scholarly journals Open source Software ADOPTION: an academic perspective

2014 ◽  
pp. 47-51
Author(s):  
Deepika Satyarajan ◽  
Vishwesh Akre
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Software Adoption ◽  
Systems Requirements

Open Source Software (OSS) is defined as a computer software that is freely provided and which permits users to use, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in a modified or an unmodified forms. OSS is developed in a highly social online environment where developers are dispersed in space and time, but rarely interact in a face-to-face manner. Literature in this field specifies many successful OSS implementations in Academic Institutions globally. Educational Institutions have diverse opinion on the academic use of OSS. The concept of open access and the proliferation of academic blogs have broken down many barriers in the educational sector. With the reference of studies conducted in various countries such as Switzerland, USA, Australia, UK etc., it can be said that there are two distinct views on the academic acceptance of OSS. One view is in favor of the use of OSS, while the other is hesitant about OSS thinking that it could suppress the creativity of individuals. OSS represents a social dimension of Learning through a Persistent, Unified, Massively Multi-User, and Self-Organizing Virtual Environment extending beyond the traditional classroom into the universities common areas where learners build knowledge and understanding through serendipitous and collaborative exchanges both within and across subject area boundaries. The digitization of education is a relatively new phenomenon but has already transformed the education sector .Most Educational Institutions are operated on a non-profit basis and many of them are government funded. Open Source Software’s are freely available on well-known OSS Project community providers such as www.SourceForge.net and hence can be implemented in Educational Institutions at no procurement costs. This research is an attempt to examine the differences between the implementation of OSS and Proprietary software’s in Educational Institutions. Findings of this study could facilitate Universities and Educational Institutions to evaluate the options of using OSS for their Information Technology or Information Systems requirements.

Adoption and Use of Open Source Infrastructure Software by Large Corporations

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
RadhaKanta Mahapatra ◽  
Rashid Manzar ◽  
Vikram S. Bhadauria
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Source Model ◽  
Early Adopter ◽  
Business Organizations ◽  
Adoption Decision ◽  
Software Adoption ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Large Corporations ◽  
Proprietary Product

Adoption and continuance of use of open source infrastructure software by large business organizations is not well understood. This study fills this gap in research by conducting a longitudinal investigation of the adoption and use of MySQL by two large corporations. One organization, an early adopter, adopted and used MySQL for several years before reverting back to a proprietary product. The other, a late adopter, made an initial adoption decision but didn't deploy it in mission critical applications. Interestingly, free software and freedom to access and modify the source code, the hallmark of the open source model, were not found to be significant in promoting adoption. In contrast, high quality maintenance support and timely product enhancement to keep up with user needs were considered critical for initial adoption and continued use of software. The study also demonstrates the need to investigate continuance of use to get a complete picture of open source software adoption and use by organizations.

Open Source in Government

2011 ◽  
pp. 1287-1290 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Berry
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
General Public ◽  
Source Code ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Free Software ◽  
Software Projects ◽  
Software Companies ◽  
Develop Software ◽  
Software Distribution

Open source software (OSS) is computer software that has its underlying source code made available under a licence. This can allow developers and users to adapt and improve it (Raymond, 2001). Computer software can be broadly split into two development models: • Proprietary, or closed software, owned by a company or individual. Copies of the binary are made public; the source code is not usually made public. • Open-source software (OSS), where the source code is released with the binary. Users and developers can be licenced to use and modify the code, and to distribute any improvements they make. Both OSS and proprietary approaches allow companies to make a profit. Companies developing proprietary software make money by developing software and then selling licences to use the software. For example, Microsoft receives a payment for every copy of Windows sold with a personal computer. OSS companies make their money by providing services, such as advising clients on the GPL licence. The licencee can either charge a fee for this service or work free of charge. In practice, software companies often develop both types of software. OSS is developed by an ongoing, iterative process where people share the ideas expressed in the source code. The aim is that a large community of developers and users can contribute to the development of the code, check it for errors and bugs, and make the improved version available to others. Project management software is used to allow developers to keep track of the various versions. There are two main types of open-source licences (although there are many variants and subtypes developed by other companies): • Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) Licence: This permits a licencee to “close” a version (by withholding the most recent modifications to the source code) and sell it as a proprietary product; • GNU General Public Licence (GNU, GPL, or GPL): Under this licence, licencees may not “close” versions. The licencee may modify, copy, and redistribute any derivative version, under the same GPL licence. The licencee can either charge a fee for this service or work free of charge. Free software first evolved during the 1970s but in the 1990s forked into two movements, namely free software and open source (Berry, 2004). Richard Stallman, an American software developer who believes that sharing source code and ideas is fundamental to freedom of speech, developed a free version of the widely used Unix operating system. The resulting GNU program was released under a specially created General Public Licence (GNU, GPL). This was designed to ensure that the source code would remain openly available to all. It was not intended to prevent commercial usage or distribution (Stallman, 2002). This approach was christened free software. In this context, free meant that anyone could modify the software. However, the term “free” was often misunderstood to mean no cost. Hence, during the 1990s, Eric Raymond and others proposed that open-source software was coined as a less contentious and more business-friendly term. This has become widely accepted within the software and business communities; however there are still arguments about the most appropriate term to use (Moody, 2002). The OSMs are usually organised into a network of individuals who work collaboratively on the Internet, developing major software projects that sometimes rival commercial software but are always committed to the production of quality alternatives to those produced by commercial companies (Raymond, 2001; Williams, 2002). Groups and individuals develop software to meet their own and others’ needs in a highly decentralised way, likened to a Bazaar (Raymond, 2001). These groups often make substantive value claims to support their projects and foster an ethic of community, collaboration, deliberation, and intellectual freedom. In addition, it is argued by Lessig (1999) that the FLOSS community can offer an inspiration in their commitment to transparency in their products and their ability to open up governmental regulation and control through free/libre and open source code.

Open Source Software Adoption

2009 ◽  
pp. 1675-1698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Software Adoption ◽  
Public Sector Organization ◽  
Desktop Application ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Over Time

Current estimates suggest widespread adoption of open source software (OSS) in organizations worldwide. However, the problematic nature of OSS adoption is readily evidenced in the fairly frequent reports of problems, unforeseen hold-ups, and outright abandonment of OSS implementation over time. Hibernia Hospital, an Irish public sector organization, have embarked on the adoption of a range of OSS applications over several years, some of which have been successfully deployed and remain in live use within the organisation, whereas others, despite achieving high levels of assimilation over a number of years, have not been ultimately retained in live use in the organization. Using a longitudinal case study, we discuss in depth the deployment process for two OSS applications – the desktop application suite whose deployment was unsuccessful ultimately, and the email application which was successfully deployed. To our knowledge, this is the first such in-depth study into successful and unsuccessful OSS implementation.

The context and state of open source software adoption in US academic libraries

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 641-659
Author(s):  
Namjoo Choi ◽  
Joseph A. Pruett
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Chief Information Officers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Software Adoption ◽  
Current State ◽  
Funding Agencies ◽  
Low Levels

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify barriers and drivers to open source software (OSS) adoption, and measures awareness and adoption stages of OSS in US academic libraries. Design/methodology/approach An online survey of chief information officers, chief technology officers or heads for IT in US academic libraries was conducted. A total number of 179 responses were used for data analysis. Findings From the survey, the authors identify significant barriers and drivers that US academic libraries may consider before adopting OSS and found that awareness itself is not a barrier. While about half of respondents confirmed using OSS, the authors found surprisingly low levels of intent to adopt from current non-adopters. Practical implications This research offers insights for promoting OSS adoption. Also, it provides funding agencies and administrators with guidelines to encourage successful deployment of OSS in higher education. Originality/value While extant research is mostly anecdotal, this research draws from an online survey to snap-shot the current state of OSS adoption in US academic libraries and provides a baseline for practice and research.

scholarly journals A review of Open Source Software and Open Source Movement in Developing Countries

2011 ◽  
pp. 91-95
Author(s):  
Shyamalendu Kandar ◽  
Sourav Mondal ◽  
Palash Ray
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Source Code ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Free Software ◽  
Commercial Software ◽  
Large Organization ◽  
Software License ◽  
Indian Perspective

Open-source software abbreviated as OSS is computer software that is available with source code and is provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, and improve the software. For the commercial software the source code and certain other rights are normally reserved for copyright holders,i.e. the company who developes the software. A group of people in a collaborative manner often developes the Open source software, not under the roof of a large organization. This strategy makes open source software cheap, reliable and modifiable if needed. In this context we shall discuss mainly the features of Open Source Software, differences of open source and free software and open source software movement in Indian perspective.

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