Abstract
In this paper, a Web application that allows people with speech impairments to train and amend pronunciation of words by repeating words presented in a interface with visual and auditory stimuli, is presented. With this app, we aim at present a training assistive tool to be used by the user, in a daily situation, where the main asset is the feedback about the rate of correct pronunciation, thus allowing users to train, autonomously, at home. Additionally, we present a preliminary user study to assess usability of the proposed application. For that, we invited a group of people with speech impairments to perform training tasks with the application. In the assessment, we register the following parameters: effectiveness (successful conclusion of the training tasks and percentage of pronouncing success); efficiency (number of errors made, number and type of difficulties found); and, satisfaction (the acceptance and comfort to complete the training tasks). Overall, the preliminary results showed that participants achieved an efficiency rate of 53.4% in the accomplishment of the proposed tasks. On average, for each image, participants missed at least 2 times, where the most registered difficulty was the pronunciation of words with accents. Regarding satisfaction, we noticed that they like it as they ask not only to repeat the test but also the addition of more pictures to perform more tests with the proposed web application.

Abstract
The research activities in a Higher Education Institution (HEI) is highly dependent of the development of research projects. Most times, these projects have, at the core of their workforce, scholarship fellows financed by the project budget and responsible for the execution of very specific research tasks. The procurement process, leading to the contracting of these fellows, evolves several internal bureaus, from several organic units of the HEI, in a complex and long process. This work reports on the development of system to support this process. The solution was integrated in the HEI ecosystem in a harmonious manner, by implementing the necessary features and using the other HEI systems features when possible. After a year, the scholarship management system has proved a success, providing the user features to conduct the process as well as the management analytics to proper support the governance of the research area.

Abstract
The University of Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro is part of a consortium that is providing courses in an e-learning model. In this courses, the students' evaluation requires their physical presence. Currently, the consortium has the general objective of provide evaluation activities in all of the consortium's institutions, independently of the student's Higher Education Institution (HEI) of origin. That way, the student can go through the learning process on-line, using the Learning Management System (LMS), and attend an evaluation activity at the HEI geographically more conveniently located. In pursuing this objective, the consortium is creating a set of specific rooms with the sole purpose of supporting the evaluation of e-learning students. These rooms are located in each one of the HEIs, and equipped with thin personal computers (PC), connected to a local, properly configured, server. These PCs and server will run a customized version of the operating system, in a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) model, providing a controlled and safe infrastructure for the usage of the LMS to execute the evaluation activities. In a first phase, it is being created one room in each one of the consortium HEIs. A set of rules and a certification process will be designed, in order to have a standard level of service across all the rooms. Together with the certification process it will also be defined an audit process in order to regularly verify the compliance of the rooms with the previously designed certification standards.

Abstract
This work explores the application of information technologies in the processes of mentoring, allowing to optimize them and adapting this service of mentoring, to the current reality. It is intended to understand the importance of e-mentoring for the improvement and achievement of objectives for both apprentices and mentors, in which it shows how the relationship between both should be done, in order to be able to communicate with knowledge sharing throughout the relationship, from its beginning to its closure.

Abstract
To receive a degree from a Higher Education Institution (HEI), the students must successfully undergo the necessary exams, which, most times, require the physical presence of the student in a room where he/she will solve and answer the exams' questions using the traditional pen and paper. This is a well-known and reliable method to evaluate the students, in which the physically presence is a reliable way to diminish the possibilities of fraud. Currently, the modern Learning Management Systems (LMS) are able to provide the necessary features to execute the evaluations activities online, on the software platform. These systems and features can be used in a blended model, in which the students are required to be physically present, in a similar form to a traditional on site exam, and the exam is executed using a LMS. The exam room is equipped with Personal Computers (PC), which are configured with the necessary means to access the LMS and assure that a higher risk of fraud is not introduced by the usage of the PCs and the LMS as support for the exams. We designated this model, as the b-eval model. The adoption of this model requires some changes in the professors' practices, as well as the introduction of more technological means to support the increase in PCs and LMS usage. The professors must design their evaluation process in order to incorporate the features and restrains posed by the PCs and the LMS. In some scenarios, this adoption is advantageous for the professor and for the students, considering that a properly designed exam can easily be executed by the students and instantaneously evaluated and graded. Otherwise, the traditional process takes much longer, as the professor must collect the paper exams, which he will later evaluate and grade. The process can take several days or even weeks. In this position paper we discuss the introduction of the b-eval model, as well as an assessment methodology for its adoption.

Abstract
The increase in life expectancy and the consequent aging of the general population pose, nowadays, major challenges to modern societies. Most elderly people have the usual problems related to old age, like health chronic problems and sensory and cognitive impairments. Besides that, in today’s modern societies, where families have less and less time to look after for their old relatives, the isolation of the elderly is a real concern and a very current problem, which is enhanced if the elders live alone. To solve or, at least, mitigate that problem, it was developed a smart home for elders that is presented and described in this paper. The developed assistive home system, which is based on available technology, can ensure the quality of life, safety and well-being of all older adults that want or desire to live in the comfort of their home, near to their friends and in their neighborhood, instead of living in elder care centers. The proposed solution can record and analyze the elders’ daily routines in order to alert (e.g., e-mails or text messages) the family members and/or social agents (e.g., doctors and caregivers) whenever an unusual situation occurs or when the elder is in danger, provide real-time audio and video when necessary and some comfort features, such as, automatic lighting and temperature control. The relevant events are recorded and maintained in a cloud database, which can be accessed through a dedicated website or by an Internet of Things (IoT) Application Programming Interface (API). Although this type of solution/service is focused in the elderly population, anybody can use it. The developed solution provides comfort and safety to elders and, at the same time, an easier way of monitoring all important events. © Springer International Publishing AG 2017.