[Air-l] Six new papers on opensource.mit.edu + One new thesis

[Karim R. Lakhani]

<sorry for any x-posting>

Hello Folks

I have uploaded the following papers on our website.  Many thanks to all
the authors for their submissions.

Best

Karim <freezing in Boston>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paper 1
Authors:
Fleming, Lee & David Waguespack

Title:
Penguins, Camels, and Other Birds of a Feather: Brokerage, Boundary
Spanning, and Leadership in Open Innovation Communities
http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/flemingwaguespack.pdf

Abstract:
What types of human and social capital identify the emergence of leaders
of open innovation communities? Consistent with the norms of an
engineering culture, we find that future leaders must first make strong
technical contributions. Beyond technical contributions, they must then
integrate their voluntary communities in order to avoid the ever present
danger of forking and balkanization. This is enabled by two correlated
but distinct social positions: brokerage, and boundary spanning between
technological modules. An inherent lack of trust associated with
brokerage positions can be overcome through physical interaction or
contributions within technological boundaries. Successful leaders are
thus the product of strong technical contribution and a structural
position that can bind the community together.

Paper 2
Author:
Iannaci, Federico

Title:
Coordination Processes in Open Source Software Development: The Linux
Case Study
http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/iannacci3.pdf

Abstract:
Although open source projects have been subject to extensive study,
their coordination processes are still poorly understood. Drawing on
organization theory, this paper sets out to remedy this imbalance by
showing that large-scale open source projects exhibit three main
coordination mechanisms, namely standardization, loose coupling and
partisan mutual adjustment. Implications in terms of
electronically-mediated communications and networked interdependencies
are discussed in the final sections where a new light is cast on the
concept of structuring as a by-product of localized adjustments.


Paper 3
Author:
Shah, Sonali

Title:
Open Beyond Software
http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/shah4.pdf

Abstract:
The "community-based" model has generated many of the innovations we use
on a daily basis. The social structure created by this model has
cultivated many entrepreneurial ventures and even seeded new industries
and product categories. In this paper, I discuss three elements of this
model and present four exemplars of the model that span fields and
centuries. I conclude by reframing our view of the innovation process as
driven by the activities of firms and research institutions and
discussing implications for firms and policy.


Paper 4 (in Spanish)
Author:
Carlos Emilio Biscay

Title: Open Source en el e-learning: ¿Una cuestión de mente?
- Análisis del fenómeno del Open source en el e-learning, situación
actualy tendencias -
http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/biscay.pdf

Abstract
Primeramente vamos a ver ¿Qué es el Open source? ¿Cuáles son sus
objetivos y sus características fundamentales?. En segundo lugar haremos
un recorrido histórico de los últimos años, identificando los
principales desarrollos del Open source y sus tendencias, especialmente
en el área de la educación superior.
En tercer lugar mostramos el Proyecto Sakai, donde un grupo de
Universidades de Primer nivel están uniendo fuerzas para integrar y para
sincronizar su software educativo en una colección de herramientas de
Open source para e-learning. A continuación haremos mencionaremos los
principales aplicaciones de OS en general.
Seguidamente, he de tratar de poner de relieve los aspectos técnicos y
psicológicos que están presentes en el Open Source y sus protagonistas y
las razones económicas, políticas y culturales que se vinculan o crean
un contexto favorable al crecimiento de las soluciones de open source en
el mercado y especialmente en mercado del e-learning.
Finalmente y como síntesis de estas cuestiones describimos el caso
concreto de la Universidad de Wisconsin, que actualmente junto a otras
instituciones educativas se ha sumado en el proyecto Sakai.


Paper 5
Authors
Ioannis Samoladas, Ioannis Stamelos

Title
Assessing Free/Open Source Software Quality
http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/samoladasstamelos.pdf

Abstract:
According to its proponents, one of the most acclaimed advantages of 
Free/Open Source Software (F/OSS) is its superior quality. However, this 
suggestion is an open issue, since there is little concrete evidence to 
justify whether F/OSS quality is indeed better or worse than that of 
proprietary software products. The general perspective of this article 
is to discuss the current status of F/OSS quality and to assess its 
performance in various aspects of quality, based on existing literature. 
Specifically, this article will provide some answers to various 
questions raised by the assertion concerning the quality of F/OSS. In 
this regard issues addressed in this article include the quality 
framework, through which F/OSS quality should be investigated and the 
performance of F/OSS in various quality factors within this quality 
framework. Answers to these issues are given by providing evidence from 
various research papers, empirical studies and reports based on 
experience about the quality of F/OSS products. The overall results seem 
to indicate that F/OSS has achieved an acceptable level of quality, 
although there is more to be done in order to outperform proprietary 
software.


Paper 6
Author:
Imhorst, Christian

Title:
Anarchy and Source Code - What does the Free Software Movement have to 
do with Anarchism?
http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/imhorst.pdf

Abstract:
What does the hacker ethic have to do with anarchism? Why does Richard 
Stallman, an outstanding personality of the free software movement, 
described himself as an anarchist? We should not imagine the anarchists 
of the Free Software Movement to be like the cartoon image: A scruffy 
looking lunatic, with a crazy glint in his eyes and bristling with 
weapons. Instead of chaos, Stallman postulates a new form of order for 
the intellectual property in the terms of the hacker ethic - the access 
to knowledge should be free, decentralized, anti-bureaucratic and 
anti-authoritarian.

Bachelor's Thesis

Author:
Frost, Jonathon

Title:
Some Economic & Legal Aspects of Open Source Software
http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/frost.pdf

Abstract:
The emergence of open source software as a viable economic model has
risen to the forefront in the debate on the future of the information
technology industry. However, at first glance, the open source software
development model is strikingly enigmatic and counterintuitive. To help
better understand this phenomenon, this paper, through market data and
economic theory, proceeds to ask and answer three related questions.
First, what is the economic relationship between open source software
development communities and proprietary software firms? Second, what are
the resulting effects on market innovation and innovation incentives?
And third, what legal mechanisms allow for the sustainability of open
source software and should they be expanded or reduced? This paper
concludes that open source activity appears to be generating four
economic effects, whose net effect on innovation in the software market
is ambiguous.

-- 
Karim R. Lakhani
MIT Sloan | The Boston Consulting Group
Mobile: +1 (617) 851-1224
http://spoudaiospaizen.net
http://web.mit.edu/lakhani/www | http://opensource.mit.edu