Part VIII Craft Projects: Carving Cute Critters (pp. 235-239). In E. Kroski (Ed.) 53 Ready-to-Use Kawaii Craft Projects

AT THE PURDUE Library of Engineering & Science, we have a variety of services, such as 3D printing, and Maker tools for check out, such as handheld 3D scanners. We use our Maker events as a way to let students know what we have available to them. To reach as many patrons as possible, on a campus of 40,000 students, we make our events mobile and call the program Mobile Making. The events revolve around the library tools and services, including the one for this project, subtractive technologies. We host projects that support the intersection of engineering, technology, and art. The Carving Cute Critters project demonstrates subtractive, CNC technology and gives students an opportunity to paint and talk to their Library faculty and staff in an informal, fun way. With Carving Cute Critters, students are given pre-carved blocks of wood to decorate with painter markers. We use the Inventables Carvey machine and their free software, Easel, but any CNC carving machine with compatible software works for this project. This is a layered activity. Participants can either decorate wood blocks and see how a tabletop CNC carving machine works, or they can take is a step further and create their own Cute Critter to be carved. We have found this to be one of our most successful events. Students are focused on painting the blocks and ask questions about the machine. We are thanked for offering the event and asked when we will hold it again

Syracuse Grows: Grassroots Communications

Small budgets, overextended staff, and inaccessibility of design software can prevent non-profit organizations from having successful communications. This project is an examination of sustainable communications through creating a marketing system for Syracuse Grows, a grassroots network cultivating a just foodscape in the city of Syracuse. The goal was to provide a successful communications program for Syracuse Grows that represented their needs, reflected graphic principles, and promoted the organization. But more importantly, this plan was designed so that it can be updated and utilized following the completion of this project. The five requirements for this plan were: (1) to develop a coherent brand identity (including a logo, stationery set, and mailers); (2) to develop efficient communication within the group through listservs and a blog; (3) to develop a Web site that features upcoming events, community partners, photographs, grants, and maps of the gardens; (4) to create a template for future posters and advertising campaigns; and (5) and to create a template for a reoccurring newsletter. This project was also a study of utility. Each component was designed with a consideration for how it was to be used in the future. Communication pieces needed to be edited without a design program and utilize standard typefaces. The Web site needed to include a content management system. Community organizations have limited resources. We were able to tackle that problem by using the most up-to-date and free solutions available. By taking advantage of the resources provided by Joomla! and Google, we were able to keep the communication plan of Syracuse Grows current and more importantly: sustainable. The largest benefit of this project is that Syracuse Grows now has an entire system that can be updated continually in the future while still retaining the brand identity of the organization. The continuity of their marketing materials (including the Web site, www.syracusegrows.org) will help them to be a unified and recognizable resource in Syracuse

Unreliable Collaborators: Coordination in Distributed Volunteer Teams

I propose to study the coordination mechanisms used by teams of distributed volunteers involved in Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) development, which has been successful despite the dual challenges of computer mediated distributed work and volunteer management. There is an opportunity to understand how the motivations of participants affect the manner in which they organize their work and to learn from their success. I propose to conduct a case study of a FLOSS project that has collaborated in each of four modes made of volunteer/nonvolunteer and distributed/collocated axes. Drawing on archives and interviews, I will use coordination theory process mapping to describe the coordination mechanisms and sequence analysis to test for differences between the four settings. Participant observation and a literature review reveal examples of novel coordination mechanisms that seem especially associated with distributed volunteers. These are dependency minimization and ‘post-hoc’ coordination, where the group acts to integrate individually chosen contributions. A possible explanation of the use of such mechanisms is that partners expect each other to be unreliable and have developed mechanisms to facilitate effective collaboration in the face of that challenge. It is hoped that these novel mechanisms will be useful to those seeking to draw on unreliable collaboration partners in an effective and scalable manner, including research and development teams, some scientific collaborations and networks of small firms collaborating without formal contract arrangements

Collaborative Development within Open Source Communities

Open source communities are one of the most successful-- and least appreciated--examples of high-performance collaboration and community building on the Internet today. Open source communities began as loosely organized, ad-hoc communities of contributors from all over the world who shared an interest in meeting a common need. However, the organization of these communities has proven to be very flexible and capable of carrying out all kind of developments, ranging from minor projects to huge programs such as Apache (Höhn, & Herr, 2004; Mockus, Fielding, & Herbsleb, 2005

Challenges of open innovation: the paradox of firm investment in open-source software

Open innovation is a powerful framework encompassing the generation, capture, and employment of intellectual property at the firm level. We identify three fundamental challenges for firms in applying the concept of open innovation: finding creative ways to exploit internal innovation, incorporating external innovation into internal development, and motivating outsiders to supply an ongoing stream of external innovations. This latter challenge involves a paradox, why would firms spend money on R&D efforts if the results of these efforts are available to rival firms? To explore these challenges, we examine the activity of firms in opensource software to support their innovation strategies. Firms involved in open-source software often make investments that will be shared with real and potential rivals. We identify four strategies firms employ – pooled R&D/product development, spinouts, selling complements and attracting donated complements – and discuss how they address the three key challenges of open innovation. We conclude with suggestions for how similar strategies may apply in other industries and offer some possible avenues for future research on open innovation

Community-driven approaches to open source archaeological imaging

No abstract available

Sharing software engineering resources and open source software across entities

This paper describes a number of ‘good ideas’ designed to assist staff who are involved in the management, delivery or support of student project work. The ideas were formed from a Disciplinary Commons. The good ideas discussed include online forums, a project repository, alternative project structures, project preparation, progress reviews, instant supervision, peer support and anti-cheating mechanisms. Readers are encouraged to dip in, consider the ideas and implement those of most use for their own institutions