Stress is your problem?

Are slackers more adept at handling work-life stress than type-A go-getters?
A new study finds that may be the case. Those who cope with work-family conflict by becoming busier and looking for more resources to solve problems – type-A multitaskers — actually experience more stress and strain, says the study in the Journal of Applied Psychology. The researchers studied 193 people who were all combining work and college studies with family duties.
But in a finding that may baffle busy-bee readers, people who avoid problems – those we might call slackers in a different context — who withdraw and, say, lie down and take a nap instead of tackling dilemmas right away, actually do better with life conflict, and seem to have more energy, says the study.
Avoiding problems for the short term, or “disengaging from stressful roles temporarily, may actually help,” the write the authors Tracy Hecht at Concordia University and Julie M. McCarthy at the University of Toronto.
In another interesting (and counterintuitive) finding, the researchers observed that people who seek out other people to provide emotional support also reported more stress. “It may be that their extra efforts take even more time away from other roles, thus increasing their tendency to experience conflicts,” according to the authors.
Readers, are you more of a slacker or a go-getter, when it comes to tackling dilemmas? How do other family members or colleagues handle problems? Do they temporarily avoid or directly address them? How do you think your approach to problem-solving affects how you handle the juggle?

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Liu Xue: Sculpture

Chinese artist Liu Xue has created some fabulous anthropomorphic sculpture which are sure to tweak your “Eweeee, gross!” button, in a great way. The unusual hybrids are from his series - ‘We are the World’ and they aren’t far from it. Obese fat Buddha men sit on their frog legs or flippers while emaciated men and women balance on chicken legs or dog bodies. The different anatomies merge seamlessly into a viable being. They are distorted and somewhat monstrous – yet at the same time so realistic, one might believe they actually do exist. Liu lives in Beijing, Chaoyang, China and that’s about all we could find out about him. We would love to know a little about his process – any Chinese folks out there that could throw a little research our way? LINK: To Liu’s Website/Blog

Wildlife conservation on ice: frozen zoos to save animals

On the edge: Disease and habitat loss is decimating wild amphibian populations globally, with more than 200 species needing urgent intervention through captive breeding, says Dr. Simon Clulow. In a south-eastern suburb in Melbourne, there’s a zoo. It has no visitors, and there are no animals anywhere inside it. Rather, the Australian Frozen Zoo houses living cells and genetic material from Australian native and rare and exotic species. This place, and others like it, could be a big part of the future of conservation. Department of Biological Sciences’ Simon Clulow and his colleagues make the case for ‘biobanking’ in a recent piece in Conservation Letters. Clulow is keen to stress that this doesn’t mean getting rid of conventional zoos or captive breeding programs. “Captive breeding has had some wonderful successes, and there will always be a huge place for it,” he says. PhD student and lead author Lachlan Howell agrees. “It was captive breeding that brought the giant panda back f...

Room XX

Recently the Spanish Government officially presented Miquel Barceló’s latest art installation in the UN’s palace of Nations in Geneva. The controversial work of art is a massive sculptural installation located on the domed ceiling of the building’s newly created human rights and alliance of civilizations chamber, known as room XX. The work consists of multi-coloured stalactite forms that appear to be dripping from the ceiling. The art project was introduced by the Spanish organization ONUART, which was established in 2007 to promote dialogue, through the use of Spanish contemporary arts to create understanding between cultures and societies and to foster multilateralism at the UN in Geneva. Inspiration: Miquel Barceló’s work often features natural elements and imagery but the chamber’s ceiling takes this idea literally by recreating the natural stalactite forms, albeit through the artist’s lens. Barceló has revealed that the concept for the project came to him while he wa...

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