Emotional State of Teachers and University Administrative Staff in the Return to Face-to-Face Mode.

Social distancing and security measures have contained the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the return to face-to-face activities is necessary for specific companies, and some higher education institutions have already done so. The various disorders that this new reality could generate have motivated the present study, which aims to analyze the emotional state of teachers and administrative staff. The instrument used was the abbreviated depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21), with an internal consistency index of 0.87. The methodology was based on applying a survey to 202 participants from Quito, Ecuador. The sample consisted of 97 men and 105 women aged between 23 and 59 years. A quantitative and cross-sectional design was used in this research. The results show that 40.1% of the respondents presented anxiety, 36.63% depression, and 38.61% stress between mild and highly severe categories. Additionally, when analyzing the depression, anxiety, and stress levels compared to productivity variables, we found that five disorders, i.e., fear, anxiety, over reactivity, skeletal muscle effects, and dysphoria, directly affect productivity variables, such as performing simple tasks, performing difficult tasks, the number of products made, and the number of products rejected. Thus, returning to face-to-face mode has affected the emotional state of many people, showing differences according to the job position, with anxiety being the highest self-identified incidence rate.

Empirical evidence for intransitivity in consumer preferences.

The present paper addresses one of the most important assumptions in consumer preference patterns: transitivity. This assumption states that, logically, selections between goods are rational because of the transitivity statement, which posits that people always prefer goods in the following order: A is preferred to B, and B is preferred to C, so A is preferred to C. With the aim of proving this principle's validity, we conducted an experiment with 70 subjects and probed their preferences in relation to edible and nonedible goods. We used a survey methodology, which allowed us to analyze three distinct situations: 1) individuals faced with goods choices without restrictions; 2) individuals facing budget restrictions and price changes; and 3) individuals faced with decreased disposable income. The results mostly showed that there was no evidence of transitivity in consumer preferences. On average, transitivity appeared in only 8% of the sample, and in cases where transitivity was proved, it was revealed to be strong. The preferences were transitive primarily in relation to edible rather than nonedible goods.