thermal stress. The tests also produce hazards significantly different from those faced by victims in real situations. The velocity of the plasma impinging on a victim is incorrect. The color of the radiation is incorrect. The molten metal droplets impinging on the victim are incorrect. The tests only consider clothing stretched over a surface, whereas loose and unbacked cloth suffers considerably more stress. In order to emulate real arcing faults, it will be necessary to use parallel copper and aluminum electrodes. In addition, for personnel working on high-voltage, a “pop-out” test needs to be developed because a fault current that starts by entering and exiting the body becomes an arc inside the clothing.

In this paper I examine local political leadership in Spain. Spanish mayors are examples of ‘strong mayors’—that is, they have considerable executive authority and discretion in municipal affairs. Yet little detailed research exists on the formal and informal institutional bases of their position. I fill this gap by presenting empirical research on two Spanish municipalities. Using a new institutionalist theoretical perspective, I examine the rules around the appointment and removal of the mayor, the composition of the cabinet, the role of the full council, and the conventions around the role of the mayor in the municipality. Legal powers, a culture of individualised leadership, and councillor representation based on support for the party are all important for maintaining the mayor's position. Some formal rules around the mayor in the case-study municipalities are ‘latent’—that is, they exist but are not used.

Local democracy in post-communist Europe H. Baldersheim, M. Illner & H. Wollmann (Eds) Opladen, Leske and Budrich, 2003, ISBN 3 8100 3192 5 Reforming local government in Europe. Closing the gap bet...

This article uses the concept of legitimacy to contribute to the debate about leadership change in local government. It focuses on the council-manager form of executive, used in Australia, Ireland, Finland, New Zealand, the US, and was an option for English local authorities in the Local Government Act 2000. After reviewing the central features, underlying values, and variations that the council-manager model displays cross-nationally, the article draws on research carried out in Stoke-on-Trent, England, a city which adopted a variant of the council-manager form. The analysis assesses the model operating there in terms of legitimacy, and argues that some of its shortcomings are addressed by the introduction of a form of decentralised, deliberative, neighbourhood governance.

The ongoing reform of UK local government emphasises the development of local authorities as ‘community leaders’. Both the definition of the term, and local government's fitness for the role are, however, contested. Previous research suggests that to fulfil this role local government will have to meet three challenges: engage citizens in the determination of community priorities, provide strategic leadership and develop the collaborative potential of other local agencies. Drawing on case study evidence gathered in six local authorities in England, this paper finds that while local authorities can report some successes in strategic leadership, the development of community engagement and collaborative advantage present more of a challenge.

Different concepts of local democracy imply different tasks, functions and reform strategies for local political leadership. This article draws a map of local democracy that entails four non-exclusive components: representative democracy, user democracy, network democracy and participatory democracy. After reflecting on the nature of local democracy in governance and the functions of political leadership generally, the article considers in turn the bases of constructing the common good within each form of democracy. Special attention is given to the role of political leadership within these forms.

Significant changes in the political management of local authorities in the United Kingdom are now taking place as a result of legislation passed by the Labour government since 1997. The new political management models aim to modernize local governance by strengthening local leadership, streamlining decision making, and enhancing local accountability. These changes owe much to U.S. experience: They involve the introduction of a separation of powers between an executive and an assembly, and they allow local authorities to introduce directly elected mayors for the first time ever. Is U.K. local government beginning to adopt what might be described as U.S.-style approaches to local governance? The evidence suggests the new institutional designs for U.K. local authorities represent a radical shift toward U.S.-style local leadership and decision making. However, the U.K. central state remains heavily involved in the details of local decision making, to an extent that would be unthinkable in the United States.

This article provides a summary of the main findings emerging from a 'before' and 'after' action-research study of the impact on a city of introducing a directly elected mayor form of governance. The discussion shows how the introduction of mayoral governance into the City of Bristol in 2012 has had a significant impact on the governance of the city and suggests that, having a directly elected mayor has, so far, delivered a leadership advantage to the city.

English This article addresses the question ‘How strong is the Mayor of London?’ from two perspectives: the distinction between ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ mayors that emerged from American urban political analysis; and the strength of mayors outside the formal confines of their office in governance. It is argued that, while the Mayor of London is strong in the Greater London Authority, he is weak in London governance, as the Mayor has limited local autonomy, is heavily reliant on central government for funding, has no party connections, and as yet he has not harnessed latent governmental or nongovernmental capacity in London.

Despite recent attempts to improve urban waste management through increased recycling, insufficient attention has been paid to the social and distributional impacts of waste policy. This omission means that such changes appear to have reinforced environmental injustices through the re/production of inequitable social burdens and benefits. We argue that, if policy makers were to consider waste management though the frame of ‘environmental justice’, such problems could be avoided. This chapter illustrates this assertion by analysing household waste and recycling in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in the city of Bristol, UK, where both authors are resident. We provide evidence of unequal and unjust burdens faced by deprived communities in relation to waste collection services. Our aims are threefold. First, we intend to make an original contribution to the literature on environmental justice which, we consider, has overlooked the distributional aspects of municipal waste collection. Second, we aim to highlight the nature of the injustices that less well off communities face in this regard, especially when compared to more resourceful actors that produce waste and who profit from its sale. Third, we suggest ways that policy-makers might ameliorate the injustices that occur in the processes of waste collection and recycling.

The characteristics and components of an arcing fault are described and the hazards caused by arcing faults are then listed in order of severity. Hazard control measures are then discussed in the order described in Table 1 of ANSI Z10. Designing the system to fail safely and separating the person from the energy are treated under the heading of eliminating the hazard. Installing arc contained switchgear, retiring old equipment and designing the system to be maintainable are considered under substituting less hazardous equipment. The engineering controls considered include; Displaying measured values remotely and taking into account the probability of the event. The main engineering control is carrying out the correct protection studies by calculating maximum and minimum fault currents for single-phase, two-phase-and-earth and three phase faults. It is necessary to ensure the protection works with arcing fault currents. The need for precision on warning and information labels is emphasized. Under administrative controls hazard assessments and the need to consider live work are discussed together with access control, work procedures and training. Finally PPE requirements are discussed..

There has been a gradual decline in the status of local government within the English governance framework as a result of central unwillingness to see it as either local or government. The centre has been aided in the depoliticising of local government by literature which minimises, ignores or seeks to remove any element of the political from local government. The paper reviews the process by which local government has been delocalised and depoliticised in the English context. It goes on to suggest a new settlement between the localities and the centre and the way in which a ‘localised polity’ may emerge.

This chapter explores the attitudes of councillors towards citizen participation in local government. It examines specific mechanisms of engagement for citizens within a system of local democracy that contains representative and participatory elements. As elected representatives, councillors are part of the fabric of representation, and therefore may well be naturally inclined to view with suspicion any moves which take local politics much beyond the formal processes of voting, elections, and decision-making in municipal chambers. It is worth noting, however, that, in Heinelt (this volume) many councillors did show favourable attitudes towards participation in local democracy.

Rather than the short-circuit current that would occur in a specific instance, IEC 60909 derives the maximum and minimum prospective short-circuit currents in a system for each specific location and time. This is reported using a series of parameters which relate to the rated short-circuit current of equipment and the tests required on equipment to prove that rating. The influence of arc voltage on short-circuit currents is then discussed.

Background Plantar heel pain is a commonly occurring foot complaint. Stretching is frequently utilised as a treatment, yet a systematic review focusing only on its effectiveness has not been published. This review aimed to assess the effectiveness of stretching on pain and function in people with plantar heel pain. Methods Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, and The Cochrane Library were searched from inception to July 2010. Studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria were independently assessed, and their quality evaluated using the modified PEDro scale. Results Six studies including 365 symptomatic participants were included. Two compared stretching with a control, one study compared stretching to an alternative intervention, one study compared stretching to both alternative and control interventions, and two compared different stretching techniques and durations. Quality rating on the modified Pedro scale varied from two to eight out of a maximum of ten points. The methodologies and interventions varied significantly between studies, making meta-analysis inappropriate. Most participants improved over the course of the studies, but when stretching was compared to alternative or control interventions, the changes only reached statistical significance in one study that used a combination of calf muscle stretches and plantar fascia stretches in their stretching programme. Another study comparing different stretching techniques, showed a statistically significant reduction in some aspects of pain in favour of plantar fascia stretching over calf stretches in the short term. Conclusions There were too few studies to assess whether stretching is effective compared to control or other interventions, for either pain or function. However, there is some evidence that plantar fascia stretching may be more effective than Achilles tendon stretching alone in the short-term. Appropriately powered randomised controlled trials, utilizing validated outcome measures, blinded assessors and long-term follow up are needed to assess the efficacy of stretching.

The IEC Standard 61482–1 describes procedures for measuring the thermal performance of fabrics and garments intended for use in clothing for workers exposed to electric arcs. This paper demonstrates that the tests in this standard fail to produce controlled laboratory conditions. The dominant magnetic and thermal buoyancy forces have been minimised leaving two undefined and uncontrolled forces to randomly dominate arc motion, plasma flow and thermal stress. The tests also produce hazards significantly different to those facing victims in real situations. The velocity of the plasma impinging on a victim is incorrect. The color of the radiation is incorrect. The molten metal droplets impinging on the victim are incorrect. The tests only consider clothing stretched over a surface whereas loose and un-backed cloth suffers considerably more stress. In order to emulate real arcing faults, it will be necessary to use parallel copper and aluminium electrodes. In addition for high voltage personnel a “pop-out” test needs to be developed because a fault current that starts by entering and exiting the body becomes an arc inside the clothing.

Electrical incidents that result in significant injuries to people are often the result of substantially unconstrained free-burning arcing-fault currents within electrical equipment. It is necessary to understand the nature of these arcs and be able to quantify the parameters before it is possible to really comprehend what is actually happening inside arcing faults and how they cause injuries to personnel in the immediate vicinity. This requires an understanding of the energy dissipation and the energy transfers in the vicinity of these uncontrolled arcs. This paper sets out to describe the physics of arcing faults and uses this to describe the energy transfers within an arcing fault. This provides a basis for describing the potential energy transfers to personnel in the vicinity of an arcing fault. This includes arc-root movements on humans and the transfer of the arc out of the body, which occurs in milliseconds. This has a significant impact on ventricular fibrillation and personal protective equipment for high-voltage workers.

The main aim of this chapter is to give an account of political leaders’ views of how local democracy should work in the modern context. In particular, we are interested in how degrees of support for different concepts are spread over different countries and correlate with different factors, thereby identifying reasons for the strength of specific attitudes. We will discuss also the effects of the institutional aspects of local government of direct election and party membership on the views of political leaders and local democracy.

An arcing fault often develops from an insulation failure within electrical equipment. Arcing faults are substantially unconstrained free-burning arcs within electrical equipment. In order to assess the hazards of arcing faults to personnel in the immediate vicinity of the fault it is necessary to understand their nature and be able to quantify the hazards. This involves an understanding of the energy dissipation and the energy transfers in the near vicinity of these uncontrolled arcs. This paper sets out to describe the physics of arcing faults and uses this to describe the energy transfers within an arcing fault. This is the basis for describing the potential energy transfers to personnel in the vicinity of an arcing fault.

In this chapter we offer a contribution to the debate about ‘interactive governance’ by discussing developments in UK local government. Interactive governance and interactive decision making are two relatively new terms that are often used interchangeably as shorthand to describe the involvement of citizens and other stakeholders in the formulation of policy, especially at the local level. In Chapter 1 it is suggested that interactive governance refers to modes of public decision making in which governments allow for direct participation of interested citizens and other stakeholders. As well as describing new forms of decision making, the term can also imply a strong normative viewpoint about the desirability of widespread involvement in policy making Enthusiasts argue that interactive decision making features openness and the involvement of parties before decisions are made. For example, Klijn and Koppenjan state: ‘Interactive decision making is a way of working in which citizens, users, interest groups and public and private organisations that have a stake in a decision are involved in its preparation. It is aimed at creating support for policy proposals, improving the quality of decisions by mobilising external knowledge and expertise, and enhancing the democratic legitimacy of decisions’ (2000, p. 368).

Background: People suffering from musculoskeletal shoulder pain are frequently referred to physiotherapy. Physiotherapy generally involves a multimodal approach to management that may include; exercise, manual therapy and techniques to reduce pain. At present it is not possible to predict which patients will respond positively to physiotherapy treatment. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify which prognostic factors are associated with the outcome of physiotherapy in the management of musculoskeletal shoulder pain. Methods: A comprehensive search was undertaken of Ovid Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and AMED (from inception to January 2013). Prospective studies of participants with shoulder pain receiving physiotherapy which investigated the association between baseline prognostic factors and change in pain and function over time were included. Study selection, data extraction and appraisal of study quality were undertaken by two independent assessors. Quality criteria were selected from previously published guidelines to form a checklist of 24 items. The study protocol was prospectively registered onto the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. Results: A total of 5023 titles were retrieved and screened for eligibility, 154 articles were assessed as full text and 16 met the inclusion criteria: 11 cohort studies, 3 randomised controlled trials and 2 controlled trials. Results were presented for the 9 studies meeting 13 or more of the 24 quality criteria. Clinical and statistical heterogeneity resulted in qualitative synthesis rather than meta-analysis. Three studies demonstrated that high functional disability at baseline was associated with poor functional outcome (p ≤ 0.05). Four studies demonstrated a significant association (p ≤0.05) between longer duration of shoulder pain and poorer outcome. Three studies, demonstrated a significant association (p ≤ 0.05) between increasing age and poorer function; three studies demonstrated no association (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Associations between prognostic factors and outcome were often inconsistent between studies. This may be due to clinical heterogeneity or type II errors. Only two baseline prognostic factors demonstrated a consistent association with outcome in two or more studies; duration of shoulder pain and baseline function. Prior to developing a predictive model for the outcome of physiotherapy treatment for shoulder pain, a large adequately powered prospective cohort study is required in which a broad range of prognostic factors are incorporated.

This article discusses leadership in urban governance by examining the Mayor of London. It uses a conceptual framework of four elements: the external environment to local leadership; the institutional arrangements in which leaders operate; the local environment; and the personal characteristics of leaders. It is argued that the Mayor of London is 'strong' within the Greater London Authority, but 'weak' in formal terms in the governance of London. In order to be effective in London governance, the Mayor needs to facilitate the co-operation of others in order to wield power. The area of negotiation of the leadership of the Mayor of London is broad and takes place between the Mayor and the organisations which form the governance of London.