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With all the current discussion about the drug ‘problem’ in schools and colleges, aren't we in danger of creating an artificial problem, or of confusing different sorts of problems?

In the novel, The Member of the Wedding, Carson McCullers probes the American malaise through the longings of a young adolescent girl. Twelve‐year‐old Frankie no longer sees the world as round and inviting as a school globe. No, the world is huge and cracked and turning a thousand miles an hour. Indeed, the world seems separate from herself. In the midst of chaos, Frankie sees her brother's upcoming wedding as a chance to feel connected, to feel that she matters. The story focuses on Frankie's efforts to be a “member of the wedding,” as she recognizes, “they are the we of me.”

SEPTEMBER is the month when, Summer being irrevocably over, our minds turn to library activities for the winter. At the time of writing the international situation is however so uncertain that few have the power to concentrate on schemes or on any work other than that of the moment. There is an immediate placidity which may be deceptive, and this is superficial even so far as libraries are concerned. In almost every town members of library staffs are pledged to the hilt to various forms of national service—A.R.P. being the main occupation of senior men and Territorial and other military services occupying the younger. We know of librarians who have been ear‐marked as food‐controllers, fuel controllers, zone controllers of communication centres and one, grimly enough, is to be registrar of civilian deaths. Then every town is doing something to preserve its library treasures, we hope. In this connexion the valuable little ninepenny pamphlet issued by the British Museum on libraries and museums in war should be studied. In most libraries the destruction of the stock would not be disastrous in any extreme way. We do not deny that it would be rather costly in labour and time to build it up again. There would, however, be great loss if all the Local Collections were to disappear and if the accession books and catalogues were destroyed.

French retailer, Système U, has triggered controversial debates among professionals and parents recently, by inserting images revolutionising gender norms in its Christmas toy catalogue. As children’s perceptions did not feature in these debates, the purpose of this paper is to explore their reactions to this catalogue, its gender-incongruent images and their associated toys.

An exploratory qualitative study was conducted with 27 children aged five to ten, from middle-upper social class. The methodology combined in one session participant observation, interview with visual stimuli and a collage exercise. First, each child was observed as they browsed freely through the catalogue, commenting it. Second, the interview focussed on four gender-incongruent images inside the catalogue to further explore reactions. Finally, they participated to a collage exercise on a mini-questionnaire, aiming at checking their gender-flexibility.

First, all children tend to focus on their own-gender pages only, as they have an intuitive understanding of the catalogue’s gendered structure. Second, incongruent images tend not to be noticed, with an exception being girls aged nine to ten. Third, the children’s acceptance of the gender-incongruent images is influenced by the gender-constancy stage, with the rigidity peak about gender norms at five to six; children’s own-gender-flexibility, between eight and ten; and the collective nature of the game.

This paper reveals children’s reactions to a toy catalogue containing gender-incongruent images. It provides new insights into how children notice, understand and appreciate these images and concludes with practical implications for retailers about how to better adapt catalogues.

There exists at present a gap in channel theory on the role of co‐operation and trust in the functioning of interfirm relationships. These variables have not featured as major factors in the explanations of how channels co‐ordinate their activities, survive and grow. This article introduces trust as an important determinant of channel behaviour, indicates the importance of trust in co‐operative behaviour and presents the results of an introductory study on trust in marketing channels.

Disquiet has been expressed in a number of countries regarding the cost of health care provision. The UK and New Zealand have extensively reviewed funding mechanisms including the application of an “internal market” as advocated by Enthoven. Currently there is active disillusionment in some administrative circles in the USA due to burgeoning increases in health spending, to the extent that a universal health service has even been considered. The applicability of an “internal market” is questioned and various consequences that may result if this concept is implemented rigorously are reviewed.

The health promoting school concept is now a well‐established framework for the development of health promotion initiatives in schools. Increasingly, attention has focused on the evaluation of school‐based health promotion and debate continues over appropriate evaluation designs for the school setting. The authors argue that the case study design provides a useful approach because of its ability to explore the real‐life complexities of social contexts using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, with a strong emphasis on process as well as outcome measures. The current ENHPS project in Scotland uses a multiple‐case study design to evaluate healthy eating initiatives in four schools, based on the principles of the health promoting school. Provides a description of the project and highlights the advantages of case study methodology in addressing key issues around effectiveness of school‐based health promotion based on the health promoting school concept.

Most young men who are homosexual are not raised in an environment in which homosexual development is even recognized, much less encouraged. It is not unusual for men who have recently identified themselves as gay to not have any idea what being gay is all about. It is common, even typical, for the gay male to “come out” during his late teens or early twenties and to begin both exploring his sexuality and developing a sense of what it means to be gay. There are many resources available which will be of great use to the newly “out” gay male. The resources in this guide may also be of interest to other gay men, but the purpose of the pathfinder as it has been constructed is to provide a strategy for: