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The purpose of this study is to identify and understand key strategies relating to the staffing, employee experience and employer branding of an inventive startup in robotics training and consumer robotics manufacturing space, keeping in mind the constraints and challenges faced by the company right from the beginning to date.

A case-based method approach has been used. The Founder-Chief executive officer was interviewed multiple times. Interviews were transcribed for further analysis. Data was also sourced from the company website, news and digital media reports.

Human resource strategies used by the company in venturing out in this niche market were explored and linked to the concepts of staffing, employee experience and employer branding. This case can be used for teaching the human resource challenges of a growing start-up.

With the help of this case, readers may be able to appreciate the practice of critical concepts of staffing and employee experience in a growing startup.

The premise of a budding start-up in a niche industry, such as robotics training in educational institutions and manufacturing of small-scale consumer robotics, adds to the novelty of the case.

The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the published information on natural hazards and their implications in the environment.

The published data/information on natural hazards were collected and analyzed.

An analysis of the disaster data (1983‐2003) showed that a total of 1,063 lives on an average were claimed by natural calamities (earthquake, landslide, flood, fire, windstorm, epidemics and avalanche) each year. Water‐induced (flood and landslide) disasters alone contributed to 31.8 percent of the total deaths. Epidemics claimed the maximum number of deaths (55.9 percent) especially in the post‐disaster period. Many of these epidemics occurred due to the contamination of the drinking water sources by flash floods, and landslides. Poor sanitation, unsafe water and unhealthy living conditions contributed to major outbreaks of water‐borne diseases especially in the monsoon period claiming numerous lives.

Published information on natural hazards and implications on environment is limited. This paper integrated and analyzed 21 years of disaster data. A discussion of environmental implication is provided.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the potential impact of human-induced intervention on hydrological regimes of Gomti river, one of the important tributaries of the Ganga Alluvial Plain in India aiming at an overall assessment of the status quo.

The research methodology includes following four components: study of basin morphology, sub-surface geology and sediments profile of Gomti river; a comparison of LANDSAT satellite data of 1978 and IRS-1C/LISS-III satellite data of 2008 to study the changes occurring in the built-up area, forest and water bodies of the basin; study of flow patterns in different stretches of river Gomti from 1978 to 2012; and water quality assessment at different sites from origin of the river to its confluence in the Ganges.

The paper shows that over the years, the water source in the tributaries feeding the river Gomti has shrunk, reducing the flow in the river. A steady increase in developed land area due to rapid urban sprawl has occurred in recent decades, due to which forest cover and wetlands are decreasing, the river and floodplains are getting fragmented, the hydromorphology changed considerably and several tributaries are getting dried as a result of indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater. There is no flow in the initial 57 km stretch of the river with wide encroachment in active floodplains. Groundwater over-extraction to meet the demands of increasing population and intensive agriculture has led to reduction in base-flows and in some reaches even negative. Extensive land-use changes in the Gomti river basin (GRB) severely impact the river and floodplain connectivity, the impacts are already evident as several tributaries are getting dried during the non-monsoon months.

The information provided by the paper for GRB is significant for the understanding of the basin and to formulate integrated management and development plan of the basin. Significant changes have taken place in the GRB over the recent past and are still continuing. Because of the chosen river basin and the site-specific research approach, the research results may lack generalization. However, it provides a general framework of analysis which could be applied to other regions.

River channels with their floodplains and adjoining ecosystems have to be addressed as interconnected ecological entity in a holistic way. This requires comprehensive observations of the river systems and catchment characteristics using long-term data. The paper could be used as the starting point in the development of management and development strategies for the basin.

River and its floodplain offer multiple ecosystem services and deserve an integrated approach for their conservation and restoration. Conservation and protection of ecologically intact river-floodplain systems is extremely important and urgently needs integrated planning and management. This paper has adopted a integrated approach to study the integrity of river ecosystems and the potential pressures on them.

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to assess the seismic vulnerability of the built environment in the Himalayan township of Mussoorie in the state of Uttarakhand (India), paying specific attention to hospitals. Also an attempt is made to assess the magnitude of minimum economic losses, so as to design and undertake measures for reducing human misery in the event of a major disaster.

Seismic vulnerability of the building stock is evaluated using FEMA technique rapid visual screening and the likely earthquake induced damage is depicted as a function of the damage grades of the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS‐98). In total, 3,344 buildings, including 14 hospitals, are surveyed. In the field the structures are mapped using IKONOS satellite imagery while the collected data are analysed under geographic information system environment.

It was found that 18 percent of surveyed structures fall in high probability of Grade 5 damage and very high probability of Grade 4 damage class. This is estimated to result in economic loss of US$52.47 million. Almost, 80 percent of the hospitals of Mussoorie are thus likely to be non‐functional in the post‐earthquake phase due to varying degrees of structural and non‐structural damage.

The study does not account for the cost of demolition or ground clearance cost for reconstruction, or losses likely to be incurred by public infrastructure. Thus, it is implied that retrofitting and replacement of vulnerable healthcare infrastructure should be facilitated on a priority basis along with development of suitable plans for mitigating losses in an earthquake event.

The study brings forth the importance of corrective actions (retrofitting/replacement) and detailed vulnerability assessment of all lifeline structures on priority basis.

The results are intended to reduce seismic vulnerability and human toll in the event of any earthquake in the area.

The work is based upon the original data generated by the authors through rigorous fieldwork in the area and the results are totally based on these.