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Incorrect use of apostrophes has become a disturbingly prevalent phenomenon in recent years, especially in the realm of advertising. Apostrophe abuse and “rogue apostrophes” seem to be popping up all over the place, occurring most commonly in the plural forms of ordinary words. In this week’s lesson, we will learn when and how apostrophes are actually supposed to be used so that we can avoid using them incorrectly.

In English, there are three primary uses of apostrophes:

• In colloquial speech, informal writing, and some foreign languages, apostrophes are used in contractions to indicate one or more omitted letters. In extreme cases, they can even be used more than once in same word, such as in the modern pronunciation of the word forecastle. Occasionally, contractions are also used with numerical figures, most commonly in dates where all digits of a certain year except for the last two are replaced with an apostrophe.
  1. Although blogging can be profitable in the long run, you’re probably not going to make millions overnight.
  2. The Libertarian party is one of the few organizations remaining in America that actually believes in the spirit of ‘76.
  3. After the grappling hooks were in place, the pirates swarmed over the fo’c’sle of the merchant ship and eventually captured it.
• Apostrophes are used to indicate possession. If the entity doing the possessing is singular, an apostrophe is added before the letter s. If the possessor is plural, the apostrophe is placed after the s, except in cases where the plural form does not normally end in s. In these situations, simply add the apostrophe before the s to show possession.
  1. The quality and quantity of a blog’s content can determine the degree of success in terms of subscriber numbers and search engine traffic.
  2. Before deciding on which company should receive the majority of our investment, we looked closely at the two companies’ financial reports.
  3. The early women’s movement, sometimes referred to as “first wave” feminism, was instrumental in obtaining the right of suffrage through the 19th amendment.
• In cases where the plural of a single lowercase letter needs to be written, apostrophes are used because their omission would cause the expression to appear awkward and confusing (for example, the plural of “a” would be written as “a’s”, not “as”, which is a completely different word). Apostrophes are not used in the plural forms of acronyms.
  1. When preparing a document for legal purposes, it is always a good idea to dot your i’s and cross your t’s.

Here are some examples of commonly used incorrect usage, followed by the corrected forms.

Incorrect: The number and importance of a websites inbound links will greatly affect its ability to rank well in the search engines.

Correct: The number and importance of a website’s inbound links will greatly affect its ability to rank well in the search engines.

Incorrect: Most banks do not charge fee’s for using their own ATMs.

Correct: Most banks do not charge fees for using their own ATMs.

Incorrect: A common suggestion for practicing politeness is “mind your ps and qs.”

Correct: A common suggestion for practicing politeness is “mind your p’s and q’s.”

Incorrect: I dont think that the quantity of traffic a website receives impacts its search engine ranking.

Correct: I don’t think that the quantity of traffic a website receives impacts its search engine ranking.

For next week, we have had one suggestion to cover usage of lie vs. lay, although there are plenty of other issues that we could also address such as “could of” vs. “could have”, peak vs. pique, and past vs. passed. If you have any other favorite pet peeves regarding English grammar, be sure to mention these in the comment section and I will try to cover them in the approximate order that they are posted.

In our third and final article review of this series, Eliot Erfurt examines the cultural aspects that affect any successful marketing campaign. The review includes some rather humorous examples of what can happen when marketers fail to educate themselves about the cultural differences between the people of their own region and those of their target markets.

Article Reviewed:

Reese, S. (1998). Culture shock. Marketing Tools, 5 (4), 44-48.

Purpose of the article: Culture affects the buying behavior of consumers. If a business does not familiarize itself with the culture of a specific marketing group, advertising dollars and product sales may suffer. The article lists numerous examples of the adverse effects that may result if the culture of specific groups are ignored and also gives suggestions on how to avoid the pitfalls of ethnic marketing.

Summary: Culture is the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning. The author, Shelly Reese, begins the article with numerous and often humorous examples of what can happen if cultures clash in the marketplace. The author cites relevant facts to back up the assertion that culture cannot be ignored in today’s marketplace. Finally, a list of helpful suggestions on what and how to incorporate cultural differences into product design and advertising is given.

Excellent examples of cultural ignorance are listed in the article. Some of these include:

• The Coors slogan, “Turn it loose”, was unfortunately translated into Spanish as, “Suffer from diarrhea”.
• Pepsi’s slogan, “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” translated into Chinese as, “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave”.
• A horrible implication was made in Africa when Gerber sold its baby food with a picture of a beautiful baby on the jar. Since most Africans cannot read English, the usual practice for companies, unknown or ignored by Gerber, was that the contents (not the consumers) were shown on the front of the product.
• The brand name of the facial tissue “Puffs” means brothels in colloquial German! The product had been marketed before the mistake was discovered.
• The people at Parker pen assumed the Spanish word “embarazar” means “to embarrass”. Unfortunately, part of their pen ad, “It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you” became “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.” The word “embarazar” means “to impregnate”.

As the world leans toward more free trade and accommodates an expansive global market, the necessity of incorporating culture into product decision making becomes clear. Even within the United States, the white population is becoming more fragmented. Reese explains, “…immigration from Europe has been on the rise. Between 1985 and 1995, more than 1.2 million European migrants settled in the U.S. That represents 14 percent of total immigration.” New immigrants offer a distinctly different target market as they acculturate into the mainstream American society. The minority populations in the United States will make up 50% of the total by the year 2050. Certainly, all Americans will continue to have many things in common, but the future points toward increasing growth from immigration and therefore more specific and numerous target markets.

Reese suggests some common sense, yet often overlooked, factors to consider before marketing a product. These timely ideas include:

• Never assume you know a population different from your own. Many times your assumption many be based on erroneous stereotyping.
• What works in one area of the market will not necessarily work in all places.
• Advertising in an ethnic market means more than simply translating your brochure or ad. The words, although translated correctly, may not connect with the cultural norms of the group. As the author explains, “Real target marketing demands the creation of messages that appeal to the specific sensitivities of an audience.”
• Even the colors used in an advertisement may carry significance. Koreans or Japanese would recognize the color red or gold as targeted for Chinese consumers – not for them.
• Cultural relevance, explains Reese, means understanding a group’s values and customs and is very different from cultural opportunism.
• Take the time to understand and learn what is important to a particular market. Brand names are not always enough.

Conclusion: The best ethnic marketing results from an understanding of what carries values within a culture. The business must make a commitment to the community and culture to establish a lasting relationship between themselves and the consumers.

Implications: The study of consumer behavior is a basic tenet of marketing strategy. It is used to promote the marketing approach and enhance the effectiveness of marketing strategy. Culture plays a vital role in consumer behavior particularly because of the increasing trend toward a global marketplace. The culture of specific consumer groups, therefore, has implications in brand image and branding, product positioning, marketing segmentation, new product development, pricing, choosing distributing channels, advertising, and promotion.

This second article in our series about consumer behavioral trends and marketing was written by Angela Cantu along with some much-needed copyediting by me in order to make it suitable for publication. It is a summary and analysis of some important statistical information on consumer behavior and marketing trends.

Articles Reviewed:

Gunter, M. & Smith, J. W. (2001, December 24). What Shoppers Want. Fortune Magazine. Retrieved March 1, 2002, from http://www.business2.com/articles/ mag/0,1640,36161,00.html

Princeton Survey Research Associates. (1999, March). Consumer Behaviors, Experiences, and Attitudes: A Comparison by Age Groups. Retrieved February 14, 2002, from http://research. aarp.org/consumer/d16907_ behavior_1.html.

Wirthlin Report. (1999 March). Buying Influences: Consider the Source. Retrieved February 14, 2002, from http://209.204.197.52/publicns/report/wr9903.htm.

Summary and Analysis:

What do consumers want when they are looking to purchase products? That is a question many executives ask themselves when trying produce advertisements for the public. While many marketers depend on research and economic studies, others turn to surveys by using information sources from within their company such as questionnaires or customer feedback information.

J. Walker Smith, president of Yankelovich Partners, one of America’s leading analysts in consumer trends, believes that many “came out of the nineties feeling prosperous, self-confident, and in control.” However, consumers now are at a point where especially the baby boomers need to feel a sense of satisfaction with products that are “nonmaterial and intangible”.

In order for consumers to feel a level of satisfaction when it comes to purchasing products, many Americans turn to five different forms of media. They are television news sources, newspapers, radio, Internet, and news magazines. In the Wirthlin Report, 58 percent of consumers turn to the television, 23 percent to the newspaper, 13 percent to the Internet, and only one percent to magazine articles. According to research done by the Wirthlin Report, they know that Americans are conscientious shoppers who like to comparison shop before spending their money.

Research done by their associates has found that when consumers are looking to purchase certain items, they turn to certain kinds of media. The television seems to have a major impact on consumers who are looking to purchase less expensive items such as medications or household items. The newspaper has an influence among consumers looking to purchase appliances or investment items such as stocks. In addition, magazine articles tend to influence larger purchases like computers or vehicles.

Along with the decision to purchase also comes the need for a certain level of education. In this regard, researchers say that television is a medium used by many who have little or no education while those who are “highly” educated turn to print media like magazine articles and newspaper advertisements. The Internet also seems to have an impact on large numbers of consumers who are turning to the web for customized items. Internet research allows consumers the flexibility to virtually create their items as they would like them. For instance with vehicles, the consumer can choose the color they want for the vehicle, decide on what options they want, and even have the choice of having it delivered to their homes. Similar options are available for computers.

When consumers are deciding to purchase items, the question of how credible the companies are comes into play. Consumers turn to a variety of sources when it comes to determining how credible the product’s brand is. Some of those sources are consumer reports, friends, radio news, network television, news articles, and the Internet. Everyone is different and depending on your level of education, one has the right to determine what sources are believable, somewhat believable, or not believable at all.

Another study done by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) closely relates to the information sources chosen by consumers, and that is also their level of vulnerability. Their research found that a large number of consumers are vulnerable to advertisements that are fraudulent or deceptive.

Many reasons contribute to consumers who are taken advantage of by deceptive advertising or fraudulent claims. These include factors such as what level they conduct their business, what behavioral patterns they have, their attitudes, and their level of education. The AARP study was conducted with participants from the older group aged 65 years or more and the group of younger consumers aged 18 to 64. They analyzed the group with the vulnerability index, the lowest score being zero for low vulnerability and the highest score being 29 for a high vulnerability, and they found that the older consumers were more affected by deceptive advertisements.

In one survey, the AARP found 21 percent of those aged 75 or older and 11 percent of those aged 65 to 74 had a high vulnerability index. In addition, those with a low vulnerability index were only 5 percent of those aged 75 or older and almost zero with those who were 65 and under.

As marketers begin trying to appeal to their audience, they also have to take into consideration whether or not consumers will be satisfied with their products. The AARP found that 82 percent of consumers in their survey were not satisfied with their purchases in at least one instance. Meanwhile, researchers found that the younger consumers had more complaints and were more adamant in doing something about the problem versus those over 65.

Advertisers have found it nearly impossible to appeal to everyone since Americans are very diverse in their expectations of brands and products. Most advertisers now turn to a variety of information sources to determine whether their products are successful. Once marketers have received feedback on their products, they begin to market them to the appropriate audience.

This is the first of a series of three article reviews related to various aspects of marketing and consumer behavior. In our first installment, Marilyn Knox presents an analysis of older consumers from the “baby boomer” generation and gives reasons why this market cannot be ignored.

Article Reviewed:

Abdel-Ghany, M. & Sharpe, D. L. (1997). Consumption patterns among young-old and old-old. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 31 (1), 90+

Purpose of article: On January 1, 1996 the first of the babies born during the Baby Boom turned 50. Maturing consumers are the biggest spenders. They are the wealthiest, best educated and most sophisticated purchasers. Baby Boomers are forming the most extraordinary middle-aged generation of all time – one that presents the most complex set of challenges to product and service providers and marketers in the history of modern marketing.

Summary of article: For several decades, the study of advertising and marketing has taken a historical approach. We have studied what has worked in the past. Unfortunately, this past does not resemble the immediate future. The youth-dominated markets of the past 30 years are slowly but surely being replaced by an America that has never been old before. To plan for tomorrow’s maturing marketplace using standards developed and tested in yesterday’s objective, youth oriented markets is as dangerous as driving using only the rear view mirror.

Conclusion: Marketers will be required to develop relationships with consumers that allow a marketer to “go with the flow” of consumers’ free will choices. This converts the often-heard slogan “customer driven” into today’s reality. New science has caused scientists to adopt new assumptions about the behavior of matter and energy as well as new investigative techniques. New marketing will likewise cause researchers and marketers to make equivalent changes to their thinking regarding consumer behavior.

Implications: The message for marketers is that the tidal wave of Boomers turning 50 will only intensify the trend toward youthfulness among the mature population. Boomers have changed every stage of life they have lived through so far, so they are likely to create a second middle-aged market, thus altering the very nature of maturing consumer markets. Understanding what distinguishes baby boomers as a group from the present mature population will be the key to planning for successful marketing to the maturing consumers’ population in the coming decades.

The paid surveys and offers program SendEarnings is now confirmed as paying, as I have now received my first check from them for my previous earnings:

This first payment has also qualified me for the Gold Membership, which means more earnings from referrals, additional sweepstakes entries, and the chance to receive free referrals from the pool of unreferred members who join the program. Meanwhile, SendEarnings has also begun sending out monthly newsletters, the latest of which I have reprinted below:

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This article by Cheryl Frost provides some useful steps for developing a marketing plan that can be used by small businesses. As with her previous article Preparing Your Small Business for the Market, most of the basic ideas here can be applied to marketing on the Internet as well as in the “brick-and-mortar” offline world.

A good marketing strategy includes a good plan. Many less successful businesses jump right into advertising and promotional efforts, accosting every media source from office cork boards to national newspapers. These businesses have not thought things through and waste a lot of time and money on hit or miss tactics. If you plan your marketing strategy carefully, you can focus on the best media source for your business and the best way to lure in customers.

The following steps will help you develop an effective marketing plan, ensuring a successful and profitable return on your marketing investment:

Set Objectives

Know what your business objectives are before you start. Set objectives that are obtainable and realistic to avoid frustration and failure. Your objectives will sculpt your business image with goals such as high quality, fast delivery, or friendly customer service. Place a measurement on your objectives — i.e., five new customers per month or no more than one percent of product returns. It is easy to state that you want fast delivery, but how will you know if you’ve accomplished that goal unless you preset how long delivery should take? Don’t set goals that are barely within your reach. Start small and raise the stakes after you get a feel for what works best for you.

Analyze your business plan

Take a look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your business plan. Consider how you might strengthen the weaknesses and promote the strengths. Opportunities should be weighed for value and return; meanwhile, take note or confront any threats to the plan. Simulate a variety of scenarios, imagining the plan in effect for a long period of time. Try to determine how your plan will be received by potential customers.

Formulate a tactical plan

You also need to plan for how to follow through with your marketing efforts. Take everything you know must be done and plan out how it will be done and by whom. You might take on your own marketing plan or you may decide to hire a firm to help. If you become your own marketing agent, lay out the steps to set the plan to action.

Review the plan

Give your marketing plan a one year test period. After which, review the plan, comparing it to sales data and any other feedback you receive. Reviewing how the plan actually works will help in your efforts to improve it. When you review, you can see the actual strengths and weaknesses, giving you the data you need to either revise the plan for next year or scrap your plan and start anew.

Like the other elements of small business procedures, marketing requires planning. Developing a proper plan will make a dramatic difference in the prosperity and success of your company.

Search traffic is continuing to hold steady this week, as the increasing longevity of the site coupled with a growing amount of content is beginning to draw traffic from several second tier search engines and aggregators. Interestingly, the post from last November on how to write a job applicant rejection letter is currently my top performing page, now totaling over 1100 visits during the last 30 days. Also doing well are the articles on getting rid of ants and fair tax pros and cons. Now we will address some of the other pages and their related queries.

will the atm eat my card after 15 seconds — Sometimes yes; this depends upon the location of the ATM. Apparently some of them are programmed to “eat” cards after 15 seconds if they are not removed from the machine’s slot after completing a transaction. This was probably implemented as some sort of security measure so that if you forgot to retrieve your card, another person that came behind you would not be able to easily steal it.

planet hollywood pulled pork recipe — I actually have a recipe for pulled pork sandwiches that I have tried several times and found to be very good, although it does take a significant amount of time to do the cooking and preparation. It is a slightly modified version of the original recipe from the Harley Davidson cafes, one of which happens to be located near the Planet Hollywood in New York.

what was the civil war fought for — Once again, the query does not specify which civil war we are talking about here, but if we go on the assumption that this is related to the American civil war, the reasons varied according to who was being asked. Each side had different reasons for fighting the war, many of which are summarized in my civil war essay, which was also a review of the book What They Fought For by James McPherson.

canned fruits and vegetables prevent scurvy? — Yes, as long as said fruits and vegetables contain vitamin C (most of them do). This is the “magic ingredient” when it comes to preventing and curing scurvy.

cantaloupes in HEB stores with salmonella — This comes from an incident last June where cantaloupes along with a few other items were temporarily removed from HEB store shelves as part of a recall when a few of the fruits tested positive for salmonella. I posted about the related news story not so much because of the recall but because of the incredibly sloppy (or nonexistent) proofreading efforts of our local KRIS-TV news reporter, who managed to publish the report while it still contained six noticeable English usage errors.

libertarian coffee mug — These are being sold (along with other libertarian-themed merchandise) by the LPStuff.com site, which has significantly improved its item selection and marketing efforts over the past several months.

is beef tongue fattening — This depends on what you would call “fattening” and how much fat you manage to cook out of the meat before consumption. For reference, raw beef tongue contains 18.2 grams of fat per 4-ounce serving according to CalorieKing.com.

how relevant are public request on constant content 6 months old — The relevancy of public requests on Constant Content depends upon the specific needs of the customers making the requests and what they are planning to do with the content after a successful purchase. In general, if the request is already six months old, then I would not expect it to have much relevance (chances are that the customer has already acquired the content from another source), but it never hurts to write an article for the request anyway. Even if the original requester does not purchase it, there is a good chance that someone else who desires articles on the same kinds of topics will come along later and generate some sales for you.

Misuse of the words then and than has become quite common in recent years, especially when we look at blogs and articles that are published on the Internet. For example, I have often seen Internet marketers mix up then and than in their sales letter copy. Many of them are apparently oblivious to the fact that they look quite silly when trying to sell products to people who can easily see that they are not even bothering to proofread their own writing while still expecting prospects to take them seriously enough to trust them and actually purchase something.

In other instances, I have seen cases where bloggers are genuinely confused about which of the two words to use and are wondering how they should be spelled. In this week’s lesson, I will attempt to clear up the confusion regarding proper use of then and than by first defining these terms and then providing examples of correct and incorrect usage.

First of all, the word than has three major definitions and uses:

• Comparison of one entity or quality to another:
  1. Two is less than three.
  2. In general, Internet marketers have a greater income potential than those who are employed at traditional salaried occupations in the corporate world.
• Indication of a preference:
  1. John McCain’s basic values are so antithetical to libertarian ideals that I would rather vote for a Democrat than take the risk of him being elected as president.
  2. It is better to have a bird in the hand than two in the bush.
• Used to suggest something beyond a specific amount or a certain point:
  1. In order to benefit from my articles and understand enough of the material to make an intelligent comment, people need to read more than the first paragraph.
  2. The differences between Republicans and Libertarians go far beyond and involve much more than simple disagreements about the degree of federal taxation.

Meanwhile, then also has three basic meanings:

• Reference to the past or a previous time period in comparison with the present; at another point in time:
  1. Back then, search engine optimization was relatively simple. Now, however, it is somewhat more difficult because search engine algorithms are more complex and there are more competing web pages for most keywords.
  2. A common Karlonian fantasy is having the ability to return to the days of yore while still retaining knowledge of all historical events leading up to the present day. From our modern perspective, things seemed so much simpler back then.
• The next item in a sequence:
  1. When building a profitable website, it is better to publish quality content first and then apply the monetization methods as opposed to trying to do it the other way around.
  2. In order to balance the federal budget, pay off the national debt, and make real long-term improvements to our economy, we must first reduce government expenditures and then look at ways to lower taxes and increase our economic freedom.
• Denotes a logical conclusion; often used in computer programming code in the form “If X Then Y Else Z”:
  1. If you have optimized your page properly, done the necessary keyword research, and acquired a significant number of inbound links, then you can expect to see a significant amount of search engine traffic arriving at your website.
  2. If X = 2, then print “Yes, your answer is correct. 1 + 1 = 2″, else print “Sorry, your answer is incorrect. Please try again.”

Now for some examples of incorrect and correct usage:

Incorrect: Buy a reusable water bottle, rather then using plastic ones. — found as an article title at http://www.edenbee.com/goals/933946514

Correct: Buy a reusable water bottle rather than using plastic ones.

Incorrect: Are cats better then dogs? — used as the title of a video at Metacafe.com

Correct: Are cats better than dogs?

Incorrect: The key to reading IF operators is to understand that the condition part of the traditional “if X than Y else Z” notation has already been evaluated. — rpntutorial, “Reading the IF Operator” at http://oss.oetiker.ch/rrdtool/tut/rpntutorial.en.html

Correct: The key to reading IF operators is to understand that the condition part of the traditional “if X then Y else Z” notation has already been evaluated.

Incorrect: I hear sound, and than I don’t hear sound when I put a movie in the vcr. Can you help? — user “mandylover”, trying to ask a question on Yahoo Answers

Correct: I hear sound, and then I don’t hear sound when I put a movie in the VCR. Can you help?

Next week’s topic is currently scheduled to cover the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of apostrophe abuse, where apostrophes are being used in plural forms of words when they should be used only to indicate possession. Meanwhile, if you have any other suggestions for English usage topics, please feel free to mention these in the comment section below.

This rather lengthy, well-researched article by Sarah Tenney analyzes some possible explanations for the overall decline in voter turnout in the United States over the past 40-50 years. For those of you who do not want to read through the whole article, you can check out my related news report from last year on an interesting case of voter apathy where literally no one showed up for a city council election and city officials had to address the problem of what to do when there are zero total votes.

In Controversies in Voting Behavior, Richard G. Niemi and Herbert F. Weisberg point out that election turnout in the United States has dropped steadily and significantly from a high point in 1960, when 65.4 percent of eligible voters went to the polls, to 1996, when the absolute level of turnout dropped to below half of the eligible electorate.

Researchers have found this result something of a paradox, given that major events since 1960 should have resulted in increased, rather than decreased, voter turnout. For example, the overall level of education in the United States has increased over the past half century, and higher levels of education have been associated with higher levels of political participation. Similarly, legal restrictions on voting, such as early registration requirements, have been reduced or removed, and the age requirement for voting has decreased. These developments, combined, should have led to increases in the rate of voter turnout. Yet fewer people are going to the polls each election year.

This puzzle has inspired many researchers to study a variety of individual factors that may account for the observed declines in voter participation. It has also inspired debate about the extent to which decreased voter turnout should be seen as a cause for concern.

Based on research findings on demographics and voting participation, many political leaders and scholars believe that any increase in turnout would come primarily from those who are less educated, have low incomes, and are predominately associated with minority groups. However, other researchers, such as Robert Putnam, argue that this is not the case; rather, the group of nonvoters is largely composed of younger and more residentially mobile citizens. Until we have a better understanding of why the rate of voter turnout has declined, it will not be possible to draw firm conclusions about the extent to which it should be seen as a cause for concern.

The quest to solve this puzzle has given rise to intensive research on voting participation in the United States, covering a range of topics, including demographics factors; institutional and legal factors; societal factors, such as negative campaigning; and individual factors related to attitudes and beliefs.

In this latter respect, many researchers have focused on individual factors related to turnout, such as trust in the government and feelings of political efficacy. However, to date, we do not have a complete examination of a broad range of cultural indicators in a single study.

This paper attempts to set forth a range of indicators that could be used to determine whether widespread cultural changes among the U.S. electorate may help explain the decline in voter turnout over the period 1960-1996. As this paper relies on aggregate data taken from the 1996 National Election Study (NES) survey, it cannot capture the important effects of generational replacement highlighted in the work of Robert Putnam. However, it can point to some areas for further study.

In The Civic Culture, Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba studied political attitudes in five nations, including the United States. In 1963, Almond and Verba observed: “If there is a political revolution going on throughout the world, it is what might be called the participation explosion. In all the new nations of the world the belief that the ordinary man is politically relevant—that he ought to be an involved participant in the political system—is widespread.” They set forth a theory that democracy requires a societal political culture that is consistent with its working principles—the decision making functions of political elites, their norms and attitudes, the norms and attitudes of the ordinary citizen, and his or her relationships with government and other citizens.

Against this background, Almond and Verba defined the civic culture as “. . . neither traditional nor modern but partaking of both: a pluralistic culture based on communication and persuasion, a culture of consensus and diversity, a culture that permitted change but moderated it.” They went on to note that scholars of democracy going back to Aristotle have stressed the need for active citizen participation, as well as high levels of education and information holding among the electorate.

In The Civic Culture, Almond and Verba assessed the political culture of five nations—Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, and the United States—by interviewing a cross-section of 1000 nationals within each country. These interviews focused primarily on respondents’

1. knowledge of the political system,
2. feelings about political structures and leaders,
3. opinions about policy implementation, and
4. their role as members of the political system.

As the interviews for this study were conducted in the United States in 1960, at the peak of voter turnout, Almond and Verba’s findings can serve as a baseline in investigating whether any widespread cultural changes associated with voter turnout have occurred in the U.S. electorate since that time.

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AdBux, the popular GPT (Get-Paid-To) program that appeared to be heading into recession and slow payouts back in February has released a relatively long newsletter today in celebration of its first anniversary since the initial launch. In addition to touting its continued presence and success among a plethora of copycats and clone sites, AdBux has also announced several significant changes to its business model that are designed to improve the program’s sustainability and provide members with more earning opportunities.

The most important of these changes is the move toward a revenue sharing model similar to what has been implemented by Take the Internet Back. Instead of promising to pay X amount per click (or offer, survey, etc.), members earn shares for each action, and the tally of these shares can be converted to cash at a rate that is determined by the actual revenues of the company. This model is more sustainable because the administrators can vary the amount paid per share according to real current profits as opposed to promising fixed payments to members at some future date and risking the possibility that actual revenues will be insufficient to make the promised payments.

AdBux is also planning to add a few other interesting features to the program, such as a question-and-answer section similar to Yahoo Answers that will allow members to earn shares for providing information to other users. Also in the works is an in-house search engine that will attempt to generate revenues from advertisers based on a PPC (pay-per-click) model. Games, charity donations, and the possibility of new payment processors are other ideas that are scheduled for future implementation. For the full details on the upcoming changes, you can read the actual text of the latest AdBux update below.

Updates and Announcements

On this day, AdBux celebrates its 1 year birthday. In one year we have surpassed everyone’s expectations and we plan to be here for years and years to come. Our last newsletter that we sent out back in February discussed our plans for a future re-launch and a pause on payments. That re-launch was originally planned for today but because of certain specifics regarding the new incentives and changes coming, we decided to postpone the launch until May and payments will be restarted (or just starting for some) in June.

In the past year we have gone through many trials, troubles, and issues. We’ve been accused of scamming people, other sites infringed on our copyrights (*cough* Bux.to *cough*), multiple server issues, payment processor problems, security issues, cheaters, and more. But everything that we have been through only made us stronger.

AdBux will continually be the forefront of everything it creates. WE created what you see all over the net, the assortment of PTC sites, the copy cats and the clones. We were the first of our kind. The upcoming incentives and changes you will see take place over the next quarter will be originated by us and guaranteed to be copied by others. But, that’s the way business is. We have to try to keep a competitive edge or else!

Just to give you a taste of what you can expect:

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When going to the grocery store, many people already realize that they should not go when they’re hungry because one tends to buy and spend more than originally intended. However, there are some other commonsense tips that you can use to save money at the grocery store while still buying what you need. This article by Keesa DuPre lists five such tips that can help you to live more frugally and reduce unnecessary expenses.

1. Make a List

Just making a list — and then actually sticking to it when you’re in the store — can cut out nine tenths of all impulse purchases and save you money because you aren’t buying things you don’t really need. Even better is when you know the approximate cost of everything you’re purchasing and bring just enough cash to pay for your purchases, plus tax, and no more. This leads us into the second smart shopping tip:

2. Don’t Buy On Credit

Spending money you don’t have via credit cards is one of the biggest mistakes that you can make when trying to spend less. If you only spend the cash in your pocket, believe me, you’ll cut your spending by half or more. Many people rely on credit cards for making purchases of everything from milk and eggs to gas to clothing; the idea of leaving the card at home is going to be a bit difficult for them. But it’s worth trying, if only for a couple of weeks to see how much you actually end up saving when you don’t have practically unlimited ‘invisible money’ to spend.

3. Don’t Buy Brands

There are certain cases where a brand-name food really is better than the off-brand, and in that case, it’s usually a good idea to go ahead and lay out the money for the brand. But in most cases, you can find off-brand or ’store brand’ versions of anything you actually need. The store brands are almost always cheaper, and most of the time they work just as well as the name brands. In fact, some of them actually taste better!

4. Shop Sales — Know a Bargain When You See One

Shopping sales — that is, things like waiting to buy your meat until your local grocery has it on sale — can also save you money. But there is one important caveat; you must know when a bargain is not a bargain. Purchasing something at 50% off is no bargain if it’s money you wouldn’t normally have spent, or an item you don’t generally purchase. A bargain is only a bargain when you’re saving money on an item that you would buy anyway.

5. Ask.

Finally, the old adage “ask and you shall receive” holds true in smart shopping, as well — sometimes you can get a better price just by asking for one. We’re not talking about used car lot haggling; it can save you money, but most people aren’t comfortable with such aggressive negotiating. Politely asking if the store can give you a better price, on the other hand, is subtle and pleasant enough that most people feel comfortable doing it.

Remember that the best way — the only way, in fact — to save money on grocery shopping or anything else is to NOT spend it. Anything that helps you to keep from spending money will help you save money.