Place attachment and place identity: First-year undergraduates making the transition from home to university

This paper examines the issues emanating from the transition into a new social and cultural environment distant from the home, the context of which is provided by the transition from home to university. The study analyses the transitional process over a period of 5 months, using data obtained from in-depth semi-structured interviews and participant observation of ten first-year undergraduates who moved to study at the University of Gloucestershire in Cheltenham. It explores the mediating variables that impact place attachment and place identity during the transition from home to university. Within this context consideration is given to how participants made sense of changes in their socio-spatial environment, the ensuing problems and challenges of doing so, and how these meanings affected self-perceptions and self-evaluations. The analysis demonstrates how participant's stories of the transition evince an abiding concern with the loss of place, manifest in terms of an erosion of a sense of belonging, attachment and continuity and an undermining of home's capacity to symbolise the self. The implications of such accounts for our understanding of place attachment and identity are then explored. The paper concludes by advocating a holistic approach to our conceptualisation of place, given that place meanings are constantly being evaluated and redefined in light of changing social and physical relationships with place and between people and place.     

Evaluation of OC/EC Speciation by Thermal Manganese Dioxide Oxidation and the IMPROVE Method

Abstract

Ambient particulate samples are routinely analyzed for organic and elemental carbon (OC/EC) using either thermal manganese dioxide oxidation (TMO) or thermal volatil-ization-pyrolysis correction methods, such as the Inter-agency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) method with correction by reflectance, or a variation of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Method 5040 using thermal optical transmittance (TOT). With TMO, EC is modeled after the oxidation properties of submicron graphite and needle coke by MnO₂, and is the fraction of total carbon (TC) that is not oxidized at >525 °C. In thermal volatilization methods, EC is the fraction of TC that accounts for the light extinction properties of the sample at the start of analysis. Chow et al. (2001) compared IMPROVE and NIOSH methods implemented on the same instrument using 60 samples of various types and found that NIOSH EC was lower than IMPROVE. This study compares total, organic, and elemental carbon measurements from the TMO and IMPROVE thermal optical reflectance (TOR) methods using a sample set consisting of 60 IMPROVE nonurban, 16 Korean urban, 10 Hong Kong urban, and 14 synthetic carbon black samples.     

Environmental issues and management strategies for waste electronic and electrical equipment

Issues surrounding the impact and management of discarded or waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) have received increasing attention in recent years. This attention stems from the growing quantity and diversity of electronic and electrical equipment (EEE) used by modern society, the increasingly rapid turnover of EEE with the accompanying burden on the waste stream, and the occurrence of toxic chemicals in many EEE components that can pose a risk to human and environmental health if improperly managed. In addition, public awareness of the WEEE or "e-waste" dilemma has grown in light of popular press features on events such as the transition to digital television and the exportation of WEEE from the United States and other developed countries to Africa, China, and India, where WEEE has often not been managed in a safe manner (e.g., processed with proper safety precautions, disposed of in a sanitary landfill, combusted with proper air quality procedures). This paper critically reviews current published information on the subject of WEEE. The definition, magnitude, and characteristics of this waste stream are summarized, including a detailed review of the chemicals of concern associated with different components and how this has changed and continues to evolve over time. Current and evolving management practices are described (e.g., reuse, recycling, incineration, landfilling). This review discusses the role of regulation and policies developed by governments, institutions, and product manufacturers and how these initiatives are shaping current and future management practices.     

Storm runoff quality and pollutant loading from commercial, residential, and industrial catchments in the tropic

Information on the pollution level and the influence of hydrologic regime on the stormwater pollutant loading in tropical urban areas are still scarce. More local data are still required because rainfall and runoff generation processes in tropical environment are very different from the temperate regions. This study investigated the extent of urban runoff pollution in residential, commercial, and industrial catchments in the south of Peninsular Malaysia. Stormwater samples and flow rate data were collected from 51 storm events. Samples were analyzed for total suspended solids, 5-day biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, oil and grease (O&G), nitrate nitrogen (NO₃-N), nitrite nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, soluble reactive phosphorus, total phosphorus (TP), and zinc (Zn). It was found that the event mean concentrations (EMCs) of pollutants varied greatly between storm characteristics and land uses. The results revealed that site EMCs for residential catchment were lower than the published data but higher for the commercial and industrial catchments. All rainfall variables were negatively correlated with EMCs of most pollutants except for antecedent dry days (ADD). This study reinforced the earlier findings on the importance of ADD for causing greater EMC values with exceptions for O&G, NO₃-N, TP, and Zn. In contrast, the pollutant loadings are influenced primarily by rainfall depth, mean intensity, and max 5-min intensity in all the three catchments. Overall, ADD is an important variable in multiple linear regression models for predicting the EMC values in the tropical urban catchments.     

Advances in integrated and continuous measurements for particle mass and chemical composition

Recent improvements in integrated and continuous PM2.5 mass and chemical measurements from the Supersite program and related studies in the past decade are summarized. Analytical capabilities of the measurement methods, including accuracy, precision, interferences, minimum detectable levels, comparability, and data completeness are documented. Upstream denuders followed by filter packs in integrated samplers allow an estimation of sampling artifacts. Efforts are needed to: (1) address positive and negative artifacts for organic carbon (OC), and (2) develop carbon standards to better separate organic versus elemental carbon (EC) under different temperature settings and analysis atmospheres. Advances in thermal desorption followed by gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (GC/MS) provide organic speciation of approximately 130 nonpolar compounds (e.g., n-alkanes, alkenes, hopanes, steranes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs]) using small portions of filters from existing integrated samples. Speciation of water-soluble OC (WSOC) using ion chromatography (IC)-based instruments can replace labor-intensive solvent extraction for many compounds used as source markers. Thermal gas-based continuous nitrate and sulfate measurements underestimate filter ions by 10-50% and require calibration against on-site filter-based measurements. IC-based instruments provide multiple ions and report comparable (+/-10%) results to filter-based measurements. Maintaining a greater than 80% data capture rate in continuous instruments is labor intensive and requires experienced operators. Several instruments quantify black carbon (BC) by optical or photoacoustic methods, or EC by thermal methods. A few instruments provide real-time OC, EC, and organic speciation. BC and EC concentrations from continuous instruments are highly correlated but the concentrations differ by a factor of two or more. Site- and season-specific mass absorption efficiencies are needed to convert light absorption to BC. Particle mass spectrometers, although semiquantitative, provide much information on particle size and composition related to formation, growth, and characteristics over short averaging times. Efforts are made to quantify mass by collocating with other particle sizing instruments. Common parameters should be identified and consistent approaches are needed to establish comparability among measurements.     

Size and XAD fractionations of trihalomethane precursors from soils

Soil organic matter is an important source of allochthonous dissolved organic matter inputs to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta waterways, which is a drinking water source for 22 million people in California, USA. Knowledge of trihalomethane (THM) formation potential of soil-derived organic carbon is important for developing effective strategies for organic carbon removal in drinking water treatment. In this study, soil organic carbon was extracted with electrolytes (deionized H2O and Na- or Ca-based electrolytes) of electrical conductivity bracketing those found in Delta leaching and runoff conditions. The extracts were physically and chemically separated into different fractions: colloidal organic carbon (0.45-0.1 microm), fine colloidal organic carbon (0.1-0.025 microm), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (<0.025 microm); hydrophobic acid (HPOA), transphilic acid, and hydrophilic acid. Two representative Delta soils, Rindge Muck (a peat soil) and Scribner Clay Loam (a mineral soil) were examined. Results showed that less than 2% of soil organic carbon was electrolyte-extractable and heterogeneous organic fractions with distinct THM reactivity existed. Regardless of soil and electrolytes, DOC and HPOA fractions were dominant in terms of total concentration and THMFP. The amounts of extractable organic carbon and THMFP were dependent on the cation and to a lesser extent on electrical conductivity of electrolytes. Along with our previous study on temperature and moisture effects on DOC production, we propose a conceptual model to describe the impacts of agricultural practices on DOC production in the Delta. DOC is mainly produced in the surface peat soils during the summer and is immobilized by accumulated salt in the soils. DOC is leached from soils to drainage ditches and finally to the Delta channels during winter salt leaching practices.     

Comparison of continuous and filter-based carbon measurements at the Fresno supersite

Results from six continuous and semicontinuous black carbon (BC) and elemental carbon (EC) measurement methods are compared for ambient samples collected from December 2003 through November 2004 at the Fresno Supersite in California. Instruments included a multi-angle absorption photometer (MAAP; lambda = 670 nm); a dual-wavelength (lambda = 370 and 880 nm) aethalometer; seven-color (lambda = 370, 470, 520, 590, 660, 880, and 950 nm) aethalometers; the Sunset Laboratory carbon aerosol analysis field instrument; a photoacoustic light absorption analyzer (lambda = 1047 nm); and the R&P 5400 ambient carbon particulate monitor. All of these acquired BC or EC measurements over periods of 1 min to 1 hr. Twenty-four-hour integrated filter samples were also acquired and analyzed by the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) thermal/optical reflectance carbon analysis protocol. Site-specific mass absorption efficiencies estimated by comparing light absorption with IMPROVE EC concentrations were 5.5 m2/g for the MAAP, 10 m2/g for the aethalometer at a wavelength of 880 nm, and 2.3 m2/g for the photoacoustic analyzer; these differed from the default efficiencies of 6.5, 16.6, and 5 m2/g, respectively. Scaling absorption by inverse wavelength did not provide equivalent light absorption coefficients among the instruments for the Fresno aerosol measurements. Ratios of light absorption at 370 nm to those at 880 nm from the aethalometer were nearly twice as high in winter as in summer. This is consistent with wintertime contributions from vehicle exhaust and from residential wood combustion, which is believed to absorb more shorter-wavelength light. To reconcile BC and EC measurements obtained by different methods, a better understanding is needed of the wavelength dependence of light-absorption and mass-absorption efficiencies and how they vary with different aerosol composition.