Today, many academics feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. They’re under huge pressure to write and publish but an ever-growing mountain of teaching and admin is stopping them doing just that. Our research finds that whilst nobody is immune to these pressures, some academics cope better than others – and that’s because over the years, they’ve developed personal “systems” to help them write. We recently carried out in-depth interviews with 23 scholars across the UK, Europe and the US. We deliberately chose a diverse group so as to not make any assumptions based on age, seniority, or research background. Academic experience ranged from six months to 27 years and subject fields ranged from social sciences, economics, business, and arts. We did this as part of our user research to inform the development of Prolifiko – a digital coaching tool for writers. Whilst every academic had developed a writing productivity system personal to them, we found there were six common “habits” that the most prolific (and generally least stressed) academics tended to use. 1. They “time-block” their writing in advance Scheduling – booking in time to write in advance – was the single most common habit of our writers. It didn’t appear to matter what type of time-blocking method a scholar chose to use or how lengthy a writing session was. Some blocked out long periods of time on sabbatical, whilst others preferred to block out short, regular times throughout the day or across a week. What seemed to matter far more was the act of planning, as this mentally prepared the individual for writing – and so made the process easier and less stressful. “When I need to write I block out time. I’m lucky in that I can work from home – I block out a couple of straight days to do the writing and I plan it in beforehand. I couldn’t really write in any other way than blocking out that time.” According to the above context, choose the correct option to answer the following question. Question: How long had the academics surveyed been teaching? Options:  A. 100 years  B. several years  C. 10 minutes  D. not enough information
B


I have another guest post for you today. This one comes from Selina from Beautystorm. Beautystorm are proudly the cheapest stockists of Dermalogica products in Australia and provide online skin consultations with their in house Skincare Therapists. Selina will be giving us advice on how to repair sun damaged skin. Whilst we are blessed to be living in such a sun drenched country, here in Australia, as a consequence the majority of us will have sun damaged skin. Here are Selina's tips to repair some of the damage: The severe, Australian suncauses a multitude of cases of serious skin damage every year. However, there are ways, to repair rough, dry, wrinkled skin that may also suffer from redness and brown spots. The very first step to reverse some of that skin damage is some gentle cleansing. Never wash the face with an ordinary bar of soap. This will make the situation worse and cause severe dry skin. In order to wash the sun-damaged skin effectively without causing further injury, use a gentle exfoliating facial cleanser. This will remove, not only dirt and oil, but also the top layer of dead skin cells, providing a nice glow. This will reveal fresh skin cells ready for treatment. After cleansing the skin, follow with a mud mask or a facial mask made specifically for skin that’s been damaged by the sun. The purpose of a mask is to draw out impurities in the skin while adding key ingredients like moisturisers and minerals back into the skin.  After gently rinsing the purifying mask, a lotion, cream or serum containing key ingredients should be applied to the skin. The difference between the three is that a lotion is best for daytime use, worn under makeup or for those prone to breakouts. Creams are considered heavier and best used at night or for those with dry skin. Serums are usually highly concentrated formulas that can be used day or night, but a little goes a long way. Those with the most severe sun damaged skin should use them. According to the above context, choose the correct option to answer the following question. Question: When will fresh skin cells ready for treatment occur when cleansing skin? Options:  A. not enough information  B. after using water  C. after using a gentle exfoliating facial cleanser  D. after using soap
C


(Q).
The U.S. has long had the unenviable distinction of holding the world's largest prison population, in part because of tough-on-crime policies enacted in the 1990s. But sentencing reforms passed in recent years appear to have made a dent, leading to declines in the population over the past eight years. A criminal justice reform organization reported Friday that in 2017, the U.S. prison population dropped below 1.5 million for the first time in more than a decade. The decline, according to the Washington-based Vera Institute for Justice, was driven by a sharp decrease in the number of inmates in federal prisons and decreases in several states with large prison populations. Total U.S. prison population dropped to 1,486,000 last year, a decline of nearly 16,000. The number of federal prisoners fell to 183,000, and the number of inmates in state prisons declined to 1.3 million, according to the report. (The overall figure does not include the more than 600,000 defendants held in local, state and federal jails.) The decline extended an eight-year downward trend in U.S. prison population that has been driven by federal and state sentencing reforms enacted over the past decade. But the Vera institute cautioned that it was unclear whether the trend would continue. "Whether criminal justice reform can continue to fuel this sustained decline in the prison population remains to be seen," said Jacob Kang-Brown, senior research associate at Vera. "We must continue to do the hard work, as advocates and agents of change, to ensure that all our communities feel the relief of decarceration." The report came as President Donald Trump called on Congress to pass legislation to help former inmates reintegrate into society and avoid going back to prison, as many do. "We want former inmates to find a path to success so they can support their families and support their communities," Trump said at a White House summit on prison reform attended by two state governors and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, who is spearheading... According to the above context, choose the correct option to answer the following question. Question: After the White House summit, Jared Kushner is probably: Options:  A. not enough information  B. Still the President's son-in-law  C. Still at the White House summit  D. Is with the two state governors
(A).

B