4 research outputs found
Selection of an Open Source License: Aspects for consideration for Organisation in the choice of an Open Source License.
This paper is a contribution to the understanding and management of Open Source Software (OSS), in discussing the issues of license choice and how to match this to organisational aims, in the adoption and usage of Open Source Software. License choice governs the obligations of an organisation for their software. The paper describes which issues in an OSS license which are applicable to any OSS license, thereby being generic or de jure issues, and those which are outcome issues, allowing for the fulfilment of organisational objectives, either from the licensor or licensee perspective
The emergence of openness in open source projects : the case of openEHR
The meaning of openness in open source is both intrinsically unstable and dynamic, and tends to fluctuate with time and context. We draw on a very particular open-source project primarily concerned with building rigorous clinical concepts to be used in electronic health records called openEHR. openEHR explains how openness is a concept that is purposely engaged with, and how, in this process of engagement, the very meaning of open matures and evolves within the project. Drawing on rich longitudinal data related to openEHR we theorise the evolving nature of openness and how this idea emerges through two intertwined processes of maturation and metamorphosis. While metamorphosis allows us to trace and interrogate the mutational evolution in openness, maturation analyses the small, careful changes crafted to build a very particular understanding of openness. Metamorphosis is less managed and controlled, whereas maturation is representative of highly precise work carried out in controlled form. Both processes work together in open-source projects and reinforce each other. Our study reveals that openness emerges and evolves in open-source projects where it can be understood to mean rigour; ability to participate; open implementation; and an open process. Our work contributes to a deepening in the theorisation of what it means to be an open-source project. The multiple and co-existing meanings of ‘open’ imply that open-source projects evolve in nonlinear ways where each critical meaning of openness causes a reflective questioning by the community of its continued status and existence
Inter-disciplinary study on open source software development in developing countries: a case study of Chinese Linux
This research provides a detailed account of Open Source Software (OSS)
development in the context of developing countries (DCs) by exploring the specific case of
Chinese indigenous Linux design and development. It builds an interdisciplinary,
socio-technical, analytical framework from the perspective of science and technology
studies (STS), in particular the social shaping of technology (SST), infrastructural studies
and international technology transfer. It also covers the fields of economic analysis, policy
studies and development studies. The research investigates the adaptation process of a
unique OSS with infrastructural features – Linux in the context of China by conducting case
studies on both embedded Linux and platform Linux products developed by two Chinese
Linux providers.
Drawing upon the concepts developed in the SST perspective and infrastructural
studies, this research addresses both the dynamism and continuity of OSS. In order to
avoid the shortcomings of existing social scientific study on OSS, we applied social and
biography of artefacts (BoA) approaches to examine the evolution of Chinese Linux by
mapping out the key actors, investigating the linkages between them, and probing deeply
into the intricate interplays among these actors over time.
A detailed longitudinal and contextual analysis has been undertaken through a
qualitative historical case study of the evolution of both Chinese embedded Linux and
platform Linux from 1998-2008. The empirical data reveals that the local adaptation and
further innovation of Chinese Linux is a ‘generification’ process, i.e. a process of design and
developing generic Linux solutions for diverse local users. Theoretically, the understanding
of the socio-technical interfaces of the software (seeking, identifying, categorising local
users/intermediaries, as well as collaborating with key players associated with the particular
software) are central elements for software technology transfer and local technological
capabilities building.
The findings also throw the light on the crucial importance of government role in providing incentives and institutional measures for Linux adaptation in China. In particular,
it highlights the challenges concerning the socio-technical specificities of infrastructural
software, like Linux OS (operating system) and the particular relevance to DCs as
technology adapters.
Finally, this study throws light on the policy and practice for China’s future Linux
development, and the implications for other DCs