Migrants, markets and multinationals: competition among world cities for the highly skilled

Urban areas compete with one another for people, goods, capital, ideas and other inputs of economic activity. Under the rubric of globalization, instead of only maintaining or improving the initial stock of assets in a city, the power of a place to attract outside flows of economic activity from elsewhere is increasingly important to economic development. Similarly, global or world cities are characterized as the command and control points through which these global economic flows operate. In response to the heightened mobility of highly-skilled labor across national borders, research has begun to examine the role of international human capital as an economic flow. This paper will examine the role of places in determining where the highly-skilled go in the global economy by viewing global city command and control functions as requiring unique labor flows. By reviewing the evidence found in the literature, we can better understand the potential for urban areas to compete for highly-skilled labor in the global economy. Known indicators of place attractiveness are assessed to examine the relationship between the economic trajectories of cities and their labor requirements. Cities are situated between firms and states as the key place-based actors which influence the mobility of highly-skilled labor. Finally, the paper also examines measurement issues and methodological problems in creating indices of world cities as well as explores possibilities for new research.     

Crystallization of chromite from nickel-iron sulphide melts

An experiment, in which an iron-nickel-copper sulphide melt was heated with synthetic chromite and then cooled, showed that substantial quantities of chromite had dissolved in the melt and had then recrystallized as euhedral crystals rimmed with magnetite. This experiment suggests that the unusual chromite (low in Mg and Al) which is associated with the sulphide phase in Western Australian nickel ores may have formed in a similar way.J.M.R. carried out the experimental part of this investigation as a post-graduate student at Flinders University, South Australia, working under a CSIRO extramural grant.     

International knowledge mobility and urban development in rapidly globalizing areas: building global hubs for talent in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

This paper examines the processes through which the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai attract and integrate knowledge workers into their labor markets. It focuses on how the UAE has acquired the human capital to create post-oil economies, deploying its oil windfalls into massive urban development strategies in order to create global hubs for talent. More significantly, it analyzes how the UAE’s strategies and frameworks for attracting global knowledge flows ultimately determine the degree to which expatriate knowledge embeds locally. Presentation of results from a large-scale human capital survey of firms in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as key-informant interviews with senior human resource administrators at these firms, demonstrate these processes.     

Economic‐Development Stakeholder Perspectives on Boomtown Dynamics in the Eagle Ford Shale,Texas

Unconventional oil and gas production in the United States reversed a decades‐old trend of rising oil imports, provided an argument for lifting the U.S. crude oil export ban and motivated the development of domestic natural gas export facilities. But the most visible impact of unconventional‐hydrocarbon extraction is the creation of boomtowns in rural regions. Despite widespread media coverage, scholarly analysis of boomtowns is restricted to regional econometric studies with little attention to how economic stakeholders understand and respond to booming economies. Here we analyze interviews with key economic stakeholders in the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas. Respondents consider their community's economic success relative to the price of oil and indicate concerns about the deterioration of roads, high housing demand, and skyrocketing wages. We also re‐examine John Gilmore's foundational work on boomtowns in the 1970s in the context of contemporary unconventional extraction.     

Creating and sustaining Islamic financial centers: Bahrain in the wake of financial and political crises

Although primarily concentrated in countries with Muslim majorities, Islamic finance has become a global industry representing both a decentering of the global financial architecture and the emergence of an urban network that resides beyond the confines of traditional world city literature. While geographers have identified the “Mecca’s” of the Islamic finance industry – one of which is Bahrain – there remains a need to identify the factors necessary to create and sustain centers of Islamic finance. This paper examines these factors through a firm-level survey of foreign and local Islamic financial institutions in Bahrain, in conjunction with key informant interviews with representatives of these firms. We find that while Bahrain’s entrenched institutional advantages have preserved its role as a center in the Islamic financial landscape, ongoing political instability and the increasing attractiveness of new and emerging centers are threatening this role. As the country navigates the current social and political unrest, questions are raised as to what it takes to be an Islamic financial center.     

Geochemistry of the low‐grade Early Proterozoic sedimentary sequence in the Pine Creek Geosyncline,Northern Territory

Abstract

The geochemistry of Early Proterozoic sedimentary rocks from the low‐grade metamorphic terrain W of the South Alligator Hinge Zone in the Pine Creek Geosyncline is reported and discussed in terms of the stratigraphy and differences in rock type. Major element trends are dominated by lithological and mineralogical variations; in particular, the dolomitic nature of pelites in the Mount Partridge and Namoona Groups, the presence of chlorite in Crater Formation pelites, and the volcanic affinity of pelites within the Gerowie Tuff. Concentration of Th, U, Zr, Y, Nb, Ce and La in the clastic sediments of the Finniss River and South Alligator Groups is probably related to the presence of felsic volcanics in these groups; high levels of Sn in these groups may be similarly related, and highlight the apparent volcanogenic source for this metal. The South Alligator Group is a preferred host for base‐metal mineralization, and the regional abundance of several metals in this group enhance its economic potential and support a syngenetic, possibly exhalative, origin for these deposits. Anomalous Co, Ni, and V values in Masson Formation pelites are probably related to the nearby mafic Stag Creek Volcanics. Detrital minerals derived from reworked Archaean basement account for high Zr and Th in the Crater Formation. The geochemical data support the shift in REE patterns related to changes in crustal composition about the Archaean‐Proterozoic boundary, though patterns within the Early Proterozoic have also been influenced by felsic volcanism in the South Alligator Group. The chemical index of alteration (which reflects the degree of weathering of sedimentary rocks) reflects the existence of a major unconformity between the Mount Partridge and Namoona Groups; however, other hiatuses observed in or inferred from the rock record are not evident. The dominant felsic volcanic component of the Gerowie Tuff pelites is also indicated by this technique.     

Geochemistry of the early proterozoic metasedimentary rocks of the alligator rivers region,Northern Territory,Australia

The early Proterozoic metasedimentary sequence of the Alligator Rivers Region (a part of the Pine Creek Geosyncline) in the Northern Territory, Australia, overlies an Archaean granitoid basement. Early Proterozoic sedimentary sequences, in general, record important changes in the composition of the upper continental crust about the Archaean-Proterozoic boundary. However, the geochemistry of only a few of these sequences has been documented. The geochemistry of the early Proterozoic succession in the Alligator Rivers Region is reported here and the results are interpreted in terms of differences between the stratigraphic units, their provenance—particularly in relation to crustal evolution, and their subsequent metamorphism and weathering.Clastic metasedimentary rocks throughout the Alligator Rivers Region have a remarkably uniform major and trace element geochemistry. The Kakadu Group and upper member of the Cahill Formation are relatively more enriched in SiO₂ and correspondingly more depleted in Al₂O₃ than the rest of the sequence, reflecting the greater dominance of metapsammitic assemblages. The lower member of the Cahill Formation, which hosts the major U deposits of the Alligator Rivers Region, and the metasedimentary sequence in general, exhibit no significant enrichment in U above normal background values. Rare earth element (REE) concentrations in the metasedimentary units within the Alligator Rivers Region are uniform, though in detail there are some important differences within and between formations.The composition of the early Proterozoic clastic metasediments in the Alligator Rivers Region is consistent with the composition of similar material of the same age from other areas, and supports current ideas on crustal evolution. The Alligator Rivers metasediments are enriched in Si and K, and depleted in Mg, Ca, and Na relative to the Archaean average for clastic sedimentary rocks, and their REE geochemistry resembles typical post-Archaean sedimentary rocks having a light REE enriched pattern and a distinct Eu/Eu1 depletion compared to typical Archaean sediments. However, the REE data indicate that two compositionally distinct sources are involved in the provenance of the Kakadu Group, and possibly the lower member of the Cahill Formation, where two types of REE patterns can be distinguished on their HREE concentration and Eu/Eu1 anomaly.     

Hydraulic fracturing: a toxicological threat for groundwater and drinking-water?

This paper deals with the possible impact of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), employed in the exploitation of unconventional shale gas and tight gas reservoirs, on groundwater, which is the most important source of drinking-water in Germany and many other European countries. This assessment, which is part of an interdisciplinary study by a panel of neutral experts on the risks and environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing, is based mainly on data obtained from three ExxonMobil drilling sites in northern Germany. First, the basic technical aspects of fracking and its relevant water fluxes are explained. The type, purpose and fate of the constituents of the fracking fluids are discussed. The chemicals used in the fracking fluids are assessed with regard to their hazardous properties according to the Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP regulation) and the German “Water Hazard Classes”. Contamination of groundwater by ingredients of fracking fluids may occur from under ground or may result from above-ground accidents associated with the transport, storage and handling of hazardous substances used as additives in fracking fluids. The degree of groundwater contamination cannot be predicted in a general way. Therefore, different dilutions of the fracking fluid in groundwater are considered. It is shown that the concentrations of most ingredients resulting from a 1:10,000 up to 1:100,000 dilution of the fracking fluid in groundwater are below health-based reference values such as the limit values of the European Drinking Water Directive, the WHO Guideline Values for Drinking-water Quality, and other health-based guide values for drinking-water. Regarding the salinity of fracking fluids, a dilution of 1:1,000 is sufficient to reach concentrations which are acceptable for drinking-water. From the human-toxicological point of view, the constituents of flowback water are more problematic with respect to drinking-water produced from groundwater than those of the fracking fluids. The few reliable data which have become available, as well as hydrogeological considerations, point in the direction of considerable salt concentrations and toxic constituents, e.g., Hg, As, Pb, Zn, Cd, BTX, PAHs, or even radioactive elements. The identification and assessment of reaction products and metabolites, which are produced as a result of the fracking operation and the metabolic activity of microorganisms, are important topics for further research. The recommendations include the need for a better understanding of the environmental impact of fracking operations, especially with regard to the development of sustainable rules for planning, permission, performance and management of fracking, and for the monitoring of groundwater quality around fracked drilling sites.