【正文】 taking a year off? A: I want to know what my options are, really. I don39。t really want to do the fulltime course, then? A: No, not really. It39。t think I could afford to support myself with no salary for a whole year. M: OK. Well, you have two other possibilities: you could either do the parttime course that would be over two years and you wouldn39。modular39。s quite flexible and it would be up to you.A: Mmm. So what does the parttime course involve? M: For that you would join an evening class and have a lecture twice a week. Then, you39。s a mixture. You39。s quite a lot of work, then, on top of working every day. It sounds like a lot of studying and really tiring. M: Yes, you certainly wouldn39。modular39。s where you get the opportunity to study fulltime for short periods. That way you can cover a lot of coursework and attend lectures and seminars during the day. And each module lasts for one term, say, about twelve weeks at a time. There are obvious advantages in this the main one being that you can study in a much more intensive way, which suits some people much better. A: And how many of these 39。 would I have to do to get the diploma?M: The current programme is two modules and then you have to choose a topic to work in more depth but you can base that on your job, and so you don39。t have to study and work. You can focus on one thing at a time.M: Yes, I can see that. It certainly sounds attractive! It would be more expensive, though. I mean, I39。s true, so that might be a problem for you. Look, why don39。ve been looking at the attitudes of various social and cultural groups towards the management of their personal finances how important they feel it is to save money, and what they save their money for. One aspect that we haven39。re basically asking whether men and women have different attitudes towards saving money, and whether they save money for different things: Back in 1928 the British writer George Bernard Shaw wrote in his Intelligent Women39。 lie also said, 39。. Now, though these days people might question a lot of the assumptions contained in those statements, recent research does suggest that there are some quite fundamental differences between men and women in their attitudes to economic matters. Let39。s education and they are also more likely to save up in order to buy a house one day. The same studies have found that men, on the other hand, tend to save for a car, which by the way takes a surprisingly large amount of the household budget in North America. But the other main priority for men when saving money is their retirement. When they39。re far more likely to put money aside for their old age than women are. Now this is rather disturbing, because in fact the need for women to save for their old age is far greater than for men. Let39。t have a spouse to look after them. Furthermore the high divorce rates in North America are creating a poverty cycle for women. It is the divorced women who will most often have to look after the children and thus they need more money to look. after not just themselves but others. So what can be done about this situation? The population in North America is likely to contain an increasing number of elderly women. The research indicates that at present for women it takes a crisis to make them think about their future financial situation. But of course this is the very worst time for anyone to make important decisions. Women today need to look ahead, think ahead not wait until they39。s advice. A number of initiatives have been set up to help them do this. This College, for example, is one of the educational institutions which offers night classes in Money Management, and increasing numbers of women are enrolling on such courses. Here, they can be given advice on different ways of saving. Many women are unwilling to invest in stocks and shares, for instance, but these can be extremely profitable. It is usually advised that at least 70% of a person39。m not, but someone told me it was possible to join, even if I wasn39。s right, it is. Are you over 18? That39。s no problem then. M: Could you tell me what I have to do to join? L: Well, you39。ll also need to bring two passport photos with you. We also need two documents for ID, so a driving licence would be fine. M: I39。ll be fine. M: Good. Does it cost anything to join? L: Well, it39。s 163。25 if you39。ve got a job at Jefferson39。s more expensive than I thought. My local library is free. L: But you39。t have the range of reference books or facilities which we buy for our students. That39。re a student, and that includes CDs, DVDs and videos. However, it39。t bad really.M: And what happens if I return them late? L: Like all libraries there39。 but it can be much higher for some items up to 163。ll give you a booklet with all the details when you join. You can always renew items if they39。s free, but for external members like yourself, the first hour is free and then we make a nominal charge of 163。s advisable. Most people tend to book twentyfour hours in advance although sometimes you can get one with only six hours39。m thinking of doing some writing and I might need to access national newspapers. Do you have them on these databases? LI: We do indeed. We39。ve also got all the local papers and a wide selection of magazines.M: Excellent. I assume you have photocopying facilities? L: Of course. 5p a sheet for both A4 and A3 blackandwhite copies and 40p a sheet for colour. You can get a card from the counter here it doesn39。ll have to speak to John Grantingham about that. He39。s here on Thursday evenings, oh no sorry, Friday he39。s about all I need to know. Thank you. I39。s Dan Pearman and I39。ll be giving our contact details at the end, if anyone would like to find out more about how to support us. But first, how the charity began. I got the idea of exporting bicycles to developing countries while I was in Ecuador. I went there in 1993 just after graduating from university. After three years of studying, I w