Tag Archives: virtual heritage

potential paper in Forum on Video Games and Archaeology

3D and game editors, design, digital heritage, game, virtual heritage, ,

Title: Serious Games and Virtual Heritage Have Let Archaeology Down

Wandering around museums or visiting art galleries and school fairs a relatively impartial observer might notice the paucity of interactive historical exhibitions. In particular there is a disconnect between serious games masquerading as entertainment and the aims and motivations of archaeology. Surely this is resolved by virtual heritage projects, interactive virtual learning environments? After all we have therapy games, flight simulators, online role-playing games, even games involving archaeological site inspections (Lara Croft:Tomb raider). Unfortunately we have few successful case studies that are shareable, robust, and clearly delivering learning outcomes.

Theoretical Issues for Game-based Virtual Heritage

3D and game editors, Book, digital heritage, Digital Humanities, heritage, ,

Another book chapter published

Theoretical Issues for Game-based Virtual Heritage

Abstract:

This paper critiques essential features in prominent theories of serious games, and compares them to interaction features of commercial computer games that could be used for history and heritage-based learning in order to develop heuristics that may help future the specific requirements of serious game design for interactive history and digital heritage.

Champion, E. (2015). Theoretical Issues for Game-based Virtual Heritage. In M. Ebner, K. Erenli, R. Malaka, J. Pirker & A. E. Walsh (Eds.), Immersive Education (Vol. 486, pp. 125-136): Springer International Publishing.

It gives the reader an idea of my upcoming book:

Critical Gaming: Interactive History and Virtual Heritage (Digital Research in the Arts and Humanities)

Out soon: My book “Critical Gaming: Interactive History & Virtual Heritage”

3D and game editors, Architecture, design, Digital Humanities, game, virtual heritage, visualisation, , , ,

Review:

If you would like to review the book please check out this page for contact details: https://www.ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=2253 …

Critical Gaming: Interactive History and Virtual Heritage

Purchase:

The book will be available via http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781472422910

or Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Critical-Gaming-Interactive-Heritage-Humanities/dp/1472422929

This book explains how designing, playing and modifying computer games, and understanding the theory behind them, can strengthen the area of digital humanities. This book aims to help digital humanities scholars understand both the issues and also advantages of game design, as well as encouraging them to extend the field of computer game studies, particularly in their teaching and research in the field of virtual heritage.By looking at re-occurring issues in the design, playtesting and interface of serious games and game-based learning for cultural heritage and interactive history, this book highlights the importance of visualisation and self-learning in game studies and how this can intersect with digital humanities. It also asks whether such theoretical concepts can be applied to practical learning situations. It will be of particular interest to those who wish to investigate how games and virtual environments can be used in teaching and research to critique issues and topics in the humanities, particularly in virtual heritage and interactive history. Contents: Introduction; Digital humanities and the limits of text; Game-based learning and the digital humanities; Virtual reality; Game-based history and historical simulations; Virtual heritage and digital culture; Worlds, roles and rituals; Joysticks of death, violence and morality; Intelligent agents, drama and cinematic narrative; Biofeedback, space and place; Applying critical thinking and critical play; Index.

The Egyptian Oracle Project: Ancient Ceremony in Augmented Reality (Bloomsbury Egyptology)

3D and game editors, Book, digital heritage, Digital Humanities, heritage, , , ,

Strange, authors don’t have a copy yet, and it says the book will be available from July 30 but my library already has a copy. Anyway, I wrote an introductory chapter on virtual heritage and the other chapters will be of interest to Egyptologists, Classicists, AI researchers, puppeteers, and of course Virtual Heritage designers..

http://www.amazon.com/The-Egyptian-Oracle-Project-Bloomsbury/dp/1474234151

For more than 2,000 years, between 1500 BCE and 600 CE, the Egyptian processional oracle was one of the main points of contact between temple-based religion and the general population. In a public ceremony, a god would indicate its will or answer questions through the movements of a portable cult statue borne by priests or important members of the community.

The Egyptian Oracle Project is an interactive performance that adapts this ceremony to serve as the basis for a mixed-reality educational experience for children and young adults, using both virtual reality and live performance. The scene is set in a virtual Egyptian temple projected onto a wall. An oracle led by a high priest avatar (controlled by a live human puppeteer) is brought into the presence of a live audience, who act in the role of the Egyptian populace. Through the mediation of an actress, the audience interacts with the avatar, recreating the event.

The series of carefully focused essays in this book provides vital background to this path-breaking project in three sections. After a brief introduction to educational theatre and virtual reality, the first section describes the ancient ceremony and its development, along with cross-cultural connections. Then the development of the script and its performance in the context of mixed-reality and educational theatre are examined. The final set of essays describes the virtual temple setting in more detail and explores the wider implications of this project for virtual heritage.

The fictional use of reality

digital heritage, heritage, Journal,

The above could be the title of my next writing on virtual heritage..

Over their lifetime should every academic write at least one thing that threatens their very career? Just a (Wittgensteinian?) thought!
In digital heritage there is a great deal of talk about authenticity and how to maintain it. What if that approach is completely mistaken?

Ok I think I have the start of a very controversial journal article but writing the article may be easier than finding the appropriate journal to publish it in..

new book chapter in “The Egyptian Oracle Project Ancient Ceremony in Augmented Reality”

Book, Digital Humanities, heritage, ,

Editor(s): Robyn Gillam, Jeffrey Jacobson, Published: 30-07-2015 Format:PDF eBook

See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/au/the-egyptian-oracle-project-9781474249256/#sthash.HybJBxFg.dpuf

For more than 2,000 years, between 1500 BCE and 600 CE, the Egyptian processional oracle was one of the main points of contact between temple-based religion and the general population. In a public ceremony, a god would indicate its will or answer questions through the movements of a portable cult statue borne by priests or important members of the community.

The Egyptian Oracle Project is an interactive performance that adapts this ceremony to serve as the basis for a mixed-reality educational experience for children and young adults, using both virtual reality and live performance. The scene is set in a virtual Egyptian temple projected onto a wall. An oracle led by a high priest avatar (controlled by a live human puppeteer) is brought into the presence of a live audience, who act in the role of the Egyptian populace. Through the mediation of an actress, the audience interacts with the avatar, recreating the event.

The series of carefully focused essays in this book provides vital background to this path-breaking project in three sections. After a brief introduction to educational theatre and virtual reality, the first section describes the ancient ceremony and its development, along with cross-cultural connections. Then the development of the script and its performance in the context of mixed-reality and educational theatre are examined. The final set of essays describes the virtual temple setting in more detail and explores the wider implications of this project for virtual heritage.

Table Of Contents

Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Background to the Project and This BookIntroduction (Robyn Gillam, York University, Canada, and Jeffrey Jacobson, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, USA)PART I The Egyptian Oracle
Chapter 1: Historical Foundations (Robyn Gillam)
Chapter 2: Cross-Cultural Analysis (Robyn Gillam)
Chapter 3: The Virtual Temple of Horus and Its Egyptian Prototypes (Robyn Gillam)

PART II The Performance
Chapter 4: Technical Description (Jeffrey Jacobson)
Chapter 5: Mixed Reality Theater and the Oracle (Josephine Anstey and David Pape, University of Buffalo, New York, USA)
Chapter 6: Educational Purpose and Results (Jeffrey Jacobson)

PART III The Technology
Chapter 7: Puppetry and Virtual Theater (Lisa Aimee Sturz, Red Herring Puppets, Asheville, North Carolina, USA)
Chapter 8: Introduction to Virtual Heritage (Erik Champion, Curtin University, Perth, Australia)
Chapter 9: The Virtual Temple: Construction and Use (Jeffrey Jacobson)

Conclusion (Robyn Gillam and Jeffrey Jacobson)

next trip: Digital Densities, Melbourne, 26-27 March 2015

talks, virtual heritage, , , , , , ,

Digital Densities 
A symposium examining relations between material cultures and digital data
26th – 27th March 2015, The University of Melbourne.

Hosted by the Digital Humanities Incubator (DHI) in the School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne.

Presenters include Sarah Kenderdine, Paul Arthur, Erik Champion, Miguel Escobar, Rachel Fensham, Gillian Russell, Nick Thieberger and Deb Verhoeven.

  • Keynote Address: Prof. Sarah Kenderdine. Thursday 26th March 2015, 6-8pm McMahon Ball Theatre, Old Arts Building
  • Registration 8.45am.
  • Friday 27th March 2015, 9am – 5.30pm Linkway, 4th Floor John Medley Building

Admission is free. Bookings are Required. Seating is limited.

My abstract (and I am happy to meet and network with people the day before):

Title: Intangible Heritage, Material Culture and Digital Futures
Our experience with the material culture of situated heritage is typically embodied, personal, and unique. On the other hand, our literary understanding of the past as developed through reading of scholarly texts is typically linear, monovocal, and aplatial.  Our experience and our literary understanding are two modes of knowledge that seldom meet.
Digital humanities has/have promised to provide alternative visions to metanarrative, to frozen information, and to disembodied experiences. Digital technology has offered to destroy distance and difference. My research on the other hand, aims to restore an appreciation of distance and difference, though creating cultural constraints in immersive visualizations through both the limitations and affordances of digital technologies. Now I have proposed to UNESCO to combine game engine capabilities and consumer-level capture technologies with open access 3D cultural heritage content in new and community-maintained online archives. Can this project provide material weight to the virtual?

My 2015 Virtual heritage writings

Digital Humanities, game, publication, virtual heritage, , , , , ,

Critical Gaming: Interactive History and Virtual Heritage

Ashgate publishing will produce this 240 page 28 black and white illustrations hardcover book written by me in September (or possibly August):

http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781472422910

“This book explains how designing, playing and modifying computer games, and understanding the theory behind them, can strengthen the area of digital humanities. This book aims to help digital humanities scholars understand both the issues and also advantages of game design, as well as encouraging them to extend the field of computer game studies, particularly in their teaching and research in the field of virtual heritage.”

Contents:

Introduction

Chapters:

  • Digital humanities and the limits of text
  • Game-based learning and the digital humanities
  • Virtual reality
  • Game-based history and historical simulations
  • Virtual heritage and digital culture
  • Worlds, roles and rituals
  • Joysticks of death, violence and morality
  • Intelligent agents, drama and cinematic narrative
  • Biofeedback, space and place
  • Applying critical thinking and critical play

(ISBN: 978-1-4724-2291-0, ISBN Short: 9781472422910)

Would you like to review it? Information is at http://www.ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=2253

The Egyptian Oracle Project, Ancient Ceremony in Augmented Reality

Editor(s): Robyn Gillam, Jeffrey Jacobson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

I contributed a book chapter.

  • Introduction (Robyn Gillam, York University, Canada, and Jeffrey Jacobson, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, USA)

PART I The Egyptian Oracle

  • Chapter 1: Historical Foundations (Robyn Gillam)
  • Chapter 2: Cross-Cultural Analysis (Robyn Gillam)
  • Chapter 3: The Virtual Temple of Horus and Its Egyptian Prototypes (Robyn Gillam)

PART II The Performance

  • Chapter 4: Technical Description (Jeffrey Jacobson)
  • Chapter 5: Mixed Reality Theater and the Oracle (Josephine Anstey and David Pape, University of Buffalo, New York, USA)
  • Chapter 6: Educational Purpose and Results (Jeffrey Jacobson)

PART III The Technology

  • Chapter 7: Puppetry and Virtual Theater (Lisa Aimee Sturz, Red Herring Puppets, Asheville, North Carolina, USA)
  • Chapter 8: Introduction to Virtual Heritage (Erik Champion, Curtin University, Perth, Australia)
  • Chapter 9: The Virtual Temple: Construction and Use (Jeffrey Jacobson)
  • Conclusion (Robyn Gillam and Jeffrey Jacobson)

See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/au/the-egyptian-oracle-project-9781474249263/ OR http://www.amazon.com/The-Egyptian-Oracle-Project-Bloomsbury/dp/1474234151

“Critical Gaming: Interactive History and Virtual Heritage” Ashgate Digital Research in the Arts and Humanities series

virtual heritage, , , , , , , , ,

I have written Critical Gaming: Interactive History And Virtual Heritage (Ashgate Publishing, Digital Research in the Arts and Humanities series ), it has now gone to their production team and I hope it will be published roughly mid 2015.

Introduction: Critical Gaming: Interactive History And Virtual Heritage can be seen as a collection of chapters designed to provoke thought and discussion, or it can be seen and used as separate chapters that may help class debate in courses dealing with the Digital Humanities, Game Studies (especially in the areas of Serious Games and Game-based Learning), or aspects of Virtual Heritage. While there are very few books in this intersecting area, the range of topics that could be investigated and debated is huge. My primary target groups of readers are those academics and students who wish to investigate how games and virtual environments can be used in teaching and research to critique issues and topics in the humanities. In particular I want to investigate re-occurring broad issues in the design, playtesting and evaluation of serious games/ playful learning/game-based learning for interactive history and for virtual heritage.

Chapter 1: Digital Humanities And The Limits of Text provides a reasoned argument for the preponderance of text-based research in the digital humanities but argues for the importance and relevance of non-text based projects and three-dimensional media that augments rather than replaces text. It also proposes ways of improving classroom knowledge via spatial media.

Chapter 2: Game-based Learning And The Digital Humanities asks if there should there be a manifesto and singular definition of ‘game’? Should we be more open-minded in defining games and applying them totally or in part to historical and heritage-based simulations? Do definitions of ‘games as systems’ or as ‘procedural rhetoric’ offer enough guidance in developing and evaluating historical simulations and virtual heritage projects? In answering this question, the chapter includes suggestions gleaned from three case studies.

Chapter 3: Virtual Heritage focuses on intersections between Virtual Reality, Games and Digital Humanities. Is Virtual Reality still relevant? I argue that the increasing power and superior accessibility of computer games has already absorbed much of traditional Virtual Reality. Has Virtual Reality merged into games, is Virtual Reality within the financial and technical reach of non-expert users? If so which Virtual Reality techniques have become mainstream and accessible? What is the future of Virtual Reality and how will it affect Digital Humanities, are there specific areas we should focus on?

Chapter 4: Game-based History And Historical Simulations surveys games used for history and historical learning. Which theories can help us design and critique for history and heritage-based projects? Serious games research typically use modified computer games as virtual learning environments. Virtual heritage projects typically aim to provide three-dimensional interactive digital environments that aid the understanding of new cultures and languages rather than merely transfer learning terms and strategies from static prescriptive media such as books. As an intersection between the two fields, game-based historical learning aims to provide ways in which the technology, interactivity, or cultural conventions of computer gaming can help afford the cultural understanding of the self, of the past, or of others with mindsets quite different to our own.

Chapter 5: Virtual Heritage And Digital Culture covers definitions and major issues in Virtual Heritage. I propose six general aims for virtual heritage and I suggest three key concepts, inhabited placemaking, cultural presence and cultural significance. I also suggest objectives that a scholarly infrastructure should undertake to improve the field.

Chapter 6: Worlds, Roles And Rituals explores the nature, purpose and attributes of worlds, role-playing and rituals. Why are definitions of world so difficult to find? How can worlds be realised via digital simulations, can role-playing in computer games be developed further? Who should be able to read and interpret and perform rituals and why? Part of this chapter was initially published as an essay in the International Journal of Role Playing (Champion, 2009) and the passage has been considerably modified.

Chapter 7: Joysticks of Death, Violence And Morality is a theoretical attempt to outline types of violence in computer games and develop a short framework for types of interaction in virtual heritage projects. What is violence, how is it portrayed in games and are there particular issues in virtual simulations? This chapter sketches out both factors leading to violence in digital heritage projects and reasons involving their widespread occurrence. Finally I will suggest alternatives to violent interaction when applied to digital heritage projects.

Chapter 8: Intelligent Agents, Drama and Cinematic Narrative discusses Selmer Bringsjord’s ideas on interactive narrative and whether we can provide alternatives that help develop dramatically compelling interactive narrative. Why has storytelling been so difficult? Why is the Star Trek Holodeck so widely cited but no one has come close to building anything remotely similar?

Chapter 9: Biofeedback, Space And Place discusses ways in which biofeedback and brain controlled interfaces and theories of empathy and embodiment can be used to develop games and simulations for history and heritage based games. How can we better integrate new research into the body and the brain and recent technologies that incorporate the senses or further integrate recent technologies with the environment?

Chapter 10: Applying Critical Thinking And Critical Play summarizes the arguments and findings of the chapters and proposes a quick way of validating critical theories about gaming. Can game-related projects and teaching leverage critical thinking skills? The chapter includes a sample checklist to determine whether a critical position and argument about gaming has merit.

cfp: Digital Heritage 2015, 28 Sep-2 October, Granada Spain

Conference, virtual heritage, , ,

Digital Heritage 2015, 28 September – 2 October @ Granada, Spain

http://digitalheritage2015.org/

Digital Heritage 2015, jointly with the affiliated Conferences and exhibitions which are held under one common management and registration, invite you to participate and contribute to the second international forum for the dissemination and exchange of cutting-edge scientific knowledge on theoretical, generic and applied areas of digital heritage. A federated event of the leading scientific meetings in information technology for heritage, the Congress will bring VSMM, Eurographics GCH, Arqueologica2.0, Archaeovirtual, Digital Art Week and special events from CAA, CIPA, Space2Place, ICOMOS ICIP, and multiple others together in one venue with a prestigious joint publication. A ground-breaking public display of cutting edge digital heritage projects will also grace the conference venue at two museums: the museum Parque de las Ciencias de Andalucía and the museum of the Memory of Andalusia.

Important Dates

LengthAbstract (up to 300 words)Deadline for SubmissionNotification of AcceptanceCamera Ready Receipt
Full Papersup to 8 pages15th March1st April1st June15th July
Short Papersup to 4 pages26th April3rd May17th June15th July
Special Sessions
Tutorialsup to 8 pages15th March1st April1st June15th July
Workshopsup to 8 pages15th March1st April1st June15th July
Panelsup to 8 pages15th March1st April1st June15th July
Exhibitions & Demosup to 3 pages12th April19th April5th June15th July

Visiting Fellows to work with me at Curtin University in Visualisation, 2013

3D and game editors, Academic, Architecture, Biofeedback, design, Digital Humanities, game, virtual heritage, visualisation, , , , , , , , , , ,

I am very happy to announce that two Visting Fellows and two Early Career Visiting Fellows will work with me in October and November on various projects.

They are (and please note, dates are provisional):

Visiting Fellows

 

Nov 4-27: Dr Jeffrey Jacobson, http://www.publicvr.org

To provide examples of interactive and immersive environments featuring architecture and archaeology of the ancient world, to run inside Curtin’s new visualisation facility, iDome, Stereo Wall, and/or possibly the Wedge. Upload and run public VR 3D models inside UNITY on the iDome. These are the Virtual Egyptian Temple, Living Forest, Theater District of Pompeii. Prototype ancient heritage sites to run on the 0.5 CAVE (actually it is a Wedge). Design and pilot evaluation environment for potential use in humanities subjects, including history, and the visualisation undergraduate degree.

Nov 16-Dec 16: Dr Rob H. Warren, Canada, http://blog.muninn-project.org
Link 3D models in virtual environments (Unity real-time engine) to the archival databases to create a specific pilot of a World War 1 simulation using accurate historic geo-data, weather data, astronomical data, and historical records. Design and pilot evaluation environment for potential use in humanities subjects, including history, and the visualisation undergraduate degree. Link to colleagues in New Zealand and Canada to discuss potential research collaborations

Early Career Visiting Fellows

Nov 4-11: Andrew Dekker, University of Queensland http://itee.uq.edu.au/~dekker/ OR http://uq.academia.edu/AndrewDekker

We will work together on the following project: Camera tracking and biofeedback for indirect interaction with virtual environments. This project will connect biofeedback devices and camera tracking devices with equipment in the Curtin Data Visualisation Facility (CDVF) and provide a research platform to evaluate how biofeedback can be a meaningful interaction component for virtual environments, especially for augmenting socially believable agents, and to enrich the apparent “life” and “atmosphere” of digitally created architectural environments.

Nov 18-25: Dr Hafizur Rahman, Bangladesh http://bdheritage.info and http://ttclc.net

Create a streamlined 3D model data and 3D virtual environment workflow, analyse and comparing different image modelling tools, and explain how their optimal deployment for community web portals of digitalised cultural heritage.

Acquiring 3D models for artifacts is always expensive, as it typically requires a 3D laser scanner and relevant training. However, 3D modeling of small artifacts is possible to produce with photographs using low cost software such as 3D Som Pro (http://www.3dsom.com/). This software can produce 3D wire mesh and baked images for rendering, which can later be use as a source for augmented reality application for interactive public display. Free AR Toolkit /BuildAR can be used here for making this interactive display for museums/heritage institutes and interested community groups who currently lack high end technological resources and related skills.

We will also compare the above to insight 3D (http://insight3d.sourceforge.net/), which is free and open source. We will produce schematic workflows, incorporating Blender 3D for modeling and we will consider alternatives such as Google SketchUp.

CAA UK 2013: Game Issues for Scholarly Discourse or for Public Understanding

Conference, Digital Humanities, game, PhD, slides, virtual heritage, , , ,

I just gave a paper via Google hangout to CAU UK 2013 (Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology – UK Conference 22nd – 23rd February, 2013) in London.

Fullscreen Powerpoint did not seem to work but PDF did. Hmm.

I see some of the problems in Virtual Heritage//Digital Archaeology as how to

  • involve crowdsourcing
  • simulate ritual
  • design suitable and contextual interaction
  • design and evaluate meaningful learning
  • build templates so communities can develop their own interactive 3D environments
  • provide for archaeological scholars and the general public (separate environments, separate levels of detail, separate narratives?)

I forgot to say:

  • You can download related (free) book chapters in the ETC Press Game Mods book here.
  • Aarhus University has a PhD scholarship on Digital Heritage and Virtual Culture for those interested, very lucrative funding!
  • We hope to have a cultural heritage workshop in June on related issues.
  • End of October, Digital Heritage 2013, a vast collection of heritage conferences, will take place in Marseilles.
  • I have a book project on this and very happy to field suggestions about how game studies and game environments can advance to help virtual heritage and digital archaeology.

UPDATE: The slides and audio commentary are online at http://www.lparchaeology.com/caauk/game-issues-for-scholarly-discourse-or-for-public-understanding/

They are also at http://dougsarchaeology.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/game-issues-for-scholarly-discourse-or-for-public-understanding/

I cannot bring myself to listen to my own voice for any length of time (is that what I sound like, at least I did not try to sing) but a big thank you to the organizers.

Ch16 “History and Cultural Heritage in Virtual Environments” sent to OUP

Digital Humanities, game, virtual heritage, visualisation, , ,

Oxford Handbook of Virtuality
Chapter 16: History and Cultural Heritage in Virtual Environments

Keywords: History, heritage, games, evaluation methods, cultural heritage, HCI, multi-user interaction, virtual worlds, virtual reality, 3D interfaces.

Abstract

Applying virtual reality and virtual world technology to historical knowledge and to cultural heritage content is generally called virtual heritage, but it has so far eluded clear and useful definitions, and it has been even more difficult to evaluate. This article examines past case studies of virtual heritage; definitions and classifications of virtual environments and virtual worlds; the problem of convincing, educational and appropriate realism; how interaction is best employed; the question of ownership; and issues in evaluation. Given the premise that virtual heritage has as its overall aim to educate and engage the general public (on the culture value of the original site, cultural artifacts, oral traditions, and artworks), the conclusion suggests six objectives to keep in mind when designing virtual worlds for history and heritage.

The best game and virtual environment journals?

Academic, game, Journal, virtual heritage, ,

How do you measure the reach, quality and effectiveness of journals in the areas of game studies and virtual environments? Many of them do not clearly feature impact factors, but by using commercial software one may be able to get a better idea of how well they help the h-index of submitted papers. I won’t get into the debate here on open access journals but as some of the below journals are open access, and some are extremely expensive, this should also be a consideration, especially if one is writing also for a non-academic audience (such as game designers).

I have been reading a few articles on how book chapters do not get cited (Anderson, 2012; Bishop, 2012) and whether academics should write book reviews (Toor, 2012). In Virtual Heritage research many conferences are not fully published and indexed, while the book chapters are seldom cited.  There are some good articles out there on how to get published (Armstrong, undated), but why bother if one is not cited? Lack of citations probably also means that one is not read by a serious professional audience.

And I note in (my) area, some of the more famous journals appear to be

NB related VR/VE/ graphics journals impact factors here.

*I am on the editorial boards of the above journals.

UPDATE: you can compare the above journals at SCIMAGOJR website.

cfp: VAST2012: The 13th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Brighton, UK, 19-21 November 2012

Academic, Conference, game, virtual heritage, , , , ,

VAST2012: The 13th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Brighton, UK, 19-21 November 2012
Use inspired technological advances in heritage
www.vast2012.org
DEADLINE: 23 SEPTEMBER, 2012

Digital technology has the potential to influence every aspect of the cultural heritage environment. Archaeologists and cultural heritage scientists as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts have in the past collaborated to find solutions to optimise all aspects of capturing, managing, analysing and delivering cultural information, but many unsolved problems remain. The goal of VAST 2012 will be to build on the open dialogue between these different areas of expertise, and in particular allow ICT experts to have a better understanding of the critical requirements that cultural heritage professionals have for managing and delivering cultural information and for the ICT systems that support these activities.

To achieve this VAST 2012 will explore the entire pipeline of ICT in cultural heritage from background research to exploitation. The conference not only focuses on the development of innovative solutions, but it will investigate the issues of the exploitation of computer science research by the cultural heritage community. The transition from research to practical reality can be fraught with difficulty. The digital environment provides new opportunities and new business processes for sustainability, but with these opportunities there are also challenges. VAST 2012 will provide an opportunity for the heritage and ICT communities to understand these challenges and shape the future of ICT and heritage research. We are seeking contributions that advance the state of the art in the information technologies available to support cultural heritage. In particular:

Data Acquisition and Processing:
2/3/4D data capture
Geometry processing and representations
On-site and remotely sensed data collection
Digital capture of intangible heritage (performance, audio, dance, oral)
Geographical information systems

Metadata Handling:
Classification schemas, ontologies and semantic processing
Long-term preservation of digital artefacts
Annotations
Digital libraries, data management and collection management
Multilingual applications, tools and systems

Presentation:
Mobile technologies
Virtual museums
Augmentation of physical collections with digital presentations
Interactive environments and applications
Multi-modal interfaces and rendering
Storytelling and design of heritage communications
Usability, effectiveness and interface design
Intelligent and knowledge-based tools for digital reconstruction
Authoring tools for creating new cultural experiences

Practitioners’ Experience:
Professional and ethical guidelines
Standards and documentation
Requirements and policies
Methodological issues and research paradigms
Tools for education and training
Serious games in cultural heritage
Assistance in monitoring and restoration

Economics and Business:
Economics of cultural informatics
Watermarking, provenance, copyright and IPR
Business models and sustainability for ICT in cultural heritage
Impact of ICT applications in cultural heritage

Other relevant works concerning the application of information technologies to Cultural Heritage, not explicitly included in the above categories, are also welcome for submission. Accepted papers will be presented in the form of:

· Full research papers presenting new innovative results: these papers will be published by Eurographics in the EG Symposium Series (ISSN 1881-864X). The contributions should not exceed 8 pages, including bibliography and illustrations.
· Short papers presenting preliminary results and works-in-progress or focusing on on-going projects, the description of project organization, use of technology, and lesson learned. These papers will have an oral and poster presentation and will be published in the “Projects & Short Papers” proceedings volume. The contributions should not exceed 4 pages, including bibliography and illustrations.

BEST PAPERS AWARD The best papers selected at VAST 2012 will have the opportunity to be submitted to the ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH). JOCCH is published online during the year and then a hardcopy volume is produced at the end of the year.
All submissions will be reviewed and feedback given to the authors. See detailed information on submissions (http://www.vast2012.org/submissions). To have the paper published in the proceedings, at least one of the authors must register to the Conference after being notified of acceptance but before submitting camera-ready copies.

DEADLINE: 23 SEPTEMBER, 2012

North and South American research centres in cultural heritage, digital heritage, virtual heritage

Academic, Digital Humanities, game, virtual heritage, , , , , , , , ,

USA

  1. Virginia Scholar`s Lab http://www.scholarslab.org/ and Virtual World Heritage Laboratory http://vwhl.clas.virginia.edu/
  2. UCLA http://www.cdh.ucla.edu/ and ETC (http://etc.ucla.edu/) and related library project http://www.cni.org/topics/digital-preservation/laboratory-for-digital-cultural-heritage/
  3. Stanford (archaeology: https://www.stanford.edu/dept/archaeology/cgi-bin/drupal/about-stanford-archaeology-center) and  many DH centres http://humanexperience.stanford.edu/digital
  4. Berkeley-Digital Heritage Egypt http://townsendlab.berkeley.edu/taxonomy/term/330 and courses such as http://anthropology.berkeley.edu/content/studio-multimedia-authoring-archaeology-investigating-past-through-new-media-technologies
  5. Indiana http://iri.informatics.iupui.edu/
  6. MSU http://chi.anthropology.msu.edu/
  7. MIT hyperstudio http://hyperstudio.mit.edu
  8. George Mason University Department of History and Art History, Center for History and New Media (CHNM)

CANADA

  1. Concordia http://digitalhistory.concordia.ca/ and http://storytelling.concordia.ca/ and http://storytelling.concordia.ca/oralhistory/projects/stories-matter2.jpg
  2. Simon Fraser Intellectual Property Issues http://www.sfu.ca/ipinch/
  3. nb virtual museum of Canada http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/index-eng.jsp and Canadian Heritage Information Network http://www.rcip-chin.gc.ca/sgc-cms/nouvelles-news/anglais-english/
  4. Western Ontario http://www.history.uwo.ca/gradstudies/publichistory/digitalhistory.html
  5. Lavel UNESCO chair in cultural heritage http://www.unesco.org/en/university-twinning-and-networking/access-by-region/europe-and-north-america/canada/unesco-chair-in-cultural-heritage-408/

    NB Issues by IMA http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/028.nsf/eng/00244.html

SOUTH AMERICA (more to be added)

  1. Brazil (research notes) http://webscience.org.br/wiki/images/d/d5/Dodebei.dantas.pdf

Australian and NZ research centres in cultural heritage, digital heritage, virtual heritage

Academic, Digital Humanities, game, virtual heritage, , , , ,

Australian

  1. Deakin University Australia Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/chcap/ and courses at http://deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/chcap/ch-ms/postgrad-ch-ms.php
  2. Flinders Digital heritage and gaming and.. http://blogs.flinders.edu.au/flinders-news/2012/02/09/preserving-our-digital-heritage/ 
  3. Monash http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/research/about/priorities/cultural-heritage/
  4. Curtin http://humanities.curtin.edu.au/schools/BE/cultural_heritage.cfm and new digital humanities lab http://blogs.curtin.edu.au/humanities/2012/05/09/new-labs-nurture-digital-creativity-at-curtin/
  5. UNSW http://monash.edu/research/capabilities/leading/cultural.html
  6. University of Queensland has a course in digital heritage http://www.uq.edu.au/study/course.html?course_code=MUSM7011
  7. University of Canberra Cultural Heritage Research Cluster http://www.canberra.edu.au/faculties/arts-design/research/active-research-groups/cultural-heritage-research-cluster
  8. University of Sydney Arts eResearch http://sydney.edu.au/arts/eresearch/

New Zealand

  1. Portal http://humanitiesmachine.org.nz/
  2. Archives, personal memory and slow food http://www.slideshare.net/DigitalNZ/visual-explorations-of-new-zealands-digital-heritage
  3. NB not a research centre but originally a game company http://www.areograph.com/#!__heritage
  4. And unfortunately now past virtual heritage http://www.virtualheritage.net/news_blogs/1681.htm

European research centres in cultural heritage, digital heritage, virtual heritage

Academic, Digital Humanities, virtual heritage, , , ,
  1. Gothenburg Heritage Academy http://www.science.gu.se/digitalAssets/1373/1373820_heritage-seminar-a–b.pdf and linked to http://www.varldskulturmuseerna.se/org. Myndighetens ledningskansli är också placerat i Göteborg.”
  2. Jyvaskyla 3D Bridge http://www.arthis.jyu.fi/bridge/index.php.html
  3. Media Arts, Aalto E.g. http://www.aalto.fi/en/current/news/view/2012-07-19/
  4. Lund VR lab http://www.design.lth.se/english/the_department/research_laboratories/virtual_reality_lab/
  5. HUMLAB virtual heritage seminar avatarising the past http://blog.humlab.umu.se/?p=3082
  6. Intermedia, Uni of Oslo http://www.uv.uio.no/intermedia/english/  OR http://www.uv.uio.no/intermedia/  eg CONTACT project http://www.uv.uio.no/intermedia/english/research/projects/contact/index.html
  7. Interactive institute Sweden http://www.tii.se/  (Director: Halina Gottlieb NODEM http://www.tii.se/people/halinagottlieb)
  8. Trondheim MUBIL – a digital laboratory http://www.ntnu.no/ub/omubit/bibliotekene/gunnerus-1/mubil
  9. Estonia Department of Cultural Heritage and Conservation http://www.artun.ee/index.php?lang=eng&main_id=365

UK and Ireland

  1. York http://www.york.ac.uk/archaeology/research/research-themes/ (esp arch info science http://www.york.ac.uk/archaeology/research/research-themes/arch-information-systems/ links to DARIAH CARARE ACE and CHIRON)
  2. Southampton Archaeological Computing Research Group http://www.southampton.ac.uk/archaeology/acrg/
  3. Newcastle International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies http://www.ncl.ac.uk/sacs/icchs/
  4. Trinity College Dublin- The Cultural Heritage Initiative at Trinity http://www.tcd.ie/catc/flagship-areas/cultural-heritage.php
  5. King’s College esp Visualization Lab http://www.kvl.cch.kcl.ac.uk/
  6. Leicester http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/research offer a digital heritage programme.
  7. Smartlab Ireland (phd programme http://smartlab-ie.com/about-2/)

Mainland Europe

  1. Cyprus http://www.cyi.ac.cy/index.php/starc.html
  2. MIRALAB Switzerland http://www.miralab.ch/
  3. http://www.v-must.net/   Virtual Museum Transnational Network also see http://v-must.net/schools
  4. Hamburg http://www.slm.uni-hamburg.de/ifg2/personal/jan-christoph-meister.html seems to lead http://www.hdh.uni-hamburg.de/
  5. Fraunhofer IGD  (technical 3D graphics) http://www.v-must.net/sites/default/files/CALL4TRAINING-GERMAN-VHS-VIRTUALAUGMENTEDREALITY.pdf contact Holger Graf http://www.igd.fraunhofer.de/Institut/Abteilungen/Virtuelle-und-Erweiterte-Realit%C3%A4t-A4/Mitarbeiter/DiplMath-Techn-MSc-Holger-Graf
  6. Ename Ghent Belgium http://www.enamecenter.org/
  7. University of Amsterdam Cultural Heritage and Identity (research priority area ) http://www.hum.uva.nl/research/priority-areas.cfm/815F7F44-1321-B0BE-680E17177604014A
  8. Italy: Rome CNR Lab http://www.itabc.cnr.it/VHLab/
  9. Italy: Pisa Laboratory of Digital Culture http://www.thatcampflorence.org/organizers/laboratory-for-digital-culture-university-of-pisa-italy/  (or http://infouma.di.unipi.it/laurea/index.asp)
  10. Italy: Genoa (virtual tourism http://www.isaac-project.eu/)
  11. Italy: Bologna http://www.beniculturali.unibo.it/DISMEC/default.htm.
  12. Italy: Florence? See conference at http://www.rinascimento-digitale.it/conference2012.phtml

Call for Papers for Liverpool TAG 2012

Conference, Digital Humanities, virtual heritage, ,

Call for Papers for Liverpool TAG 2012.

Call for Papers for a TAG session, proposed by Don Henson, Director, Centre for Audio Visual Study and Practice in Archaeology (CASPAR), Dr Monty Dobson, archaeologist, filmaker and TV presenter, Drury University, and Lorna Richardson, PhD Candidate, UCL Centre for Digital Humanities

Session title: Archaeology & Media – Entertainment or Edutainment?

This proposed session will explore both the educational and entertainment value of archaeological information in the media, from traditional television programming, archaeology on the Internet, online broadcasting, and the radio.

This session will ask what value does archaeology hold for the media? How has archaeology been presented to a media-hungry public to date, and what future does it have in the digital age? Does archaeology have brand-awareness? Should rigorous archaeological scholarship take a backseat to popular entertainment, and how can archaeological programming and information online provide narrative and information that is both entertaining and factual?

Papers are invited that discuss how archaeological sites and images are reused in popular culture; the longtail of archaeological edutainment; popular respresentations of archaeologists and archaeology in the media; is there an archaeological stereotype that we play to?; the importance of the presenter as the face of archaeology on television; how does media commissioning works with archaeological information and how do archaeologists work with the media?; how and why is archaeological information subverted, changed or ‘sexed up’ to pull in audiences?; should archaeologists share archaeological authority through media?; pseudoarchaeology as popular TV entertainment.  Other related topics are welcome.

Submission deadlines for proposed papers is Friday 22nd June 2012.

For further information, or to submit a paper proposal, please contact Don Henson or  Lorna Richardson

Notes on Audio, Radio Archives and Digital Humanities Research

design, virtual heritage, , , , , , , , ,

1. High performance audio computing

a. HPC http://www.dinigroup.com/

b. The Imperative for High-Performance Audio Computing
http://lac.linuxaudio.org/2009/cdm/Friday/09_ffitch/09.pdf

c. High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart has expertise in Audio-Videoconferencing
http://www.fasilis.eu/facilities/high-performance-computing

2. Augmented reality via sound, Tourist Soundscapes, projected urban surfaces (Media Scape)

a. Augmented reality and audio see esp Volkswagen http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/9842-seven-awesome-augmented-reality-campaigns

b. Toozla: augmented reality AUDIO browser http://www.augmentedplanet.com/2009/12/the-worlds-first-audio-augmented-reality-browser/

c. Historic visual tour could have matching audio

“Augmented Reality Sightseeing” historic photos and 3D model superimposed of Berlin Wall.

a. Art and audio: Medea is a sound journey around the Black Sea:
http://soundwalkcollective.com/index.php?/progress/black-sea/

b. Soundscapes and archives http://www.catpaisatge.net/dossiers/psonors/eng/arxius.php

c. Google project glass AR released for cyclists, what about audio?
http://www.gizmag.com/google-x-augmented-reality/22072/

d. Projection in a panorama surround cinema with multiple scenes and spatial audio (split conversations) “Eavesdrop” by iCinema UNSW

http://www.icinema.unsw.edu.au/projects/eavesdrop/project-overview/

3. EVENTS THAT COULD SHOWCASE AUDIO-AR/3D PROJECTS

a. MEDIASPACE http://www.urbanmediaspace.dk/multimediehuset, MEDIA ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE 2012 http://www.digitalurbanliving.dk/news/events/mabiennale.php

b. Possible to showcase with 3D heritage conferences at UNESCO Paris? http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/access-to-knowledge/archives/audiovisual-archives/

4. HTML5 interface design and audio

a. HTML video editing, what functions can be done with audio mixing? For example, you have different radio tracks that can be mixed via a webpage, see http://evelyn-interactive.searchingforabby.com/

b. Can archives be integrated with editing applications on tablets and smart phones? (http://bbclistener.com/, http://www.thisamericanlife.org/listen)

5. Spatial audio and virtual environments eg OPEN SIM, Wonderland, Unity, Blender, procedural audio.

a. http://www.presciencelab.org/VA/
 The goal of virtualized audio is to permit listeners and performers to inject themselves into a shared virtual acoustic space-to let a listener hear what a performer would sound like in his room or in a virtual performance space of his choosing. The listener(s) and performers, recorded or live, are able to move about the shared space at will, the system maintaining the illusion that the performers are in shared performance venue-a guitarist appears to be sitting at your conference table strumming softly.

b. Open Wonderland and Open Sim promised to be virtual worlds with spatialized audio that could work as virtual conferencing tools, Combine with 3D virtual worlds for teleconferencing, providing streaming located radio in VEs for teleconferencing, http://elearnmag.acm.org/archive.cfm?aid=2206888

6. Combine NUI, Soundscapes and urban design

a. Nordic + Natural User Interfaces (NUI): http://www.nuiteq.com/

b. Natural User Interfaces for a Radio Web archive? Pick the icons and move them on the screen, they play as you collect them.
For example: http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com/2012/05/nuiteqs-latest-multitouch-showreel.html (Swedish http://www.nuiteq.com/)

c. Could it be used with archaeology projects. For example, virtual reality reconstructions and archaeoacoustics (http://article.wn.com/view/2012/04/24/Archaeoacoustics_reconstructs_the_sound_of_Stonehenge/).

d. There is also audio archaeology (http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/03/magazine/audio-archaeology-eavesdropping-on-history.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm).

e. In a similar vein, there are good practice guidelines for archaeology audio archives(http://guides.archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/g2gp/Audio_1)

7. Archive-PR and profiling

a. Is there research being done on what examples can best showcase LARM to a wider audience? What new research tools are required for net radio, etc?
Example: http://www.audiencedialogue.net/pmlr3.html

AND http://www.widepr.com/press_release/10673/internet_radio_new_business_models_will_define_growth.html

AND http://marketing.about.com/od/publicrelation1/a/massmediapr.htm

b. Crowd tagging to increase profile and to study user behaviour (could be applied to radio archives?)
Indianapolis Museum of Art Tag tours http://www.imamuseum.org/page/collection-tags

c. What are the issues in RADIO ARCHIVE RESEARCH? http://www.iasa-web.org/selection/selection-radio-sound-archives-problem-documentation

8. Audio-video intelligent searching (DARIAH?)

a. For our contribution to DARIAH we need indexing tools and search tools ways of creating interactive video and audio content.

9. RADIO and GEOVISUALIZATION

a. Could audio detection tools reveal recording location?

b. Pronunciation database retrieval, idiolects (CLARIN_NeDiMAH, DARIAH?). Update apparently already done. Hmm, but with ORBIS like data? (http://orbis.stanford.edu/)

Note to self:

· In passing, 3D sound http://www.studio360.org/2011/apr/29/adventures-3d-sound/

·  Note to self: where is that French video showing accurate 3D recording of sound that they added to virtual objects?

· Retrieving sounds via voice and movement detection (“Skyrim voice detection” the game engine can be used to create free standing levels). Medieval and pseudo Viking content is already built into the game.

)