Arts and Humanities Commons^™

‘The Magic Of Flowers’: An Explorative Study Into The Ways Floral Decorations Influence The Experience Of Guests In A Food Setting, In Contemporary Ireland, Johanna Banaditsch

Dissertations

This research project explores the influence of floral decorations on the experience of a diner in a food setting in contemporary Ireland by examining what and how dining experiences are designed, where floral decorations are relevant in this context and how they specifically influence people in these settings.

The research was conducted using the philosophical worldview of interpretivism. In order to answer the five sub-research questions and thus achieve the research aim, the research draws on existing literature on hospitality experiences, literature on the influence of flowers and qualitative primary research conducted through semi-structured in-depth interviews with flower providers and …

Family Dining: Food And Drink In The Sopranos – A Gastrocritical Approach, Lisa Davies

Dissertations

This thesis uses gastrocriticism to explore food and drink in the 86 episodes of the long-form narrative HBO television series The Sopranos. Gastrocriticism is an emerging branch of literary criticism that draws on scholarship from a range of disciplines such as sociology, anthropology and cultural studies. A deeper understanding of the series was gained by using a structured framework of enquiry to explore narrative, setting, characterisation and genre through the lens of food and foodways. The Sopranos is a story of an Italian-American crime family and food is abundant in the series and bound up with the identity of …

Exploring The Fifth Quarter: An Enquiry Into Offal Eating In Contemporary Irish Food Culture, Its History, And Its Future, Niall Toner

Dissertations

Animal offal and organ meats seem to have all but disappeared from domestic cuisine in Ireland, despite the recent renaissance in the country’s food culture. This thesis has examined the extent and nature of the consumption of these comestibles in contemporary Irish food culture, and the perceived decline in offal’s popularity in Ireland in the past fifty years. It also sought to discover whether offal and organ meats might have a place in the future of our cuisine, and whether the consumption of more offal and organ meats in Ireland might contribute towards a more sustainable food production system, and …

Softening Corners: How A Carefully Considered Hospitality Operation Impacted An Educational Institution, Jennie Moran

Dissertations

Enter quickly, as I am afraid of my happiness!

(Derrida, 2000, p.131)

This research project is an attempt to bridge the gap between the philosophical ideals of hospitality and the hospitality industry, by examining how a carefully considered hospitality operation impacted an educational institution over the course of eight years. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that the application of the philosophical ideals to a commercial hospitality setting yielded profoundly positive results. The primary research was compiled by the author conducting a case study of her own food business, Luncheonette which was located in the National College of …

La Vraie Bouillabaisse: An Investigation Into The History And Current Practice Of The Provencal Dish Bouillabaisse, And Its Significance As A Traditional Dish, Mathieu Belledent

Dissertations

This thesis examines the history and the current practices (popularity, service styles, and recipes) of the Provencal dish bouillabaisse. It aims to establish the evolution and the traditional characteristics of the dish. It also explores the historical and contemporary popularity as well as the everyday role that bouillabaisse plays in the regional identity of Provencal cooking. Finally, the research questions if bouillabaisse would benefit from a European Union quality schemes protection or official recognition by UNESCO. This research uses an exploratory sequential mixed methods model combining qualitative and quantitative data collection which are analysed in a sequence of phases. …

An Investigative Analysis On Female Presence And Highly Ranked Positions In Professional Kitchens In Ireland, Roann Byrne

Dissertations

This study aims to gain an understanding of the state of the cheffing industry currently, to analyse whether there is a lack of women within the industry particularly in positions of high power. This research intends to understand the causes for the lack and showcase possible solutions and recommendations for this. It exists as a role of advocacy; hoping to inspire more people into the career of cheffing, and to retain women within it. It aspires to challenge and thus forth change the narratives that have pushed many people, particularly women, out of this work for so long. This research …

More Than Midnight Feasts?: A Gastrocritical Reading Of Enid Blyton’S Malory Towers, St. Clare’S And The Naughtiest Girl In The School Series, Rebecca Broomfield

Dissertations

Food is fundamental to life. It is also fundamental to culture; through our production, manipulation and consumption of foodstuffs, the way in which we eat has amassed a range of rituals and rules. This suggests that food can be used to indicate more than mere biological need. Food and foodways are a common occurrence throughout literature, not least children’s literature. This thesis applies gastrocriticism as a paradigm to investigate the use of food and foodways in Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers, St. Clare’s and The Naughtiest Girl school series. Gastrocriticism is an emerging form of literary criticism that considers the complex …

Market Segmentation Of Wine In Ireland: Are We Fostering A Desirable Consumption Culture?, Enea Bent

Dissertations

The aim of this research is to evaluate the wine sector in Ireland and its impact on the wine consumption culture that is being promoted here as a result. With supermarkets leading in terms of sales, this study evaluates the product offering of the various types of retailers and the attainability of the same to different demographics of consumer. A high level of government intervention in the industry is highlighted throughout the study, the intention and subsequent successes and failures are examined. A comparison to the rest of Europe and the United Kingdom is carried out to understand Ireland’s position …

Local Food In Tourism: An Investigation Into Food Offerings At Irish Visitor Attractions—Are We Telling The Right Story?, Kate O Hora

Dissertations

This study’s aim is to investigate food offerings at visitor attractions in Ireland. Recent comments by Fáilte Ireland regarding food at visitor attractions has called on operators to localise their food offerings. A sample of eleven providers of food at visitor sites were invited to participate in qualitative interviews, to conceptualise their experiences with the provision of local food. The results showed that the sector had an overall interest in local food with most of the participants recognising that not enough emphasis was being placed on its promotion. The results of the study reveal that provision of local food provides …

From Alsace To America: The Development And Migration Of Ashkenazi Jewish Cuisine From Its Origins In Eastern France, Angela Hanratty

Dissertations

This research examines the historical development of a distinctly Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine from its roots in the Alsace region of France, through the Jewish settlements in Eastern Europe, and the mass immigration to America in the 19th and 20th centuries. The aim of the research was to come to an understanding of how global perception of what is considered to be quintessentially Jewish food (as evidenced in American Jewish delicatessens, Jewish homes, and in popular culture) has been shaped by developments in Alsace. Long standing views were held that Ashkenazi food developed in Eastern Europe, specifically Poland and the former …

Exploring Food Traditions Within The Four Quarter Days Of The Irish Calendar Year, Caitríona Nic Philibín

Dissertations

This study explores food traditions in the four quarter days of the Irish calendar year. Imbolg or St. Brigid’s Day, Bealtaine, Lughnasa and Samhain mark significant moments in the agricultural calendar. Food traditions, customs and practices relating to these days are recorded in the abundant resources of the collections in the Folklore Department, University College Dublin. However, to date, with few exceptions, little food specific research has been carried out on these collections. This thesis aims to begin to fill that gap whilst highlighting many opportunities for further research. Throughout this process we witness the illumination of a rich food …

A Critical Analysis Of Gender Inequality In The Chef Profession In Ireland, Mary M. Farrell Phd

Dissertations

As an original piece of research, this dissertation investigates the factors that contribute to gender inequality in the chef profession in Ireland. The aims of the study sought to establish the extent of gender inequality and the factors that contribute to it in the chef profession in Ireland. The first national gender inequality survey was designed to collect empirical and qualitative data of the chef profession. Joan Acker’s (1990) original theory of gendered organisations and Connell’s (1995) concept of hegemonic masculinity were employed to undertake a systematic gender analysis of the data emanating the survey. This analysis reveals, for the …

Home Economics And Food Literacy: An Investigation Into The Factors Influencing The Effective Delivery Of Food Literacy Curricula In Irish Post Primary Schools As Perceived By Key Stakeholders, Aisling Geraghty

Dissertations

In 2018 the new Junior Cycle specification for home economics was introduced. This year also saw the recommendation by the Irish State to make home economics compulsory for all Junior Cycle students. Home economics is a multifaceted, inter disciplinary subject that seeks to empower students with the skills to cultivate reflective, critical decision-making abilities they require to deal with practical perennial problems. Food literacy exists as a key contextual strand to home economics, and to this new Junior Cycle curriculum in particular. This study seeks to identify influences, both positive and negative, that impact on the effective delivery of food …

Re-Assessing Rachmaninoff's Legacy: The Piano Concertos And Evolution Of His Musical Style, Varazdat Khachatryan

Dissertations

This thesis explores the evolution of Sergey Rachmaninoff’s five major piano/orchestral works and their revisions, which span most of his career. Composing at the turn of the twentieth century, which was marked by several revolutions, two world wars and changes in musical tastes from romanticism to modernism, Rachmaninoff was often referred to as a ‘conservative’ composer. However, contrary to this categorisation, throughout his musical life he developed a style that has become unique and revolutionary in its own right. This thesis aims to unravel the key arguments at the heart of the conservative-progressive debate and shed new light on Rachmaninoff’s …

The Contribution Of P. G. Wodehouse To The Field Of Gastronomy Through His Character, The French Chef, Anatole, Elizabeth Wilson

Dissertations

In her paper ‘A Cultural Field in the Making: Gastronomy in 19th-Century France’, Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson argues that the field of gastronomy came into existence in the middle of the nineteenth century in France. This field of gastronomy was constructed from two elements, the significance that gastronomy, defined at the time as a structured set of culinary practices, had attained in France by the nineteenth century, but also, the contribution of writers of culinary discourse who wrote about this gastronomy. These writers came from different disciplines and included the realist fiction writer Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850), whose work Ferguson describes …

Austerity In 21st. Century Dublin: Has Recession Altered Our Relationship With Food Purchasing And Preparation?, Diarmaid Murphy

Dissertations

The current global recession has affected almost all countries whose economies adhere to free-market principles and are involved in international money markets. Ireland, along with the majority of its European trading partners both inside and outside the eurozone has seen a sharp fall in the standard of living of its citizens in the years since the financial crisis emerged (2007 to present). In common with the almost universal international paradigm, Irish citizens have had drastic austerity measures imposed upon them. In Ireland’s case, the underwriting of private banking debt and its subsequent conversion to sovereign debt served to contract the …

Pierrots Fâchés Avec La Lune: Debussy, Fauré And Ravel During World War 1, Arun Rao

Dissertations

This dissertation proposes to consider the music of French composers Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré and Maurice Ravel written during the Great War, under tremendous professional, personal and cultural pressures. These pressures are examined largely through these composers’ correspondence and the writings of contemporary critics, composers and artists in the first two chapters; a selection of their output from the war years, in particular their piano works and their chamber music, is the subject of the third chapter. The aim of the dissertation is to reveal certain aspirations common to all three, aspirations that were motivated, dictated even, by the political …

Retail Visual Assistant Digital Artefact, Neville Knott

Dissertations

Window display, store layout and visual merchandising are defined as the ability to attract and sell to the consumer silently. One of the biggest challenges facing small retail businesses in towns and villages around the globe is how to compete against large multinationals in the visual layout and presentation of their merchandise and shops. One of the key advantages that large retail units have over small ones is professionally merchandised stock incorporated into a strategic spatial layout. The cost of employing a full- or part-time design expert within the field of visual merchandising is not viable for smaller shops, resulting …

Music For Mercer's: The Mercer's Hospital Music Collection And Charity Music In Eighteenth-Century Dublin., Tríona O'Hanlon

Dissertations

This thesis examines and analyses the contents of the Mercer’s Hospital Music Collection. The collection includes fifty manuscript and seven printed volumes of
music containing works by Handel, Greene, Boyce, Purcell, Corelli, Humfrey, Avison, Barsanti, Stanley and Festing. Selected works were performed at the Mercer’s Hospital benefit concerts, established in April 1736 to provide important financial support to the
hospital, which opened on Stephen Street, Dublin in 1734. Mercer’s was the first voluntary Dublin hospital to initiate a series of benefit concerts. The Mercer’s benefit concerts attracted the participation of a wide range of Dublin-based performers, both singers and instrumentalists. …

Traditional Irish Music: A Path To New Music, David Flynn

Dissertations

Prior to commencing the research for this dissertation I had composed a number of concert works which were largely inspired by traditional Irish music. The most significant of these include String Quartet No. 2 – The Cranning (2004-2005) and Music for the Departed (2006) for fiddle, violin and guitar. The main goal of my research for this dissertation was to enable me to continue to refine my approach of creating original compositions that are inspired by aspects of traditional Irish music, contemporary classical music and other styles. It is important to emphasise the fact that my engagement with traditional music …

What Is The Optimal Structure For Organisations Representing Design And Designers On The Island Of Ireland?, Barry Sheehan

Dissertations

The research question addresses the issue of the structure of organisations that represent the interests of design and designers on the island of Ireland. The role of designers in Ireland is seen by society as marginal, rather than one central to the economic, social, and cultural well being of the island and those who live on it. This problem is exacerbated, as the organisational structures of those who play a key part are both confused and confusing. The answer to the question of what is an optimal structure lies in the literature that has been written on the subject and …

Microtonality As An Expressive Device: An 
Approach
 For 
The 
Contemporary 
Saxophonist, Seán Mac Erlaine

Dissertations

This dissertation provides a critical examination of the use of microtonality as an expressive tool for the improvising saxophonist and offers a new method for quarter-tone production drawing on cultural references from European art music, Arabic Maqam and Contemporary Jazz. The thesis is underpinned by an historical, musicological analysis of tuning systems and theory necessary for the performer of microtonal music. The dissertation is presented in three chapters. In Chapter One, a discussion of tuning theory and a history of temperament systems contextualises the current uses of equal temperament and extensions of it including the quarter-tone tempered system. Chapter Two …

Creativity And Structure In Irish Architectural Practices: An Exploration Of The Symbiotic Relationship Between Structure And Creativity In Irish Architectural Practices With International Offices, Aine Rooney

Dissertations

This enquiry is concerned with exploring creativity within Irish architectural practices with overseas offices. Specifically, the thesis seeks to determine how strategic choices in relation to structure can deliver competitive advantage through increased organisational creativity. In gathering data and reviewing the findings from the research, the study ultimately seeks to develop recommendations for best practice guidelines for optimal organisational structure for Irish architectural practices which supports creativity. In doing so it seeks to solve a real world problem, significantly contributing to professional practice in the area. The current status of the sector in Ireland is presented in order to outline …

Flash Animation Project: Written Report, Peter Dee

Dissertations

A written report about a Flash animation project to include the 3 headings of Animation Techniques, Story Telling and Audio along with a critique and an appendix. The Flash animation project is based upon one of Aesop's fables entitled 'The King's Son & the Painted Lion'.

Unity Through Duality: An Exploration Of Paradox In Olivier Messiaen's Vingt Regards Sur L'Enfant-Jesus Vol Ii, Deirdre Hatch

Dissertations

Contemplation de l'Ellfant-Dieu de la creche et ReBards qui se posent sur lui : depuis le Regard indicible de Dieu le Pere jusqu'au Regard multiple de l'Kglise d'amour, en passant par le Regard inoui tie l'Esprit de joie, par le Regard si tendre de la Vierge, p'uis des Anges, des Mages et des creatures im'.naterieUes ou symboliques (le Temps, les Hauteurs, re Stlence, l'Etoile, la Croix). L'Etoile et la Croi:c ontle m!me theme parce que l'une ouvre etl'autre ferme la periode terre!\lre de Jesus. Le theme de Dieu se retrouve evidemment dans les "Regards du Pere", "du FiIs" et "de …

Unity Through Duality: An Exploration Of Paradox In Olivier Messiaen's Vingt Regards Sur L'Enfant-Jesus Vol. I, Deirdre Hatch

Dissertations

Olivier Messiaen is one of the major musical figures of the twentieth century. His music draws on a diverse set of influences, yet always remains unique and entirely his own. His unwavering religious beliefs constitute the source of inspiration behind most of his music. Vingt Regards sur ['Enfant-Jesus for solo piano was composed in 1944. It forms a powerful and personal musical statement concerning one of the central mysteries of the Catholic faith, the Incarnation. As such, it is an important work within Messiaen's output. Its musical language and spiritual message are typical ofMessiaen's style.