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Structural characterisation of bacterial proteins implicated in resistance and adaptation
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 175-196.Chapter 1. Overview -- Part I. Chapter 2. Molecular organisation of novel-fold proteins from bacterial metagenomes ; Chapter 3. Solution characterisation of novel-fold proteins ; Chapter 4. Binding studies of novel fold proteins -- Part II. Chapter 5. Efflux pump regulator proteins of acinetobacter baumannii ; Chapter 6. Solution characterisation of A. baumannii efflux-pump regulator proteins ; Chapter 7. Binding studies of A. baumannii efflux pump regulator proteins ; Chapter 8. Materials and methods -- References -- Appendix.The emergence and rapid global spread of antibiotic resistance phenotypes amongst different bacterial lineages is threatening a return to a pre-antibiotic era. Two prime mechanisms used by bacteria for defence against antibiotics are lateral gene transfer and efflux systems. This thesis considers protein properties in solution for both mechanisms and assesses their capacities to respond to small molecule binding partners. Part I focuses on novel fold proteins recovered from integron/gene cassette systems of various bacterial isolates. Part II investigates efflux regulator proteins in Acinetobacter baumannii.Part I: Lateral gene transfer allows a dynamic gene pool to give rise to the wide phenotypic diversity and rapid evolution rates characteristic of bacteria. The integron/gene cassette system is an active player in lateral gene transfer, particularly credited with the rapid spread of multi-drug resistance phenotypes. The genes within these cassettes are remarkably diverse: 80% carry open reading frames (ORFs) with either no known homology or homology to ORFs of unknown function. Crystal structures of completely novel folds have been defined for several ORFs, derived from mobile gene cassettes in microbial isolates from Halifax Harbour and Vibrio spp. In this thesis the first biophysical characterisation for three of these proteins has been provided.They are named for the bacterial hosts or locations from which they were recovered and are small oligomeric proteins of α/β and α+β fold class. Hfx1 is an extremely robust trimer which is stabilised bymetals and protamine sulfate. A series of mutant forms were generated to probe its tertiary stability and investigate hypothesised binding pockets. Each mutant, whether it targeted backbone hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic amino acids, cysteines or histidines, still assembled as a trimer, although melting temperatures varied. In addition, histidine mutant forms of Hfx1 did not reduce metal stabilisation, removing them as possible chelating residues in the hypothesised metal-binding pocket. These methods were also used for the hydrophobic dimeric protein Vch14. However, as with Hfx1, mutant forms of Vch14 still formed dimers with varying stabilities. Hfx5, a domain-swapped dimer under crystal conditions, was found to form mixed oligomeric species of monomer and dimer in solution, so the arrangements of these quaternary structures were probed. Conditions such as low protein concentration and more destabilising buffers (using MgCl2 and CaCl2 as salts) resulted in a shift towards the monomeric form of Hfx5. Overall, these small bacterial proteins are highly robust and retain a propensity to oligomerise even when structurally stressed. Many of these novel-fold proteins hold the potential to form the building blocks for larger heteromeric protein structures, either in nature or in vitro.Part II:A. baumannii is a tenacious Gram-negative opportunistic human pathogen, commonly associated with hospital-acquired infections. Membrane drug efflux systems are prominent resistance factors in A. baumannii, likely acting as regulators for virulence, stress and biofilm formation. There are six families of efflux-pump proteins known in Gram-negative bacteria, with a large range of substrates. The structure and function for four efflux-pump regulators (AdeN, AmvR, AdeL, AceR), known to regulate the expression of major facilitator, resistance nodulation division, and proteobacterial antimicrobial compound efflux transporter family pumps have been investigated. These regulator proteins belong to the TetR and LysR-type family of transcriptional regulators.Both AmvR and AdeL display higher melting temperatures in the presence of small molecules of varying chemistries, including polyamines. This responds to previous work demonstrating the ability of AceR to bind polyamines. In particular, both AmvR and AdeL are highly stabilised by cystamine, suggesting that their efflux systems may respond to oxidative stress. Thus, different regulators from both TetR and LysR families appear to have affinity for similar molecules. More work is required to understand the full regulatory role of these proteins in A. baumannii, but this study has demonstrated the viability of studying recombinant forms to address gene regulation mechanisms.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (206 pages) colour illustration
The role of editorial intervention in ongoing language variation and change in South African and Australian English
No full textTheoretical thesis."Thesis submitted to Macquarie University for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics and North-West University for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics and Literary Studies in accordance with the Cotutelle agreement dated 17 December 2015" -- title pageBibliography: pages 250-265.Chapter 1. Introduction, contextualisation and problem statement -- Chapter 2. Theoretical framework : editorial intervention, language variation and language change in written varieties of English -- Chapter 3. Varieties, registers and grammatical feature investigated -- Chapter 4. Methodology : combining survey and corpus research to investigate the effects of editing in written varieties of English -- Chapter 5. Presentation and analysis of the empirical data : evidence for the role of editorial intervention in ongoing language change in AusE and SAfE and across written published registers -- Chapter 6. Synthesis of findings, recommendations for future research and conclusion -- Bibliography -- Appendices.The role of editorial intervention in written published texts has been noted by a number of researchers in areas of World Englishes as well as language variation and change. The widely held view of these scholars is that editorial intervention is a primarily normative activity in which editors fulfil a gatekeeper function by consciously removing innovative features and limiting variation in the texts they edit. As a result of this view, it is often argued that editorial intervention is an obstacle to the processes of change, and within the context of World Englishes, the progression of varieties towards endonormativity. There is no doubt that this view is partly true: part of editors’ work is to consciously match the text that they edit with usage sanctioned in the norm-providing sources (or overt norms) that their employers/clients require them to use. However, editors’ removal of the features associated with ongoing change must be a matter of degree, since corpus-based investigations of written published texts have shown that features and usage patterns associated with ongoing change do actually occur in texts that have undergone editorial intervention, and that sometimes these types of texts are highly receptive to these features.This study proceeds from the view that because most written published texts undergo some form of editorial intervention, the language of published written texts, which forms part of the input that language users are exposed to, cannot be solely attributed to the author of the text, and it is therefore necessary to investigate the contributions of editors to these texts. Furthermore, this study argues that editorial work forms an important part of processes of language variation and change, particularly in World Englishes where investigations of editorial intervention in written published texts might provide some information on the acceptability of these features within a variety. Thus, this study focuses on the interaction of overt norms and covert norms in conditioning editors’ acceptability judgements of such features, which may shed light on how varieties progress towards endonormativity.To do this, this study investigates how editors working in different varieties of English, particularly Australian English and South African English, respond to the presence of a particular linguistic feature associated with ongoing change in written published registers. The feature this study is concerned with is genitive alternation, and the interest of the study is in how editorial work influences the patterns of variation (and potentially change) of this feature across the two varieties investigated.Three research questions guide this study. The first question is theoretical and explores how broad trends of language change, the different contextual forces of the varieties of English, register effects and editorial practice interact to potentially influence language variation and change. The second question zooms in on editors and editorial work and enquires into the sociolinguistic profiles of editors (providing information on their covert norms) and the norm-providing sources (as a reflection of the overt norm) used by editors of English texts in Australia and South Africa. Against this background, the study then focuses on how editors of English texts in the two varieties respond to the presence of one feature, namely genitive alternation. The genitive alternation is selected as the feature to investigate in the current study for several reasons: there is evidence of ongoing change in the use of this feature in present-day English; this change can be linked to broader processes of language change, namely colloquialisation and densification, which are known to play out differentially in different varieties of English and across different written published registers; and some normative advice exists for the feature (reflecting overt norms), but it is not so saliently marked that it would be specifically targeted by editors (providing room for covert norms to condition editorial choices). Furthermore, genitive alternation is a good example of a linguistic variable in the variationist sense, and is known to be conditioned by both language-internal and language-external factors. It can therefore be investigated by drawing on variationist methods and state-of-the-art statistical techniques. The third research question draws together the theoretical and empirical dimensions of the study to reflect on how editorial intervention in different varieties of English and across different registers interacts with broader processes of language change, specific processes of language change in varieties of English, and register effects, to influence different opportunities for and constraints on the processes of dissemination and conventionalisation in a variety’s progression towards endonormativity.To answer the first research question, the study adopts a usage-based view of language that integrates cognitive and social factors to account for language structure, use and ongoing change in World Englishes. It makes an innovative theoretical contribution by positioning editorial influence as an important mechanism in the processes of variation and change in different written published registers in different varieties of English. To answer the second research question, the study surveys editors of English texts in Australia and South Africa in order to gather information on their sociolinguistic profiles (as a reflection of their covert norms), and the kinds of norm-providing sources that they use to guide their editorial choices (as a reflection of their overt norms). To investigate the actual changes that editors make to the texts they edit and their treatment of genitive constructions across five written published registers, a corpus-based approach is adopted in which a register-differentiated, parallel corpus of unedited texts and their edited counterparts representing each of the two varieties and five written published registers (academic, creative, instructional, popular and reportage) is constructed.The findings of the empirical investigation show that editors of English texts in Australia and South Africa are mostly older females who are highly educated and, who in sociolinguistic terms, are therefore most likely more conservative language users who prefer standard, prestige forms of the language (as sanctioned in overt norm-providing sources). However, the contrast between the more homogenous linguistic landscape in Australia and the heterogenous linguistic landscape in South Africa is reflected both in editors’ language profiles and choice of norm-providing sources: the Australian editors are all first-language users of the variety and draw on norm-providing sources for Australian English while the South African editors are mostly English–Afrikaans bilinguals who are either first- or second-language users of two sub-varieties in the country, White South African English and Afrikaans English. The Australian editors therefore represent a group of editors for whom the normative environment is homogenous and in which overt norms are closely aligned to covert norms, while the South African editors represent a group of editors who work in a much more diffuse normative environment and in which there is a high degree of heterogeneity in covert norms and overt norms.The findings of the corpus-based investigation show the importance of covert norms in influencing editors’ acceptability judgements of features associated with ongoing change in different varieties of English, but demonstrate that this is not simply a matter of a broad, national usage pattern. Instead, the findings demonstrate that stylistically distinct usage patterns of features associated with ongoing change may arise at the level of a variety more broadly, but may also arise in contexts where multiple sub-varieties interact with each other in the same context. Furthermore, these stylistically distinct patterns of features associated with ongoing change are informed by the unique interaction of many factors in different varieties of English, including differing stylistic preferences across sub-varieties, substrate influence, the amount, type and duration of contact among the language users of the different sub-varieties, the differing strength of linguistic factors, the progression of the sub-variety along the stages of the Dynamic Model and the kinds of overt norms available. In other words, the findings show that while overt norms are more saliently represented in editors’ mental representations of language than they are for other language users, editors are also frequently exposed to changing and differing usage patterns through the process of reading and evaluating unedited writing, and as a result they largely accept the distinctive usages of authors. This shows that endonormativity may be achieved at the level of a variety more broadly, as is the case for Australian English, or it may be achieved at the level of individual (but interacting) sub-varieties, as is shown to be the case for South African English.The study therefore demonstrates how editorial intervention forms part of the processes of ongoing language variation and change in different varieties of English and across different written registers, and how, at least in the case of the feature investigated in this study, editorial intervention helps to accept distinctive stylistic usages of the feature in different varieties of English, legitimising their use and contributing to their further dissemination.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xvi, 321 pages) graphs, table
The right word at the right time: lexical retrieval treatment in primary progressive aphasia
No full textThesis by publication."Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Neuropsychology), Department of Cognitive Science, Department of Psychology, and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders Macquarie University" -- title page.Includes bibliographical references.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Lexical retrieval treatment in primary progressive aphasia : an investigation of treatment duration in a heterogenous case series -- Chapter 3. Measuring gains in connected speech following treatment for word retrieval : a study with two participants with primary progressive aphasia -- Chapter 4. What's the evidence? Evidence for speech, language and communication interventions in progressive aphasia -- Chapter 5. Treatment for lexical retrieval impairments in primary progressive aphasia : a research update with implications for clinical practice -- Chapter 6. The right word at the right time? General discussion -- Appendices.Word-finding difficulty is typically an early and frustrating symptom in primary progressive aphasia (PPA). This thesis reports a case series of single case experimental design studies of word-finding treatment with 10 individuals with PPA. It examines treatment gains, maintenance of gains, and generalisation of gains to untreated items and a semi-structured interview. We observed a range of outcomes and adherence patterns under the same treatment protocol and describe disease and participant factors associated with these outcomes. The thesis also presents resources to assist with clinical decision-making about the suitability of lexical retrieval treatment for individuals with PPA.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xii, 244 pages) table
Akhenaten’s ‘leap’: how can ‘rethinking’ Akhenaten’s and recent historiographical developments, and contemporary Egyptology further our understanding of his religious experience?
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 65-68.Introduction -- Chapter 1. From ‘progress’ to ‘decadence’ : late nineteenth- and twentieth-century anachronistic distractions and distortions of Akhenaten’s reign -- Chapter 2. The adzes of Wepwawat, ‘Opener of Ways’ : beyond anachronisms; opening up Akhenaten’s religious experience – Erik Hornung and Jan Assmann -- Chapter 3. ‘Re-thinking history’ : Dutch twentieth and twentieth-first century approaches -- Chapter 4. ‘Re-thinking’ Akhenaten’s religious experience in the light of Dutch historiography and contemporary Egyptology -- Conclusion -- Appendices -- Bibliography.This thesis reveals that early twenitieth-century political and national, intellectual and religious agendas have dominated, distorted and distracted Egyptologists’ from Akhenaten’s own time and experience. Anachronistic concepts abound : ‘modern’, ‘pacifist’, ‘Christ-like’, ‘miscegenation’, ‘heretic’, ‘false prophet’, even ‘totalitarian’. As a result, there is a sense of being left outside as a distant observer of the shifting, restless Akhenaten. This thesis, guided by later invaluable, critical contributions from Hornung and Assmann, follows and extends contemporary Egyptologist James Hoffmeier’s exploration of Akhenaten’s ‘theophany’, enabling a sympathetic access inside Akhenaten’s religious experience. This is supported by the diverse, pioneering work on lexical semantics by Orly Goldwasser and Pascal Vernus as well as new findings and analyses of continuing fieldwork, especially at Tell el-Amarna.Contemporary Dutch philosophers of history, Frank Ankersmit and Eelco Runia, further these developments. Like Assmann, Ankersmit confronts the dynamics of trauma, opening new approaches to the ancient concept of the ‘sublime’. Deepening Ankersmit’s insights Runia explored how, throughout history, human beings reach a ‘threshold’ of what is beyond them, and impelled by a rising sense of ‘vertigo’, ‘leap’ into the ‘unknown’. This is an exploration of Akhenaten’s ‘leap’ to find a radical, unique experience of the divine, to become the first known monotheist.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (69 pages) table
Listening to Nietzsche: democracy, equality and the implications for management
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 132-139.1. Introduction to the research -- 2. A liberal order -- 3. Nietzsche's political thought -- 4. Nietzsche and the implications for management -- 5. Endnotes -- 6. Appendix of terms -- 7. References.This paper attempts to dissipate much of the political dissonance which surrounds the work of Nietzsche and tap into his original message: to establish a new social, political and cultural élite which will create a hitherto unimagined flourishing of humanity.For business strategy, this thesis seeks to provide a Nietzschean framework of agonism for managers and leaders to question their thinking by providing a countervailing view to the current assumptions of liberal democracy.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (139 pages
Surface modification of thin-film-composite membranes with antibiotics for fouling reduction
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 43-49.1. Introduction -- 2. Literature review -- 3. Experimental -- 4. Results and discussion -- 5. Conclusion -- References.Thin-film-composite (TFC) membranes are used in reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) for producing fresh water. However, they are prone to fouling by biological and chemical contaminants, which significantly diminishes their efficiency. Therefore, feed pretreatments and membrane cleaning are required to maintain their proper functionality, which increase operational cost. Alternatively, the surface properties of TFC membranes can be modified to reduce fouling and increase membrane efficiency and lifetime.This project aimed to modify a commercial TFC membrane’s surface with polydopamine (PDA) mixed with an antibiotic tobramycin (TOB). Polymerization reactivity of dopamine was identified by UV-vis spectroscopy. The modified-TFC membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and water contact angle analysis. The separation performance, antifouling and antibacterial properties of the membranes were also examined.The modified membranes showed antibacterial properties against E.coli and less flux reduction during filtration with bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution. The permeability and selectivity of the membrane after surface modification changed little. These results demonstrate that TOB can be directly deposited on TFC membranes using PDA as a matrix. Surface modification with TOB and PDA is an effective strategy to improve the organic fouling and biofouling resistance of TFC membranes.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (vii, 49 pages) illustrations (some colour
Shadows in the hidden chamber : a study of the šw.t ín funerary texts and art of ancient Egypt
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 132-136.Chapter 1. Introduction to research -- Chapter 2. Review of the literature -- Chapter 3. Analysis -- Chapter 4. Discussion of the evidence -- Chapter 5. Conclusions -- Appendices -- References.In ancient Egypt, death marked the uncontrollable separation of the physical and non-physical forms of the person, which resulted in the non-material constituents of the deceased being thrust into the afterlife. The embodiment of the individual encompassed various states of being, all of which could act independently from the other, yet the collaboration of each of these aspects were vital to the survival of the person as a whole. This project examines one incorporeal aspect known as the shadow or translated as Sw.t in ancient Egyptian and can be explained as the “personality” of the individual. This entity appears within funerary literature and links to the realm of the dead. It is mentioned in texts linking synonymously with the fan hieroglyph (S36) and later (S35) and in art it is represented as a black silhouette, human outline with shade overhead or S35 or S36 sign. There are two principal aims of this study. The first of these is to provide a linguistics analysis of the orthography of the lexeme Sw.t by diachronically and synchronically analysing the funerary texts of the Old Kingdom until the New Kingdom. Such collected material is then utilized according to its rate of recurrence to determine the significance of Sw.t in various spells from each period. The second aim is to deliver an iconographic analysis of the various forms of the Sw.t within the New Kingdom scenes of the afterlife. Both aims serve to present innovative outcomes regarding the nature and significance of Sw.t within texts and art. An emphasis is placed on the associations of the Sw.t, bA, Ax and the corpse in addition to revealing the link between the orthography of a word and its adaptation into an artistic feature.It is hoped that through the detailed presentation of the orthographic changes and rate of recurrence of the lexeme, in addition to the exploration of the Sw.t in iconography, it may assist in future studies on this subject. It is hoped that this study may reveal a greater understanding of the Sw.t within the belief system and reveal how the ancient Egyptians perceived themselves and their human composition. The results reveal that the orthography of Sw.t was constantly changing as older forms were in use synonymously with new variants. The corpus of two hundred and forty-two attestations within the scope reveals that the role and significance of the Sw.t was more prominent in some spells and less significant in others, and its importance within the belief system grew over time. Additionally, the iconographic examples reveal that the Sw.t changed visually throughout the New Kingdom and consequently, this change identified a fundamental shift in the ancient Egyptian belief system.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xv, 136 pages) illustration
Transformative learning and teaching in economics: the why of learning and teaching economics using threshold concepts : the how of learning and teaching economics using learning taxonomies
No full textThesis by publication.Includes bibliographical references.Introductory chapter -- Chapter 1. Transformative learning and teaching in economics - why, what, how and for whom? -- Chapter 2. Transforming the economics curriculum by integrating threshold concepts -- Chapter 3. Making economics R.E.A.L. - a scaffolding for engaging, equipping and empowering students in economics -- Chapter 4. The 'why' and the 'how' of learning and teaching economics -- Appendices.When economics is a core course for all students in a business faculty, the result is a diverse cohort. Students need to be conveyed the 'why' and the 'how' of learning economics to ensure that the course is relevant, interesting and engaging. Students needs to be equipped with transformative concepts that they can integrate into their own discipline and beyond university. This study investigates these motivations in a core microeconomics course of a large business faculty in an Australian university.To emphasise the 'why' of learning, this study frames a teaching methodology based on research into threshold concepts - emphasising the transformative and integrative ideas of economics. To incorporate the 'how' of learning, this study develops a systematic pedagogy based on learning taxonomies - navigating students from base-level learning to evaluative and critical thinking in economics.This is the first study that engages all the threshold concepts of economics in a single curriculum, to engage students with the 'why' of learning. This is also the first study that engages the threshold concepts of economics throughout the curriculum - in every learning and teaching activity, as well as in every assessment task. Without altering the content, this study also develops a transformed ordering of topics to create a unique teaching sequence based on the threshold concepts of economics.To assist students with the 'how' of learning economics, this study utilises assessments for learning rather than assessments solely of learning. This study develops an original R.E.A.L. framework - a four-step scaffolding to engage and equip learners with evaluative and critical thinking in economics. The R.E.A.L. framework is useful for teachers as well, assisting teachers to guide their students to higher level thinking in economics.Student surveys noted a significant improvement in the student learning experience. The course grades noted a significant improvement in student learning outcomes.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (280 pages) diagrams, graph
Genetic connectivity of Australian white ibis: implications for management
No full textThesis by publication.Bibliography: pages 45-58.Introduction -- Study area -- Methods -- Results -- Discussion -- Mangement implications -- Acknowledgements -- References -- Appendices.Anthropogenic processes often impact genetic connectivity of wild populations. Widespread degradation across Australia’s inland wetland network has contributed to severe declines for many waterbird species. Meanwhile, breeding colonies of the Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca) have increased along the coast. Resource availability may be influencing site fidelity among urban ibis, but whether this impacts on levels of gene flow between inland and coastal, urban areas remains unknown. This study uses single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to ascertain the structure of several urban and inland colonies of white ibis across south-eastern Australia. Associations between gene flow and several environmental factors were tested, including geographic distance, the Great Dividing Range, urbanisation intensity and surface water permanence. Additionally, effective population sizes were estimated along with the impact of various management scenarios on future genetic diversity. Spatial and regression analyses revealed no significant differences in allele frequencies, or relatedness, therefore suggesting widespread dispersal and gene flow between inland and coastal colonies. Furthermore, effective sizes were large enough to maintain genetic diversity into the future, even under various management scenarios. However, the lack of genetic partitioning found suggests that urban management of the ibis should not be undertaken in isolation of inland conservation efforts.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (69 pages) diagrams, graphs, table
Truth in between: postmodern humanism in the fiction of Julian Barnes
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 191-207.Introduction -- Chapter 1. From art to kitsch : coming of age in Metroland -- Chapter 2. Faithful betrayal : a postmodern journey towards truth and love in Flaubert’s parrot -- Chapter 3. Towards ecological humanism in A history of the world in 10½ chapters -- Chapter 4. Memory, identity and truth in England, England and The sense of an ending -- Conclusion -- Works cited.Contemporary British writer Julian Barnes (1946- ) has generally been treated as a purveyor of postmodernist fiction, but this designation is being increasingly challenged. The bases for this challenge are the heterogeneity of his fictional works, and the constant humanistic concerns that underpin them. This research therefore delineates postmodern humanism as a defining feature of Barnes‘s works, and in doing so seeks to bring together the two seemingly incompatible notions of postmodernism and humanism. I argue that Barnes holds on to the humanistic values centring on truth and love, despite his formal playfulness and occasional overlaps with postmodern poetics (suspicion of grand narratives, awareness of how language mediates value-construction, and so on). While echoing postmodern deconstruction of grand narratives, Barnes reconstructs the essence of truth and love and insists on their ethical necessity in lived life. In this way, he transcends the antithesis between postmodernism and humanism and establishes his concept of truth as "in between".In this thesis I examine five Barnes novels—Metroland, Flaubert‟s Parrot, A History of the World in 10½ Chapters, England, England and The Sense of an Ending— which, I argue, best illustrate the emergence and development of Barnes‘s postmodern humanism. In that regard, three themes dominate this sequence of texts: the interaction between art and life, human-animal relationships, and the fallibility of memory as a wellspring of identity and truth. I explore Barnes‘s deviation from postmodernism in light of his affiliations with contemporary humanism, insofar as the latter is developed by three French theorists, Emmanuel Levinas, Paul Ricoeur and Tzvetan Todorov. I draw, in particular, on their emphasis on the ethical relationship implicated in language and art, the ethics of the Other, and the belief in memory and truth. With Barnes‘s novels as my case studies, I take postmodern humanism as an extension of the modernist pursuit of dynamic unity between form and content and evaluate the significance of this pursuit in the larger context of the ethical turn that began in the age of postmodernism.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (viii, 207 pages