Initially, it seemed that it was simply an interesting branch of mathematics but Professor Stark says there are now a variety of potential applications.Chaos theory made an important contribution to the control of the foot-and-mouth epidemic in 2001, while spacecraft trajectories - which are classic candidates for chaotic outcomes, because there are so many forces operating on them - are now calculated using non-linear maths, which has enabled missions using the minimum of fuel that would have been impossible using traditional mathematics.Production lines, whose output can fluctuate unpredictably when one part is busy while another is idle, could be analysed using chaos theory to run more stably, he says. The older method leads to large areas which are thawed and other large areas that are still frozen, which is a health risk.Chaos theory describes nonlinear systems where variations in starting conditions lead to unpredictable results. The new approach means the food is heated more evenly and thus defrosted more evenly and quickly, because local pockets of warmed food will help thaw any adjacent frozen volume. But Professor Stark also said "it is surprising that [chaos theory] has taken so long" to be used in practical applications, since the theory was first discussed in the 1960s.The "chaos defrost" system blasts the frozen food with strong, but near-random blasts of microwave radiation, rather than using weaker, constant power. "It came as quite a shock," he notes in the journal, Science. Chaos theory, the branch of science which came to prominence in the 1980s and made famous the idea of systems whose outcome could not be predicted, has found an application - in the humble kitchen microwave. We have already seen it in manufacturing in the UK, and the economy has proved terribly flexible.".
You have to take the long term view that economies will adapt to these types of shifts and changes. The worries about jobs in the West reflect a "natural concern", said Matthew Vallance, its European regional director.But he added: "This is what free trade is all about. Office Tiger, founded four years ago, now has 1,000 employees and annual revenues of £20m.So where will it all end? So far there is little to dampen the spirits of the out-sourcing pioneers. The whiff of profits is in the monsoon air, luring both Western companies and Indian entrepreneurs. Call centre operators - facing increasing internal competition - are cottoning on, and widening the scope of their activities.ICICI OneSource has three centres in Bangalore and one in Bombay, which together employ about 3,500 people It, too, now offers back-office services.
The co-chief executive, Joseph Sigelman, says such controls are tighter than you will find in New York or London His clients appear satisfied. The staff - who include financial analysts and business planners - are unable to print out material from their screens; the floppy disc slots on their computers have been disabled; the premises are monitored by security cameras; and workers have their bags searched as they leave. But operators appear to be taking this into consideration.Strict rules apply, for instance, at Office Tiger in Chennai, which has emerged as a virtual research facility and back office for Wall Street (and others). Concerns have been raised in the US about the lack of data privacy legislation in India, and the risk of data theft - ranging from individual social security numbers to confidential company accounts.
New Jersey has introduced laws banning the outsourcing of government work abroad; four other states are considering the same move.Other misgivings have also emerged. "We believe that in future the UK insurers will make more subdued announcements with regard to the transfers of operations to India, so as to reduce publicity," it said.There have been stirrings, too, in the US. It said that a worker's average monthly earnings in India are £89 - a mere 5 per cent of the equivalent in Britain. It predicted an increase which, if successful, could mean Indian staff being used to fill "more senior positions".But it also sounded a note of caution, warning that insurers moving jobs to India "may face increasing pressure from the Government, not to mention the unions", and said that high domestic redundancies can damage a brand name. India's expanding call centre business has already lit the fuse.
