[Air-L] CfP: "The Politics of Open Source" - May 6-7, 2010 - Amherst, Massachusetts

[Stuart Shulman]

http://www.umass.edu/polsci/youtube/jitp2010.pdf

JITP-2010
“The Politics of Open Source”
May 6-7, 2010 - Amherst, Massachusetts

Full Paper Submission Due Date: January 10, 2010

Approach
Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FOSS) has made significant advances,
both technically and organizationally, since its emergence in the mid-1980s.
Over the last decade, it has moved from a software development approach
involving mostly volunteers to a more complex ecology where firms, nonprofit
organizations, government agencies and volunteers may be involved. Moreover,
the production paradigm continues to expand to other areas of digital
content (e.g., Creative Commons, Wikipedia, Connexions, etc.). In this
conference we use the phrase “open source” to capture this broader
phenomenon. The Program Committee encourages disciplinary and
interdisciplinary approaches to the study of open source, broadly defined.

"Politics" in the conference title, can have many interpretations. Political
issues closely tied to the free and open source software movement(s)
include: national government policies related to the adoption of open source
technologies or questions related to interoperability and open standards,
software patents, vendor lock-in, and copyright. These are central themes we
expect may be discussed in this forum. In this context, we welcome
international submissions since differences in the political perspective
appear in international contexts. However, topics related to how the concept
of openness has led to various interpretations, adaptations, and
applications of “open source” in other domains, and political issues that
surround these broader innovations, are also welcome. Specific topics might
include, but are not limited to:

General topics related to the politics of open source:
+ How open source software or its principles are changing politics
+ Emerging transparencies in software, systems and society
+ Open source in the developing world and other international contexts
+ The political economy of open source
+ Digital divides and open source

Open source and the public sector:
+ Open source software and transparency in government
+ Government policies toward open source and open standards
+ Regulation and open source

Open source and democracy:
+ Open source and democratic engagement
+ Open source voting systems
+ Activism, political mobilization and open source

The expansion of open source into other domains:
+ Understanding how open source collaboration works and how it can be
extended into other areas of collective action
+ Policy areas, such as the effects of free textbooks on education policy or
the politics of "One Laptop Per Child"
+ The political implications of open source in other cultural domains

Keynote Speakers
We are pleased to confirm Eric von Hippel (MIT) and Clay Johnson (Sunlight
Labs) as the daily keynote speakers for JITP-2010.

Paper Submissions
Authors are invited to prepare and submit to JITP a manuscript following one
of the six submission formats by January 10, 2010. These formats include
research papers, policy viewpoints, workbench notes, review essays, book
reviews, and papers on teaching innovation. The goal is to produce a special
issue, or double issue, of JITP with a wide variety of approaches to the
broad theme of "The Politics of Open Source."

How to Submit
Everything you need to know about how to prepare and submit a strong JITP
paper is documented at http://www.jitp.net/. Papers will be put through an
expedited blind peer review process by the Program Committee, and authors
will be notified about a decision by March 10, 2010. A small number of
papers will be accepted for presentation at the conference. Other paper
authors will be invited to present a poster during the Friday evening
reception. All posters must include a "YouTube" version of their research
findings.

Best Paper and Poster Cash Prizes
The author (or authors) of the best research paper will receive a single
$1,000 prize. The creator (or creators) of the best poster/research
presentation will also receive a single prize of $1,000.

Program Committee
M.V. Lee Badgett, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Paul M.A. Baker, Georgia Institute of Technology
Deborah Bryant, Oregon State University Open Source Lab
Andrea Calderaro, European University Institute
Mark Cassell, Kent State University
Edward Cherlin, Earth Treasury
Gabriella Coleman, New York University
Doug Downham, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert English, Daystar Computing & University of Massachusetts Amherst
Joseph Feller, University College Cork
Jelena Karanovic, Rutgers University
Dave Karpf, University of Pennsylvania/Miller Center for Public Affairs
Jeremy Hunsinger, Virginia Tech
Andrea Kavanaugh, Virginia Tech
Jose Marichal, California Lutheran University
Jens Hardings Perl, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Charlie Schweik, University of Massachusetts Amherst, co-chair
Stuart Shulman, University of Massachusetts Amherst, co-chair
Megan Squire, Elon University
Krishna Ravi Srinivas, Research Information System For Developing Nations
Louis Suarez-Potts, Sun Microsystems, Inc. & OpenOffice.org
Anas Tawileh, Cardiff University & Meedan.net

-- 
Dr. Stuart W. Shulman
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
University of Massachusetts Amherst
200 Hicks Way
Amherst, MA 01003

http://people.umass.edu/stu/
stu at polsci.umass.edu
413-545-5375

Editor, Journal of Information Technology and Politics
http://www.jitp.net

Director, QDAP-UMass
http://www.umass.edu/qdap/

Associate Director, National Center for Digital Government
http://www.umass.edu/digitalcenter/