Reminder: CFP Special Issue of the Information Society on Open Source and Public Sector

Reminder:

CALL FOR PAPERS

Special Issue of The Information Society
on Open Source and Public Sector: Discourse, Politics and Practice

Guest Editors: Jan Ljungberg, Magnus Bergquist and Anna Maria Szczepanska

In the last ten years the Open Source (OS) and Free Software (FS)=20
movement has come to challenge the norms and ideals, products and=20
procedures of the dominant proprietary software industry. OS/FS=20
represents a radically different logic within the field of software=20
development. This logic is based on ideas that celebrate the rights of=20
the user and informational freedoms and resist strong intellectual=20
property laws and regulations. In addition to gaining ground in the=20
commercial software market, the OS/FS-movement is also establishing=20
itself as an interesting alternative for the public sector. Currently,=20
discussions regarding OS/FS procurement and policy-making are taking=20
place within governments and public sector organizations all over the=20
world. The OS/FS-technologies advocates have promoted them on the basis=20
of their potential cost-benefits, their value as "a public good", their=20
egalitarian and digital divide-bridging qualities and so forth. But the=20
public sector initiatives still seem somewhat hesitant. The OS/FS in=20
public sector discussions and policy-making processes represent a=20
discourse still very much in the making.

This special issue will provide an opportunity for researchers to=20
present valuable insights at an early stage about a relevant topic that=20
crosscuts the information technology and policy processes and OS/FS=20
movement=92s institutionalization processes. We hope to bring together=20
insights from multiple areas, such as political science, sociology,=20
economics, IS-research, media studies, policy studies and cultural=20
studies. Discourse analysis and case studies would both be welcome=20
analytical strategies to provide breadth to the special issue.

Contributions could include the following:

- Papers identifying and discussing how underlying norms, values and=20
practices inscribed in OS/FS and proprietary software are understood and=20
dealt with in public sector discourse.

- Case studies on evolving policies and laws related to Open Source /=20
Free Software in the public sector.

- Papers analyzing the rhetoric on the pros and cons of OS/FS in the=20
public sector.

- Papers identifying and analyzing the way actors (e.g. the media,=20
business groups, academia, consumers, NGO=92s, SMO=92s, transnational=20
advocacy networks) are organizing in order to influence, support or=20
criticize policy processes and other activities relating to the=20
dispersal of OS/FS products and ideas in public sector.

The guest editors invite abstracts by September 1, 2007, which should be=20
sent to [email protected] Authors with the most to offer to the dialogue=20
will be invited to contribute full papers, which will go through the=20
normal review process of the journal. For more information on TIS=20
guidelines, please refer to:

http://www.indiana.edu/~tisj/