The intimate city: violence,gender and ordinary life in Delhi slums

In this paper I argue for an expansion of the horizons of urban geography through a notion of the intimate city. I focus on the slum as a space where the violence of an exclusionary city is woven into its intimate material and social conditions, but where this violence is also domesticated and rendered as part of the everyday. I illustrate through three stories of intimate lives of slum women that everyday life in the slum requires the production of (1) an urban subject who shows agency not by resisting but by living with intimate violence; (2) an urban subjectivity involved in acquiring knowledge of one’s bodily terrain in order to limit this violence; and (3) an urban citizenship that argues for a “right to intimacy” as a way to claim a right to the city. This paper calls for a recasting of the public/private divide in urban geography in order to understand how violence circulates through and contravenes the boundaries of public/private, city/slum, tradition/modernity.     

The peculiar cluster MACS J0417.5-1154 in the C and X-bands

We present 5.5 and 9.0 GHz Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) observations of the cluster MACSJ0417.5-1154, one of the most massive galaxy clusters and one of the brightest in X-ray in the Massive Cluster Survey (MACS). We estimate diffuse emission at 5.5 and 9.0 GHz from our ATCA observations, and compare the results with the 235 MHz and 610 MHz GMRT observations and 1575 MHz VLA observations. We also estimate the diffuse emission at low frequencies from existing GLEAM survey data (using the MWA telescope (http://www.mwatelescope.org)), and find that the steepening reported in earlier studies may have been an artefact of underestimates of diffuse emission at low frequencies. High-frequency radio observations of galaxy cluster mergers therefore provide an important complement to low-frequency observations, not only for a probing the ‘on’ and ‘off’ state of radio halos in these mergers, but also to constrain energetics of cluster mergers. We comment on the future directions that further studies of this cluster can take.     

Torsional vibration of a twisted composite cylindrical shell of cylindrically aeolotropic materials

Summary The paper is concerned with the determination of torsional vibration of a twisted composite cylindrical shell assuming the elastic constants to be proportional to the square of the distance from the axis of the shell. The solution is obtained in the form of a series in terms of Bessel functions.     

Effect of soil aging on arsenic fractionation and bioaccessibility in inorganic arsenical pesticide contaminated soils

Ingestion of As – contaminated soil by children is a growing concern in former agricultural lands converted to residential or recreational land use areas. The mobility and bioavailability of As is controlled by its reactions with soil particles. The degree and strength of As retention by soil constituents may vary greatly with time. The present authors hypothesize that aging results in reduced mobility of As thereby decreasing As release and its bioavailability. The present study is aimed at evaluating the effect of aging on soil As fractionation and bioaccessibility in a temperature and humidity-controlled greenhouse setting. The design allowed the evaluation of dynamic interactions between soils, pesticides, water, and plants. Therefore, 4 soil types (Immokalee, Millhopper, Pahokee Muck, and Orelia) were selected based on their potential differences in As reactivity. The soils were amended with the pesticide Na arsenate at two rates. Rice was used as the test crop. Soil samples collected after different time periods (0, 6 months, 1 a and 3 a) were extracted for soil-As forms via a sequential extraction technique. Bioaccessible As was extracted via an in vitro gastrointestinal method. At time 0, most of the extractable As in soil was in the soluble form, resulting in high bioaccessibility. As expected, soluble and exchangeable fractions decreased with time for up to 6 months, but remained constant thereafter. After 3 a of soil–pesticide equilibration, As bioaccessibility was still high in all the soils except for the Pahokee Muck. No significant difference in As bioaccessibility was observed between the soils. Arsenic was present predominantly as As(V) with 5–10% of the total dissolved As being present as As(III). Data obtained suggest that although aging had an impact on the geochemical forms, gastric pH was the sole important factor effecting As bioaccessibility.     

Provenance, tectonics and palaeoclimate of Proterozoic Chandarpur sandstones, Chattisgarh basin: A petrographic view

Sandstones of early Neoproterozoic Chandarpur Group, Chattisgarh Supergroup, central India display progressive change towards greater textural and mineralogical maturity from base to top of the succession. The clay-silt matrix decreases, sorting of sand grains improves, frequency of rounded grains increases, monocrystalline quartz content increases with concomitant decrease in polycrystalline quartz, feldspar and rock fragments. The trend of variations in different mineralogical and textural attributes, however, exhibits inflections at different stratigraphic levels. The sandstones of the basal Lohardih Formation are alluvial fan deposits, characterized by high matrix and feldspar content, iron-oxide impregnated highly angular grains and poor sorting. Petrographic properties collectively indicate that the sandstones were derived from a weathered granitic crust under a humid climatic condition. Abundance of well rounded grains within the alluvial fan and overlying braided fluvial deposit indicates prolonged wind action during episodes of high aridity. The shallow marine deposit overlying the fluvial deposits in the upper part of the Lohardih Formation exhibits bed-to-bed variation in the frequency of angular grains, feldspar content and overall maturity suggesting environmentally controlled segregation of sediments. The abrupt appearance of coarse-grained immature sandstones with concomitant reappearance of iron-oxide impregnated/altered feldspar grains in the upper part of the shelf deposits of the Chaporadih Formation point to a phase of tectonic uplift that possibly triggered a regression. Continued regression and peneplanation heralded the deposition of supermature medium-grained purple quartzarenite of the upper shoreface Kansapathar Formation in the uppermost part of the Chandarpur succession under a hot desertic climatic condition. The provenance analysis revealed that the Chandarpur clastics were derived from granites and granite-gneisses of a continental block tectonic provenance. Petrographic studies further indicate that high grade metamorphic rocks did not make any perceptible contribution to the Chandarpur system. The Eastern Ghats Granulite Belt apparently did not emerge till the early Neoproterozoic.     

Determining the genetic origin of nitrate contamination in aquifers of Northern Gujarat,India

Over the past decades, the Gujarat state of India experienced intensive agricultural and industrial activities, fertilizer consumption and abstraction of groundwater, which in turn has degraded the ground water quality. Protection of aquifers from nitrate pollution is a matter of prime concern for the planners and decision-makers. The present study assessed the spatial and temporal variation of groundwater nitrate levels in areas with different land use/land cover activities for both pre- and post-monsoon period. The pre-monsoon nitrate level (1.6–630.7 mg/L) in groundwater was observed to be higher as compared to the post-monsoon level (2.7–131.7 mg/L), possibly due to insufficient recharge and evaporation induced enrichment of agrichemical salts in groundwater. High HCO₃ ^? (200–1,000 mg/L) as well as SO₄ ^2?/Cl^? (0.111–0.992) in post-monsoon period provides a favourable environment for denitrification, and lower the NO₃ levels during the post-monsoon period. The K vs NO₃ scatter plot suggests a common source of these ions when the concentration is <5 mg/L, the relationships between different pollutants and nitrate also suggest that fertilizers and other sources, such as, animal waste, crop residue, septic tanks and effluents from different food processing units present in the area can be attributed to higher nitrate levels in the groundwater. Appropriate agronomic practices such as application of fertilizers based on calibrated soil tests and proper irrigation with respect to crop can minimize the requirement for inorganic fertilizers, which can bring down the cost of cultivation considerably, and also protect groundwater from further degradation.     

Prediction of gas hydrate saturation throughout the seismic section in Krishna Godavari basin using multivariate linear regression and multi-layer feed forward neural network approach

Stepwise linear regression, multi-layer feed forward neural (MLFN) network method was used to predict the 2D distribution of P-wave velocity, resistivity, porosity, and gas hydrate saturation throughout seismic section NGHP-01 in the Krishna-Godavari basin. Log prediction process, with uncertainties based on root mean square error properties, was implemented by way of a multi-layer feed forward neural network. The log properties were merged with seismic data by applying a non-linear transform to the seismic attributes. Gas hydrate saturation estimates show an average saturation of 41 % between common depth point (CDP) 600 and 700 and an average saturation of 35 % for CDP 300–400 and 700–800, respectively. High gas hydrate saturation corresponds to high P-wave velocity and high resistivity except in a few spots, which could be due to local variation of permeability, temperature, fractures, etc.     

Seismic Slope Stability of Embankments Constructed with Pond Ash

Utilization of pond ash in large earthworks for geotechnical applications like construction of highway embankments, raising of ash dykes and filling low lying areas (construction fills), solves the waste disposal problem besides conserving the natural soils. However, design and construction of such geotechnical structures particularly in earthquake prone areas, requires thorough understanding of dynamic response of these structures under different seismic loading conditions. Here in this article, dynamic stability of embankments raised around the perimeter of ash ponds by the upstream and down stream methods of construction with coarse (ash from inflow point) and fine (ash from outflow point) pond ash materials, has been computed for different site specific earthquake scenarios appropriate for Delhi region. The performance of the embankments is analyzed using Quake/w and Slope/w software packages for steady-state seepage condition. The required dynamic properties of the materials are obtained form the various field and laboratory tests. The geotechnical structures constructed with ash exhibited similar type of response as that of with the natural soils. The performance of the structures is influenced by number factors such as type of construction (e.g. upstream or downstream), insitu conditions (e.g. stresses, density, phreatic line), and magnitude of dynamic loads, besides on the static and dynamic characteristics of the materials. The structures with the fine ash exhibit higher vulnerability to liquefaction related failures, which emphasizes need for carrying site-specific studies and adoption of proper construction measures to ensure design parameters.     

Passive diffusion sampling of sulfur dioxide in India: Impact assessment on arid areas

Environmental constraints have drastically limited options of sustainable development and have severely offset many developmental schemes. In this paper, possibilities of acidic deposition, as a counter measure of desertification, are analyzed. Seasonal data of ambient sulfur dioxide, pH of rain water and soil acidity are collected for over an year and analyzed. Arid environment of surrounding areas of Delhi is considered and analyzed. Though ambient sulfur deposition is well below critical level, it might not be truly indicative of plant survival in arid areas. Results may be useful in arid area afforestation, and polluting industries relocation, which holds tremendous potential vis-à-vis sustainable development.     

Scattering of obliquely incident seismic waves by a cylindrical valley in a layered half-space

Three-dimensional scattering of seismic waves by a cylindrical alluvial valley embedded in a layered half-space is investigated by using the combination of the boundary integral representation and the finite element method. The surface displacements due to incident plane harmonic body waves (P, SV and SH) propagating at an arbitrary angle to the axis of the cylindrical valley are evaluated numerically for two semi-elliptical alluvial valleys. The presence of the layer is found to have a strong effect on the amplification of the surface displacements in some cases. The three-dimensional motion seems to be quite critical and may cause large amplification. The surface ground motion becomes significant when compared with corresponding free-field motion as the wavelengths become comparable to the characteristic length of the valley. The maximum amplification always occurs atop the valley. Numerical results show that the amplitude and the amplification pattern of the surface displacement strongly depend upon the frequency, the angle and the type of the incident waves.