Until recently, multiple SPME fibres could not be automatically evaluated in a single sequence without manual intervention. This drawback had been a critical issue until recently, particularly during the analysis of numerous on-site samples. Recently, GERSTEL® has developed and commercialized a Multi-Fibre Exchanger (MFX) system designed to overcome this drawback. In this research, a critical evaluation of the MFX performance in terms of storage stability and long term operation is presented. It was established in the course of our research that the MFX can operate continuously and precisely for over 200 extraction/injection cycles. However, when the effect of residence time of commercial fibres on the MFX tray was evaluated, the results have shown that amongst the evaluated fibre coatings, carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS) was the only coating capable of efficient storage on the MFX tray for up to 24 hours after field sampling without suffering significant loss of analytes. Additionally, the MFX system capability for high-throughput analysis was demonstrated by the unattended desorption of multiple fibres after on-site sampling of two different systems, indoor air and biogenic emissions. Subsequently, a protocol based on a new, fast, reproducible, reusable and completely automated method that enables quick assessment of SPME coatings was developed. The protocol consists of an innovative in-vial standard generator containing vacuum pump oil doped with McReynolds probes and subsequently mixed with a polystyrene-divinylbenzene resin. According to our results, the protocol has proven to be a useful tool for the quick assessment of inter-fibre reproducibility prior to their application in on-site analysis. The implications of such protocols include, but are not limited to: time-saving, assurance of reliable and reproducible data, and a dependable guide for novice users of the technique. Finally, an innovative, reusable and readily deployable pen-like diffusive sampler for needle traps (PDS-NT) is proposed. Results have shown that the new PDS-NT is effective for air analysis of benzene, toluene, and o-xylene (BTX). In addition, no statistically significant effects of pen geometry on the uptake of analytes were found.

The PhD is concerned with the construction of site knowledge and how this is transformed into knowing where and how to intervene in a river system close to ecological collapse. It involves three overlapping topics: • Site knowledge and its impact upon the design process • Development of tools and techniques appropriate for working on a particular type of site condition: the threshold between land and water • Transitory: the impact of dynamic processes and events on inhabitation Site knowledge emerges from a process of investigating a location. It is generated by on-site and off-site operations. This involves the architect in a dynamic set of relationships - between encounters on the ground in the here and now, with more remote encounters with the site from the studio and archive. This mode of site study amplifies the impact of scale shift and it exposes the variable and provisional status of a location, while also providing a way of operating in environments that can be considered dynamic. The PhD is premised upon the need for a work to relate to its surrounding environment. The hinged meaning between the terms a site and to site have relevance to the design process. A site, as a noun, suggests a specific place, such as a plot of land, whereas the verb to site, suggests that a work will be placed in relation to other things. Site knowledge is thus generated through the act of describing a place, through the act of making drawings and other descriptions of that place. It generates ways of conceptualising a site and leads to action: knowing how and where to intervene in a location. The River Murray provided a context for the project work of the PhD. Research led to tools for recording (on site) and interpreting (off site) the impacts of flood events on the settlements on the riverbanks that were protected by levees that worked against the natural forces of the system. The research culminated in a range of designs that demonstrated how to integrate town and tourist developments into the re-established cyclical flows necessary for the health of the system.

This project intends to broaden the understanding of site by putting an emphasis on social, affectional and relational conditions. Hoping to begin a discourse on what existing values we as architects and developers bring with us into the future when proposing a design. This is achieved by the development and proposal of a methodology for uncovering, documenting and understanding how a community and its inhabitants relate to a specific place. The project aims to bring the question of social, affectional and relational site analysis to the surface, creating a forum for discussions of methodology and architectural approach relevant to all places going through substantial change. This is facilitated through the production of a workshop-series and an attempted interpretation of its rendered results through application in a drawn proposal for the site.

This research proposes a new site analysis methodology in the form of an integrated framework. The framework separates the site analysis process into different models, incorporates each model, and considers the interaction between them. The most important models are the environmental models (climate, geology, hydrology, topography, and vegetation models), social-cultural models, economic models, and infrastructure models. Each model also contains several important factors. The study identifies and organizes environmental factors within the framework that influence site analysis and design. Based on the applicability of feng shui principles and their interpretations into measurable factors, this research compares and incorporates feng shui and contemporary environmental design theories, and summarizes essential environmental factors. The emphasis on environmental factors from these models may lead to a better understanding of the relationships between humankind and the natural environment. The proposed framework is implemented into a computer simulation program, titled SiteOne, to demonstrate the concepts and ideas, with an emphasis on environmental factors. This research uses the town of Reston in Fairfax County, Virginia, as the study area because of the availability of information. SiteOne analyzes a range of alternatives and then derives solutions from the suggested site conditions in the form of GIS maps. There are various modules that make up the prototype system: namely an analysis module, a database module, and a result generation module. SiteOne helps professionals collect a wide range of information and select corresponding criteria in the early stages of design. It also provides visual analysis based on selected criteria and models. Therefore, it can act as an educational knowledge component for professionals as well as the general public. / Ph. D.

The inevitable changes to the built environment over time presents the question of what contemporary design is appropriate for existing historical context. This is inherently a wicked problem that is becoming increasingly important to designers in the 21st century. Wicked problems, as the connotation implies, are those that are multi-faceted, unique, and with innumerable possible solutions (Rittel, Webber 1973). Each individual architectural project is a cog in a city’s evolving machine, therefore no one project should ever be considered unimportant. As Robert Venturi said in his “Gentle Manifesto”, a designer should strive towards “messy vitality over obvious unity” (Venturi, 1966). Finding a simple design resolution is difficult if not impossible in a complex urban city layered with centuries of architecture. It is not necessary to copy the historic building next door, nor is it appropriate to design as if a site has no neighbors. The surrounding context should be evaluated for its mass, scale, program, history, and materials, among others, to inform and inspire a contemporary designer’s work. This thesis offers no “solution”; rather a series of design considerations. These considerations are by no means prescriptive, however. My aspiration is that this thesis can be used by future designers as a tool to prompt discussion and discovery about their own site specific project. / Master of Architecture

The site analysis and mapping methods in the design and planning professions follow a standardized quantitative and qualitative analyis of place that favors a design process which can limit creativity and render it difficult to do anything with the normative. This work is an exploration of the development of a design approach and method that uses voice mapping as a basis for design. The voice maps contain oral histories and personal accounts of landscape experiences. Voice mapping is employed not only as a method or for site analysis but also as a generator or ideas. Voice Map Trekking is explored through a trek in the Canadian Arctic and across the Canadian Prairies. Two specific landscapes were chosen as bases for testing concepts - one near St. Gertrude SK and the other near Morinville AB. / February 2008

The site analysis and mapping methods in the design and planning professions follow a standardized quantitative and qualitative analyis of place that favors a design process which can limit creativity and render it difficult to do anything with the normative. This work is an exploration of the development of a design approach and method that uses voice mapping as a basis for design. The voice maps contain oral histories and personal accounts of landscape experiences. Voice mapping is employed not only as a method or for site analysis but also as a generator or ideas. Voice Map Trekking is explored through a trek in the Canadian Arctic and across the Canadian Prairies. Two specific landscapes were chosen as bases for testing concepts - one near St. Gertrude SK and the other near Morinville AB. / February 2008

Ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS) has been showen to provide fast on-site analysis of coarse sandy soil for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). However the presence of humus results in instrument foaling and extensive down time do to instrument clean-up. For this reason a method was investigated for the ultrasonic extraction of PCBs from humus-rich soil that could be used at remote locations. Analysis of the extracted PCBs was conducted using 1) IMS and 2) gas chromatogram equipped with a dry electolytic conductiviy detector (GC/DELCD). The research conducted for this thesis outlines the method development and analysis of PCBS using these two instruments. The IMS analyiss was found to be complicated by co-extracted matrix compounds. Results and limitations of IMS analysisare present here. The method development and validation of a method for the ultrasonic extraction and analysis of PCBs using the GC/DELCD is provided.

Ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS) has been showen to provide fast on-site analysis of coarse sandy soil for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). However the presence of humus results in instrument foaling and extensive down time do to instrument clean-up. For this reason a method was investigated for the ultrasonic extraction of PCBs from humus-rich soil that could be used at remote locations. Analysis of the extracted PCBs was conducted using 1) IMS and 2) gas chromatogram equipped with a dry electolytic conductiviy detector (GC/DELCD). The research conducted for this thesis outlines the method development and analysis of PCBS using these two instruments. The IMS analyiss was found to be complicated by co-extracted matrix compounds. Results and limitations of IMS analysisare present here. The method development and validation of a method for the ultrasonic extraction and analysis of PCBs using the GC/DELCD is provided.

The site analysis and mapping methods in the design and planning professions follow a standardized quantitative and qualitative analyis of place that favors a design process which can limit creativity and render it difficult to do anything with the normative. This work is an exploration of the development of a design approach and method that uses voice mapping as a basis for design. The voice maps contain oral histories and personal accounts of landscape experiences. Voice mapping is employed not only as a method or for site analysis but also as a generator or ideas. Voice Map Trekking is explored through a trek in the Canadian Arctic and across the Canadian Prairies. Two specific landscapes were chosen as bases for testing concepts - one near St. Gertrude SK and the other near Morinville AB.