The meal experience Essay

Introduction The assignment I will be doing will be about a recent meal experience I had in an establishment. I recently went for a meal in a local brasserie situated in my town I will be discussing the intangible and tangible factors that influenced my meal experience. Reason for choice The reason I chose to carry out my assignment on this particular meal experience is because it is the most recent meal I have been out for in a long time and I heard from a number of sources that the restaurant was a great place to eat and it had got great reviews on trip advisor so I decided to give it a try. Also it is the only restaurant I have actually been out for a meal in during the last two years. Booking I planned to go for meal one Tuesday night with my other half, so I rang the restaurant to book a table for two. A young woman answered the phone pleasantly and asked if she could help me. I then asked her if I could book a table for two at 7:30pm. She then responded politely saying â€Å"you can of course. The table will be ready for you at 7:30, is there anything else I can help you with?† I responded to her question saying â€Å"no that is perfect thank you very much.† I found the woman on the phone very polite and she made me feel very relaxed and comfortable on the phone. So I can say the booking was a success The restaurant is a casual dining restaurant so we didn’t have to wear anything specific or even book a table but I did anyway just to be safe. Arrival The restaurant is situated on Portlaoise Main Street, at the top of an off licence. A negative to the arrival is that there is no parking at the restaurant. We had to park the car at a completely different place to where the restaurant is. My other half was wearing heels and we had to walk a good half a mile from the car park. However, we didn’t mind the walk too much but it is a bit much to have to walk that distance. When we reached the restaurant we had to climb a lot of stairs on the way up to the restaurant which is the only way up. The establishment is not suitable for disabled  people in terms of entering and exiting. We reached the reception finally. It was there we had our first look at the place. My first impression that it was small but had a good feng shui. The restaurant wasn’t full but there were a few people there just the way I like it. The girl greeted us and welcomed us. We thanked her and told her we had a reservation for 7:30 and we gave her our names. She then showed us to our table. I sat down and tested the table and chairs to see if it was wobbly but it wasn’t which was great because I cannot stand for a wobbly table when having a meal. The woman who was a waitress as well asked us if we wanted anything to drink. I asked for water, which was brought to me quite fast which I was satisfied with. The Menus were already on the table because it is a casual dining restaurant. The waitress after bringing the water left us for a few minutes while we decided what to eat. First Course My partner and I looked through the menu which was quite concise and had a good variety as it ranged from comfort food like burgers, steaks and chips to classic Italian dishes like pasta caribonara and lasagne and even Asian dishes like stir-fry and spring rolls. We were quite pleased with the selection and type of food that was available which left us spoiled for choice. The menu was A la carte so we could order as we went. Eventually my partner and I decided on our dishes. She got the filo prawns and I got the mixed salad. The waitress came back and we gave her the order. 5 minutes later she came out with both dishes. The speed of the service was great because I was quite hungry. Once the dishes arrived presented accordingly, nothing special, on their plates I tasted my salad and found no faults with it. they served it with their house dressing which I enjoyed. My other half enjoyed her prawns. I tasted one and after tasting it I could tell that it was something out of a box that was frozen so I didn’t enjoy the filo prawn so I left half of it. During the first course the waitress came to ensure that everything was ok and asked if we wanted anything else, so the service was good. The Main Meal. We finished our first course which was a success. So we moved on to our main course of the evening. After the waitress cleared our plates she gave us roughly 5 minutes between the meals before she brought out the main course.  I found that amount of time to be too little because my salad hadn’t yet gone down. My partner only had two prawns so she was quite happy with the time taken. We had ordered the â€Å"ultimate relish burger,† which was an enormous burger made of two 8oz patties, an onion ring on each patty, bacon and melted cheese and then stacked on top of each other and presented on a black slate. Presentation was great. I thought that it would be a big burger so my partner and I decided to share. When the burger came out it was way bigger than my expectations. in the end two of us couldn’t even finished it The burger however tasted great and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Sweet We were so stuffed from the first two meals that we called it a night and asked for the bill. We could not stomach anymore food. Close of meal. We come at last to the end of our â€Å"experience†, and what an experience it has been. Everything so far has exceeded what I was expecting- the room, the staff, the food, we enjoyed it very much. From the tangible elements like Food and drink, Variety of menu available, Level of service, Value for money, Interior design, Atmosphere and mood, Expectation and identification and the staff. The waitress came to clear our plates and we asked for the bill. We paid it, thanked the staff and went on our way. The only faults I can identify with the night was the speed at which the food came out. It was a bit too fast Also the walk from the car was a bit far so that is a negative and can be a big problem in the future. Reflection in memory A meal, like a good story, should have a good beginning, a middle and end, and it did for me and my partner. We enjoyed the experience. Just being able to even talk as loud as we want, wear anything at all and the atmosphere that everyone eating and working there created was great. It was my first time in a brasserie and it won’t be my last

VOIP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

VOIP - Essay Example However, it is as well a tool that makes things simpler and rationalizes a broad variety of business applications. Telephony is one of the most useful inventions. Moreover, VoIP is also the base for modern integrated communications applications such as Web and video conferencing that can change the way people conduct businesses (Cisco, 2011). Additionally, VoIP offers a lot of benefits over customary phone system. This is the major reason that more and more people are particularly turning to VoIP communication technology. One of the major benefits of VoIP is its less cost. VoIP is recognized to be inexpensive even a lot of people utilize it for free. If anybody has a computer, a microphone and speakers along with a high-quality Internet link, they can communicate through VoIP for free (Unuth, 2011). In addition, VoIP telephone calls can be done either to some other VoIP systems and devices, or to usual telephones on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). In this scenario, the calls from a VoIP device to a PSTN device are normally acknowledged as "PC-to-Phone" communication calls, however VoIP device may not be a PC. Additionally, calls from a VoIP system to another VoIP device are usually acknowledged as "PC-to-PC" calls, even neither device may be a PC (Tech-Faq, 2011). Moreover, the primary idea to switch to VoIP technology for telephone service is cost reduction. VoIP is becoming more and more famous for the reason that of price benefit to customers over customary telephone networks. In fact, VoIP cuts monthly phone bill with a whopping 50%. In addition, it allows less costly worldwide or long distance call rates that are normally one-tenth of what is charged by customary phone businesses. Thus, these attributes make it an extremely high-quality alternative and one could avoid costly hotel phone charges as well as cell phone roaming cost. Though, what one needs is immediately a superior speed of

The Process of Protein Purification Literature review

The Process of Protein Purification - Literature review Example Vaccines, gene therapy and replacement (such as that in insulin-deficiency) all have helped in improving health conditions, and have been based on good elucidation of structures, research on structure-function relationships, and establishment of protein purification specific to the amino acid sequence present. With this in mind, this particular study designed a protocol to purify and characterize the a synthesis of cytochrome oxidase (SCO)-1-like protein 3966 in Streptomyces lividans. As will be seen later, better understanding of SCO proteins is still warranted, as many potential functions of these types of proteins are unclear. Moreover, SCO is a vital enzyme as the cytochrome oxidase c, and in essence the electron chain transport of the mitochondrial respiration mechanism, depends on it. Initial studies of homologues in bacteria have been the usual first step in protein characterization. Many proteins in the eukaryotic cells have been proven to have functional and structural counterparts in bacterial cells. Because of the relative ease of bacterial replication and protein purification, it is thus a method of choice in conducting in depth studies of proteins. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE I. Protein Purification There are factors to consider in doing protein purification. ... There are many kinds of column chromatography, ion-exchange, affinity, and size exclusion are just some of the more usual protein purification procedures that may be done. Affinity chromatography uses antibodies for a specific protein as part of the column through which the protein solution passes. Although it is highly specific, it is more expensive and much harder to prepare. Size exclusion, on the other hand, depends on the differences of molecular weights of the proteins that are present in the solution. In general, proteins with high molecular weight are eluted fastest as they are not able to get into the small spaces of the column, making their path down the column less impeded. On the other hand, low molecular weight proteins still pass through the tiny spaces within the column, thus slowing down their descent. Although much easier to prepare than an affinity column, a size exclusion chromatography column is less specific, as different proteins of similar weigh are eluted out at the same time, despite them having differences in characteristics, such as the isoelectric point (Burgess, 2008).. For ion exchange chromatography, these beads are charged, thus attracting the oppositely-charged proteins present in the solution to be passed through the column. Depending on the objective of the experiment, the eluent or the bound proteins are collected for further processing such as concentrating. To get the proteins bound on the beads, salt solutions of graded concentrations are passed onto the column. As the concentration of the salt increases, the beads will more likely bind to the salt than to the proteins. Thus, weak ionic proteins are bound weakly

Elgin's Marbles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Elgin's Marbles - Essay Example Lord Elgin had risen through the ranks and asked for the post as Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople. He met and married a Scottish heiress, Mary Nisbet of Earlton. Lord Elgin felt that he knew the best place to achieve architectural significance and wanted to bring some of the passion and style back to the British artists and architects, in order to uplift and inspire them. Lady Elgin and her wealth allowed him to achieve his desire. Greek architecture at that time was considered the ultimate experience and being of great significance and Lord Elgin ensured he was part of the society. He employed artists and architects to paint, sketch and make molds of what he considered to be the best artwork in Athens, Greece. He believed that the artistic work held the highest significance and expression of civilization and that this cultural experience would encourage the British artists of the day. Lord Elgin purchased sections of the marble frieze from the Ottoman Empire for a price of  £75,000. He then had the difficult task of getting a ship to transport them to England. This was during the Napoleonic wars and their friend Nelson was reluctant to provide a vessel for the shipment. Mary used her guile and persuasion to eventually gain a passage for the artifacts (Nagel, from front matter). Lord Elgin considered his purchases to be a great achievement for the British Empire. A Government Select Committee agreed to purchase the marbles from Lord Elgin for  £36,000 in 1816, a massive financial loss for Lord Elgin.... He then had the difficult task of getting a ship to transport them to England. This was during the Napoleonic wars and their friend Nelson was reluctant to provide a vessel for the shipment. Mary used her guile and persuasion to eventually gain a passage for the artefacts (Nagel, from front matter). Lord Elgin considered his purchases to be a great achievement for the British Empire. A Government Select Committee agreed to purchase the marbles from Lord Elgin for 36,000 in 1816, a massive financial loss for Lord Elgin (British Museum, newsroom, 1). They were then placed and still remain in the British Museum and given the collectors name of Elgin's Marbles (British Museum, Collection 2). Picture 4.0 A Section of the Elgin Marbles The British Museum initially placed the artefacts in a prefabricated gallery which had been designed by Robert Smirke (British Museum, Collection 2). Then they were transferred to another section aptly named the 'Elgin Room' in 1832 (British Museum, Collection 2) until Lord Duveen donated money to the museum to construct a purpose built gallery for the marbles. (British Museum, Collection 2). Picture 5.0 A Section of the Elgin Marbles Preparations were carried out to clean the sculptures ready for display in their new Duveen rooms. Wire wool was used to clean off the surfaces of all of the marbles in 1939. This cleaning method also included the use of copper chisels and carborundum (British museum collection, 3). It was believed that the original color of the marble was pure white and the intensions were genuinely administered in order to return the pieces back to their original state. This cleaning method removed the entire

Discrimination Managing Equal Opportunity Essay

Discrimination Managing Equal Opportunity - Essay Example Be it slavery of the Jews in Rome, and the native Blacks in Africa or the modern day accepted practice of unnecessary portrayal of men/women in advertisements for a product targeted for the opposite sex. (ex: An all women and no man advertisement for selling a product for men, like undergarments, etc. and the man himself is missing in the advt. keeps one guessing for whom it is!). Although the perception of discrimination varies individually as widely as the individual characteristics themselves, the idea of a prejudiced or unfair treatment itself indicates a lack of understanding of the needs and desires of an individual. It even indicates a selfish and indifferent behavior of some. And just as one can find people of different kinds, forms, ethnicity, habits, gender, age, religion, etc. so are there as many grounds for discrimination for those who afford to discriminate. But, every problem brings with it a solution and hence the issue of discriminating also can be combated by making the necessary regulations for conduct by one and all. And also, care should be taken as not to encroach upon an individual's rights, as humanly as possible. These regulations in general are to be formulated and implemented strictly by the governing authorities, to bring about a change by a little coercion. One such revolutionary regulation that paved the way for women cadets in the Citadel is in the case of Shannon Faulkner who aspired to wear the Citadel ring (Genovese, 2). While Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that 'employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin is prohibited' (Unlawful Employment Practices, par.1), Miss Faulkner's aspirations to join the Citadel were curbed by her exclusion from among the cadets. This was with complete indifference to the rights of Miss Faulkner. Her qualification for enrolling into the Citadel as an able and competent individual was not considered judiciously by the authorities concerned. While 'conservatives believed that the biological differences between men and women justify the exclusion of women from male enclaves' (Genovese, 1), the radical democrats vehemently defended her rights. Mrs.Genovese observes that 'public feeling for Shannon Faulkner had run high and presumably every American believed that young women cannot be denied educational and occupational opportunities on account of their sex' (2). Hence, the Citadel was forced to take an affirmative action to stop employment discrimination. A move in this direction was the Affirmative Action Plan or the Entity Plan undertaken by the Citadel. It put forth a basic outline of the positive steps to employ and advance in employment qualified minorities, women, disabled veterans, veterans of the Vietnam era, and persons with disabilities (Affirmative Action Plan, par. 1). The South Carolina Human Affairs Commission was also sought to co-operate in reviewing the job qualifications for the eligible persons and adopt new procedures as and when formulated. Some of the procedures adopted to ensure an affirmative action are- 1. To make available to all members of the Citadel and to the local community the affirmative action plan clearly by way of copies of the plan, statements by its administrative officer's, brochures, manuals, campus publications, etc. 2.

Epidemiology in Public and Global Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Epidemiology in Public and Global Health - Essay Example This was the country’s worst ever cholera outbreak, considering the fact that the country had never suffered any cholera outbreak for over half a century. The purpose of this paper is therefore, to examine the factors that led to the outbreak of this epidemic in Haiti, the health promotion/health protection strategies that can be used to successfully mitigate the outbreak, as well as the role of a BSN nurse in addressing the outbreak. Summary of article Piarroux e.t al (2011) article, ‘Understanding the Cholera Epidemic in Haiti’ seeks to establish the source of the cholera outbreak, as well as the health protection strategies to mitigate its spread. In mid-October 2010, the Haitian Ministry of Health reported the outbreak of cholera resulting from vibrio cholerae 01, a strain of cholera that is common in Asia. The epidemic came as a surprise because there was no incidence of cholera that had previously been reported in Haiti for more than half a century. Several hypotheses were drawn as to the likely causes of the outbreak, which included the hypothesis that the La Nina phenomenon experienced in the country was thus responsible for the growth of vibrio cholerae, and the other hypothesis of the importation of cholera disease from a country suffering from endemic cholera outbreaks (Piarroux e.t al, 2011). Through the use of advanced software, ScTScan, for field survey and the compilation of statistical data, the researchers were able to trace the source of the cholera outbreak that was now spreading rapidly across the communities living in the lower regions of the Artibonite River. It was thus confirmed that the source of the cholera outbreak was River Artibonite, but not the earth quake as was initially thought. Epidemiological studies carried out by the researchers also seemed to support the hypothesis that the cholera outbreak in Haiti was imported. This is because there was an established correlation of time and place between the eventual arrivals of the Nepalese military, which majority of their members came from a place experiencing a cholera outbreak (Piarroux e.t al, 2011). This hypothesis was further confirmed by the remoteness of the Merille region in central Haiti and the fact that there were no other incomers in the region. The importation of the cholera strain in the Artibonite River basin may be hugely attributed to the asymptomatic carriage of the bacterial in the soldiers’ stool residue (Piarroux e.t al, 2011). This is because one of the most common transmission modes for cholera is through the fecal-oral route. Fecal-oral transmission in the Artibonite region can be directly attributed to the dumping of raw sewage into the Artibonite River from the Nepalese army camp, from where it flowed downstream into the rice fields along the river. This is evidenced by the fact that the majority of the cholera infections were recorded from the rice fields where 67% of the population there drank the untreated water from the river basin and canals (Piarroux e.t al, 2011). Impact on nursing practice Nurses play an important role in the control and mitigation of any disease outbreaks. This is because a nurse, during the discharge of her professional duties, places not only her health at risk but also her security and welfare, so as to help administer the relevant medical treatment to a patient. It is thus the first and paramount

Area of Study †The Outsider Essay Example for Free

Area of Study – The Outsider Essay How have the texts encountered in your studies enriched your understanding of The Outsider? â€Å"You dont get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies. † An outsider is interpreted as someone who separates themselves from the rest of the society, intentionally or unintentionally. Sometimes, it is this outsider’s insecurities or physical appearance that contributes to this factor of their ‘isolation’. The play Othello by William Shakespeare and the 2010 film The Social Network directed by David Fincher are conclusive in portraying and analysing a significant outsider or group of outsiders through literary and cinematic devices, which enrich my understanding of this concept, later used to my benefit, demonstrated through my visual representation. Written by the famous English playwright William Shakespeare circa 1603, Othello explores the idea of ‘The Outsider’ through the two significant notions that enriched my understanding – insecurities and physical appearances, both of which are used to advantage and disadvantage the characters in the play. Othello is immediately introduced as the titular black general and the Moor of Venice, who has overcome racial prejudice to hold a renowned position in society and a marriage to a beautiful young woman, Desdemona, the senator’s daughter. The metaphor in the line, â€Å" an old black ram is tupping at your white ewe † indicates a sense of hostility that the other members of society have against Othello, using physical appearance and racist slurs to downplay the general, the majority of these comments being made by Iago, Othello’s advisor. Iago could be seen as an outsider in the play, but uses this characteristic to his advantage, being desperate for power and authority; he raises Othello’s suspicions about his wife’s fidelity. Iago is also known for foreshadowing events, as seen in the personification used in the line, â€Å"O beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on † indicative of Othello’s future actions in the play. Othello, oblivious to Iago’s exploitations, undermines himself- an insecurity- seen in the pitiful tone, â€Å"Haply for I am black, and have not those soft parts of conversation that chamberers have † evident of his lack of self worth and vulnerability to issues relevant to his colour or race, enhancing my comprehension of The Outsider. The 2010 American film The Social Network- written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, strongly delves into the concept and deepens my understanding of the Outsider from the beginning. The protagonist, Mark Zuckerberg, like Othello, is instantly presented as a character who does not wish to interact with society directly and uses social networking to express his opinions, thereby the invention of Facebook. The lighting throughout the movie is an example of the many cinematic devices that are effective in demonstrating the different societal groups. As an individual, the dim lighting on Mark, in contrast to the bright lighting on the others in his group is indicative of Mark being an outsider, even within his own group. Also, the repetition of the word ‘asshole’ in several situations in the film is suggestive of how similar Mark’s character is to Othello’s – he allows himself to be looked down on. Erica Albright, Mark’s ex- girlfriend says at the start of the film, â€Å"†¦Itll be because youre an asshole,† and this is contrasted when Marilyn Derpy, the psychiatric nurse has her final statement at the end of the film, â€Å"Youre not an asshole, Mark. Youre just trying so hard to be. † Albright’s vindictive tone is representative of how an outsider can be portrayed when he or she is put down by others, further supported by Derpy’s somewhat sympathetic yet wary tone. Mark’s tolerance of being exploited further enhances my knowledge of the concept of the Outsider, especially through the characters that manipulate him the most – the biggest of these being Sean Parker, the founder of Napster and the first president of Facebook. Sean’s character is much similar to Iago’s, as he is as much as an outsider as he is an insider. The repetition of ‘cool’ as Sean defiantly says to Mark, â€Å"A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars,† shows how using such simple socially acceptable terms can influence a person’s decisions, especially characters like Mark, whose insecurities play a massive role in creating the atmosphere of ‘The Outsider’. My visual representation is an amalgamation of the perceptions of the Outsider that I derived from analysis of Othello and The Social Network. Using the same template as the given image, I drew the figure and his surroundings on the inside of the room in black and white, also giving prominence to the central figure, outlining ‘him’ in a darker colour in contrast to the chair he is sitting on. The personage is looking outside, into a colourful world, of which I have used many different colours to show the difference between the inside world and the outside world. As in Othello, colour plays a major role in distinguishing between outsiders and insiders. Using colour, I represented the character to be the salient black and white figure in a black and white environment, but this is merely the ‘inside world’. I have chosen the persona’s gaze to lead the viewer to focus on the colourful outside world, demonstrating the differences between the inside world and the outside world. The individual is recognised as an outsider, not only in his own micro world, but in his larger macro world. Therefore, the conceptualisation of ‘The Outsider’ has been enforced through cinematic and literary devices used in the texts Othello by William Shakespeare, through the notions of colour and physical appearances and The Social Network directed by David Fincher, which reiterates how manipulation and downplay of colour and physical appearances can lead to being in a solitary state as an individual. My visual representation incorporates these ideas into a single ideology, evidence of how these texts have enriched my understanding of ‘The Outsider’.