JITP 2010: The Politics of Open Source
A two-day University of Massachusetts Amherst conference jointly
sponsored by:
Google
Department of Political Science
Science, Technology, and Society Initiative (STS)
Journal of Information Technology & Politics (JITP)
Qualitative Data Analysis Program (QDAP)
National Center for Digital Government (NCDG)
KEYNOTE & DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS
Eric von Hippel is Professor and Head of the Innovation and =20
Entrepreneurship Group at the Sloan School of Management at the =20
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Fellow at the Berkman =20
Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. He specializes =20=
in research related to the nature and economics of distributed and =20
open innovation. He also develops and teaches about practical methods =20=
that firms can use to improve their product and service development =20
processes. He is the author of Democratizing Innovation (MIT Press, =20
2005) and The Sources of Innovation (Oxford, 1988).
Clay Johnson is Director of Sunlight Labs. Prior joining Sunlight, =20
Clay was one of the four founders of Blue State Digital, the =20
progressive left's premier technology and online strategy firm. This =20
firm, which was born out of the Howard Dean campaign, was also =20
responsible for Barack Obama's Web presence. At Blue State Digital, =20
Clay was responsible for developing the organization's brand and =20
building its initial client roster. He also had a hand at building =20
some of the company's early technical tools. Before joining Blue =20
State, Johnson was the lead programmer for Dean for America in 2004, =20
overseeing the development of grassroots tools like GetLocal, =20
DeanLink and Project Commons. Prior to entering politics, Johnson was =20=
a technologist at Ask Jeeves (now Ask.com) where he helped to develop =20=
the company's Web syndication product. He also started the first =20
Internet Knowledge Exchange, KnowPost.com, and worked as an =20
entrepreneur-in-residence at a Venture Capital firm, but still claims =20=
that he learned the most from his first job -- as a waiter at Waffle =20
House in Atlanta, Georgia.
Christopher M. Kelty is an associate professor at the University of =20
California, Los Angeles. He has a joint appointment in the Center for =20=
Society and Genetics and in the department of Information Studies. =20
His research focuses on the cultural significance of information =20
technology, especially in science and engineering. He is the author =20
most recently of Two Bits: The Cultural Significance of Free Software =20=
(Duke University Press, 2008), as well as numerous articles on open =20
source and free software, including its impact on education, =20
nanotechnology, the life sciences, and issues of peer review and =20
research process in the sciences and in the humanities.
APPROACH
Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FOSS) has made significant =20
advances, both technically and organizationally, since its emergence =20
in the mid-1980s. Over the last decade, it has moved from a software =20
development approach involving mostly volunteers to a more complex =20
ecology where firms, nonprofit organizations, government agencies and =20=
volunteers may be involved. Moreover, the production paradigm =20
continues to expand to other areas of digital content (e.g., Creative =20=
Commons, Wikipedia, Connexions, etc.). In this conference we use the =20
phrase =93open source=94 to capture this broader phenomenon. The Program =
=20
Committee encourages disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to =20=
the study of open source, broadly defined.
"Politics" in the conference title, can have many interpretations. =20
Political issues closely tied to the free and open source software =20
movement(s) include: national government policies related to the =20
adoption of open source technologies or questions related to =20
interoperability and open standards, software patents, vendor lock-=20
in, and copyright. These are central themes we expect may be =20
discussed in this forum. In this context, we welcome international =20
submissions since differences in the political perspective appear in =20
international contexts. However, topics related to how the concept of =20=
openness has led to various interpretations, adaptations, and =20
applications of =93open source=94 in other domains, and political issues =
=20
that surround these broader innovations, are also welcome. Specific =20
topics might include, but are not limited to:
General topics related to the politics of open source
=95 How open source software or its principles are changing politics
=95 Emerging transparencies in software, systems and society
=95 Open source in the developing world and other international contexts
=95 The political economy of open source
=95 Digital divides and open source
Open source and the public sector
=95 Open source software and transparency in government
=95 Government policies toward open source and open standards
=95 Regulation and open source
Open source and democracy
=95 Open source and democratic engagement
=95 Open source voting systems
=95 Activism, political mobilization and open source
The expansion of open source into other domains
=95 Understanding how open source collaboration works and how it can be =20=
extended into other areas of collective action
=95 Policy areas, such as the effects of free textbooks on education =20
policy or the politics of "One Laptop Per Child"
=95 The political implications of open source in other cultural domains
PAPER SUBMISSIONS
Authors are invited to prepare and submit to JITP a manuscript =20
following one of the six submission formats by January 10, 2010. =20
These formats include research papers, policy viewpoints, workbench =20
notes, review essays, book reviews, and papers on teaching =20
innovation. Proposals for full panel presentations will also be =20
accepted. The goal is to produce a special issue, or double issue, of =20=
JITP with a wide variety of approaches to the broad theme of "The =20
Politics of Open Source."
Everything you need to know about how to prepare and submit a strong =20
JITP paper is documented at http://www.jitp.net/. Papers will be put =20
through an expedited blind peer review process by the Program =20
Committee, and authors will be notified about a decision by March 10, =20=
2010. A small number of papers will be accepted for presentation at =20
the conference. Other paper authors will be invited to present a =20
poster during the Friday evening reception. All posters must include =20
a "YouTube" version of their research findings.
BEST PAPER AND POSTER CASH PRIZES
The author (or authors) of the best research paper will receive a =20
single $1,000 prize. The creator (or creators) of the best poster/=20
research presentation will also receive a single prize of $1,000.
PROGRAM COMMITTEE
Ezendu Ariwa, London Metropolitan University
M.V. Lee Badgett, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Paul M.A. Baker, Georgia Institute of Technology
Deborah Bryant, Oregon State University Open Source Lab
Andrea Calderaro, European University Institute
Mark Cassell, Kent State University
Edward Cherlin, Earth Treasury
Gabriella Coleman, New York University
Doug Downham, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert English, Daystar Computing & University of Massachusetts Amherst
Joseph Feller, University College Cork
Jelena Karanovic, Rutgers University
Dave Karpf, University of Pennsylvania/Miller Center for Public Affairs
Andrea Kavanaugh, Virginia Tech
Jose Marichal, California Lutheran University
Jens Hardings Perl, Pontificia Universidad Cat=F3lica de Chile
Charlie Schweik, University of Massachusetts Amherst, co-chair
Stuart Shulman, University of Massachusetts Amherst, co-chair
Megan Squire, Elon University
Krishna Ravi Srinivas, Research Information System For Developing =20
Nations
Louis Suarez-Potts, Sun Microsystems, Inc. & OpenOffice.org
Anas Tawileh, Cardiff University & Meedan.net
_________________________________
Andrea Calderaro
Department of Social and Political Sciences
European University Institute
Italy
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