All posts by Agnes Low

From Mashup Applications to Open Data Ecosystem

Title: From Mashup Applications to Open Data Ecosystem

Authors: Timo Aaltonen (Tampere University of Technology), Tommi Mikkonen (Tampere University of Technology), Heikki Peltola (Tampere University of Technology), Arto Salminen (Tampere University of Technology)

Abstract: Web-based software is available all over the world instantly after the online release. Applications can be used and updated without need to install anything, with natural support for collaboration, which allows users to interact and share the same applications over the Web. In addition, numerous web services allowing users to upload, download, store and modify private and public resources have emerged. However, as the amount of web services and devices used to consume as well as generate data has exploded, it is difficult to access and manage relevant data. In this paper, we start from the principles of mashups, reflect their use to the concepts of software ecosystems, and finally extend the discussion to open data generated by users themselves. As a technical contribution, we also introduce our proof-of-concept implementation of a mashup system built on wellness data, and discuss the main lessons we have learned in the process.

This contribution to OpenSym 2014 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2014 proceedings on or after August 27, 2014.

Utilization and Development Contribution of Open Source Software in Japanese IT Companies: An Exploratory Study of the Effect on Business Growth

Title: Utilization and Development Contribution of Open Source Software in Japanese IT Companies: An Exploratory Study of the Effect on Business Growth

Authors: Terutaka Tansho (Shimane University, Japan), Tetsuo Noda (Shimane University, Japan)

Abstract: The usage of Open Source Software (OSS) has been more general these days and OSS are utilized in a wide range of business fields not only IT industries. Behind the expansion, there exist OSS development communities, where voluntary engineers dedicate their time and effort for the improvement. Considering development engineers in the companies as input resources, it is important to investigate the output of business growth. In this study, we conducted questionnaire survey to Japanese IT companies in 2013, and then analyzed the present state and relation between OSS utilization and development contribution. Our study revealed that Japanese IT companies are rather free riders of OSS, the volume of development contributions are far less than that of utilization. With regard to the effect on the business growth, the results of correlation analysis implicate that OSS utilization is related to the sales growth in the present term and that development contribution is related to the future growth of the employee number in the company. In order to explore the direct effect on the business growth, we constructed the models of multiple-logistic and logistic analyses, however, no direct and explicit determinants are found from the results of the analyses. Our research endeavors to investigate the OSS effect on the business growth are still on the way, but it is meaningful to provide the present state in numbers and hopefully this will lay some foundation for further study in this field.

This contribution to OpenSym 2014 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2014 proceedings on or after August 27, 2014.

Designing an Integrated Open Innovation System: Towards Organizational Wholeness

Title: Designing an Integrated Open Innovation System: Towards Organizational Wholeness

Authors: Vasiliki Baka

Abstract: Increasing use of collaborative technologies has transformed organizational dynamics in novel ways. In this paper, we adopt the principle of wholeness in designing an  integrated open innovation system. We provide an overview of existing collaborative technologies and situate the proposed sociotechnical arrangement within the paradigm of open innovation. We explore how effectively technological platforms address emergent collaboration and innovation practices within and across organizations and to which extent existing technologies act as strategic catalysts of open innovation. We argue that in embracing wholeness and in treating technologies as inseparable constitutive  parts of organizational architecture, we foster organizational and institutional collaboration and encourage innovative practices. The focus of the paper is on how the design of sociotechnical systems as wholes, that is systems that are concurrently acting as corporate websites, internal collaboration spaces, extranets and social media aggregators, actively promotes open innovation in practice. We close with a presentation of six cases that are illustrative of how such a system could be applicable within the open innovation paradigm, namely, citizen participation, crowdsourcing and open innovation contests, open source innovation, reviews and social media, social enterprises and open teaching.

This contribution to OpenSym 2014 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2014 proceedings on or after August 27, 2014.

Filling the Gaps of Development Logs and Bug Issue Data

Title: Filling the Gaps of Development Logs and Bug Issue Data

Authors: Bilyaminu Auwal Romo (Brunel University London), Andrea Capiluppi (Brunel University London), Tracy Hall (Brunel University London)

Abstract: It has been suggested that the data from bug repositories is not always in sync or complete compared to the logs detailing the actions of developers on source code. In this paper, we trace two sources of information relative to software bugs: the change logs of the actions of developers and the issues reported as bugs. The aim is to identify and quantify the discrepancies between the two sources in recording and storing the developer logs relative to bugs. Focussing on the databases produced by two mining software repository tools, CVSAnalY and Bicho, we use part of the SZZ algorithm to identify bugs and to compare how the ”defects-fixing changes” are recorded in the two databases. We use a working example to show how to do so. The results indicate that there is a significant amount of information, not in sync when tracing bugs in the two databases. We, therefore, propose an automatic approach to re-align the two databases, so that the collected information is mirrored and in sync.

This contribution to OpenSym 2014 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2014 proceedings on or after August 27, 2014.

Socio-Technical Congruence in the Ruby Ecosystem

Title: Socio-Technical Congruence in the Ruby Ecosystem

Authors: Mahbubul Syeed (Tampere University of Technology), Klaus Marius Hansen (University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark), Imed Hammouda (Chalmers and University of Gothenburg, Sweden), Konstantinos Manikas (University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark)

Abstract: Existing studies show that open source projects may enjoy high levels of socio-technical congruence despite their open and distributed character. Such observations are yet to be confirmed in the case of larger open source ecosystems in which developers contribute to different projects within the ecosystem. In this paper, we empirically study the relationships between the developer coordination activities and the project dependency structure in the Ruby ecosystem. Our motivation is to verify whether the ecosystem context maintains the high socio-technical congruence levels observed in many smaller scale FLOSS (Free/Libre Open Source Software) projects. Our study results show that the collaboration pattern among the developers in Ruby ecosystem is not necessarily shaped by the communication needs indicated by the dependencies among the ecosystem projects.

This contribution to OpenSym 2014 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2014 proceedings on or after August 27, 2014.

Strategies for Promoting OER in Course Development and Course Delivery in an ODL Environment

Title: Strategies for Promoting OER in Course Development and Course Delivery in an ODL Environment

Authors: Sheng Hung Chung (Wawasan Open University)

Abstract: This study discusses the phases involved for the development of  OER-based course materials namely the OER course integration using Wikibooks; evaluation of Quality Assurance (QA) in OER learning content; promoting and exploring OER repositories; CC licensing discussions and establishment of collective feedback sessions at Wawasan Open University (WOU), Penang, Malaysia. The learning design for the computing courses with engagement of learning experiences and feedbacks from different stakeholders in Open Distance Learning (ODL) environment are taken into consideration as one of the major components in the OER-based course development and revision phases. The OER-based computing course comprises of course units, self-test, unit practice exercises, assessments, mini project and activities are delivered in ODL mode in three consecutive semesters span from 2013 till 2014. Evaluations and studies are being carried out at end of each semesters for the by the course team members on the primary aspects focusing on learners’ participation rate of OER resources; LMS learners’ activities and assessments evaluation. The OER development engagement involved multiple stakeholders (i.e. learners, instructors, course coordinators and External Course Assessors) from different levels aiming to promote the use and understanding of OER in ODL environment.

This contribution to OpenSym 2014 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2014 proceedings on or after August 27, 2014.

Strata: Typed Semi-Structured Data in DokuWiki

Title: Strata: Typed Semi-Structured Data in DokuWiki

Authors: Brend Wanders (University of Twente), Steven Te Brinke (University of Twente)

Abstract: A semantic wiki is a wiki that has a model of the knowledge contained in its pages. Currently, semantic wikis are not adopted by a large user base, because most implementations are research prototypes that implement their own wiki engine. To increase familiarity with semantic wikis and quick adoption of semantic technologies we present Strata, a plugin for the well known wiki DokuWiki. Strata allows the use of semi-structured data in any DokuWiki installation, normalizes values based on their types, and allows extensive data modeling and querying on complex data structures.

This contribution to OpenSym 2014 will be made available as part of the OpenSym 2014 proceedings on or after August 27, 2014.

Wikimedia UK Sponsors OpenSym 2014 Participation

As a part of Wikimedia UK’s continued efforts to support the Wikimedia community in the UK, Wikimedia UK regularly offer scholarships to enable attendance at international conferences and meetings. Past scholarships have enabled members to attend previous years’ events such as Wikimania or WikiSym. We are happy to announce that Wikimedia UK is offering two scholarships for OpenSym 2014 again, just like they have done in previous years. To learn more, please turn to their website.

Update 2014-05-15: At present the Wikimedia UK link is locked; we hope it will open up again soon.