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In recent years it has become recognized that people with a wide variety of physical handicaps—visual or hearing impairment, limb loss, or other impaired bodily functioning—can live more productive and comfortable lives if they receive appropriate information and aid and if society can overcome ancient prejudices and make reasonable adaptations. As people with various kinds and degrees of disability have come out of the closet and moved towards the mainstream of society, a wide variety of devices and aids has become available to help make life easier for them. Numerous books on this subject are available, such as the recently published An Easier Way: Handbook for the Elderly and Handicapped by Jean Vieth Sargent, and magazines such as Accent on Living. These books should not be neglected for the general collection, but your information service will be richer if they are supplemented by the following bibliographies and some of the items listed therein. Commercial catalogs, too, are often an excellent source of information on devices and products not locally known in a society which is geared to the needs of the majority.

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.

The purposes of this paper are to investigate the effects of integrated advertising formats on the persuasion of children, children’s awareness of the persuasive intent of these formats and how this awareness mediates the level of persuasion.

An one-factor between-subjects experiment was conducted among 117 boys from 8 to 12 years old.

This study showed that boys were more aware of the persuasive intent of a non-integrated catalog than of a brand-integrated magazine. In addition, higher awareness of the persuasive intent of the catalog enhanced persuasion in boys.

This study only focused on boys’ responses and not on girls.

Findings imply that advertisers could focus on non-integrated print advertising formats, such as catalogs, to promote positive product attitudes among boys. Catalogs are also a more ethical way of communicating to boys because boys are generally aware of catalogs’ persuasive intent.

This study implies that even if children have sufficient persuasion knowledge, they do not necessarily use it to critically evaluate advertising.

This paper is the first to systematically test the differences in effects of brand-integrated magazines versus catalogs targeted toward children. Importantly, it shows that persuasion knowledge plays a fundamentally different role in the persuasion process of children than of adults: awareness of the persuasive intent of catalogs increases persuasion among boys, whereas previous studies among adults showed opposite results.

Parents' exposure to children's brands appears rather limited; while brands sell at Christmas, there are extraordinary purchases of low‐cost toys and stocking filler fun toys. Maybe, toy brand purchases satisfy the child's request, rather than parents' value or quality preferences. Generally, the theories of branding feature the positive functional, symbolic and emotional attributes. This paper aims to examines parental evaluation of popular brand names to be given as gifts at Christmas and the sources used to gather information about brands.

Data were gathered via a survey of parents in the period prior to Christmas. The analysis consisted of a principal component analysis of the functional, symbolic and emotional evaluations. A frequency analysis and a gender‐based crosstabs series identified gender variations in the evaluations and use of information sources.

The study indicated that parents hold low evaluations of popular brands when buying Christmas gifts for their children. These low evaluations are across functional, symbolic and hedonic elements. Since mothers generally attend to the gift purchase decisions, there were significant gender differences on a few evaluations. The most popular source of information is asking children what they want and is closely followed by the use of store catalogues.

The evaluation and purchase of toys and gifts predominate at Christmas. Having such a high level of product or brand choice in the children's market could create confusion or uncertainty for parents. A negative image of children's exposure to toy advertising and the resultant pester power may combine to cloud parents' evaluations of giving brands as gifts. In essence, Christmas is the major chance for brand owners to sell their toys and other products. The idea of “… ask mom to get one … ” may be appropriate in high turnover, supermarket products, but not effective in a one‐chance, Christmas gift situation.

This research spans the value sets of two generations. Simply, the promotion of toys is primarily directed toward children who develop desires, expectations and values that are different from those values and attitudes of parents. Research into parental Christmas giving ascertains the value of children's brands to parents.

From an interpretive semiology perspective this paper examines the meaning suggested by the absence of children in newspaper advertisements, commercial websites and catalogue images of children’s furniture manufacturers. The purpose of the paper is to highlight the multilayered process involved in conveying meaning to the “parent-child cluster” consumer through press and online advertisements designed by children’s furniture manufacturers.

A corpus of 200 press advertisements and catalogues produced by children's furniture manufacturers (particularly IKEA and Gautier) was analysed using a combination of Barthes’ (1964) visual analysis and Greimas’ (1987) narrative approach to visual discourses.

The scenes portrayed to shape the message addressed to the “parent-child cluster“ consumer, suggest that, in addition to fostering positive values such as self-fulfilment and stimulating background for an active child, they also promote discourses about contemporary childhood and parenthood.

This paper highlights how furniture retailers through the figurative choices they make to portray a child bedroom and to organize a series of child bedroom images within a catalogue, generate a brand discourse aiming to typify representations of childhood imbued with diverse cognitive, social and emotional dimensions within diverse cultural backgrounds.

Reports a case study of the award‐winning Action Man Final Combat campaign for Christmas 2003; the 36‐year old Action Man toy is the flagship brand of Hasbro, but was in decline and lacked “talkability”. Shows how the TV campaign used an interactive vote campaign which allowed children to direct the creative end of an Action Man advertisement story themselves, the result of the vote being given a heavily publicised TV programme. Outlines the other aspects of the campaign, which involved a Kids’ Immersion Day, other media including the Actionman.com website and a comic, and cooperation with leading retailers: the result was that 100,000 children became involved in the brand strategy, and Action Man regained the top spot for boys’ toys.

Storing and distributing Argos' toys from the company's recently acquired Welwyn warehouse is being successfully carried out through third party operators. Fulfilling this task are National Carriers Contract Services (NCCS) in conjunction with GKN Chep, wellknown in the field for hiring out materials handling equipment. However, the smooth‐running of the operation can only be assured if certain standards of co‐operation and reliability are met, and here we relate how a confident dependency has been established.

This year London hosted the Third World Summit on Children's Television. Although unusual to dedicate an event to one group of viewers none are more deserving of this attention than children who are far more discerning about what they watch than adults. Marketing to children is consistently on the agenda of European regulators and whilst in the UK we work within an excellent regulatory framework this has not stopped other member countries continuing their efforts in Europe to ban advertising to children. Restricting responsible marketing to children would be a draconian measure but with claims like (1) over half of all decisions to eat at Burger King are made by children and (2) children influence over ten times more than they spend are precisely why the Swedes have tabled their position again to the European commissioners although the Swedish media are not supportive of this position. We all need to protect the freedom to advertise within the respective guidelines both as broadcasters and as advertising practitioners.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the political, toy manufacturing, and educational activities of Caroline Louise Pratt (1867‐1954), founder of the Play School (later renamed City and Country School), New York City.

The paper reviews previously unreported biographical material and draws on a number of Caroline Pratt's own writings, combining results of archival text research and digital searches.

Newly available data sources on Caroline Pratt's 1896‐1921 life show her to be more of a social reconstructionist than previously concluded. This research demonstrates that it was Pratt's feminist, socialist and trade unionist ideals, transformed into educational aims, that formed the core of her educational work.

This investigation is limited to Pratt's activities during the years 1896 to 1921.

The internet has provided ready access to a wealth of newspaper and journal documents. The ease of access has no precedent, and the volume of newly available data sources has brought opportunities for reinterpretation and rewriting of the history of education. Yet even more new data will inevitably become accessible. This paper provides insights into how previously unresearched documents, now easily found through digital research, can enhance understanding of the contributions of Caroline Pratt.