This open access book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 18th International Conference on String Processing and Information Retrieval, ICOST 2022, held in Paris, France, in June 2022. The 15 full papers and 10 short papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 33 submissions. They cover topics such as design, development, deployment, and evaluation of AI for health, smart urban environments, assistive technologies, chronic disease management, and coaching and health telematics systems.

This open access book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Digital Health Transformation and Smart Ageing, ICOST 2023, held in Wonju, South Korea, during July 7–8, 2023. The 18 full papers and 16 short papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 41 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows: IoT and AI Solutions for E-health, Biomedical and Health Informatics, Wellbeing Technologies, Short Contributions: Medical Systems and E-health Solutions and Short Contributions: Wellbeing Technologies.

This book summarizes the research findings presented at the 3rd International Conference on Novel & Intelligent Digital Systems (NiDS 2023). NiDS 2023 held in Athens, Greece, during September 28–29, 2023, under the auspices of the Institute of Intelligent Systems. The conference was implemented hybrid, allowing participants to attend it either online or onsite. NiDS 2023 places significant importance on the innovations within intelligent systems and the collaborative research that empowers and enriches artificial intelligence (AI) in software development. It encourages high-quality research, establishing a forum for investigating the obstacles and cutting-edge breakthroughs in AI. The conference is designed for experts, researchers, and scholars in artificial and computational intelligence, as well as computer science in general, offering them the opportunity to delve into relevant, interconnected, and mutually complementary fields. By facilitating the exchange of ideas, the conference strengthens and broadens the network of researchers, academics, and industry representatives.

Zusammenfassung: The two-volume set LNCS 14750 and 14751 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, ICCHP 2024, which took place in Linz, Austria, during July 8-12, 2024. The 104 full papers included in the proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 266 submission. They were organized in topical sections as follows: Part I: Software, Web and document accessibility; making entertainment content more inclusive; art Karshmer lectures in access to mathemtaics, science and engineering; tactile graphics and 3D models for blind people and shape recognition by touch; new methods for creating accessible material in higher education; ICT to support inclusive education - universal learning design (ULD); blind and low vision: orientation and mobility; blindness, low vision: new approaches to perception and ICT mediation; Part II: Accessibility for the deaf and hard-of-hearing; interaction techniques for motor disabled users; augmentative and alternative communication innovations in products and services, cognitive disabilities, assistive technologies and accessibility; dyslexia, reading/writing disorders: assistive technology and accessibility; accessible, smart, and integrated healthcare systems for elderly and disabled people; assistive technologies and inclusion for older people; advanced technologies for innovating inclusing and participation in labour, education, and everyday life; disability, inclusion, service provision, policy and legislation

This innovative Research Agenda offers a comprehensive analysis of the role of assistive technology (AT) in the lives of people with disabilities. Contributors representing a diverse range of stakeholders including researchers, practitioners and people with disabilities suggest avenues for research over the next 10 years.

The continuous growth of older adult populations, as a consequence of demographic changes, is a huge challenge. To prevent costly and negative impacts effects on the population as a whole, it is crucial that societies increase their knowledge of promoting good health among older adults, to promote good health and a better quality of life in their later years. Active aging is the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation, and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. An active and healthy life has remained one of the most important aspirations for all people, both young and older adults alike. This ambition has become a genuine possibility for many due to a rising life expectancy among people of diverse attributes across the world. While celebrating longer life and with more financial security in later life than ever before, we need to challenge how these aspirations can be sustained, through our own behavioural responses and through public policy, institutional reforms, and innovations. The challenge is to identify, recommend, and promote strategies and interventions that stimulate and sustain the activity, independence, and health of people of all ages, especially older adults and, in the process, promote the well-being and quality of life of people and make public welfare systems more sustainable.

This book pioneers evidence-based research on healthy aging through the application of self determination theory (SDT). Its uniqueness is located in the fact that to date, no other work has applied SDT to the empirical study of aging populations. The authors focus on how SDT drives healthy, successful and active aging, and note that the motivation factors underpinning healthy aging are often neglected, or altogether absent, in the existing literature. This edited volume is particularly timely given the expanding aging crisis in many North American, European and Asian contexts. The collection of chapters meets this challenge head-on in comparing these contexts vis-a-vis a broad international scope, and subsequent discussions on important specialty issues in aging, such as hearing and memory loss. The work offers global perspectives on aging, autonomy and associated life challenges, as well as factors relating to the sustainability of healthy aging in terms of physical and mental well-being. This book will be highly relevant to researchers in the SDT community, as well as specialists in aging and gerontology. It will also be of interest to lifespan psychologists and developmental psychologists.