3 new papers on freesoftware|opensource.mit.edu

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Hello Community,

Please find details below on the following three papers.  Many thanks to 
all the authors for their contributions. Please do provide them with 
feedback.

Thanks

Karim

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Paper 1
Lin, Yuwei

Title:
Gender issues in the FLOSS development
http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/lin3_gender.pdf

The FLOSS development is responding to the ICT development in various 
ways. This essay describes and analyses challenges (societal and 
organisational) and advantages (e.g. new models for mobile and 
collaborative work online), particularly regarding gender issues, 
encountered in the recent FLOSS development. The focus of the essay is 
not only on the claims made women in the existed FLOSS community about 
the tensions between male and female developers' interests and ways of 
doings, but also on the current obstacles against bringing more women, 
who are not technically competent, to participate in the FLOSS 
development. This paper concludes with suggestions on how to create 
rules and resources and the creation of a common FLOSS space for both 
genders.



Paper 2
Author:
Tuomi, Ilkka

Title:
The Future of Open Source
http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/tuomi3_bookchapter.pdf

Abstract:
Open source has seen phenomenal growth in recent years. In many ways, it 
has been a great success story. Yet it is interesting to study the 
conditions that would enable the open-source movement to remain viable 
and thrive also in the future. This chapter explores the driving forces 
behind the open source model and its constraints, discussing both the 
factors likely to promote the continuous growth of the open-source 
movement and those that could lead to its downfall.


Paper 3
Author:
Klang, Mathias

Title:
Free software and open source: The freedom debate and its consequences
http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue10_3/klang/index.html

Abstract:
To most outsiders the ethics of software is not something usually 
considered. To most proficient computer users with a passing interest in 
this question the ethics of software is recognised as one of the 
fundamental questions in the digital rights area. To most of the latter, 
terms such as free software, open source, and their derivatives (FLOSS, 
FOSS, Software Freedom) are interchangeable. Choosing one over the other 
is a matter of taste rather than politics. However, to most insiders the 
question is not one of taste. There is a fundamental difference between 
the two areas even if they share a similar root. Free software is not 
the same as open source. The two groups differ in their fundamental 
philosophical approach to software and its importance to society as a 
whole. This paper examines the two groups’ differing philosophies and 
explores how their actions have affected software development, access to 
fundamental software infrastructure, and the development of the concept 
of freedom.


-- 
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