Information policies and open source software in developing countries

Abstract

Many authors propose that open source software (OSS)is a good strategy to bring information and communication technologies to developing countries. Nevertheless, the use of OSS needs to be more than just adopting Linux as the standard for operating systems. Adoption of OSS is not only a choice of software, but also a means of acquiring knowledge. Developing countries have to use OSS as a way to gain knowledge about the technology itself and as a way of creating technology products that fit their specific needs. In this article, the authors introduce a model of OSS based on its essential characteristics to understand how developing countries may use OSS to achieve their development goals. The authors argue that there are two defining properties of any open source software. The first property is the potential for shared conceptualization and the second is the potential for modularity. By assessing how each OSS project satisfies these two conditions, a taxonomy is built for open source projects. This taxonomy will help the development of more sensible policies to promote the use of open source in developing countries.

E-Government Implementation: A Reflection on South African Municipalities

“…In ninety percent of the cases there is always an alternative. The literature shows that for instance, some public organisations have moved to the open source software allowing them to experience some relief from funding pressures (Camara & Fonseca, 2007;Sife, Lwoga, Sanga, et al, 2007). However, in the longer term, the ICT function may have to indicate to municipalities why allocating them supportive budgets is necessary in light of how they contribute to the community's development.…”

Free and Open Source GIS: Will There Ever Be a Geo-Linux?

“…Most of these papers discuss the organization and motivation of FOSS teams and the economics of open source software development. We believe that the structural reasons that govern the users' adoption of a FOSS have not been discussed in detail in the literature [14]. In the following discussion, we focus on the factors that users need to consider for adoption of FOSS.…”

“…This explains why many successful projects rely on existing designs. We call this 'shared conceptualization' [14]. Again, the R suite of statistical tools is a good example.…”

Open Source Adoption in Health Sector: Understanding the Stakeholder Relationships in a Resource Constrained Setting

“…However, HIS implementation efforts are often constrained by technological and financial limitations in LMICs. In this context, open source could play an enabling role by providing not only software solutions with no licensing costs, but also free access to the software source code, contributing to local knowledge and technological advancement (Câmara & Fonseca, 2007).…”