This study examines the way that consent is reported for participation in school-based research involving children or young people aged from 5 to 16 years. Databases containing descriptions of research identified during systematic reviews were surveyed to determine to what extent consent is sought, and from whom, and to see whether reporting varied by study characteristics such as the age of participants, the country in which the research was carried out, research design and substantive area of study. Of a total (...) of 489 studies in school settings involving children or young people, less than a third reported seeking consent. Only one in seven sought consent from children or young people themselves. Consent was reported significantly more frequently in studies sourced from health promotion reviews, when compared to those sourced from education reviews. Codes of practice indicate that researchers should seek consent from research participants. This study demonstrates that these principles are often not reflected in practice. (shrink)

The purpose of this note is to revive Servius Auctus' interpretation of Aeneid 8.363, which has been overlooked or dismissed without argument by recent scholars. It concerns the identification and location of Evander's regia. The relevant lines are worth quoting in full :There has been general agreement amongst scholars this century that the building is to be understood to be occupying the same place—or thereabouts—as that later to be taken by Augustus' house. It is now established that this was on (...) the South-West of the Palatine. (shrink)

Simone Weil was a remarkable woman: a teacher, a factory worker, a field hand, a traveler, and a frontline volunteer in the Spanish Civil War; yet she found time to write and to philosophize about life and religion. Her short life (1909–43) spanned two world wars, al­though she did not live to see the end of the second one. The reac­tions of this French Jewish woman to some of the facets of these conflicts may seem surprising; her sympathies and affirmations (...) were perhaps too extreme, but she did think for herself in an un­orthodox and challenging way and had a passionate sense of justice. Mr. Rees believes that this book may contain more illumina­tion for the present world’s spiritual needs than any other twentieth-­century commentary. Some of Simone Weil’s proposals concerning patriotism, obligations, freedom of expression, and the needs of the soul may seem Utopian, but they would not be unreasonable in a society adopting her moral code. Simone Weil was an intellectual with an essentially tragic view of life, but she was not removed from the everyday life. Her thought was unique and cannot be classified. She was neither a re­actionary nor a progressive but a great soul and a brilliant mind, as T. S. Eliot expressed it, “with a kind of genius akin to that of the saints.” Since she explored problems which confront modern man, the reader will find thoughtful stimulation in her work. In a previ­ous book, Brave Men, the author likened her to D. H. Lawrence—both lonely visionaries suffering from a devouring spiritual hunger. This book gives a condensed but penetrating account of Miss Weil’s interests. Since her writings cover more than philosophy and religion, the reader will feel compelled to become more familiar with her work. (shrink)