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Motivation in the context of open source software may be seen as fundamentally different due to the presence of unpaid programmers, implicit rather than explicit forms of control and a different methodology for software development. Since software development is a creative task, the motivation of open source programmers can be compared to individuals in creative industries (Caves 2002). This paper summarizes the important trends in the research on motivation in open source and identifies variables that should be included in future research. Specifically, the current literature favors a taxonomy that considers two components of motivation—intrinsic (e.g., fun, flow, learning, community) and extrinsic (e.g., financial rewards, improving future job prospects, signaling quality). I make a case for incorporating both elements in developing an integrative theory about developer motivation. Three elements are identified as being unique to FLOSS development- diversity of project structures, co-existence of companies and communities and co-existence of creative and commercial elements. The important empirical evidence on FLOSS developer motivation is presented and analyzed. Four factors are identified as important mitigating and moderating factors in the conversation surrounding developer motivation- financial incentives, nature of task, group size and group structure. The role of these factors on developer motivation is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines a set of metaphors for describing, understanding and characterising the Mobile Internet. The metaphors are a result of extensive user studies in the US, Hong Kong and Europe in the late 2006 and early 2007. In these studies, we explored the user experience related to the Mobile Internet through in-depth contextual interviews with over 40 users, including a group in the US, which was deprived of their standard Internet PC access for several days. Our analysis of the collected data resulted in six metaphors that can be used as powerful creative tools in designing Mobile Internet applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human–computer interaction (HCI) is the discipline concerned with the design, evaluation, and implementation of interactive computing systems. Unlike many empirical sciences, HCI researchers do not typically solely study existing technologies, styles of interaction, or interface solutions. On the contrary, one of the core activities in contemporary HCI is to design new technologies – in the form of software and hardware prototypes – that act as vehicles through which HCI researchers’ ideas materialize and take on concrete form. Despite this situation, there is a very modest discussion in the discipline on the role of design as an activity in the research process; whether or not HCI could in fact be better understood as a design discipline than as an empirical science; and if, and if so how, the design element in HCI goes with its empirical claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of interactive systems to be used in mobile and pervasive scenarios, such as emergency management, requires novel methodologies which combine user-centred design approaches and software engineering approaches tailored for distributed architectures. In this paper, the methodology adopted in a successful research project is presented together with a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development teams provide an interesting and convenient setting for studying distributed work. We begin by answering perhaps the most basic question: what is the social structure of these teams? We conducted social network analyses of bug-fixing interactions from three repositories: Sourceforge, GNU Savannah and Apache Bugzilla. We find that some OSS teams are highly centralized, but contrary to expectation, others are not. Projects are mostly quite hierarchical on four measures of hierarchy, consistent with past research but contrary to the naive image of these projects. Furthermore, we find that the level of centralization is negatively correlated with project size, suggesting that larger projects become more modular, or possibly that becoming more modular is a key to growth. The paper makes a further methodological contribution by identifying appropriate analysis approaches for interaction data. We conclude by sketching directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software is a difficult technology to understand strategically. Many frameworks developed for strategic technology analysis are specific to physical technologies. This paper analyzes two frameworks, the cascade model of technology evolution and the concept of technology potency. Modifications to the cascade model are proposed that make it more compatible with software. Difficulties with the concept of technology potency when applied to software are illustrated and directions for further research are pointed out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue includes seven articles that make significant contribution to the literature pertaining to knowledge and public policy around Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS). Focusing on questions in two themes (i) motivation and organization and (ii) public policy, the articles in this volume develop new analytic models and report on new empirical findings, as an important step in bridging the wide gap that exists in public policy literature around FLOSS. Warning against rhetorical pitfalls that have been prevalent in FLOSS research, this introduction starts with a short history of FLOSS development, continues with a brief thematic literature review and review of the misconceptions surrounding FLOSS, and concludes with a first introduction of the articles that follow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the study on the effect of the proliferation of interactive media on the corporations' unprecedented ability to collect information about the individual's media consumption habits. Purpose of the study; Different kinds of interactive media; Pros and cons of interactive media; Ways on how to collect information through interactive media.

For a variety of policy reasons, governments throughout the world are now adopting different legislative and administrative strategies that support the development of FLOSS. Some governments have actually begun to procure FLOSS, whereas others have channeled public funds to large-scale FLOSS projects. This study demonstrates both the benefits and the risks of government policy favoring FLOSS from the perspective of economics, technology, and politics, and to further analyze whether these same policy goals can be achieved through government support of FLOSS. The most fundamental argument of the study is that, in lending its support to FLOSS, the difference between a government user and a business user is that the government should take into account society's long-term interests, not merely its own interests as a consumer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I examine the relationship between the global governance of intellectual property rights and the deployment of FLOSS in both the public and private sectors of developing economies. I suggest that the support for non-proprietary software (collectively FLOSS) allows developing countries to comply with their multi-lateral commitments and support the potential development of local software development. Because of the General Public License's dependence on copyright law, the deployment of FLOSS allows compliance with the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement, while at the same time facilitating the development of a local software ‘community’. Linux has propelled the development of computer science and engineering in the poorer nations. Linux is the only way most developing nations have to legally access modern and sophisticated software tools, compilers, and programming environments (Bokhari and Rehman, 1999, p. 63). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article concerns the question how innovation is achieved in open source communities. Open source communities are collections of geographically distributed individuals, who volunteer or are paid to participate in the development of highly innovative software programs. These communities are argued to be self-organizing systems in which high levels of variation are achieved. Next, this article focuses on selection as part of innovation. It is shown that selection is achieved through a rather simple principle of copying and following tags. Four tags are identified and discussed and it is demonstrated how they lead to the selection of software among the great level of variety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the USA PATRIOT Act, that requires financial institutions to report suspicious activity to federal law enforcement agencies. Banking services company, Aquilan, offers a software product it calls Aquilan Patriot Manager, that offers the quickest path to full compliance with the USA PATRIOT Act, including Anti-Money Laundering screening requirements, Customer Identification Program requirements, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rules, and required Office of Foreign Assets Control monitoring. By extracting essential information from both client and administration systems, Aquilan helps financial services institutions assemble the 360 degree view of customer relationships required to identify suspicious activity and meet regulatory requirements.