<p>Transportation has expanded the scope of human mobility, increasing the distances we cover on a</p><p>regular basis. The large benefits of transportation have resulted in a huge recent increase in the</p><p>number of vehicles. This, however, implies an increased number of traffic accidents that cause</p><p>many fatalities and injuries every year. It also leads to problems like increased delay for</p><p>commuters, and negative effects on the environment. Not to mention, the money spent in the</p><p>wasted fuel, as well as the costs of fixing damaged equipment and property.</p><p>To help in mitigating these problems the vehicles and the road infrastructure should be equipped</p><p>with intelligent devices that allow them to communicate and collaborate with each other and</p><p>exchange safety information concerning accidents, road traffic conditions, and weather conditions</p><p>as well as non-safety information. Recently, this topic termed telematics has gathered</p><p>considerable interest constituting a lot of work and research all included under the title of</p><p>Intelligent Transportation System (ITS).</p><p>The thesis work defines general communication requirements of future telematics applications</p><p>and investigates various wireless carriers that are important to achieve communication inbetween</p><p>vehicles and between vehicles and nearby infrastructure. We analyse several future</p><p>applications related to the ITS field and describe their communication requirements. Based on the</p><p>communication requirements the applications are grouped into different profiles in order to</p><p>determine the most suitable carrier for each profile.</p><p>Disclaimer: This paper reflects only the authors’ views and the European Community (as cofounders</p><p>of the CVIS, SAFESPOT and PReVENT Sixth Framework Programme projects,</p><p>through the European Commission DG Information Society and Media) is not liable for any use</p><p>that may be made of the information contained within.</p>

Transportation has expanded the scope of human mobility, increasing the distances we cover on a regular basis. The large benefits of transportation have resulted in a huge recent increase in the number of vehicles. This, however, implies an increased number of traffic accidents that cause many fatalities and injuries every year. It also leads to problems like increased delay for commuters, and negative effects on the environment. Not to mention, the money spent in the wasted fuel, as well as the costs of fixing damaged equipment and property. To help in mitigating these problems the vehicles and the road infrastructure should be equipped with intelligent devices that allow them to communicate and collaborate with each other and exchange safety information concerning accidents, road traffic conditions, and weather conditions as well as non-safety information. Recently, this topic termed telematics has gathered considerable interest constituting a lot of work and research all included under the title of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). The thesis work defines general communication requirements of future telematics applications and investigates various wireless carriers that are important to achieve communication inbetween vehicles and between vehicles and nearby infrastructure. We analyse several future applications related to the ITS field and describe their communication requirements. Based on the communication requirements the applications are grouped into different profiles in order to determine the most suitable carrier for each profile. Disclaimer: This paper reflects only the authors’ views and the European Community (as cofounders of the CVIS, SAFESPOT and PReVENT Sixth Framework Programme projects, through the European Commission DG Information Society and Media) is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained within.

This PhD Thesis has been immersed in investigating the holistic experience of way-finding in buildings by people who have a range of visual ability. Previous research studies, spanning across a broad spectrum of disciplines, have focused on various characteristics of human way-finding (Arthur and Passini, 1992;Lynch, 1960;Downs and Stea, 1973). It is specifically recognised that the built environment is failing people with visual loss (Barker et al., 1995) and the strategic task and skill of way-finding within a building is a particular problem (Arthur and Passini, 1992). Under the social model of disability (Oliver, 1990) this is recognised as a form of architectural disablement (Goldsmith, 1997). There are few evidence-based studies of way-finding in a building. Furthermore, there are no studies of real-life experiences of way-finding undertaken by real-life participants who have a range of visual ability within the context of a real-life building. This leads to a research question: What are the design issues revealed by participants who have a range of visual ability as they way-find in a large public building? This doctoral research, based within the discipline of architecture, focuses on the holistic experiential components of a Journey (Myerson, 2001;Harper and Green, 2000). It coins and defines the term Way-finding Hot-spot as it explores the events [positive and negative] which are experienced and therefore impact on a Way-finding Journey around a building. To fill an important gap in the current knowledge a research enquiry, based on a user-centred design approach, was implemented. Exploratory in nature, the methodology was inductive and it evolved throughout the study. A series of Research Principles, borrowed from the established methodologies of Grounded Theory (Glaser, 1968) and Case Study (Yin, 2003a;Yin, 2003b), guided this study. Ten participants [with varying degrees of visual ability, different ages and other forms of disability] undertook a Way-finding Scenario designed to evaluate both existing memories of way-finding and present way-finding experience. This was composed of a Purposeful Conversation (Burgess, 1982) and a context specific Way-finding Task. The study has produced a large amount of data based on user experience in a real-world way-finding context – this has not been done before. Participant data contributed to a new Theory of Way-finding – The Experiential Charting of a Way-finding Journey – which derived from experiential data, was found to be composed of three elements: Journey Stages, Tasks Components and Communication Requirements. This thesis presents detailed findings which generate dialogue in the design of way-finding systems suitable for a diverse range of way-finders. It provides a research-based foundation to open the problem area and provide an insight into the issues people with different visual abilities encounter as they undertake a Way-finding Journey around a building. It generates a greater understanding of the problems and joys of way-finding in a building which will be of use in professional practice across disciplines of architecture and design as well as in areas of rehabilitation, policy-making and academia. This research is a start, but it is not the end. Future research questions have been revealed and these, combined with further reviews of literature and creative use of method, will further explore the phenomenon of way-finding within the context of buildings.

This thesis deals with communication barriers and their impact on the results of the work process and group climate. It explains the concept of communication, elements of communication process and the basic division of communication, verbal communication, nonverbal communication, effective communication and its elements, requirements for effective communication, communication with managers, managerial communication strategy, the specifics of communication in health care management and internal communication. The thesis further analyzes communication barriers from the perspective of different authors, which is crucial for the practical part, where the results of questionnaire-compiled charts reflecting the different communication barriers from different angles are used. Two sets of questionnaires were developed: one for senior staff and one for subordinates. The group examined was a closed working group in one hospital in the Czech Republic. In the discussion section, results of the research are evaluated and recommendations for the prevention and elimination of the communication barriers are given. The main aim of this work was improvement of communication between employees at all levels and between all levels, increasing the efficiency of manpower and making the working environment more attractive, thus increasing the satisfaction of all employees of this working group.