Press Release 126/2010

Endless / Ending Stress?

The Third Karlsruhe Stress Days Will Focus on Resource Management and Be Granted the Award “Selected Place 2010”.
Zu viel: Hohe Arbeitsbelatung sorgt bei vielen für negativen Stress (Foto: istock)
Too much: High workload causes negative stress. (Photo: istock)

Managing more tasks within shorter periods of time at work or during the studies will result in a constant growth of the workload and stress. Methods to measure stress and approaches to handling stress in a productive manner are in the focus of interdisciplinary research conducted by the House of Competence (HoC) of KIT. HoC will present innovations in the field of stress research on the Karlsruhe Stress Days 2010 from November 02 to 04. This event will be granted the award “Selected Place” by the initiative of “Deutschland – Land der Ideen“ (Germany – Land of Ideas).

Central topics covered by the third Karlsruhe Stress Days will be presented by HoC at a press conference on Thursday, November 04, 12 hrs, at the entrance hall of the Audimax (Straße am Forum 1, building 30.95). “The Karlsruhe Stress Days will cover various approaches to handling this issue,” says HoC Director Dr. Michael Stolle. “They make the House of Competence unique in research, teaching, and innovation.” Factors enhancing or interfering with competence development are in the center of HoC’s attention. One of the symposiums during the Stress Days will deal with physio-economics, research into physical stress signals prior to economic decisions to be made by managers in industry. Other symposiums will focus on procrastination, the widely spread phenomenon of postponing tasks as well as on creative possibilities of handling stress in a productive manner like acting or making music. The symposium on stress measurement will present instruments developed by HoC to measure stress in everyday life.

An example of research currently conducted by HoC is a comprehensive stress and time management study, the results of which will be presented during the Stress Days by psychologist Professor Ulrich Ebner-Priemer. 150 KIT students documented their workload in electronic diaries. “The data obtained are much more reliable than the results of classical questionnaires that are completed several weeks later in some cases,” says Ebner-Priemer.

The complete program, including symposiums, workshops, the stress course, and the podium discussion on “Endless / Ending Stress after the Education Strike?” dealing with the consequences of the Bologna reform, can be found under: http://www.hoc.kit.edu/stresstage_2010.php.

The award “Selected Place 2010” will be handed over to HoC Director Dr. Michael Stolle by Frank Arlaud from the Deutsche Bank Karlsruhe on Thursday, November 04, 13 hrs. The competition “365 Orte im Land der Ideen“ (365 places in the land of ideas) is a project launched by the initiative “Deutschland – Land der Ideen“ (Germany – Land of Ideas) in cooperation with Deutsche Bank. The award is granted to events reflecting the innovative and designing capacity of Germany. The Karlsruhe Stress Days were selected from more than 2200 applications submitted.

The partner of the Karlsruhe Stress Days is the Techniker health insurance company.

 

Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,800 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.

le, 27.10.2010
Contact:


Monika Landgraf
Chief Communication Officer
Head of Corporate Communications
Chief Press Officer
Phone: +49 721 608-41150
Fax: +49 721 608-43658
presse does-not-exist.kit edu

Contact for this press release:

Margarete Lehné
Press Officer
Phone: +49 721 608-41157
Fax: +49 721 608-41157
margarete lehne does-not-exist.kit edu


The press release is available as a PDF file.