Alena Vondrakova

@geoinformatics.upol.cz

Department of Geoinformatics
Palacky University Olomouc



                       

https://researchid.co/alena.vondrakova

EDUCATION

2013 Palacký University, Olomouc, PhD – Specialization: Geoinformatics and Cartography
2011 Palacký University, Olomouc, rigorous state exam – Specialization: Cartography and Geoinformatics
2009 Palacký University, Olomouc, Master – Specialization: Geoinformatics
2009 Palacký University, Olomouc, Specialization: Didactics in Geography
2007 Palacký University, Olomouc, Bachelor – Specialization: Geography–Geoinformatics

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Geography, Planning and Development, Education, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Law

42

Scopus Publications

442

Scholar Citations

12

Scholar h-index

14

Scholar i10-index

Scopus Publications

  • Quantitative Approach for Assessing Infographics in Atlas Cartography
    Jakub Koníček, Vít Voženílek, Radek Barvíř, and Alena Vondráková
    Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice
    Infographics have become a widely utilized concept in contemporary cartography for visualizing a wide range of data. Despite this, there is a lack of comprehensive scholarly studies addressing the theory of infographics, and cartographers have not yet established a precise definition or unified classification for them. Consequently, cartographic production lacks clear rules and methodologies for systematically incorporating infographic elements. This paper introduces a systematic approach for precisely quantifying and evaluating static cartographic products from the domain of atlas cartography with a focus on their infographic style. The proposed methodology was validated through practical assessments of map samples from various atlases, which were compared with samples of infographics. Case studies analysed input patterns related to spatial components, visualization attributes, and additional design elements. Four indicators—area coverage, graphic load, visual attractiveness, and colourfulness—were defined and quantified by using of GIMP graphic software and recalculated through predefined mathematical formulas. The resulting values provide a quantitative description of tested images in terms of their infographic style. This innovative methodological approach contributes to the unification of contemporary approaches for defining and assessing infographics in maps, atlases, and broader cartographic production

  • Creating a Haptic 3D Model of Wenceslas Hill in Olomouc
    Richard Lazna, Radek Barvir, Alena Vondrakova, and Jan Brus
    MDPI AG
    Interactivity in today’s society finds its way into many facets of life and can be used in various ways, including 3D printing. For example, various 3D models can be incorporated into museum exhibitions and serve as interactive media for visitors, deepening their experience. One of the advantages of haptic 3D models is the immediate haptic feedback. Such models can have various uses, from being a part of an interactive exhibition to providing assistance to people with visual impairment. This article describes the process of creating a haptic 3D model depicting Wenceslas Hill in Olomouc in the eighteenth century. The model has several surface elements printed from conductive material that react to touch. The interactive model itself is unchanged from its original modelled 3D version, meaning the shape of the object stays the exact same throughout modifications. The resulting model conveys additional information about the object or its parts by means of a web interface via a connected tablet device. To implement the desired functionality, TouchIt3D technology was used. This technology uses a combination of conductive and non-conductive materials for 3D printing. The conductive material serves to propagate an electrical signal caused by touching a chosen part of the model. A 3D printer with two extruders was used for printing the model, allowing simultaneous printing of two different materials. The model’s scalability is advantageous for potential use by people with visual impairment. The model shall serve as a tool for enriching historical knowledge about the object by using interactivity.

  • The Effect of Day and Night Mode on the Perception of Map Navigation Device
    Stanislav Popelka, Alena Vondrakova, and Romana Skulnikova (Filicka)
    ACM
    Day and night mode is widely used when working with any digital device, including map navigation. Many users have the day and night mode change set automatically. However, it is not proven if this functionality helps improve the transfer of information between the map and the user when changing the lighting conditions. The short paper aims to evaluate the influence of day and night modes on the map users’ perception. User testing was realised in the eye-tracking laboratory with 43 participants. These participants were categorised by the average number of hours spent driving per week and their use of map navigation. The eye-tracking experiment focuses on the orientation of the participants in the day and night mode of map views when changing the lighting conditions. For that, the Euro Truck Simulator game environment was chosen, where the participants were guided by the map navigation in the bottom right corner of the screen. The lighting conditions in the ET laboratory have been adjusted to match the lighting conditions for both day and night as realistically as possible, and the map navigation mode was switched between day and night mode. The explanatory research suggested that using day mode during nighttime may cause disorientation and dazzle; using night mode during daytime does not cause that problem, but the user perception is slightly slower.

  • Creation of the Olomouc region thematic atlas in the infographic design


  • Mapping, synthesis and visualization of Czech dialects
    Vit Vozenilek, Martina Ireinova, Alena Vondrakova, and Jakub Konicek
    Informa UK Limited
    ABSTRACT Dialects became a traditional research subject of linguists who collect and analyse data from a linguistic perspective and a spatial perspective. Detailed research on the distribution of dialects and their specifics is an important part of preserving every nation's cultural heritage. With the gradual disappearance of dialects in society, this topic is very relevant. The presented paper briefly describes the history of dialect research and the most important outcome in recent years, the Czech Linguistic Atlas (CLA). CLA presents the data only in a very simple form from a cartographic point of view, so a new approach has been applied. A new atlas was created from this data, focusing on a specific area of dialectology – vowels shortening. This new atlas’ internal structure corresponds to the cartographic atlas theory as a system and contains both analytical and synthetic maps. Synthetic maps show areas with similar (and unique in the case of regionalisation) combinations of evaluated attributes. The concept of map synthesis is described, and further research questions are designed.

  • Efficient interactive tactile maps: A semi-automated workflow using the touchit3d technology and openstreetmap data
    Radek Barvir, Alena Vondrakova, and Jan Brus
    MDPI AG
    Despite the growing efficiency of the map-design process in general, tactile mapping has remained peripheral to mainstream cartography. For a specific group of people with visual impairment, however, tactile maps are the only effective way to obtain a complex idea about the geospatial distribution of the surrounding world. As there are numerous specifics in creating these 3D maps and only a limited group of users, tactile products have usually been either very simple creations or, on the other hand, difficult and expensive to produce. Modern trends and progress in the availability of new technologies (e.g., 3D printing) bring new possibilities for keeping tactile map production both effective and up to date. Therefore, this paper aims to present a methodology to apply the TouchIt3D technology to link 3D-printed multi-material tactile maps with a mobile device. Utilizing this solution resulted in a set of interactive tactile maps following current trends of inclusive education. Using OpenStreetMap data together with a semi-automated workflow significantly lowered expenses compared to antecedent maps with similar functionality. A semi-automated workflow was designed, focusing on three use cases of independent movement: walking, using public transport, and tourism.

  • Creation and user testing of tactile maps for teaching geography in Czechia


  • Municipalities in the Czech Republic—compilation of “a universal” dataset
    Vít Pászto, Rostislav Nétek, Alena Vondráková, and Vít Voženílek
    MDPI AG
    There have been many changes in the spatial composition and formal delimitation of administrative boundaries of Czech municipalities over the past 30 years. Many municipalities have changed their official status; they separated into ones that were more independent or were merged with existing ones, or formally redrew their boundaries due to advances in mapping technology. Such changes have made it almost impossible to analyze and visualize the temporal development of selected socioeconomic indicators, in order to deliver spatially coherent and time-comparable results. In this data description, we present an evolution of a unique (geo) dataset comprising of the administrative borders of the Czech municipalities. The uniqueness lies in time and topologically justified spatial data resulting in a common division of the administrative units at the LAU2 level, valid from 1995 to 2019. Besides the topologically correct spatial representations of municipalities in Czechia, we also provide correspondence tables for each year in the mentioned period, which allows joining tabular statistics to spatial data. The dataset is available as a base layer for further temporal and spatial analyses and visualization of various socioeconomic statistical data.

  • ENVIRONMENTAL DATA VISUALIZATION: STOCKS of the STORED CARBON in CZECHIA


  • What is the development capacity for provision of ecosystem services in the Czech Republic?
    Vilém Pechanec, Helena Kilianová, Elwis Tangwa, Alena Vondráková, and Ivo Machar
    MDPI AG
    The aim of our study is to identify the evolution of land use and the landscape capacity to provide selected ecosystem services (ESs) over the past 28 years. The results obtained should answer whether the recorded land cover development has manifested in the same way as the development of landscape capacity to provide ESs for four different services. Corine Land Cover (CLC) data are used to describe the land cover for five time periods (1990, 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018) for the area of interest—the whole of the Czech Republic Identification of persistence area. The main trajectories of land cover developments are calculated using overlay spatial operations in GIS. For each analyzed year of landscape development, land cover is evaluated separately, and basic quantification indicators are calculated. At the same time, the filling capacity of selected ESs is evaluated. The results show that the assessed area had the highest capacity to provide ecological integrity in 1990–2006, and then this slightly decreased due to category changes. From a spatial point of view, the worst development trend is seen for provisioning services, where negative development is represented almost all over the country. Ecological integrity and regulating services have similar spatial characteristics of development.

  • Eye-tracking Evaluation of Weather Web Maps
    Stanislav Popelka, Alena Vondrakova, and Petra Hujnakova
    MDPI AG
    Weather is one of the things that interest almost everyone. Weather maps are therefore widely used and many users use them in everyday life. To identify the potential usability problems of weather web maps, the presented research was conducted. Five weather maps were selected for an eye-tracking experiment based on the results of an online questionnaire: DarkSky, In-Počasí, Windy, YR.no, and Wundermap. The experiment was conducted with 34 respondents and consisted of introductory, dynamic, and static sections. A qualitative and quantitative analysis of recorded data was performed together with a think-aloud protocol. The main part of the paper describes the results of the eye-tracking experiment and the implemented research, which identify the strengths and weaknesses of the evaluated weather web maps and point out the differences between strategies in using maps by the respondents. The results include findings such as the following: users worked with web maps in the simplest form and they did not look for hidden functions in the menu or attempt to find any advanced functionality; if expandable control panels were available, the respondents only looked at them after they had examined other elements; map interactivity was not an obstacle unless it contained too much information or options to choose from; searching was quicker in static menus that respondents did not have to switch on or off; the graphic design significantly influenced respondents and their work with the web maps. The results of the work may be useful for further scientific research on weather web maps and related user issues.

  • Map load – approaches to definition and measures


  • GeoS4S module geovisualization


  • Service-oriented map production
    Vit Vozenilek, Alena Vondrakova, and Rostislav Netek
    ACM
    A recent development of web map production concerns non-technological aspects (economic, legislative, visualization, psychological and user aspects). The economic aspects include, in particular, commercial use and financial gain. In developing of service-oriented map production the concept of SOA is especially important because of the possibilities of using different data sources of different owners and organizations. Legislative aspects play a very important role, because principles, as well as SOA functionality, are not protected by the copyright because there is no original authorship. However, the specific design solution of SOA, that is unique in its programming code, can be protected. In the implementation of service-oriented map production, there is mandatory to respect copyright laws and do not commit any offenses. Visualization aspects deal with graphical cartographic representation and the design of web presentation. User aspects are focused on the customization to the user. Service-oriented map production allows outputs to be implemented based on user requirements according to the purpose for which the map should be used. This is related to psychological aspects, that plays an important role in a choice of colors, the specific manner of presentation and adaptation to local customs. The contribution indicates arguments, examples and opinions on various aspects of Service-oriented map production and its contents may be interpreted as the set of instructions for producers of SOA based maps.

  • WebGIS 2.0 as approach for flexible web-based map application
    Rostislav Netek, Vit Vozenilek, and Alena Vondrakova
    ACM
    The paper introduces the term "WebGIS 2.0". From a stylistic point of view, the WebGIS 2.0 concept combines two separate ideas, WebGIS and Web 2.0. From a technological point of view this concept combines the latest methods in the GIT context and, in principle, is based on the methods of service-oriented architecture and the Internet as a platform, Rich Internet Application, and Cloud Computing. The article focuses on the deployment of Crismapp platform - an WebGIS 2.0 application aids on the crisis management purposes. Technologically the concept is based on the Service-oriented architecture and Rich Internet Application concept. It follows re-location of both general IT and geospatial tools and solution from desktop to web (cloud) platform. It handles with state-of-the-art web technologies (HTML5/CSS3) and geo-standards (OGC Web Services, GeoJSON) with respect to user-centered design. WebGIS 2.0 concept aimed to demonstrate the difference in understanding of GIS - not only technological movement from the desktop platform into the Internet but the primary orientation to the user and user's needs and behavior. Flexible concept allows the deployment in different areas, deployment of pilot clients is described on four scenarios.



  • Land suitability assessment of the olomouc region: An application of an urban planner model
    Jaroslav Burian, Marketa Stachova, and Alena Vondrakova
    Informa UK Limited
    ABSTRACT This paper and accompanying maps focus on a land suitability assessment of the Olomouc region in the Czech Republic. All results were calculated in Urban Planner, a model designed by the authors of this paper. The method of calculation is based on a multi-criteria analysis (weighted overlay method), respects the principles of sustainable development, and allows for execution of several scenarios. The main result of this work is a set of maps. The first map sheet shows the land suitability for housing, recreation, public services, heavy industry, light industry, and transportation. The second map sheet consists of four maps showing different scenarios of land suitability for housing: one map showing the evaluation of existing proposals for housing from urban plans, and one map showing optimal areas for housing calculated by the Urban Planner model. The maps can be used as a significant source of information about the suitability of development in the Olomouc region in geographic or urban studies, both for experts and the general public. All thematic maps are on the scale of 1:125,000; supplementary maps are smaller.

  • Proper use of colour schemes for image data visualization
    Vit Vozenilek and Alena Vondrakova
    SPIE
    With the development of information and communication technologies, new technologies are leading to an exponential increase in the volume and types of data available. At this time of the information society, data is one of the most important arguments for policy making, crisis management, research and education, and many other fields. An essential task for experts is to share high-quality data providing the right information at the right time. Designing of data presentation can largely influence the user perception and the cognitive aspects of data interpretation. Significant amounts of data can be visualised in some way. One image can thus replace a considerable number of numeric tables and texts. The paper focuses on the accurate visualisation of data from the point of view of used colour schemes. Bad choose of colours can easily confuse the user and lead to the data misinterpretation. On the contrary, correctly created visualisations can make information transfer much simpler and more efficient.

  • Diversity of forest soils and bedrock in soil regions of the Central-European highlands (Czech Republic)
    Pavel Samec, Vít Voženílek, Alena Vondráková, and Jaromír Macků
    Elsevier BV




  • Fuzzy surface visualization using hsl colour model


  • Licences and open data in cartography
    Alena Vondrakova and Vit Vozenilek
    Springer International Publishing

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Multi-colour 3D printing for supporting tactile perception of geospatial visualizations
    J Brus, R Barvir, A Vondrakova
    Abstracts of the ICA 6, 26 2023

  • A new approach to making 3D-printed geographic models interactive for people with visual impairment
    R Barvir, J Brus, A Vondrakova
    Abstracts of the ICA 6, 16 2023

  • Creating a haptic 3D model of wenceslas hill in olomouc
    R Lazna, R Barvir, A Vondrakova, J Brus
    Applied Sciences 12 (21), 10817 2022

  • Improving the concept of dialect maps based on geoinformatization of Czech dialectologic research
    V Vozenilek, J Konicek, A Vondrakova
    Abstracts of the ICA 5, 1-1 2022

  • The Effect of Day and Night Mode on the Perception of Map Navigation Device
    S Popelka, A Vondrakova, R Skulnikova
    2022 Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications, 1-6 2022

  • Mapping, synthesis and visualization of Czech dialects
    V Vozenilek, M Ireinova, A Vondrakova, J Konicek
    International Journal of Cartography 8 (1), 148-163 2022

  • Atlas nřeč českho jazyka: instrumentl plurlu
    M Ireinov, V Voženlek, J Konček, F Kubeček, Š Tesař, P Přadkov, ...
    Univerzita Palackho v Olomouci pro katedru geoinformatiky 2022

  • Atlas nřeč českho jazyka: Deklinace substantiv
    M Ireinov, V Voženlek, J Konček, P Přadkov, M Šimečkov, M Šipkov, ...
    Univerzita Palackho v Olomouci 2022

  • Audio-tactile maps as a means to increase competence in spatial orientation of people with visual impairment
    V Růžičkov, V Vachalov, A Vondrkov
    Journal of Exceptional People 11 (21), 37 2022

  • 3D Audio-Tactile Maps and Models for People with Visual Impairment
    V Ruzickova, A Vondrkov, V Vachalov, G Spinarova, K Kroupov
    ICERI2022 Proceedings, 3151-3157 2022

  • Adaptation of maps to pupils with severe visual impairments
    A Vondrkov, K Bečicov, R Barvř, J Brus
    Abstracts of the ICA 3, 305 2021

  • 3D-printed models of Czech architectural monuments for people with severe visual impairment
    R Barvir, J Brus, A Vondrakova
    Abstracts of the ICA 3, 1-2 2021

  • Approaches for infographics evaluation in maps
    J Konicek, V Vozenilek, A Vondrakova, R Barvir
    Abstracts of the ICA 3, 1-2 2021

  • Making history accessible to people with visual impairments through interactive tangible 3D models
    J Brus, R Lazna, R Barvir, A Vondrakova
    Abstracts of the ICA 3, 1-2 2021

  • Eye-tracking comparison of two road atlases
    S Popelka, A Vondrakova, M Beitlova, S Drahosova
    Advances in Cartography and GIScience of the ICA 3, 1-6 2021

  • Efficient interactive tactile maps: A semi-automated workflow using the touchit3d technology and openStreetmap data
    R Barvir, A Vondrakova, J Brus
    ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 10 (8), 505 2021

  • INTERACTIVE 3D MODELS FOR THE TEACHING OF USERS WITH SEVERE VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS
    A Vondrakova, V Vozenilek, R Barvir, J Brus, V Ruzickova
    ICERI2021 Proceedings, 6727-6727 2021

  • Municipalities in the Czech Republic—Compilation of “a universal” dataset
    V Pszto, R Ntek, A Vondrkov, V Voženlek
    Data 5 (4), 107 2020

  • Map symbol design: Presenting abstract topics with advanced symbology
    A Vondrkov
    Abstracts of the ICA 2, 1-2 2020

  • Mobility Community Reports data: Geovisual analytics and cartographic synthesis of behaviour changes due to COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    V Pszto, A Vondrkov
    Abstracts of the ICA 2, 1-2 2020

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Climatic regions of the Czech Republic
    A Vondrkov, A Vvra, V Voženlek
    Journal of Maps 9 (3), 425-430 2013
    Citations: 41

  • Eye-tracking evaluation of weather web maps
    S Popelka, A Vondrakova, P Hujnakova
    ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 8 (6), 256 2019
    Citations: 34

  • Atlas fenologickch poměrů Česka
    L Hjkov, V Voženlek, R Tolasz, M Kohut, M Možn, J Nekovř, ...
    Praha, Olomouc, Česk hydrometeorologick stav Praha, Univerzita Palackho 2012
    Citations: 24

  • Efficient interactive tactile maps: A semi-automated workflow using the touchit3d technology and openStreetmap data
    R Barvir, A Vondrakova, J Brus
    ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 10 (8), 505 2021
    Citations: 23

  • Forest vulnerability zones in the Czech Republic
    P Tuček, J Caha, Z Janoška, A Vondrkov, P Samec, J Bojko, ...
    Journal of maps 10 (1), 179-182 2014
    Citations: 21

  • Cognitive aspects of map symbology in the world school atlases
    V Voženlek, P Morkesov, A Vondrkov
    Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 112, 1121-1136 2014
    Citations: 20

  • Tactile maps based on 3D printing technology
    V Voženlek, A Vondrkov
    SOCIETY. INTEGRATION. EDUCATION. Proceedings of the International Scientific 2014
    Citations: 20

  • Land suitability assessment of the Olomouc region: An application of an Urban Planner model
    J Burian, M Stachova, A Vondrakova
    Journal of Maps 14 (1), 73-80 2018
    Citations: 18

  • Diversity of forest soils and bedrock in soil regions of the Central-European highlands (Czech Republic)
    P Samec, V Voženlek, A Vondrkov, J Macků
    Catena 160, 95-102 2018
    Citations: 14

  • Non-technological aspects of map production
    A Vondrakova
    international multidisciplinary scientific geoconference: SGEM: Surveying 2013
    Citations: 13

  • Autorsk prvo v kartografii a geoinformatice
    A Vondrkov
    Univerzita Palackho v Olomouci pro katedru geoinformatiky 2012
    Citations: 13

  • Hypsometry in tactile maps
    V Voženlek, V Růžičkov, D Finkov, L Ludkov, Z Nĕmcov, J Doležal, ...
    True-3D in Cartography: Autostereoscopic and Solid Visualisation of Geodata 2012
    Citations: 12

  • Modern trends in cartography: Selected papers of CARTOCON 2014
    J Brus, A Vondrakova, V Vozenilek
    Springer 2014
    Citations: 10

  • Slope analysis of fuzzy surfaces
    J Caha, P Tuček, A Vondrkov, L Paclkov
    Transactions in GIS 16 (5), 649-661 2012
    Citations: 10

  • Fuzzy surface visualization using HSL colour model
    J Caha, A Vondrkov
    Electronic Journal 2 (2), 26-42 2017
    Citations: 9

  • Mapping and visualisation of activities in special education
    V Voženlek, J Michalk, A Vondrkov, A Brychtov
    Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 112, 1106-1120 2014
    Citations: 9

  • What is the development capacity for provision of ecosystem services in the Czech Republic?
    V Pechanec, H Kilianov, E Tangwa, A Vondrkov, I Machar
    Sustainability 11 (16), 4273 2019
    Citations: 8

  • User issues in geovisualization
    A Vondrakova, V Vozenilek
    International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference: SGEM 3, 599-606 2016
    Citations: 8

  • WebGIS 2.0 as approach for flexible web-based map application
    R Netek, V Vozenilek, A Vondrakova
    Proceedings of the International Conference on Geoinformatics and Data 2018
    Citations: 6

  • Graphics complexity of tactile maps and user study
    R Barvir, A Vondrakova, V Ruzickova
    International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference: SGEM 18 (2.3), 433-440 2018
    Citations: 6