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Online Social Networking Sites (SNSs) such as Facebook and Twitter have become increasingly popular in the last decade. Each SNS varies somewhat, with different forms of expression, communication and customization. Different sites may have different priorities, methods of interacting, social features and definitions of what it means to be ‘social’ on their sites.

This paper reports on 2 months of exploratory observations and interviews with participants using two of the most popular SNSs; Facebook.com and Twitter.com. Paying attention to the modal nuances of the sites and their effect on social interaction and identity portrayal, the focus of analysis is upon how these two sites are interacted with as ‘stages’ for identity performances, and how the varying aspects of design and modality on these interactive sites can result in different multimodal identity performances and social interactions.

Data revealed that youth are adeptly able to negotiate the different modal options presented to them online, yet the temporal aspects presented by the design of the site, the differing definitions and priorities in the framing of identity presented by the SNSs, and the modal choices present across the two sites resulted in markedly differing presentations of identity to markedly differing audiences.

This research demonstrates the impact of modality and design on how we act and interact, and highlights that as Digital Sociologists and Researchers, we should be careful not to treat all Online SNSs the same, but pay attention to the plethora of nuances these sites offer as stages for identity performances.

Analysis of the responses of 131 local union officers to a questionnaire found that a number of variables are related to the attitudes of union leaders toward quality of worklife (QWL). Unions are morelikely to participate in a QWL program if local officers feel that unions can influence government policy, their members expect them to make progress on QWL issues, and if it is important to have good local‐member relations. Unions are less likely to participate in a QWL program if officers believe that unions are strong, feel employers favor severe tactics, and place a priority on traditional bargaining issues. For unions involved in a QWL program, union strength and perceived influence over government policy were related to positive attitudes regarding the long‐term future of QWL. For unions without QWL experience,severe management policies toward unions, and higher member expectations for local performance on QWL issues were related to more favorable attitudes toward QWL, while the officer’s tenure in position was related to a less favorable view of QWL. For locals involved in a QWL program, satisfaction with QWL increases if officers feel the labor movement needs to change its attitude and approach to problems, the labor relations climate is favorable, the local has sufficient bargaining power, and the overall performance of the local is satisfactory. The results suggest that “get tough” management policies toward unions will negatively affect union participation in and satisfaction with QWL efforts.

The purpose of this paper is to set out three dilemmas that challenge historians of education who write for both professional and academic audiences. It focuses on the example of using fiction as a source for understanding the informal education of girls in the twentieth century. It contributes to the debate over the purpose of history of education and the possibilities that intersecting and contested analytical frameworks might contribute to the development of the discipline.

The paper discusses the rules of engagement and the duties of a historian of education. It reforms current concerns into three dilemmas: audience, method and writing. It gives examples drawn from research into girls’ school stories between 1910 and 1960. It highlights three authors and stories set in Australia, England and an international school in order to explore what fiction offers in getting “inside” the classroom.

Developed from a conference keynote that explored intersecting and contested histories of education, the paper sets up as many questions as it provides answers but re-frames them to include the use of a genre that has been explored by historians of childhood and literature but less so by historians of education.

The vast quantity of stories set in girls’ schools between 1910 and 1960 necessarily demands a selective reading. Authors may specialise in the genre or be general young people’s fiction authors. Reading such stories must necessarily be set against changing social, cultural and political contexts. This paper uses examples from the genre in order to explore ways forward but cannot include an exhaustive methodology for reasons of space.

This paper suggests fiction as a way of broadening the remit of history of education and acting as a bridge between related sub-disciplines such as history of childhood and youth, history and education. It raises practical implications for historians of education as they seek new approaches and understanding of the process of informal education outside the classroom.

This paper suggests that the authors should take more seriously the impact of children’s reading for pleasure. Reception studies offer an insight into recognising the interaction that children have with their chosen reading. While the authors cannot research how children interacted historically with these stories in the mid-twentieth century, the authors can draw implications from the popularity of the genre and the significance of the legacy of the closed school community that has made series such as Harry Potter so successful with the current generation.

The marginal place of history of education within the disciplines of history and education is both challenging and full of possibilities. The paper draws on existing international debates and discusses future directions as well as the potential that girls’ school stories offer for research into gender and education.

In a recent article dealing with the crimes against humanity committed by Germany, The Daily Telegraph remarks that thousands of innocent men, women, and little children murdered in cold blood by airship and submarine appeal for vengeance. The acts of Germany from the early days of the war onwards have filled decent‐minded people with feelings of loathing, and it is well that the last bonds uniting the two nations should be severed. This is no ordinary war. It has cut a deep chasm between the British and German peoples. By every means in our power we must remove, root and branch, those enemy influences in our midst which, by a process of “peaceful penetration,” were undermining our social, financial, and industrial power.

The total number of samples analysed in 1911 was 103,221, an increase of 2,472 samples over the number for the previous year. The principal increases were the following: Milk, 2,954; flour, 405; bread, 291; and spirits, 255. The principal decreases occurred in lard, 973; cheese, 285; and margarine, 208.

Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).