Data analysis is increasingly critical in aiding decision-making within public and private institutions. This paper scrutinizes the status quo of big data and data analysis and its applications within Ecuador, focusing on its societal, educational, and industrial impact. A detailed literature review was conducted from academic databases such as SpringerLink, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, and ACM, incorporating research from inception until May 2023. The search process adhered to the PRISMA statement, employing specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The analysis revealed that data implementation in Ecuador, while recent, has found noteworthy applications in six principal areas, classified using ISCED: education, science, engineering, health, social, and services. In the scientific and engineering sectors, big data has notably contributed to disaster mitigation and optimizing resource allocation in smart cities. Its application in the social sector has fortified cybersecurity and election data integrity, while in services, it has enhanced residential ICT adoption and urban planning. Health sector applications are emerging, particularly in disease prediction and patient monitoring. Educational applications predominantly involve student performance analysis and curricular evaluation. This review emphasizes that while big data’s potential is being gradually realized in Ecuador, further research, data security measures, and institutional interoperability are required to fully leverage its benefits.

In the last decade, the advancement of artificial intelligence has transformed multiple sectors, with natural language processing standing out as one of the most dynamic and promising areas. This study focused on comparing the GPT-3.5, GPT-4 and GPT-4o language models, evaluating their efficiency and performance in Natural Language Processing tasks such as text generation, machine translation and sentiment analysis. Using a controlled experimental design, the response speed and quality of the outputs generated by each model were measured. The results showed that GPT-4o significantly outperforms GPT-4 in terms of speed, completing tasks 25% faster in text generation and 20% faster in translation. In sentiment analysis, GPT-4o was 30% faster than GPT-4. Additionally, analysis of response quality, assessed using human reviews, showed that while GPT-3.5 delivers fast and consistent responses, GPT-4 and GPT-4o produce higher quality and more de-tailed content. The findings suggest that GPT-4o is ideal for applications that require speed and consistency, while GPT-4, although slower, might be preferred in contexts where text accuracy and quality are important. This study highlights the need to balance efficiency and quality in the selection of language models and suggests implementing additional automatic evaluations in future research to complement the current findings

Virtual reality is an emerging and versatile technology that is gaining increasing interest from the scientific community, particularly regarding user experience. A review of the literature highlights the need for updated analyses that comprehensively address current trends in this field. The objective of this study is to analyze the evolution of scientific publications related to virtual reality and user experience, identifying trends, the most influential authors, relevant journals, and international collaborations, to provide a comprehensive overview. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using the Web of Science Core Collection database, identifying a total of 1,848 relevant publications. Network analysis techniques and Bradford’s law were applied, allowing for the examination of the distribution and impact of publications, as well as collaboration between authors and institutions. The results show an exponential growth in scientific output, particularly since 2019. While the United States leads in the number of publications, most of the influential authors are from Europe, with notable scientific output in Spain and Portugal. Current research hotspots include VR applications in education and healthcare (over 70% of the analyzed publications), which align with Sustainable Development Goals, particularly 3 and 4. Trends indicate a shift towards integrating VR with artificial intelligence, adaptive systems, and multisensory interaction to enhance immersion and usability. Challenges include a lack of standardized methodologies to assess immersion, presence, and cognitive load, which limits comparisons across studies and hinders the development of best practices. Future research should focus on refining interaction paradigms, improving accessibility, and developing ethical frameworks that respect data privacy and protect the user from cybersickness and the psychological effects of prolonged VR exposure.