scholarly journals Analysis of the social community based on the network growing model in open source software community

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takumi Ichimura ◽  
Takuya Uemoto
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Social Community ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals What can scholars learn from Open Source software communities during pandemics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Tennant ◽  
Tom Crick
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Scholarly Communication ◽  
Social Demand ◽  
Research Communities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Current Outbreak ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Global Research

When the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak began on January 31, 2020, no-one could have anticipated the impact that it would have on our scholarly communication and publishing systems. That is, perhaps, unless you work on open source software. Right now, global research communities are united to collaborate on solving the threat of the pandemic, sharing resources and knowledge more efficiently and effective than ever before, a process broadly described as ‘open scholarship’ (Dunleavy, 2020). This is essentially akin to how free and open source software (FOSS) communities have been operating now for decades (Willinsky, 2005). Recently, we participated in a “massively open online paper”, or MOOP, that explored the intersections between FOSS and open scholarship (Tennant, Agarwal, et al., 2020). Here, we want to summarise our key findings from that project, and place them in the context of the current outbreak. Critically, this pandemic shows us that many of the pervasive and systemic issues surrounding the evaluation, valuation, use and operationalisation of “openness” in scholarship can be extremely easily bypassed when the social demand and urgency is there, thus showing that the primary barriers towards open scholarship are inherently political and not technical.

scholarly journals The Social Order of Open Source Software Production

2011 ◽  
pp. 168-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Gläser
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Social Mechanism ◽  
Complete Uncertainty ◽  
Software Production ◽  
The Social ◽  
Collective Production

This chapter contributes to the sociological understanding of open source software (OSS) production by identifying the social mechanism that creates social order in OSS communities. OSS communities are identified as production communities whose mode of production employs autonomous decentralized decision making on contributions and autonomous production of contributions while maintaining the necessary order by adjustment to the common subject matter of work. Thus, OSS communities belong to the same type of collective production system as scientific communities. Both consist of members who not only work on a common product, but are also aware of this collective work and adjust their actions accordingly. Membership is based on the self-perception of working with the community’s subject matter (software or respectively scientific knowledge). The major differences between the two are due to the different subject matters of work. Production communities are compared to the previously known collective production systems, namely, markets, organizations, and networks. They have a competitive advantage in the production under complete uncertainty, that is, when neither the nature of a problem, nor the way in which it can be solved, nor the skills required for its solution are known in advance.

Participation in community-based free/libre open source software development tasks: the impact of task characteristics

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kangning Wei ◽  
Kevin Crowston ◽  
U. Yeliz Eseryel
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Task Characteristics ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Individual Participation ◽  
And Task ◽  
Development Tasks

PurposeThis paper explores how task characteristics in terms of trigger type and task topic influence individual participation in community-based free/libre open source software (FLOSS) development by considering participation in individual tasks rather than entire projects.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative study was designed using choose tasks that were carried out via the email discourse on the developers' email fora in five FLOSS projects. Choice process episodes were selected as the unit of analysis and were coded for the task trigger and topic. The impact of these factors on participation (i.e. the numbers of participants and messages) was assessed by regression.FindingsThe results reveal differences in participation related to different task triggers and task topics. Further, the results suggest the mediating role of the number of participants in the relationships between task characteristics and the number of messages. The authors also speculate that project type serves as a boundary condition restricting the impacts of task characteristics on the number of participants and propose this relationship for future research.Research limitations/implicationsEmpirical support was provided to the important effects of different task characteristics on individual participation behaviors in FLOSS development tasks.Practical implicationsThe findings can help FLOSS participants understand participation patterns in different tasks and choose the types of tasks to attend to.Originality/valueThis research explores the impact of task characteristics on participation in FLOSS development at the task level, while prior research on participation in FLOSS development has focused mainly on factors at the individual and/or project levels.

The Impact of Open Source Development on the Social Construction of Intellectual Property

2008 ◽  
pp. 3777-3805
Author(s):  
Bernd Carsten Stahl
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Natural Rights ◽  
The Social ◽  
Software Changes ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Open Source Development

This chapter discusses the impact that open source software has on our perception and use of intellectual property. The theoretical foundation of the paper is constructionist in that it holds intellectual property to be a social construction that is created and legitimized by narratives. In a first step, the chapter recounts the narratives that are usually found in the literature to justify the creation and protection of intellectual property. The two most important streams of narratives are the utilitarian and the natural rights arguments. In a second step, the paper proceeds to the impact that the use of information and communication technology (ICT) has on the narratives of intellectual property. From there, the chapter progresses to a discussion of the impact of open source software on these narratives. It will be argued that open source software changes our perception of intellectual property because it offers evidence that some of the classical narratives are simplistic. At the same time it will become clear that open source is not a frontal assault on intellectual property because it is partly based on ownership of intellectual artefacts. The conclusion discusses how this change of narratives caused by open source software may reflect on our institutions, laws, and regulations of intellectual property.

Understanding Users' Contributions in Open Source Software Communities

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 105-117
Author(s):  
Tao Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Social Influence ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Subjective Norm ◽  
User Identification ◽  
Social Influence Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Negative Effect

User contributions are crucial to the success of open source software (OSS) communities. As users conduct frequent interactions between each other, their contribution behaviour may receive the social influence from other members. Drawing on the social influence theory, this research examined user contributions in OSS communities. The results indicated that contribution intention is significantly affected by social identity, which includes cognitive, affective and evaluative identity. In addition, the researchers found that the subjective norm has a negative effect on contribution intention. The results imply that service providers need to enhance user identification with the community in order to facilitate their contribution in OSS communities.

The Social and Economical Impact of OSS in Developing Countries

2011 ◽  
pp. 102-114
Author(s):  
Alfreda Dudley-Sponaugle
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Software Licensing

Computing practices in developing countries can be complex. At the same time, open source software OSS) impacts developing countries in various ways. This chapter examines the social and economic impacts of OSS on three such nations: China, South Korea, and India. In so doing, the chapter discusses and analyzes benefi ts as well as downsides of the social, political, and fi nancial impacts on these developing countries. Topics covered in this chapter are piracy, software licensing, software initiatives, and political components involved in OSS implementation, and software compatibility issues.

Social Aspects of Open Source Software

2011 ◽  
pp. 173-186
Author(s):  
S. Lakka
Keyword(s):  
Economic Theory ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Interdisciplinary Studies ◽  
Free Software ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
The Social

Open source software/free software (OSS/FS), also abbreviated as FLOSS/FOSS (free/libre and open source software), has risen to great prominence. Existing literature from diverse disciplines or through interdisciplinary studies have tried to explain the growth and success of the phenomenon. This chapter describes and discusses OSS/FS under the scope of three major aspects: motivations that lead to OSS/FS, the organization of OSS/FS communities and the economic theory as a means of explaining the manifold phenomenon. Furthermore, the chapter analyzes the social implications that lie underneath the OSS/FS diffusion, together with the social processes that take place in OSS/FS communities in an effort to enhance our understanding of the diverse mechanisms that disseminate OSS/FS rapidly.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document