The M8 Intersection at Charing Cross as a Metaphor for my Heartbeat

The artefact and neckpiece is the outcome of a year of extensive research and exploration of the way language is used in urban settings. This work uses jewellery as a tool for social/cultural identity and topophilic reflection. The whole work consists of multiple over lapping and weaving narratives about our connection to a place and how it influences and changes us. Consisting of over 15 sections which build on photographic research, research exploring ways of printing and image transfer on metal surface, painting directly onto metal surface, narrative, the meaning behind signs and symbols and the impact of fonts. The artefact itself is made from the neckpiece, a large handmade box of leather and marbled paper and an interview between the myself and a close friend (and local builder). This interview explores the meaning behind the work whilst at the same time being an integral part of the work. The work continues exploration of complex casting systems created and researched over the previous 5 years and looks to further this research by pushing scale of cartable objects as well as finding ways of deliberately introducing human error into the process 3D printed objects which are then cast. First published as part of an exhibition titled Chain at Galerie S O in London (8 Apr-5 Jun 2016), where the work was showcased alongside the work of many the most influential makers and researchers active in the Jewellery and Metal community, including Professor Hans Stofer, Caroline Broadhead, Otto Kunzli, , David Beilander, Maisie Broadhead, Lin Cheung and Ted Noten. Since then this work has toured multiple exhibitions and shows worldwide with Charon Kransen Arts

TO SORN

TO SORN is the first project in which Jonathan Boyd used jewellery as an art form exploring Glasgow culture and personal identity through a gonzo style immersion in an experience. Using film and worn object TO SORN uses walking as contemplative tool for understanding changes in landscape and in mentality. From this a film and 12 works of jewellery were made. The project included innovations and an original setting/narrative for jewellery creation as well as technical innovations in the creation of wire drawings in objects. Metal is unforgiving and hard to manipulate I undertook three months of research to understand how to turn quick free sketches into solid metal. Items from this body of work are now in the permanent collections of the Nelson Atkins Museum and Spencer Art Museum USA. The film was a collaboration with frequent collaborator Sorely Kleboe and Sound artist Charlie Knox

Postsecondary Success Outcomes for Veteran and Nonveteran Students at a Public University in Georgia

Every year, the federal government distributes $11 billion in education benefits to nearly one million veterans (GAO, 2013). Despite the substantial price tag and reach of these benefits, we understand very little about how veteran students fare in postsecondary programs and why outcomes may be different for veteran students. Theory and related evidence predict that veteran students should be less successful than their nonveteran peers, yet the limited past research suggests that they are actually as successful as, if not more successful than, nonveterans. This is the student veteran paradox. I posit seven potential explanations to resolve this paradox: bias in past research, background characteristics of veterans, enrollment behaviors of veterans, maturation from delayed entry, education aid benefits for veterans, unobservable factors associated with selection into the military, or the direct effects of military service. I use OLS regression and logistic regression to assess three metrics of student success: grades, retention, and completion. I also leverage variations in the GI Bill program to assess whether higher levels of funding lead to better student success outcomes. Finally, I use matching to test whether unobservable factors associated with military enlistment or the direct effects of military service could drive veteran student success. Student veterans hold many characteristics that predict lower probabilities of college success, but veterans and nonveterans generally have similar academic outcomes. When controlling for background characteristics, enrollment patterns, age, and term of entry, predicted first year GPA is lower for veterans, but veterans are more likely to return after the first year and are more likely to graduate. Generally, students with higher levels of veteran education benefits xii have better retention and graduation outcomes, but aid levels seem to have little impact on first year grades. Veterans still have lower grades than similar matched nonveterans, but the veterans are more likely to return after the first year and are more likely to graduate. For retention and graduation, these results rule out the bias, background characteristics, and maturation explanations, but support the enrollment patterns and funding explanations. The results are consistent with the direct effects explanation, but the selection explanation cannot be ruled out completely

Locating Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE) in the Brazilian Amazon using Satellite Imagery

Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE) are patches of archaeological soils scattered throughout the Amazon Basin. These soils are anthropogenic and most evidence suggests that they are the result of unintentional cultural deposits as well as intentional efforts of Amerindian populations to improve the quality of their farmlands. ADE are a mixture of charcoal, organic matter and the underlying Oxisol soil. ADE are extremely fertile soils in comparison to the surrounding Oxisols and they are sought after by local residents for agricultural purposes. In the first chapter I discuss the value and physical properties of ADE in detail. Research is being conducted to learn how ADE were created and to explore the possibility of replicating them to sequester carbon and to reclaim depleted soils in the Amazon Basin. This dissertation seeks to assist in that effort by attempting to map currently unknown ADE sites hidden beneath the dense tropical forest canopy