@phdthesis{Willis2009, author = {Willis, Katharine S.}, title = {Wayfinding Situations}, doi = {10.25643/bauhaus-universitaet.1428}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20100806-15125}, school = {Bauhaus-Universit{\"a}t Weimar}, year = {2009}, abstract = {Wayfinding, which is the task of getting from some origin to a destination, is one of the primary spatial problems humans encounter in everyday life. When we wayfind, we act in the environment based on the structure and features of the environment, set against a background of knowledge which is generally understood as having visual characteristics. As mobile and wireless technologies proliferate in urban space it can be considered as having an existence in terms of several spaces, those of places that make up our direct perceptual experience and those of the digital devices and networks that facilitate communication, which are primarily non-visual in nature. This thesis will extend existing work on perception and action in urban space to investigate the role of mobile and ubiquitous technologies in wayfinding and environmental legibility, or more literally how we orientate and find our way in space when we experience it both with and through technology. In order to do this, the research takes the approach of considering wayfinding as a situated activity that takes place against a rich and articulated background of experiences and social connections. Through a series of empirical studies the concept of wayfinding situations is explored from two different perspectives. The first study investigates the relationship between an individual and technology as they act in environmental settings, by comparing learning for a spatial task depending on whether the individual accesses a map or a mobile map to make judgements. The second study seeks to understand the relationship between individual and environment as they act in technological settings, and focuses on the perception and action in space as affected by wireless technologies. The combined outcome of these two empirical studies provides the basis for the definition of a richer and more differentiated concept of wayfinding situations. This informs the final stage of the research in which an applied response is proposed to supporting wayfinding in a specific urban scenario, where the aim is to embed the technology into the spatial setting.}, subject = {Medien}, language = {en} }