Diametrically opposed forces, while independent, require the presence of the other to exist. Shadow is found through an absence of light. Earth exists as a result of the heavens, whether cosmologically or theologically. The following project explores dichotomies and the architectural elements that can span two disparate entities. The proposal for an embassy for Somalia strives to discover the threshold between the dualities of the Islamic faith and the profane environment. In the faith one must follow a path, whether physical or spiritual in order to find true enlightenment. By allowing the path of the thesis be the guide, the various elements of approach, entry, courtyard, garden and sacred spaces are illuminated as the thresholds between these diametrically opposed forces of public | private, heaven | earth, sacred | profane. / Master of Architecture

Exposure to excess manganese via drinking water raises concerns due to potential for adverse neurological impacts, particularly in children. Manganese is ubiquitous in US groundwaters above the SMCL = 0.05 mg/L. Manganese is an essential nutrient, but exposures to elevated manganese have neurotoxic effects. Chapter 2 focuses on human senses\' ability to detect manganese in drinking water. Findings indicate human senses cannot be relied upon to detect excess Mn(II) in drinking water. Mn(IV) is easily visually detected, but cannot be tasted at 10 times the SMCL. Chapter 3 is an assessment the ability of an ultrasonic humidifier to expel drinking water impurities in aerosols. The quality of the water used to charge the humidifier reservoir affects the composition of elements in the aerosols and condensate. Findings indicate condensed humidifier aerosols contain 85% of elements present in the reservoir water for a variety of water types if there is no precipitation. Waters with high concentration of hardness or iron formed precipitates that decreased the concentrations of these metals in the aerosols causing variable results for other elements that were initially present at < 1mg/L in the charge water. This indicates that humidifiers could be a source of inhalation exposure for source water contaminants. / Master of Science

My thesis is an exploration of sacred space in architecture. The vehicle for this exploration is a homeless mission and transitional shelter in Alexandria, Virginia. Homelessness is a constant battle for both individuals and communities, precipitating disjointed and fragmented lives. I hoped to design a dignified urban dwelling where man is able to remember who he is, his purpose, and his direction, while also participating in healthy and fruitful community. / Master of Architecture

Malawi is currently identified as one of the poorest countries in the world, based upon economic factors and the large dependence of the country on foreign aid. Poverty is endemic, but how does one measure factors such as happiness and contentment that exists in many communities? How does one account for cultural richness and diversity? Known as the warm heart of Africa, Malawi lives up to its reputation through the warmth and hospitality shown by its people. In spite of an absence of a strong formal architectural history, one cannot help but be impressed by the crude vernacular architecture that is found throughout the country. Together these two conditions, the warm heart and vernacular architecture lead to the question concerning the role of architecture in augmenting Malawis image globally. How can these pre-liminal conditions come together as a force that would start scripting the path of progress for Malawi as a nation? This thesis evaluates the current pre-liminal situation in Malawi through the study of its activities, events and culture. It proposes an intervention in the form of a new library which at its core is developed around the principles of liminality. From the gathering spaces to the local construction techniques and the use of shaded spaces in and around the building, this thesis is an attempt to trigger a liminal shift in Malawi. / Master of Architecture

In architecture there is perhaps no better opportunity to capture movement and change than in the design of thresholds. They can be a simple strip of metal beneath a doorway, barely noticed as you pass over it, or a grand atrium that you stop and marvel at on your way into the office. They can manifest as a change of materials or finishes, or of some parameter such as ceiling height. They might even be immaterial altogether, like the boundary between light and shadow. Thresholds transcend the physical to effect a psychological experience. They can be spatial or temporal or some combination of the two, but whatever form they take, all thresholds can be said to be mediators of our movement from one spatial status to another. Inside to outside, public to private, here to there. Too often our buildings relegate these changes to doors or openings that have little connection to the buildings they are a part of, and so our awareness of passage from space to space is diminished. This thesis explores ways to enrich the architecture of the threshold so that it doesn't merely recede to the bounds of our perception. / Master of Architecture / The term "threshold" often brings to mind a strip of material at the base of a doorway, but architecture considers thresholds more broadly as moments of movement or change. This thesis examines such moments in an original building design, proposing several threshold types and exploring their impact on occupants.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to attempt to determine what influence configuration and/or letter sequence have on the recognition thresholds of words. It is felt that low configuration and/or rare letter sequences will result in lower recognition thresholds, while high configuration and/or common letter sequence will result in higher recognition thresholds when stimulus words are presented to subjects by means of a tachistoscope.

This study investigated the variability of response associated with various perimetric techniques, with the aim of improving the clinical interpretation of automated static threshold perirnetry. Evaluation of a third generation of perimetric threshold algorithms (SITA) demonstrated a reduction in test duration by approximately 50% both in normal subjects and in glaucoma patients. SITA produced a slightly higher, but clinically insignificant, Mean Sensitivity than with the previous generations of algorithms. This was associated with a decreased between-subject variability in sensitivity and hence, lower confidence intervals for normality. In glaucoma, the SITA algorithms gave rise to more statistically significant visual field defects and a similar between-visit repeatability to the Full Threshold and FASTPAC algorithms. The higher estimated sensitivity observed with SITA compared to Full Threshold and FASTPAC were not attributed to a reduction in the fatigue effect. The investigation of a novel method of maintaining patient fixation, a roving fixation target which paused immediately prior lo the stimulus presentation, revealed a greater degree of fixational instability with the roving fixation target compared to the conventional static fixation target. Previous experience with traditional white-white perimetry did not eradicate the learning effect in short-wavelength automated perimetry (SWAP) in a group of ocular hypertensive patients. The learning effect was smaller in an experienced group of patients compared to a naive group of patients, but was still at a significant level to require that patients should undertake a series of at least three familiarisation tests with SWAP.

Hydraulic tomography (HT) has become a mature aquifer test technology over the last two decades. It collects nonredundant information of aquifer heterogeneity by sequentially stressing the aquifer at different wells and collecting aquifer responses at other wells during each stress. The collected information is then interpreted by inverse models. Among these models, the geostatistical approaches, built upon the Bayesian framework, first conceptualize hydraulic properties to be estimated as random fields, which are characterized by means and covariance functions. They then use the spatial statistics as prior information with the aquifer response data to estimate the spatial distribution of the hydraulic properties at a site. Since the spatial statistics describe the generic spatial structures of the geologic media at the site rather than site-specific ones (e. g., known spatial distributions of facies, faults, or paleochannels), the estimates are often not optimal. To improve the estimates, we introduce a general statistical framework, which allows the inclusion of site-specific spatial patterns of geologic features. Subsequently, we test this approach with synthetic numerical experiments. Results show that this approach, using conditional mean and covariance that reflect site-specific large-scale geologic features, indeed improves the HT estimates. Afterward, this approach is applied to HT surveys at a kilometerscale- fractured granite field site with a distinct fault zone. We find that by including fault information from outcrops and boreholes for HT analysis, the estimated hydraulic properties are improved. The improved estimates subsequently lead to better prediction of flow during a different pumping test at the site.