Topicality of the problem. GSM mobile networks are very widely used in the world and the number of GSM users exceeds 10^9. In the last decade, the GSM/GPRS network has been very rapidly expanded in Lithuania as well. Coverage of the network has reached 99 % of territory of the country. Load of the network in largest cities reaches up to several hundred Erlangs for square kilometre. Voice traffic still generates the largest part of the network load, however mobile data traffic also grows rapidly. Radio interface between the user of mobile services and the network is not stationary. The received QoS of every user in different places is different. Even in a single cell, radio link characteristics differ in different parts of the cell. The signal level may easily vary about 10–20 dB just within several or tens of meters. Moreover, a mobile user experiences different link conditions while moving in the natural environment within or between cells. However, historically characteristics of QoS of mobile services are measured and evaluated like the ones of the fixed network using statistical methods. Statistically calculated characteristics of QoS do not include information about the received quality of mobile telecommunication services of every individual user. Conception of the received quality of services of individual users (individual QoS – iQoS) in the GSM/GPRS network has not been analysed in the world before. QoS should be measured not only at the network level, as it is... [to full text]

Topicality of the problem. GSM mobile networks are very widely used in the world and the number of GSM users exceeds 10^9. In the last decade, the GSM/GPRS network has been very rapidly expanded in Lithuania as well. Coverage of the network has reached 99 % of territory of the country. Load of the network in largest cities reaches up to several hundred Erlangs for square kilometre. Voice traffic still generates the largest part of the network load, however mobile data traffic also grows rapidly. Radio interface between the user of mobile services and the network is not stationary. The received QoS of every user in different places is different. Even in a single cell, radio link characteristics differ in different parts of the cell. The signal level may easily vary about 10–20 dB just within several or tens of meters. Moreover, a mobile user experiences different link conditions while moving in the natural environment within or between cells. However, historically characteristics of QoS of mobile services are measured and evaluated like the ones of the fixed network using statistical methods. Statistically calculated characteristics of QoS do not include information about the received quality of mobile telecommunication services of every individual user. Conception of the received quality of services of individual users (individual QoS – iQoS) in the GSM/GPRS network has not been analysed in the world before. QoS should be measured not only at the network level, as it is... [to full text]

Background: Tobacco and nicotine contained in it belongs to the substances with the highest addiction potential. The harmfulness of conventional cigarettes is a publicly known fact, and this is one of the reasons why producers are trying to market other tobacco alternatives. One of them is heated tobacco IQOS, which has only recently appeared on the market in the Czech Republic. IQOS users are an unexplored and unspecified social group whose patterns of use and characteristics are not adequately described in terms of expertise. Aims: The primary objective of the study was to describe the typical patterns of IQOS use among tobacco users in the Czech Republic, who left smoking conventional cigarettes and converted to the use of heated tobacco. The secondary objectives were to describe the characteristics of IQOS use, users' paraphernalia relationships, motivation to convert to the IQOS and the development of patterns of use over a two-month period. Methods: Qualitative research methods were used. The respondents were recruited by the method of deliberate selection together with the snowball method. Participants were recruited via social networks; the process of data creation was done through semi- structured interviews and online survey using two waves design. The research group consisted of 10...

Background: In recent years, novel heated tobacco products such as IQOS or glo, which began to appear on the Czech market about three years ago, gained popularity. The device is visually appealing in which, unlike regular cigarettes, tobacco is not burned but heated to a temperature of 350 řC. There are several foreign studies on how these tobacco heating products are used, but there is a lack of data on this phenomenon in Czech Republic. Aims: The main aim of this study was to describe patterns of use of heated tobacco products among adult tobacco users in the Czech Republic. Partial aims of the study were to find out what are the motives for using heating tobacco products, what is the nature of use, i.e. the time of use, daily consumption of fillings, and if there is any change in habits of ordinary smoking. Furthermore, the aim was to map in which situations heated tobacco products are used and how the users take care of the equipment. Material and Methods: Data collection was carried out using a quantitative method of improbability selection, namely the method of self-selection through an online questionnaire distributed through selected online channels (websites, forums, social networks). The research group consists of 198 respondents, of whom 182 are IQOS users and 16 are glo users. After...