text:
Pop Song Reviews - Gangnam Style by Psy
Wednesday, 17 October 2012 13:45
Image art by Krin
10.17.2012 - 14:00 | Space_man20you tought me more about Korea than school ever will...
10.18.2012 - 08:44 | navvyshanekar
10.18.2012 - 11:07 | navvyshanekar
10.21.2012 - 22:34 | Mattteus
10.18.2012 - 17:14 | DamonashuI think you're being unfair to that person. Franky, the schools I've attended have never taught us anything about South Korea, or even North Korea for that matter. The only time I can remember a social studies class of mine talking about any place other than America was seventh grade, and even then N. Korea and S. Korea were never lessons.
10.19.2012 - 11:44 | poisontongueI know mine didn't. American institutions kinda thrive on ignorance.
Schools can't do too much with limited budgets and pointless test protocols.
10.20.2012 - 08:39 | Sewblon
10.17.2012 - 14:01 | SuperchopsThis is truly one of the only meme songs I can't bring myself to hate.
10.17.2012 - 20:21 | TaxrennFunny, I can. I hate to say it, but I miss the era of Call Me Maybe.
10.19.2012 - 14:13 | AutoAxpert
10.18.2012 - 00:57 | Punky
10.17.2012 - 14:57 | Shadowflame66
10.17.2012 - 23:44 | HankManTod released a neutral review of Gangnam Style?
Well that was a nice career he had.
11.23.2012 - 19:31 | Kryss LaBrynI agree absolutely. I unironically adore the shit out of both the song and the video. No, I don't get the cultural context or understand 99.8% of the lyrics (I'm Canadian, not Korean) but it just makes me grin and makes me happy. Plus Psy actually has a pretty good voice, IMO.
Sooner or later it will drop back off the radar and we won't be coming across it all over the place, and the world will be a slightly emptier place, I think, because it's pretty damned cool to have a song that shops full of strangers will all stop and dance to when it comes on.
Well, it'll be on my playlist, still, at least.
Wopah Gangnam Style!
10.17.2012 - 14:57 | mtue98
10.18.2012 - 02:59 | Hinatachan360
10.17.2012 - 15:01 | TragicGuineaPig
10.17.2012 - 17:35 | SlowkingThat would be Gundam Style.
But good one. :)
10.17.2012 - 18:15 | ShadowWing Tronix
10.18.2012 - 06:32 | PlasticFrogCG
10.18.2012 - 12:11 | Steve the Pocket
10.18.2012 - 21:50 | CronoT
10.23.2012 - 22:27 | MegAnimefreakx3
10.17.2012 - 15:08 | alexvonrassPsy is fully aware of how cheesy this is, in an interview he said "I wanted to make the song delibirately catchy, i also used the concept of "dress classy, dance cheesy" to make the video funny or atleast memorable"
I kinda enjoy it even though it's the shallowest shit ever
10.17.2012 - 17:20 | ZaxPlus, add on the fact that he studied at the Berklee College of Music, and it becomes even more clear that this video was just him goofing around and having fun.
He's also said that the song is about how, in Gangnam (a district in Korea), they have this strange juxtaposition of being classy in the day and throwing crazy parties at night.
Plus, the video is clearly a comedy act. The guy dancing over him in the elevator and the other guy having a dance-off with him near the red convertible? Both are popular comedians in Korea.
10.18.2012 - 10:51 | Vismutti
10.17.2012 - 15:14 | maddogponyI don't really listen to Gangnam Style at all. However, as a huge k-pop fan, Psy is a breath of fresh air because a lot of other artists go for a super sexy or ridiculously cute image. As "catchy" as Gangman Style is, his other songs are much better and the guy does have talent. Thank you Todd for reviewing this - I have been waiting for this one :)
10.17.2012 - 15:16 | The Movie ExplorerOn their first English-language album (Photos of Ghosts) the Italian band PFM included one song in their native tongue ("Il Banchetto"). Rather than including a full translation of the lyrics, they offered a synopsis of the song's premise. In fact, recently on a prog-rock message board, some folks were way over-analyzing the song (it's a prog-rock message board, folks tend to do that).
My point is that you can enjoy music even if you don't speak the language. I personally prefer to listen to PFM in the original Italian as opposed to those travesties Pete Sinfield saddled them with (which they clearly learned phonetically).
That said, the appeal of "Gangnam Style" is obviously "OMGASIANSLOL!!!!1!!111! eleven" It's the new "Tunak Tunak Tun," but at least that had a decent song to go with it.
10.17.2012 - 15:31 | trlkly
10.17.2012 - 22:09 | Chaos15
10.18.2012 - 07:04 | baticus_moronicus
10.19.2012 - 14:53 | ToruKun1
10.23.2012 - 22:40 | MegAnimefreakx3
10.17.2012 - 15:31 | VeranYeah... I was rather surprized when I heard that song on the radio. I thought it was an Internet only thing, and a joke at that.
Compared with normal korean pop... yes, the video is better, by far. Normally it's just 6-10 girls in colourful clothes walking back and forth on a shiney stage.
I prefer Japanese pop. It is far weirder.
No. I still refuse to listen to the radio when it's not a weekend.
10.17.2012 - 15:32 | zepolmas - re; gangnam styleI confess, I did not know this was a parody of anything.
I thought it was something along the lines of... I'll say the B 52's. Meant to be silly and fun, but still a "legit" song.
And considering what our videos look like, I don't consider myself in a position to judge.
Side note: Great job as usual Todd, but I(for the record,) could've lived without this.
10.17.2012 - 15:44 | Sandvik83I find it kind of odd that you liked the concept of"Good girls go bad" so much, but don't get the same reaction out of this. If you read interviews with the man, he is very clearly a monster-level geek who makes stupid pop music for 2 reasons; to get girls and to make fun of all the vapid idiots of popular culture. It is, as you put it in your top 10 list, Geek Wish Fulfillment.
It may be that me growing up with euro-dance and living with a roommate who just last weekend went to a Vengaboys concert, but I get the same feeling from this song as I do from those. It's not revolutionary. It's not particularly clever, but is is just good fun. Does it deserve its place in the charts? No. But neither does any of the other crap you review.
10.17.2012 - 15:44 | CinemaKid
10.17.2012 - 15:44 | Moomoof
10.17.2012 - 15:47 | Canis Minor
10.17.2012 - 16:11 | sophronia_chaosTodd mentioned "Sukiyaki" in his "Like a G6" review. Also, yes Puffy AmiYumi was quite popular in the USA for a while; they had a TV show on Cartoon Network, and both my sister and I had a bunch of their CDs. (I think this partly happened because they were getting recognition for singing the Teen Titans theme song.) However...I don't know if they ever made it into Billboard's top 100, which is Todd's usual litmus test.
10.21.2012 - 11:05 | Technous285
10.17.2012 - 22:02 | Romanticide
10.18.2012 - 22:18 | Bomby von BombsvilleCibo Matto don't count at all. Miho and Yuka had already lived in New York for some time before they met and formed the group, and they remained New York based through the group's run. Not to mention that by their second album, Sean Ono Lennon and Timo Ellis were officially members of the band. When they did try to make it Japan, Japan didn't get it.
I don't remember Pizzicato 5 getting that popular, but I do remember them being spectacular.
10.17.2012 - 15:58 | CaptainCanada
10.17.2012 - 15:59 | bagheeritaI avoid pop music, and pop culture fads, whenever possible, so when the girl I work with turned the radio to her favorite station and this song came on, my first thought was: WTF is "Gundam style," and since when do they play anime music on the radio?? But my second thought was, Todd will explain it to me...
10.17.2012 - 16:16 | moonlitcat131I don't want to start a fight but, this is not anime music because for one this is not Japanese, this is Korean and not all Asian music is in anime. Not to mention there are plenty of Japanese artist who do not have their music in anime.
10.17.2012 - 16:50 | TOP2NE1If you're looking for the best of K-Pop check out Epik High. They even do some of their stuff wholly in English.
Todd likes Lupe Fiasco, so he would probably like these guys.
10.17.2012 - 16:07 | Redninetailfox
10.17.2012 - 16:09 | HakajinAh, I'd been waiting for this!
I kinda hate Gangam Style. It's just... grating and unpleasant. I think most Americans do get that it's a joke, though. Honestly, I think the reason that Gangam style got popular was the same reason that "Call Me Maybe" got popular- people were familiar with the meme/viral video first, and then they felt like they were in a on a joke, in-the-know, something like that. "Gangam Style" has the added bonus of making people feel multi-cultural or something... although of course the fact that it's Korean does put it at a disadvantage, too.
Interesting commentary on the song, though. Although I thought you were a little hard on K-pop. What (very little) I've heard of it does seem to be pretty vapid, but also catchy as hell, very infectious and enjoyable to listen to (I'm thinking specifically of "Say Huh" by 4 Minute and "Keep Your Head Down" by TVXQ). I think that counts for something. I really can't believe that out of all the K-Pop out there, "Gangam Style" is what got popular in the US. Anyway, no one produces idols like the South Koreans Koreans. They're great at creating sleek, shiny, flawless images for the rest of us to adore. That being said, though, becoming an idol does require some talent. And there have to be some artists who have songs with substance. I know Japan does, and they're just behind Korea when it comes to producing idols.
Also... did I just see Todd Caramelldansing?
Oh, as for the next video, I'm hoping for Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." If it's not too late for that one. Not a fan.
10.17.2012 - 16:13 | AnvilProI wanted to hear you talk about Maroon 5
10.17.2012 - 16:21 | Larry - Opera
10.17.2012 - 16:24 | TequilaFlavor - Boring ?I just heard about this meme recently and didn't pay any attention to it intially.
But as more and more people kept using it, I had to find out what the fuzz was all about.
And . . . I was severly disappointed.
I found it boring, both the song and the video.
Not especially good or bad or whacky, just plain boring.
With a lot of other memes, I atleast get why they're supposed to be funny, but this one leaves me scratching my head ?
Is it because the singer makes a fool of himself, is it because it's in Korean ?
Is it the silly dance or is it the "heyyy, sexy ladies !" line ?
It just feels so done and old and uninteresting to me.
Now, I have to thank this song for one parody, though:
Mitt Romney Style, now that's something and genuinely funny !
10.17.2012 - 16:26 | moonlitcat131The reason I LOVE Gangnam Style is not because of the music video at all. I heard the song before I saw the music video.I love the song because it is just a happy beat that makes me want to dance to it. And then I found the music video funny but I never really watch it anymore, I just listen to the song.
Also I saw that you put 2NE1s "I AM THE BEST" as a reference to K Pop being brainless and vapid. That is one of my most favorite K Pop songs I have ever heard, and it's from my favorite K Pop group. Obviously we all have differences which is fine, whatever. But saying that K Pop is one of the most brainless genres of music kind of offended me. I'm not saying it's any better then American Pop music but I definitely do not see it being any worse.
As you said, Gangnam Style is pretty much Party Rock Anthem...
I would really like if you looked more into other K Pop groups like, listen to more 2NE1 listen to G-Dragon or I don't know... just become more exposed to it.
Honestly you have lots of knowledge on other stuff you review on here, I don't know if you were playing or if you were serious in the fact that you just didn't know much about K Pop. Give it a chance, if anything it's fun.
10.17.2012 - 19:20 | Bomby von BombsvilleGotta agree with moonlitcat here. I'm not a big fan of K-pop myself (though having lived with Korean roommates for a few years I did like a handful of the songs I was exposed to), but your assessment of the genre - despite admitting you know little about it yourself - came off as very close-minded.
Todd, you're my favorite reviewer on this site, but this was not your best moment.
02.26.2013 - 01:10 | BrockLobster - Agreed.I live in Korea, know the culture, and I hate this song, but Todd's review of it kind of felt like a lashing as opposed to a remotely objective view of the song itself. He kind of threw the song into the what-bad-things-can-I- say-about-it-and-be-done- with-it mechanism, and this is what he got. I can't help but think this review was actually kind of tasteless in presentation. He didn't make the review entertaining. It felt like a rant throughout.
10.17.2012 - 22:31 | RainingMadness - Agree with MoonlitcatI was never really big on foreign music. I would every once in a while run across a catchy jpop love ballad on youtube, but that was the most exposure I got to foreign pop music. My brother and his friend were the first ones to play kpop for me and oh man they were catchy as hell.
I understand that not everyone would automatically enjoy it like moonlitcat said, which is fine. I won't argue that, but if you are basing kpop from only a couple of songs I would strongly suggest these songs just from personal experience as a starting point.
big bang - gara gara go
g-dragon - heartbreaker
big bang/2NE1 - Lolipop
Those three songs alone really got me into the kpop genre. Just my 2 cents.
10.17.2012 - 23:41 | InfamousLP - Yea...Sorry, but those examples that you gave really imo, just re-enforced the gripes that Todd had with the genre. And personally, I agree with Todd (and ive had this opinion LONG before this video).
K-pop (and lot of asian pop music im beginning to notice) just feels soooooo plastic and manufactured. To the point where it DOESN'T feel genuine.
I feel that this is the kind of music that you would hear if Record Labels had 100% control over their artists and dictated EVERYTHING about their being. = /
It feels like the music that you would hear from "artists" from Disney Channel, expect done 100x to the extreme and MUCH LESS self-contained.
Really, American pop makes me facepalm enough, but K-pop just takes it to another level to where I just feel physical pain listening and watching it.....x-x....
.....but oh well, all this is just MY opinion. If you guys like....whatever. >__>
*Sidenote*: Now J or K rock on the other hand, that I can actually get into. Those have their stinkers too, but more tolerable and usually more genuine feeling, IMO.
12.20.2012 - 09:16 | sharonlovesgoodmusic2ne1 is a hundred times better than One Direction and other Western shit.
10.17.2012 - 16:25 | Rue_Ryuzaki2 - ..Oh man Todd now I know you have a difficult time doing your job especially when you have to make sense of something that you off the bat is already having a hard time understanding to the rest of us. For that well I would toss you a beer but I can't oh well. good job as always.
Also you got people filling in Linkara's inbox, and your calling to get bad songs stuck in his head. hmm maybe you are the intruder causing mayhem at his place. haha but no it can't be you.
10.17.2012 - 17:08 | armagod679Considering no one's supposed to be able to communicate with Linkara right now, the theory that Todd's behind it all makes more and more sense.
10.17.2012 - 16:30 | TheTannedOtaku
10.17.2012 - 16:31 | PlayMp1I don't like pop music 99% of the time (the only pop song in recent memory I've liked is Fuck You, and it's a 60s soul song that got popular in 2011). I don't particularly like Gangnam Style's music, but it's incredibly catchy.
The reason that LMFAO sucked so hard is because they only had one joke (butts!), and they had terrible lyrics to go with their terrible music. Gangnam Style, like Todd said, is Party Rock Anthem with lyrics that are non-sense to most Americans. Therefore, all that's left is a hilarious video, a funny dance, and some buzzwords (like Todd said, again).
However, I will say it's awesomely fun to do the dance with a bunch of friends, especially at a marching band competition. It's like when Psy chases that girl while dancing, except there's about 20 people all doing it in a row.
10.17.2012 - 16:37 | AiranuvaI view Gangnam style the same way I view Dschinghis Khan, or tunak tunak tun; it's foreign, I don't understand it, but it is fun. Hell, not understanding it actually makes it better to me, since the singing becomes another instrument in the song, rather than just words slapped on a melody.
10.17.2012 - 16:38 | Ative
10.17.2012 - 16:46 | AnkaiI don't like the song much, but I don't really mind it. The same with the video. I have nothing really against Psy for making this goofy song; he had little to do with this viral thing and is simply using it to his advantage. It's not his fault that people think that it is funny to do the horsey dance at me just because of my Asian background, and it is not as if him telling people to stop is going to do anything.
The phenomenon around it really annoys me, especially when fans of the video try to involve me in it. Yeah, fans of the VIDEO. They don't care about Psy, let alone music from Korea or other parts of Asia. They tell me to chill out when I tell them to stop bothering me about the video, but then they get belligerent when I even try to suggest other music by Asian acts. That is not even laziness, that is aggressive ignorance.


text:
Despite humanity
surviving and thriving for thousands of years using commodity currencies
the fiat currency proponents have effectively marshaled the press
and academia to equate those in favor of a commodity currency with
those counting down to Armageddon. When looking back through the
corridors of history one lesson is clear from humanity's experience:
at all times and in all circumstances gold and silver remained money.
After fiat currency debacles that resulted in self-inflicted financial
and economic wounds it was the individuals with the foresight to
store tangible assets that were able to provide the capital for
humanity to do what they have always done: rebuild.
those in favor of a commodity currency who store tangible assets
are the optimists. Commodity currency advocates are neither 'doom
and gloomers' nor vampiric fatalistic fiat currency disciples
who will be vaporized by a rising golden sun. Those in favor of
a commodity currency who store tangible assets realize that the
earth rotates, the sun rises and the ages turn. As the night shifts
to day life will go on with breakfast being cooked and eaten. The
issue is who will do the cooking and who will do the eating.
Shortly before
Memorial Day I received an interesting, if not unanswerable, question
from a reader: "Would you recommend a place to live in the
Montana to Colorado area that will have minimal economical damage?"
The principle
of human action holds that every individual derives utility according
to their own preferences resulting in a subjective perception for
determining value and price. I hate cold weather. Being trained
in the law I am often accused of being cold-blooded but the reality
is that I am just a desert rat.
While preparation
expert Joel Skousen, author of Strategic
Relocation, may consider Montana or Nebraska attractive
locals I have about the same desire to live in Montana or Nebraska
as I have for eating sauteed rats in South Korea. Nevertheless,
I know people who love living in Montana and others who find sauteed
rat a delicacy. Everyone has their own individual preferences based
on their human action.
A motto I have
tried to implement is: Be prepared. Often the first step is to assess
the environment and circumstances. There is an infinity of scenarios
that can play out. The key is being able to assess what is possible
and its probability of occurring.
Sure, a metorite
could come hurling out of left field and destroy your car, or the
earth for that matter, but the probability is extremely low. Even
if I did purchase meteorite insurance I would still bear the counter-party
risk. Therefore, I have chosen to forgo meteorite insurance. Nevertheless,
I would not be surprised if a few of my extremely conservative readers
did purchase meteorite insurance and maybe even additional reinsurance.
Everyone has their subjective preferences.
Mental Calculations
of Value
The use of
fiat currency has greatly retarded the ability of the general populace
to perform mental calculations of value. These fiat currency illusions
are like using the term 'foot' or 'feet' to
perform mental calculations of distance when constructing a building
but having either no definition of inches or conflicting definitions
of inches.
Let us assume
plans were drawn up for a building with a 7 foot door within a 10
foot wall. However, the definition of feet when used for the door
was 24 inches per foot and when used for the wall it was 6 inches
per foot. Can you imagine the resulting chaotic structure?
But that is
precisely the problem most individuals and financial professionals
have found themselves in. As a result most people can neither accurately
appraise the economic environment nor make accurate assessments
of the possible events and their probability of occurrence.
Yahoo Finance!
reported that a new trend is coming out of chaotic California: 'Crisis
spurs spike in 'suburban survivalists'. "Six months
ago, Jim Wiseman didn't even have a spare nutrition bar in
his kitchen cabinet. Now, the 54-year-old businessman and father
of five has a backup generator, a water filter, a grain mill and
a 4-foot-tall pile of emergency food tucked in his home in the expensive
San Diego suburb of La Jolla."
5, 2010

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Start learning with our library of video tutorials taught by experts. Get started
Learn how to create a classroom research project with the iPad and encourage collaboration among your students.
Bring 21st century instruction techniques into the classroom with the iPad.
Demonstrates the essentials of creating a web site with a polished, professional appearance and a compelling user experience.
Highlights the importance of a CSS style guide, which serves as an interface for the design team and a communication tool for the client.
"Through your company I am experiencing the real joy of education. It is incredibly motivating to see the passion of the teachers in each course." —Saif R.
more from our members »


text:
Back to Journal Cover Page
Torsten Reimer
University of Basel and North Dakota State University
Rui Mata
Max-Planck-Institute for Human Development, Berlin
Markus Stoecklin
University of Basel
Dual-process models of persuasion contrast the expertise heuristic "experts' statements can be trusted" with systematic processing of message content. Studies in which source expertise and argument quality were simultaneously manipulated revealed that the expertise manipulation affects attitudes when receivers are not highly motivated to scrutinize the provided message. In contrast, when receivers are highly motivated and are able to scrutinize a message their attitude is usually affected by argument quality but is independent of the expertise cue. We argue that this does not rule out that receivers still make use of the expertise heuristic. Rather, they may consider argument quality to infer the expertise of the source. We show that a classic study (Petty, Cacioppo, & Goldman, 1981) may be interpreted by this alternative explanation and present a study, in which the effect of argument quality on receivers' attitudes was partially mediated by perceived source expertise. This mediation tended to be stronger among receivers reporting low self-expertise than among receivers reporting high self-expertise.
Statements given by experts are often more convincing than statements given by non-experts. Research on risk communication and persuasion shows that laypeople often rely on source expertise when forming attitude and risk judgments (see Bohner, Ruder, & Erb, 2002, for an overview; Petty, Cacioppo, & Goldman, 1981; Chaiken, 1987; Siegrist, 2000). According to elaboration likelihood (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986) and heuristic systematic models (Chaiken, 1987), this is particularly the case in situations in which people are either not motivated or not able to scrutinize a persuasive message (Bohner, Moskowitz, & Chaiken, 1995). In line with this claim, there is ample empirical evidence that receivers who have restricted capacity to process information apply the expertise heuristic when they are provided with an expertise cue that is easy to process (see Kruglanski & Thompson, 1999). For example, high time pressure and the presence of distracters (e.g., Petty, Wells, & Brock, 1976), low relevance of a topic (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986; Petty et al., 1981), and low need-for-cognition (Cacioppo, Petty, & Morris, 1983) enhance the likelihood that communicator cues like source expertise affect attitudes. In this situation, attitude effects are stronger if a message is assigned to a communicator who has positive characteristics (e.g., high-expertise) than if the communicator has negative characteristics (e.g., low-expertise). In contrast, in a situation in which receivers are highly motivated and able to scrutinize a message (e.g., high topic relevance, no time constraints), the attitude is typically a function of argument quality with strong arguments exerting stronger attitude effects than weak arguments. In this condition of systematic information processing, the cue on source expertise usually does not exert direct attitude effects (e.g., Petty et al., 1981).
However, that does not necessarily mean that communicator cues like source expertise do not have any effects on attitudes when a message is scrutinized. Rather the cue on source expertise can have an indirect effect on attitudes when information is processed systematically. There is evidence that source expertise can influence the interpretation of ambiguous arguments (Chaiken & Maheswaran, 1994) or foster the formation of expectancies on message quality that serve as a standard to which the subsequent arguments are compared (Bohner et al., 2002). For instance, if a message is comprised of arguments that are ambiguous with respect to quality assimilation effects are likely to occur. In such a situation, a message is usually evaluated more (less) favourably if it belongs to a source of high (low) expertise (see Chaiken & Maheswaran, 1994).
Overall, these studies show that information about a communicator in form of a short description of source expertise may directly affect attitudes or may exert indirect attitude effects by affecting the interpretation or the evaluation of the message. Whereas there are some studies demonstrating effects of communicator cues on the interpretation and evaluation of arguments (cue-content relation), effects of argument quality on the evaluation of a communicator and subsequent effects on attitudes have not yet been studied systematically (content-cue relation). We focus on the latter relation and thus aim to make a contribution to the discussion on the interplay between communicator cues and characteristics of the message (e.g., Chen & Chaiken, 1999; Kruglanski & Thompson, 1999; O'Keefe, 2003, 1999; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986; also see Erb et al., 2003).
More specifically, in analogy to the direct and indirect effects of communicator cues, we assume that argument quality can affect attitudes in two different ways when a message is scrutinized: (1) argument quality may exert a direct effect on attitudes, in which case receivers base their attitudes directly on the arguments provided in the message; (2) argument quality may exert an indirect effect on attitudes, in which case receivers use argument quality to determine source expertise and then use the expertise heuristic. According to this view, there might be contexts in which receivers apply the expertise heuristic but systematically process information pertaining to source expertise. We show that studies which have assumed that receivers do not use the expertise heuristic when processing information systematically are also compatible with this assumption of a multi-stage process in which receivers first infer source expertise from argument quality and then use the expertise heuristic. In line with this claim, we present a study which demonstrates that argument quality can have both direct and indirect effects on receivers' attitudes.
Some evidence that receivers use argument quality to derive information on source expertise comes from studies that systematically varied both expertise cue and argument quality dimensions. In the manipulation check sections of these studies it is usually mentioned in passing that the variation of argument quality affected perceived source expertise (cf. Chaiken & Maheswaran, 1994; Petty et al., 1981; Ziegler, Diehl, & Ruther, 2002). For example, in one classic study, Petty et al. (1981) had their students hear a tape that advocated that high school seniors be required to take a comprehensive exam in their major area as a prerequisite for graduation. Participants either learned that the tape was based on a report of a class at a local high school (low expertise) or on a report prepared by a commission chaired by a professor of education at Princeton University (high expertise). Additionally, argument quality and topic relevance were varied as further experimental factors: The message comprised either strong or weak arguments and the institutionalization of the exams was either said to be considered in one year (high relevance) or in ten years (low relevance).
In order to check if their manipulations were successful, Petty et al. (1981) measured perceived argument quality and perceived source expertise. They expected that the variation of argument quality would not only affect perceived argument quality but also affect perceived expertise of the communicator. Therefore, they asked their participants to judge expertise independently from the message (Petty et al., 1981, p. 851): "Regardless of how you felt about what the author had to say, how qualified did you think he was to speak on the topic?" Surprisingly, even on this measure on message-independent expertise a strong effect of argument quality was found. Notably, this effect was much stronger than the effect of the description (Fs: 39.20 vs. 4.86).
As predicted, argument quality and expertise interacted with topic relevance. The argument quality manipulation exerted stronger attitude effects in the high relevance than in the low relevance condition, whereas the cue on expertise only affected the attitude towards the proposed exams in the low relevance condition. The authors conclude that when a persuasive message concerns an issue of high personal relevance the effectiveness of the appeal is more a function of the cogency of the arguments presented than of the perceived expertise of the message source. Conversely, when the message concerns an issue of relatively low personal relevance, effectiveness is more a function of source expertise than of the arguments presented.
However, because of the dependency of the experimental factors, the results do not rule out that the receivers in the high relevance condition still used the expertise heuristic. According to this alternative explanation, the difference between the conditions of low and high relevance lies in how participants arrived at their judgements on source expertise. One possibility is that receivers in the low relevance condition used the information provided by the description (direct effect of the expertise cue) whereas receivers in the high relevance condition inferred expertise from the quality of the message (indirect effect of argument quality). Thus, participants may have applied the expertise heuristic even in the high-relevance, systematic processing condition.
Reimer (2003) provided some experimental evidence supporting this interpretation. He replicated the effect of argument quality on perceived expertise but revealed that the effect of argument quality on the attitude was partially mediated by perceived source expertise. Thus, these findings provide support for the idea that there are direct and indirect paths through which argument quality can affect attitudes. In the present study, we built on these ideas and further investigated the conditions that determine which path is taken by considering one potentially relevant variable that may affect if argument quality has a direct or an indirect effect on receivers' attitudes: perceived self-expertise. The assumption adopted is that an indirect effect is particularly likely to be found in judges who are low in perceived self-expertise. The rationale for this is that non-experts may have the feeling that they do not have enough background knowledge to directly judge the issue at hand even if they are motivated and able to scrutinize the provided message (e.g., see Siegrist, 2000; Siegrist & Cvetkovich, 2000). Thus, we assumed that whereas participants with a low perceived self-expertise apply the expertise heuristic, participants with a high perceived self-expertise would base their attitudes directly on the arguments provided and would not rely heavily on source expertise.
In detail, we expected argument quality to have an effect on perceived source expertise: participants should judge communicators that use strong arguments to be higher in expertise than those who use weak arguments (hypothesis 1). Second, we expected argument quality but not the cue on expertise to affect attitudes (hypothesis 2). However, argument quality was expected to have an indirect effect on the attitude, that is, an effect that is mediated by perceived communicator expertise (hypothesis 3). Finally, we tested the hypothesis that this effect is moderated by perceived self-expertise (moderated mediation) (hypothesis 4).
Participants were provided with a fictitious magazine article on the new set-up of the credit-point system in psychology at the University of Basel. Thereby, the expertise of the author (high vs. low) and argument quality (high vs. low) were varied between participants.
The sample comprised 97 undergraduate psychology students (78 females and 19 males) who were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions. Participants received course credit points for their participation. Mean age of the sample was 23.5 years.
The Department of Psychology at the University of Basel, Switzerland, started with a new curriculum in autumn 2002, which regulates the credit point system in the B.A. studies in psychology. Given our hypotheses concerning systematic processing of message content we chose a topic that could be assumed to be relevant to all participants of our study: the new set-up of the credit point system in their major. Additionally, participants were told it was currently being discussed whether the renewal should be implemented the following year. According to present regulations, undergraduates need 12 credit points for the module "Biological psychology and neuropsychology." Participants received a fictitious article from a university magazine (Uni Nova), in which the author demanded a reduction in the number of obligatory credit points in this module to 6 points and an increase in the number of credit points for optional subjects from 30 to 36 points.
The fictitious article resembled real articles in this magazine. In the condition of high [low] expertise, the author was introduced as a 25 [22] years old psychology [chemistry] student from the University of Hamburg who is currently finishing his M.A. [intermediate exam].
After an introduction to the topic, the author explicitly stated that, from his point of view, the proposed renewal of the credit point system had only advantages. Overall, arguments on six different topics were provided in each of the two conditions of strong and weak argument quality. Each topic was presented as a separate short paragraph. The arguments were selected from a list of potential arguments produced by five students who were interested in the topic and had participated in the discussion of the renewal of the credit point system. Their task consisted of listing potential arguments in favor of the renewal. After discussing each item, we selected twelve arguments on which there was agreement as to whether they were weak or strong. For example, one issue that had been discussed was the long distance between the psychology and the anatomy departments. The renewal was said to diminish this problem because it would allow students to freely choose lectures. This argument was classified as a weak argument.
Strong arguments focused on the following topics: (1) the renewal still allowed students to take classes in biological psychology; (2) taking classes in a subject other than one's major increases the chances in the labor market; (3) the opportunity to choose classes freely would increase students' motivation; (4) minors usually require more than 30 credit points and thus the renewal would enhance the chances one would actually achieve a degree in a minor; (5) the renewal increases students' freedom and supports the development of a professional identity; (6) the renewal would enforce taking responsibility for one's choices which is a major goal of education at a university. The arguments in the condition of weak arguments referred to the following topics: (1) students from another university recommend the renewal; (2) the renewal enhances the chance to meet more people from other sciences; (3) the renewal would allow to extend one's general knowledge; (4) the renewal would allow to improve the organization of the current schedule; (5) the renewal would allow avoiding to cover time consuming distances necessary to get from the psychology to the anatomy buildings; (6) according to a student, last terms anatomy lecture was boring. Both one-page articles finished with the statement that all listed aspects support the proposed renewal of the credit point system.
Measures and Procedure
Relevance of the topic: All items were measured on a nine-point Likert scale (-4, totally disagree to +4, totally agree). Composite indices are based on mean scores throughout. We first asked respondents to indicate the perceived relevance of the topic by the following two items (r = .63): a) "The topic 'change in credit points' is relevant for me personally;" and b) "I feel involved with the topic 'change in credit points' that is discussed in the article."
Argument quality: Perceived argument quality was measured by asking whether or not arguments are a) persuasive and b) good (r = .94).
Source expertise: Two items were administered to measure perceived expertise of the communicator (r = .71): a) "The author knows the regulations in psychology quite well" and b) "The author has a high expertise with regard to the regulations."
Attitude: In order to measure the attitude towards the proposed renewal of the credit point system, the following three items were administered: a) "The proposed change between the modules 'Biological psychology and neuropsychology' in favor of optional subjects is useful;" b) "The proposed change should be introduced in October 2003" and c) "I would prefer to study according to the curriculum from the 26th of June 2001." After converting the third item, the three items were aggregated to form an overall attitude measure (Cronbach's alpha = .86).
Perceived self-expertise: Participants' perceived self-expertise was determined on the basis of the following items: a) "I know the actual curriculum quite well;" b) "I had already intensively thought about the topic (credit point system) before;" c) "I studied the regulations thoroughly;" d) "I know exactly how many credit points I need in the single modules;" e) "Up to this point, I have not considered the curriculum." After converting item e), items were collapsed into a measure of perceived self-expertise (Cronbach's alpha = .78). On the basis of this measure, a median split was computed. As expected, participants assigned to the two remaining experimental factors at random did not differ with respect to their perceived self-expertise (all Fs < 1.6). Subsequently, two groups were formed (high vs. low perceived self-expertise) on the basis of the median split (M = 1.64; SD = 0.88; vs. M = -1.18; SD = 1.09; t(95) = 14.09; p < .01).
Actual expertise: The actual expertise was measured by a test consisting of six items (e.g., "the B.A. in psychology requires 160 credit points;" "somebody who has passed the course 'introduction to social psychology' receives eight credit points"). Participants had to state one of three options for each sentence: "True," "False," "I do not know." We computed a score for each participant by summing up their correct answers and subtracting the number of wrong answers.
Recall of arguments: After completing the questionnaire, participants were asked to list as many arguments as they could recall from the newspaper article. We first counted how many of the six arguments that were actually used in the text were listed (number of correctly recalled arguments). From this number we subtracted the number of items that were listed though they had not appeared in the magazine article (number of wrongly recalled items).
As expected, overall, the students rated the topic as personally relevant (M = 1.02; SD = 2.13; this mean differs from 0; t(96) = 4.70; p < .01). Therefore, it is likely that students read the fictitious article carefully. This is also indicated by the finding that participants, on average, correctly recalled 3.67 (SD = 1.61) of the six arguments mentioned in the article.
The means and the standard deviations of the main variables are listed in Table 1.
Table 1: Mean Values of Measured Variables, Separately for the Factors of Source Expertise (High / Low) and Argument Quality (Strong / Weak)
High source expertise
Low source expertise
Strong arguments
Weak arguments
Strong arguments
Weak arguments
Perceived argument quality
Perceived source expertise
Perceived self-expertise
Actual expertise
Recall of arguments
We present the results in the following order: First, we report the manipulation checks on argument quality and expertise. Second, we present the test of the hypothesis that argument quality has an effect on perceived expertise (hypothesis 1). Third, we report a direct effect of argument quality on the attitude towards the renewal of the credit point system (hypothesis 2). Fourth, we present an indirect effect of argument quality on the attitude, that is, an effect mediated by perceived expertise of the communicator (hypothesis 3). Additionally, we provide some evidence for the claim that the indirect effect of argument quality is qualified by perceived self-expertise (hypothesis 4). Finally, we dismiss the idea that our results can be explained by differences in actual expertise or recall of arguments.
Argument Quality
As expected, the strong arguments (M = 1.83; SD = 1.66) were judged to be better than weak arguments (M = -2.50; SD = 1.84; F(1,93) = 145.33; p < .01). The direct expertise manipulation did not affect perceived argument quality (main effect of expertise: F(1,93) = 0.01; ns; interaction: F(1,93) = 0.09; ns).
Source Expertise
Perceived source expertise was determined by the direct manipulation (F(1,93) = 4.53; p < .05) and, as predicted by hypothesis 1, by argument quality (F(1,93) = 24.76; p < .01; interaction: F(1,93) = 0.30; ns). These results suggest that both information sources were taken into consideration when judging source expertise.
Overall, participants had a positive attitude towards the renewal (M = 1.06; SD = 2.01; the mean differs from 0, t(96) = 5.18; p < .01). The attitude was much more positive if strong arguments were used (M = 1.86; SD = 1.79) than if weak arguments were used (M = 0.24; SD = 1.91; t(95) = 4.34; p < .01; see hypothesis 2). The attitude towards the proposed renewal was affected by argument quality (F(1,93) = 18.46; p < .01) but was independent from the cue on communicator expertise (F(1,93) = 0.84; ns; interaction: F(1,93) = 0.06; ns).
Self Expertise
Perceived self-expertise did not have any impact on perceived argument quality or on perceived source expertise. Additionally, this factor did not qualify any of the effects on these two variables (all Fs < 1). Somewhat unexpectedly, participants who said that they had thoroughly thought about the credit point system before (reported high self-expertise) had a less positive attitude towards the proposed change (M = .74; SD = 2.41) than participants who had been less concerned with the issue (reported low self-expertise) (M = 1.40; SD = 1.44; F(1,89) = 4.53; p < .05).
Mediational Analyses: Direct and Indirect Effects of Argument Quality
In line with the analyses of variance, perceived argument quality had a direct effect on perceived source expertise (beta = .59; p < .01) as well as on the attitude towards the renewal of the credit point system (beta = .60; p < .01; see Table 2). In addition, the attitude was regressed onto perceived source expertise (beta = .42; p < .01). A mediation effect requires the effect of argument quality on the attitude to be substantially reduced when perceived source expertise is included as a predictor (see Baron & Kenny, 1986). In line with this requirement, the beta-coefficient of perceived argument quality is reduced to .54 (p < .01) when perceived source expertise is included in the equation. Furthermore, and in line with hypothesis 3, the indirect effect of argument quality on the attitude is significant (z = 1.76; p < .05; see Baron & Kenny, 1986, p. 1177, for the respective test).
Table 2: Means of the Attitude, Perceived Argument Quality, and Perceived Source Expertise, and Intercorrelations Between these Variables
Argument quality
Source expertise
Argument quality
Source expertise
Note: **Correlation is significant at the .01 level.
With regard to hypothesis 4, there is some evidence that the role of perceived source expertise differed in the conditions of reported high and low self-expertise even though the respective interaction term was not significant. In line with this hypothesis, the observed indirect effect was mainly due to those judges who were low in perceived self-expertise. As is shown in Table 3, participants with perceived low (compared to high) self-expertise seem to be more strongly basing their attitudes on perceived source expertise (beta = .51 vs. beta = .44). In addition, the beta-weight is more strongly reduced in the condition of low (difference of .16) than high self-expertise (difference of .06) if source expertise is included in a regression analysis. Accordingly, the difference between the two beta-weights of .60 and .42 was significant (p < .05; see Cohen & Cohen, 1983, p. 111, for the respective formula). However, if perceived self-expertise is included as a continuous variable, the critical interaction term of perceived self-expertise by perceived source expertise is not significant. According to Baron and Kenny (1986, p. 1179), a moderated mediation requires a significant moderator by mediator term in a regression analysis in which the moderator (perceived self-expertise), the predictor (perceived argument quality), the mediator (perceived source expertise), and a moderator by predictor term is included. In the respective regression equation, the moderator by mediator term was not significant.
Table 3: Beta-Weights of Perceived Argument Quality (ARG) and Perceived Source Expertise (EXP) in Regression Analyses, Separately for Receivers Reporting High and Low Self-Expertise
High self-expertise
Low self-expertise
ARG, EXP: Effect of ARG
Note: *p < .05; **p< .01.
Thus, taken together the mediational analyses suggest that argument quality has a direct as well as an indirect effect on attitudes: The attitude effect of argument quality is partially mediated by perceived source expertise in line with hypothesis 3. In contrast, the results regarding hypothesis 4 are less clear: An analysis based on a median split suggests that the observed mediation is stronger in receivers reporting low self-expertise than in receivers reporting high self-expertise. However, when perceived self-expertise is treated as a continuous variable, the moderated mediation is not significant.
Actual Expertise and Recall of Arguments
Can the differential effects found be explained by differences in actual knowledge or in memory performance? This does not seem likely. First, there were no systematic differences in the actual knowledge between experimental conditions. Somewhat surprisingly, participants who indicated that they had thoroughly thought about the credit point system did not have more accurate knowledge (M = 3.90; SD = 1.75) than did participants with a low perceived self-expertise (M = 3.68; SD = 1.45; t(95) = 0.67; ns); perceived self-expertise and scores in the knowledge test did not correlate significantly (r = .13; ns). However, number of answers given in the knowledge test correlates positively with the score of perceived self-expertise (r = .35; p < .01). Thus, participants with a perceived high self-expertise (M = 5.18; SD = 0.92) more often chose to give an answer (as opposed to stating "I do not know") than participants with a perceived low self-expertise (M = 4.62; SD = 0.92; t(95) = 3.01; p < .01). All these results seem to indicate that differences in perceived self-expertise did not reflect disparities in actual knowledge but the extent to which participants perceived themselves as experts.
Likewise, we found no significant differences between the experimental conditions in memory performance (all Fs < 1.6). On average, participants correctly recalled 3.67 (SD = 1.61) of the six presented arguments indicating that participants read the test carefully. In contrast to previous research (see Petty et al., 1981), participants did not recall significantly more strong (M = 3.86; SD = 1.47) than weak arguments (M = 3.47; SD = 1.73; t(95) = 0.25; ns).
In general, only those features of a message that are sufficiently processed and discriminated can have an impact on a receiver's attitudes. Usually, in studies on persuasion, communicator cues (e.g., information on source expertise) are easier to discriminate than argument quality (Kruglanski & Thompson, 1999). Thus, if a receiver does not process a message systematically, these easy-to-process cues (cf. Bohner & Siebler, 1999) are more likely to exert an attitude effect than argument quality.
However, it does not follow from this that the perception of communicator traits or attributes does not matter during systematic information processing. There is empirical evidence showing that communicator cues can: (a) influence how systematically messages are processed (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986; Ziegler et al., 2002); (b) determine the interpretation of ambiguous arguments (Chaiken & Maheswaran, 1994); and (c) instigate expectancies to which arguments are then contrasted (Bohner et al., 2002). Taken together, these various effects may be interpreted as examples for an indirect effect of communicator cues. In these cases, information about the communicator influences attitudes by affecting processing objectives and the interpretation of the arguments (also see Petty & Wegener, 1998).
The current study adds to this research by showing that argument quality may also exert an indirect effect on attitudes by affecting perceived source expertise. In particular, we adopted the assumption of multi-stage processing, which adds to previous findings on the interplay between heuristic and systematic information processes (see Chen & Chaiken, 1999), as well as on the interplay between communicator-related and content-related information (e.g., Kruglanski & Thompson, 1999; O'Keefe, 2003, 2001, 1999; also see Erb et al., 2003). Thus, the study provides some support for the idea that systematic processing of information includes a direct and an indirect path to attitudes and indicates that people may use the expertise heuristic more often than is acknowledged in the persuasion literature.
The detection of an indirect effect of argument quality in this study is noteworthy given that it was designed to avoid a direct effect of source expertise: the arguments provided were unambiguous and the communicator was not assigned an extremely high or low expertise. As a consequence, the direct manipulation of expertise did not exert an effect on the attitude. How does that fit with the finding that receivers' attitudes were correlated with perceived source expertise? One reasonable explanation lies in finding that the effect of argument quality on perceived expertise was much stronger than the effect of the description as in the Petty et al. study (1981). In a situation in which the provided information on a communicator is extremely positive or negative, attitude effects of the direct manipulation on expertise are more likely.
Regarding the moderating role of perceived self-expertise, our study provides mixed evidence. One analysis shows that the beta-weights in the conditions of perceived high and low self-expertise differed indicating that the observed mediation was stronger in those judges who judged themselves as non-experts. Another analysis shows that the moderated mediation was not significant when perceived self-expertise was included in a regression analysis as a continuous variable. Thus, more data are necessary to clarify the role of perceived self-expertise.
In addition to the ambiguous findings with regard to perceived self-expertise, the current study has several other limitations. We started out by showing that the findings of the Petty et al. (1981) study can be explained by a multi-stage process in which people first derive source expertise from argument quality and then apply the expertise heuristic. Even though this study points to an alternative process it is worth noticing that the observed mediation is based on correlational data and thus does not allow determining the causal relationship between the main variables. Rather there are several other causal relationships conceivable between these variables and other models could potentially account for our findings. We think this sort of problem is pervasive in persuasion research; the most prominent models such as the heuristic systematic processing model (Chaiken, 1987), the elaboration likelihood model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986), and the unimodel (Kruglanski & Thompson, 1999) greatly overlap in explanatory power, and several phenomena can potentially be explained using any of them. One direction that might further our understanding of the processes that are involved in persuasion and their inter-relations might be to specify the underlying processes in more detail so that they can be studied directly (see Gigerenzer & Regier, 1996; O'Keefe, 2003).
Another limitation of our study concerns the issue of changes in attitudes and in perceived source expertise, which were not measured at the outset. One extension of this study would be to see which attitude changes occurred that can explain the observed attitude differences. In the present design, we did not use a control condition nor did we measure receivers' attitudes beforehand. Thus, it is not clear whether the differences in the attitude measures were mainly due to attitude changes in the condition of strong or weak arguments, and if receivers had already formed an attitude on the renewal beforehand. In a similar vein, it would be interesting to see in which condition participants changed their perceptions and attitudes towards the communicator when processing his message. Previous work has shown that argument quality also affects the evaluation of a communicator if receivers do not receive any cue information about the communicator or if they receive several messages from several authors as in a discussion (see Reimer, 2003; Reimer & Raab, 2004).
Concerning future directions, it seems fruitful to link research on persuasion more closely with that on impression formation, which has traditionally focused on impressions based on agents' behaviours (Srull & Wyer, 1989). For example, it seems to be worthwhile testing if the perceived expertise of a communicator is more stable over time and more resistant to counterfactual evidence if it is based on systematic processing (e.g., through argument evaluation) than when it is based on a short description. Moreover, O'Keefe (1999) reviewed studies on the effects of one-sided and two-sided messages. His meta-analysis revealed that two-sided messages might not only be more persuasive but might also enhance the perceived credibility of a communicator. These effects were qualified by whether or not the topic was related to advertisement and whether messages were refutational or nonrefutational. It might be that the persuasiveness effects of the sidedness are at times also mediated by credibility. In line with this meta-analysis it seems worthwhile to look for further message-related cues that might affect the perception of a communicator. Those effects are, in general, likely to arise whenever a contrast effect (e.g., Bohner et al., 2002) between the description of the communicator and features of the message can occur.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
Bohner, G., Moskowitz, G., & Chaiken, S. (1995). The interplay of heuristic and systematic processing of social information. European Review of Social Psychology, 6, 33-68.
Bohner, G., Ruder, M., & Erb, H.-P. (2002). When expertise backfires: Contrast and assimilation effects in persuasion. British Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 495-519.
Bohner, G., & Siebler, F. (1999). Paradigms, processes, parsimony, and predictive power: Arguments for a generic dual-process model. Psychological Inquiry, 10, 113-118.
Cacioppo, J. T., Petty, R. E., & Morris, K. J. (1983). Effects of need for cognition on message evaluation, recall, and persuasion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 805-818.
Chaiken, S. (1987).The heuristic model of persuasion. In M. P. Zanna, J. M. Olson, & C. P. Herman (Eds.), Social Influence: The Ontario Symposium (Vol. 5, pp. 3-39). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Chaiken, S., & Maheswaran, D. (1994). Heuristic processing can bias systematic processing: Effects of source credibility, argument ambiguity, and task importance on attitude judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 460-473.
Chaiken, S., & Trope, Y. (Eds.) (1999). Dual-process theories in social psychology. New York: Guilford.
Chen, S., & Chaiken, S. (1999). The heuristic-systematic model in its broader context. In S. Chaiken & Y. Trope (Eds.), Dual-process theories in social psychology (pp.73-96). New York: Guilford.
Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied Multiple Regression / Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Erb, H.-P., Kruglanski, A. W., Chun, W. Y., Pierro, A., Mannetti, L., & Spiegel, S. (2003). Searching for commonalities in human judgement: The parametric unimodel and its dual mode alternatives. European Review of Social Psychology, 14, 1-47.
Gigerenzer, G., & Regier, T. (1996). How do we tell an association from a rule? Comment on Sloman (1996). Psychological Bulletin, 119, 23-26.
Kruglanski, A. W., & Thompson, E. P. (1999). Persuasion by a single route: A view from the unimodel. Psychological Inquiry, 10, 83-109.
O'Keefe, D. J. (2003). Message properties, mediating states, and manipulation checks: Claims, evidence, and data analysis in experimental persuasive message effects research. Communication Theory, August, 251-274.
O'Keefe, D. J. (2001). Persuasion. In T. O. Sloane (ed.), Encyclopedia of Rhetoric (pp.575-583). Oxford: University Press.
O'Keefe, D. J. (1999). How to handle opposing arguments in persuasive messages: A meta-analytical review of the effects of one-sided and two-sided messages. In M. E. Roloff (Ed.), Communication Yearbook (Vol. 22, p.209-249). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. In L. Berkovitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 19, pp. 123-205). New York: Academic Press.
Petty, R. E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Goldman, R. (1981). Personal involvement as a determinant of argument-based persuasion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 847-855.
Petty, R. E., & Wegener, D. T. (1998). Attitude change: Multiple roles for persuasion variables. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 323-390). New York: Oxford University Press.
Petty, R. E., Wells, G. L., & Brock, T. C. (1976). Distraction can enhance or reduce yielding to propaganda: Thought disruption versus effort justification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 874-884.
Reimer, T. (2003). Direkte und indirekte Effekte der Argumentqualität: Der Einfluß der Argumentstärke auf die wahrgenommene Expertise eines Kommunikators [Direct and indirect effects of argument quality: The impact of argument strength on the perceived expertise of a communicator]. Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 34, 243-255.
Reimer, T., & Raab, M. (2004). Deriving cues from messages: Effects of argument quality on the evaluation of proponents. Unpublished manuscript.
Siegrist, M. (2000). The influence of trust and perceptions of risks and benefits on the acceptance of gene technology. Risk analysis, 20, 195-203.
Siegrist, M., & Cvetkovich, G. (2000). Perception of hazards: The role of social trust and knowledge. Risk analysis, 20, 713-719.
Sloman, S. A. (1996). The empirical case for two systems of reasoning. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 3-22.
Srull, T. K., & Wyer, R. S., Jr. (1989). Person memory and judgment. Psychological Review, 96, 58-83.
Ziegler, R., Diehl, M., & Ruther, A. (2002). Multiple source characteristics and persuasion: Source inconsistency as a determinant of message scrutiny. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 496-508.
We would like to thank Nathalie Erpelding, Maureen Groeben, Sascha Kuendig, Mattias Leimgruber, and Daniel Meier for their help with material production.
Torsten Reimer works as a lecturer of cognitive psychology at the University of Basel, Switzerland. Currently, he is visiting the Psychology Department at North Dakota State University where he is conducting research on persuasion and communication processes in groups. E-mail address: email@example.com or email@example.com.
Rui Mata is a LIFE Fellow at the Max-Planck-Institute for Human Development, Berlin. His dissertation work focuses on the relation between cognitive capacity and the use of simple heuristics. E-mail address: email@example.com.
Markus Stoecklin received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Basel, Switzerland, in 1997, where he teaches statistics and research methods. E-mail address: markus.stoecklin@ unibas.ch.


text:
Tag Archives: mortal kombat
Mortal Kombat vs Street Fighter: Who is ahead in all-time sales?
Mortal Kombat and Street fighter have been going at it since the SNES and Genesis days. You bought a SNES for Street Fighter 2 and you bought the Genesis for the blood effect in Mortal Kombat. Back then Nintendo was the clear victor in the Console war. But which Fighting series has prevailed over the years? Look below to find the answer!
Mortal Kombat review
One of the best Vita games to date and a note-worthy fighting game of today is Mortal Kombat for the Vita. Also known as Mortal Kombat 9, this close replica of the console version continues where MK: Armageddon left off.


text:
Photo #: S-584-071
Preliminary Design No.132 for a Scout Cruiser ... May 1915
Preliminary design plan for a large scout cruiser, prepared to support General Board discussions concerning the characteristics sought in future cruisers.
This plan provided four 16-inch guns and seven 5-inch guns and a speed of 35 knots in a ship 800 feet long on the load water line, 88 feet in beam, with a normal displacement of 26,800 tons. This design included 2,470 tons of armor protection, including 8-inch side armor over 400 feet by 17 feet 6 inches amidships and 3-inch deck protection, and a displacement increase of 16,300 tons over design No.112. This design was last of a group of three undertaken during May 1915, apparently to further explore tradeoffs among armament, protection, and size in large scout cruisers. This design series took Preliminary Design No.112 (see Photo # S-584-050) as a baseline. Ultimately, however, no ships of this type were built.
Note: The original document was a blueprint (white on blue).
The original plan is in the 1911-1925 "Spring Styles Book".
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 218KB; 1600 x 1070 pixels
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than this digital image, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."
Image posted 12 July 2007


text:
Goodrich Petroleum Prices $100 Million Of Non-Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock
Certain statements in this news release regarding future expectations and plans for future activities may be regarded as "forward looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. They are subject to various risks, such as financial market conditions, changes in commodities prices and costs of drilling and completion, operating hazards, drilling risks, and the inherent uncertainties in interpreting engineering data relating to underground accumulations of oil and gas, as well as other risks discussed in detail in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Goodrich Petroleum is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
SOURCE Goodrich Petroleum Corporation
Select the service that is right for you!COMPARE ALL SERVICES
Action Alerts PLUSTry it NOW
Jim Cramer and Stephanie Link actively manage a real portfolio and reveal their money management tactics while giving advanced notice before every trade.
Product Features:
- $2.5+ million portfolio
- Large-cap and dividend focus
- Intraday trade alerts from Cramer
- Weekly roundups
TheStreet Quant RatingsTry it NOW
Only $49.95/yr
Access the tool that DOMINATES the Russell 2000 and the S&P 500.
Product Features:
- Buy, hold, or sell recommendations for over 4,300 stocks
- Unlimited research reports on your favorite stocks
- A custom stock screener
- Upgrade/downgrade alerts
Stocks Under $10Try it NOW
David Peltier, uncovers low dollar stocks with extraordinary upside potential that are flying under Wall Street's radar.
Product Features:
- Model portfolio
- Stocks trading below $10
- Intraday trade alerts
- Weekly roundups
Dividend Stock AdvisorTry it NOW
Jim Cramer's protege, David Peltier, identifies the best of breed dividend stocks that will pay a reliable AND significant income stream.
Product Features:
- Diversified model portfolio of dividend stocks
- Alerts when market news affect the portfolio
- Bi-weekly updates with exact steps to take - BUY, HOLD, SELL
Real Money ProTry it NOW
All of Real Money, plus 15 more of Wall Street's sharpest minds delivering actionable trading ideas, a comprehensive look at the market, and fundamental and technical analysis.
Product Features:
- Real Money + Doug Kass Plus 15 more Wall Street Pros
- Intraday commentary & news
- Ultra-actionable trading ideas
Options ProfitsTry it NOW
Our options trading pros provide daily market commentary and over 100 monthly option trading ideas and strategies to help you become a well-seasoned trader.
Product Features:
- 100+ monthly options trading ideas
- Actionable options commentary & news
- Real-time trading community
- Options TV


text:
The Big Snooze (1946) – Looney Tunes Theatrical Cartoon Series
Elmer is so fed up with chasing and never catching Bugs that he quits cartoons. He rips up his contract and makes sure "Mr. Warner" knows that he's quitting. He decides to go fishing instead of hunting. That's when he falls asleep and Bugs invades his dreams. Bugs and Elmer appear as "Rabbit and Costello" in a deranged escapade, including a spoof on Dumbo's "Pink Elephants on Parade" sequence. Elmer appears in drag: "Have any of you girls ever had an experience like this?"
Watch "The Big Snooze" on video at Big Cartoon DataBase


text:
Upcoming Events
- Hyde County Schools BOE Meeting - Video Conferencing Room (Mattamuskeet and Ocracoke Campuses)
- Hyde County Schools BOE Meeting - Video Conferencing Room (Mattamuskeet and Ocracoke Campuses)
- Hyde County Schools BOE Meeting - Video Conferencing Room (Mattamuskeet and Ocracoke Campuses)
- Hyde County Schools BOE Meeting - Video Conferencing Room (Mattamuskeet and Ocracoke Campuses)
School Mission and Vision
At Mattamuskeet Elementary School, we have high expectations for all students.
We will teach students using research-based instructional methods and strategies utilizing available data. Innovative practices will be implemented throughout the curriculum in all grade levels to prepare students to become globally competitive as 21st Century citizens.
We will teach students using research-based instructional methods and strategies utilizing available data. Innovative practices will be implemented throughout the curriculum in all grade levels to prepare students to become globally competitive as 21st Century citizens.
The mission of Mattamuskeet Elementary School is to provide children with an exemplary education in a healthy and safe learning environment. Students will be equipped with the critical skills to reach their full potential in a 21st Century Global society.
Recognitions - November
November Employees of the Month
Team of the Month
Team of the Month
Employee of the Month
Teacher of the Month
Recognitions - October
October Employees of the Month
Team of the Month
Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Smith are the MES Team of the Month for October. These two young ladies have worked diligently to create schedules for resources, and benchmark testing. They are the resident experts on Reading 3D and Read to Achieve and have worked hard helping other teachers with these programs. Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Smith are READY, Responsible and Respectful.
Mrs. Sandra ONeal is MES Employee of the Month for October. After being moved from the regular classroom to the computer lab Mrs. ONeal has shown great flexibility and leadership. She plans and executes daily lesson plans for all students at MES. Mrs. ONeal is READY, RESPONSIBLE and RESPECTFUL.
Employee of the Month
Employee of the Month
Mr. Shawn Zehnaker is Mattamuskeet Elementary Teacher of the Month. Mr. Zehnaker worked extremely hard getting students ready for the PTO flag football games, and he officiated all seven games. This month he has been teaching a variety of dances to students in PE class. Mr. Zehnaker is READY, RESPONSIBLE and RESPECTFUL.
Teacher of the Month
Teacher of the Month
Recognitions - September
Mattamuskeet Elementary Superstars for the Month of September 2014
"Teacher of the Month"
Ms. Angele Hagy is the Teacher of the Month for September. She has made special efforts to make our Exceptional Education students feel a part of the MES community. Although these students are only with her for lunch, she engages them in a way that shows how much she cares. It is evident that Ms. Hagy takes the time to make all of her students feel special. Ms. Hagy is READY, RESPONSIBLE and RESPECTFUL.
"Employee of the Month"
Mrs. Kristi Gibbs is MES Employee of the Month because she went above and beyond the call of duty in organizing a PBIS presentation for the District Board Meeting that was held on the Mattamuskeet campus. She collaborated with the other members of the PBIS committee. As a result of her efforts, the presentation received high marks from the people who attended. At a moments notice, Mrs. Gibbs is READY, RESPONSIBLE and RESPECTFUL.
"Team of the Month"
The team of the month is Mrs. Krisi Marslender and Ms. Theresa Sanders. While their own classrooms were not yet ready for students, they took the time to move furniture and arrange two classrooms for teachers who had not been hired yet. They showed great compassion for people they did not know. Ms. T. and Mrs. Marslender are READY, RESPONSIBLE and RESPECTFUL.
HCS in the Governor's Teacher Network
Mattamuskeet Elementary School teacher, Mrs. Paige Smith, joins the NC Governor's Teacher Network
The Governors Network Teachers were selected through a rigorous application process. Teachers submitted resumes and a proposal for their project based on needs within their schools/districts. Teachers will receive specialized training related to their projects, and support from NCDPI staff over the course of the year. Beginning in summer 2014, these teachers will serve for one year developing projects that support key RttT initiatives (professional development and digital instructional resources for Home Base) in their schools and districts. Network teachers will remain in their current roles, but will also design and deliver individual projects that address needs in the classroom, school or LEA level. These projects will fit within one of two pathways including Professional Development or Instructional Units. Paige Smith will be completing her project in the area of Professional Development. She is researching the effects of Interactive Math Notebooks on third grade student achievement. She will also look at the effects of these notebooks on parent support of students with homework. Through this pathway she will create professional development sessions and materials (face-to-face, webinars and online modules) to address classroom instructional needs and increase the PD offerings in the state-wide Professional Development system in Home Base. Mrs. Smith is excited about researching her topic and collecting data to determine if this is a strategy that will prove beneficial to our students, parents, and teachers.
Mrs. Smith is the daughter of the Shirlyn and the former Herbert Brickhouse. Mrs. Smith graduated from Mattamuskeet High School in 1988. She then pursued a bachelors degree in elementary education after her internship at Bath Elementary she graduated in 1997. At that time Mrs. Smith was hired by the Hyde County Board of Education to teach at Davis Elementary School. When Davis and O.A. Peay merged for the 99-00 school year Mrs. Smith was transferred to Mattamuskeet Elementary School. In 2003 Mrs. Smith received her masters degree from ECU in Elementary Education and later received her National Board Certification in 2006. During her tenure with Hyde County Schools Mrs. Smith has served as a teacher, coach, mentor, and she has supervised student teachers. Mrs. Smith makes her home in Fairfield with her Husband Daryl Smith and her daughter Heather Smith who will be a 4th grader at MES this year. We are very honored and privileged to have represent Hyde County Schools and educators in this new endeavor and wish her much success.
Hyde County Schools Represented at the Institute of Emerging Issues
Our second grade teacher, Ms. Sherry Cox, at Mattamuskeet Elementary School has been selected from more than 300 applicants to serve as a Teacher Ambassador at this years' Emerging Issues Forum: Teachers and the Great Economic Debate.
As a Teacher Ambassador representing public schools, she will participate in pre-Forum, Forum and post-Forum activities that will help North Carolina produce, recruit and retain more world-class teachers in the profession. Congratulations to Ms. cox on this outstanding achievement.


text:
SUMMARY: Some prospects need to be coddled before they are ready for your sales team. Others just need a good nudge. Why waste time over-nurturing the ones who are ready?
See how a three-part email series targeting an IT company's best leads generates 376% more engagement and 225% more sales-ready leads than its longer nurturing series. This campaign is an update on a Gold Winner from the 2011 MarketingSherpa Email Awards.
|Enter your email below to join thousands of marketers and get FREE newsletters with practical Case Studies, research and training on email, demand gen, SEO, social media and more, as well as MarketingSherpa updates and promotions.


text:
As good Americans, we know that Christmas is all about Santa Claus.
But for some folks – Christians primarily – Christmas is about Christ; Immanuel … God made flesh who came to earth to dwell with us. It's about a baby in a manger. It's about a young woman, essentially a girl, who became pregnant under suspicious circumstances. It's about a manger, shepherds, a magnificent star and three wise men.
Is that all? Oh, and there was a father. Well, kind of.
His name was Joseph. He was informed in a dream that he should not fear; his to-be, virgin wife was pregnant with God's baby. No sane man ever received such news. But in most tellings of the Christmas story, Joseph is a bit player. In our Advent manger scenes, he stands aside quietly while the action is with the others present.
But it is not difficult to imagine the role he actually played, for it was indeed significant. And his participation required not just him, but his manhood. As it is said, any man can father a child. But it is something altogether different to be a father to a child. Joseph was the latter.
We must note that there are many different kinds of men. I don't go for the "wild at heart" variety, as it tends to be a somewhat narrow, culturally-fixed and even stereotypical view of manhood. Would such a view of manhood mean anything to the rural rice farmer in China?
So, what is it that makes a good man? It really means stepping up and doing the right thing, at the right time. This is what men did on 9/11. This is what Capt. 'Sully" Sullenberger did with his airliner in the Hudson river. It's what George Washington and Abraham Lincoln did in their leadership. Fireman. Policemen. Soldiers. Good husbands and fathers. They deliver the goods and don't whine about it.
This was Joseph:
- He stuck by Mary after the strange announcement of her pregnancy when his first instinct was to quietly bail.
- He stood strong against the vicious hail-like gossip raining down on upon him from family, friends and neighbors at this news. The "God's child" explanation surely did little to quell the chatter and was no- doubt received with winks, nods and eye-rolls.
- On their return trip from paying their taxes, Joseph was called on to calm his very pregnant wife and break the news – probably more than once – that "there was no room at the inn."
- Joseph had to do a mild-McGyver and improvise a solution, convincing his wife that this dirty manger was the best option among no other options.
- Joseph delivered the child that was not his.
- Joseph presented that child to the world with joy and fatherly pride.
- Joseph had to hide his wife and boy away in Egypt to protect them from Herod's baby massacre.
- Joseph worked to provide for the child and his mother in every way: food, shelter, direction, protection and emotional support.
- Joseph taught the boy Jesus his trade of carpentry.
We are told that young Jesus was fully obedient to his mother and father. Fatherhood is central in the Christmas story. Of course, the story of the Son of God has a father – the Father – central to it. But the story of the Son of Man also has a father central to it.
This means that fatherhood is a deeply divine and sacred thing. Dads, as we celebrate Christmas, allow this season to remind us that we are granted a profound honor to participate in something that is an earthly, physical representation of the very nature and character of God Himself. And that is true even when we are doing such mundane things as changing diapers, wiping sticky faces or reminding our kids to clean their room, do their homework or take out the trash.
It is no overstatement to say that Fatherhood is one of the biggest things going on in the universe.


text:
You must log in to access this feature. Sign in with Twellow or Facebook to get started.
By signing in to Twellow, you indicate your agreement to our terms of service.
Simply connect with Facebook and kiss those password blues away,
or go here to reset your password.
Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Lawyer, Loan Modification, Foreclosure, Title, Closings, Felony, Criminal, Florida Attorney, Family, Divorce, Miami, West Palm,


text:
Find a copy online
Links to this item
Find a copy in the library
Finding libraries that hold this item...
|Graphic novels
Comic books, strips, etc
|Material Type:
|Fiction, Internet resource
|Document Type:
|Book, Internet Resource
|All Authors / Contributors:
Will Eisner
|0393061051 9780393061055
|OCLC Number:
|xx, 498 p. : ill. ; 27 cm.
|A contract with God --
A life force --
Dropsie Avenue.
|Other Titles:
|Life on Dropsie Avenue
|Will Eisner.
The legendary graphic novel and the sequels that launched an art form. Read more...
Editorial reviews
Publisher Synopsis
Eisner was not only ahead of his times; the present times are still catching up to him. --John Updike"
User-contributed reviews
Similar Items
Related Subjects:(2)
- Immigrants -- New York (State) -- New York -- Comic books, strips, etc.
- Tenement houses -- New York (State) -- New York -- Comic books, strips, etc.
User lists with this item (14)
- GraphNovCsbSju(283 items)
by csbcdbks updated 2014-09-22
- Pop Picks(156 items)
by SpragueLibrary updated 2014-07-25
- Biblio(315 items)
by thes.xyz updated about 3 weeks ago
- Crown Library's Graphic Novels(27 items)
by LibrarianDeanna updated 2014-07-16
- ! Recommended Comics for UMD(51 items)
by lllarson updated 2014-06-17


text:
Münster is an adventure
Experience Münster on your own way.
There are so many different kinds of packages but you still have the feeling that something is missing, something that is important to you. Experience Münster on your way by creating your own programme for your stay in our Mövenpick Hotel Münster. Book the basic package which includes 2 overnight stays including the famous breakfast buffet, the participation in one of our theme buffets, a voucher for a welcome drink and much more extras. Just add different other items to fulfil your personal and individual trip.
- 2 overnight stays including breakfast buffet
- Voucher for a welcome drink
- Theme buffet in the Mövenpick Hotel Restaurant on fridays and saturdays
- Morning paper free of charge
- Sauna and fitness
- Surprise waiting for you in your room
per person in a double room
Book now


text:
I'm planting my first seeds today and to do that I'll need to mix up a new batch of seed-starting soil mix. If you're starting your own seeds in trays like me you need to use a soil "medium" that is sterile, meaning that it doesn't have fungus and bacteria that will be hard on your tender little seedlings, especially in the humid conditions that are ideal for seed starting.
You can buy seed starting mix at your local garden supply store or, as I've learned, you can make your own that is just as good if not better. It will take an initial investment but if you're going to get into starting plants I think it's worth it and if have a large volume of seeds to start and transplant as they grow you'll save some money by making your own.
To get started you need to buy three basic ingredients:
- Vermiculite
- Perlite
- Peat Moss
I buy the big bags of each for around $25 each at Northwest Seed and Pet, and those usually last me two growing seasons, with the perlite and vermiculite lasting longer. I find that I don't need much soil medium to start the seeds, but when I transplant the growing plants into larger pots I really use a lot of soil medium.
The basic mix is 3 parts peat moss, 1 part perlite and 1 part vermiculite. I make my batches by using a plastic pitcher, and I use a dedicated garbage can to mix 9 pitchers full of peat moss, 3 of perlite and 3 of vermiculite. Note: use a particle mask while doing this. I usually wet it down a little before mixing it to keep the dust down.
Make sure to mix it up well, wet it all down so it's damp, but not soggy, and it's ready to load into your planting trays. It's much easier filling plastic trays with soil that already has the proper moisture content.
I learned this mix from Bruce at GEM Garden and Greenhouse. He sells this medium with some other goodies added in for a great price. If you're only starting a couple of trays you might want to go that route.
Seedlings supply their own fertilizer for the first week or so as they feed off the remnants of the seed. After this you will need to use a regular regimen of fertilizer to help them grow. Take note that peat moss is slightly acidic so, depending on the sensitivity of the plants you're starting, you may want to compensate in your fertilizing to neutralize the acidity.
I've used this seed-starting mix for four years with great success. Let me know if you have any questions.
Photo: From an amazing photo collection of vintage seed packs and catalogues at the Smithsonian.
It has always intuitively made sense to me that spending time out in the garden is good for my health and general well being, especially for reducing stress. Well, it turns out that there may be a scientific basis for such a claim. A recent study on the effects of exposure to a common soil bacteria (mycobacterium vaccae) shows a strong correlation between the bacteria and improved learning and lowered anxiety.
Scientific American reports:
Studies have shown time spent in nature does us all good. Specifically a recent study done with 1,200 people, published in the journal Environmental Health and Technology found that even just five minutes in a leafy park can significantly boost our mood. Well it might be because we inhaled some bacteria among the leaves and grass…
Injecting this bacteria into mice has already been shown to increase serotonin levels and decrease anxiety. But the researchers wondered if it might have a subsequent effect on learning. They fed the bacteria to mice and then tested them in a maze.
And lo and behold these mice navigated the maze twice as fast as mice who received no bacteria.
The Montreal Gazette adds;
Matthews doesn't know how well the bacterium aerosolizes, "but certainly if you're vigorously working in the soil, there are probably some particles that are becoming airborne, so we may very well be inhaling it, as well as eating it by inhaling it and having it get into our GI (gastrointestinal) tract." We're also exposed via contact with food, especially foods grown directly in the soil, such as carrots and lettuce "and other things that are close to the soil…"
This may be an important data point for those advocating for gardening as part of school curriculum.
An interesting follow up to this would be to study the effects of Round Up and other ubiquitous weed killers on the presence of the bacteria. Organic gardeners have long been saying that soil is a complex community of life and we can't kill weeds and bugs with chemicals and not recognize that we are likely killing all kinds of other important forms of life. In the end, this effects the foods that we eat. It's not just the presence of pesticides and herbicides in our carrots that should concern us, but also the lack of important bacteria that are keys to human health.
To all my organic gardening friends, you officially have permission to say "I told you so."
If you're starting your own seeds in trays, you should know that you're not supposed to use regular garden soil. You need to use a "medium" that is sterile, meaning that it doesn't have fungus and bacteria that will be hard on your tender little seedlings, especially in the humid conditions that are ideal for seed starting.
You can buy seed starting mix at your local garden supply store or, as I've learned, you can make your own that is just as good if not better. It will take an initial investment but if you're going to get into starting plants I think it's worth it.
The basic ingredients are vermiculite, perlite, and peat moss. Buy the big bags for around $25 each at Northwest Seed and Pet, and you'll be stocked up for several growing seasons. The basic mix is 3 parts peat moss, 1 part perlite and 1 part vermiculite. I make my batches by using a plastic pitcher, and I toss into a dedicated garbage can 9 pitchers full of peat moss, 3 of perlite and 3 of vermiculite. Note: use a particle mask while doing this. I usually wet it down a little before mixing it to keep the dust down.
Make sure to mix it up well, wet it all down so it's damp, but not soggy, and it's ready to load into your planting trays. It's much easier filling plastic trays with soil that is already the proper dampness.
I learned this mix from Bruce at GEM Garden and Greenhouse. He sells this medium with some other goodies added in for a great price. If you're only starting a couple of trays you might want to go that route.
Seedlings supply their own fertilizer for the first week or so as they feed off the remnants of the seed. After this they will need some mild fertilizer input. I use Osmocote slow release pellets that I scatter around the top of the soil, (not touching the stem), so every time I water they seedlings they get a small dose of fertilizer. It's not organic but it sure makes it easier for me. I have this phobia of chemicals so I like not having to deal with applying fertilizers. I'm open to ideas on this from someone who has organic fertilizer's figured out.
I came across this Businessweek article and thought it was worth sharing. As someone who until recently had not really paid much attention to agricultural practices, I find things like this fascinating. Excerpt:
The federal government is encouraging farmers to spread a chalky waste from coal-fired power plants on their fields to loosen and fertilize soil even as it considers regulating coal wastes for the first time.
The material is produced by power plant "scrubbers" that remove acid rain causing sulfur dioxide from plant emissions. A synthetic form of the mineral gypsum, it also contains mercury, arsenic, lead and other heavy metals.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says those toxic metals occur in only tiny amounts that pose no threat to crops, surface water or humans. But some environmentalists say too little is known about how the material affects crops, and ultimately human health, for the government to suggest that farmers use it on their land.
"Basically this is a leap into the unknown," said Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. "This stuff has materials in it that we're trying to prevent entering the environment from coal-fired power plants and then to turn around and smear it across ag lands raises some real questions."
…Since the EPA/USDA partnership began in 2001, farmers' use of the material has more than tripled, from about 78,000 tons spread on fields in 2002 to nearly 279,000 tons last year, according to the American Coal Ash Association, a utility industry group…
Darrell Norton, a USDA soil scientist, said a predecessor of FGD gypsum produced about 25 years ago often had high levels of heavy metals because it had been mixed with coal fly ash. But FGD gypsum has no fly ash and is "environmentally clean," he said.
It may be quite safe but I couldn't help but think about a previous situation reported by David Montgomery in his excellent book, "Dirt" (page 214). In the early 1990's the Land O' Lakes Company figured out a way to ship its toxic waste to Quincy, WA and mix it with other chemicals and sell it it as "cheap, low-grade" fertilizer. This allowed them to avoid the high cost of legitimate disposal of the toxic material. Here's a key passage that makes me suspicious of the above assurances from the scientists at USDA:
They "discovered that state officials allowed recycling waste rich in heavy metals into fertilizers without telling farmers…Approached about the practice of selling toxic waste as fertilizer, staff at the state department of agriculture admitted they thought it was a good idea, kind of like recycling.
Curiously enough, the toxic fertilizer began killing crops. Unless they are eroded away, heavy metals stick around in the soil for thousands of years. And if they build up enough in the soil, they are taken up by plants - like crops.
One farmer was curious about whether his land and crops had been impacted. He sent fertilizer provided by the company to a lab and they found "lots of arsenic, lead, titanium, and chromium…The lab also reported high lead and arsenic concentrations in peas, beans, and potatoes sent in from crops fertilized" by the toxic stew. Samples of potatoes sent in by another farmer were found to have 10 times the allowable concentration of lead.
There is a major industry in the US of converting toxic waste into fertilizer and it has been a standing practice for decades. The coal ash story is just one example of many instances.
I ventured up to Peone Prarie last week to take some pictures and they just happened to be harvesting the wheat. The dust was flying and I couldn't help but think about the book I'm reading titled, "Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations" by David Montgomery. In the book he looks at history through the lens of soil fertility, erosion and depletion concluding that the rise and fall of civilizations can often be traced to the exploitation and depletion of soils.
It is a fascinating read and I highly recommend it. Soil, or the thin brown line as Montgomery calls it, is much more complex than I thought. One example from the book describes a WSU study done in the mid '80's comparing two dry land wheat farms near Spokane. Both farms were first plowed in 1908, one never using commercial fertilizers and the other using commercial fertilizers since 1948. Both farms boasted the same income, one leaving the field fallow every third year for a cover crop and the other harvesting continuously but paying big bucks for fertilizers and pesticides. They harvested more wheat but had much higher expenses that canceled out any economic advantage. Most importantly the researchers found that the organic farm was building soil while the conventional farm had shed 6 inches of topsoil between 1948 and 1985.
Montgomery sums up the study by saying, "With fifty more years of conventional farming, the region's topsoil will be gone. Harvests from the region are projected to drop by half once topsoil erosion leaves conventional farmers plowing the clayey subsoil." I'm assuming that the whitish soil I see peaking through at the top of the rolling ridges of freshly plowed palouse is the clayey subsoil peaking through.
Yikes! More on this later.


text:
Rebuilding Red Hook: Shops and Food Businesses Form Sandy-Relief Group
The group intends to raise $2 million dollars, which will be distributed to small businesses.
Skip to content, or skip to search.
Skip to content, or skip to search.
The group intends to raise $2 million dollars, which will be distributed to small businesses.
Plus: An oyster CSA will indeed fulfill its orders and more in our daily news roundup.
The standout deli's bakery and smoking facility is destroyed.
"After you open a restaurant, you realize you're two full pant sizes up and you look like you got stung by a hive of bees."
There's hope yet for the cement doughnut.
They did a test run over the weekend.
Plus: Purple Fig opens in UWS, and more of today's leftovers.
The owners of the super-popular Brooklyn deli will release their first book this fall.
Pok Pok and Mile End have joined the lineup of food sponsors for the 2012 outdoor film series in Red Hook.
"That's very classy. I drink Wild Turkey, she drinks Bulleit."
"I ate the pizza because I was starved, but none of the kids could get it down without dry-heaving so my neighbor made them some PB&Js. I think he was stoned."
One for each night of Hanukkah, plus an extra, just in case.
Nona Brooklyn assembles a potluck feast of recipes from the borough.
The small retail area of the new Mile End production facility will sell smoked meat by the pound as well as provisions.
Traditionally all-dairy, break the fast with faux liver and potato soup.
Owner Noah Bermanoff tells us that it will be "a pure lunch and sandwich menu."
Plus: Eddie Huang brings a "Taiwanese Ultra-Meat Mix" to Meatopia 2011.
Plus: Sietsema introduces Yi Lan, Goldfield impressed by Porsena, and more, in our weekly roundup of restaurant reviews.
Happy bloody Valentine's Day!