user: 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.” What was a common practice of successful academics? - Napping - not enough information - Studying - Planning
Planning
Both gross and tragic. The 1980 Bank Robbery in Central Nyack that was medically managed at the Nyack Hospital where I responded to the ONLY Code 66 of my career. That “66”indicated for us an external disaster about to unload in our emergency room. The two policemen who were mortally injured and died on our stretchers were personal friends and one the boyfriend of one of the nurses. Their injuries were from machine guns where the flesh is riddled with explosive elements as opposed to a gunshot wounds where there is both an entry and exit site. In our Trauma and Triage Course we never learned about machine gun injuries. Additionally there were the criminals who were also injured and of course we needed to treat them as any other patient regardless of their behavior. The friends of the injured policemen were trying to get to these villains and it was just the most awful evening of my life. To this day I remember feeling nauseous in a way I had never felt before. We had debriefing sessions for weeks and of course were very upset for months. The wounds we had to address, the insertion of chest tubes and everything else all in such a rapid manner was indeed a more than gross situation. There was even open heart massage. Private doctors reported to help; many are not trained or current in emergency medicine; much is left to critical care nurses in a community hospital that is not a teaching institution with residents and interns on staff. Recently one of the women involved in this crime came up for parole. Of course there was great opposition from the community relative to her release. She was young and that was 38 years ago. I believe people deserve a second chance, but of course this is a very controversial matter. What is probably true about the nurse? - He is still feeling awful - Still remembers the only Code 66 of his career - not enough information - He is still feeling nauseous
Still remembers the only Code 66 of his career
Q: A prospective client sent me a link to this in-depth article on IBM's design thinking revolution, where Phil Gilbert, IBM's General Manager of Design, has hired over 1000 designers into the firm, and pushed for over 8000 of its managers and staff to get 'trained' in design thinking. They have even created specific design centres across the firm, with design offices in most of its key locations, such as the one above. The goal is nothing short of beginning IBM's next phase of transformation, one of many in its 100+ year history. However, all is not rosy. Despite achieving a monumental success relative to the status quo, 8000 'recognised' design thinkers in a corporation of over 370,000 souls is barely a dent in terms of changing practice. If NoTosh were to effect change in only 2% of the teachers with whom we work, we'd have packed up our bags long ago. I'm not sure hiring 1000 designers in and of itself is the answer to any organisation trying to instil a different way of viewing the world. Here's why. Since design thinking really began to be a thing, back in the early 60s, the designer him or herself has consistently been at the centre of the design process. Even though we talk of 'user-centred design', the actual ideation and production of a solution, and in many cases the synthesis and definition of the problem to be solve, too, are all tasks undertaken by skilled 'designers', rather than the people in the organisation who have the scope, brand, or 'permission' to play in that space. Once the designers leave the project, so does the design thinking. There is a reason d.school sees its executive courses filled with repeat customers and firms like IDEO continue to thrive - they are resolving challenges in specific examples of services or products, but not necessarily transforming the firms and organisations who had the budget and desire to solve a problem in that specific area. Solving a problem costs money. Solving a problem and teaching the client how to do it again and again costs more than just money.... Why was this plan executed? - because its potential success was recognized - because of its cost - because of the general manager's action - not enough information
A: because its potential success was recognized
*Question*
U.S. President Donald Trump attempted to reset his relationship with Africa on Monday, as he hosted Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari is the first sub-Saharan African leader to have a White House summit with Trump, who has been criticized for reportedly making derogatory comments about Africa. During his public remarks with Buhari, Trump focused mostly on common goals and shared interests, such as fighting terrorism and expanding trade. "We love helicopters — he loves them more than I do," joked Trump, referring to his administration's decision to approve a $600 million military sales deal to Nigeria. Buhari thanked Trump for approving the deal, which the administration of former President Barack Obama had suspended over allegations of human rights abuses. "I worked it out so that now you can buy the helicopters that you want," Trump said, adding, "We make the best military equipment in the world, and our friends can now buy it." Human rights groups have accused the Nigerian military of torture, rape and extrajudicial killing in its almost decade-long campaign against the Boko Haram extremist group. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the insurgency, and hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped, as the group gained notoriety and spread to neighboring countries, posing one of the most severe threats to West Africa's Sahel region in recent years. Although Nigeria has been a major partner in the U.S. fight against Islamist extremists in Africa, relations have faced challenges over the past year. In January, Nigeria joined a list of outraged African countries demanding an explanation from the U.S. ambassador after Trump's reported vulgar comments referring to African countries. Asked whether those comments came up during his private meeting with Trump, Buhari declined to comment.  "I'm very careful with what the press says about other than myself. I'm not sure about, you know, the validity or whether that allegation was true or not. So, the best thing for me is to keep quiet," Buhari said. Where is the location of the Boko Haram? - Nigeria - West Africa - United States - not enough information
**Answer**


assistant: Nigeria