From brain drain to brain gain: reverse migration to Bangalore and Hyderabad, India’s globalizing high tech cities

This paper assesses the mutual impact of returning Indian-origin skilled workers on the cities of Bangalore (Bengaluru) and Hyderabad, which have emerged as India’s leading “tech cities”. During the 1970s and 1980s, there was concern that India was losing its educated workforce to the West, particularly to the United States through a phenomenon known as “brain drain”. More recently, there is evidence that reverse brain drain is occurring, as U.S.-trained Indian professionals are returning to their home country in increasing numbers to take advantage of new growth and employment opportunities. The effects of this skilled, transnationally active labor force on various sectors of the economy, on the social and physical infrastructure of Bangalore and Hyderabad and in forging and solidifying transnational linkages between India and the United States are explored in this paper. This study also investigates the reasons why successful US professionals of Asian-Indian origin are returning to their home country via a series of personal interviews. The paper offers Bangalore and Hyderabad as “worldwide leading cities” with a niche status in the global Information Technology (IT) sector.     

Producing abjection: E-waste improvement schemes and informal recyclers of Bangalore

This article focuses upon informal e-waste recyclers who subsidise the environmental costs of Bangalore’s information technology boom. It illustrates how improvement schemes devised by development agencies, to make Bangalore’s e-waste disposal practices more sustainable, reproduced the effects of bourgeois environmentalism and effectively cast off informal recyclers from having a substantial role in the city’s emerging regime of e-waste management. Being cast out and rendered superfluous has been a deeply degrading experience for Bangalore’s informal recyclers. In order to foreground this experience I draw upon the notion of abjection and show how informal recyclers are constituted as abject residents who must be confined to collecting and processing waste from the most marginal frontiers of the city’s e-waste circuits.     

The emergence of a post-industrial music economy? Music and ICT synergies in Stockholm, Sweden

Research into the music industry has for a long time been almost exclusively dominated by a focus on the production of albums and songs. In recent years, however, cities such as Stockholm have seen the growth of a profitable and varied music services industry producing everything from remixes to music marketing strategies. Standing at the forefront of this growth industry are a large number of firms attempting to combine in innovative ways music and ICT. This can take a variety of forms, for instance: selling and distributing music over the internet; web design and computerised advertising services tailored to music products; software design focused on multimedia products and virtual instruments; high-tech post-production and mixing services; and virtual centres and communities of music industry actors. The article will examine these activities within the city in attempt to measure the direction and cohesiveness of the emerging sector. The article concludes by arguing that these type of new industrial synergies tell us much about the way industrial innovations are formed in an interindustry and inter-cluster environment, and the future competitiveness and shape of the music industry. In particular, the article argues that evidence from Stockholm points to the emergence of a post-industrial musical economy.     

Conceptualizing multiple clusters in mega-city regions: The case of the biomedical industry in Beijing

This paper introduces a unique industrial configuration that has emerged in Beijing, where three economic clusters in the biomedical industry, originally established as industrial/research parks, have developed parallel to each other. This configuration of multiple co-located clusters of the same industry, which has not been discussed before, raises the question of whether the industrial/research parks are competing for the same resources, or whether they are complementary to each other and can collectively be viewed as a new type of industrial configuration. The paper conceptualizes a framework of multiple clusters in mega-city regions that distinguishes between collaborating and competing clusters and presents initial empirical evidence for the Beijing case. As such, this research aims to unravel the phenomenon of multiple clusters in mega-city regions and to understand the complex spatial interrelationships that exist within and beyond multiple co-located clusters in the same industry.     

Urban floods in Hyderabad,India, under present and future rainfall scenarios: a case study

Natural Hazards - This study assesses and evaluates the impacts of future extreme rainfall event(s) on conveyance capacity of urban Storm Water Network (SWN) of Hyderabad City, India, along with...     

Proximity and complexity in the emergence of high technology industry: The oxbridge comparison

This paper examines similarities and differences in the emergence of high-tech enterprise and the growth of associated industry in Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire since the 1960s. These cases are viewed as instances of a generic phenomenon: the emergence and growth of the science-based ‘innovative milieu’. A conceptual scheme drawn from complexity studies is used to introduce explanatory coherence into the apparently scattered and disconnected factors relevant to the genesis of high-tech milieux.     

Network configurations and R&D activities of the ICT industry in Suzhou municipality, China

This paper analyzes the network structure and R&D activities of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Suzhou municipality, known previously for its local state-directed Sunan model of development. Suzhou, however, has been undergoing dramatic restructuring to remake itself into a globalizing production center. We highlight the significance of the Chinese state and local/regional assets in shaping the trajectories of globalization and regional development, and the increasing importance of domestic markets and regional clusters/agglomeration for foreign ventures. We have found that Suzhou’s development path, heavily dependent on external forces, has made Suzhou a TNC (transnational corporation) satellite district. We also find that the ICT industry in Suzhou has a dual-structure, segmented between foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) and domestic firms. TNCs tend to network among themselves and their interfirm networks are increasingly domestic and regionally embedded in the Yangtze River Delta, while the linkages between TNCs and local firms are weak. We argue that there is a series of technological, structural, spatial, and institutional “mismatches” that limits the establishment of “global pipelines” of knowledge exchange. We hold that the nature of global-local networks is contingent upon regional endogenous capacities and the specific ways in which global capital interacts with local institutions. Therefore, perspectives on TNCs’ local embeddedness must be positioned in their regional/external networks. We also analyze the constraints placed on Suzhou’s development into an innovative city and promote the integration of global and local/regional assets through development of indigenous capacities.     

Globalisation, information technology and the emergence of niche transnational cities: the growth of the call centre sector in Dublin

The development of information and communications technologies (ICT) has facilitated the emergence of a complex global urban system in which many formerly lower-order cities have been carving out “niche” specialist functions serving urban fields of transnational dimension. This is illustrated in the case of Dublin, which in recent years has been transcending its traditional role as Ireland’s national metropolis through the development of a range of functions servicing mainly European markets. One such function comprises pan-European telephone call centre operations. The development and characteristics of this newly-emerging sector are described. It is argued that the growth of the sector confirms Dublin’s — and Ireland’s — dependent position in the international division of labour, and that its long-term sustainability is open to question.     

The gravity method in groundwater exploration in crystalline rocks: a study in the peninsular granitic region of Hyderabad, India

The application of variations in the earth's gravity in groundwater exploration on a regional scale, especially in sedimentary basins, metamorphic terrains, valley fills, and for buried alluvial channels, is well established. However, its use in hard crystalline rocks is little known. In granite, for example, the upper weathered layer is a potential primary aquifer, and the underlying fractured rock can form a secondary aquifer. Fracturing and weathering increases the porosity of a rock, thereby reducing the bulk density. Changes in gravity anomalies of 0.1–0.7 mGal for granites, due to weathering or variations in lithology, can be detected. To test the use of gravity as a groundwater exploration tool for crystalline rocks, a gravity survey of the peninsular shield granites underlying Osmania University Campus, Hyderabad, India, was undertaken. At the site, gravity anomalies reflect variations in the lithology and in the thickness of weathered zones. These anomalies also define the position of intrusives and lineaments. Areas of more deeply weathered granite that contain wells of higher groundwater yield are represented by negative gravity values. In the weathered zone, well yield has an inverse relation to the magnitudes of residual gravity. The study confirms the feasibility of gravity as a tool for groundwater exploration in crystalline rocks. Electronic Publication     

The effects of attenuation and site on the spectra of microearthquakes in the Jubilee Hills region of Hyderabad,India

Microearthquake spectra from Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad are analyzed to observe the effect of attenuation and site on these spectra. The ratios of spectral amplitudes at lower and higher frequency are measured for three different stations at varying epicentral distances to estimate Q value for both P-and S-wave in near and sub-surface layer. Average estimates of Qp and Qs are 235 and 278 respectively. Value of Qs/Qp larger than 1.0 suggests dry crust for most of the Jubilee Hills region. The near-surface low Qp and Qs for 0 km to 0.9 km depth coincide with the soil layer, top and semi-weathered and highly fractured zone. In contrast, at a shallower depth beneath the Jubilee Hills area, Hyderabad, we obtain high Qp and Qs zone, which corresponds to the dense and high velocity rocks of the region. The varying corner frequencies for these spectra are inferred to be characteristics of site. Comparisons of disparity in spectral content with reference to hard rock site conclude that lithology of the northwest part of Jubilee Hills area amplify about twice the incoming seismic signal, as compared to the southern part best outlined at 8 to 10 Hz only.     

Facies and architecture of a coarse-grained alluvial-dominated incised valley fill: a case study from the Oligocene Gebel Ahmar Formation,Southern Tethyan-shelf (northern Egypt)

Exposures of multistorey, alluvial deposits from the Oligocene Gebel Ahmar Formation in the Cairo-Suez province (north Eastern Desert, Egypt) show the architecture of an up to 35 m thick continuously prograding fluvial/alluvial filling of an incised valley. The Oligocene base level fall resulted in cannibalization of the Eocene bedrock. Subsequent baselevel rise created accommodation space that was filled by deposition of four stacked storeys: lower storeys (1-2) of low sinuosity sandy braid plains and upper storeys (3-4) of gravelly braid plain. These braid plains were sourced from exposed Upper Cretaceous-Eocene and Paleozoic-Lower Cretaceous siliciclastic successions to the south. These successions dominate the Galala-Araba inverted structures. The sandy braid plain channel belts mainly downstream accretion (DA), downstream oblique accretion(DLA), lateral accretion (LA), sandy bedforms (SB), channel (CH), and Hollow (HO) elements, while the gravelly braid plain consists mainly of gravel bars and sheets (GB), gravel-sandstone foresets (GSF), gravel-sand couplets (GSC), and scour pool filling (SPF) architectures. Incised valley incision is potentially linked to a global drop of sea level caused by glaciation, although hinterland tectonism (i.e. Late Cretaceous-Paleogene tectonic inversion and Late Eocene-Oligocene crustal updoming in the source terrains) as well as Late Oligocene-Miocene rifting play a significant role in the subsequent filling. The hinterland tectonism as well as the climate controls the sediment supply. The understanding of the nature of the Oligocene incised valley fill helps in the constrain potential down depositional dip hydrocarbon reservoirs in Nile Delta, East Mediterranean basins, and similar settings in passive continental margins.     

Characterisation of recharge processes and groundwater flow mechanisms in weathered-fractured granites of Hyderabad (India) using isotopes

In order to address the problem of realistic assessment of groundwater potential and its sustainability, it is vital to study the recharge processes and mechanism of groundwater flow in fractured hard rocks, where inhomogeneties and discontinuities have a dominant role to play. Wide variations in chloride, δ¹⁸O and ¹⁴C concentrations of the studied groundwaters observed in space and time could only reflect the heterogeneous hydrogeological setting in the fractured granites of Hyderabad (India). This paper, based on the observed isotopic and environmental chloride variations of the groundwater system, puts forth two broad types of groundwaters involving various recharge processes and flow mechanisms in the studied granitic hard rock aquifers. Relatively high ¹⁴C ages (1300 to ～6000 yr B.P.), δ¹⁸O content (?3.2 to ?1.5‰) and chloride concentration (<100 mg/l) are the signatures that identified one broad set of groundwaters resulting from recharge through weathered zone and subsequent movement through extensive sheet joints. The second set of groundwaters possessed an age range Modern to ～1000 yr B.P., chloride in the range 100 to ～350 mg/l and δ¹⁸O from ?3.2 to +1.7‰. The δ¹⁸O enrichment and chloride concentration, further helped in the segregation of the second set of groundwaters into three sub-sets characterized by different recharge processes and sources. Based on these processes and mechanisms, a conceptual hydrogeologic model has evolved suggesting that the fracture network is connected either to a distant recharge source or to a surface reservoir (evaporating water bodies) apart from overlying weathered zone, explaining various resultant groundwaters having varying ¹⁴C ages, chloride and δ¹⁸O concentrations. The surface reservoir contribution to groundwater is evaluated to be significant (40 to 70%) in one subset of groundwaters. The conceptual hydrogeologic model, thus evolved, can aid in understanding the mechanism of groundwater flow as well as migration of contaminants to deep groundwater in other fractured granitic areas.     

Hydrogeological evolution of the Luni river basin,Rajasthan, western India: A review

The Luni river basin has been evolved as a result of typical hydrogeomorphic processes of arid zone, operating under the influence of active tectonic lineaments. A detailed analysis of stream morphology in relation to geology and lineaments carried out on selected windows indicated the morphological control of the streams while flowing over the lineaments from the eastern to the western part of the basin. Typical valley fills indicated by dark green tone on digitally processed images and the pediments showing greenish white tone appear in sharp contrast and indicate respectively the graben and horst structures. A detailed identification of lineaments for the georesources and geological evaluation has been carried out. Earlier analysis carried out on Bouguer anomalies correlate with graben and horst structures in the subsurface. Quaternary sequences have been dated from 80 ka to 3 ka indicating a range of fluvial to aeolian deposits reflecting prevailing climatic conditions. However, the changes in sediment type from coarse and mixed of all size grades to fine in a vertical litho-column warrant further studies on fine resolution stratigraphy and high resolution stratigraphy for understanding climatic variations in the region     

波堆藏布谷地冰碛丘陵形成机制及其环境意义

波堆藏布谷地中分布着大面积的冰碛丘陵, 通过考察发现其个体大小、外形、分布规模及内部砾石组成等方面都与高纬大冰盖外围形成的冰碛丘陵有很大的区别. 以冰川沉积学理论为基础, 从沉积动力学的角度讨论中低纬度波堆藏布谷地中冰碛丘陵的形成机制. 结果表明: 气候变化造成冰川的大面积死冰加之宽阔的河谷、海洋性冰川的特性促使波堆藏布谷中形成如此大面积的冰碛丘陵; 同时,大规模的冰碛丘陵表明气候转暖(抑或变干)的过程是突变的.     

Interpretation of Si concentrations in lake sediments: three case studies

 The biogenic Si concentration in a sediment can be determined as the non-detrital Si concentration by normalization of the total Si concentration with Al. This procedure is based upon the assumptions that (1) that Al exists predominantly in detrital, i.e. minerogenic, particles and (2) that biogenic Si (mainly diatom frustules) is the dominating non-detrital Si phase. This paper focuses on the reasons for the variations of the non-detrital Si concentration in these lake sediments. Data from three lakes are presented, representing three principally different cases regarding the Si concentration. The processes controlling the concentrations of detrital and non-detrital Si are discussed. Received: 10 June 2000 · Accepted: 25 November 2000     

Permeable Reactive Barrier for the treatment of contaminated surface water in Katedan industrial development area, Hyderabad, India

Permeable Reactive Barrier （PRB） is an emplacement of inert material （s） in the subsurface, designed to intercept a contaminated plume, provides a preferential flow path through the reactive media, and transforms the contaminant into environmentally acceptable forms to attain concentration remediation goals at the discharge of the barrier. The phenomena, which help in remediation within PRB, are adsorption/sorption, precipitation, oxidation/reduction and biodegradation. Various materials like zero-valent iron, zero-valent bi-metals, natural zeolites, organic carbon, fly ash, zeolites, limestone, activated alumina, apatites, etc. have been tried by many researchers to remove organic and inorganic contaminants. In USA, Canada, and many European countries commercial full-scale and pilot scale PRBs are successfully working. The design and installation of full scale PRBs needs laboratory treatability and dynamic flow column experiments？ The concept of PRB is being applied to treat contaminated surface water in the Katedan industrial area, Hyderabad, India. National Geophysical Research Institute （NGRI）, Hyderabad, India, conducted systematic studies in collaboration with Norwegian Geotechnical Institute （NGI）, Norway, to develop PRB technique to decontaminate the surface water pollution due to industrial effluent. A site assessment study in the Katedan Industrial Area, were carried out and water, soil and sediment from the lakes of the area were found to be polluted with high concentrations of heavy metals like As, Pb, Cr, Cd, Ni, etc. Adsorption studies at NGRI with synthetic samples and in-situ industrial effluent using different reactive media for removing contaminants like arsenic, chromium, cadmium, copper, nickel, lead and zinc have been carried out and yielded satisfactory results. The performance of zero-valent iron and limestone is encouraging in removing As,     

断陷盆地拗陷期河流层序样式及其地貌响应:以渤海湾盆地沙垒田凸起区新近系明化镇组下段为例*

对于断陷盆地拗陷期远离滨岸的河流而言,其层序划分是层序地层学研究的难点。本研究在已有钻测井、岩心及地震资料分析基础上,以渤海湾盆地沙垒田凸起区新近系明化镇组下段(简称“明下段”)作为研究对象,将其划分为1个完整的三级层序、4个四级层序(即SQm1-SQm4)。沉积间断面、宽浅下切谷及复合连片砂体是该地区河流层序界面重要的识别标志。每个四级层序均由低可容空间和高可容空间体系域组成。地震地貌学定量分析表明,低可容空间体系有利于低弯度河流(辫状河、低弯度曲流河)发育,高可容空间体系域有利于中高弯度河流发育。新增可容空间和沉积物供给速率的变化对于河流不同体系域的砂体样式具有重要控制作用。     

Fluvial sequence pattern and its response of geomorphy in depression phase of rift basin: A case study of the Lower Member of Neogene Minghuazhen Formation in Shaleitian Uplift area,Bohai Bay Basin

The sequence classification is a difficulty of sequence stratigraphic study on rivers that are distal to coast area during the depression phase of rift basin. Based on the integrated analysis of logging,cores and seismic data,the case study shows that the Lower Member of Neogene Minghuazhen Formation in the Shaleitian Uplift area in the western Bohai Sea region corresponds to one complete third-order sequence which can be divided into four fourth-order sequences(i.e. SQm1-SQm4). Sedimentary hiatus,wide and shallow incised valley and amalgamated channel sand bodies are the main recognition of sequence boundaries in fluvial sequence stratigraphy of the study area. Each fourth-order sequence comprises low and high accommodation systems tracts. According to seismic sedimentological and quantitative geomorphological analysis,low-sinuosity rivers including braided river and low-sinuosity meandering river are well developed in the low accommodation systems tract,whereas the medium- to high-sinuosity meandering rivers are well preserved in the high accommodation systems tract. The change in the new creation of accommodation and the sediment supply exert a significant control on the stacked pattern within different systems tracts.     

西昆仑阿什库勒火山群地质特征和活动分期

阿什库勒火山群作为青藏高原内最新期的北部昆仑火山群的典型代表,长期以来一直受到国内外地学界的广泛关注。我们通过对阿什库勒盆地火山区的野外地质地貌考察,研究了阿什库勒盆地内第四纪火山活动历史,完成了阿什库勒火山群重要火山锥体的1∶2000火山机构图。同时,对系统采集于不同火山机构和部位的20个火山岩样品进行了系列Ar-Ar同位素年代测试分析,获得了翔实的研究区不同火山岩石单元的绝对年龄数据。结合野外地质地貌考察结果,讨论了阿什库勒盆地的火山活动的第四纪时期活动历史,并将主要活动时期进一步划分为早更新世早期、早更新世中期、中更新世早期、中更新世晚期、晚更新世期和全新世期六期,取得了与前人有关该研究区火山活动历史和活动期次类似的划分方案,并补充了新的年代学证据。研究成果弥补了藏北高原西部由于恶劣工作环境而造成的第四纪火山学研究的不足。