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Credit Cards (credit + card)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	63%
Medical Sciences	10%

Terms modified by Credit Cards

credit card debt

Selected Abstracts

Who Pays for Credit Cards?

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2003
SUJIT CHAKRAVORTI
The authors model side payments in a competitive credit-card market. If competitive retailers absorb the cost of accepting credit cards by charging a higher goods price to everyone, then someone must subsidize convenience users of credit cards to prevent them from defecting to merchants who do not accept cards. The side payment could be financed by card users who roll over balances and pay interest. It is rational for them to do so if their subjective discount rates are high enough. Charging different prices to different customers based on the underlying cost of the payment instrument would be more efficient for retailers. However, banks may offer incentives to attract convenience users because some of them may become interest-paying users ("revolvers") in the future. [source]

The affinity credit card as a fundraising tool for charities

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NONPROFIT & VOLUNTARY SECTOR MARKETING, Issue 1 2000
Christopher J. Cowton
Over the past decade or so, many examples of the charity affinity credit card have been launched in the UK. This paper reports the results of a survey of charities that collected quantitative data on the characteristics and progress of more than 20 such cards. The survey also found that several other charities were contemplating following their example, and the paper goes on to identify and discuss some of the issues that should be addressed by any charity thinking of launching its own affinity card. Copyright © 2000 Henry Stewart Publications [source]

Factors Influencing Levels of Credit-Card Debt in College Students,

JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2003
Jill M. Norvilitis
The current study examined the relationship between money attitudes, impulsivity, locus of control, life satisfaction, and stress and credit-card debt in 227 college students. Students reported an average credit-card debt of $ 1,518, with over 75% of students holding at least one credit card. Students with credit cards from on-campus solicitation had higher debt-to-income ratios than did those with credit cards from other sources. Personality variables were generally unrelated to level of debt, although they were related to attitudes toward money. Many students requested information about credit and debt, suggesting that knowledge of financial issues may be an important variable for future consideration. [source]

A Profile of Financially At-Risk College Students

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2004
ANGELA C. LYONS
Using a random sample of college students, this study identifies the factors that significantly affect the probability a college student is financially at risk for mismanaging/misusing credit. Financially at-risk students are more likely to be financially independent, to receive need-based financial aid, to hold $1000 or more in other debt, and to have acquired their credit card(s) by mail, at a retail store, and/or at a campus table. Students having difficulty making credit card payments are also more likely to be female, black, and/or Hispanic. Campus administrators and financial professionals can use this information to better allocate their resources and develop materials that specifically target those students who need them most. [source]

Money Attitudes, Credit Card Use, and Compulsive Buying among American College Students

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2001
JAMES A. ROBERTS
The consumer culture has evolved into one of the most powerful forces shaping individuals and societies (Roberts and Sepulveda 1999 a, b). The desire to become a member of the consumer culture appears to be universal (Droge and Mackoy 1995). Changing attitudes toward money are an important catalyst behind the spread of the consumer culture. Money is important,especially to American college students who have been raised in a credit card society where debt is used freely (Ritzer 1995). Schor (1998) believes that access to easy credit is one of the causes of overspending. Using a causal modeling approach, the present study investigated the role money attitudes and credit card use play in compulsive buying within a sample of American college students (see Figure 1). Findings suggest that the money attitudes powerprestige, distrust, and anxiety (Yamauchi and Templer 1982) are closely related to compulsive buying and that credit card use often moderates these relationships. Study results have important public policy, marketing, and research implications. [source]

Improving food purchasing choices through increased understanding of food labels, using itemized till receipts to measure these changes

JOURNAL OF HUMAN NUTRITION & DIETETICS, Issue 4 2008
P.M. Rigby
Background:, Rising obesity and the associated risks of diabetes and heart disease require changes in diet to bring about healthier eating. To achieve this, people need to understand nutrition and daily requirements but are frequently confused by nutrition information on food labels. The introduction of the Food Standards Agency's ,Traffic Light' and the alternative ,Guideline Daily Amount' systems may help or further confuse the public. A previous study showed that although 63% of study participants read labels, only 25% claimed to understand them, also knowledge of nutrient requirements and functions was low (Rigby, 2004). Ransley et al., (2001) have shown that till receipts can be used to estimate fat and energy intake. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether an intervention designed to improve understanding of nutrition and labels could improve food purchases and whether these changes could be measured from till receipts. Method:, Participants were recruited from the general public (80 female; 23 males) (age <30 years (23), 31,45 years (25), 46,60 years (30), >60 years (22). Subjects were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n = 78) who were provided with an information booklet and credit card sized nutrition and labelling information to use when shopping, or the control group (n = 25), who received the information after four weeks of normal shopping. The intervention group provided an initial till receipt pre intervention and was then given the nutrition and labelling material. Further till receipts were returned from successive shopping trips over the following 4 weeks. The nine categories of food used for comparison were: fruit and vegetables, saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, white cereals, wholegrain cereals, processed foods, full fat and reduced fat items. Ethics approval was obtained from NWW Wales NHS Trust ethics committee. Results:, Each of the nine food categories on till receipts were calculated as a percentage of the total shopping, excluding non-food items. General linear model repeated measures analyses showed differences between study participants' food purchases. For the intervention group, purchases in three of the nine food categories showed significant improvements: increased purchases of fruits and vegetables (P < 0.001); reduction in purchases of saturated fats (P < 0.001); and reduction of white cereal purchases (P < 0.050). The control group showed no differences in any category. Discussion:, Although the intervention group did show improvements in most of the other food categories, they were not statistically significant. Positive changes were found in seven of the nine categories, with only one, wholegrain cereals, showing a decrease in purchases rather than an increase. The control group displayed a random pattern over the four till receipts, with eight categories either showing negative change or no change; only one showed a positive change. The disproportionate group sizes may mean that it is not be possible to draw firm conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the intervention. Conclusions:, This study demonstrates that positive changes in improving food-purchasing choices, as measured by till receipts, can be made by using educational interventions. Further larger studies using routinely collected supermarket data would enable the study to be replicated on a much larger scale. References, Ransley, J.K., Donnelly, J.K., Khara, T.N., Botham, H., Arnott, H., Greenwood, D.C. & Cade, J.E. (1991) The use of supermarket till receipts to determine the fat and energy intake in a UK population. Public Health Nutr. 4, 1279,1286. Rigby, P. (2004) Effecting change. Understanding nutritional information. Can increased knowledge and understanding in relation to nutritional information bring about a change in eating habits? PhD Thesis WA: Bangor University. [source]

The antecedents of donor commitment to voluntary organizations

NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP, Issue 1 2005
Adrian Sargeant
The past decade has seen a rapid growth in the number of regular or so-called committed giving schemes. Charities have been increasingly eager to solicit donors onto a low-value monthly donation, collected automatically from their bank account or credit card. Although the initial costs of donor acquisition are higher than for cash donations, charities find that committed givers are less likely to lapse and therefore offer substantially higher lifetime values over time. In this article, we examine to what extent these individuals are truly committed, that is, whether they are more committed than occasional cash givers and the factors that might drive that commitment. The results of a series of ten focus groups conducted on behalf of five large national charities are reported and a model of the antecedents of commitment hypothesized. Implications for fundraising strategy are explored. [source]

The learning credit card: A tool for managing personal development,

BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2008
Nick Rushby
This is the report of a five month study, undertaken by Sundridge Park Training Technologies in association with Guildford Educational Services to assess the potential of smart card technology to support learning and the management of learning. The study had two strands,the state of the art of the technology and its potential for supporting, delivering and managing learning. In addition to a study of the literature and extensive discussions with people using smart cards, potential users of smart card and visionaries, the project team developed two illustrative systems using cards to store personal data relating to education and training. The term ,smart card' is often used loosely to describe three different types of card, each of which is similar in general shape and size to a traditional credit card. These are: memory cards, laser cards,and true smart cards incorporating a processor and memory. This study has been concerned with memory cards and smart cards. The focus for smart card applications has been predominantly financial: there are relatively few applications in education or training. A notable exception is the large scale project at the University of Bologna which uses smart cards to manage the progress and achievements of a large number of students in the Department of Electronics. The two illustrative systems provided valuable experience of using memory cards and smart cards in quasi-real education and training applications. They highlighted the problems of limited memory capacities and confirmed the high level of user acceptance reported by other trials. We can expect considerable advances in the technology of both memory cards and smart cards over the next months and years. The memory capacities of both types of cards will increase many-fold and the unit costs will fall as large quantities of cards are produced for financial applications. Education and training applications will benefit from this expanding market. The major surprise from the study was the level of interest in the work and the enthusiasm expressed by almost all of those who came to hear of it. The general level of awareness of smart card technology was found to be low. However, the requirement for a system which will enable individuals to manage and own their learning on an extended timescale was generally recognised. Some of the possible applications for smart cards and memory cards in education and training had emerged before the official start of the study and it is clear that the technology is potentially pervasive. The project team and those consulted identified a wide range of possible applications both in education and in training. These focussed on assessment, personal course planning and management, identification of relevant learning opportunities, and the ownership of learning. It was felt that, over the next few years, smart cards are very likely to be in common use as credit cards for financial applications. Therefore, their use for education and training should be planned now. The recommendations from the study are that: More detailed studies are needed to find out how smart cards and memory cards could be used by different organisations in a fully operational system; Standards should be established for smart card applications in education and training, similar to those governing financial applications; Applications should be developed after the standards have been established. To be convincing, these should take a case study approach with small pilot studies in a variety of contexts and must follow real needs rather than attempt to drive them; The case studies would then form the basis for a campaign to increase awareness of smart cards and their potential for education and training, together with a programme for building an infrastructure to support the proposed systems. The public sector should fund the task of developing standards and providing interfaces with existing educational systems and projects to demonstrate the feasibility of various applications. Since educational standards have a European dimension, the European Community may be a source of support for work in the area of standards. At the same time, private sector funding should be sought for skill development and career development systems in industry and in education. The Training Agency itself should consider the application of smart card technology to the control and management of the Youth Training Scheme (YTS). [source]

House Price Shocks and Household Indebtedness in the United Kingdom

ECONOMICA, Issue 307 2010
RICHARD DISNEY
We use household panel data to explore the link between changes in house prices and household indebtedness (both secured on housing assets and unsecured) in the United Kingdom. We show that households which are borrowing-constrained by a lack of housing equity as collateral make greater use of unsecured debt such as credit cards or personal loans. In response to rising house prices, which relax this constraint, such households are more likely to refinance and to increase their indebtedness relative to unconstrained households. However, for most households, house price movements appear to have little impact on indebtedness. [source]

Buying behavior, social support and credit card indebtedness of college students

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 1 2009
Jeff Wang
Abstract This research examines three factors that are associated with college students' credit card indebtedness. Using survey data, we find that college students' buying patterns and social networks affect their credit card indebtedness. Specifically, students with a tendency towards compulsive buying are more likely and those with greater social support are less likely to hold credit card debts. Depth interview data further illustrate the contexts and causes of overusing credit cards as well as solutions for their debt problem. This research sheds light on reasons why college students fall into credit card debt and suggests strategies for helping them use credit cards wisely. [source]

Consumer credit and monetary policy in Malaysia

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 3 2008
Salina Hj.
Abstract What is the impact of monetary policy on the Malaysian consumer? The study addresses this issue by empirically investigating the consequences of interest rate shocks on consumer credit in Malaysia. The study relies on the impulse response functions and the variance decomposition analysis based on the structural Vector Auto-regression methodology. Apart from analysing the responses of aggregate consumer loans (ACL) to interest rate changes, further disaggregation is made in efforts to arrive at more detailed findings. In particular, the ACL data are categorized into loans for purchase of residential property, loans for personal uses, loans for credit cards, loans for purchase of consumer durables, loans for purchase of passenger cars and loans for purchase of securities. Through this disaggregation, the study shows the relative sensitivity of the various types of consumer loans to interest rate shocks. [source]

,Passports to pleasure': credit cards and contemporary travel

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 3 2005
Adam Weaver
Abstract This paper explores the relationship between credit cards and contemporary travel. The credit card has transformed the way in which travel-related experiences are produced and consumed. Production-related activities within both the travel and credit card industries have, in certain ways, become rationalised, systematised and more co-ordinated. As a result, credit cards are widely accepted by travel providers around the world. The credit card has also altered travel-related consumption; in particular, pleasure travel and hedonism have become more accessible to a broad proportion of the population in many Western countries. This tension between rationalised production and pleasure-driven consumption underpins the travel industry and, more broadly, contemporary economies. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Compatibility study of recycled poly(vinyl chloride)/styrene-acrylonitrile blends

JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 1 2007
David Garcia
Abstract The aim of the present study is to analyze the compatibility between recycled Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN). With this objective recycled PVC coming from credit cards have been blended with both virgin and recycled SAN with the aim of increase the benefits of recycled PVC. The compatibility of the components will be crucial for the final properties of the material. Furthermore, the recycled nature of some of the components will determine the compatibilization capability of the blend. The degradation level in the recycled materials was determined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The compatibility between the PVC and the SAN was studied using differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis. A greater compatibility was observed in mixtures of PVC and virgin SAN than in mixtures of PVC and recycled SAN. Finally, a morphological study of the fracture surface under cryogenic conditions was carried out using scanning electron microscopy. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007 [source]

Factors Influencing Levels of Credit-Card Debt in College Students,

Who Pays for Credit Cards?

Consumer rationality and credit card pricing: An explanation based on the option value of credit lines

MANAGERIAL AND DECISION ECONOMICS, Issue 5 2004
Sangkyun Park
An option is embedded in credit cards. Since credit cards offer open credit lines, cardholders can borrow at the same terms when they become riskier. This option value raises the zero-profit card rate. Furthermore, adverse selection occurs if cardholders are better informed about the probability of becoming riskier in the future and borrow more when they become riskier. The adverse selection can limit rate competition and keep the card rate above the zero-profit card rate. An up-front fee is not a good alternative because it is also vulnerable to adverse selection. A low introductory card rate is an effective way to avoid the adverse selection problem when asymmetric information is mainly about the change in the borrower's risk profile in the future, as opposed to the riskiness in the present period. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

A prepubertal and early adolescent bipolar disorder-I phenotype: review of phenomenology and longitudinal course

BIPOLAR DISORDERS, Issue 4 2003
James L Craney
Objective: Phenomenology, assessment, longitudinal, and psychosocial findings from an ongoing, controlled, prospective study of 93 subjects with a prepubertal and early adolescent bipolar disorder phenotype (PEA-BP) will be reviewed. Methods: Unlike adult-onset bipolar disorder, for which there were over 50 years of systematic investigations, there were a paucity of rigorous data and much controversy and skepticism about the existence and characteristics of prepubertal-onset mania. With this background, issues to address for investigation of child-onset mania included the following: (i) What to do about the differentiation of mania from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). (ii) How to deal with the ubiquity of irritability as a presenting symptom in multiple child psychiatry disorders. (iii) Development of a research instrument to assess prepubertal manifestations of adult mania (i.e. children do not ,max out' credit cards or have four marriages). (iv) How to distinguish normal childhood happiness and expansiveness from pathologically impairing elated mood and grandiosity. Results: To address these issues, a PEA-BP phenotype was defined as DSM-IV mania with elated mood and/or grandiosity as one inclusion criterion. This criterion ensured that the diagnosis of mania was not made using only criteria that overlapped with those for ADHD, and that subjects had at least one of the two cardinal symptoms of mania (i.e. elated mood and grandiose behaviors). Subjects were aged 10.9 years (SD = 2.6) and age of onset of the current episode at baseline was 7.3 years (SD = 3.5). Validation of PEA-BP was shown by reliable assessment, 6-month stability, and 1- and 2-year diagnostic longitudinal outcome. PEA-BP resembled the severest form of adult-onset mania by presenting with a chronic, mixed mania, psychotic, continuously (ultradian) cycling picture. Conclusion: Counterintuitively, typical 7-year-old children with PEA-BP were more severely ill than typical 27 year olds with adult-onset mania. Moreover, longitudinal data strongly supported differentiation of PEA-BP from ADHD. [source]