Abstract
From the point of view of the Citizen, Justice is not always readily accessible. Either because it is a lengthy process, potentially expensive, sometimes unclear or simply scary, people will often avoid or withdraw from a judicial process, especially in those cases that involve relatively small amounts. This results in the giving up of a basic right, with the potential loss of rightful benefits. In this paper we briefly analyze the main aspects that impair access to Justice nowadays. We then move on to look at recent technological developments in the field of Online Dispute Resolution to argue that these can, in the near future, have a significant role in improving access to Justice. Specifically, we analyze the UMCourt Conflict Resolution Framework, developed by our research team, and address the different dimensions in which such tools contribute to make Justice more accessible, namely through better access to useful information, support in decision-making or more cost-effective processes. Copyright 2014 ACM.

Abstract
Personality traits play a key role in the shaping of emotions, moods, cognitions, and behaviours of individuals interacting in a virtual environment. The personalities one exhibits reflect one's perception of the world and are demonstrated in the act of communication. Thus, the evaluation of a message can be changed due to stress and mood variations. Being able to identify the degree of relationship between one's personality characteristics and one's current stress state can thus facilitate the communication process. In particular, in this paper it is studied the correlation between some personality traits and the stress levels exhibited by users' interactions. To do so a novel approach was followed in which an intelligent environment is used to support the stress recognition process providing important personality related information. An experiment has been designed for the purpose of addressing the estimation of relevant aspects of interactions that occur in a rich sensory environment. Outputs from the experiment, such as the relation between personality characteristics and stress, can be used to maximize the benefits of virtual environments and its applications in fields such as learning, medicine or conflict resolution. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.

Abstract
In our day to day, we often experience a sense of being tired due to mental or physical workload. Along with that, there is also a feeling of degrading performance, even after the completion of simple tasks. These mental states however, are often not felt consciously or are ignored. This is an attitude that may result in human error, failure, and may lead to potential health problems together with a decrease in quality of life. States of acute mental fatigue may be detected with the close monitoring of certain indicators, such as productivity, performance and health indicators. In this paper, a model and prototype are proposed to detect and monitor acute acute fatigue, based on non-invasive Human-computer Interaction (HCI). This approach will enable the development of better working environments, with an impact on the quality of life and the work produced. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.

Abstract
Ambient Intelligence (AmI) and its related fields emerged some years ago with the exciting promise of pervasive intelligence, magic interaction mechanisms, and everywhere availability. This promise would be materialized in homes that knew all about our habits and preferences, proactive workplaces to support people’s work or personal digital assistants to improve our daily living in all aspects possible. This somewhat utopian vision, expected by many to have already taken place, remains unaccomplished and far from it. Many challenges still lay ahead which delayed and continue to delay the expected technological unravelling. In this paper we focus on the immense technological challenges of designing and implementing AmI Systems. Specifically, we propose a technological approach that will contribute to overcome some of these challenges by making developed AmI solutions more modular, interoperable, and extensible. This will result especially advantageous for large development teams or teams that span multiple institutions. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014.

Abstract

Abstract
Traditionally, the Teacher-Student relationship is a close one. The student spends several hours of a day in the presence of the teacher and can talk, express doubts and pose questions. These doubts, or the general feeling towards the object of learning, are not only expressed explicitly but also implicitly. Indeed, the teacher is constantly, even if in an unconscious way, reading the state of the student in search for sings of doubt, frustration, stress or fatigue. This information is then used by the teacher to adapt their methods or to personalize their approach in function of each student. These aspects, intuitively central in education, become less efficient when learning takes place in a Virtual Environment. Indeed, the growth of online courses, in which the student and the teacher often never even meet, make learning more difficult for a number of reasons. In this paper we analyse these reasons and put forward an approach for inferring the student's state that aims to minimize the effects of the absence of the teacher.