Open Source Initiative Research Articles

Gaining competitive advantage in a knowledge‐based economy through the utilization of open source software

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to educate the knowledge worker on the benefits of using open source software, and to demonstrate how open source methodology promotes the collaborative and innovative attributes of knowledge management.Design/methodology/approachThe author lists the open source initiative's definition for open source products, licensing information, the value of open source in a global economy, misconceived barriers to open source adoption, a functional comparison of open source and commercial software products, and web sites where open source products may be obtained.FindingsOpen source usage is prevalent throughout the world for governmental, business, educational, military, and space exploration purposes. Notwithstanding, some commercial enterprises such as the Microsoft Corporation have viewed the open source movement as a threat to profitability, citing alleged intellectual property infringement violations. However, other commercial entities such as IBM, Oracle, Novell, and Apple computer have embraced open source technology to conduct business operations as well as satisfy customer needs. Public appeal for open source products has been strong enough for Microsoft, through a recent public statement, to disclose that the firm wishes to “build a bridge” with the open source community, an apparent realization that open source is here to stay. The knowledge worker should understand that commercial and open source applications may coexist in the same IT environment.Originality/valueA knowledge enterprise's total cost of ownership (TCO) can be significantly reduced through the use of open source software, resulting in an improvement to overall performance attributed to the collaborative and innovative nature of the open source model. Enterprises can benefit by taking a closer look at how open source technology helps to meet organizational goals and objectives in the most efficient and effective manner available.

The governance of open source initiatives: what does it mean to be community managed?

The concept of ‘open source’ software initially referred to software projects managed by grassroots communities in public forums. Since 1998, the concept has been adapted and diffused to new settings that extend beyond software. While the open source community has maintained control over which software licenses can be considered ‘open source’, little attention has been paid to the elements that constitute community management. More private parties now contribute to OSS communities and more hybrid governance models have emerged. Before we can understand how hybrid models differ from a community managed model, a more precise definition is needed. This essay takes a step in this direction by identifying five core principles critical to community-managed governance.

C4-Substituted Isoquinolines: Synthesis and Cytotoxic Action

C4-Substituted Isoquinolines: Synthesis and Cytotoxic Action

The Emergence of Open-Source Software in China

The open-source software movement is gaining increasing momentum in China. Of the limited numbers of open-source software in China, Red Flag Linux stands out most strikingly, commanding 30 percent share of Chinese software market. Unlike the spontaneity of open-source movement in North America, open-source software development in China, such as Red Flag Linux, is an orchestrated activity wherein different levels of government play a vital role in sponsoring, incubating, and using open-source software, most conspicuously, Red Flag Linux. While there are no reports on open-source course management system in China, there are reports on the study and use of Western open-source course management systems for instruction and learning in Chinese higher education institutions. This paper discusses the current status of open-source software in China, including open-source course management software and associated tools and resources. Importantly, it describes the development model of Red Flag Linux, the most successful open-source software initiative in China. In addition, it explores the possibility of Chinese higher education institutions joining efforts to develop China’s own open-source course management system using the open-source development model established in North America. A timeline of major open-source projects of significance underway in China is provided. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential for applying the open-source software development model to open and distance education in China.

The association between the proximal extension of the clot and the severity of pulmonary embolism (PE): a proposal for a new radiological score for PE

The aim of the study was to investigate the association between the proximal level of the clot and the severity of pulmonary embolism (PE). The cohort consisted of 99 consecutive patients with PE diagnosed by multi-detector computed tomography. A new score was constructed by calculating the mean value of the largest affected vessel [sub-segmental = 1, segmental = 2, lobar = 3, main pulmonary artery (MPA) = 4] in each lung. A significant association was found between the most proximal level of PE and pulmonary artery obstruction index (PAOI) (P < 0.0001), right ventricular (RV)/left ventricular (LV) ratio (P < 0.0001), and PaO(2) (P = 0.004). No significant association was found between systolic blood pressure and the level of PE. Troponin-T was elevated in none of the sub-segmental, 5% of segmental, 20% of lobar, and in 56% of PEs in the MPA (P = 0.001). Significant association was found between the proposed score and PAOI (P < 0.0001), RV/LV ratio (P < 0.0001), PaO(2) (P < 0.008). Troponin-T was elevated in 10% of level 1, 0% of level 2, 43% level of 3, 66% of level 4 PE (P < 0.0001). Cut-off level score 4 yielded a sensitivity of 84% and a specificity of 74% for the detection of elevated troponin-T. In conclusion, the study indicates that both the most proximal level of PE and the proposed score are related to the severity of PE as determined by blood oxygenation, biochemical and radiological parameters and could therefore be of value for rapid risk stratification of PE. However, the prognostic value of these classifications and their clinical significance needs to be evaluated in properly designed studies.

Biomedics and Creative Commons: a perfect match?

Biomedics is one of the most important new research fields. The development of drugs and health care is of major importance for the general public. To create more openness and to promote development, Open Source initiatives from the ICT domain have been applied to biomedics. There are however certain problems arising, especially if commercial companies are invited to join the projects. This paper aims at identifying the problems that occur as a result of the tension between traditional proprietary regimes and new approaches such as Open Source and also tries to give a starting point for solving the issues.

E&amp;P information management: beyond Web portals

Jamie Cruise and Ugur Algan of Volantice review the effectiveness of current information management (IT) systems for the E&amp;P and predict changes which will come from focusing on businesss process modelling and software advances from outside the E&amp;P sector. As knowledge workers, we recognize that the outcome of a project will be impacted by how effectively we are able to gather relevant data and feed these data into the variety of computer applications that underpin our work. However, most of us would rather focus our efforts on the primary goals of the projects we work on, which are dependent on our analysis and design skills, rather than the mundane business of Information Management (IM). Unfortunately, the history of the E&amp;P business shows that the IM burden is increasing rather than decreasing for information managers as well as end users, even though a number of new productivity tools have been introduced over the past decade. This situation adversely affects the effectiveness of E&amp;P teams and the quality of their decisions. A number of factors contribute to this increase in the IM burden: ■ Increase in volume and diversity of available information: real-time drilling operations and production monitoring data; smart wells; 4D &amp; 4C seismic; pre-stack seismic; multi-scenario projects with stochastic models, simulation, and optimization. ■ An increasing gap between existing IM standards and best practices, and the IM needs of newly introduced, widelyadopted, innovative tools and applications ■ A tighter regulatory environment leading to an increased need to audit our processes for compliance (e.g. Sarbanes- Oxley, Basel II, IFRS etc.). We must be able to identify the provenance of every piece of knowledge, information and data that supports our key decisions ■ Continued consolidation of operating companies, resulting in major challenges to resolve differences in technical platforms, skills, culture, and IM practices across previously disparate groups. ■ A change in demographics, leading to a shortage of skilled and experienced resources, resulting in increased pressure to preserve and disseminate corporate knowledge. In this article, we explore opportunities for innovations that may solve the dual problems of delivering information to our geoscientists, engineers, and managers, as well as capturing the results of their work in a way that allows easy re-use in other contexts. We discuss the use of business process modelling (BPM), which we believe will be an integral part of these future solutions. BPM drives the flow of information through the enterprise according to the needs of the endusers rather than forcing the users to adapt their processes to fit with convoluted IM systems. Furthermore, we believe that these innovations will be spurred on by advances in software developed and deployed by the broader (non-E&amp;P) business community. The emergence of freely available enterprise class infrastructure and end-user components (such as Linux and other open source initiatives) should signal a further move away from proprietary technology for E&amp;P systems. Of particular interest is the widespread acceptance of service oriented architecture (SOA) as the dominant approach for constructing dynamic, process-oriented systems that combine data and functionality from a variety of widely distributed sources.

Design of Collaborative Learning Environments: bridging the gap between CSCL theories and Open Source Platforms

Starting with the assumption that collaborative learning and working will occupy a strategic role in undergraduate, post-graduate and life-long education as well as in collaborative, fl exible and distant working, in this paper we present a refl ection on how to reduce the gap between constructivist and CSCL/W theories and practices, and open source initiatives for e-learning in universities. The main goal, beyond the production of technologies, is to put forward research directions and to stimulate instructional designers to closely work with open source researchers and developers. In this paper we present a synthetic selection of collaborative features that are usually included in CSCL/W environments but are missing in e-learning platforms. Thereafter, we propose the design and implementation of some of the more relevant features in a very well known open source e-learning platform (Moodle). Finally, we discuss the potentialities and critical aspects of Moodle as a possible solution to the need for the dissemination of collaborative learning experiences in Higher Education contexts

(originally published in December 1998)

(originally published in December 1998)

The Application of Learning Theories to the Design of Course Management Systems

IntroductionCourse management systems (CMSs) are systems that provide facilities for teachers and students to engage in teaching and learning activities online by helping to manage various functions like course content preparation and delivery, communication, assessment, administrative functions and collaboration (Ellis, 2001; Nichani, 2001). Other terms have also been used to describe CMSs: online learning environment, virtual learning environment and course-in-a-box (Collis & De Boer 2004). A review of the list of CMSs available at www.edutools.info shows that CMSs are designed with various levels of functionalities but the primary role remains to facilitate interactions between teachers and students.No matter what they are called, CMSs are increasingly used by institutions of higher learning around the world (Sausner, 2005), so much so that they are the 'face' of e-learning for many in these institutions. CMSs are built both by business entities, which charge for their products, and under open source initiatives, which normally provide the products for free. But how much learning is there in these products? Hubscher and Frizell (2002) argue that CMSs provide little or no support for the effective design of web-based instruction.It is tempting to point to the fact that these products are only tools to help teachers and it is up to them to make effective use of these tools. This is the line of argument used by Carmean and Haefner (2002): CMS[s] do not provide a pedagogical platform any more than chalk, chairs, and tables provide the classroom learning experience.. This kind of argument sadly misses the important and obvious fact: CMSs are very different from chairs and tables. They are an environment for learning, normally embedded within a larger environment - the web - which itself offers much potential for teachers and learners. If we are to stick with the analogy of chairs, it would make sense to ask what if the builder of the chairs did not take into account how people sit, but only the materials and the builder's carpentry skills. Do we go ahead and tell the users (teachers and students) that it does not matter how the chair is designed as long as you learn how to sit on it? Such an argument would be a boon for commercial CMS developers because, as long as they can come up with new features and 'improvements' without taking into account how people learn (even when the point of their products is learning), business is assured. On the bright side, there are open source CMSs like Moodle which claim to be grounded in social constructivism.This paper argues that learning should be central to the design of a CMS, although various requirements from teachers, institutions and students themselves would mean that there would be other factors to take into account when designing a CMS. The paper suggests design features that could be incorporated into a CMS based on the three major theories of learning: behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism. It does so in a concrete manner, keeping in mind what is already possible with technology today. This is more useful in the long run than presenting the features in abstract terms that do not help with the implementation of such features. This paper represents an initial part of a PhD project that aims to create a learning-driven CMS specifically for language learning and teaching.BehaviourismMuch maligned, often misunderstood and simplified in a postmodernist world, behaviourism nevertheless remains influential in educational practices (Burton, Moore & Magliaro, 1996; Kozloff, 1998; Smith-Gratto, 2000). Various models of instruction have their roots in behaviourism such as the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), Mastery Learning, Direct Instruction and other 'explicit teaching' models and practices (Rosenshine, 1986).Early computer-assisted instruction programs are heavily influenced by behaviourist practices, not surprisingly since they appear during a period dominated by behaviourism. …

Open Content Communities

Open Content Communities

Editing and the Crisis of Open Source

Editing and the Crisis of Open Source

Treadmill Culture

Treadmill Culture