At an early meeting of the British Sociological Association's "Activism in Sociology Forum" members met to discuss how we might play a more campaigning role in the world outside the academy. Pragmatically, academics tend to work long hours. We are faced with multiple and competing demands: teaching, administration, publishing, marketing, research, grant-bidding, and so on. The REF has ramped up the requirement to demonstrate the efficacy of our research in "the real world" (our impact upon society, economy, and culture rather than upon knowledge per se, or upon the academic discipline). Maybe here I suggested, as my contribution to the meeting was a chance for those of us interested in progressing social justice to lever officially sanctioned space, in our busy day-to-day lives, to do more of this sort of work? Maybe we should welcome the REF impact agenda? I learned afterwards that eminent British sociologists, whom I respect enormously, regarded such a viewpoint as "naive" and "embarrassing". Indeed, critics interpret REF as just one mode of the heightened, neoliberal, managerial control that is degrading academic life and infesting universities. So, how should we think about the REF impact agenda? Because of its obvious connections with social improvement and reform through policy action, social policy is regarded as one disciplinary area that is well-placed to meet and benefit from the impact agenda. Yet there has been surprisingly little concerted discussion amongst scholars about REF and impact. This is despite the fact that many millions of pounds of public funding accrue to the proposed or claimed impact of research (with monies channelled through research councils to individual projects or via regular, six-yearly centralised assessments of the quality of research in university departments). In addition, there is substantial funding directed toward the "impact industry"; the consultants, think tanks, PR firms, funding schemes, new software programmes, impact managers, specialist impact case study... According to the above context, choose the correct option to answer the following question. Question: How many members does the British Sociological Association have? Options: A. 2700 B. 2500000 C. 10 D. not enough information
A

(Question)
Alona's persistent knocking at the door of room 412 went unanswered for three minutes as she nervously shuffled her feet. Her book bag was super-saturated with textbooks, notebooks, schedules, rough drafts, and various other forms of academic paraphernalia. It was getting heavier. She continued to knock, even though there had as yet been no answer, because the note card tacked to the right of the door indicated that these indeed were Prof. Turgy K. Sigger's office hours. She could see the light under the door and thought she had heard a groan. Just before she decided to give up, slow feet approached from the opposite side, then silence; with a dramatic turn of the knob, the door swung open. "Was this trip really necessary?" asked Prof. Sigger, blinking and brushing his oily, graying hair back into place. "These are your office hours," Alona replied. She nervously smiled, feeling the corners of her mouth twitch. Somewhere in the darkened hall, a janitor coughed. "All right," conceded Prof. Sigger. "Come in." The carpet was smothered by leaning towers of textbooks. Papers lined the left side of the desk, above which was a small note card which read "To Be Graded." On the right side, the oak finish gleamed of the mid-morning light piercing the Venetian blinds. "You've come about your final project," Prof. Sigger stated. "It's only mid-term," Alona reminded him. "Oh yes, yes," continued Prof. Sigger, without conscious embarrassment. "Mid-term grade. I think I have it here. Somewhere." His hands disappeared into the left side of his desk. "You told the class that we would get a C if we maintained that Coca-Cola isn't a crypto-fascist conspiracy." "Oh yes," said Prof. Sigger. "We were discussing social issues, as I remember. I was quoting Marx and some little idiot brought up Rush Limbaugh." "That was me," Alona muttered. According to the above context, choose the correct option to answer the following question. Question: Why did Prof. Sigger take so long to answer his door? Options: A. he was busy reading textbooks B. he was hoping to grade papers instead C. not enough information D. he was staring out the window, daydreaming
(Answer)
B

Last week we talked about healthy eating on a budget. Today I want to take it a step further and focus on how to start clean eating on a budget. It is very similar with just a couple of extra steps. Clean eating focuses on fresh ingredients, no processed foods, and eating good foods as close to nature as possible such as: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, cage-free eggs, grass-fed beef and grain-fed poultry, and raw milk (if possible) to your diet. Some of these may seem like a burden when you are on a small food budget, but with the tips below, you can eat clean and stay within your budget. I am sure you will recognize some from the previous post; but read through there is extra information that applies specifically to clean eating. A major component of clean eating is buying fresh produce rather than canned fruits and vegetables. Frozen produce is OK; but, if in-season fruit is available, it is always better to choose that. Buy in bulk, and freeze it yourself. Use Google to help you search for seasonal produce in your area. When you can buy it from a Farmer's Market, or even directly from the farmers, it will be less expensive. My next choice is SPOUTS Farmer's Marker, if there is one near you. Those sources will probably be the least expensive. For example: you may be able to buy strawberries, peaches, and nectarines very inexpensively in the summer and find that squash is a better buy in the fall. Always buy extra when the price is right and freeze the leftovers. When you first start reading about clean eating, you may find "experts" expounding the importance of certain superfoods that you should start eating. The reality is they are nutritious and excellent additions to your diet; but, you don't have to eat them just start a clean eating. If you cannot afford to add chia seeds of flax seeds to every smoothie or eat a pomegranate each morning, don't worry about it. Buy the clean foods you can afford and eat those you will be doing just fine. According to the above context, choose the correct option to answer the following question. Question: When does the author advise that adding super foods should occur after beginning clean eating? Options: A. one does not have to eat "super foods" at any time since clean eating is possible without them B. not enough information C. when one is able to acquire produce in bulk D. after reading "experts" advice on clean eating
A