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Technology in Favor of Disability: Prevalence Study in Ecuador

2021 , Arias Flores, Hugo Patricio , Acosta-Rodas P. , Jadán Guerrero, Janio , Ramos Galarza, Carlos

People with disabilities and special needs are very important part of the society, their needs have not been covered over time. Globalization and technological development helped identify the importance of various groups with disabilities. In Ecuador, this identification allows this social group to be visible and particularly people with visual disabilities, who represent approximately 11% of the population with disabilities. The objective of this research is to identify Ecuador’s cities that maintain a higher prevalence of people with disabilities. To comply with the study, a descriptive analysis was conducted from public information about people registered by the authorized government control body. Obtaining this information makes it possible to establish a baseline of attention with real data, which allows getting a greater focus on the development of this social group and the attention they should receive. © 2021, The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Artificial Intelligence and Tomorrow’s Education

2021 , Cóndor-Herrera, Omar , Arias Flores, Hugo Patricio , Jadán Guerrero, Janio , Ramos Galarza, Carlos

Nowadays, there is a rapid technological progress around the world that has enabled realities long ago unimaginable. We live in a technological era that represents new possibilities and challenges for society, and for the educational models in each country [1]. Research on smart education, which has forced the educational community to rethink on new ways of learning and teaching has been developed globally. Due to the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), the educational model for both, teachers and students will change. Nevertheless, to transform educational systems, it is necessary to update and train students, educators, and administrators effectively [2]. This research aims to describe the possible applications of AI in education from: 1) the automation of administrative tasks; 2) collection and analysis of information [3] to create smart content; 3) the implementation of virtual assistants in the teaching-learning process; 4) the potential delivery of lectures by humanoid robots with AI. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Introducing Gamification in Professional Training

2021 , Alvear H. , Arias Flores, Hugo Patricio , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Jadán Guerrero, Janio

The incorporation of game elements in non-game contexts is a subject of interest in various sectors, such as business, marketing, engineering, medicine, and military. Gamification and serious games have been involved in the rapid adaptation of professional training. The main goal of game thinking is to motivate and engage learners by using game-like techniques. This paper introduces gamification as an innovative approach for police officers to develop the required competencies for upholding the ethics, principles, and values that the Ecuadorian institution and society demand of them. The aim of gamification is to improve the quality and efficiency of the transfer from theory to real-life practice in police training. The paper focuses on the use of technology in a gamified virtual learning environment that simulates scenarios based upon common incidents reported to Ecuadorian police. The evaluation was conducted with 50 police officers. Our initial evaluation demonstrates that gamification has the potential to be scaled to force-wide proportions. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Rehabilitation of Children Affected by Attention Deficit Disorder

2021 , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Acosta-Rodas P. , Jadán Guerrero, Janio , Bolaños-Pasquel, Mónica , Saez-Delgado F.

This paper presents the conceptual development of a technological application for the treatment of children with attention deficit disorder (ADD). This technological application will consist on serious-gaming to stimulate the different levels of attention. The first level is focused in attention and stimulates it by identifying stimuli through tactile interaction with the user. The second level is selective attention, for which, the child must select a stimulus leaving the irrelevant stimuli aside. The third level will work on sustained attention, where the child must fulfill a game with a longer duration. The next level will contain an activity to stimulate alternating attention, where the child must solve two tasks by alternating the focus of attention. Finally, for the divided attention, it must be resolved two tasks at the same time. With this application it is expected to improve the child’s motivation in the treatment and provide an intervention tool for the clinician. © 2021, The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Neuropsychological assessment of attention: Symbols and digits test.

2018 , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Acosta-Rodas P. , Jadán Guerrero, Janio , Guevara-Maldonado C.B. , Zapata-Rodríguez M. , Apolo-Buenaño D.

Introduction: The symbol digit modality test is a reactive which provides great support in neuropsychological evaluation. Its execution permits to evaluate brain functions such as visual perception, stimuli recognition, attention (focal, selective and sustained), task supervision, interference control among others. Object: The purpose of the current research study was to analyze the normative percentiles of the execution of the test, to identify the performance activity of the reactive according to age group and gender; applying the test in a sample of college students. Method: The sample included 250 university students,142 (56.8%) males and 108 (43.2%) females. The age range of the participants was between 18 and 34 years old (M=21.53, DE=2.25). A transversal, non-experimental, quantitative research model with a correlational scope was used. Results: The correct answer average for the test was 52.83 (DE=13,60) and for percentile P5 31,55 right answers were found; for percentile P75 60,00 right answers, P25 had 46,00 right answers, and for P95 74,45 right answers were found. No significant differences were found for the mean of errors in the test in terms of age group f(3, 246)=0,67, p=0,57 and gender t(248)=0,68, p=0,49 of the participants as comparison factor. Conclusions: Results were discussed based on prior research pointing out the importance of counting with a first statistical parameter of the test as ground for neuropsychological clinical practice in Ecuador. © 2018 Fundacion para la difusion neurologica en Ecuador - FUNDINE. All rights reserved.

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Improve Accessibility and Visibility of Selected University Websites

2020 , Acosta-Vargas P. , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Salvador-Ullauri L. , Chanchí G.E. , Jadán Guerrero, Janio

Currently, there are millions of websites, but not all of them are accessible and visible in search engines, and in the different devices and technologies used. The purpose of this research is to 1) suggest an accessibility evaluation model according to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 standards; 2) correlate Webometrics and SCImago rankings to improve visibility, and 3) determine whether an accessible website can improve visibility. As a case study, the authors applied to 30 web pages from Latin American universities. The results indicate that although an educational institution is in the first rankings of the Webometrics and SCImago classification, they do not necessarily satisfy web accessibility requirements. This study can be a guide for the definition of institutional efforts to improve accessibility and visibility in the design of more inclusive and visible websites. © 2020, The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Fundamental concepts in the neuropsychological theory [Conceptos fundamentales en la teoría neuropsicológica]

2017 , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Ramos V. , Jadán Guerrero, Janio , Lepe-Martínez N. , Paredes-Núñez L. , Gómez-García A. , Bolaños-Pasquel, Mónica

This article presents three concepts that are fundamental in the neuropsychological theoretical: (a) historical data in the study of the human brain, (b) neuropsychological evaluation of brain functions and (c) neuropsychological rehabilitation of brain functions. As relevant data in the theoretical development of the study of the human brain is a tour of the trepanation acts performed hundreds of years ago, the contributions of phrenology, the masterful findings of Broca and Wernicke, the heuristic contribution of Luria and the current revolution with the neuro-image. In the neuropsychological evaluation of brain functions, the role of specific, non-specific and delayed observation tests in the interpretation of the neuropsychological state of the human being is analyzed, which allow analyzing neuropsychological functions in the laboratory and in real lifeactivities. Finally, we analyze the process of neuropsychological rehabilitation of brain functions, where mention is made of the processes of restoration, compensation, substitution, activation-stimulation and integration, which are very useful when intervening in a brain that has suffered an acquired damage. It is concluded that the current accelerated pace has determined the advance of neuroscience, where technology and the forceful scientific contribution propose new techniques and theories to understand the processes of evaluation and rehabilitation of brain functioning.

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Youth and politics: A review of studies from Latin America [Jóvenes y política: Una revisión de estudios desde Latinoamerica]

2018 , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Apolo-Buenaño D. , Jadán Guerrero, Janio

The perception that young people have about politics in Latin America is characterized by a disenchantment and disinterest caused by the praxis of politicians. The dissociation that exists between the democratic discourses proposed in the campaign and the petty action in the execution of these, have created in the young a departure from the formal practice of politics in society. This disappointment is reaffirmed when young people experience political consequences in systems of care for society, as is the case of neglect within the health system, to give an example. Another factor that negatively influences the political construction of youth is the content offered in the mass media. In the present article a review of several factors has been carried out that have influenced the perception of the young Latin American towards politics. The methodology used was based on the review of twenty-three articles indexed in the main databases: Latindex, Redalyc, Scielo, JSTOR, SAGE, SCOPUS and WEB OF SCIENCE. The search terms used were: politics, youth, political perception of Latin American youth. Copyright © 2018 (Carlos Ramos-Galarza et al).

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Talented soccer players, the big secret is in the brain: The great tragedy of the star player and the fate of magicians with a preserved nervous systems

2017 , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Peña-García S. , Pérez-Salas C. , Cadena-Almeida I. , Jadán Guerrero, Janio , Bolaños-Pasquel M.

In previous work, we have presented case studies from fascinating films for the eye of the neuropsychologist;1,2,3 continuing with this line of research, we describe here for your consideration a critical analysis of the role of brain functions in one of the most fascinating sports, soccer. In this analysis, we will look more closely at the brain damage suffered by the great footballer Salvador Cabañas and the role of the highly complex brain functions that allow the magical players to stand out in this sport. In the next pages, we present the case of Salvador Cabañas, both before and after his cerebral accident, and later we analyze the cerebral functions that are activated in brilliant players like Messi or Ronaldinho. We conclude this article by reflecting on the role of the brain in our normal human activities, and how catastrophic it becomes on a daily basis when our brain tissue is damaged so that as a result of this condition we can lose everything. © 2017 Fundacion para la difusion neurologica en Ecuador - FUNDINE. All Rights Reserved.

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Virtual Learning Objects’ of Math Educative Process

2021 , Cóndor-Herrera, Omar , Jadán Guerrero, Janio , Ramos Galarza, Carlos

Nowadays, we are facing rapid educational and technological era, therefore there is increased need to highlight the connection for teachers to rediscover improved teaching-learning processes. The actual educative processes are being developed in virtual learning environments, offering flexible, far reaching distance learning, and better tools for teachers and students in the 2.0 web, this has allowed discovering countless opportunities to improve learning environments, offering students an education that responds to the reality where they can flourish, innovate and develop. The present research brings up as its objective the analysis of the implementation of virtual learning objects in learning math, and as a result, the creation of an innovator technological proposal in the process of teaching-learning. © 2021, The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.