Round the Corner: Pawnbroking in the Victorian Novel

The nineteenth century was a period of great change in the way that money was made, exchanged, and experienced in Britain, especially as wealth became measured increasingly by capital, and a system of banking and credit developed. As Mary Poovey has explained, Victorian writing\u27s preoccupation with money and personal wealth, and its frequent depiction of financial crises, can be seen as an effort to understand the underlying principles of the confusing yet vital financial world that was taking shape. One flourishing financial institution which received much attention in Parliament, the press, and literature was the pawn shop, perhaps because it encapsulated, in a local and visible way, some of the basic issues at stake in Victorian finance. Deemed indispensable yet sinful, pawnbroking was at the center of a moral and financial argument that continued long after the landmark Pawnbrokers\u27 Act of 1872. Little has been written about the pawn shop\u27s history, particularly its Victorian expansion. A handful of historians have attempted to record the story of how Victorian pawn shops were operated, regulated, and used, but they hardly mention the pawn shop\u27s frequent appearance in the day\u27s fiction, and literary scholars have not engaged with pawnbroking in a thorough manner. Scholars have focused on the sentimental idea of redemption in pawnbroking stories, or lumped the trade together with secondhand sales; neither perspective takes into account the unique aspects of pawnbroking that make it a more complicated business than buying and selling. The amount of critical attention the Victorians paid to pawnbroking demonstrates that it was, for them, a distinctive and puzzling trade, and it is important for literary scholars to understand how its practices, adapted in fiction, served to represent new social realties and problems. This dissertation demonstrates how the pawn shop, with its hodgepodge collections of pledges, customers, and motivations, and the pledge contract, shaped by contingency and trust, allowed the Victorian novelist to explore not only attitudes toward money and commodities, but also social prejudices, personal identity, and individual value in the new economy. The first chapter considers Dickens\u27s descriptions of the trade, which emphasize variety - of pawn shops, patrons, and pledges - and the fluidity of the patrons\u27 social positions. I argue that in Sketches by Boz, The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Martin Chuzzlewit, and Our Mutual Friend, Dickens establishes a pattern of associating pawn shops, places where material articles change from personal property to public commodities and back again, with periods of personal transition and identity transformation. The legal need for the pledger\u27s identification, along with the careful evaluation of the pledged article to assure its authenticity and value, highlight how the frequent pledger in fiction is often someone who is not what he seems, a figure who captures the Victorians\u27 growing interest in personal character and its relationship to economic status. My second chapter, on Barry Lyndon, Vanity Fair, and The Virginians, shows how Thackeray also associates pawnbroking with characters in social transition, adjusting their values and identities, like pledges, for mercenary ends. Frequent but furtive pledgers and social climbers Barry Lyndon, Becky Sharp, and Harry Warrington obscure their embarrassing origins and disadvantages, but their dreams of eminence fail when a literal bad pledge or the figurative pawning of their moral values for financial gain reveals to others the full extent of their lies. In the affected propriety and shifting fortunes of his ambitious characters, Thackeray evokes the distorted value system that pawnbroking represented to many Victorians, allowing it to dwell uncomfortably close to respectability. The third chapter examines how pledging, characterized by contingency and only partial commitment, becomes a model for relationships in Trollope\u27s Can You Forgive Her?, The Eustace Diamonds, and The Way We Live Now. Various characters are explicitly assigned monetary values, either for their personal wealth or their power of attracting it, and are exploited multiple times as pawns for another character\u27s gain, reused and revalued as conditions change. Fittingly, the primary male-female relationship in these novels is not marriage, but prolonged, often broken, engagements, where wealth is the main obstacle to union. In evoking pawnbroking in his marriage plots, Trollope elevates the sense of exploitation in mercenary marriages, demonstrating the potential for long and repeated abuse of valuable individuals. Chapter four turns to George Eliot\u27s Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda, in which the pawn shop, where goods are received, identified, and evaluated, becomes a site for the exploration of unknown or hidden aspects of identity. I focus particular attention on the pawn shop\u27s importance to the novels\u27 discussion of vocation. In Middlemarch, Uncle Bulstrode\u27s dishonest pawnbroking and oppressive philanthropy are all the more offensive for clashing with a calling to ministry, and in Daniel Deronda, Eliot\u27s revisions of pawnbroking language linked to Gwendolen\u27s lost necklace in the novel\u27s third edition assists in her expression of the importance of self-redemption through vocational discernment, which Daniel experiences in the Cohens\u27 pawn shop and encourages Gwendolen to seek for herself. In the fifth chapter, I argue that the pawn shop\u27s presence in George Gissing\u27s The Nether World and New Grub Street and George Moore\u27s Esther Waters modifies the novels\u27 representation of the force of environment on individual destiny. Frequent pledging in these novels is not an inescapable cycle of exploitation; rather, the pawn shop, in which private values and attachments collide with public judgments of market value, conveys the individual\u27s ongoing struggle to assert him or herself as not merely economically productive, but also personally significant and valuable. The practice of pawnbroking in these novels captures the simultaneous expression of these competing value systems, and the uncertainty of which will ultimately come to define a character\u27s existence. My conclusion highlights Fergus Hume\u27s lesser-known novel Hagar of the Pawn-Shop, which draws upon earlier variations of fictional pawnbroking, depicting a young Romany woman managing a pawn shop and solving mysteries while awaiting the return of a suitor. With each chapter relating Hagar\u27s investigation of an unusual customer and pledge, which come from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds, the novel celebrates the eclectic nature of pawnbroking and challenges assumptions about personal and literary value. Recent literary scholarship has shown a growing interest the seedy side of Victorian finance, examining topics like speculation, gambling, and counterfeiting in literature. My research draws attention to another disreputable financial practice, disavowed but more familiar to the everyday experience of many Victorians than the stock market or gambling halls, and more complicated in its patrons\u27 motivations. Pawnbroking and its fictional representations expose the intersections between broad economic and social forces and private experience, especially how individuals are composed of an array of values and identities that may be drawn out or obscured as needs and situations change. Like old pledges, we are always capable of another transformation

Connecting early mathematical modeling with culturally responsive math teaching

This working group will focus on exchanging research around early mathematical modeling with attention to culturally responsive mathematics teaching with pedagogical practices that support optimal participation for diverse student groups. At each session, we will have participants explore ways mathematical modeling affords opportunities to develop three domains: students' knowledge and identities, rigor and support, and power and participation through modeling experiences situated in real world issues in students’ local communitie

Counselors as Advocates: Effects of a Pilot Project Designed to Develop Advocacy Knowledge and Confidence in Trainees

While there has been increased attention to advocacy within counseling and counseling psychology, it has been noted that trainees generally feel unprepared to engage in advocacy and do not participant e in this type of work to a large extent, even with increased age or professional experience). The qualitative study summarizes the findings of a project within a graduate multicultural counseling course designed to increase trainee knowledge and confidence related to advocacy. This project required students (N = 19) to complete individual advocacy projects in the community, with opportunities for self-reflection and evaluation of their progress throughout the semester. Student reflection responses about the effects of this project were analyzed using methods from Grounded Theory by a collaborative research team. This process resulted in a core category of responses that included expanded definitions of advocacy, increased self-confidence regarding advocacy work, obstacles encountered, and reactions to the course assignment. Implications and future directions are discussed

A Case Study of Stakeholder Perspectives on a Flipped Classroom Initiative Using an Organizational Routines Lens

This case study of a flipped classroom initiative considers multiple stakeholder perspectives on themes of pedagogy, digitization, and organizational issues. We found that all the stakeholders were enthusiastic about flipped classrooms in principle. However, at a detailed level, there were tensions and differences between the groups with regard to the extent to which they preferred the new initiative or the status quo. The underlying explanation for these differences was explained using organizational practice theory. Stakeholders were more inclined to prefer the status quo when practices that were important to their performance were disrupted. We conclude that resistance associated with tensions arising from disruptions to organizational practices should not be dismissed as “change resistance” but accepted as an opportunity to develop new routine

Can Urethral Retroresistance Pressures Predict Midurethral Sling Outcomes?

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether preoperative urethral resistance pressure (URP) measurements could predict success or failure of a tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) sling. METHODS: Subjects came from a previously published study comparing URP measurements to a validated urinary incontinence symptom survey (UISS). We contacted patients from that study to determine whether they had subsequently undergone TVT surgery. Within that cohort, we determined the “current” (i.e., postoperative) UISS and Sandvik urinary incontinence severity score. Success of a TVT sling in this group was defined in 4 ways: (1) postoperative UISS score \u3c 3, (2) postoperative UISS score \u3c 75% of the preoperative score, (3) postoperative Sandvik score \u3c 6, and (4) postoperative Sandvik score \u3c 2. These definitions of “success” were compared across demographic and treatment variables using the Student’s t test, ANOVA, χ 2 and ROC curves. RESULTS: We contacted 69 women who had in fact received a TVT sling after their participation in the previously published study mentioned above. Among these 69 women, mean preoperative urethral retroresistance pressure values were not predictive of surgical success. CONCLUSION: Preoperative urethral retroresistance pressure measurements did not reliably predict surgical success or failure; therefore, this urodynamic test is of little value to the clinician

On the road to diploidization? Homoeolog loss in independently formed populations of the allopolyploid Tragopogon miscellus (Asteraceae)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Polyploidy (whole-genome duplication) is an important speciation mechanism, particularly in plants. Gene loss, silencing, and the formation of novel gene complexes are some of the consequences that the new polyploid genome may experience. Despite the recurrent nature of polyploidy, little is known about the genomic outcome of independent polyploidization events. Here, we analyze the fate of genes duplicated by polyploidy (homoeologs) in multiple individuals from ten natural populations of <it>Tragopogon miscellus </it>(Asteraceae), all of which formed independently from <it>T. dubius </it>and <it>T. pratensis </it>less than 80 years ago.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 13 loci analyzed in 84 <it>T. miscellus </it>individuals, 11 showed loss of at least one parental homoeolog in the young allopolyploids. Two loci were retained in duplicate for all polyploid individuals included in this study. Nearly half (48%) of the individuals examined lost a homoeolog of at least one locus, with several individuals showing loss at more than one locus. Patterns of loss were stochastic among individuals from the independently formed populations, except that the <it>T. dubius </it>copy was lost twice as often as <it>T. pratensis</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study represents the most extensive survey of the fate of genes duplicated by allopolyploidy in individuals from natural populations. Our results indicate that the road to genome downsizing and ultimate genetic diploidization may occur quickly through homoeolog loss, but with some genes consistently maintained as duplicates. Other genes consistently show evidence of homoeolog loss, suggesting repetitive aspects to polyploid genome evolution.</p

Clinical consequences of a miscalibrated digoxin immunoassay

A routine audit revealed that the analytical method used to measure digoxin concentrations by our statewide pathology provider in 2009 was underestimating digoxin concentrations by 10%. The assay was recalibrated by the manufacturer in 2010, but clinical outcomes of the underestimation were never measured. This is a pilot study to describe the prescribing behavior around out-of-range digoxin concentrations and to assess whether miscalibrated digoxin immunoassays contribute to clinically relevant effects, as measured by inappropriate alterations in digoxin doses.About 30,000 digoxin concentrations across the State Hospital system were obtained in 2 periods before and after recalibration of the digoxin assay. Digoxin concentration means were calculated and compared and were statistically significantly different. Subsequently, a single-centered retrospective review of 50 randomly chosen charts was undertaken to study the clinical implications of the underestimated concentrations.Mean digoxin concentrations for 2009 and 2011 were significantly different by 8.8% (confidence interval, 7.0%-10.6%). After recalculating the 2009 concentrations to their "corrected" values, there was a 16% increase in the number of concentrations within the range when compared with the 2011 concentrations (41.48% versus 48.04%). However, overall, this did not cause unnecessary dose changes in patients who were "borderline" or outside the therapeutic range when compared with controls (P = 0.10). The majority of decisions were based on the clinical impression rather than concentration alone (85.1% versus 14.9%), even when the concentration was outside the "therapeutic range."Although recalculating digoxin concentrations measured during 2009 to their corrected values produced a significant change in concentration and values inside and outside the range, this does not seem to have had an influence on patient treatment. Rather, clinicians tended to use the clinical impression to dose digoxin

Similar patterns of rDNA evolution in synthetic and recently formed natural populations of Tragopogon (Asteraceae) allotetraploids

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Tragopogon mirus </it>and <it>T. miscellus </it>are allotetraploids (2<it>n </it>= 24) that formed repeatedly during the past 80 years in eastern Washington and adjacent Idaho (USA) following the introduction of the diploids <it>T. dubius</it>, <it>T. porrifolius</it>, and <it>T. pratensis </it>(2<it>n </it>= 12) from Europe. In most natural populations of <it>T. mirus </it>and <it>T. miscellus</it>, there are far fewer 35S rRNA genes (rDNA) of <it>T. dubius </it>than there are of the other diploid parent (<it>T. porrifolius </it>or <it>T. pratensis</it>). We studied the inheritance of parental rDNA loci in allotetraploids resynthesized from diploid accessions. We investigate the dynamics and directionality of these rDNA losses, as well as the contribution of gene copy number variation in the parental diploids to rDNA variation in the derived tetraploids.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using Southern blot hybridization and fluorescent <it>in situ </it>hybridization (FISH), we analyzed copy numbers and distribution of these highly reiterated genes in seven lines of synthetic <it>T. mirus </it>(110 individuals) and four lines of synthetic <it>T. miscellus </it>(71 individuals). Variation among diploid parents accounted for most of the observed gene imbalances detected in F₁hybrids but cannot explain frequent deviations from repeat additivity seen in the allotetraploid lines. Polyploid lineages involving the same diploid parents differed in rDNA genotype, indicating that conditions immediately following genome doubling are crucial for rDNA changes. About 19% of the resynthesized allotetraploid individuals had equal rDNA contributions from the diploid parents, 74% were skewed towards either <it>T. porrifolius </it>or <it>T. pratensis</it>-type units, and only 7% had more rDNA copies of <it>T. dubius</it>-origin compared to the other two parents. Similar genotype frequencies were observed among natural populations. Despite directional reduction of units, the additivity of 35S rDNA locus number is maintained in 82% of the synthetic lines and in all natural allotetraploids.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Uniparental reductions of homeologous rRNA gene copies occurred in both synthetic and natural populations of <it>Tragopogon </it>allopolyploids. The extent of these rDNA changes was generally higher in natural populations than in the synthetic lines. We hypothesize that locus-specific and chromosomal changes in early generations of allopolyploids may influence patterns of rDNA evolution in later generations.</p