Open Source Software Adoption Research Articles

Unveiling the Potential of Open-Source Software Integration in Education: Advantages, Challenges, and Effective Strategies

This paper examines the adoption of open-source software (OSS) in educational institutions, focusing on its benefits, challenges, and best practices. Through a comprehensive analysis of current trends and practices, the study sheds light on the advantages of using OSS in educational settings, including cost savings, flexibility, and enhanced collaboration. Additionally, it explores the challenges faced by institutions when implementing OSS solutions, such as compatibility issues and support concerns. Furthermore, the paper identifies best practices for successful OSS adoption in education, including effective training programs, community engagement, and strategic planning. By synthesizing these insights, the research aims to provide valuable guidance for educational institutions seeking to leverage OSS to improve teaching and learning outcomes.

Analyzing the Institutionalization of Free and Open Source Software Adoption in Tanzanian Higher Education Institutions

Free and open-source software (FOSS) are viable alternatives to pricey proprietary software due to their low total cost of ownership (TCO). They are predicted to have a bright future because of their advanced technologies in service delivery. Despite the availability of FOSS adoption studies, public discourse as well as information and communication technology (ICT) policies, FOSS applications are inadequately adopted in Tanzanian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) due to lack of institutionalization. This finding poses a need for examining the institutionalization status. Institutionalization occurs when FOSS adoption and use becomes a standard practice. This study analyses the institutionalization of FOSS adoption by examining the national and selected universities’ ICT policies and observing the evolution of public discourse towards FOSS by examining multiple articles. The study adopted a systematic literature review and was guided by an analytical framework that triangulated new institutional theory, the underlying concept of organizing vision, and rhetorical diffusion theory. The findings show that, although there are sporadic use of FOSS in some Tanzanian HEIs, FOSS adoption is generally not institutionalized. As a result, the study recommends adjustments in preparation of ICT policies, making adoption of FOSS part of organizational strategic plans for them to enjoy decision-makers’ support.

Proposal of a new approach to perform advanced flow modeling for subsurface flow treatment wetlands.

This study describes a new approach to model treatment wetlands (TW) by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) coupled with the discrete element method (DEM). This methodology is based on the adoption of open-source software to perform advanced hydraulic simulations that enable a detailed representation of water flow through CFD as well as solid phase consideration by using DEM. The main features of this approach are highlighted and details on how to perform CFD-DEM modeling of a horizontal flow treatment wetland (HFTW) are described. Validation of the CFD-DEM model was performed on two TW case studies. The results were compared to the Darcy-Forchheimer porous media model. Statistical and hydraulic performance indexes were used to evaluate the efficacy of models. Provided that no calibration was done, the results indicated that for these case studies the CFD-DEM approach outperformed the Darcy-Forchheimer model based on the aforementioned metrics and considering the similarity with experimental results. The application of CFD-DEM coupling for TW proved to be an interesting approach as it enables more complex analysis of the hydrodynamics of TWs, becoming a valuable tool for future research and system optimization.

Factors influencing free and open-source software adoption in developing countries—an empirical study

Free Open-Source Software (FOSS) is essentially seen by many organizations as a key pillar for accelerating technological innovation. This study aims to evaluate the extent to which factors such as cost and quality of the system, as well as usability, interoperability, and security, influence the intention to use FOSS. Based on the data obtained from the survey, we propose a new theoretical model that we test and evaluate using the SEM-PLS method. The results suggest a significant relationship between FOSS adoption and factors such as low cost, performance expectation, social influence, and system quality, which was explained on a large scale by safety, interoperability, and usability as the most important factors in adoption decisions. Thus, this paper presents a new model for the adoption of FOSS in countries with high growth potential and aims to be a significant contribution to the scientific community on the state of the art in FOSS organizations in developing countries.

OSS in Software Engineering Education

Software Engineering is a crucial topic in undergraduate computing-related courses and provides the basic knowledge and skills necessary for professional practice in the software industry. Teaching Software Engineering principles, concepts, and practices and relating them to real-world scenarios are challenging tasks, and the adoption of Open Source Software (OSS) projects can help to face these challenges. On the other hand, adopting OSS projects as a didactic resource may introduce additional challenges to instructors who are not familiar with the OSS ecosystem. Objective: In this paper, we identified and mapped the profiles of instructors of Software Engineering courses concerning their classroom practices and use of OSS projects in Software Engineering Education. Method: We surveyed 90 higher education instructors in Brazil to collect data regarding their familiarity with the Software Engineering knowledge areas, pedagogical methods and resources used, and familiarity with and use of OSS projects in the classroom. Then, we resorted to data mining techniques, for instance, K-modes and Decision Tree algorithms, to identify instructors’ characteristics according to their classroom practices and use of OSS projects in the course activities. Results: Our findings include the characterization of instructors who use and instructors that do not use OSS projects in Software Engineering Education and the grouping of instructors after the application of the K-modes algorithm, and after the application of the Decision Tree algorithm, with similar characteristics of the pedagogical practices. The main result of this work is that the familiarity with OSS projects and the use of active learning methods were characteristics present in the application of the K-modes and Decision Tree algorithms, that distinguished instructors who used OSS projects from those that did not use them in Software Engineering Education. Finally, we confirmed that familiarity with OSS projects could have a positive influence on the instructors’ interest and potential for adopting this approach in Software Engineering Education.

OSS Adoption Strategies Ranking

Currently, the business benefits of Open Source Software (OSS) adoption are well known among organizations, and several strategies have been identified in practice to procure that adoption process reaches successful results. Each strategy brings different benefits, demands more or less organizational commitment, and changes the management of critical issues as goals, process, risks, resources and human effort in a particular way. Hence, the decision makers need a specific support to handle the complexity that OSS adoption adds to estimation and planning business process. Our work aims to contribute to solve this need, developing a mechanism to identify and quantify the effect of each strategy. Finally, the ranking proposed was applied in a specific organization and the results were useful to better understand the business impact of OSS adoption.

Mission‐critical open‐source software adoption model validation using Partial Least Square ‐ Structural Equation Modeling

AbstractThis paper aims to validate the mission‐critical OSS (open‐source software) model acceptance process using a third‐order formative‐formative measuring model. A two‐stage formative‐formative model was used for partial least square analysis. It includes eight primary mission‐critical OSS adoption constructs and three second‐order (technological, organizational, and environmental). Although nomological validity was affirmed, the empirical findings show the absence of multicollinearity. This study will give organizations in critical industries enough information to understand the importance and weight of each component/factor of the mission‐critical OSS adoption model. The coefficient of determination R2 exceeds the minimum threshold (0.750), and all the hypotheses are significant. This study also contributed to the existing literature by identifying those factors that influence mission‐critical OSS adoption, allowing firms in critical sectors to better understand their mission‐critical OSS adoption issues. Cross‐cultural validation across a broad community is proposed to increase the validity and generalization of the sample scales.

Adoption and use of open-source software in academic libraries in Ghana

The study sought to assess the adoption and use of open-sourced software (OSS) in academic libraries in Ghana, specifically, find out the types, user-friendliness, the extent of use, advantages, and limitations of OSS within the academic library domain. This study adopted the descriptive survey and mixed research approach to collect data from 12 academic libraries that have adopted open-source software for managing their resources. The purposive sampling strategy was adopted to select 10 respondents (comprising the head of libraries, head and staff of the IT units of the libraries, and heads of the other units such as electronic resources, cataloging, classification, and referencing, among others) from each of the 12 libraries. Questionnaires (consisting of both closed-ended and open-ended questions) were used to collect primary data directly from the respondents. The study revealed that Koha, DSpace, Destiny, NewGenLib, Evergreen ILS, Fedora, WordPress, and Drupal were the open-sourced software deployed and used in the libraries and provided lots of advantages to the libraries. The open-sourced software was largely found to be easy to acquire, install, update, modify, use, operate; user-friendly; and more reliable and accessible. However, the use of open-sourced software in the libraries is mitigated by some limitations which include lack of continuous training on the use of the open-sourced software and inability of the open-sourced software; lack of expertise to train and manage the software among others. These limitations need to be addressed to alleviate their negative impact on the library. The research focused on the adoption and use of OSS in academic libraries in Ghana. Although the findings of the study are similar to perceptions and practices from researchers around the world, they can not be used as a basis for generalization across other scientific disciplines and settings. The study concludes that the deployment and use of OSS in academic libraries to manage its processes and functions are speedily changing the frontiers of the libraries. It is relevant in achieving optimal efficiency at a minimal cost in the library. The management of the libraries should put measures and policies to realize these benefits and arrest the challenges faced by the use of OSS.

Open source software adoption for development of institutional repositories in university libraries of Islamabad

PurposeThis study aims to explore the present status of open-source institutional repository (IR) software’s usage in the university libraries of Islamabad. This study also investigates the views, satisfaction level and challenges of librarians in the adoption and use of IR software.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted to collect data from the Library Information Science (LIS) professionals working in the university libraries of Islamabad. Data were collected from all library professionals of the Islamabad university libraries by using a structured questionnaire. Out of the total 104 LIS professionals, 84 participated in the study with a response ratio of 80.76%.FindingsThe findings disclose that out of 23 universities recognized by Higher Education Commission (HEC) in Islamabad, 17 (public and private) have developed IRs. Currently, university libraries that have fully implemented the IRs are less as compared with those universities that have partially implemented IR software. However, a good number of university libraries are in the process to develop IRs. Free and open-source software is being used mostly in libraries as compared with in-house developed, locally developed or commercial software. The opinion of librarians about using IR software expressed a positive attitude of librarians. Some of the major challenges encountered by the librarians in using open-source IR software include selection of suitable software and materials for digitization, lack of cooperation from the parent organization, inadequate training opportunities and lack of skilled staff.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is geographically limited to the university libraries in Islamabad.Practical implicationsThis study will encourage the Pakistani LIS professionals to use open-source software for the development of IRs in their libraries.Originality/valueThis study concludes that the development of IRs in university libraries is a need of the hour. Although the launching of IRs requires certain skills and competencies, Pakistani librarians can overcome these challenges by mastering the ICT skills.

Open-Source Software Adoption Among University Students in Emerging Countries

Open-source software (OSS) has become a valuable resource for corporate, educational, and social processes, reducing digital divides in emerging countries. This paper proposes an open-source software acceptance model (OSS-AM) to examine determinants of OSS adoption among students in emerging economies. A quantitative methodology with a descriptive correlational approach was employed, collecting data from a representative sample of 504 students. Confirmatory factor analysis showed strong associations between attitude towards use and variables such as compatibility, quality, flexibility, and security. This study reveals that skill development through practical education, perceived usefulness, training, and compatibility are the most influential factors in students’ adoption of OSS.

A Web-based Awareness System for Improving Open-source e-learning Software adoption by Nigerian Higher Institutions of learning

Open-source software has been widely developed and adopted for different purposes, including in the educational sector. Many institutions of learning extensively utilize open-source e-learning software to complement their in-class programs, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. But many institutions of learning in Nigeria are still unable to utilize the opportunity due to a lack of adequate awareness and guidance on how to adopt the software. This study is aimed at educating the Nigerian public on open-source e-learning software and its benefits in education, especially in tertiary institutions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To better have a wide coverage of respondents in Nigerian tertiary institutions, we conducted an online survey and a paper-based questionnaire. A sample of 500 responses was collected from Nigerians with different high educational levels regarding Open-Source e-learning adoption and awareness. However, only 349 responses were returned. The results of the survey were analyzed using python-based analysis libraries. The findings indicated that a greater percentage of the respondents were aware of what constitutes open-source e-learning but that most institutions in Nigeria have not fully utilized the platform for learning activities. It is implied that a reasonable number of respondents have literacy knowledge of open-source learning and agree that COVID-19 has greatly influenced the use of e-learning software in Nigerian institutions. It is therefore recommended that more work be done to improve the awareness level of various institutions to fully utilize the technology and the benefits it represents. This led to the development of a web-based solution for creating more awareness among the public. This would help close the gap found in this study and affect how open-source e-learning software is used in Nigerian schools.

An empirical examination of open source software adoption in US public libraries

PurposeSimilarly to Choi and Pruett (2019), which addressed open source software (OSS) adoption in the academic library context, this study aims to examine barriers and drivers to OSS adoption and to provide a snapshot of the current state of OSS adoption in US public libraries.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey of the public library staff members who oversee information systems/technology in their library was conducted. A total number of 288 valid responses were used for data analysis.FindingsA range of barriers and drivers to OSS adoption in US public libraries were revealed, but, unlike academic libraries, awareness was found to be a barrier. Additionally, the vast majority of the non-adopters showed very low levels of OSS adoption intent in the near future, more than that which was indicated by academic libraries.Practical implicationsSeveral practical implications tailored for public libraries are provided, such as promoting OSS awareness among public libraries in rural and town areas, the importance of the initial trial/adoption and funding and marketing towards public libraries with small service population sizes and so on.Originality/valueFollowing Choi and Pruett (2019) which examined OSS adoption in the academic library context, this study conducted a similar online survey with US public libraries and made several contributions to the literature and to the public library field.

Factors influencing the adoption of free and open-source software for electronic records management by municipalities in Gauteng Province, South Africa

The South African cabinet adopted policy recommendations from the Government Information Technology Officer's Council pertaining to Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS). Even though the South African Cabinet has shown support for the use of FOSS through the enactment of a policy, the adoption of open source software in electronic records management seems to be slow. Proprietary software continues to be adopted and used by most public institutions, including local and provincial municipalities in South Africa. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate factors that may influence the adoption and use of FOSS for electronic records management by South African municipalities. The study adopted a qualitative research approach to collect data from 10 purposively selected municipalities in Gauteng. Data were analysed and presented thematically to address the research question. The findings of this study suggest that municipalities in Gauteng are not adopting FOSS for electronic records management as expected. This study established that top management support, reliability, affordability of the software, inadequate capability, contracts with proprietary software providers, organisational culture and organisational support are some of the factors that contributed to the low uptake when it comes to the adoption of Free and Open-Source Software by the municipalities.

Framework for Identification of Critical Factors for Open Source Software Adoption Decision in Mission-Critical IT Infrastructure Services

Mission-critical IT systems are utilizing closed source software (CSS) mainly due to reasons related to “quality assurance” and “continued support” despite much better benefits of using Open Source Software (OSS). OSS permits users to access source code for assessment, amendment, and redistribution, which offers low dependency on a vendor without license or maintenance cost. This paper investigates and analyzes OSS adoption factors for “critical IT infrastructure” by conducting a comprehensive review of the relevant literature. Furthermore, this paper proposes a framework that can help the critical IT industry to have increased confidence in OSS. The proposed framework utilizes the organizing logic of the Technology, Organization, and Environment (TOE) framework, recommends factors that were recognized by critically scrutinizing the studies found in the available literature. To validate the framework, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted targeting IT experts in critical sectors. The data integrity of survey results was analyzed using Cronbach's alpha. Framework factors were validated statistically using one sample T-test. The outcome indicated that the factors were statistically significant as the p-value was less than 0.05 for all the factors.

Open-Source tools in R for forestry and forest ecology

Forestry and forest ecology research potentially lags behind related fields such as ecology, biodiversity, and conservation research in the employment of open-source software solutions, specifically the R programming language. A direct comparison of the last decade of published research literature from the top 20 ecology and forestry journals shows that R is utilized in over 30% of the literature for ecology, yet in less than 10% of the forestry literature. Open-source computing environments, such as R, Python, and Julia, increase the visibility and reproducibility of scientific research and foster collaborations through the removal of proprietary software restrictions. The lag in adoption of open-source software in forestry and forest ecology could be hindering collaboration, data sharing, and reproducibility. Here we survey the available packages in the R programming language with specific utility for forest-related research. We found more than 100 available packages which we systematically categorized by research category: community analysis; dendrochronology; forest mensuration and inventory; hydrology; informatics/IoT; modeling; phenology; and remote sensing. We present worked examples for a subgroup of R software packages for each category to demonstrate their potential and utility. In these examples we used open-source data sets of our own selection. Additionally, we collected this information into an R metapackage, ForestAnalysisInR, an R Shiny-based solution that allows users to query the R packages we have identified to find those best suited for their analysis needs in a quick and efficient way.

A study of quality prediction for large-scale open source software projects

Open source software (OSS) has seen remarkable progress in recent years. Moreover, OSS usage in corporate information systems has been increasing steadily; consequently, the overall impact of OSS on the society is increasing as well. While product quality of enterprise software is assured by the provider, the deliverables of an OSS are developed by the OSS developer community; therefore, their quality is not guaranteed. Thus, the objective of this study is to build an artificial-intelligence-based quality prediction model that corporate businesses could use for decision-making to determine whether a desired OSS should be adopted. We define the quality of an OSS as “the resolution rate of issues processed by OSS developers as well as the promptness and continuity of doing so.” We selected 44 large-scale OSS projects from GitHub for our quality analysis. First, we investigated the monthly changes in the status of issue creation and resolution for each project. It was found that there are three different patterns in the increase of issue creation, and three patterns in the relationship between the increase in issue creation and that of resolution. It was confirmed that there are multiple cases of each pattern that affect the final resolution rate. Next, we investigated the correlation between the final resolution rate and that for a relevant number of months after issue creation. We deduced that the correlation coefficient even between the resolution rate in the first month and the final rate exceeded 0.5. Based on these analysis results, we conclude that the issue resolution rate in the first month once an issue is created is applicable as knowledge for knowledge-based AI systems that can be used to assist in decision-making regarding OSS adoption in business projects.

Critical factors affecting the adoption of open source software in public organizations

Context: The way public organizations produce, acquire, use, and commercialize software is changing as a result of open source software (OSS). Because of the numerous benefits provided by open source software, public organizations began to use it to meet their demands. As a result, governments implement various measures to encourage and facilitate OSS use. A variety of factors continue to influence the choice to implement OSS, which can have a positive or negative impact on the adoption process. Objective: The study’s purpose is to explore the most critical factors that may influence the open source software adoption process, which are drawn from chosen case studies from various domains in public organizations. Based on their findings, the authors produced a guideline to tell prospective adopters about the most crucial factors that they may confront during the adoption process. Method: Authors chose a handful of publications that address three public domains: healthcare, municipal government, and higher learning institutions. We looked for articles based on various criteria, beginning with their relevance to open source software adoption in general and, more specifically, in the public sector. We also screened the papers based on whether they were written in simple English or if they were written in another language. Results: According to the findings, government and top management support, reliability, security, availability, and cost ownership are the most influential elements that contributed to the adoption process’s success. Lacking of in-house development, connectivity, quality, computing resources, and expertise were identified as barriers to the adoption of open source software in specific sectors.

Development of SOA-based WebGIS framework for education sector

The applications of Geographic Information System (GIS) in the education sector are increasing day by day. The geospatial information can be published, discovered, searched, analyzed, and displayed through webGIS-based applications. Lack of an open source geospatial resource-based platform for data sharing, discovery, and service delivery in the education sector is a critical issue in managing the education of large population in India. The use of open geospatial consortium (OGC) developed open standards for geospatial web services will result in the interoperability of geographic information. In this paper, an interoperable and secure service-oriented architecture (SOA)-based webGIS framework is developed to handle the technical and non-technical issues in the education sector. In this research work, spatial analysis on schools is performed along with the design and development of webGIS framework using SOA, OGC standards, and open source software. The developed webGIS framework, acronym as EduGIS, is interoperable and secure which is implemented for the education sector. The development of webGIS framework is based upon three-tier thin client architecture. The present research work has investigated an optimized adoption of various free and open source software like Quantum GIS, GeoServer, Apache Tomcat, PostGIS, and uDig in different tiers of developed webGIS framework. The interoperability of developed EduGIS ensures that it can be shared across different technologies, data, platforms, and organizations. The development of open source-based webGIS framework will serve as a means of reducing licensing costs in developing countries like India and will promote indigenous technological development for primary education in rural areas.

A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF THE USE OF OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE IN EDUCATIONAL CONTEXTS

Open source software has now become a significant alternative in meeting different needs in business, government and academic environments, such as needs related to economics, management, learning and innovation, among others. The purpose of this research was to examine the research trends and evolution of the field of open source software adoption between 2001 and 2019. The methodology used involved bibliometric analysis of 289 documents obtained through a Scopus extracted search equation, generating indicators of quantity and quality and analyzing the emerging themes in said field of knowledge. The findings of the research include the existence of a strong trend towards research and dissemination regarding open source software, particularly in countries such as the United States, whose institutions and authors demonstrate high levels of productivity and dissemination. There was also evidence of an interest in reducing barriers and encouraging the adoption and implementation of the software in other sectors where its use is still lagging behind. The main conclusion of the research is that the research of open source software adoption focuses on the following topics: innovation, Linux, FLOSS, engineering requirements, risk management, open innovation, the public sector, social network analysis and total cost of ownership. Keywords: bibliometric analysis, information technology, open source software, research trends, technology adoption.

Open Geospatial Software and Data: A Review of the Current State and A Perspective into the Future

All over the world, organizations are increasingly considering the adoption of open source software and open data. In the geospatial domain, this is no different, and the last few decades have seen significant advances in this regard. We review the current state of open source geospatial software, focusing on the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) software ecosystem and its communities, as well as three kinds of open geospatial data (collaboratively contributed, authoritative and scientific). The current state confirms that openness has changed the way in which geospatial data are collected, processed, analyzed, and visualized. A perspective on future developments, informed by responses from professionals in key organizations in the global geospatial community, suggests that open source geospatial software and open geospatial data are likely to have an even more profound impact in the future.