Reading Pathways Bill Bryson Books on Travel, History, and More

Reading Pathways Bill Bryson Books on Travel, History, and More Bill Bryson is an American-British writer who has authored twenty-some books. I first read his books in undergrad uni, as I was researching an essay for geography on travel literature. Travel lit was something I read a lot of back then, and Bryson quickly became a favourite. He is hilarious and his writing is marked with a wonderfully dry wit that I love. Bryson’s books can be categorised into four broad categories: travel, history, language, and science. If you haven’t read any of his books and are looking for recommendations on which ones to read, this is my suggestion: all of them (a list of his books can be found here). If you are after a perhaps slightly more helpful suggestion, well…okay. Travel I still think of Bill Bryson as primarily a travel writer, despite almost half of his published works being of the non-travel variety (especially the more recent books). This is where it all began, and so this too is where I shall start this reading pathways. The Lost Continent (1989) This is Bryson’s first book, about his travels around small town America as he searches for the America of his childhood. From the first chapter: It was against this disturbed and erratic background that I became gripped with a curious urge to go back to the land of my youth and make what the blurb writers like to call a journey of discovery. On another continent, 4,000 miles away, I became quietly seized with that nostalgia that overcomes you when you have reached the middle of your life and your father has recently died and it dawns on you that when he went he took some of you with him. I wanted to go back to the magic places of my youth â€" to Mackinac Island, the Rocky Mountains, Gettysburg â€" and see if they were as good as I remembered them. I wanted to hear the long, low sound of a Rock Island locomotive calling across a still night and the clack of it receding into the distance. I wanted to see lightning bugs, and hear cicadas shrill, and be inescapably immersed in that hot, crazy-making August weather that makes your underwear scoot up every crack and fissure and cling to you like latex, and drives mild-mannered men to pull out handguns in bars and light up the night with gunfire. I wanted to look for Ne-Hi Pop and Burma Shave signs and go to a ball game and sit at a marble-topped soda-fountain and drive through the kind of small towns that Deanna Durbin and Mickey Rooney used to inhabit in the movies. I wanted to travel around. I wanted to see America. I wanted to come home. Those last two sentences in the above quote really resonate with me and make me love this book. I am a geographer, and one of the things I love to do when travelling is to get away from the big cities and visit small towns. A country’s story is rarely entirely told by just its cities; there is life and history beyond the large population centres and I like to explore those as much as I like seeing the famous sights. I love going to small towns and seeing what lives that are different from mine are like. And this is a book that is essentially all about travels in small towns; it is a different America to the one I know now. I also especially empathise with the desire to go home. As an expat, I’ve come to realise that ‘home’ is a bit of a funny concept, ever-changing and not necessarily tied to a single place. Bryson’s journey in this book to find his childhood, and find home, is one I understand better now than when I first read the book over a decade ago. Notes From a Small Island (1995) Bryson had been living in Britain for over 20 years before moving back to the U.S. with his young family. He went on one final journey around Britain before his move back, and this book was the result (he has since travelled around the UK more; his 2015 travel book, The Road to Little Dribbling, is an account of his travels around Britain to see what has changed in the 20 years since Notes from a Small Island was published). It has been voted the book that best represents Britain. Bryson captures the eccentricities and quirks of the country beautifully, and the book is a wonderful, funny read. From the last chapter: Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realised what it was that I loved about Britain â€" which is to say, all of it. Every last bit of it, good and bad â€" Marmite, village fetes, country lanes, people saying mustnt grumble and Im terribly sorry but, people apologising to me when I conk them with a nameless elbow, milk in bottles, beans on toast, haymaking in June, stinging nettles, seaside piers, Ordnance Survey maps, crumpets, hot-water bottles as a necessity, drizzly Sundays â€" every bit of it. What a wondrous place this was â€" crazy as fuck, of course, but adorable to the tiniest degree. What other country, after all, could possibly have come up with place names like Tooting Bec and Farleigh Wallop, or a game like cricket that goes on for three days and never seems to start? Who else would think it not the least odd to make their judges wear little mops on their heads, compel the Speaker of the House of Commons to sit on something called the Woolsack, or take pride in a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy? (Please Hardy, full on the lips, with just a bit of tongue.) What other nation in the world could possibly have given us William Shakespeare, pork pies, Christopher Wren, Windsor Great Park, the Open University, Gardners Question Time and the chocolate digestive biscuit? None, of course. How easily we lose sight of all this. What an enigma Britain will seem to historians when they look back on the second half of the twentieth century. Here is a country that fought and won a noble war, dismantled a mighty empire in a generally benign and enlightened way, created a far-seeing welfare state â€" in short, did nearly everything right â€" and then spent the rest of the century looking on itself as a chronic failure. The fact is that this is still the best place in the world for most things â€" to post a letter, go for a walk, watch television, buy a book, venture out for a drink, go to a museum, use the bank, get lost, seek help, or stand on a hillside and take in a view. All of this came to me in the space of a lingering moment. Ive said it before and Ill say it again. I like it here. I like it more than I can tell you. Down Under (2000) I’m a little biased, being Australian myself, but this is one of my favourite Bryson travel books. He spends time in the outback, in the cities, in small country towns. The book is full of interesting historical facts and anecdotes, and Bryson’s wry observations of my home country made me even more aware of our various cultural quirks. This is how the book begins: Flying into Australia, I realised with a sigh that I had forgotten again who their Prime Minister is. I am forever doing this with the Australian PM â€" committing the name to memory, forgetting it (generally more or less instantly), then feeling terribly guilty. My thinking is that there ought to be one person outside Australia who knows. But then Australia is such a difficult country to keep track of. On my first visit, some years ago, I passed the time on the long flight from London reading a history of Australian politics in the twentieth century, wherein I encountered the startling fact that in 1967 the Prime Minister, Harold Holt, was strolling along a beach in Victoria when he plunged into the surf and vanished. No trace of the poor man was ever seen again. This seemed doubly astounding to me â€" first that Australia could just lose a Prime Minister (I mean, come on) and second that news of this had never reached me. And so, he spends time travelling around Australia, getting to know the country, and the result is one of the most charmingly funny books I’ve read about the place. History/Language There are a few books that could fall under this category, like his memoir, The Life and Times of Thunderbolt Kid, and his biography of Shakespeare. But there are two in particular I wish to highlight. Made in America (1994) This is a book about the English language and popular culture in America, and in exploring how certain aspects of language and culture in America came to be, he inevitably enlightens readers about the history of the country as well. I feel like I learnt more about America from this book than I did from the official guide for the American citizenship test. At Home (2010) At Home is a brilliant and illuminating book about private life and domesticity. Bryson takes readers on a journey through the history of the rooms in his home, an 1851 Norfolk refectory. He pays close attention to the ordinary things in life, examining how the events of roughly the past 150 years have shaped private life as we know it now. This book is full of interesting facts and anecdotes, and I have a personal bias and fondness towards the period that the book focuses on: the 19th century, when the modern public library was born. Science A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003) This is an absolute triumph of a book. It’s Bryson’s first non-travel book, and is a remarkable work of narrative nonfiction. It is, as the title suggests, a short history of nearly everything. More specifically, it is a history of our universe and how it came to be. It is a bestselling popular science book that explains many scientific concepts to a general audience. Like his other non-travel books, this is full of facts, trivia, interesting characters, and funny anecdotes. For someone who hated science in school, this is a book that makes science interesting. It covers areas such as astronomy, geology, physics, and chemistry, among others. Above all, it is a book about how shockingly amazing it is that we are here at all, as he notes in the introduction: Not only have you been lucky enough to be attached since time immemorial to a favoured evolutionary line, but you have also been been extremely â€" make that miraculously â€" fortunate in your personal ancestry. Consider the fact that for 3.8 billion years, a period of time older than the Earths mountains and rivers and oceans, every one of your forebears on both sides has been attractive enough to find a mate, healthy enough to reproduce, and sufficiently blessed by fate and circumstances to live long enough to do so. Not one of your pertinent ancestors was squashed, devoured, drowned, starved, stranded, stuck fast, untimely wounded, or otherwise deflected from its lifes quest of delivering a tiny charge of genetic material to the right partner at the right moment in order to perpetuate the only possible sequence of hereditary combinations that could result â€" eventually, astoundingly, and all too briefly â€" in you. The Body (15 October 2019) This is Bryson’s first book since The Road to Little Dribbling (2015), and it is another wonderful work of science writing. He leads readers on a journey through the human body and how it works, leaving them with a greater understanding of the body and life itself. He covers areas of anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, disease, and medicine, all with his trademark wit and humour. A truly delightful book and one of my favourite books of 2019. This is a book that should be on holiday gift lists for anyone with a passing interest in how the body works. And there you have it. Out of all of the many and wonderful books Bill Bryson has written, these are the seven I think readers who are new to Bill Bryson should start with. Other books I wanted to include on this list are  A Walk in the Woods and Notes from a Big Country, but really my original point remains: which Bill Bryson books do I think you should read? All of them. Sign up for True Story to receive nonfiction news, new releases, and must-read forthcoming titles. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.

Case Study Anxiety Answer Sheet 1 Essay - 1193 Words

Case Study: Anxiety Answer Sheet Diagnosing Tina Student Name: Diagnosing Generalized Anxiety Disorder: 1a. Refer to the DSM-IV checklist for generalized anxiety disorder. Which of Tinas symptoms meet any of the criteria? (Be sure to match specific symptoms with specific criteria.) Tina’s symptoms match all four of the criteria in the DSM-IV checklist for generalized anxiety disorder. Tina worries constantly something is going to happen to her twins which is in correlation with the first criteria listed. The second criteria of having difficulty controlling the worry is exhibited in Tina’s own admission that she worries sll the time and this causes her to smoke, eat and drink excessively to deal with the worry. She exhibits all the†¦show more content†¦Diagnosing Panic Disorder: 3a. Refer to the DSM-IV checklist for panic disorder with agoraphobia and the checklist for panic disorder without agoraphobia. Which of Tina’s symptoms meet any of the criteria? (Be sure to match any specific symptoms with specific criteria.) Tina’s recurrent sudden panic attacks meet the criteria for panic disorder with agoraphobia. She experiences recurrent unexpected attacks, worries about the implications and stays at home because of them, which is a significant change in behavior related to the attacks. These attacks are not due to drug abuse and not accounted for by another mental disorder. 3b. Does Tina meet the diagnostic criteria for panic disorder with agoraphobia or panic disorder without agoraphobia or neither? Explain why you believe your choice is the most appropriate diagnosis. Tina meets the diagnostic criteria for panic disorder with agoraphobia. I believe this is the appropriate diagnosis because her symptoms meet the criteria in the DSM-IV. Understanding Tina’s Disorders: 1. How would the Socio-Cultural Perspective explain Tinas GAD? The Socio-Cultural Perspective might explain Tina’s GAD comes from the loss of her husband. She has lost that social connection and that has triggered this disorder. 2. Explain Tinas GAD from the Existential Perspective. Tina is not living her life with meaning. The Existentialist would say she is shrinking from responsibilityShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Workplace Safety On Organizations And Society989 Words   |  4 PagesUnderstanding the importance of workplace safety prevention is critical in the study of occupational health and safety. Workplace violence is a term used to describe a situation in which an individual experiences verbal abuse, threatening behaviour, harassment, or physical assault in their place of employment or business-related functions or events (OSH Answers Fact Sheet). This is a common occurrence in many workplaces and has a significant impact on the employees mental state, interfering withRead MoreMillon Clinical Inventory Assessment890 Words   |  4 Pagesclinical professionals. 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The Salem Witch Trials America s History - 1281 Words

In a small town in Massachusetts, a dark event continues to haunt America’s history. America was fairly new around this time. We believed everything we hear, and we had a set of guidelines that all of us followed. Those guidelines was the Bible. Some are more strict about following the Bible and some were more lenient. Unfortunately, for this small town, the people there were very strict. The children tend to get bored in the winter, the town was divided, the crops were bad and the war with Indians increased as they continue to settle. All this leading to an event that most people don’t like to bring up, the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials officially started in February of 1692 and ended in May of 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft, which was considered the Devil’s work. The total executed was 20 (Currie 4).The citizens of Salem suffered more than ever to rebuild the town and out of all the girls who were responsible for making false accusations only one of them apologized (Blumberg). The town of Salem was occupied by Puritans, unlike Pilgrims who wanted to be rid of religious laws, Puritans wanted to stay true to those doctrines (Macbain 4). With strong religious beliefs, the officials of the town were clouded in their judgement, which played a large role when the afflicted girls started to make accusations. The accusations started when the girls accused 3 women of bewitching them, even though the adults were in disbelief,Show MoreRelatedEssay on Did Religion Impact American History?561 Words   |  3 PagesEvidence throughout American history, confirm s religion has significantly contributed to the evolution of our culture. Multiple events have contributed, including politics, people and weather. Politics and people are widely impacted by religion. 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Examine critically the GLA proposal to introduce congestion charging Free Essays

Traffic congestion has been a major problem for many of the cities in the UK and nowhere more than in the central of the largest UK city and capital London. It is known that 50% of drivers’ time going though central London is spent in queues and at peak times and that times of high amounts of traffic average speeds of vehicles are under 10 miles per hour (Transport for London, 2001, Congestion Charging: Introduction). It has been a key issue for the transport authorities for some time and many efforts have been aimed at levelling this problem. We will write a custom essay sample on Examine critically the GLA proposal to introduce congestion charging or any similar topic only for you Order Now The GLA (Greater London Authority), and in particular the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has now decided to confront this problem head on and has issued a congestion charging scheme for central London. The charge is set to come into place on the 17th February 2003. The congestion charging scheme is intended to reduce the amount of motorists taking unnecessary trips through the centre if London, and to make them think of using public transport where possible. There will be a charge of i5 for drivers who still wish to go through central London. The charge will occur on weekdays between the hours of 7am and 6. 30pm, there will be no charge on weekends and public holidays, the fee of i5 will be at a flat daily rate with no limit on the number of times motorists go through the charging zone. The fee can either be paid on the day or in advance, with passes to the zone available on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis (TfL, 2001, Congestion Charging: How the scheme will work? ) Not everyone has to pay the charge; there are a number of discounts and exemptions as part of the scheme. Residents who live within the charging zone will receive a 90% discount; providing they can give appropriate verification that they do in fact own the vehicle, they will then be subject to a i10 administration charge to register with the TfL. Disabled badge holder will receive a 100% discount but they will have to register and pay the i10 fee. Others receiving a 100% discount are certain NHS vehicles and firefighters’ operational vehicles. There are also a number of exemptions from the charge, which do not have to register with TfL either. These are motorbikes, Black cabs and mini-cabs. Also exempt from the charge are Emergency Service vehicles, NHS vehicles exempt from vehicle excise duties, buses and coaches. There are a number of other types of vehicles that are exempt or receive a 100% discount for the charge (TfL, 2001, Congestion Charging: Who will pay? ). They’re will be a fine for the registered keeper of any vehicle which has been caught in the charging zone without having paid the charge will be penalised by the amount of i80, this will go down to i40 for payment within the week, or it will rise to i120 if the fine is not paid on time. However, motorists will be able to pay the charge at the normal rate of i5 before 10pm on the day and at a rate of i10 from 10pm till midnight (TfL, 2001, Congestion Charging: Penalties). The scheme will be enforced by a number of powerful and highly technological camera’s which will be situated a in and around the congestion charging zone. There is an initial set up budget of i200 million, and i100 million worth of traffic management measures. The scheme is set to raise around i130 million a year, which is by law, should all be spent on transport improvements within Greater London. After rounds of public consultation over a ten-week period starting in July 2001, the London Mayor has decided to go ahead with the proposed scheme, and without any glitches should go ahead on the 17th February 2003 (TfL, 2001,Congestion Charging: Fact Sheets: Basic proposals of the central London scheme). The scheme itself has many benefits along with drawbacks to road users, residents, businesses motorists and the environment. All of these will be affected and care and consideration should be taken when considering the significance of the charge on the various groups. The largest and foremost benefit of the scheme would be the reduced amounts of congestion in the key zone, i. e. Central London. Even though there are many motorists who consider their trips through central London vital, there will be a number of motorists who will avoid the zone during the charging hours, because they do not need to make that trip. The estimated level of reduction in vehicles passing inside the zone would be 10-15%, with a 20-30% reduction in the in the levels of congestion. This would then aid in the speeding up of traffic, which is estimated to increase by 10-15% (TfL, 2001, congestion charging- benefits). The levels of traffic now cause negative externalities, where Marginal Social Costs (MSC), public costs, is greater than Marginal Private Costs (MPC), costs to the individual. The motorists only take into account the cost of petrol and time taken for the trip, MPC. This does not take in to account the levels of pollution, noise and other people’s time that their vehicle is effecting, MSC. With the charge leading to the above levels of reduced traffic the size of the externality is reduced as the individual driver is bearing more of the cost. The charge that the Tfl have brought in is in relation to the size of the externality caused by the driver therefore getting closer to the social optimum in road use and traffic congestion. Traffic congestion in London being at its worst ever is also costing industry in and around greater London millions of pounds every year. In a study Alan Griffiths Stuart Wall (2001), estimate that if traffic were reduced then London’s economy would be better off by i1m a day. This would be a major boost for a city that at the moment looks unattractive and is sometimes over looked in favour of other cities because of the traffic congestion and the additional costs to business because of it. The scheme would also improve business efficiency and reduce the time employees and deliverers spend on the roads, and would spend less on fuel consumption (Greens on the GLA, 2001). The TfL expect the scheme to raise around i130 million a year, with a ten year investment plan to plough it all in to transport improvements. This would no doubt improve public transport, namely buses and the underground, in many areas with improved and new routes planned and an increase in the number of buses and trains. There are investments planned in all areas in public transport, including implementing more safety regulations (TfL, 2001, Congestion Charging: Public Transport Improvements). This all has to occur fairly swiftly as the demand for the use of public transport will be stretched. The congestion charging scheme also has many consequences to it. With the reduction in congestion in the charging zone, there will be an obvious increase in traffic around the surrounding areas of the zone. The TfL are expecting there to be a 5% increase in traffic levels on orbital routes. This would raise the externalities, and the difference between MPC and MPC will increase. There is also an issue of this being like just another tax and being regressive in its cause, therefore benefiting the rich and adversely affecting the poor. The rich will be able to pay the tax with no qualms, and will actually benefit from paying it as the people less able to pay the tax will be forced, not to drive in the zone. How to cite Examine critically the GLA proposal to introduce congestion charging, Papers

Project Thesis Benito Mussolini In The Early 20th Century, Before Ben

Project Thesis: Benito Mussolini In the early 20th century, before Benito Mussolini and his fascist regime came to power. Italy was in a terrible state. The government was corrupt, there were back door deals taking place and there was wide spread violence. The government was constantly using brute force to silence those who opposed, many were also thrown in jail for advocating a change in the government. Among these men were Mussolini's father who during Benito early years instilled the ideas of socialism and a socialist government. During Benito's upbringing his father was thrown in jail a number of times for urging the over throw of the current Italian government. Times were tough and people had to struggle to fed themselves and their family. The Mussolini's were poor as were many others in Italy at the time. Working hard Benito Mussolini was able to get a job as a school teacher, after working only a year at it, he borrowed some money from his parents to buy a train ticket to Swit zerland. In Switzerland Mussolini greatly increased his knowledge of socialism. Later returning to Italy, Mussolini began to gain a following. He became to editor of the Socialist newspaper where he constantly preached his ideas. World War I began to roll around and against the wishes of the Socialist party he began to advocate that Italy enter the war. Mussolini then left the Socialist party and went to fight for the cause. After coming out of the war chaos gripped Italy, and it was during this time that Mussolini's views spread throughout the country. He gained an army of followers including military veterans. Mussolini also connected with the lower classes and gained their support. Now with some backing Mussolini formed the National Fascist Party. With this power he was able to take over the government and declared a complete dictatorship. The Italy that was once falling apart was now back up on its feet. Mussolini was a dictator of the people. He built roads, harnessed rivers, i ncreased production and ran the trains on time. The standard of living Italy was increasing and the people were loving him. He was someone the people could relate to he was a success story. From poverty to ruling the country and improving it on the way. After several years in power Mussolini became power hungry once again. He abolished all other political parties and imposed government control on virtually ever aspect of Italian life. He conquered Ethiopia and Albania. His tragic ending was near when he became involved with Hitler and aided him in World War II. After Italy was humiliated, Mussolini was captured by his own people who once loved him and he was killed. During his rule Mussolini changed the chaotic government that preceded him which did nothing to help the people of Italy and he help the lower classes which he sympathized with. To many Mussolini and his Fascist regime were feared, but in Italy they were loved.

Aberdeen Maritime Museum Essay Example

Aberdeen Maritime Museum Essay Example Aberdeen Maritime Museum Essay Aberdeen Maritime Museum Essay The purpose of this report is to provide a critical analysis of the existing communications strategy at Aberdeen Maritime Museum, and recommend future promotional activity. This will be done through an investigation of the museums target market, the current communications strategy used, a possible future communication strategy and ways to evaluate it. Conclusions will then be drawn. The Information needed for this report was gathered from textbooks, journals, the Internet and an interview with John Edwards, Aberdeen Maritime Museums Keeper of Science and Maritime History which took place on Monday 4th November. Museum Background Aberdeen Maritime Museum has been part of the citys heritage for numerous years. Prior to 1984 it was situated in a basement room of Cowdray Hall before it moved to Provost Ross House. 1998 saw the opening of a  £4million extension to the museum in its own purposely built building, (a converted church and empty plot next to Provost Ross House) making the museum five times its previous size. Today the museum is a very popular attraction within the city with 81,460 visitors last year (Evening Express, 14 March 2002). The museum has been ranked 24th out of 360 museums in Scotland. (www.scottishmuseums.org.uk). The museum has also won a five star award from Scottish Tourist Board. This is awarded to establishments who are exceptional. Target Market Segmentation is The division of the market into customer subsets, one or more of which becomes the target market, each with a distinct marketing mix (Turnbull, 2002). Therefore, target marketing is the process whereby specific segments are selected and marketing plans are developed to satisfy the needs of the potential buyers in the chosen segment (Fill, 2002) The museum targets local people as it contains local history. (90% of the objects inside the museum have been donated by local people (Edwards, 2002)) Segmenting people by this method is called geographic segmentation as the target market is in a specific area. School children and 16-24 year olds are the museums main audiences. The main reason for this is due to the large number of educational visits. Segmenting by age is known as demographics. Demographics can be defined as dividing the market into groups based upon demographic variables such as age, gender, occupation, education, religion, race and nationality. (Kother and Armstrong, 2001) Therefore the museums main target market (school children and 16-24 year olds in the Aberdeen area) is segmented by geo-demographics (a combination of geographic and demographic segmentation) Business tourism is also a fast growing market, with an increase in conference and exhibitions. The Maritime Museum offers conference facilities that are growing in popularity. This could be because its classed as an unusual venue. Previous users of the conference facilities have included Grampian Police and major oil and computer companies. This market could be segmented on the basis of demographics the museum is targeting professionals looking for a venue to hold their conference. The museum also has customers who visit the museum to use the shop and the cafe facilities. This group of visitors would be segmented and targeted based on their behaviour traits. Overseas visitors to the city are not specifically targeted. Most visitors knowledgeable about the museum find out information via the Visit Scotland. The Maritime Museums target market of local people could be broken down into more specific segments such as schoolchildren, 16 24 year olds and professionals looking for conference facilities. Other segments such as retired people and families could also be considered. Current Communication Strategy Marketing communication is a management process through which an organisation enters into a dialogue with its various audiences (Fill, 2002). The main communication methods used to achieve communication are advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, exhibitions, packaging/design, personal selling, sponsorship, merchandising/point of sale, corporate identity, public relations and word of mouth. Advertising Advertising can be defined as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services. (Kotler and Armstrong, 2001) With an advertising budget of  £10,000 per year, the museum can not afford any large-scale advertising activity. Currently the museum advertises locally through a leaflet produced by Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums called the Diary. The leaflet highlights exhibitions and whats going on in the Art Gallery, Provost Skene House and the Maritime Museum. (Appendix 1.) The Diary could be described as an arts marketing consortia a regular forum for joint marketing (Freeman 1997) The benefits of this include reduced advertising costs, and reaching people who are unaware of the museum. The museum produces its own leaflet, but it is unavailable outside the museum. This is because it is primarily used for orientation around the museum. The museum also invests in advertising in a leaflet called North-East Scotlands Coastal Trail. (Appendix 2) There are over 200,000 leaflets produced, so it reaches a large number of people at a relatively low cost. (Edwards 2002) The small marketing budget means that the museum can not afford to have regular adverts in the local press. However, they are considering advertising in either the Press and Journal or the Evening Express each week in the same space to that people will become aware of the advert, then visit the museum. The only form of outdoor advertising that the museum partakes in is a banner outside the museum. Another form of advertising is through the Maritime Museums web page (www.aagm.co.uk), this is known as interactive advertising. Significant investment into Visit Scotland (www.visitscotland.com) is also made. In doing this the museum a reach a world-wide audience. Direct Marketing Kotler and Armstrong (2001) define direct marketing as a direct communication with carefully targeted individual consumers to obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationships. The Friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums could be described as direct marketing. As well as providing funds to the AAGM, members receive invitations to functions and exhibition openings, mailings of information, and discount on selected items from the shops. (Appendix 3) Sales Promotion Sales promotion seeks to offer buyers additional value as an inducement to generate an immediate sale. (Fill, 2002) As the Maritime Museum offers a free service, sales promotion is not used. However, in 1998 until 2000, the museum introduced entry charges. Consequently, the number of visitors dropped by 75% (Edwards, 2002), so were therefore abolished. Sales promotion could have been used during this period, for example a family of four could have paid entry fees for two adults and the children got in free. Packaging/Design Packaging and design is concerned with the designing and producing the container or wrapper for a product. (Kotler and Armstrong, 2001) This communication method does not play apart in the museums strategy as they offer a service. Personal Selling Personal selling is a form of marketing communication that involves a face-to-face dialogue between two persons or by one person and a group. (Fill, 2002). Again this method does not play a part in the museums communication strategy. Sponsorship Fill (2002) defines sponsorship as a commercial activity whereby one party permits another an opportunity to exploit an association with a target audience in return for funds, services or resources. The museum does not sponsor anything it does however hold Techfest and activity weekends during the summer holidays for children (their target audience). Benefits of doing this include increased visitor numbers and increased awareness of the museum.. Merchandising/Point of Sale Merchandising is done at the museums shop, which sells goods such as pens, pencils and stickers that all contain the museums name Corporate Identity Corporate identity is simply the awareness, perception and attitudes held by an organisations various stakeholders (Fill, 2002) The museum finds out about its image by survey sheets which they have had for the last four years, and also by notes left in the visitor books which are placed throughout the museum. The museum is also conscious that the average shopper is not aware of the museum, but to find out exact figures, they would need to carry out expensive market research done by experts. Public Relations / Publicity In the March 1997 edition of the Museum Journal, Sarah Freeman stated during this time of cutbacks, aggressive political manoeuvres and market saturation, museums have started looking for allies to help them reach out to the public and convince audiences that are vital and worthwhile. The best way for museums to do this is through public relations. Public relations (PR) is about building up good relations with the companys various publics by obtaining favourable publicity (Kotler and Armstrong, 2001) Whenever a new exhibition is introduced into the Maritime Museum, a press release is sent to the local newspapers, which will then possibly run an editorial on it. This benefits the museum as it costs nothing but will also increase visitor numbers, raise support, influence people, establish a professional reputation and target audiences that are hard to reach (Freeman 1997) PR also has its downfalls. Main stories may only make it to newspapers and TV (local, regional or national) if there has been a disaster, a visit from a famous person, or a wacky or topical story. If there is important news on the same day as the museums editorial, the museum story is likely to be dropped, so it is very vulnerable. (Freeman 1997)

Reduce the Use of Of

Reduce the Use of Of Reduce the Use of â€Å"Of† Reduce the Use of â€Å"Of† By Mark Nichol How long can you go on writing without using of? You’ll quickly find that it’s an invaluable word, but writers often take it for granted, and its repeated use is a sure sign of prolixity. Of is a preposition, a word positioned before its object: In â€Å"a stroke of luck,† for example, of is the preposition of luck. We rely on such constructions often and, in moderation, they’re perfectly acceptable but we can easily overuse them. Fortunately, they’re (usually) easily revised: For example, with a few strokes of the pen (or a few taps on the keyboard), â€Å"a stroke of luck† becomes â€Å"a lucky stroke.† The formula is easy just convert the second noun in a â€Å"(noun) of (noun)† phrase to an adjective and move the first noun after the adjective. But such a strategy isn’t always elegant: â€Å"A pen’s stroke† might appeal to a computer seeking the most concise, efficient phrasing, but it is jarring to a human mind, which prefers â€Å"a stroke of the pen.† One’s goal, however, should be to reduce, not eliminate, use of of: After you’ve written a document, search for of, and if you find that you have used it more than once in a sentence or several times in a paragraph, consider revising one or more phrases in which it appears. For example, a sentence with an in-line list, such as â€Å"Information theory has been crucial in the invention of the compact disc, the technology of mobile phones, and the development of the Internet† can be revised to â€Å"Information theory has been crucial in the invention of the compact disc, the technology behind mobile phones, and the Internet’s development.† Note, however, that of is sometimes mistakenly omitted: â€Å"He took a couple days off† is acceptable in casual writing, but â€Å"He took a couple of days off† is correct, and regardless should always be followed by of, as in â€Å"I’m supporting her regardless of whether she’s right or wrong† (though â€Å"regardless of† is redundant to whether and might better be eliminated from the sentence). This post lists some wordy prepositional phrases that can be easily replaced by single words or shorter phrases, and this one suggests strategies for achieving more concise writing by avoiding prepositional phrases altogether. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, and ToesHow to Punctuate with â€Å"However†The Uses of â€Å"The†