M. Ioannides, D. Baker, A. Agapiou, & P. Siegkas (Eds.), 3D Research Challenges in Cultural Heritage V: Paradata, Metadata and Data in Digitisation. Springer Nature Switzerland. Open Access. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-78590-0
I have a chapter in there.
Champion, E. (2025). Usable, Useful, Reviewable and Reusable Metadata. In M. Ioannides, D. Baker, A. Agapiou, & P. Siegkas (Eds.), 3D Research Challenges in Cultural Heritage V: Paradata, Metadata and Data in Digitisation (pp. 176-183). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-78590-0_15. Open Access.
I just wanted to compare simple mapping software for excell/CSV data input.
Here is trial version of https://www.maptive.com/map-excel-data/ (note huge watermark) of countries which invited me to speak there (physically or virtually). I may have missed a few but hey Canada, and South America, and Africa, what’s happening!?
There are a few that invited me (Iraq, Canada, France, Bulgaria) but it just didn’t work out. I didn’t count countries I have presented a conference paper in but there’s only a few more (Canada, Portugal, Thailand, Hong Kong-ok, not a country). But even such a simple exercise reveals I still travel quite a bit to Europe and the more famous European countries (perhaps a tad too much).
But more importantly, a free, well-featured, simple from .CSV to map app seems out of reach, currently. Maybe I have missed some.
Apparently there are quite a few free but you have to pay to download packages. All seem to use the same underling format etc, I thought this would take 5 minutes but QGIS etc take more time (the default appears to want you to upload lat. and long. for each place/city).
Engaging with digital heritage requires understanding not only to comprehend what is simulated but also the reasons leading to its creation and curation, and how to ensure both the digital media and the significance of the cultural heritage it portrays are passed on effectively, meaningfully, and appropriately. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization defines ‘digital heritage’ to comprise of computer-based materials of enduring value some of which require active preservation strategies to maintain them for years to come.
With the proliferation of digital technologies and digital media, computer games have increasingly been seen as not only depicters of cultural heritage and platforms for virtual heritage scholarship and dissemination but also as digital cultural artefacts worthy of preservation. In this chapter, we examine how games (both digital and non-digital) can communicate cultural heritage in a galleries, libraries, archives, and museums [GLAM] setting. We also consider how they can and have been used to explore, communicate, and preserve heritage and, in particular, Indigenous heritage. Despite their apparently transient and ephemeral nature, especially compared to conventional media such as books, we argue computer games can be incorporated into active preservation approaches to digital heritage. Indeed, they may be of value to cultural heritage that needs to be not only viewed but also viscerally experienced or otherwise performed.
This research project investigates the potential of 360-panorama tours to improve the situated and contextual interpretation, virtual visitation, and spatial understanding of recorded or simulated built heritage sites. Our chosen case study was the Subiaco Hotel, a significant heritage building designed by Summerhayes Architecture, which we documented using 360-degree photographs and linked with other media to create an interactive 360-panorama tour. Today, 360-degree panorama tours such as Google Street View enable the virtual exploration of heritage sites and historic buildings. They demonstrate limited interaction and immersion across a range of platforms and devices, without the requirement of expensive virtual reality headsets, but typically do not integrate other media to leverage spatially richer ways to communicate the historical developments of architectural interiors and exteriors. The primary goals of this study were to establish a comprehensive step-by-step workflow for creating an interactive tour of a significant heritage site, demonstrate how other media such as text, videos, and 3D models can be linked, gather feedback from cultural heritage professionals, and offer future research directions and development guidelines. Apart from detailing an optimized workflow for developing interactive 360-degree virtual tours for heritage buildings, we also offer guidelines for optimal panoramic tour creation and implementation.
CITE: Rahaman, H.; Champion, E.; McMeekin, D. Outside Inn: Exploring the Heritage of a Historic Hotel through 360-Panoramas. Heritage2023, 6, 4380-4410. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage6050232
Exploring Historical Australian Expeditions with Time-Layered Cultural Maps
The Australian Time Layered Cultural Map platform was created to help digital humanities scholars investigate how online geospatial tools could provide exemplars to their humanities colleagues on how historical collections and cultural data could be extended and re-examined with geospatial tools. The project discussed here investigated how Recogito/TMT could effectively extract spatial and temporal data from pure text-based historical information and generate time-layered interactive maps of that spatio-temporal data using accessible and user-friendly software. The target audience was humanities scholars relatively new to geospatial technologies and relevant programming systems. The interactive maps were created with two free, open-source web applications and one commercial GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping application. The relative pros and cons of each application are discussed. This paper also investigates simple workflows for extracting spatiotemporal data into RDF (Resource Description Framework) format to be used as Linked Open Data.
Next project: edited collected chapters (free online): DIY archaeology (history, architectural/art history and heritage) escape rooms children/students can create at home or in class (written and illustrated like cookbook recipes). Now, just how to write up the proposal & find the right designers, writers, & experts!
A new open-access article by Mr Mafkereseb Bekele, a PhD student at Curtin University and his three supervisors (myself, Dr David McMeekin and Dr Hafizur Rahaman): “The Influence of Collaborative and Multi-Modal Mixed Reality: Cultural Learning in Virtual Heritage” https://mdpi.com/1390992#mdpimti via @MDPIOpenAccess
Studies in the virtual heritage (VH) domain identify collaboration (social interaction), engagement, and a contextual relationship as key elements of interaction design that influence users’ experience and cultural learning in VH applications. The purpose of this study is to validate whether collaboration (social interaction), engaging experience, and a contextual relationship enhance cultural learning in a collaborative and multi-modal mixed reality (MR) heritage environment. To this end, we have designed and implemented a cloud-based collaborative and multi-modal MR application aiming at enhancing user experience and cultural learning in museums. A conceptual model was proposed based on collaboration, engagement, and relationship in the context of MR experience. The MR application was then evaluated at the Western Australian Shipwrecks Museum by experts, archaeologists, and curators from the gallery and the Western Australian Museum. Questionnaire, semi-structured interview, and observation were used to collect data. The results suggest that integrating collaborative and multi-modal interaction methods with MR technology facilitates enhanced cultural learning in VH.
Why did we write it? For all those interested in an introduction to virtual heritage, but facing steep purchase costs for academic books, so it is especially suitable for university undergraduate courses. Download what you need, for free.
And given it was written from go to whoa in less than a year and to a tight word limit, I am very grateful to the authors for their time…
Cite: Champion, E. M. (ed.) 2021. Virtual Heritage: A Guide. London: Ubiquity Press. DOI: https://lnkd.in/gNkNWiB. License: CC-BY-NC.
I also wrote a report (which won’t go online for now) but I’d like to thank the academics, students, teachers, librarians, and heritage practitioners, who provided feedback.
What have I been doing this year? Playing a lot of piano, badly. But also (and I hope to add 2 journal articles and a book project and a serious game design project to this mix):
Invitations:
Invited CI, ARC LIEF Grant LE210100021. $440,000. “Australian Cultural Data Engine for Research, Industry and Government.” Joining as a Chief Investigator, 26 April 2021. Led by Prof Rachel Fensham, Melbourne.
Invited onto the European Science Foundation College of Expert Reviewers.
Invited to speak to New South Wales Local Studies Librarians group, “Virtual heritage: tools, projects, hopes and challenges,” Zoom, 23 March 2021.
Invited guest lecturer and tutor, Data Science Visualisation, Science & Engineering, Curtin University.
Invited to Professor of Design interview panel, SUSTech, China, by Dean Thomas Kvan.
Invited advisor for Swedish-Finnish grant application: PLATYPUS Engaging diverse publics through participatory play in heritage institutions, led by Uppsala University.
Interviewed by UNSW students on the subject of virtual tourism.
Invited to co-chair the EuroMed2020 conference www.euromed2020.eu, Springer-Nature LNCS. Co-chairs include Professor Marinos Ioannides, ERA and UNESCO of Chair Digital Cultural Heritage, Mrs Eleanor Fink, USA, former Getty Digital Techs Director and inventor of Object-ID standard, Professor Lorenzo Cantoni from Switzerland, UNESCO Chair in ICT.
2021 PUBLICATIONS
Conference Proceedings (as Book):
Ioannides, M., Fink, E., Cantoni, L., & Champion, E. (Eds.) (2021). Digital Heritage. Progress in Cultural Heritage: Documentation, Preservation, and Protection. 8th International Conference, EuroMed 2020, Virtual Event, November 2–5, 2020, Revised Selected Papers. DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-73043-7. ISBN 978-3-030-73043-7.
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
NB AWARD: in 2021 this paper won Virtual Archaeology Review Journal’s 2020 Paper of the Year. “Survey of 3D digital heritage repositories and platforms”, by Erik Champion and Hafizur Rahaman. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2020.13226
Published Fully Referred Conference Papers
Champion, E., Kerr, R., McMeekin, D., & Rahaman, H. (2020, 2-5 November 2020). Time-Layered Gamic Interaction with a Virtual Museum Template. Paper presented at the EuroMed 2020 Conference, Online/Cyprus. Revised Selected Papers. Springer-Nature. Published in 2021.
2021 Conference and Journal Reviewer
Invited committee member, Australian Museums & Galleries Association (AMaGA) National Conference (Perth).
Invited onto Program Board of Culture & Computing 2021 Conference, Springer ( HCI International).
Invited reviewer, the Journal of Open Archaeology (De Gruyter).
Invited reviewer, CAA2021.
2021-22 PUBLICATIONS IN PRESS
Books in press
Champion, E. (2021: November). Rethinking Virtual Places. Indiana University Press, Spatial Humanities series.
Champion, E. (Ed). (2021: May). Virtual Heritage: A Guide. Ubiquity Press, London.
Champion, E. (Ed). (2022: pending). Screen Tourism and Affective Landscapes.
Champion, E., & Hiriart, J. (Eds.). (2022: in press). Assassin’s Creed in the Classroom, Museum, and Gallery: De Gruyter: Video games and the Humanities series, 18 chapters, 25 international authors.
Book Chapters in press
Champion, E., Nurmikko-Fuller, T., & Grant, K. (2022: invited). Chapter 12 Alchemy and Archives, Swords, Spells, and Castles: Medieval-modding Skyrim. In R. Houghton (Ed.), Games for Teaching, Impact, and Research UK: De Gruyter.
Champion, E., & Hiriart, J. (2022). Workshopping Board Games for Space Place and Culture. In M. Lasansky & C. Randl (Eds.), Playing Place: Board Games, Architecture, Space, and Heritage. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: MIT Press.
Champion, E. (2022). Reflective Experiences with Immersive Heritage: A Theoretical Design-Based Framework. In A. Benardou & A. M. Droumpouki (Eds.), Difficult Pasts and Immersive Experiences. London, UK: Routledge.
Champion, E. (2022). Not Quite Virtual: Techné between Text and World. In B. Mauer & A. Salter (Eds.), Reimagining the Humanities. Anderson, South Carolina, USA: Parlor Press.
Champion, E. (2021: pending). Workshopping Game Prototypes for History and Heritage. In Digital Humanities book, Politecnico di Torino, Italy. Aracne Publishing Company. Chapter.
Conference activities to take place
Wright, H., et al., 2021. S12: Digital Infrastructures and New (and Evolving) Technologies in Archaeology (Roundtable). CAA2021: Digital Crossroads. Cyprus/Online. https://2021.caaconference.org/sessions/ 14-18 June.
Champion, E. (2021: in press). Rethinking Virtual Places. Indiana University Press, Spatial Humanities series. In a week they should be sending me the first proof.
Champion, E. (Ed). (2021: in press). Virtual Heritage: A Guide. Ubiquity Press, London. All the chapters have been sent to the publisher and they go to print very quickly, in my experience. Open Access.
Lee, C. & Champion, E. (Ed). (2022: pending). Screen Tourism and Affective Landscapes. This is still under consideration but some authors have already sent complete chapters so I think it is just a case of helping out my overloaded co-editor. Oh and overcoming field trips stopped by Covid.
Champion, E., & Hiriart, J. (Eds.). (2022 (needs to be submited to academic review)). Assassin’s Creed in the Classroom, Museum, and Gallery: De Gruyter: Video games and the Humanities series. This is to be submitted but have very enthusiastic editor and series editors to help us complete it. For some reason I will particularly look forward to the reviews. 25 authors, 19 chapters, about 90,000 words and no grayscale image limits. We may have abstracts available in foreign languages. Ubisoft people may help us out as well, they have been very supportive so far.
I am not sure this will be the final title but just finished (I hope) my editing for the following open access 10 chapter book: Virtual Heritage: A Guide, Ubiquity Press 2021.
Table of contents:
Foreword
Stuart Jeffrey
Virtual Heritage: from Archives to Joysticks
Ear Zow Digital
1
Speculating the Past: 3D Reconstruction in Archaeology
R. P. Barratt
2
Photogrammetry: What, How and Where
Hafizur Rahaman
3
Animating the Past
Michael Carter
4
Mapping Ancient Heritage With Digital Tools
Anna Foka, David McMeekin, Kyriaki Konstantinidou, Nasrin Mostofian, Elton Barker, Cenk Demiroglu, Ethan Chiew, Brady Kiesling
5
Hybrid Interactions in Museums: Why Materiality Still Matters
Luigina Ciolfi
6
Video Games as concepts and experiences of the past
Aris Politopoulos, Angus Mol
7
Mixed Reality: A Bridge or a Fusion between Two Worlds?
Mafkereseb Bekele
8
Getting it Right and Getting it Wrong in Digital Archaeological Ethics
Recently, many Resource Description Framework (RDF) data generation tools have been developed to convert geospatial and non-geospatial data into RDF data. Furthermore, there are several interlinking frameworks that find semantically equivalent geospatial resources in related RDF data sources. However, many existing Linked Open Data sources are currently sparsely interlinked. Also, many RDF generation and interlinking frameworks require a solid knowledge of Semantic Web and Geospatial Semantic Web concepts to successfully deploy them. This article comparatively evaluates features and functionality of the current state-of-the-art geospatial RDF generation tools and interlinking frameworks. This evaluation is specifically performed for cultural heritage researchers and professionals who have limited expertise in computer programming. Hence, a set of criteria has been defined to facilitate the selection of tools and frameworks. In addition, the article provides a methodology to generate geospatial cultural heritage RDF data and to interlink it with the related RDF data. This methodology uses a CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CRM) ontology and interlinks the RDF data with DBpedia. Although this methodology has been developed for cultural heritage researchers and professionals, it may also be used by other domain professionals.
In preprint, not proofed and not correctly paginated version, is available. This is an Accepted Manuscript of book chapters published by Routledge in Phenomenology of Real and Virtual Places, in 2018, the proofed, official version is available for purchase online: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315106267 OR https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315106267
Despite the increasing number of three-dimensional (3D) model portals and online repositories catering for digital heritage scholars, students and interested members of the general public, there are very few recent academic publications that offer a critical analysis when reviewing the relative potential of these portals and online repositories. Solid reviews of the features and functions they offer are insufficient; there is also a lack of explanations as to how these assets and their related functionality can further the digital heritage (and virtual heritage) field, and help in the preservation, maintenance, and promotion of real-world 3D heritage sites and assets. What features do they offer? How could their feature list better cater for the needs of the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) sector?
This article’s priority is to examine the useful features of 8 institutional and 11 commercial repositories designed specifically to host 3D digital models. The available features of their associated 3D viewers, where applicable, are also analysed, connecting recommendations for future-proofing with the need to address current gaps and weaknesses in the scholarly field of 3D digital heritage. Many projects do not address the requirements stipulated by charters, such as access, reusability, and preservation. The lack of preservation strategies and examples highlights the oxymoronic nature of virtual heritage (oxymoronic in the sense that the virtual heritage projects themselves are seldom preserved). To study these concerns, six criteria for gauging the usefulness of the 3D repositories to host 3D digital models and related digital assets are suggested. The authors also provide 13 features that would be useful additions for their 3D viewers.
Hello, with eight authors for eight chapters I am proposing a concise guide on virtual heritage to publishers. I believe I have been allowed UNESCO chair/Curtin funding to pay publishing open access fees (so the book can be free as online PDFs) and hopefully reasonably priced to purchase.
I believer we now have two recommendations for external reviewers but we still need to get all author chapter abstracts ready and the proposal to the publisher for approval. Each chapter will be a taut 3500 words with 1-3 images.
Given the book is aimed at graduate or senior undergraduate students who may not be familiar with an overview or specific topics of virtual heritage, what title is best?
Virtual Heritage in Focus?
Virtual Heritage: A Concise Guide?
Also, are we missing an important chapter/theme subject?
Ear Zow Digital