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English Pages 587 [560] Year 2024
Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies 375
Daniel Barredo Ibáñez · Laura M. Castro · Araceli Espinosa · Iván Puentes-Rivera · Paulo Carlos López-López Editors
Communication and Applied Technologies Proceedings of ICOMTA 2023
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Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies Volume 375
Series Editors Robert J. Howlett, KES International, Shoreham-by-Sea, UK Lakhmi C. Jain, KES International, Shoreham-by-Sea, UK
The Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies book series encompasses the topics of knowledge, intelligence, innovation and sustainability. The aim of the series is to make available a platform for the publication of books on all aspects of single and multi-disciplinary research on these themes in order to make the latest results available in a readily-accessible form. Volumes on interdisciplinary research combining two or more of these areas is particularly sought. The series covers systems and paradigms that employ knowledge and intelligence in a broad sense. Its scope is systems having embedded knowledge and intelligence, which may be applied to the solution of world problems in industry, the environment and the community. It also focusses on the knowledge-transfer methodologies and innovation strategies employed to make this happen effectively. The combination of intelligent systems tools and a broad range of applications introduces a need for a synergy of disciplines from science, technology, business and the humanities. The series will include conference proceedings, edited collections, monographs, handbooks, reference books, and other relevant types of book in areas of science and technology where smart systems and technologies can offer innovative solutions. High quality content is an essential feature for all book proposals accepted for the series. It is expected that editors of all accepted volumes will ensure that contributions are subjected to an appropriate level of reviewing process and adhere to KES quality principles. Indexed by SCOPUS, EI Compendex, INSPEC, WTI Frankfurt eG, zbMATH, Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST), SCImago, DBLP. All books published in the series are submitted for consideration in Web of Science.
Daniel Barredo Ibáñez · Laura M. Castro · Araceli Espinosa · Iván Puentes-Rivera · Paulo Carlos López-López Editors
Communication and Applied Technologies Proceedings of ICOMTA 2023
Editors Daniel Barredo Ibáñez Málaga, Spain
Laura M. Castro A Coruña, Spain
Araceli Espinosa Complejo Cultural Universitario Puebla, Mexico
Iván Puentes-Rivera Circunvalación ao Campus Universitario Vigo, Spain
Paulo Carlos López-López Campus Vida Avenida do Doutor Ángel Jorge Echeverri Santiago de Compostela, Spain
ISSN 2190-3018 ISSN 2190-3026 (electronic) Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ISBN 978-981-99-7753-6 ISBN 978-981-99-7210-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7210-4 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore Paper in this product is recyclable.
Preface
This book is composed of the papers written in English and accepted for presentation and discussion at the 2023 International Conference on Communication and Applied Technologies (ICOMTA’23). This conference had the support of the Colombian Association of Journalism and Science Communication (Colombia), Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (México), Universidad de Málaga (Spain), Universidade de Vigo (Spain), Universidade de Santiago de CompostelaEquipo de Investigaciones Políticas (Spain), Red Internacional de Gestión de la Comunicación (XESCOM), the International Media Management Academic Association (IMMAA), Red de Investigadores en Comunicación de Ecuador (RICE), and Observatorio Interuniversitario de Medios Ecuatorianos (OIME). It took place at Puebla, México, during September 6–8, 2023. The 2023 International Conference on Communication and Applied Technologies (ICOMTA’23), in its third edition, invited all those within the scientific, academic and professional communities to present and discuss the latest innovations, results, experiences and concerns in the various fields of communication and technologies related to it. The Program Committee of ICOMTA’23 was composed of a multidisciplinary group of 112 experts and those who are intimately concerned with communication and technologies. They had the responsibility for evaluating, in a “double blind review” process, the papers received for each of the main themes proposed for the conference: (A) Digital communication and processes; (B) Software, big data, data mining and intelligent systems; (C) Communication, Health, Politics and Technologies. The other pandemic: misinformation in times of coronavirus. Automation, bots and algorithms; (D) Fact-checking experiences in Europe and Latin America at the service of journalism: comparative perspective; (E) Persuasion and emotion: analysis of language, content and artificial intelligence; (F) Freedom of expression, ethics and transparency in the digital society; (G) Digital social networks; (H) Innovation, university teaching and technology; (I) Miscellaneous (journalism, communication, advertising and public relations, political science and other aspects of Social and Human Sciences from information and communication technologies).
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ICOMTA’23 received 164 contributions from 15 countries around the world. The papers written in English and accepted for presentation and discussion at the conference will be indexed by Springer (this book) and will be submitted for indexing by ISI, Ei Compendex, Scopus, DBLP and/or Google Scholar, among others. Málaga, Spain A Coruña, Spain Puebla, México Pontevedra, Spain Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Daniel Barredo Ibáñez Laura M. Castro Araceli Espinosa Iván Puentes-Rivera Paulo Carlos López-López
Acknowledgements This book is part of the research project “App-Andalus”, with reference number EMC21_00240, funded by the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation, Government of Andalusia (Spain), thanks to the Emergia Program; this is also part of the research project “FAKELOCAL: Map of Disinformation in the Regions and Local Entities of Spain and its Digital Ecosystem” (Ref. PID2021-124293OBI00), financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the State Agency of Research (AEI) of the Government of Spain and the ERDF of the European Union (EU); also, this book is part of the activities of the research project “Public Service Media in the face of the platform ecosystem: public value management and evaluation models relevant for Spain” (RTI2018-096065-B-100), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the State Research Agency and the European Regional Development Fund.
Contents
Part I 1
Digital Communication, Systems and Processes
A Digital REBA System Based on Kinect and Its Benefits for Ergonomic Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gabriela G. Reyes-Zárate
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Social Network Addiction: A Structural Equation Modelling . . . . . . Luis Marqués-Molias, Klinge Orlando Villalba-Condori, Renato Peñaflor, and Eliana Gallardo-Echenique
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Integration of Technological Tools to Improve Communication and Monitoring in a Higher Educational Institution in e-learning Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carlos Valdivia, Janet Aquino, Jessie Bravo, Roger Alarcón, and Oscar Serquén
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The Use of Neural Networks for the Prediction of Type II Diabetes: A Comparison of Recent Advances and Perspectives . . . . Mayra Tualombo, Luis D. Carlosama, Brandon A. J. Nieto, David Montenegro-Montenegro, Fernando Villalba-Meneses, Carolina Cadena-Morejón, Diego Almeida-Galárraga, and Andrés Tirado-Espín Augmented Reality in Educational Innovation: A Literature Mapping Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Davis Velarde-Camaqui, Jorge Sanabria-Z, Maria Soledad Ramírez-Montoya, and Manuel Cebral-Loureda Sequential Prompts and AI to Illustrate a Mexican Legend Using Syntography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ignacio Moreno-Nava
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Content Validity of a Measurement Instrument for the Reception of the “Virtual” Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pedro Hidalgo-Díaz, André Noborikawa-Ajito, Mario Valdivia-Marquina, Diego Vega-Holguin, Ambrosio Tomás-Rojas, and Eliana Gallardo-Echenique Teaching Skills Mediated by Perceived Utility and Ease of Use in Student Motivation and Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Olger Gutiérrez-Aguilar, Aleixandre Duche-Pérez, Jair León-Lucano, Franklin Córdova-Buiza, Victoria Torres de Manchego, and Sandra Chicaña-Huanca Data Mining and Interaction Design Applied to the Research Work Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Denis Ismael Chavez and Henry Chavez
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10 Electronic Immunization Record for Rural Communities in México . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Gustavo Emilio Mendoza-Olguín, María de la Concepción Pérez de Celis-Herrero, Josefa Somodevilla-García, and Darnes Vilariño-Ayala 11 Teacher Training in the Inclusive Classroom in Care for Children with Hearing Disabilities Mediated by ICT . . . . . . . . . . 117 Etelvina Archundia-Sierra 12 Automation of Brand Management: Possibilities, Challenges, and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 David Wiestner, Ralf Spiller, Ayoub Bouchedoub, and Mahir Hasan 13 The Growing Scientific Interest in Artificial Intelligence for Addressing Climate Change: A Bibliometric Analysis . . . . . . . . . 139 José Javier Galán Hernández, Ramón Alberto Carrasco González, and Gabriel Marín Díaz 14 Perceptions of Ecuadorian and Peruvian University Teachers on ChatGPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Luis-Rolando Alarcón-Llontop, Pablo Esteban Lomas Chacón, Pamela Cruz Páez, Karl Torres Mirez, and Sindy Pasapera Ramírez Part II
Political Communication, Technology and Applications
15 Truth and Newsworthiness in the Era of Artificial Intelligence . . . . . 161 Jorge Cruz-Silva 16 Emerging Technological Ecosystem for Public Administration: Business Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence and Data Mining . . . . . . 169 German Martínez Prats and Gilberto Murillo González
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17 Strategies of Spanish Political Parties in the Face of the COVID-19 Vaccine. Polarization, Disinformation and Impact on the Local Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Ricardo Domínguez-García, Sandra Méndez-Muros, and Mónica Hinojosa-Becerra 18 Technology and Video Surveillance in Educational Spaces: A Path Towards Citizen Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Claudia Rivera Hernández 19 Use of Social Technology for Political Communication: Influence of TikTok on Voter Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 María Paula Galarza Fajardo and Andrea De-Santis 20 Fake News and Proximity Media: Digital Strategies to Protect Local News Credibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 Ángeles Fernández Barrero, Rubén Rivas-de-Roca, and Concha Pérez-Curiel 21 Unraveling the Truth: Investigating the Spread of Fake News on Facebook During the COVID-19 Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 Paola Palomino-Flores, Ricardo Cristi-López, and David Paul 22 Political Polarity on Twitter During the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Presidential Campaign: The Case of Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . 235 Marcela López-Ponce, Hada M. Sánchez Gonzales, and Daniel Barredo Ibáñez 23 Young People and Social Representations on Artificial Intelligence in Peru and Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 Victor Omar Vite-León, Christiana Poggi-Parodi, and Jenniffer Lopera-Moreno 24 An Analysis of Digital Communication in Spanish Agricultural Cooperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Pedro Pablo Marín-Dueñas, Diego Gómez-Carmona, and Rafael Cano-Tenorio 25 Baby Boomers and the Use of a Specialized Fact-Checking Chatbot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 Rocío Elizalde-Robles, Catalina Mier-Sanmartín, Claudia Rodríguez-Hidalgo, and Gabriela Coronel-Salas 26 Use of Social Networks as a Factor for the Development of Digital Citizenship in Puebla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 Araceli Espinosa-Marquez and Jesús Mario León-de laRosa
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27 Technologies Against Disinformation in Ibero-America: Systematic Review from the Regional to the Local Level . . . . . . . . . . 289 Alejandro Ferrández-Mas, Paulo Carlos López-López, and Vasco Ribeiro 28 “Do It Yourself” Narrative as a New Type of Tourism Influencers 2.0 on YouTube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 Nataly M. Velasco-Duran, Lorena T. Espinoza-Robles, and Oscar A. Aybar-Cabezudo 29 Digital Marketing and Technology Trends: Systematic Literature Review on Instagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309 Tatiana León-Alberca, Paula Renés-Arellano, and Ignacio Aguaded 30 Digital Communication and Social Organizations: Evaluation of the Communication Strategies in Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319 Andrea Moreno-Cabanillas, Antonio Castillo-Esparcia, and Aritz Gorostiza-Cerviño 31 Big Data Analysis of Google Searches for the Prediction of Election Results: A Longitudinal Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331 Álvaro Serna-Ortega and Ana Almansa-Martínez 32 Latin American Presidents on TikTok: Bukele, Lasso, and Maduro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 Roberto Sanchez-Montoya, David Ramos Reyes, Narcisa Medranda-Morales, and Nina Aguiar Mariño Part III Media, Applied Technologies and Communication 33 The Challenges of E-Commerce for Older Adults: A Qualitative Approach to Their Brakes and Motivations . . . . . . . . . 357 Carmen Llorente-Barroso, María Sánchez-Valle, and Marilé Pretel-Jiménez 34 Communication 2.0 in Iberoamerican Cultural Websites . . . . . . . . . . 367 Rosario Puertas-Hidalgo, Jesús Segarra-Saavedra, and Verónica Altamirano-Benitez 35 Innovating Public Service Media: A Diagnosis of the Innovation Applied as an Element of Public Value in Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377 Azahara Cañedo, Sara Pérez-Seijo, and Marta Rodríguez-Castro 36 Change in Trends in Mexican Academic Research Contributions: Engineering and Computer Sciences Case . . . . . . . . . 389 Jose-Ignacio Castillo-Velazquez
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37 Video Games in Political Campaigns and as a Sociocultural Text—A Case Study in Ecuador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399 Paola Ulloa-López and Yennifer Delgado 38 Uses and Gratifications of Scientific Dissemination on TikTok in Peru—A Case Study@AdrianCiencia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 Karoline Cruzado Bautista, Victor Omar Vite-León, and Christiana Poggi-Parodi 39 Insights into Digital Citizenship in Ecuador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421 Abel Suing, Kruzkaya Ordóñez, and Lilia Carpio-Jiménez 40 Personal Branding and Communication 2.0 of Iberoamerica Presidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431 Fabiana Altamirano-Benítez, Verónica Altamirano-Benítez, and Miguel Túñez López 41 Cross-Cultural Validation of a Questionnaire on Digital Teaching Competence in Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441 Óscar Daniel Gómez-Cruz, María Concepción Villatoro-Cruz, and Eliana Gallardo-Echenique 42 Digital Transformation in Spain During the Pandemic: Access, Interaction and Change in Habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 Daniel Javier de la Garza Montemayor, Fátima Recuero-López, and José Antonio Peña-Ramos 43 Digital Generations: A Multidimensional Analysis of Media Ecology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 Veronica Yepez-Reyes and Jesús Tapia López 44 Scholarships Assignments: An Important Challenge of Resources Allocation. Case Study: Completion Prediction System for Mexican Institution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 Fabian Orduña-Ferreira and Ana Lidia Franzoni-Velazquez 45 STEM Education in Ecuador: Addressing Gender Gaps and Promoting Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487 Rosemary Davies, Brenda Guanulema, Diego Jiménez, Levis Zerpa, Rafaela Vinueza, Fernando Villalba-Meneses, Carolina Cadena-Morejón, Diego Almeida-Galárraga, and Andrés Tirado-Espín 46 Social Network Sites: Challenge for a Learning Management Model. Case Study in Ecuador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499 Rebeca Córdova-Tapia, Margoth Iriarte-Solano, Andrea Velásquez-Benavides, and Aurora Forteza Martínez
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47 Cybersecurity and Journalism: Digital Violence is Another Form of Violence for Female Journalists in Ecuador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509 Kruzkaya Ordóñez, María Isabel Punín, and Abel Suing 48 Influence of “TikTok” on Music and Fashion in Ecuadorian Youth. Case Zhud Parish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519 Nancy Inés Lala Tenelema and Angel Torres-Toukoumidis 49 Digital Media and Gender Violence: The Case of Venezuela and Nicaragua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527 Daniela Calva-Cabrera, Tatiana León-Alberca, Erika González-Carrión, and Ángel Torres-Toukoumidis 50 Management of Employer Branding and Communication 2.0 . . . . . . 537 Vanessa Karina Duque-Rengel, José Miguel Túñez-López, and María Magdalena Espinoza-Herrera 51 Digital Culture, Youth, and Citizenship: A Systematic Review . . . . . 549 Aleixandre Brian Duche-Pérez, Cintya Yadira Vera-Revilla, Olger Albino Gutiérrez-Aguilar, Marcela Candelaria Montesinos-Chávez, Arnaldo Humberto Valdivia-Loaiza, and Ivonne Virginia Flores-Vilca 52 Digital Citizenship Through Online Media. Manifestations and Perceptions in Ecuador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559 Abel Suing, Alfredo Vaca, and Kruzkaya Ordóñez Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571
About the Editors
Daniel Barredo Ibáñez is an Emergia Fellow at the Department of Journalism (University of Malaga, Spain), thanks to the Department of University, Research, and Innovation of the Andalusian Regional Government. He is an Invited Researcher at the Fudan Development Institute of the Fudan University (China). His interdisciplinary work explores three lines of research: studies on public opinion and the media, studies on violence in Latin America, and international studies in a comparative key. He has a doctorate in Journalism from the University of Malaga, a master’s degree and an expert in Communication and a degree in Hispanic Philology and Audiovisual Communication from the University of Granada. He has an H index of 21. Laura M. Castro is a professor at the University of A Coruña (Spain), where she has been lecturing for fifteen years. She coordinates several undergraduate courses on Software Architecture and Software Testing, and between 2017 and 2022 she was the studies coordinator for the Degree in Software Engineering. Since January 2022, she has been the head of the CICAS Chair, created to boost Open Science through Open Software. Her research interests focus mainly on the automatic validation of distributed systems. She has supervised three Ph.D. theses and acted as PI in several European projects. She is also actively involved in numerous dissemination activities, in particular for the visibility of women in STEM, as a member of ACM-W Europe. Araceli Espinosa is a research professor at the Institute of Government Sciences and Strategic Development, where she is attached to the Center for Strategic Development Studies at the three Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (Mexico). She is currently developing these lines of research: “ICTS and Electronic Surveillance with a Human Rights approach”; “Public Opinion, Political Marketing and Electoral Integrity in Mexico” and “Migration, Social Vulnerability, Sustainable Development and Public Policy”. She has been a leader and collaborator in different research projects with public funding by the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla and by the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico. She is the author and editor of several books and scientific and popular articles. xiii
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About the Editors
Iván Puentes-Rivera Ph.D. in communication, a master’s in research in communication, and a graduate in advertising and public relations from the University of Vigo; he is a Professor at the University of Vigo, as well as Technical Secretary of XESCOM (International Network for Research in Communication Management). His main lines of research focus on political communication and electoral campaigns, public relations in this field, disinformation, and fact-checking in political debate and electoral debates on television. Along with this, he also highlights his research work in relation to public television and, in particular, about transparency in radio and television broadcasters of this type. Outside the university, he has a wealth of professional experience in the field of public management and communication. Paulo Carlos López-López is a Ph.D. Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Sociology at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Ph.D. in Communication, journalist, and political scientist. He is a member of the International Research Network on Communication Management and the Political Research Team of the USC. He has published more than sixty scientific papers on topics such as communication, technologies, social media, and political science. He was the director of the group “Media, Applied Technologies, and Communication” and the director of a postgraduate degree in Political Communication in Ecuador. He was awarded the Drago 2019 research award for his study on transparency and has work experience in electoral campaigns, organizational communication, press office, and parliament management. He has an H Index of 10.
Part I
Digital Communication, Systems and Processes
Chapter 1
A Digital REBA System Based on Kinect and Its Benefits for Ergonomic Assessment Gabriela G. Reyes-Zárate
Abstract The evaluations of potential risks at physical workstations provide data on the workers’ postures and can assist in reducing such risks. Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) is one of the methods used for ergonomic assessments. In this method, observers evaluate the posture of the trunk, neck, legs, wrists, and arms. As digitalization advances, real-time data provides ergonomic assessments with the benefit of analyzing a sequence of postures during manufacturing processes. This study aimed to determine whether continuous ergonomic evaluations using Kinect significantly reduce time and are flexible, useful tools in this field. The study demonstrated that it is possible to conduct this type of ergonomic study in an agricultural company where essential oils are extracted from plants.
1.1 Introduction Product and service companies search for improvements, operational efficiency, and profitability, helped by the increasing proliferation of digital tools [1]. However, how have the new technologies supported human well-being in the ergonomic area? Ergonomic analyzes using digital tools are a strategic way to perform continuous assessments [2]. Designers and managers must understand the impact on people beyond operational results [3]. The first ergonomic studies employed observations. REBA is an observational method to identify risk factors of working postures and evaluate the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Hignett and McAtamney developed this analysis tool [4]. According to Tee et al. [5], the REBA Method provides better results when evaluating the ergonomics of professions that involve dynamic and unpredictable postures. Easy to apply, the REBA Method is most used in manufacturing [6]. In REBA, the posture information is compiled into a score
G. G. Reyes-Zárate (B) Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, 64700 Monterrey, NL, Mexico e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024 D. B. Ibáñez et al. (eds.), Communication and Applied Technologies, Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies 375, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7210-4_1
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sheet through observation at various workstations. However, this method requires time for a single posture evaluation. One of the digital tools used for an ergonomic assessment is the Kinect sensor. Kinect reduces error estimation with direct measurement and allows for completing ergonomic assessments in a shorter period [7]. Another benefit is introducing realtime occupational assessments in different working environments to prevent occupational injury [8]. Kinect can provide a more suitable alternative because it is low-cost and markerless [9]. Kinect is a motion-sensing device. Some researchers have used the Kinect in different ways, such as ergonomic assessments for healthcare recovery [5]. Some studies are using REBA with digital tools. A system based on OpenPose computes joint angles in conjunction with the RULA and REBA scores to validate the reference motion capture system and compare its performance to the Kinect-based system. This study has developed in an experimental space [10]. MAS was a digital ergonomic assessment conducted in a European manufacturer’s automotive two-sided assembly line and integrated Motion Capture (MOCAP) technology. This hardware, a network of Kinect V2 depth cameras, uses REBA for body analyzes [11]. Jun et al. [12] developed a system and presented a case study of the movements of automobile manufacturing workers. They used REBA and confirmed the model’s accuracy by comparing it to traditional persons’ results. Also, a REBA System developed with Kinect in a laboratory environment assessed the ergonomic status of the workers’ posture. This paper reported the REBA method for a quantitative, quick, and short explanation of the posture’s overall ergonomic status. In addition, it could be automated using RGB-D cameras and the Microsoft Kinect sensor for continuous monitoring of the position and orientation of the joints. Merikh-Nejadasl et al. [13] developed a generic algorithm to compute workers’ optimal ergonomic postures in an industrial environment. Another ergonomic assessment tool aimed to motivate students through digital skills for ergonomic assessments in laboratory and industrial environments. This system used the REBA Method and Kinect [14]. Universities play an essential role in the new digital era [15, 16], considering that students adopt technological innovations. All these developments using Kinect solutions were performed in laboratories and industrial environments. Furthermore, all digital data can help improve workplaces [17]. So, a question emerges: Can digital ergonomic assessments help agricultural workers in developing countries? Varghese and Panicker [18] reported that the physical workload of agricultural workers is almost the same as that of industrial workers. Notably, ergonomic studies of agricultural workers are limited, even in developed countries. Intervention studies show that minor modifications in tools and equipment significantly impact the worker’s well-being without increasing costs. Barneo-Alcántara et al. [19] reviewed Musculo Skeletal Disorders (MSD) in agriculture and demonstrated the global concern for MSD in this area. The objective was to identify and compile in detail all the available studies worldwide by countries in the last 26 years. They reviewed fifty-four papers from developing countries; only eleven corresponded to South and Central America: Brazil (4), Colombia (6), and Costa Rica (1). The rest were in India (12), Nepal (1), Iran (4), Thailand (7), Malaysia (10), Algeria (1), Taiwan (1), Solomon Islands (1), Trinidad Tobago (1) China (2), the Philippines (2),
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and Ethiopia (1). In Barneo-Alcántara et al., only one study from India and one from Malaysia used REBA Method. In another review of global REBA, [6] agriculture was one of the categories, with ten articles from Brazil (1), India (4), Malaysia (1), Iran (2), Israel (1), and the USA (1). None of these papers reported using digital tools for an ergonomic assessment in this review. In another research, “Development of an Ergonomic Evaluation System Based on Inertial Measurement Unit and its Application for Exoskeleton Load Reduction,” the author affirmed that this system could be used primarily in agricultural workplaces [20]. This research aimed to measure the time to perform a single ergonomic assessment and then know its benefit with the Kinect sensor. One activity selected involved working in fields where flowers and trees were growing. The workers’ main task was organizing the size and quality of flowers and branches for filling containers to distill essential oils.
1.2 Materials and Methods The method used for the ergonomic assessment was REBA with digital ergonomic Kinect. To conduct the study digitally, we used the Ergo Vision system. We selected a real workstation used by a target person during the entire working day in the usual working conditions in a company dedicated to extracting essential oils. The process involved healthy men aged 20–40 selecting the plants, filling the container, and placing it inside the machine. This study analyzed two work functions. The first part of the Kinect study focused on selecting the pieces of plants to extract their essential oils and placing them in a container (see Fig. 1.1). The second function selected occurred inside the company at the extraction machines. A REBA Score could be obtained with each click when the Kinect was placed near the workstation. The participating workers in the study gave consent before any data collection. Table 1.1 shows the steps to obtain the REBA Score. The factory uses steam distillation to extract essential oils. Water steam is applied to the mixture, separating water-insoluble and slightly volatile organic substances. The company focuses mainly on six types of essential oils; the most produced are lavender essential oil and pine oil. The company uses two different types of distillatory equipment: one for 50 kg and the other for 35 kg. The 50 kg distillation machine has a crane to lift and place the container into the machine. However, the 35 kg distillation machine does not have a crane.
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Fig. 1.1 The space where the workers fill the container to extract the essential oil
Table 1.1 REBA ergonomic assessment steps using Ergo Vision with Kinect. Adapted from Sek Tee et al. [5] Step
Description
1
Click for the force/load, coupling, and activity only once for the sequence
2
Click to get a final score for each posture
1.3 Results 1.3.1 Continuous Ergonomic Assessment REBA with Kinect The continuous ergonomic assessment was conducted in the workplace (see Fig. 1.2). After placing the Kinect, we analyzed different work postures. This activity involved the 50 kg container. Ergonomic assessment using Kinect shows the advantages of continuous posture analysis. Force/load, coupling, and activity data are entered once, as seen in Fig. 1.3’s lower right corner. Then the screen displays the inclination angles of the body parts. When the ergonomic assessment has to be determined, one click causes a box on the lower left side to appear with the REBA result and risk level. This software
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Fig. 1.2 Container filling activity
display includes a colored circle that indicates the level of risk. See Fig. 1.3, indicating a medium risk level 6 with a yellow circle. Every click obtains an ergonomic assessment. The next continuous ergonomic evaluation occurred inside the company’s production area. We selected this workplace function because the machine lacks a crane
Fig. 1.3 View of the REBA score displayed on the computer using Kinect for the filling activity
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Fig. 1.4 Introducing the 35 kg container into the distillation machine
to lift and place the 35 kg container. Figure 1.4 shows the workstation where the container goes into the machine that performs the essential oil extraction process. With the ergonomic assessment using Kinect, analyzing a sequence of postures is beneficial. Figure 1.5 shows the ergonomic evaluation of the workstation where the container is inserted into the machine. As can be seen, the REBA Score result was a risk level of 8, indicated by the red circle. For the sequence in all the areas involving contact with plants, we performed the REBA ergonomic assessment to monitor the movements continuously (see Fig. 1.6).
1.4 Discussion This study reviewed and compared the findings of some researchers using the REBA ergonomic assessment method in the Worksheet [21] and the Kinect device. This study aimed to assess the importance of performance time and apply a digital evaluation in a real workplace of fieldwork using Kinect. Once the Kinect device and the computer were in place, we performed a series of continuous ergonomic evaluations in fieldwork under actual conditions. In our study, the persons analyzed were in a real work environment performing their workday activities. The fieldwork selected for a digital evaluation in a real workplace in an open environment involved selecting
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Fig. 1.5 View of the REBA score displayed on the computer using kinect for the activity of placing the container inside the machine
Fig. 1.6 Risk levels at different points with the REBA method using kinect: a selecting the plant pieces, b moving and filling the container, c placing the 35 kg container into the machine
plants and branches to extract their essential oils. The findings of the digital study showed that it is possible to do an ergonomic assessment study on fieldwork activities. The time required to perform studies and assessments under actual conditions is critical. In this study, we obtained continuous data on working postures to obtain our results. The activity performed outside, selecting plants and branches to place into the container, is low-risk because the activity occurs in a sitting position. The activities performed filling the container are medium-risk. Inside the company, placing the 35 kg container inside the machine is a high-risk activity. We also verified the distillation time for the content of plants in the container. Depending on the type of plant, it took 3–4 h, so inserting and removing the container from the machine can occur up to 3 times a day. This observation allows us to identify that it is a nonrepetitive activity during the work shift and that improvements can be made, such as
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redesigning the area to improve how to place the container. The Kinect sensor can continuously monitor the joint positions of the workers. Some researchers expressed the need for future ergonomic studies with Kinect [5, 22]. Regarding future research on handling plants and trees, Barneo-Alcántara et al. expressed that there is a need for new agricultural studies to propose preventive and corrective measures, detect risks, and protect workers [19]. The research of Hsu and Lin reported that their digital ergonomic assessment system could be used for agricultural workers [20]. This study is the first digital ergonomic evaluation using REBA with Kinect for activities in fieldwork.
1.5 Conclusions The advantages and benefits of this methodology with a Kinect digital assessment stemmed from continuously evaluating various workers’ postures indoors and outdoors in a natural environment. The workers cared for and selected plants and branches to extract essential oils in the usual shift conditions. We observed three levels of risk during the study. Of these, we identified only one high-risk activity, only performed up to 2 times during the work shift: lifting and placing the 35 kg containers in the distillation machine. The results obtained suggested improvements for some of the workstations. Thus, this study confirmed that a digital ergonomic evaluation system is valuable in agriculture and calls for more future investigation. Acknowledgements The author would like to acknowledge the financial and technical support of Writing Lab, Institute for the Future of Education, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico, in the production of this work. Additionally, the author would like to acknowledge all the facilities to the company’s owner in Mexico to do the study. Funding: This research received no external funding. Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.
References 1. Virmani, N., Sharma, S., Kumar, A., Luthra, S.: Adoption of industry 4.0 evidence in an emerging economy: behavioral reasoning theory perspective. Technol. Forecast Soc. Change. 188 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122317 2. Caterino, M., Rinaldi, M., Fera, M.: Digital ergonomics: an evaluation framework for the ergonomic risk assessment of heterogeneous workers. Int. J. Comput. Integr. Manuf. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1080/0951192X.2022.2090023 3. Farid, M., Neumann, W.P.: Modelling the effects of employee injury risks on injury, productivity, and production quality using system dynamics. Int. J. Prod. Res. 58(20), 6115–6129 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2019.1667040
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4. Hignett, S., McAtamney, L.: Rapid entire body assessment (REBA). Appl. Ergon. 31(2), 201– 205 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-6870(99)00039-3 5. Tee, K.S., et al.: A study on the ergonomic assessment in the workplace. AIP Conf. Proc. 1883 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5002052 6. Hita-Gutiérrez, M., Gómez-Galán, M., Díaz-Pérez, M., Callejón-Ferre, Á.J.: An overview of Reba method applications in the world. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 17(8). MDPI AG (2020). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17082635 7. Mariño, C., Vargas, J.: Ergonomic postural evaluation system through non-invasive sensors. Adv. Intell. Syst. Comput. 274–286 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33614-1_19 8. Lin, P.C., Chen, Y.J., Chen, W.S., Lee, Y.J.: Automatic real-time occupational posture evaluation and select corresponding ergonomic assessments. Sci. Rep. 12(1) (2022). https://doi.org/10. 1038/s41598-022-05812-9 9. Liu, P.L., Chang, C.C., Li, L., Xu, X.: A simple method to optimally select upper-limb joint angle trajectories from two Kinect sensors during the twisting task for posture analysis. Sensors 22(19) (2022). https://doi.org/10.3390/s22197662 10. Kim, W., Sung, J., Saakes, D., Huang, C., Xiong, S.: Ergonomic postural assessment using a new open-source human pose estimation technology (OpenPose). Int. J. Ind. Ergon. 84 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2021.103164 11. Bortolini, M., Faccio, M., Gamberi, M., Pilati, F.: Motion analysis system (MAS) for production and ergonomics assessment in the manufacturing processes. Comput. Ind. Eng. 139 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2018.10.046 12. Jun, C., Lee, J.Y., Kim, B.H., Do Noh, S.: Automatized modeling of a human engineering simulation using Kinect. Robot Comput. Integr. Manuf. 55, 259–264 (2019). https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.rcim.2018.03.014 13. Merikh-Nejadasl, A., El Makrini, I., Van De Perre, G., Verstraten, T., Vanderborght, B.: A generic algorithm for computing optimal ergonomic postures during working in an industrial environment. Int. J. Ind. Ergon. 84 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2021.103145 14. Reyes-Zárate, G.G., Garcia-Cavazos, I.: REBA workplace ergonomics using Kinect. http:// www.infotech-bg.com/last-proceedings-2020. Last accessed 28 July 2023 15. Treviño-Elizondo, B.L., García-Reyes, H.: What does Industry 4.0 mean to industrial engineering education? Procedia Comput. Sci. 217, 876–885 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j. procs.2022.12.284 16. Cevik Onar, S., Ustundag, A., Kadaifci, Ç., Oztaysi, B.: The changing role of engineering education in Industry 4.0 era, pp. 137–151 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57870-5_ 8 17. Lunin, A., Glock, C.H.: Systematic review of Kinect-based solutions for physical risk assessment in manual materials handling in industrial and laboratory environments. Comput. Ind. Eng. 162 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2021.107660 18. Varghese, A., Panicker, V.V.: Impact of musculoskeletal disorders on various agricultural operations: a systematic review. Ind. Acad. Sci. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-022-018 09-2S 19. Barneo-Alcántara, M., Díaz-Pérez, M., Gómez-Galán, M., Carreño-Ortega, Á., Callejón-Ferre, Á.J.: Musculoskeletal disorders in agriculture: a review from web of science core collection. Agronomy 11(10). MDPI (2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11102017 20. Hsu, C.F., Te Lin, T.: Development of an ergonomic evaluation system based on inertial measurement unit and its application for exoskeleton load reduction. In: 2019 ASABE Annual International Meeting, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (2019). https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.201901464 21. INSHT.: NTP 601: Evaluación de las condiciones de trabajo: carga postural. Método REBA (Rapid Entire Body Assessment) [Evaluation of working conditions: postural load. REBA method]. (2003) 22. Xu, X., McGorry, R.W.: The validity of the first and second generation Microsoft Kinect for identifying joint center locations during static postures. Appl. Ergon. 49, 47–54 (2015). https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2015.01.005
Chapter 2
Social Network Addiction: A Structural Equation Modelling Luis Marqués-Molias , Klinge Orlando Villalba-Condori , Renato Peñaflor , and Eliana Gallardo-Echenique
Abstract One of the most common challenges for researchers is how to determine the reliability and validity of the data collection instruments used in scientific research. These instruments must be individually reliable and valid in order to ensure that a particular characteristic is estimated correctly. There is growing interest in improving the quality and use of data collection instruments for scientific research. In a recent study, confirmatory factor analysis was used in a structural equation modelling approach to validate the “Cuestionario de Adicción a Redes Sociales” (Social Network Addiction Questionnaire, ARS). As a tool for validating the ARS, structural equation modelling provided explicit estimates of error variance parameters, allowing results to be established with greater certainty.
2.1 Introduction In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the time people spend online, predominantly connected to the Internet, due to the variety of online activities in which we now engage, some of which are potentially addictive. Studies have shown that society now exhibits a daily dependence on the Internet and on technology in general, which distinguishes it from other impulses and obsessive behaviour [1]. The Digital 2020 Global Digital Overview [2], which presents data for every country in the world, shows that digital and mobile technologies and social networks have become an indispensable part of our daily lives: 49% of the global population (3.8 L. Marqués-Molias Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43003 Tarragona, España K. O. Villalba-Condori Universidad Católica de Santa María, Arequipa 04000, Perú R. Peñaflor Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima 15024, Perú E. Gallardo-Echenique (B) Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima 15023, Perú e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024 D. B. Ibáñez et al. (eds.), Communication and Applied Technologies, Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies 375, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7210-4_2
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billion people) uses social networks, an increase of 321 million (9%) on the corresponding figure for 2019. The emergence of numerous social networking sites and platforms has changed the way people connect, communicate and build relationships [3]. Social networks (such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram) are now considered a global consumer phenomenon [4] that has grown exponentially in recent years, attracting a huge number of users across the world [5]. International studies [5, 6] show that adolescents and university students make the heaviest use of social networks over the longest periods of time, although cultural and regional differences are observed. Excessive use of online digital technologies, in particular social networks, may constitute an addiction rather than a mere habit [7, 8]. “Rather than becoming addicted to the medium per se, some users may develop an addiction to specific activities they carry out online” [4, p. 3529]. An addiction manifests as obsessive and compulsive behaviour that reduces a person’s capacity to manage other aspects of their lives [8]. Internet addiction refers to excessive or uncontrollable concern, impulses or behaviours with regard to computer use or Internet access among users who devote between 40 and 80 h per week to this activity [1, 5]. It is a problem that transcends culture, race, age and gender [1, 5], encompassing a variety of determining factors such as socio-economic, family, environmental and individual variables [9]. Internet addiction is a new and growing addictive disorder associated with symptoms of withdrawal and tolerance and comorbid disorders that contribute to a pathological behavioural pattern [10, 11] such as depression, anxiety, hostility, psychoticism, interpersonal sensitivity, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, obsessive–compulsive disorder and social anxiety disorder [10]. Recently, excessive use of social networks has acquired the consideration of a behavioural addiction due to its shared characteristics with other types of addiction, such as prominence, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, conflict and relapse [3, 12], as well as causing problems or negative consequences in the lives of those affected [13]. Social network addiction is defined as excessive engagement in or attachment to activities carried out in any social network that lead to negative consequences, interfering with studies, work, personal relationships, health and psychological wellbeing, among others [3, 6, 7]. An exhaustive search of international academic databases (Scopus and Web of Science) revealed that social network addiction has been examined using a great diversity of instruments. Most studies in the literature use Likert-type responses [14], with the exception of the study by Basteiro et al. [15], which employed a dichotomous scale. For the Peruvian context, we found the Social Network Addiction (ARS) questionnaire of Escurra and Salas [16], a questionnaire containing 24 multiple-choice items scored on a 5-point Likerttype scale. The instrument comprises three dimensions: (a) obsession with social networks; (b) lack of self-control in the use of social networks; and (c) excessive use of social networks. At international level, there is growing interest in improving the quality and use of data collection instruments for scientific research [17]. One of the most common challenges facing researchers is how to determine the reliability and validity of an instrument. According to the International Test Commission [18], data collection
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instruments must be individually reliable and valid in order to ensure that a particular characteristic is estimated correctly. Reliability and validity are essential properties for any scientific data collection instrument as they ensure that the results are also reliable are valid [19]. Validity refers to the extent to which an instrument actually measures what it is intended to measure [20], whether it provides a correct or truthful response, or whether it fulfils the function for which it was constructed [21]. Reliability refers to the consistency or stability of scoring of a given instrument [21]. Reliability and validity are terms that sometimes overlap but on other occasions are mutually exclusive. While the instrument validated by Escurra and Salas [16] provides evidence of content validity, construct validity and internal consistency reliability, and although its results confirm that the questionnaire meets the basic psychometric requirements for this type of instrument [16] and it has been put into practical use by Araujo [22], validations are complex, often open-ended processes that require several studies, since more than one type of validity needs to be demonstrated before it can be confidently asserted that the questionnaire as a whole has been validated [23]. The aim of this study is to validate the Social Network Addiction (ARS) questionnaire using a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach.
2.2 Methodology Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to validate the ARS questionnaire using structural equation modelling (SEM), a multivariate statistical technique for examining the relationship between latent and observed variables. SEM was chosen on the strength of its capacity to validate the structure of theoretical dimensions by obtaining latent factors (dimensions) from observed variables (questionnaire items) [23]. It is important to note that this methodology only allows the best possible model to be obtained on the strength of the variables incorporated into the instrument; it does not provide a means for establishing what variables may have been omitted or how their absence may affect the resulting estimates [24]. Alongside the above analysis, Cronbach’s alpha was used to evaluate the reliability of the ARS instrument. This is a common procedure as it only requires administration of the questionnaire and assumes that if the questionnaire measures a particular characteristic then all of the items it contains are designed to do the same [23]. This method is sensitive to sample design [25], since smaller samples can result in a lesser capacity to detect significant variance and trajectory coefficients as well as a degree of instability (sampling error) in the covariance matrix, which would affect both the estimates and goodness-of-fit of the proposed model [26]. Therefore, to gather the necessary data and apply CFA, the ARS questionnaire was administered online to a sample of 2274 undergraduate students at a university in Arequipa (Peru) with a total undergraduate population of 27,000 students. Of the respondents, who were users of various social networking platforms, 57.4% were male and 42.6% female, representing more than 30 degree courses. Since this is a validation study,
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a representative sample is not required. As such, a strict random sampling is not necessary; rather, it is important to obtain a large sample in order to ensure greater variance and to prevent attenuation of the relationships between variables [23]. The focus was therefore placed on establishing a broad sample, while respondents were selected by non-probability sampling for the sake of convenience, taking into account their availability and willingness to participate in the study [21], during the first semester of the academic year 2019–2020. Students were invited to participate via email and social media. The instrument evaluated for this study was the ARS questionnaire, developed by Escurra and Blas [16], who based their work on the construction of various psychologists, taking inspiration from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) for the measurement of Internet and social network addictions. The ARS questionnaire contains 31 items assessed on a 5-point Likert scale from 0 to 4, using the frequency range “never” to “always” [27]. The analysis carried out by Escurra and Blas [16] concluded that three factors or latent dimensions accounted for 24 of the items considered: (a) obsession with social networks, (b) lack of self-control in the use of social networks, and (c) excessive use of social networks. Seven of the 31 original items were removed following a descriptive analysis of mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis in order to prevent distortions in the construction of the instrument. For this study, the instrument was used with only the 24 validated items.
2.3 Results First, a reliability analysis of the 24 items was carried out with the information provided by the 2271 respondents, using the descriptive statistics mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis coefficients and incorporating Cronbach’s alpha. The results are shown in Fig. 2.1. Taking into account the above statistics and a Cronbach alpha of 0.938 (value close to 1, recommended for CFA), together with a correlation matrix between items in which no correlation coefficients greater than 0.7 were found (ruling out the problem of collinearity), it is confirmed that all items can initially be included for construct validity testing. Starting from the model developed by Escurra and Blas [16], with 24 observed variables, the associated errors and three latent dimensions, CFA was applied with an SEM approach, using the maximum verisimilitude method for estimation, as is most frequently observed in this type of study in the literature [28]. Estimates were made in AMOS 22.0. The information presented in Fig. 2.1, together with the findings of complementary analyses, showed that a model with better goodness-of-fit was required. Consequently, after statistical analysis, the decision was taken to remove items 13 (“I can go several days without connecting to social networks”) and 23 (“If I don’t connect to social networks when I am in class, I get bored”), corresponding to the latent factor “Obsession with social networks”, and item 1 (“I feel a strong
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Fig. 2.1 Descriptive statistics and reliability analysis
need to be constantly connected to social networks”), corresponding to the factor “Excessive use of social networks” (Table 2.1). Item 13 shows a value considerably lower than 0.9 in the anti-image matrix, of 0.706. The anti-image correlation matrix contains the negatives of the partial correlation coefficients. The measure of sampling adequacy for each of the variables considered is displayed on the principal diagonal of this matrix. If the model is adequate, the values on the principal diagonal should be close to 1. As such, values considerably less than 1 indicate that the removal of a variable from the model should be considered [29]. In addition to this indicator, in the initial model, the standardized regression weight for the variable derived from this item is 0.14 in relation to the latent factor “Obsession with social networks”, which is below the criterion value of 0.6 for keeping a variable in the model [29, 30]. This is also the case of item 23, which shows a low correlation with the latent factor “Obsession with social networks” (0.24). Importantly, if this item is maintained, the value of CMIN/df (the ratio of the minimum discrepancy to degrees of freedom) remains above 5. While it is generally considered that the value of CMIN/df should be close to 1 in models with good fit, it is not clear whether the ratio here is sufficiently high that the item should Table 2.1 Global fit summary for the initial model Absolute fit index
Incremental fit index
Chi-square p-value
CMIN/df
RMSEA
CFI
TLI
NFI
0.000
6.744
0.050
0.948
0.934
0.939
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be discarded. Some authors, for example, claim that values below 5 are indicative of reasonable fit, while others suggest that a value of between 2 and 5 is adequate for this method of analysis [29]. Finally, item 1, which is related to the dimension “Excessive use of social networks”, also has low weight in the model and keeps the value of CMIN/df above 5, which indicates a lower and inadequate goodness-of-fit to the model. On the basis of the above information, and having omitted the items as described above, the final model of 21 items, shown in Fig. 2.2, was estimated using the maximum verisimilitude method. The final model successfully achieved a minimum of 12 iterations. As shown in Table 2.2, the model gives a chi-square p-value of 0.000 and a CMIN/df value of 4.953; in the latter case, the value below 5 indicates that the model is significant
Fig. 2.2 Final model (21 items)
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Table 2.2 Global fit summary for the final model Incremental fit index
Absolute fit index Chi-square p-value
CMIN/df
RMSEA
CFI
TLI
NFI
0.000
4.953
0.042
0.971
0.960
0.964
and a good fit for the data. However, since the chi-square test is highly sensitive to sample size, the analysis should be broadened to include other measures of fit: CFI, TLI and NFI. The values for each of these measures are greater than 0.95, which indicates that the model is a good fit for the data. In addition, the RMSEA index is less than 0.08. In the case of the final model, while the correlations between items and factors are significant (as shown by the p-values in Table 2.3), the correlations between the variable “gender” and the latent factors are not. Although the definition of the model could be modified to accommodate this, a better fit can be achieved by excluding this variable, so it is suggested that the proposed structure be maintained. In summary, while the initial 24-item model with three latent dimensions achieved reasonable goodness-of-fit and gave acceptable global fit indices, there was clear room for enhancement, since it contains items that do not adequately explain the latent dimensions into which they are grouped; by removing them, the overall fit of the model is likely to improve. While these improvements do not have a bearing on the presence of the three latent dimensions established in the validation of Escurra and Blas [16], they do create a more robust model with fewer variables, as shown in Table 2.4.
2.4 Conclusions The aim of the study was to validate the Social Network Addiction (ARS) questionnaire using a SEM approach. The model provided explicit estimates of error variance parameters, thus achieving a higher degree of certainty. SEM is an analytical technique for multivariate data analysis used in the study of addictive behaviour. It is frequently employed in different areas of behavioural and health sciences and has become one of the predominant methods for validating measurement instruments and inter-construct correlations. This study contributes to the examination of SEM, looking in greater depth at its application in the social sciences. To overcome the limitations of the validation study performed by Escurra and Salas [16], this study was carried out under different conditions, including different sample sizes, skewness levels and model specifications, as commonly encountered in the social sciences in a Latin American context. While SEM is not a new analytical technique, few studies report its use in the field of social sciences, potentially placing a constraint on the quality and impact of SEMbased research into addictive behaviour. This study opens up the study of multivariate statistical techniques to researchers working in the social sciences, allowing them to
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Table 2.3 Final model estimates Estimate
S.E
C.R
P
P7