Empirical study of a sequence of access to Internet use in Ecuador

Ecuador is a country that represents the efforts that a few countries in the Latin American and the Caribbean region are making on infrastructures, regulations and policies that are favorable towards the use of the Internet. However, although the digital divide in its most basic form (physical access and use) is closing with respect to developed countries, a new, more complex digital divide is moving forward, and is related to the socio-economic advantages of the Internet. This study, which used a random sample stratified by provinces and which comprised 3754 respondents representing the secondary school students in Ecuador, had as objectives: (a) to verify the relationship and sequence among the different levels to access the Internet found on secondary school students; and (b) to verify to what degree the student’s family status influenced the different levels of Internet access. Through the empirical analysis of a structural model, the results showed a sequence between the relationships found among the different levels of Internet access, as well as the acumulative effect of the technical resources and levels of digital literacy on the academic use of the Internet. Like wise, it was observed that the influence of the student’s family status lost strength as the level of Internet access increased

Análisis del acceso a Internet de los estudiantes de Bachillerato en Ecuador

Los objetivos de esta tesis fueron tres, principalmente: (a) analizar la capacidad de acceso a las TIC de los estudiantes de Bachillerato en Ecuador, (b) comprobar la influencia de los factores socio-demográficos sobre la capacidad de acceso, y (c) proponer y validar empíricamente un modelo multinivel de referencia para políticas de acceso y alfabetización mediática y digital. Para abordar el tema se ha realizado una revisión de literatura y una descripción del contexto mediático de Ecuador, planteando una estructura conceptual que sirva de referencia para el análisis del acceso a la tecnología en cualquier contexto social. Se consideraron tres niveles de capacidad acceso: (a) capacidad material y operativa, (b) capacidad informacionai/mediática y creativa, y (c) capacidad de aprovechamiento (obtener beneficio del medio). Se realizó un muestreo aleatorio y estratificado por provincias, y se obtuvo una muestra de 3.754 estudiantes de Bachillerato, siendo una muestra representativa de todo Ecuador. Asimismo, se crearon y validaron estadísticamente 7 constructos que sirvieron para medir las distintas capacidades (o tipos) de acceso de ios estudiantes: acceso material, habilidad operativa, uso operativo, conocimiento informational, conocimiento de lenguajes, uso creativo (web 2.0) y uso (aprovechamiento) académico. Para atender al objetivo (a) se realiza un análisis descriptivo. Para atender al objetivo (b) se realizan análisis de las varianzas y regresiones logísticas. Y para atender al objetivo (c) se realiza un contraste empírico del modelo estructural propuesto. Los resultados, por una parte, muestran que mientras que la capacidad de acceso material y operativo a Internet, de los estudiantes de Bachillerato, es alta, la capacidad creativa y de aprovechamiento académico suele ser baja. Por otra parte, se observa que los factores socio-demográficos son más determinantes e influyentes sobre el primer nivel de acceso que en niveles superiores (p.e., uso creativo y académico). Aunque no es preciso tener un estatus socio-económico familiar alto para tener alta capacidad de acceso a Internet, resulta preciso que el entorno familiar de los estudiantes tengan unos niveles mínimos de ingresos y de estudios. Finalmente, se corrobora una secuencia entre los distintos niveles de acceso a Internet, confirmándose así la validez del modelo de estudio propuesto en esta investigación.This thesis had three aims, principally: (a) to analyze the capacity of access of high school students to mobile technology in Ecuador, (b) verify the influence of socio-demographic factors on the capacity of access, and (c) propose and validate empirically, a multilevel reference to policies of access to media and digital literacy. To approach the topic, a literature review and a description of the media context of Ecuador were done, raising a conceptual structure that can be used as reference to the analysis of technology access in any social context. A random sample stratified by provinces, representative of students of high school education in Ecuador, aims to: (a) meet its ability to access (material, operational, informational, language, expressive and academic) to the Internet, and (b) determine the influence of socio - demographic factors on the different types of Internet access. They were considered to be three levels access capacity: (a) material and operative capacity, (b) informacional/mediatic and creative capacity, and (c) utilization capacity (to obtain benefit of the media). A random sampling was realized and stratified by province, and a sample of 3.754 students of high school grade students was derived. This sample was deemed to be representative of Ecuador. Likewise, 7 constructs were created and validated statisticaIly and served to measure the different capacities (or types) of access of the students: material access, operative skill, operative use, informational knowledge, knowledge of languages, creative use (web 2.0) and I academic use (utilization), A descriptive analysis was realized to attain this objective, An analysis of variances and logistic regressions was also conducted In order to reach the aim of this study. An empirical contrast of the proposed structural model was used to reach this goal. The results, on one hand, show that whereas the capacity of material and operative access to Internet, of the high school students, is high, the creative capacity and of academic utilization is falling. On the other hand, it is observed that demographic factors are more determinant and influential on the first level of access that in top levels (p.e., creative and academic use). Though, it is not necessary to have a high socio-economic status to have high capacity of access to Internet, it turns out to be necessary that the famiiy environment of the students they have a few minimal levels of income and studies. Finally, a sequence is corroborated between (among) the different levels of access to Internet, thus confirming the validity of the model of study proposed in this investigation (research)

Toward a collective intelligence recommender system for education

The development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), have revolutionized the world and have moved us into the information age, however the access and handling of this large amount of information is causing valuable time losses. Teachers in Higher Education especially use the Internet as a tool to consult materials and content for the development of the subjects. The internet has very broad services, and sometimes it is difficult for users to find the contents in an easy and fast way. This problem is increasing at the time, causing that students spend a lot of time in search information rather than in synthesis, analysis and construction of new knowledge. In this context, several questions have emerged: Is it possible to design learning activities that allow us to value the information search and to encourage collective participation?. What are the conditions that an ICT tool that supports a process of information search has to have to optimize the student's time and learning? This article presents the use and application of a Recommender System (RS) designed on paradigms of Collective Intelligence (CI). The RS designed encourages the collective learning and the authentic participation of the students. The research combines the literature study with the analysis of the ICT tools that have emerged in the field of the CI and RS. Also, Design-Based Research (DBR) was used to compile and summarize collective intelligence approaches and filtering techniques reported in the literature in Higher Education as well as to incrementally improving the tool. Several are the benefits that have been evidenced as a result of the exploratory study carried out. Among them the following stand out: • It improves student motivation, as it helps you discover new content of interest in an easy way. • It saves time in the search and classification of teaching material of interest. • It fosters specialized reading, inspires competence as a means of learning. • It gives the teacher the ability to generate reports of trends and behaviors of their students, real-time assessment of the quality of learning material. The authors consider that the use of ICT tools that combine the paradigms of the CI and RS presented in this work, are a tool that improves the construction of student knowledge and motivates their collective development in cyberspace, in addition, the model of Filltering Contents used supports the design of models and strategies of collective intelligence in Higher Education.Postprint (author's final draft

Collection and integration of local knowledge and experience through a collective spatial analysis

This article discusses the convenience of adopting an approach of Collective Spatial Analysis in the P/PGIS processes, with the aim of improving the collection and integration of knowledge and local expertise in decision-making, mainly in the fields of planning and adopting territorial policies. Based on empirical evidence, as a result of the review of scientific articles from the Web of Science database, in which it is displayed how the knowledge and experience of people involved in decision-making supported by P/PGIS are collected and used, a prototype of a WEB-GSDSS application has been developed. This prototype allows a group of people to participate anonymously, in an asynchronous and distributed way, in a decision-making process to locate goods, services, or events through the convergence of their views. Via this application, two case studies for planning services in districts of Ecuador and Italy were carried out. Early results suggest that in P/PGIS local and external actors contribute their knowledge and experience to generate information that afterwards is integrated and analysed in the decision-making process. On the other hand, in a Collective Spatial Analysis, these actors analyse and generate information in conjunction with their knowledge and experience during the process of decision-making. We conclude that, although the Collective Spatial Analysis approach presented is in a subjective and initial stage, it does drive improvements in the collection and integration of knowledge and local experience, foremost among them is an interdisciplinary geo-consensusPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Coherent, automatic address resolution for vehicular ad hoc networks

Published in: Int. J. of Ad Hoc and Ubiquitous Computing, 2017 Vol.25, No.3, pp.163 - 179. DOI: 10.1504/IJAHUC.2017.10001935The interest in vehicular communications has increased notably. In this paper, the use of the address resolution (AR) procedures is studied for vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). We analyse the poor performance of AR transactions in such networks and we present a new proposal called coherent, automatic address resolution (CAAR). Our approach inhibits the use of AR transactions and instead increases the usefulness of routing signalling to automatically match the IP and MAC addresses. Through extensive simulations in realistic VANET scenarios using the Estinet simulator, we compare our proposal CAAR to classical AR and to another of our proposals that enhances AR for mobile wireless networks, called AR+. In addition, we present a performance evaluation of the behaviour of CAAR, AR and AR+ with unicast traffic of a reporting service for VANETs. Results show that CAAR outperforms the other two solutions in terms of packet losses and furthermore, it does not introduce additional overhead.Postprint (published version

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION OF ECUADOR

El presente estudio es un avance parcial de una investigación en curso que tiene por objeto principal la creación, contribución y el análisis de indicadores culturales en el contexto universitario ecuatoriano. Este trabajo se enfoca específicamente en proveer una serie de indicadores sobre el equipamiento, uso y consumo de las TIC de los estudiantes de la Universidad Nacional de Educación de Ecuador (UNAE). La metodología usada es de orden cuantitativo/descriptiva, a partir de los datos recolectados en una encuesta aplicada a una muestra compuesta de 438 estudiantes del total del universo entre las diferentes carreras y ciclos ofertados por la UNAE. La muestra tiene un nivel de confianza del 95% y un 5% de margen de error. Los resultados obtenidos muestran un alto nivel de equipamiento, uso y consumo de diferentes dispositivos tecnológicos. También, esta población universitaria usa su tiempo en actividades académicas y de ocio con su celular, televisión, videos e internet.This study is a partial advance of ongoing research whose main objective is the creation, contribution, and analysis of cultural indicators in the Ecuadorian university context. This work focuses specifically on providing a series of indicators on the equipment, use, and consumption of the TIC of students of the National University of Education of Ecuador (UNAE). The methodology used is the quantitative of descriptive-analytical order, based on the data collected in a survey applied on a population sample, made up of 438 students of the total universe between the different careers and cycles offered by the UNAE. The sample has a margin of 95% reliability and an error of 5%. The obtained results showed a high level of equipment, use, and consumption of the different technological devices. Also, this university population spends daily hours in academic and free time activities in cellphones, television, videos, and internet

TECNOLOGÍAS DE LA INFORMACIÓN Y COMUNICACIÓN EN LA UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE EDUCACIÓN DE ECUADOR

This study is a partial advance of ongoing research whose main objective is the creation, contribution, and analysis of cultural indicators in the Ecuadorian university context. This work focuses specifically on providing a series of indicators on the equipment, use, and consumption of the TIC of students of the National University of Education of Ecuador (UNAE). The methodology used is the quantitative of descriptive-analytical order, based on the data collected in a survey applied on a population sample, made up of 438 students of the total universe between the different careers and cycles offered by the UNAE. The sample has a margin of 95% reliability and an error of 5%. The obtained results showed a high level of equipment, use, and consumption of the different technological devices. Also, this university population spends daily hours in academic and free time activities in cellphones, television, videos, and internet.El presente estudio es un avance parcial de una investigación en curso que tiene por objeto principal la creación, contribución y el análisis de indicadores culturales en el contexto universitario ecuatoriano. Este trabajo se enfoca específicamente en proveer una serie de indicadores sobre el equipamiento, uso y consumo de las TIC de los estudiantes de la Universidad Nacional de Educación de Ecuador (UNAE). La metodología usada es de orden cuantitativo/descriptiva, a partir de los datos recolectados en una encuesta aplicada a una muestra compuesta de 438 estudiantes del total del universo entre las diferentes carreras y ciclos ofertados por la UNAE. La muestra tiene un nivel de confianza del 95% y un 5% de margen de error. Los resultados obtenidos muestran un alto nivel de equipamiento, uso y consumo de diferentes dispositivos tecnológicos. También, esta población universitaria usa su tiempo en actividades académicas y de ocio con su celular, televisión, videos e internet

The socio-demographic divide in internet usage moderated by digital literacy support

The facilitating conditions (FC) are one of the factors contemplated in the main theories that explain the use and acceptance of technology. For older adults, these FC can be implemented through digital literacy support (DLS) programs that promote the use of the Internet, reducing the obstacles derived from advanced age and the lack of resources. This research study, from the perspective of the studies on the digital divide, proposes to: (a) verify the relative effect of the socio-demographic factors on the different levels of access and use of the Internet by adults older than 55, and (b) verify the moderating ability of the DLS on these effects. For this, two studies were conducted using quota sampling of older adults who used both types of DLS. Using a structural equation methodology, the data showed that the socio-demographic factors were associated to the most basic levels of access and use of the Internet, and likewise, that the DLS could moderate the obstacles derived from age and socio-economic resources

Robust investment climate effects on alternative firm-level productivity measures

Developing countries are increasingly concerned about improving country competitiveness and productivity, as they face the increasing pressures of globalization and attempt to improve economic growth and reduce poverty. Among such countries, Investment Climate surveys (ICs) at the firm level, have become the standard way for the World Bank to identify key obstacles to country competitiveness, in order to prioritize policy reforms for enhancing competitiveness. Given the surveys objectives and the nature and limitations of the data collected, this paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using different total factor productivity (TFP) measures. The main objective is to develop a methodology to generate robust investment climate impacts (elasticities) on TFP under alternative measures. The paper applies it to the data collected for ICs in four developing countries: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Observations on logarithms of the production function variables are pooled across three countries (Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua). Endogeneity of the production function inputs and of the investment climate variables is addressed by using observable firm level information, a variant of the control function approach, considering IC variables as proxy and also by aggregating certain investment climate variables by industry and region. It is shown that by using this methodology it is possible to get robust IC “elasticities” on TFP for more than ten different TFP measures. The robust IC elasticity estimates for the five countries show how relevant the investment climate variables are to explain the average productivity of each country. IC variables in several categories (red tape, corruption and crime, infrastructure and, quality and innovation) account for over 30 percent of average productivity. The policy implications are clear: investment climate matters and the relative impact of the various investment climate variables helps indentifying where reform efforts should be directed in each country. It is argued that this robust methodology can be used as a benchmark to assess cross-country productivity effects in other IC surveys. This is important since similar firm-level IC surveys on several sectors (manufacturing, services, etc.) are now available at the World Bank for more than 65 developing countries.Total factor productivity measures, Investment climate, Observable fixed effects, Robust investment climate elasticities, Input-output elasticities