The application profiles and development characteristics of library Open Source Software projects

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Namjoo Choi

Purpose – Little is known as to the breadth and diversity of Open Source Software (OSS) applications for libraries and the development characteristics that influence the sustainability and success of projects creating them. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by analyzing a large sample of library OSS projects. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 594 library OSS projects (469 from SourceForge and 125 from Foss4lib) are classified by type and further differentiated and assessed across a number of criteria including, but not limited to, sponsorship status, license type, and development status. Findings – While various types of library OSS applications were found to be under development and in use, the results show that there has been a steady decrease in the number of projects initiated since 2009. Although sponsorship was significantly positively associated with several indicators of OSS project success, the proportion of sponsored projects was relatively small compared to the proportions reported in some other contexts. In total, 71 percent of the projects have a restrictive license scheme, suggesting that the OSS ideology is valued among library OSS projects. The results also indicate that library OSS projects exhibit several characteristics that differ from the traditional developer-oriented OSS projects in terms of their technical environment. Originality/value – This study, as the first of its kind, offers a broader, more quantitative picture of the state of library OSS applications as well as the development characteristics of projects developing them. Several implications for research and practice, and directions for future research are provided.

2011 ◽  
pp. 256-273
Author(s):  
Evangelos Katsamakas ◽  
Balaji Janamanchi ◽  
Wullianallur Raghupathi ◽  
Wei Gao

As the number of open source software (OSS) projects in healthcare grows rapidly, researchers are faced with the challenge of understanding and explaining the success of the open source phenomenon. This article proposes a research framework that examines the roles of project sponsorship, license type, development status and technological complements in the success of open source health information technology (HIT) projects and it develops a systematic method for classifying projects based on their success potential. Drawing from economic theory, a novel proposition in the authors’ framework suggests that higher project-license restrictiveness will increase OSS adoption, because organizations will be more confident that the OSS project will remain open source in the future. Applying the framework to a sample of open source software projects in healthcare, the authors find that although project sponsorship and license restrictiveness influence project metrics, they are not significant predictors of project success categorization. On the other hand, development status, operating system and programming language are significant predictors of an OSS project’s success categorization. Application implications and future research directions are discussed.


Author(s):  
Evangelos Katsamakas ◽  
Balaji Janamanchi ◽  
Wullianallur Raghupathi ◽  
Wei Gao

As the number of open source software (OSS) projects in healthcare grows rapidly, researchers are faced with the challenge of understanding and explaining the success of the open source phenomenon. This article proposes a research framework that examines the roles of project sponsorship, license type, development status and technological complements in the success of open source health information technology (HIT) projects and it develops a systematic method for classifying projects based on their success potential. Drawing from economic theory, a novel proposition in the authors’ framework suggests that higher project-license restrictiveness will increase OSS adoption, because organizations will be more confident that the OSS project will remain open source in the future. Applying the framework to a sample of open source software projects in healthcare, the authors find that although project sponsorship and license restrictiveness influence project metrics, they are not significant predictors of project success categorization. On the other hand, development status, operating system and programming language are significant predictors of an OSS project’s success categorization. Application implications and future research directions are discussed.


2012 ◽  
pp. 168-185
Author(s):  
Evangelos Katsamakas ◽  
Balaji Janamanchi ◽  
Wullianallur Raghupathi ◽  
Wei Gao

This chapter discusses the growth of open source software projects in healthcare. It proposes a research framework that examines the roles of project sponsorship, license type, development status and technological complements in the success of open source health information technology (HIT) projects, and it develops a systematic method for classifying projects based on their success potential. Using data from Sourceforge, an open source software development portal, we find that although project sponsorship and license restrictiveness influence project metrics, they are not significant predictors of project success categorization. On the other hand, development status, operating system, and programming language are significant predictors of an OSS project’s success categorization. We discuss research and application implications and suggest future research directions.


Author(s):  
Evangelos Katsamakas ◽  
Balaji Janamanchi ◽  
Wullianallur Raghupathi ◽  
Wei Gao

This chapter discusses the growth of open source software projects in healthcare. It proposes a research framework that examines the roles of project sponsorship, license type, development status and technological complements in the success of open source health information technology (HIT) projects, and it develops a systematic method for classifying projects based on their success potential. Using data from Sourceforge, an open source software development portal, we find that although project sponsorship and license restrictiveness influence project metrics, they are not significant predictors of project success categorization. On the other hand, development status, operating system, and programming language are significant predictors of an OSS project’s success categorization. We discuss research and application implications and suggest future research directions.


2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Buxton

PurposeTo review the variety of software solutions available for putting CDS/ISIS databases on the internet. To help anyone considering which route to take.Design/methodology/approachBriefly describes the characteristics, history, origin and availability of each package. Identifies the type of skills required to implement the package and the kind of application it is suited to. Covers CDS/ISIS Unix version, JavaISIS, IsisWWW, WWWISIS Versions 3 and 5, Genisis, IAH, WWW‐ISIS, and OpenIsis.FindingsThere is no obvious single “best” solution. Several are free but may require more investment in acquiring the skills to install and configure them. The choice will depend on the user's experience with CDS/ISIS formatting language, HTML, programming languages, operating systems, open source software, and so on.Originality/valueThere is detailed documentation available for most of these packages, but little previous guidance to help potential users to distinguish and choose between them.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Lai ◽  
Riccardo Stacchezzini

Purpose This paper aims to trace subsequent steps of the sustainability reporting evolution in terms of changes in the organisation fields and professional jurisdictions involved. As such, it highlights the (interrelated) organisational and professional challenges associated with the progressive incorporation of “sustainability” within corporate reporting. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on Suddaby and Viale’s (2011) theorisation of how professionals reshape organisational fields to highlight how organisational spaces, actors, rules and professional capital evolve alongside the incorporation of sustainability within corporate reporting. Findings The paper shows organisational spaces, actors, rules and professional capital mobilised during the recent evolution of sustainability reporting, starting from a period in which there was no space for sustainability, to more recent periods in which sustainability gained increasing momentum beyond initial niches, and culminating in more integrated forms of sustainability reporting. Research limitations/implications Although the analysis is limited to empirical evidence collected by prior research and practice on sustainability reporting, the paper offers a view to imagine how the incorporation of sustainability within corporate reporting relies on and affects organisational fields and professional jurisdictions. Originality/value The paper offers a lens to interpret corporate and professional challenges associated with the more recent evolutions of sustainability reporting practice and standard setting. It also allows framing the papers accepted in the special issue on “new challenges in sustainability reporting” and concludes by suggesting an agenda for future research.


Author(s):  
Ling Wang ◽  
Jinxiao Wang

This paper focuses on studying the role of open source software project initiator in affecting the OSS project success from the perspective of individual and collective behaviors. The authors collected the data from an emerging OSS hosting platform Gitee in China. This research indicates that the success mode for open source software projects in China relies a lot on the project initiators. Project initiators not only contribute codes to aid the project directly, but also use their social capital to facilitate the project success. But no full play has been given to social network's effect on mass production and collaborative innovation. The authors suggest collaborative innovation which could lead to coherence of global collective wisdom, reduced development costs, and expanded source of innovation should be the further direction for the OSS project in emerging platforms.


Author(s):  
Leslie Gadman

The digital networked economy has gone global and is reshaping traditional business models. “Free” and “open source” software (Raymond, 1999) along with more recent successes in the private, public and social sectors offer a vision of a radically new globally networked economy. This economy is characterized by new sources of value creation and competition as barriers to entry are lowered and substitution made easier. It also requires a more stratified, localized approach to the marketplace (Hart and Milstein, 2003) to meet more specialized demands from customers and the societies and environments within which they live. These challenges have implications for almost every aspect of a firm’s strategy and business model, especially its ability to leverage these networks to create value through innovation. Yet, most multinational firms are ill – equipped to take advantage of the knowledge creation derived from high value relationships with suppliers, complementors and customers. This chapter shows the importance of developing a corporate strategy which takes into account ways in which an innovation focus must integrate with installed business processes. This chapter considers the challenges associated with knowledge disclosure, diffusion and utilization (Snowdon, 2002; Spinosa, Flores and Dreyfus, 2001) across value networks and concludes that while successful examples exist in “Free” and “open source” software projects (Raymond, 1999) commercialization of innovation becomes more challenging when increasing levels of personal and financial commitment are required (Mauer, Rai and Sali, 2004). Choosing the most appropriate value networking strategy can have serious implications for success. This chapter adds to studies on knowledge creation and knowledge transfer in multinational corporations by proposing a conceptual model of commitment based value networking strategy. It is hoped this will contribute to future research by offering a theoretical foundation upon which this research may be based and explains why and under what conditions people in commitment based value networks share knowledge.


2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Palmer ◽  
Namjoo Choi

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to assess the current state of research on open source software (OSS) in the library context. Design/methodology/approach – This study employs a descriptive literature review. It categorizes library OSS research according to a classification scheme developed for the study, and analyzes the research based on year published, publication outlet, type of software discussed, type of article, type of library, and article topic. Findings – The authors found significant research attention devoted to open source repository applications, online public access catalog (OPAC) software, and integrated library systems (ILS). The majority of article types employed were case studies and discussion pieces. When articles were focused on a specific library, it was dominantly an academic library. Article topics centered around OSS adoption, development, provision of foundational or introductory information, and OSS performance. Originality/value – The authors are not aware of any other study that surveys and synthesizes the literature on OSS in the library context. Not only does this study provide a reference source and classification scheme for those conducting future research in this area to utilize, but it also identifies areas in this field that have received the most research attention, as well as areas that could benefit from future studies. This study will prove helpful to scholars looking for directions to take their research.


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis S. Davis ◽  
Dot McElhone ◽  
F. Blake Tenore

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptualization of reading comprehension that extends beyond the traditional cognitive viewpoint on comprehension common in the field. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on literature and theory from various perspectives (cognitive, sociocultural and critical), the authors propose a conceptual heuristic that can inform future scholarship. Findings – Using four foundational principles of reader–text interactions as a starting point (non-neutrality, tethered polysemy, variable agency and unruliness), the authors describe reader–text interactions in terms of the tethers/resources that are brought into the interaction, the moment-to-moment improvisation that occurs when readers meet a text and the changes at the intra- and interpersonal levels that result from and influence future reader–text interactions. Originality/value – The conceptualization can inform future research and practice in literacy by situating meaning making within a broader understanding of the processes and consequences of textual interaction.


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