Virtual Archaeology Review’s Paper of the Year

Virtual Archaeology Review declared my and Dr Rahaman's 2020 paper "Survey of #3D digital heritage repositories and platforms" their paper of the year. https://twitter.com/VARjournal/status/1348357190801780738 https://twitter.com/VARjournal/status/1348357190801780738

some Virtual Heritage journals

I've been asked advice on virtual heritage-related journals. I'd suggest (and this is not a comprehensive list): Studies in Digital Heritage (SDH) open accessVirtual Archaeology Review open access ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural HeritageElsevier Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (+OA but fee)Frontiers in Robotics and AI (OA but fee)MDPI heritage (OA but …

Audio-augmented arboreality: wildflowers and language

New article Hafizur Rahaman, Michelle Johnston & Erik Champion (2021). Audio-augmented arboreality: wildflowers and language, Digital Creativity, DOI: 10.1080/14626268.2020.1868536 free for first 50 people: Before colonization, there were over 250 languages spoken in Australia. Today only thirteen Indigenous languages are still being taught to children). Language has an important part to play in cultural maintenance …

Article popularity

I am impressed that the Virtual Archaeology Review Journal (@VARjournal) has a stats page with % comparing views to downloads and abstracts listed (and a 3D -model- filter!) It can help authors check their abstract is on target (i.e. catchy). Our (with Dr Hafizur Rahaman @hafi2018) 2020 article Survey of 3D digital heritage repositories and …

New ARC LIEF Grant!

LE210100021 — The University of Melbourne Australian Cultural Data Engine for Research, Industry and Government. The project aims to develop an Australian Cultural Data Engine (ACD-Engine), which will be an open software engineering facility that interacts with leading existing cultural databases in architecture, visual and performing arts, humanities, and heritage to build a bridge to …

New book cover

Was one of two book covers possible and I think due to some email confusion they didn't choose my preferred cover but I really appreciate permission by Dr Anthony Masinton to use his rendered image. The publisher of Rethinking Virtual Places will be Indiana University Press, via their Spatial Humanities Series.

PhD thesis examiner for hire

I'm stuck at a new home (for several months, possibly) training a dog from a refuge home, so will be missing intellectual stimulation. I'm examining a PhD thesis application this week but would consider one or more in January or February. I am generally asked to examine theses in architecture, heritage (particularly digital heritage), serious …

The depiction of violence in virtual heritage

On cleaning up my old email I found an old short paper suggestion to a Digital Humanities Conference Workshop, in 2013?! Not even sure they replied, cant remember! I think some of the ideas were used in the Critical Gaming book that Routledge published in 2015. The Depiction of Violence in Virtual Heritage: Alternatives to …

Changes in titles

Yesterday I signed an agreement to be an adjunct Professor of or at Curtin University, today that changed to accepting the title of Emeritus Professor. Hard to keep up! The requirement is: has demonstrated distinguished service and commitment to the University over a period of normally five years of continuous service prior to retirement. So …

New Journal Article!

Champion, E. (2020). Culturally Significant Presence in Single-player Computer Games. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage, 13(4). doi:10.1145/3414831. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3414831 Cultural presence is a term used to explain and evaluate cultural learning in virtual heritage projects but is less frequently used for video games. Given the increasing importance of video games to cultural heritage, this article …

my quiet summer plans

oh and examining PhD theses... Pending, To Be Presented or Published Books and edited books in press or under review Champion, E. (2021: in press). Rethinking Virtual Places. Indiana University Press, Spatial Humanities series.Champion, E. (Ed). (2021: in press). Virtual Heritage: A Concise Guide. Ubiquity Press, London.Lee, C. & Champion, E. (Ed). (2021: pending). Screen …

TLC 2.0 wins ARDC platform grant

New data platforms will help transform Australian research November 25, 2020 Categorised: News "The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) is excited to announce a new investment of $9.7 million, with $15.5 million in co-investments from collaborating organisations, in 16 new platform projects." Time-Layered Cultural Map of Australiahttps://ardc.edu.au/news/new-data-projects-will-help-transform-australian-research/Time-Layered Cultural Map of Australia 2.0 (https://doi.org/10.47486/PL069): The Time-Layered Cultural …

upcoming virtual public talk, Uppsala

25 November 2020 (virtual invited talk to Uppsala University Sweden) Virtual Humanities From virtual museums to virtual worlds, the word “virtual” is both a popular and a vague term. Although popularised by computer science and science fiction, the field of virtuality is also of interest to the humanities, and especially to historians and heritage experts. …

Assassin’s Creed in the Classroom

Have sent out a proposal to people who use the above game series in the classroom and/or write about it. Have spoken to Ubisoft about this so possibly can work with historians and archaeologists working with Ubisoft as well. Authors: Will be an ongoing negotiation process, from abstract/title to publisher and external reviews (depending on …

Titles are misleading

Professor Jeremy Huggett has published an article drawn, I understand, from a talk he gave at Virtual Heritage Ireland in 2015. It quotes 2 or 3 of my earlier publications and I am not sure on certain points if he agrees or disagrees with me/Laia Tost so I will have to read it more slowly …

virtual museum kitset/template paper

My slides for the below EuroMed2020 paper presentation yesterday are on slideshare. We were told the publications will be available at latest in January 2020. Time-Layered Gamic Interaction with a Virtual Museum Template Erik Champion, Rebecca Kerr, Hafizur Rahaman and David McMeekin Abstract. This paper discusses a simplified workflow and interactive learning opportunities for exporting …

game-induced cultural tourism slides available

My presentation slides for virtual The Interactive Pasts Conference Online 2 (TIPC2), (held 5-6 November, notionally, at Leiden) are on slideshare. The twitch stream for the conference is at https://www.twitch.tv/valuefnd (my talk from yesterday is on there somewhere). Swords Sandals and Selfies in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey: The Cultural Tourism Package You’d Kill For Schedule November …

New Paper for EuroMed2020 Virtual Conference

The paper "Time-Layered Gamic Interaction with a Virtual Museum Template" by Erik Champion, Rebecca Kerr, Hafizur Rahaman and David McMeekin will be presented virtually at EuroMed 2020 Conference next week. The project is part of the ARC funded project Time Layered Culture Map (tlc). Registration is free. Abstract. This paper discusses a simplified workflow and …

Organic Design in 20thC Nordic Architecture

Just received a big compliment from a US academic/architect I respect on my (Nordic) organic architecture book, Organic Design in Twentieth-Century Nordic Architecture. Chuffed. The foreword is by Professor Adrian Carter, Bond University, inaugural Director of the Utzon centre, Aalborg, Denmark. Ideas that led to the 1991-3 thesis that led to this 2019 book actually …

Course coordinators? Upcoming Virtual Place accessible theory book

My publisher, Indiana University Press, has asked me to name academics who would like to be alerted when my next book, Rethinking Virtual Places, is out in case they might consider it for course reading lists. Let me know! (it will be in the IUP Spatial Humanties series). 1-A Potted History of Virtual Reality2-Dead, Dying, …