Handbook of Research on Open Source Software: Technological, Economic, and Social Perspectives: Technological, Economic, and Social Perspectives

St.Amant, Kirk · Still, Brian

Apr 2007 · IGI Global

About this ebook

The Handbook of Research on Open Source Software: Technological, Economic, and Social Perspectives is one of the few texts to combine OSS in public and private sector activities into a single reference source. This authoritative publication examines how the use of open source software (OSS) affects practices in society, business, government, education, and law. It provides a balance of theoretical perspectives, experiences, and cases in relation to these key areas.

This thorough collection includes an overview of the culture from which OSS emerged and the development practices though which OSS is created and modified. The Handbook of Research on Open Source Software: Technological, Economic, and Social Perspectives is an international collaboration including authors from six continents and more than 12 countries. This multinational and multicultural perspective becomes crucial when making effective decisions about software in today's global policy and business environments. This text is an essential reference to business persons, policy makers, educators, and private citizens who are curious about how factors related to OSS may affect different aspects of their lives.

About the author

Kirk St.Amant is an Associate Professor of Technical and Professional Communication in the Department of English at East Carolina University. He has a background in anthropology, international government, and technical communication, and his research interests include intercultural exchanges via online media and international outsourcing. He has taught online and conventional courses in technical and professional communication and in intercultural communication for Texas Tech University, Mercer University, and James Madison University. He has also taught courses in e-commerce, distance education, and business communication in Ukraine as a part of the USAID-sponsored Consortium for the Enhancement of Ukrainian Management Education (CEUME).

Brian Still, Ph.D., is an assistant professor teaching technical communication at Texas Tech University. He serves on the administrative committee for IEEE's Professional Communication Society. He also sits on the editorial review board for the Information Resources Management Journal. Brian has more than a decade of experience in information technology, including working with and writing on open source software (OSS). [Editor]