Building Realism: Architectural Metaphor in the Mid-Victorian Novel

This thesis examines the use of architectural metaphor in four mid-Victorian novels: Charles Dickens’s Bleak House (1853), Charlotte Brontë’s Villette (1853), Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret (1862), and George Eliot’s Middlemarch (1872). The thesis argues that psychological realism in these novels is taking shape via architecture and provides a detailed examination of the heroines of mid-Victorian realist novels who narrate or convey their understanding of the world through architecture. This pattern of narration materialises in the novels through both straightforward architectural reporting (description of the built environment) and creative, imaginative architecture (architectural metaphor). A second layer of architecture exists in these novels apart from the built environment, a layer in which architecture functions in order to give three-dimensionality to a heroine’s thoughts and emotions. I refer to these moments as ‘architectural internalisation’ and explore it as a dynamic technique used by authors to heighten the psychological realism of their work by allowing heroines to articulate and narrate their subjective experience via architecture: architecture provides these heroines with a vehicle for creative and constructive self-expression. While many critics address material architecture in these novels in terms of a realist built environment and metaphoric architecture primarily in terms of female entrapment and confinement, this thesis suggest a reappraisal of the role of architecture and an interrogation of the tendency to reflexively consider the architecture presented by Victorian authors as restrictive and constraining. It examines the architecturally-mediated psychological interiors crafted by these authors that anticipates the direct and unmediated access of the modernists, advocates that equal attention be afforded to built as well as organic images, and urges that built images be examined as purposeful constructions instead of dismissing them as pre-existing vehicles channelling the flow of organic systems. A close reading with a focus on architecture reveals that architectural metaphors are a vital component of the psychological realism of these novels. The thesis accordingly offers new insight into their heroines and narrators. Bleak House’s Esther Summerson is at the centre of a psychological realist form depicted through architecture, while she has historically been depicted as a character with little psychological depth. Villette’s Lucy Snowe, frequently considered a guarded and withdrawn narrator, builds and displays her own interiority for the reader and provides unprecedented access to her thoughts and emotions, while the narrator of Lady Audley’s Secret uses an extended architectural metaphor to construct the novel’s psychological realism. In Middlemarch, Eliot turns to architecture to imaginatively represent the internal workings of the mind. While much attention has been paid to living structures in Eliot’s work, the built also has a significant role in Eliot’s representation of the human mind and body and contributes to her particular mode of realism. Collectively, these novelists build psychological realism through architectural themes and narrative strategies

Body Image, Confidence, And Media Influence: A Study Of Middle School Adolescents

For years, we have all been aware of the media’s portrayal of the ideal female as unreasonably thin. In recent years, portrayals of males as both thin and muscular have also appeared. While a myriad of research has shown that these images have negative effects on women’s body image and self-confidence, few studies have examined what these images do to younger consumers, both female and male. This study examines these issues and also looks at the differences in influence by race. The results show that Hispanic females are the most likely to be influenced, followed by White females. Black females reported no influence. With respect to adolescent boys, only a few reported any influence at all

Expanding the Grid: Collaborative Opportunities in E-Science

In November 2007, the Joint Task Force on Library Support for E-Science from ARL issued a report entitled the "Agenda for Developing E-Science in Research Libraries." This report outlined critical areas for engagement, as well as strategies for libraries to undertake in order to improve support for the E-Sciences at an institutional level. This paper examines five on-campus laboratories from UNC-Chapel Hill, and using the ARL guidelines and agendas projects how the UNC-CH library system can begin to improve support for E-Sciences

Enhancing peer research consultant programs: Lessons from trauma-informed practice​ ​

https://scholarworks.seattleu.edu/lightning-feb2023/1002/thumbnail.jp

Site-Selective C–H alkylation of Complex Arenes by a Two-Step Aryl Thianthrenation-Reductive Alkylation Sequence

Herein, we present an undirected para-selective two-step C–H alkylation of complex arenes useful for late-stage functionalization. The combination of a site-selective C–H thianthrenation with palladium-catalyzed reductive electrophile cross-coupling grants access to a diverse range of synthetically useful alkylated arenes which cannot be accessed otherwise with comparable selectivity, diversity, and practicality. The robustness of this transformation is further demonstrated by thianthrenium-based reductive coupling of two complex fragments

A Roadmap for Relocation: Surveying Research Behavior for Offsite Storage Decisions

The UC Santa Barbara Library faced significant challenges in 2012 when it was determined that the collection of 700,000 volumes in the Library’s central tower had to be permanently reduced by 20 percent because of seismic retrofitting for an expansion and renovation project. While many libraries have reported on methods of engaging with faculty to inform selection decisions for offsite storage, little has been reported about using survey methodology for this purpose. To develop strategies for relocation that would have the least impact on research and teaching, a team of UCSB librarians worked with a faculty committee and the campus Social Science Survey Center to develop a survey of user behaviors and preferences in accessing library information resources. Members of the faculty committee were nominated by academic deans and the Academic Senate. The survey was distributed in spring 2012 to all faculty and graduate students. The target population returned 772 surveys, yielding a margin of error of 4.2 percent and a confidence level of 99 percent. Using survey results, the Library team developed six strategies for offsite storage selection. The strategies were then evaluated by the faculty committee to ensure consistency with the survey outcomes. Once approved by the committee, the strategies were presented to the campus and are now being implemented. The poster summarizes the steps taken by the Library team working with the faculty committee. It also presents the six strategies with supporting survey data displayed by graphs.  Janet Martorana presented the poster on June 30, 2013 at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois

A Roadmap for Relocation: Surveying Research Behavior for Offsite Storage Decisions

The UC Santa Barbara Library faced significant challenges in 2012 when it was determined that the collection of 700,000 volumes in the Library’s central tower had to be permanently reduced by 20 percent because of seismic retrofitting for an expansion and renovation project. While many libraries have reported on methods of engaging with faculty to inform selection decisions for offsite storage, little has been reported about using survey methodology for this purpose. To develop strategies for relocation that would have the least impact on research and teaching, a team of UCSB librarians worked with a faculty committee and the campus Social Science Survey Center to develop a survey of user behaviors and preferences in accessing library information resources. Members of the faculty committee were nominated by academic deans and the Academic Senate. The survey was distributed in spring 2012 to all faculty and graduate students. The target population returned 772 surveys, yielding a margin of error of 4.2 percent and a confidence level of 99 percent. Using survey results, the Library team developed six strategies for offsite storage selection. The strategies were then evaluated by the faculty committee to ensure consistency with the survey outcomes. Once approved by the committee, the strategies were presented to the campus and are now being implemented. The poster summarizes the steps taken by the Library team working with the faculty committee. It also presents the six strategies with supporting survey data displayed by graphs.  Janet Martorana presented the poster on June 30, 2013 at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois

Building Faculty Support for Remote Storage: A Survey of Collection Behaviors and Preferences

A seismic retrofitting project required the UCSB Library (University of California, Santa Barbara) to permanently reduce its on-site collections by 120,000 volumes. To accomplish this successfully, a strong collaboration with the faculty was essential. This article describes a planning process in which the library worked with a faculty committee to implement a campus-wide survey of faculty and graduate students regarding their behaviors and preferences in accessing and using the collections. The survey outcomes informed a common understanding of which physical materials should re- main on-site and which could be moved to storage with the least impact on research and teaching

The use of secret shopping as a method of increasing engagement in the healthcare industry: A case study

While on their own, customer service and employee engagement are integral parts of maintaining a successful healthcare organization; when tied together, they become an unavoidable aspect of the organizational achievement. We look at how these items are not only tied together, but dependent upon one another. As customer service initiatives for healthcare organizations become even more crucial with new government initiatives, administration must look into tactics that will drive patient experience and overall customer satisfaction. What research has begun to show is that employee engagement and overall job satisfaction weigh heavily on the amount of effort shown by staff members, as well as their eagerness to learn. Mystery shopping has become one of the most accurate ways to assess customer service throughout a variety of industries, including healthcare. Through the use of mystery shopping and initial employee engagement surveys, we were able to determine benchmark levels. From our initial findings, we looked at testing the impact of customer service and management training on overall employee engagement. Our research and testing was able to locate a direct relationship between employee engagement, job satisfaction, and increased customer service ratings