A free boundary problem arising in a model for shallow water entry at small deadrise angles

A free boundary problem arising in a model for inviscid, incompressible shallow water entry at small deadrise angles is derived and analysed. The relationship between this novel free boundary problem and the well-known viscous squeeze film problem is described. An inverse method is used to construct explicit solutions for certain body profiles and to find criteria under which the splash sheet can `split'. A variational inequality formulation, conservation of certain generalized moments and the Schwarz function formulation are introduced

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

Sustaining scientific infrastructures: transitioning from grants to peer production (work-in-progress)

Science now relies on mid-level infrastructure, including shared instruments, cell lines, supercomputing resources, data sets, and software components. These are beyond the facilities and services traditionally provided by individual universities; funding agencies such as the NSF often support their initial creation but their long-term sustainability is a challenge and commercialization is only rarely an option. A promising model, though, is broad-based community support through peer production, often inspired by the organization of open source software projects. Such transitions, though, are not automatic or easy, just as commercialization is not. In this research I am studying successful and unsuccessful attempts to transition, building theory and practical guidance for scientists and funding agencies. In this work-in-progress paper, I present the motivation and background for the study and provide motivation through preliminary description of my first case study.ye

eSocialScience for Free/Libre Open Source Software Researchers

This abstract presents a case study of the potential application of eScience tools and practices for the social science research community studying Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development practices. We first describe the practice of research on FLOSS to motivate the need for eScience. After outlining suitable public data sources, we describe our initial efforts to introduce eScience tools for FLOSS research, potential obstacles and how the use of such tools might affect the practice of research in this field

Measuring Potential User Interest and Active User Base in FLOSS Projects

This paper presents a novel method and algorithm to measure the size of an open source project\u27s user base and the level of potential user interest that it generates. Previously unavailable download data at a daily resolution confirms hypothesized patterns related to release cycles. In short, regular users rapidly download the software after a new release giving a way to measure the active user base. In contrast, potential new users download the application independently of the release cycle, and the daily download figures tend to plateau at this rate when a release has not been made for some time. An algorithm for estimating these measures from download time series is demonstrated and the measures are examined over time in two open source projects

Validity Issues in the Use of Social Network Analysis with Digital Trace Data

There is an exciting natural match between social network analysis methods and the growth of data sources produced by social interactions via information technologies, from online communities to corporate information systems. Information Systems researchers have not been slow to embrace this combination of method and data. Such systems increasingly provide “digital trace data” that provide new research opportunities. Yet digital trace data are substantively different from the survey and interview data for which network analysis measures and interpretations were originally developed. This paper examines 10 validity issues associated with the combination of digital trace data and social network analysis methods, with examples from the IS literature, to provide recommendations for improving the validity of future research

Digital Technologies and Patterns of Distributed Innovation

In this conceptual essay we develop a framework for comparing different forms of organizational structures for distributed, innovative work. To develop this framework we identify two dimensions. The first distinguishes between organizational arrangements that are structured either in relation to a “container” organization, or those arrangements that are structured by the digital platforms upon which their ecosystems are based. The second dimension considers the degree to which the boundary spanning activity is more or less opaque, in terms of the degree to which collaborators interact in either an arm’s length or a tightly coupled fashion. In developing and reflecting on this framework, we characterize four ideal types of organizational structures for distributed innovation: agent relationships; work teams; managed crowds; or open projects. We further utilize the framework to theorize about processes that might lead to transitions between structures

Group Maintenance in Technology-Supported Distributed Teams

Are geographically-distributed teams which exhibit high levels of group maintenance between members successful? We answer this through content analysis of emails from two Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) teams. Our results illustrate that the groups utilize low levels of organizational citizenship behaviors and high levels of positive politeness actions

Open Source Software Field Research: Spanning Social and Practice Networks for Re-Entering the Field

Sociotechnical research increasingly includes the social sub-networks that emerge from large-scale sociotechnical infrastructure, including the infrastructure for building open source software. This paper addresses these numerous sub-networks as advantageous for researchers. It provides a methodological synthesis focusing on how researchers can best span adjacent social sub-networks during engaged field research. Specifically, we describe practices and artifacts that aid movement from one social subsystem within a more extensive technical infrastructure to another. To surface the importance of spanning sub-networks, we incorporate a discussion of social capital and the role of technical infrastructure in its development for sociotechnical researchers. We then characterize a five-step process for spanning social sub-networks during engaged field research: commitment, context mapping, jargon competence, returning value, and bridging. We then present our experience studying corporate open source software projects and the role of that experience in accelerating our work in open source scientific software research as described through the lens of bridging social capital. Based on our analysis, we offer recommendations for engaging in fieldwork in adjacent social sub-networks that share a technical context and discussion of how the relationship between social and technically acquired social capital is a missing but critical methodological dimension for research on large-scale sociotechnical research