Unexpected carbon-oxygen bond cleavage of THF promoted by guanidinate titanium complex/lithium diisopropylamide： Synthesis and crystal structure

An unexpected carbon-oxygen bond cleavage of THF （THF = tetrahydrofuran） promoted by guanidinate titanium complex was described. Guanidinate lithium [Pr2 ^1NC（NCy）2]Li （Cy = cyclohexyl） formed in situ reacted with TiCl4（THF）2 in a 2：1 molar ratio to produce the guanidinate titanium chloride [Pr2 ^1NC（NCy）2]2TiCl2 （1） in good yield. The reaction of [Pr2 ^1NC（NCy）2]2TiCl2 with lithium diisopropylamide in THF afforded an unexpected [Pr2 ^1NC（NCy）2]2Ti（OBu^n）2 （2）, which was formed by the cleavage of carbon-oxygen bond of THF. Complexes 1 and 2 were fully characterized by elemental analysis, NMR and IR spectroscopies, and X-ray crystal structure determination for complex 2.     

Discharge oscillation of particles from a vertical pipe with capillary outlet

A new siyle of discharge proteins from a vertical open-top pipe with eapillary outlet is reported. The outflux fluctaales greatly with time and the hulk condensed granular flow in Ihe pipe shows stop-and-go motion when the filling height is ahove a threshold. When the filling height falls towards the threshold, led by a transitional stage, the outflux and the bulk movement become much stable. The upper surface dropping velocity variatiun is measured. A heuristic theory is proposed to understand the stop-and-go mntion and the transitional behavior.     

Holographic QSRR of polychlorinated dibenzofurans

A new molecular representation, molecula rhologram, is employed to investigate the quantitative relationships between gas chromatographic retention indices (GC-RI) and molecular structures of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). Together with application of partial least squares (PLS) regression, the quantitative structure-retention relationship (QSRR) model is constructed for GC-RI of 135 PCDFs. This new QSRR model presents high statistical quality and predictive value with crossvalidation correlation coefficient q2Loo values of 0.998, and non-crossvalidationcorrelation coefficient r2 of 0.998. 100 PCDFs are selected randomly as training set and the rest as testing set. The resuit of PLS regressive analysis of training set yields r^2 of 0.998 and q2Loo of 0.997. The GC-RIs of testing set are predicted, and the correlation equation indicates that the model based on training set has excellent ability to predict the GC-RIs of PCDFs in testing set.     

On Insiders (Emic) and Outsiders (Etic): Views of Self,and Othering

“Insiders” and “outsiders” to social issues is a concept that is an integral part of Participatory Action Research, which emphasizes the partnering and working together with people who are closest to the problem by dint of personal experience and identity, in order to address complex social problems. The writer believes that working with “insiders” in regard to social issues is a powerful concept but not as simple as it might at first seem to be. This paper explores the problems associated with accepting the concept wholeheartedly by using a real-life example of a community issue to explore it.     

Facilitation of Collaborative Management: Reflections From Practice

Collaborative management of natural resources requires that multiple stakeholders come together to negotiate agreements. Who is a stakeholder, what is the boundary and the definition of an issue, and who has legitimacy to convene are interrelated, systemic questions. To address this challenge, this paper provides a conceptual framework with nine Contextual Dimensions. A workshop on collaborative and conflict management of the fishery in Chile, designed and facilitated by the authors, serves as a case study where multiple stakeholders came together to vision desirable futures and explored organizational linkages that could accommodate the different agendas. The workshop is analyzed through a conceptual framework and some conclusions are drawn on the value of experiential learning and on the importance of the iterative consultations that must precede such collaborative management events.Member of the International Support Group (www.isglink.org), a community of practice dedicated to facilitating collaborative learning for natural resource management.     

Sustainability,Systems Thinking and Professional Practice

This article explores the impact of the new sustainability agenda on the occupational and professional needs of those who have taken educational and training programmes in the environmental field either at undergraduate or postgraduate level or through relevant professional institutions’ continuing professional development programmes. It also describes a one-day workshop for the professionals on sustainable development, based on systems thinking and practice. The workshop provides a model for developing greater understanding and effective action in professional practice, by using dialogue and interprofessional learning to explore approaches to sustainability in a variety of business and professional contexts. It introduces the principles underpinning the concept of sustainability and provides tools to support the integration of sustainable development into professional practice and organisational change.     

Refocusing Systems Analysis of Organizations Through a Semiotic Lens: Interpretive Framework and Method

Recent advances in systems theory have significantly raised its utility for supporting problem-structuring activity in organizations. However, this approach has been inadequately developed for representing and evaluating the nature and outcomes of organizational functioning. Toward that end this paper introduces a new method, called interpretive systems analysis, which incorporates ideas from semiotic theory. Using this method, the complex web of agents, actions, means, and circumstances in organizational functioning may be analytically discriminated into multiple courses of action that are emphasized on dimensions of legitimacy, motivation, and power. An integrative appraisal of key elements and factors shaping organizational performance may then be achieved through the formulation of “systems of significance,” formed of oppositional and associative relations. Organizations can thus be illuminated in terms of principle inconsistencies and tensions shaping their operations. The application and utility of this method is illustrated through a case study of customer service operations.     

Holism and Understanding Sustainability

In work undertaken in both Malta and Lebanon we have been reflecting on the current means by which the international community apply concepts intended to achieve what is called “sustainable development.” In an attempt to make means and ends conform to each other we have developed a holistic approach to what is essentially a timeless need for understanding, systemic planning, and compassionate stewardship. This essay indicates that we may be closer to holistic means with which to realize these goals than we know. It describes how some planning and analysis methods have their origins in ancient traditions. However, the milieu in which sustainability occurs is often unsympathetic to and sometimes incompatible with the ideals of holism. The essay assesses the current understanding of sustainability and points to the need for a wider and more inclusive base to contemporary sustainability as practiced in the community.