Tuesday, September 10, 2019
The lack of specific statutory legislation to deal with media Essay
The lack of specific statutory legislation to deal with media intrusion can be regarded as a weakness in English law. The Irish Privacy Bill 2006 represents a m - Essay Example In UK there is no specific statutory provision for the protection of privacy. However, because the violation of personal life cannot remain in certain circumstances without punishment, for this reason, the courts use instead the principles of law that are related with Human Rights in general. In this context, Human Rights Act of 1998 is the most common legislative text used by courts in UK in order to provide protection to people that have suffered an intrusion to their personal life by media. It has to be noticed though that English courts deal with the issue only at the level that the relevant freedoms provided by the English law are violated. In accordance with the article 2 of the Human Rights Act of 1998 ‘Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by the law’ (article 2, par.1). Furthermore, Human Rights Act of 1998 include a series of articles that provide protection in many cases when human rights are been threatened. We can indicatively refer to ‘th e right to liberty and security (article 5), the right to a fair trial (article 6), the right to respect for private and family life (article 8), the freedom of thought, conscience and religion (article 9), the freedom of expression (article 10), the freedom of assembly and association (article 11), the right to an effective remedy (article 13)’ and so on. At the European level, the right of privacy is also protected using the European Convention on the Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of 1948 as it has been amended by a series of protocols (no. 4, 6, 7, 11 and 12). An interesting legislative text in the area of protection of privacy is the Irish Privacy Bill 2006 which covers all possible aspects of personal life that can suffer an intrusion and violation. Generally, it has been stated by Ellis (1993, 85) that ‘British law recognises no statutory right to privacy but The Data Protection Act 1984 was the first Act to address this
Monday, September 9, 2019
Sexual Harassment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3
Sexual Harassment - Research Paper Example The issue of sexual harassment affects the whole society and requires joined efforts to combat it. The starting point of handling the issue of sexual harassment is conducting research about the issue and understanding the various perspectives and contexts upon which sexual harassment takes place. This paper will start by discussing the origins, the evolution, and the global context of sexual harassment. It will also offer possible solutions of ways to decrease sexual harassment that is occurring in selected countries. Sexual harassment is an issue experienced by men and women of all ages, races, religions and nationalities, all over the world. The number of sexual harassment reports around the world continues to increase. The threat of sexual harassment affects the lives of millions, especially women, worldwide. Victims of sexual harassment often find it hard to recover from the trauma. They usually exhibit mental stress, depression, and low self-esteem. As such, the effects of sexual harassment may ultimately affect the lives of these people. â€Å"Incidences of sexual harassment are on the rise in most parts of the world particularly towards women†(Kenny, Samah and Chan 296). In Bahrain, most of the reported cases of sexual harassment are towards women, especially foreigners working in the country. In order to comprehend and know the dynamics and the importance of addressing the issue of sexual harassment, it is vital to assess the global trends of the matter in order to understand its severity. Most of the global research on sexual harassment has focused on women. Due to the increasing rates of sexual harassment in the world, there is a need for governments, organizations, and the international community, to take affirmative action towards the issue. â€Å"The world should not view incidents of sexual harassment as isolated incidences but as a construed aggression against the rights of people†(Akhtar 55). The world today is increasing
Design project management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words
Design project management - Assignment Example CONCLUSION 16. REFERENCES 1.0 INTRODUCTION Company Introduction and Operations Dar Alarkan is a prominent Riyadh based Company of Saudi Arabia, engaged in the business of design and construction of Real Estate development. It is focused on design, planning and construction of Residential Housing in accordance with Master Plans and catering to Life-style Housing Clients. The choices include developed plots of land, Apartments, and Villas.The Company was set up in 1994 in response to the growing demand for good quality housing from the burgeoning population of Saudi Arabia. The Promoters are six leading business families of the Country with noteworthy experience in the field. During the initial19 months from June 2002, the Corporate status of Dar Alarkan was of a Limited Liability Company , with a capital of US Dollars 37 Million ( SAR140Million), which ws subsequently enhanced to USD 1.44 Billion( SAR5.40 Billion), via Private Placement and it was converted into a Private Limited Partnership. It became a Joint Stock Company in 2005 .It was enlisted at the Saudi Bourse in 2007. As of 31st Decenmber 2008, the issued Capital of Dar Al Arkan stood at USD 1.92 Billion (SAR7.2 Billion) consisting of shares of the denominationSAR10 each (USD 2.67). A year later 180 Million bonus shares with par Value of SR10 each were issued to existing share Holders. Retained earnings of past years had funded the above said bonus issue. The spectacular growth of the Company from a Small Scale Real Estate developer to one among the biggest in the Saudi Kingdom was possible only because of the consistent high profitability of operations in the past five years. Benefiting from the  country’s economic growth, the company has up-scaled its activities. Dar Alarkran is in the vanguard of those providing Master-Plan based development of Life Style accommodation in the private sector, in the KSA. The rapidly growing demand from the Middle Class accounts for the C ompany’s Growth tempo The Demographic profile of KSA in 2005 had shown a trend of growth in the youth segment prompting the company to be confident of future growth I demand for its products from a steadily expanding number of new Households in the foreseeable future. At the end of December 2008, the financial position of the company was as below:          Figures in SAR USD EQUIVALENT Total assets                               20.16 Billion                             5.38 Billion Share holders’ Equity                11.74 Billion                            3.13 Billion Total Revenues                          5.61 Billion                               1.50 Billion Net Income                                2.35 Billion                               627 Million Currently Capital Intelligence Ltd has given the Company Credit Rating,
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Quality Management Assignment - The assignment is based on the Eurocab Essay
Quality Management Assignment - The assignment is based on the Eurocab case study and appendices attached. Study the case and an - Essay Example One way of achieving both efficiency and effectiveness is through quality management which can be done using the total quality management (TQM) model. TQM is an organisational culture devoted to customer satisfaction through an integrated system of tools, techniques and training aimed at the continuous improvement of the products and services offered (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004). As such, this essay seeks to carry out a critique of EuroCab’s current approach to quality and how this compares with Crosby's fourteen point plans. The analysis will highlight the aspects of the plan being implemented as well as outline the points missed. The second part of the essay will look at the extent to which the six sigma methodology can be implemented within the organisation. 1. EuroCab is one of the leading European manufacturers of customised metal cabinets of various sizes and designs. These are sold to different customers to contain, support and securely protect electrical and electronic c ontrol systems from damage. However, the operations of this organisation are geared towards productivity and there are quality concerns since some of the products manufactured do not conform to the expected standards. Quality of a product or service is based on the judgement by the individual or organisation of a particular product with regards to benefits, value or satisfaction that can be derived from using it (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004). Organisations that are concerned about their viability should prioritise the aspect of quality in order to gain a competitive advantage. As noted, the aspect of quality is of concern to Eurocab and this section of the essay seeks to critique the company's current approach to quality and how this compares with Crosby's fourteen point plan. Philip B Crosby is a quality guru and is known for the concepts of â€Å"Quality is Free†and â€Å"Zero Defects. There are four absolutes of quality in his quality improvement process which are: Quality is conformance to requirements, the system of quality is prevention, the performance standard is zero defect and the measurement of quality is the price of non-conformance. Details of quality gurus can be viewed at the Department of Trade and Industry’s website at . His model is comprised of fourteen steps and these are going to be used to analyse the company’s current approach to quality. He suggests that the first step is that management should be committed to a formalised quality policy but in this case, it seems there is no such coordination between the management and the other members of the organisation in other departments. The management is primarily concerned with productivity while at the same time quality related issues are neglected. The blame for any faulty cab is given to the Quality, Manufacturing as well as the Electrical assembly departments. The management does not make follow up on its quality policies to ensure that that there is conformity in the o perations of the organisation as a whole to satisfy the quality needs of the customers as well as the company. The second aspect of Cosby’s 14 steps is the formation of a management level quality improvement team (QIT) with responsibility for quality improvement process planning and administration. As such, it can be noted that EuroCab has
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Workplace Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 107
Workplace Teams - Essay Example As the discussion declares the structural shift from a top-down management system to a team-based management led to the creation of workplace teams. Many companies adopted the team-based approach because it enhances innovativeness and problem-solving abilities of the company. People can brainstorm on problems and propose ideas that are more optimum compared to a single person working. It enables a company that adopts it to be agile as its workforce is agile. Workplace teams are thus, important in a changing environment. Therefore, every student ought to be prepared to be an effective team player. Teamwork skills are important, and thus many companies, usually, consider the ability of its prospective employee to work effectively in a group. From this paper it is clear that a team-oriented structure means organizations or companies rely on small teams to handle and manage a number of tasks. Workplace teams proffer certain benefits because it permits collaboration of a number of employees. As defined by Ahles & Bosworth, a team consists of a small number of persons with matching skills. The persons hold themselves accountable for a common intention, approach, and a set of goals. Therefore according to the definition of Ahles & Bosworth and supported by Cornish, workplace team leads to better solutions, better production, and creativity. The advantages of a team-based approach are due to the ability of the approach to place equal responsibilities on the members of the group.
Friday, September 6, 2019
Oppositional Defiant Disorder Essay Example for Free
Oppositional Defiant Disorder Essay Children are normally difficult to deal with and could be very challenging sometimes. They usually have mood swings and tantrums that are sometimes hard to control and deal with. On the other hand if the child or an individual is observed with relentless pattern of tantrums, arguing and have disruptive behaviors to their parents or other people then there is a possibility that the person have oppositional defiant disorder. Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a kind of disorder that is being characterized by a recurrent pattern of negativistic, defiant, disobedient and hostile behavior towards authority figures such as parents and teachers and the elders and it usually occurs and happens for at least 6 months. Teenagers and children with ODD shows a consistent symptom pattern of refusing commands, orders or request coming from adults and they may manifest great annoyance, irritability and stubbornness to people that are older to them. ODD is usually normal in early childhood and adolescence stage (Sadock, Kaplan, Sadock, 2007). Symptoms Having a defiant behavior is usually common among children most especially if they are in the transition of 2 to 3 years or when they reach the teenage years. At this age children normally act with defiance so that they can affirm themselves and check their limits. There are a lot of symptoms that may indicate that a child or a teenager has ODD. Symptoms of ODD are: if an individual always loses his or her temper, often argues with adults, deliberately annoys people, blames other people for his or her mistakes, misbehavior, often annoyed or angry, academic problems, often spiteful and defies obeying with adults’ rules and requests. It is an oppositional defiant disorder if four or more symptoms are present in a person’s behavior and lasts for at least six months (Sadock, Sadock Levin, 2007). Furthermore, children with ODD are usually moody and they get easily frustrated with things and they can also have a very low self-esteem. There is also a possibility that they will abuse the use of drugs, other substances and alcohol (Webmd, 2008). Etiology There is still no clear cause behind the oppositional defiant disorder. The etiology of ODD is believed to come from different factors such as environmental and genetic or combined. A child who has ODD is more likely to have a history in his or her family of some behavior disorders, anxiety disorder, personality disorder, and mood disorders. In addition, if the parents of the child are alcoholic or have problems with the behavior such as being always into trouble the child can adapt the behavior and may develop into having ODD later on (Tynan, 2008). Diagnosis/ Assessment It is difficult to determine and diagnose different kinds of mental health conditions in a person because some of the symptoms of a certain disorder may also be present in another mental disorder. Furthermore, it makes also difficult to diagnose a child whether he or she has ODD because it is normal for children to have the different behaviors that ODD characterized. In diagnosing ODD, there are no medical tests such as blood test that can determine whether a child or a teenager has ODD or another type of disorder. Some disorders such as ADHD, conduct disorder, bipolar disorder and other mood or behavioral disorders can overlap the signs and symptoms of ODD, therefore it is very important to have a thorough check up and observation to see and diagnose a child suspected with ODD (Rapoport Ismond). Moreover, in diagnosing ODD different types of medical tests may be given to the person to be bale to rule out physical illness or medication side effects like X-rays and blood tests. Only mental health professionals like the psychiatrist or psychologist can determine different kinds of mental illnesses such as ODD in an individual. By looking at the child’s family and health history experts will be able to find it easier to diagnose a child with ODD (Chandler, 2008). Prevalence Oppositional defiant disorder is said to be more common in boys rather than in girls and in children or adolescents. This disorder can usually be seen and observed when a child reaches the age of 8. It is said in some research that there are about 2 to 16% of the US population both male and female have ODD and about 25 % of the population with ODD develops conduct disorder and about 10% of the population have antisocial personality disorder and mostly are already adults (Videbeck, 2007). ODD is more prevalent in males than females before they reach the puberty stage. However after they reach the puberty stage or adolescence, the ratio of both genders already become equal due to the reason that females tend to be involved with antisocial males as partners (Corcoran Walsh, 2006). Risk Factors Oppositional defiant disorder usually comes with other behavior disorders or mental disorders. There are about 50% to 65% of children with ODD usually have attention deficit disorder (ADD) or Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ome form of affective disorder may also be present among 35% of children with ODD, 20% with mood disorders like anxiety disorder or bipolar disorder and 15% develop some personality disorder (Kane, 2008). Other risk factors that may be present to children with ODD are; being abused or neglected, lack of supervision from parents, poor relationship with one or both parents and other family members, family instability such as incident of divorce, financial problems in the family, exposure to violence and abusing substance like drugs and alcohol (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2007). Treatment Psychotherapy There are many options for treating oppositional defiant disorder in an individual. Different treatments depends on the age and the severity of the condition and its symptoms and the person should be willing or aware so that he or she will be able to participate and cooperate well in the treatment process of ODD though it is usually complicated and difficult especially if the individual is a child. First and common treatment being used with patient with ODD is psychotherapy. In psychotherapy the process is juts like counseling. The goal of this kind of treatment is to help and assist the child in developing ways on controlling his or her anger and other defiant behaviors. Cognitive behavioral therapy is another way of therapy that can help a child or a person with ODD. It is a kind of technique or approach that intends to influence bad behaviors and cognitions through a goal-oriented process. This kind of therapy has been proven to be effective on most mood disorders, behavioral disorders, personality disorders and other mental diseases. In addition, family therapy can also serve as a great help for treating ODD. This can help family interactions and communications not only to the child with ODD and parent but to rest of the members of the family as well. There is also a new therapy that has been introduced that can help treating ODD and it is called parent management training (PMT). This approach teaches the parents different techniques to positively modify or change their children’s behavior (Webmd, 2008). Medications Medications or drugs can also help in the process of treating oppositional defiant disorder in a child. There was a study made to see whether a certain drug called Ritalin can be effective in treating children with ODD. The research’s result found out that there were about 90% of children with ODD who were treated by Ritalin do not have ODD anymore when they finish the study. Another drug called Strattera did also help and got treated for some children with oppositional defiant disorder. Mood stabilizers can also help in the process of treating ODD using medications to be bale to control the behavior of the person with ODD. Lastly, other alternative treatments but has not been proven by studies that is suspected to help in the treatment of ODD. It is said that Omega-3 oils and Vitamin E helps lessen the behavioral problem of a child with oppositional defiant disorder (Kane, 2008). Prognosis Treating oppositional defiant disorder usually takes time to treat. It requires long term commitment to the person and most especially to the parents. If the individual did not receive proper treatment there will be a higher risk that the child will develop a conduct disorder or antisocial personality disorder (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2007). Prevention Good parenting can prevent the prevalence of oppositional defiant disorder. It is very important that parents should treat their children fairly and should be consistent with their rules and consequences inside the home. Proper communication is also needed between children and parents to avoid such problem to occur. Abusing and neglecting children should be also avoided; hence it is one factor that triggers ODD to occur in an individual. If parents can already observe different or unusual behavior in their children they should ask for help or seek advice to experts to know if there is something wrong with their children. If ODD is detected earlier then it will be easier also to treat and the person will no longer have to suffer and experience this kind of disorder that can disrupt their lives (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2007). Conclusion In conclusion, becoming aware and knowing all the information that lies ahead in oppositional defiant disorder is very important. One should be attentive most especially the parents of all the necessary repercussions that it can bring to a person particularly children and adolescence to be able to stop the increasing number of ODD and so that children and other people will be able to live normally and function well in the society.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Black Diaspora in Literature | Essay
Black Diaspora in Literature | Essay â€Å"Survivors. In their diasporan souls a dream like steel†(Caryl Phillips, Crossing the River). This paper discusses in what senses post-slavery literature is structured by the idea of a diaspora. The book looks at two main texts, Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips and Praisesong for the Widow by Paule Marshall, using the books The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness by Paul Gilroy and Black Imagination and the Middle Passage, edited by Maria Diedrich as secondary sources. The paper concludes that the diaspora, a key event in black history, is fundamental to many authors in terms of providing a framework on which to discuss issues of importance to the black community, for example, history, memory, cultural identity, cultural heritage, heritage. As Gilroy argues in his book The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness, â€Å"The specificity of the modern political and cultural formation I want to call the Black Atlantic can be defined, on one level, through a desire to transcend both the structures of a nation state and the constraints of ethnicity and national particularity. These desires are relevant to understanding political organising and cultural criticism. They have always sat uneasily alongside the strategic choices forced on black movements and individuals embedded in the national and political cultures and nation-states in America, the Caribbean and Europe†(p.19). Thus, as Gilroy argues, because of the black diaspora, black academics and black writers and artists have travelled and worked within what he terms a trans-national framework that, itself, precludes anything but only a very superficial association of their country of origin. Thus, as Gilroy argues, black post-slavery literature can only be understood in the context of a diaspora, as it is created within the framework that was created by this diaspora. It is, as argues Gilroy, â€Å"a preoccupation with the striking doubleness that results from this unique position – in an expanded West but not completely of it – is a definitive characteristic of the intellectual history of the Black Atlantic†(p.58). Diedrich’s edited volume Black Imagination and the Middle Passage examines the very specific period covering the forced dispossession of the Middle Passage, and analyses the arts (music, literature, dance etc.) that were created, on the transatlantic journey and on the continents in which the slaves were kept, and in the home continent upon their return. The book aims to represent the cultural conscience of the diaspora, as represented not only in the arts but also in myth and history, as a way of analysing what the diaspora meant for this group of people who were forcefully removed from their culture, and then had to live adrift from their culture. Many of the contributions in Diedrich argues, similarly to Gilroy, that the diapsora was a key event in the development of black literature, defining, as it does, a framework for creativity, through analyses of violence, of culture, of trans-national thinking and working. This idea is, again, highlighted in many other literary crit icisms[1]. Caryl Phillips book Crossing the River takes marginalisation and racism as central themes, using his central characters, Martha and Joyce, to explore these issues: Martha is a black woman dealing with racism in North America before and after slavery’s abolition, and Joyce, the white woman who is marginalised following her falling in love with a black man (Martha’s brother, Travis). We see, in the novel, how Martha was sold by her father, Nash, along with her two brothers, Nash and Travis, in to slavery, how Martha is separated from her children, separating her family, as occurred with many other hundreds of thousands of black families, and the novel deals a great deal, from this point on, with memory – her memory of her family, her memory of her loss, her memory of her culture that she has left behind. She grieves not only for these losses, but also for her own loss of dignity, through her placement in to slavery, and for her need to live alone, following aboliti on, no longer physically enslaved, bur emotionally enslaved by her losses and by the fragmented community in which she, and all freed slaves were forced to live. Her story does not end there, and we see the hurt and terrible conditions in which she was forced to live, post-slavery, through Phillips’ descriptions of her surroundings, and the murder of her new partner, Chester. Phillips uses several postmodern techniques to highlight all of the disjointed emotions that Martha feels, such as switching backwards and forwards across time in order to highlight how Martha reacts and feels about events, or the use of many voices in the novel (Martha, Joyce, Nash and others) in order to reiterate the fact that the novel is concerned with many people’s history – indeed, a whole generation’s history, of those people of a certain race who were forced in to slavery, and who, then, were forced in to submission for many years in a racist North American society. The James Hamilton character, the slave trader, is used by Phillips to introduce the ‘dirty’ side of slavery; with his orders for disposal of slaves (i.e., murder of slaves) and his colonial presence. Phillips’ deconstruction of Hamilton’s character, through movements across time, is a way for Phillips to explore history, as he sees it, as a re-definable present, no t an uninterpretable, unchangeable, past. Thus, Phillips’ novel Crossing the River looks at issues of slavery, racism, marginalisation using several main characters, all of whom are intertwined and all of whom are bound together by the main focus of the novel – slavery. Slavery is the theme which binds the book together, allowing Phillips to discuss issues such as cultural transpositions and the ‘diaspora’. Phillips does not, however, simply recount historical accounts of the lives of his main characters, the characters come alive through his particular sort of storytelling, which is argued by many to have an African slant i.e., it has a circular quality that is present in many African cultures in which storytelling is strong. Phillips also leaves as much untold as he tells, whilst giving historical facts surrounding the characters lives, allowing the reader to fill in the gaps and build their own version of the diasporan framework. For example, Nash’s freedom and journey to Liberia as a mis sionary poses many questions for Nash, leaving him, as it does in Africa, but in a foreign land, sometimes feeling more American than African, although as Nash points out, that is ridiculous, he is not American, any more than he is Liberian. This leaves the reader pondering ideas of culture and roots and what effects the diaspora had on the many hundreds of thousands of slaves who were displaced from their homes and forced to work, and then live freely, in a strange country, something which is reinforced, as we have seen by the character of Martha who, as we have seen, feels more for the loss of her daughter to slavery than she does for the loss of her freedom and her displacement. Thus, Phillips succeeds in showing the very human face of slavery, in terms of personal losses, not just the ‘wider’ academic picture of slavery as an exercise in intellectualising the diaspora in terms of its cultural conscience. Paule Marshall’s fiction has been described by Denniston (1995) as â€Å"an imaginative reconstruction of African history and culture, which connects all people of African descent†. Her book Praisesong for the Widow, captures African cultural patterns in contrast with North American materialism, and, as Denniston (1995) argues, through this, Marshall â€Å"reclaims African culture for black diasporan peoples†. As such, this type of fiction is not just African or black – it captures the dynamics of human struggle and so is universal. Many black commentators have denigrated this interpretation of this type of fiction, arguing that these arguments are little more than veiled racism, intended to belittle the worth of the intellectual exercise, i.e., the understanding of African history in terms of the diaspora, by reducing the arguments in these novels to universal arguments about reactions to oppression, not, as they are intended to be, arguments about black responses to the diaspora. Marshall’s novel Praisesong for the Widow also, similarly to Caryl Phillips in his Crossing the River, discusses the role of memory in the lives of the characters in the book, describing how Avey sees her body as nothing more than a repository of memory, in which physical sensations are nothing more than a way of recording emotional feelings; through this realisation, Avey comes to terms with her displacement from her natural society, and comes to accept her heritage. Through Avey’s slow realisation of her body as a respository for memory, Marshall echoes the disconnection of herself from her native culture, and thus from herself as a woman born in the Caribbean but sold to slavery in North America. Marshall uses Avey’s physical discomforts, which are described in graphic detail in the novel, to echo her disconnection from her culture, her heritage, and her subsequent journey to well-being is representative, for Marshall, of her restoration of her sense of cultur al inheritance. In addition to Marshall’s use of Avey’s body as a metaphor for displacement and representations of heritage and disposition, in terms of the slave’s body being enslaved, but their mind being free to wander, to develop, to grow, Avey’s physical journeys also somewhat recreate the journey’s her people took as slaves as a way for Marshall to explore the cultural disinheritance of the African people’s through the African diaspora[2] and the slaves’ reconnection with their heritages following their freedom. Avey’s memories are representative of African slaves memories, therefore – they were the only free part of them under the regime of slavery, and, for some slaves, whose histories were suppressed and sanitised, their only history was the one that their memory provided. As with Martha in Phillips’ novel, memory was, however, often too painful, for example, the memory of her lost daughter, with these ‘personalâ₠¬â„¢ memories being far more painful than memories of lost culture or memories of ‘home’. Avey’s constant opposition to recognising her heritage allows Marshall to explore the difficulties faced by ex-slaves when thinking about returning home, or settling in a foreign land under adverse, racist, circumstances. Avey cannot face the idea of acknowledging her heritage, as she is, as she sees it, happy as she is, without knowledge of what happened to her ancestors. Avey has constructed a life for herself based on an omission of her heritage, as a way of coping with the enormity of what happened to her family, her ancestors; her excessive consumption has blinded her to her heritage. Marshall thus seems to be suggesting, then, that the American way of life, of materialism and of consumerism, has a dulling effect, of smoothing cultural differences, and, indeed, the ‘American’ way is all-pervasive, a base laziness which calls to people’s sloth-like si des, and, through this, infiltrates every society in which it comes in to contact. As we have seen, therefore, the work of Phillips and Marshall both deal with the idea of slavery, of the diaspora, of the marginalisation felt by freed slaves in a foreign country, of ideas of cultural heritage. Both books, both examples of post-slavery literature, therefore, deal specifically with the issue of the diaspora, and what effects this had, and has, on the lives of slaves, and freed slaves, and the descendents of slaves. Phillips is, however, somewhat more concerned with the effect of loss on the lives of freed slaves than Marshall, who embodies his ideas within a character who is somewhat immune, for most of the book, to emotions. In terms, therefore, of the senses in which post-slavery literature is structured by the idea of a diaspora, as we have seen, for many authors who are concerned with this issue, through their heritage or for whatever other reason, their literature is framed by the idea of the diaspora: this is the central framework from which all other ideas con nected to this hang. The diaspora acts as a backdrop, if you like, against which all other ideas connected to this (for example, heritage, cultural identity etc.) are understood. It is the understanding of all of these other concepts (for example, heritage, cultural identity etc.) which gives thrust to the work of such authors, and through a search for an understanding of these ideas, it is hoped that the diaspora will be understood, can be come to terms with; much as Avey’s illness is characteristic of an emotional need to know of her heritage, the diaspora is, for many authors and black academics, the tool that is used to gain understanding in to black history, both in countries of origin, and in the countries in which slaves were taken, post-slavery. In terms of the senses in which post-slavery literature is structured by the idea of a diaspora, as we have seen, as Gilroy argues, black post-slavery literature can only be understood in the context of a diaspora, as it is created within the framework that was created by this diaspora. It is, as argues Gilroy, â€Å"a preoccupation with the striking doubleness that results from this unique position – in an expanded West but not completely of it – is a definitive characteristic of the intellectual history of the Black Atlantic†(p.58). Thus, for Gilroy, the diaspora is essential, fundamental, to an understanding of black history. As we have seen, Diedrich’s edited volume Black Imagination and the Middle Passage concludes, similarly to Gilroy, that the diaspora was a key event in the development of black literature, defining, as it does, a framework for creativity, through analyses of violence, of culture, of trans-national thinking and working. Thus, the diaspora, a key event in black history, is fundamental to many authors in terms of providing a framework on which to discuss issues of importance to the black community, for example, history, memory, cultural identity, cultural heritage, heritage. As we have seen in this paper, these issues provide literary fuel for many authors, and critics, and two of the most representative novels in terms of these issues, Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips and Praisesong for the Widow by Paule Marshall, have been analysed and used to illustrate how black authors use the diaspora in this way, i.e., to discuss issues of importance to the black community, for example, history, memory, cultural identity, cultural heritage, heritage. For many authors, writing about these issues is a way of dealing with these issues for themselves personally and, as such, such books provide solace for many blacks who live with the diaspora, and its effects, as part of their history. References Denniston, D.H., 1995. The fiction of Paule Marshall: reconstructions of history, culture and gender. University of Tennessee Press. Diedrich, M. (ed.)., 1999. Black Imagination and the Middle Passage. Oxford University Press. Gilroy, P., 1993. The Black Atlantic: modernity and double consciousness. Verso Books. Marshall, P., 1983. Praisesong for the Widow. Putnam Press. Phillips, C., 2006. Crossing the River. Penguin Paperbacks. Rogers, S., 2000. Embodying cultural memory in Paule Marshall’s Praisesong for the Widow. African American Review Spring 2000. Footnotes [1] See, for example, Writings on Black Women of the Diaspora: History, Language and Identity, by Bracks; The African Imagination: Literature in African and the Black Diaspora by F.Abiola Irele, and Brent Hayes Edwards’ The Practice of Diaspora: Literature, Translation and the Rise of Black Internationalism. [2] See Rogers (2000) for further exploration of this concept.
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