Intolerance of uncertainty predisposes to avoidance habit acquisition

Many mental disorders are characterised by the presence of compulsions and incontrollable habits. Most studies on habit learning, both in animals and in humans, are based on positive reinforcement paradigms. However, the compulsions and habits involved in some mental disorders may be better understood as avoidance behaviours, which involve some peculiarities, such as anxiety states, that have been shown to promote habitual responses. Consequently, we studied habit acquisition by using a free-operant discriminated avoidance procedure. Furthermore, we checked whether intolerance of uncertainty could predispose to avoidance habit acquisition. Participants learned to avoid an aversive noise presented either to the right or to the left ear by pressing two different keys. After a devaluation phase where the volume of the noise presented to one of the ears was reduced, participants went through a test phase identical to the avoidance learning phase except for the fact that the noise was never administered. Habit acquisition was inferred by comparing the rate of responses to the stimulus signalling the devalued reinforcer and to the stimulus signalling the non-devalued reinforcer. The results showed that intolerance of uncertainty was related to the absence of differences between the referred conditions, which entail avoidance habit acquisition.

Diseño de una estrategia que posicione a Transporte Comercial la Estrella SAS como una empresa mas competitiva en el sector transporte

La elaboración de este proyecto busca explicar los factores que actualmente afectan al sector transporte (Costos elevados, sobreoferta, chatarrización, fletes elevados, hacinamiento, Etc.) y, a partir de esto, diseñar estrategias que le permitan a la empresa de transporte: TRANSPORTE COMERCIAL LA ESTRELLA SAS, convertirse en una empresa más competitiva dentro del sector en el que se desenvuelve. El planteamiento estratégico estudiado se fundamenta en el modelo de las 5 fuerzas de Michael Porter, y se obtiene como resultado una estrategia genérica de diferenciación, cuyo objetivo es la implementación de un sistema de carga consolidada, el cual le permitirá a la compañía aumentar sus ingresos y abarcar una mayor cantidad de clientes. Por último, se plantea un análisis cuantitativo de cada una de las fuerzas de Porter, mediante el cual se pueden tomar decisiones con respecto a cómo está funcionando la compañía, sus fortalezas y sus debilidades.