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Full-Text Articles in Science and Technology Studies

Brooks' Versus Linus' Law: An Empirical Test Of Open Source Projects, Charles M. Schweik, Robert English Oct 2007

Brooks' Versus Linus' Law: An Empirical Test Of Open Source Projects, Charles M. Schweik, Robert English

National Center for Digital Government

Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FOSS) projects are Internet-based collaborations consisting of volunteers and paid professionals who come together to create computer software...


Reflections Of An Online Geographic Information Systems Course Based On Open Source Software, Charles M. Schweik, Maria Fernandez, Michael P. Hamel, Prakash Kashwan, Quentin Lewis, Alexander Stepanov Oct 2007

Reflections Of An Online Geographic Information Systems Course Based On Open Source Software, Charles M. Schweik, Maria Fernandez, Michael P. Hamel, Prakash Kashwan, Quentin Lewis, Alexander Stepanov

National Center for Digital Government

This SSCORE report summarizes our experience offering an online introductory course on Geographic Information Systems that utilizes available free/libre and open source software (FOSS). Two primary objectives were to (1) reach students in developing countries, and (2) to help move forward the development of an “open content” GIS curriculum as part of the “Open Source Geospatial Foundation” (OSGeo.org) educational effort. Course design, key software (QGIS, GRASS, PostGresql/PostGIS) and online delivery methods are described. Results and factors leading to a low course completion rate and discussed. Contributing factors include: (1) a for-credit versus no-credit decision; and (2) technical issues. Recommendations for …


Better Public Services For Growth And Jobs, Jane E. Fountain Oct 2007

Better Public Services For Growth And Jobs, Jane E. Fountain

National Center for Digital Government

No abstract provided.


Increasing Social Capital For Disaster Response Through Social Networking Services (Sns) In Japanese Local Governments, Alexander Schellong Aug 2007

Increasing Social Capital For Disaster Response Through Social Networking Services (Sns) In Japanese Local Governments, Alexander Schellong

National Center for Digital Government

Researchers have argued that social networks within a community have positive effects on people’s behavior in the four stages of disaster. The Japanese government is testing Social Networking Service (SNS) at the municipal level with the intention to improve community building, democratic processes and disaster management. This paper presents results from two case studies of local SNS in Yatsushiro city, Kumamoto prefecture and Nagaoka city, Niigata prefecture. While the Yatsushiro’s solution seems to be sustainable, Nagaoka’s SNS is in decline. Both have to compete with popular SNS like Mixi and lack critical mass. Based on the reviewed literature I discuss …


Tragedy Of The Foss Commons? Investigating The Institutional Designs Of Free/Libre And Open Source Software Projects, Charles M. Schweik, Robert English Feb 2007

Tragedy Of The Foss Commons? Investigating The Institutional Designs Of Free/Libre And Open Source Software Projects, Charles M. Schweik, Robert English

National Center for Digital Government

Free/Libre and Open Source Software projects (FOSS) are a form of Internetbased commons. Since 1968, when Garrett Hardin published his famous article “Tragedy of the Commons” in the journal Science, there has been significant interest in understanding how to manage commons appropriately, particularly in environmental fields. An important distinction between natural resource commons and FOSS commons is that the “tragedy” to be avoided in natural resources is overharvesting and the potential destruction of the resource. In FOSS commons the “tragedy” to be avoided is project abandonment and a “dead” project. Institutions – defined as informal norms, more formalized rules, and …


Identifying Success And Tragedy Of Floss Commons: A Preliminary Classification Of Sourceforge.Net Projects, Robert English, Charles M. Schweik Feb 2007

Identifying Success And Tragedy Of Floss Commons: A Preliminary Classification Of Sourceforge.Net Projects, Robert English, Charles M. Schweik

National Center for Digital Government

Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) projects are a form of commons where individuals work collectively to produce software that is a public, rather than a private, good. The famous phrase “Tragedy of the Commons” describes a situation where a natural resource commons, such as a pasture, or a water supply, gets depleted because of overuse. The tragedy in FLOSS commons is distinctly different -- it occurs when collective action ceases before a software product is produced or reaches its full potential. This paper builds on previous work about defining success in FLOSS projects by taking a collective action perspective. …


The Digital Divide Metaphor: Understanding Paths To It Literacy, Enrico Ferro, Natalie C. Helbig, J. Ramon Gil-Garci Jan 2007

The Digital Divide Metaphor: Understanding Paths To It Literacy, Enrico Ferro, Natalie C. Helbig, J. Ramon Gil-Garci

National Center for Digital Government

Not having access or having a disadvantaged access to information, in an information-based society may be considered as a handicap (Compaine, 2001). In the last two decades scholars have gradually refined the conceptualization of digital divide, moving from a dichotomous model mainly based on access to a multidimensional model accounting for differences in usage levels and perspectives. While models became more complex, research continued to mainly focus on deepening the understanding of demographic and socioeconomic differences between adopters and non-adopters. In doing so, the process of basic IT skills acquisition has been largely overlooked. This paper presents a metaphorical interpretation …


An Inside Look At Rfid Technology, Linda Castro, Samuel Fosso Wamba Jan 2007

An Inside Look At Rfid Technology, Linda Castro, Samuel Fosso Wamba

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is considered one of the "hottest" technologies due to its particular capabilities to track and trace in real-time objects across the extended supply chain. This article gives an inside look at the RFID world in order to improve the level of understanding of this technology and the EPC Network. An introduction to RFID's systems, RFID's potential to improve the efficiency of operations, different areas of application, as well as a roadmap approach to undertake an RFID implementation will be discussed in this article.


Integrating Rfid Technology And Epc Network Into A B2b Retail Supply Chain: A Step Toward Intelligent Business Processes, Samuel Fosso Wamba, Louis A. Lefebvre, Elisabeth Lefebvre Jan 2007

Integrating Rfid Technology And Epc Network Into A B2b Retail Supply Chain: A Step Toward Intelligent Business Processes, Samuel Fosso Wamba, Louis A. Lefebvre, Elisabeth Lefebvre

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This article introduces RFID technology and the EPC Network and investigates their potential for B-to-B eCommerce supply chain management. Based on empirical data gathered from four tightly interrelated firms from three layers of a supply chain, several scenarios integrating RFID and the EPC Network have been tested and evaluated. In the context of warehousing activities in one specific retail supply chain, the results indicate that i) the business process approach seems quite appropriate to capture the real potential of RFID and the EPC Network; ii) RFID technology and the EPC Network can improve the "shipping" and the "receiving" processes; iii) …