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South Africans, like many people worldwide, need to save more and spend less. The question arises why people do not save enough for their retirement and other financial needs. In this exploratory study, age, gender and the amount of pocket money that learners receive were evaluated to determine their impact on the level of learners’ financial literacy. The author concluded that of the three variables evaluated, only age has a significant effect on the level of learners’ financial literacy.

The purpose of this paper is to describe how librarians used elements of market research, advertising and media literacy in a personal finance class.

Librarians each semester guest lecture one session in a personal finance class “Foundations of Money Education.” Through this class, librarians present engaging material about market research and advertising in an effort to encourage students to think about how these external forces influence their spending behavior.

Students appreciate learning about advertising through the engaging use of commercials. While responses were mixed as to the applicability of the topic, the majority of students agreed that the topic was a worthwhile addition to the personal finance curriculum.

Topics such as budgets, savings, and mortgages are typically taught in personal finance classes. Teaching information about market research and advertising is a topic that is usually not covered in a personal finance class.

This paper aims to provide an introductory overview and selected annotated bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy across all library types.

It introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2014.

It provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

The complex phenomenon of information overload (IO) is one of the pathologies in our present information environment, thus symbolically it signalizes the existence of a dark side of information. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the approaches on mitigating IO. Hence, it is an attempt to display the bright side.

Based on a literature review, the sources of IO are briefly presented, not forgetting about the role of information technology and the influence of the data-intensive world. The main attention is given to the possible ways of mitigating IO.

It is underlined that there are both technological and social approaches towards easing the symptoms of IO. While reducing IO by increasing search task delegation is a far away goal, solutions emerge when information is properly designed and tools of information architecture are applied to enable findability. A wider range of coping strategies is available when we interact with information. The imperative of being critical against information by exercising critical thinking and critical reading yields results if different, discipline-dependent literacies, first of all information literacy and data literacy are acquired and put into operation, slow principles are followed and personal information management (PIM) tools are applied.

The paper intends to be an add-on to the recent discussions and the evolving body of knowledge about the relationship between IO and information architecture, various literacies and PIM.

Using survey data from Shandong, Henan and Guizhou provinces of China, the purpose of this paper is to accurately measure the impact of rural residents’ financial education on financial literacy.

This paper chooses one province from the Eastern, Central and Western Regions of China, namely, Shandong, Henan and Guizhou, respectively, and 1,565 samples are obtained through a questionnaire survey. First, the paper constructs a financial literacy assessment framework and, then, scores the financial literacy of the respondents. Second, using ordinary least squares, feasible generalized least squares method and forward search method, the paper estimates the impact factors of financial literacy level. To avoid sample selection errors and endogeneity problems, the authors divide the respondents into treatment group (participated in financial education) and control group (non-participating in financial education) and, then, adopt propensity score matching (PSM) to analyze the impact of rural residents’ financial education on financial literacy.

The results show that education level and risk level have significant impact on rural residents’ participation in financial education, and some unobservable abilities and qualities also affect their participation. Therefore, the process of rural residents’ participation in financial education exists, which gives rise to self-selection and endogeneity problems; financial education is promoting rural residents’ financial literacy, but the effect of promotion becomes smaller after taking into account sample self-selection and endogenous problems. Rural residents of female, higher age, single, higher education level, higher parental education level, agricultural type, higher family annual per capita income and lower risk level show stronger effects on their financial literacy level, if they participate in financial education.

The survey sample was drawn from three provinces randomly but the site selection was not random. The implication is in rural China, financial education has positive effect on residents’ financial literacy level but considering the sample self- selection and endogenous nature, its impact becomes smaller.

The government should encourage rural residents to participate fully in financial education activities, especially those with a low educational level, low risk preference and mainly engaged in agricultural production.

The effect of financial education on financial literacy has not reached a consistent conclusion, and there is fewer quantitative discussion about this issue. The originality of this paper is based on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development evaluation index system; this paper constructs the evaluation index system of rural residents’ financial literacy in China and uses the PSM method to accurately measure the effect of financial education on financial literacy.

The economic downturn and financial meltdown in the changing retirement savings and pension landscape in the US placed individual investors and financial companies at risk. Recognizing the need for more financial literacy among investors, the US financial services companies for retirement plans and investment options (i.e. the retirement financial services providers (RFSPs)) have stepped up consumer marketing, particularly through creation of corporate websites. Seeing their potential for increasing literacy and aiding consumer financial decisions, a majority of RFSPs are promoting websites and a large number of consumers use them. With this backdrop, the purpose of this paper is to examine the use of these websites and their conformity to existing regulations regarding design and structure.

The present study used a quantitative content analysis to examine the types of disclosure information presented on the corporate websites of RFSPs during 2013-2015. It also examined the adherence to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) clear and conspicuous standards (CCS) disclosure guidelines over the three-year period. Finally, this study examined the levels of financial literacy activities employed on 164 RFSPs’ websites over the three-year period.

This study shows that RFSPs are increasingly providing disclosure information for target consumers via their websites. Although problems still exist with the presentation of that material in terms of the FTC’s suggestions for prominence, there have been some improvements in compliance with proximity of disclosures. In addition, just under one-fourth of the RFSPs were providing tactics and features on their websites to potentially aid in the creation and maintenance of critical financial literacy and acumen.

The key point emerging from this analysis is that financial services providers, regulators, advocacy groups, and policymakers should continue to address varying levels of financial literacy activities to promote the deliberation and discussion of the retirement issues and topics across media while facilitating the provision and dissemination of financial information and data in a clear and conspicuous manner.

This is the first study to explore the content of RFSPs’ websites with regard to disclosure information, adherence to FTC CCS disclosure guidelines, and the use of techniques related to various levels of financial literacy from 2013-2015.

The purpose of this paper is to establish the profile of mortgage‐holding households in terms of their demographic, socioeconomic, and financial characteristics and assess the current state of knowledge concerning mortgage products in Australia.

Logit models predict owner‐occupied, investor mortgages, and mortgage understanding. Factors include financial literacy, gender, age, ethnicity, occupation, education, family structure, household income, savings, and debt. Understanding is knowledge of mortgage rates, fees and charges, and familiarity with mortgage terms.

Middle‐aged and couples with children have an increased likelihood of an owner‐occupied mortgage, while being from a non‐English speaking background, a small business owner, or a skilled tradesman increases the likelihood of an investor mortgage. Understanding is generally poorer for females, rural/regional households and the young, and better for professionals, the university‐educated, and small business owners and skilled tradesmen.

The cross‐section of households is from a period when mortgage rates were stable and housing prices strong.

No more than 40 per cent of mortgage‐holding households have an understanding of any key mortgage terms, only 35 per cent understand the main disadvantage of fixed over variable rates during falls in interest rates, and just 15 per cent understand the fees and charges on their own mortgage. There is a need for financial literacy programmes to continue and expand.

This is the first Australian study to model the demand and understanding of mortgage products using household level data.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between financial literacy, access to finance and growth among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the Midlands region of the UK. It assesses whether financial literacy assists SMEs to overcome information asymmetry, mitigates the need for collateral, optimizes capital structure and improves access to finance.

To gain a deeper insight into the complex relationship between financial literacy, access to finance and growth, a qualitative research is carried out among SMEs that have operated for over five years or longer. Using the purposive sampling technique, 37 firms were selected based on size, location and characteristics, mainly from the city of Birmingham and the joining conurbations. Open-ended and a combination of dichotomous questions were used for the survey. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analyzed.

Financial literacy is an interconnecting resource that mitigates information asymmetry and collateral deficit when evaluating loan applications, therefore financial literacy should be part of school curriculum. The analysis suggests enhanced financial literacy, reduces monitoring cost and serves to optimize firms’ capital structure that positively impacts on SMEs growth. Financial management knowledge is recognized as the core resource that aids an effective decision making by owners of SMEs.

The limitation of this research is the small sample that limits its generalization. Its findings could be enhanced by a larger sample and by conducting comparative studies in other regions or economies. SMEs growth is seen as a strategic policy to stimulate enterprise but the finance gap tends to constrain that objective. The UK Government’s effort to improve access to finance and to mitigate excessive collateral demands by lenders has proved elusive. This empirical research provides evidence that financial literacy enhances access to finance and, in turn, promotes growth potentials.

The results of this study advocate the provision of financial literacy at schools and target support for SMEs to acquire financial management skills in order to mitigate information asymmetry between lenders and borrowers.

Findings suggest that financial literacy mediates access to finance, enables enterprises to use optimal financial structure to mitigate business failure, creates employment and reduces public sector support for social benefits.

This study is novel in that it examines financial literacy and its implications for access to finance and firm growth in the UK. The study is an effort to highlight the role of financial information in mitigating barriers to finance for SMEs.

This study took place in an elementary English language arts classroom during a comics writers workshop unit and focused on one fourth-grade author. This paper aims to explain how a fourth-grade student receiving special education services positions himself and is positioned by others as an expert during a unit on comics. When students’ knowledge about multimodal composition is recognized and valued, the classroom community can become a place where students can author themselves into positions of power and authority.

Informed by sociocultural theory, social semiotics and positioning theory, the authors conducted a qualitative study to analyze the focal participant’s published comic, classroom interactions and interview data using open and in vivo coding systems.

The findings documented how the focal participant was positioned as an expert by others and how he positioned himself as an expert. The findings also explore how this fourth-grade comics expert left an authorial residue that extended beyond the boundaries of this particular comics unit, impacting his teachers and future iterations of the comics workshop.

Scholars have theorized multimodal approaches to reading and writing pedagogy as an equitable enterprise that values meaning-makers using a wide variety of semiotic resources. This study shows how incorporating an explicit multimodal composition opportunity allowed one fourth-grade author space to craft a comic and re-author traditional classroom positions of power.

Several research models have been proposed in the existing literature to understand the intention to use Islamic banking where conventional bank customers are not primarily addressed. Upon measuring the level of Islamic financial literacy (IFL) among the customers of conventional banks in the UAE, the purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and indirect effects of IFL, awareness, cost and benefit, reputation and attitude towards Islamic banking on the intention of potential customers to use Islamic banking.

Using judgmental sampling techniques, questionnaires were distributed to working individuals who did not have accounts with Islamic banks. A total of 350 completed and usable questionnaires were received and used for further analysis. The SmartPLS 3.0 software was used to analyse the data.

The results revealed that the level of IFL was high across the respondents and differed significantly as a function of gender, income level and years of work experience. The findings showed that IFL, awareness, reputation and attitude towards Islamic banking significantly influenced the intention to use Islamic banking, while cost and benefit appear not to. Interestingly, IFL was negatively correlated with the intention to use Islamic banking, but when the attitude towards Islamic banking mediated the relationship between IFL and the intention to use Islamic banking it then became positive.

Future research should consider looking at non-Muslim economies, which might be more vulnerable to IFL. In addition, a comparison between the current customers of Islamic banks and potential customers might be relevant to see whether the IFL of the current customers differs from the new customers.

The implications of the research are twofold. First the study suggests that IFL is crucial for an Islamic bank’s potential new customers. Islamic bank managers should design and focus their policies toward enriching the knowledge of the public about Islamic banks and their products. Second, IFL alone does not lead to a higher level of intention to use Islamic banks unless there is a positive attitude towards such banks.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to consider the IFL measure used in this paper. Therefore, this study will be the foundation for future research on IFL.