Managing Technologies and Automated Library Systems in Developing Countries: Open Source vs Commercial Options


Book Description

The theme of this meeting was the management of technologies in the context of developing countries, and in the light of recent developments concerning especially open source software and applications. Speakers from various countries debated in English and in French over the importance of changing the rules concerning library management systems, as well as related implications. Results show that open source software might be a solution, although some conditions apply. Réunis sous le thème de la gestion des systèmes automatisés de bibliothèques dans les pays en développement, conférenciers et participants discutèrent des changements récents dans ce domaine, notamment de l'apport des logiciels à code source ouvert. Les conférenciers, provenant de différents pays, présentèrent en anglais et en français leurs différents points de vue et expériences sur cette question importante pour l'avenir, de même que sur les implications qui y sont liées. Les résultats démontrent que les logiciels à code source ouverts peuvent être une solution, mais à certaines conditions.





Book Description




Access to Knowledge for Consumers


Book Description

Information Program grantee Consumers International has released the results of a global survey designed to expose the obstacles consumers face in gaining access to education and cultural materials. The survey was conducted in 13 languages, covering 15,000 consumers across 24 countries. The survey found that "The biggest barriers that consumers face in accessing copyright works are those created by copyright law. Even so, consumers around the world will choose original copyright works over pirated copies, provided that they are available at an affordable price." While borrowing from libraries and other cultural institutions provided a viable alternative for some consumers priced out of original copyrighted works, the survey found that, particularly in developing countries, "access to libraries is limited and the works they carry are few." Although the authors of the survey saw "copyleft" initiatives like Open Educational Resources and Free and Open Source Software as great ways to help consumers vault access barriers, they concluded that governments needed to act "to address consumers' needs for lower cost original materials to buy, borrow and access online." The survey forms the first two chapters of Consumers International's new report Access to Knowledge for Consumers: Reports of Campaigns and Research 2008-2010"--Publisher description.




Open Sources 2.0


Book Description

Open Sources 2.0 is a collection of insightful and thought-provoking essays from today's technology leaders that continues painting the evolutionary picture that developed in the 1999 book Open Sources: Voices from the Revolution . These essays explore open source's impact on the software industry and reveal how open source concepts are infiltrating other areas of commerce and society. The essays appeal to a broad audience: the software developer will find thoughtful reflections on practices and methodology from leading open source developers like Jeremy Allison and Ben Laurie, while the business executive will find analyses of business strategies from the likes of Sleepycat co-founder and CEO Michael Olson and Open Source Business Conference founder Matt Asay. From China, Europe, India, and Brazil we get essays that describe the developing world's efforts to join the technology forefront and use open source to take control of its high tech destiny. For anyone with a strong interest in technology trends, these essays are a must-read. The enduring significance of open source goes well beyond high technology, however. At the heart of the new paradigm is network-enabled distributed collaboration: the growing impact of this model on all forms of online collaboration is fundamentally challenging our modern notion of community. What does the future hold? Veteran open source commentators Tim O'Reilly and Doc Searls offer their perspectives, as do leading open source scholars Steven Weber and Sonali Shah. Andrew Hessel traces the migration of open source ideas from computer technology to biotechnology, and Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger and Slashdot co-founder Jeff Bates provide frontline views of functioning, flourishing online collaborative communities. The power of collaboration, enabled by the internet and open source software, is changing the world in ways we can only begin to imagine.Open Sources 2.0 further develops the evolutionary picture that emerged in the original Open Sources and expounds on the transformative open source philosophy. "This is a wonderful collection of thoughts and examples bygreat minds from the free software movement, and is a must have foranyone who follows free software development and project histories." --Robin Monks, Free Software Magazine The list of contributors include Alolita Sharma Andrew Hessel Ben Laurie Boon-Lock Yeo Bruno Souza Chris DiBona Danese Cooper Doc Searls Eugene Kim Gregorio Robles Ian Murdock Jeff Bates Jeremy Allison Jesus M. Gonzalez-Barahona Kim Polese Larry Sanger Louisa Liu Mark Stone Mark Stone Matthew N. Asay Michael Olson Mitchell Baker Pamela Jones Robert Adkins Russ Nelson Sonali K. Shah Stephen R. Walli Steven Weber Sunil Saxena Tim O'Reilly Wendy Seltzer







Research Anthology on Usage and Development of Open Source Software


Book Description

The quick growth of computer technology and development of software caused it to be in a constant state of change and advancement. This advancement in software development meant that there would be many types of software developed in order to excel in usability and efficiency. Among these different types of software was open source software, one that grants permission for users to use, study, change, and distribute it freely. Due to its availability, open source software has quickly become a valuable asset to the world of computer technology and across various disciplines including education, business, and library science. The Research Anthology on Usage and Development of Open Source Software presents comprehensive research on the design and development of open source software as well as the ways in which it is used. The text discusses in depth the way in which this computer software has been made into a collaborative effort for the advancement of software technology. Discussing topics such as ISO standards, big data, fault prediction, open collaboration, and software development, this anthology is essential for computer engineers, software developers, IT specialists and consultants, instructors, librarians, managers, executives, professionals, academicians, researchers, and students.




FIDI R740 (Bi)


Book Description

This document contains the Report and papers presented at the Regional Workshop on Networking for Improved Access to Fisheries and Aquaculture Information in Africa, which was held in Grahamstown, South Africa, from 3 to 7 November 2003. Eighteen participants from Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Seychelles and South Africa attended the Workshop and presented papers. Fisheries library networking activities were reviewed as a basis for planning future collaboration to improve access to fisheries information and to promote information resources sharing. The summary of priority issues includes improved dissemination of African fisheries publications, full-text online fisheries journals, open source software, network focal points, the use of standard methodologies to enhance information exchange and technology for document delivery. The long-term goal of the network is to strengthen the information capacity at national fisheries institutions in Africa.--Publisher's description.




Open Source Systems: Long-Term Sustainability


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International IFIP WG 2.13 Conference on Open Source Systems, OSS 2012, held in Hammamet, Tunisia, in September 2012. The 15 revised full papers presented together with 17 lightning talks, 2 tool demonstration papers, 6 short industry papers, 5 posters and 2 workshop papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 63 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on collaboration and forks in OSS projects, community issues, open education and peer-production models, integration and architecture, business ecosystems, adoption and evolution of OSS, OSS quality, OSS in different domains, product development, and industrial experiences.




The Handbook of Peer Production


Book Description

The definitive reference work with comprehensive analysis and review of peer production Peer production is no longer the sole domain of small groups of technical or academic elites. The internet has enabled millions of people to collectively produce, revise, and distribute everything from computer operating systems and applications to encyclopedia articles and film and television databases. Today, peer production has branched out to include wireless networks, online currencies, biohacking, and peer-to-peer urbanism, amongst others. The Handbook of Peer Production outlines central concepts, examines current and emerging areas of application, and analyzes the forms and principles of cooperation that continue to impact multiple areas of production and sociality. Featuring contributions from an international team of experts in the field, this landmark work maps the origins and manifestations of peer production, discusses the factors and conditions that are enabling, advancing, and co-opting peer production, and considers its current impact and potential consequences for the social order. Detailed chapters address the governance, political economy, and cultures of peer production, user motivations, social rules and norms, the role of peer production in social change and activism, and much more. Filling a gap in available literature as the only extensive overview of peer production’s modes of generating informational goods and services, this groundbreaking volume: Offers accessible, up-to-date information to both specialists and non-specialists across academia, industry, journalism, and public advocacy Includes interviews with leading practitioners discussing the future of peer production Discusses the history, traditions, key debates, and pioneers of peer production Explores technologies for peer production, openness and licensing, peer learning, open design and manufacturing, and free and open-source software The Handbook of Peer Production is an indispensable resource for students, instructors, researchers, and professionals working in fields including communication studies, science and technology studies, sociology, and management studies, as well as those interested in the network information economy, the public domain, and new forms of organization and networking.




Common


Book Description

Around the globe, contemporary protest movements are contesting the oligarchic appropriation of natural resources, public services, and shared networks of knowledge and communication. These struggles raise the same fundamental demand and rest on the same irreducible principle: the common. In this exhaustive account, Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval show how the common has become the defining principle of alternative political movements in the 21st century. In societies deeply shaped by neoliberal rationality, the common is increasingly invoked as the operative concept of practical struggles creating new forms of democratic governance. In a feat of analytic clarity, Dardot and Laval dissect and synthesize a vast repository on the concept of the commons, from the fields of philosophy, political theory, economics, legal theory, history, theology, and sociology. Instead of conceptualizing the common as an essence of man or as inherent in nature, the thread developed by Dardot and Laval traces the active lives of human beings: only a practical activity of commoning can decide what will be shared in common and what rules will govern the common's citizen-subjects. This re-articulation of the common calls for nothing less than the institutional transformation of society by society: it calls for a revolution.