Free and open source software development of IT systems

IT system development, integration, deployment, and administration benefit significantly from free and open source software (FOSS) tools and services. Affordability has been a compelling reason for adopting FOSS in computing curricula and equipping computing labs with support infrastructure. Using FOSS systems and services, however, is just the first step in taking advantage of how FOSS development principles and practices can impact student learning in IT degree programs. Above all, FOSS development of IT systems requires changes to how students, instructors, and other contributors work collaboratively and openly and get involved and invested in project activities. In this paper I examine the challenges to engage students in FOSS development projects proposed by real clients. A six-week course project revealed problems with adopting FOSS development and collaboration across different activities and roles that student team members have assumed. Despite these problems, students have showed a genuine and strong interest in gaining more practice with FOSS development. FOSS development teaching was further refined in two other courses to learn about adequate teaching strategies and the competencies that students achieve when they participate in FOSS development of IT systems

Leveraging Final Degree Projects for Open Source Software Contributions

(1) Background: final year students of computer science engineering degrees must carry out a final degree project (FDP) in order to graduate. Students’ contributions to improve open source software (OSS) through FDPs can offer multiple benefits and challenges, both for the students, the instructors and for the project itself. This work reports on a practical experience developed by four students contributing to mature OSS projects during their FDPs, detailing how they addressed the multiple challenges involved, both from the students and teachers perspective. (2) Methods: we followed the work of four students contributing to two established OSS projects for two academic years and analyzed their work on GitHub and their responses to a survey. (3) Results: we obtained a set of specific recommendations for future practitioners and detailed a list of benefits achieved by steering FDP towards OSS contributions, for students, teachers and the OSS projects. (4) Conclusions: we find out that FDPs oriented towards enhancing OSS projects can introduce students into real-world, practical examples of software engineering principles, give them a boost in their confidence about their technical and communication skills and help them build a portfolio of contributions to daily used worldwide open source applications

TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF MAPATHONS – REFLECTING ON YOUTHMAPPERS EXPERIENCES

Abstract. YouthMappers is a global network of student chapters actively engaged in collaborative mapping efforts, such as OpenStreetMap mapathons. Many questions have been raised about the impact of mapathons on open map data and on the participating mappers. For example, how can the social gathering and event format encourage productivity and quality, while also contributing to community building? Because YouthMappers chapters regularly host mapathons, there are frequent opportunities to investigate the impact of mapathons. In this paper, three universities involved in the YouthMappers network, located in Europe, North America and Africa, describe how mapathons are conducted at their respective universities. Incorporating mapathons into the curriculum encourages students to contribute much-needed open geospatial data for humanitarian projects. At the same time, students get practical experience in data capturing with open source tools and awareness is raised of humanitarian challenges in other parts of the world, thus nurturing socially engaged citizens for the future. The experiences at the three universities are diverse and richly contextual to the specific character of the campus and its students. These differences underscore the challenge of a common means to formally assess the impact of such events in general. Based on this exploratory research, three themes for assessing the impact of mapathons are proposed: the volume and quality of open geographic data produced during mapathons; the social and personal growth of the students attending the mapathons; and the changes in university programs and curricula introduced as a result of the mapathons.</p

Armenia: What drives first movers and how can their efforts be scaled up?

The paper examines ways to expand the contribution of the Armenian diaspora to Armenia’s long-term development agenda. It identifies factors that could explain the involvement and dynamics of a small group of entrepreneurs from the diaspora who have been active in and with Armenia. Based on these findings, it develops recommendations, consistent with the diaspora’s institutional capabilities, for increasing the number of such business activists and transforming diaspora efforts from humanitarian relief campaigns to business initiatives and development projects. The findings are based on detailed interviews with a group of prominent diaspora activists.diaspora, Armenia, diaspora mobilization, diaspora expertise for development

A double-edged sword: Use of computer algebra systems in first-year Engineering Mathematics and Mechanics courses

Many secondary-level mathematics students have experience with graphical calculators from high school. For the purposes of this paper we define graphical calculators as those able to perform rudimentary symbolic manipulation and solve complicated equations requiring very modest user knowledge. The use of more advanced computer algebra systems e.g. Maple, Mathematica, Mathcad, Matlab/MuPad is becoming more prevalent in tertiary-level courses. This paper explores our students’ experience using one such system (MuPad) in first-year tertiary Engineering Mathematics and Mechanics courses. The effectiveness of graphical calculators and computer algebra systems in mathematical pedagogy has been investigated by a multitude of educational researchers (e.g. Ravaglia et al. 1998). Most of these studies found very small or no correlation between student use of graphical calculators or exposure to computer algebra systems with future achievement in mathematics courses (Buteau et al. 2010). In this paper we focus instead on students’ attitude towards a more advanced standalone computer algebra system (MuPad), and whether students’ inclination to use the system is indicative of their mathematical understanding. Paper describing some preliminary research into use of computer algebra systems for teaching engineering mathematics

Intellectual Property Management in Health and Agricultural Innovation: Executive Guide

Prepared by and for policy-makers, leaders of public sector research establishments, technology transfer professionals, licensing executives, and scientists, this online resource offers up-to-date information and strategies for utilizing the power of both intellectual property and the public domain. Emphasis is placed on advancing innovation in health and agriculture, though many of the principles outlined here are broadly applicable across technology fields. Eschewing ideological debates and general proclamations, the authors always keep their eye on the practical side of IP management. The site is based on a comprehensive Handbook and Executive Guide that provide substantive discussions and analysis of the opportunities awaiting anyone in the field who wants to put intellectual property to work. This multi-volume work contains 153 chapters on a full range of IP topics and over 50 case studies, composed by over 200 authors from North, South, East, and West. If you are a policymaker, a senior administrator, a technology transfer manager, or a scientist, we invite you to use the companion site guide available at http://www.iphandbook.org/index.html The site guide distills the key points of each IP topic covered by the Handbook into simple language and places it in the context of evolving best practices specific to your professional role within the overall picture of IP management

The Ethical Challenges of Community-Based CS Training at Portland State

This literature review investigates Service Learning, the Capstone program at Portland State University, and the CS version of that Capstone program in particular in order to evaluate the ethical issues surrounding them. To achieve this, this paper is split into a few sections. There is an explanation of Service Learning, and a brief overview of its history. Following that is a summary of the history of the Capstone Program at Portland State including a description of the CS Capstone program at Portland State. After that the paper investigates some of the legal challenges surrounding the use of free labor. Next, the paper will take a look at the open source movement, the status of Open Source software as a public good, and the degree to which it mitigates the ethical challenges involving free labor. The paper comes to the conclusion that there’s a need for advocates and practitioners of Service Learning and similar types of experimental learning to reflect on the ethics of these types of pedagogies, specifically on the obligations of the university and the other organizations involved towards the students. The paper also makes some suggestions as to how the CS Capstone at Portland State can be improved

Global Innovations in Measurement and Evaluation

We researched the latest developments in theory and practice in measurement and evaluation. And we found that new thinking, techniques, and technology are influencing and improving practice. This report highlights 8 developments that we think have the greatest potential to improve evaluation and programme design, and the careful collection and use of data. In it, we seek to inform and inspire—to celebrate what is possible, and encourage wider application of these ideas

GIS capacity building for risk management to help developing countries:Case of climate change problem in Amhara rural region (Ethiopia)

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.In the Ethiopian rural region of Amhara, variable atmospheric conditions and climate change are affecting the agricultural productivity and the consequences might be irreversible. However, scientific and technological advances nowadays can be more and more helpful to improve the situation. The purpose of the present work is to build the effective strategies that permit the utilization and integration of GIS technologies in the institutional and humanitarian works that are being carried out in the region. Our challenge will be to raise the geographical awareness and optimize the use of resources and tools in the region, involving the farmer communities as key stakeholders in the whole process. The work explains the first steps taken regarding the necessity of building GIS capacity for risk mapping, the data collection related to food security and the use of GIS technologies, being the training of the local staff the key point that leads to further steps such as the implementation of the mechanisms to share spatial information known as Spatial Data Infrastructures. By using SDI, combined with GIS software to access and manage the information, we may improve the understanding and interoperable utilization of geo-spatial data, and therefore contribute to the development of such a needy nation. All that, developed under the umbrella of an Inter-University Cooperation Program