Evaluating participatory modeling: developing a framework for cross-case analysis.

Participatory modeling is increasingly recognized as an effective way to assist collective decision-making processes in the domain of natural resource management. This article introduces a framework for evaluating projects that have adopted a participatory modeling approach. This evaluation framework--known as the "Protocol of Canberra"--was developed through a collaboration between French and Australian researchers engaged in participatory modeling and evaluation research. The framework seeks to assess the extent to which different participatory modeling initiatives not only modify perceptions among and interactions between participants, but also contribute to collective decision-making. The article discusses the development of the framework and its application to three case-studies, two from Australia and one from the Pacific Island of the Republic of Kiribati. The article concludes with some comments for future use of the framework in a range of participatory modeling contexts.

Low-valent uranium iodides: straightforward solution syntheses of UI3 and UI4 etherates.

Uranium turnings react with elemental iodine in diethyl ether at room temperature, with sonication and/or stirring, over a period of days to afford UI 3, UI 4(OEt 2) 2, or UI 4(OBu (n) 2) depending on the stoichiometry or ether solvent. This is the first room temperature, and thus safe and convenient, synthesis of UI 3.

Comparisons between yttrium and titanium N-heterocyclic carbene complexes in the search for early transition metal NHC backbonding interactions.

The d (0) yttrium N-heterocyclic carbene compound YL 3 (L = OCMe 2CH 2[C{N(CHCH)NPr ( i )}]) has been made and structurally characterized. It adopts a mer configuration of the three bidentate ligands. A comparison of this with the isostructural d (1) titanium complex TiL 3 is made in order to seek experimental evidence of a pi-bonding contribution to the M-C bond. This has been augmented by DFT calculations. Experimentally, the metal radius-corrected Ti-C distance is shorter than the Y-C distance, suggesting a pi-bonding contribution in the d (1) complex, but the computational data suggest that a shorter sigma bond might simply be formed by the more strongly polarizing titanium cation. From the potassium reduction of TiL(OPr ( i )) 3, only a byproduct arising from silicone grease activation was isolable, identified as a mixed-valent, multinuclear, d (0)/d (1) cluster [Ti (III)L 2{Pr ( i )OSiMe 2O}K 2OTi (IV)(OPr ( i )) 4] 2 in which the carbene ligands are bound to the Ti (III) centers in preference to Ti (IV), with longer Ti-C distances than those found in TiL 3.