Tid og sted for prøveforelesning
Bedømmelseskomité
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Assistant Professor Abiodun Oluremi Bada, School of engineering and Applied Sciences, George Washington University, Washington D.C., USA
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Professor Letizia Jaccheri, Institutt for datateknikk og informasjonsvitenskap, NTNU, Trondheim
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Førsteamanuensis Tone Bratteteig, Institutt for informatikk, Universitetet i Oslo
Leder av disputas
Dag Langmyhr
Veileder
- Jens Kaasbøll
- Jørn Braa
For mer informasjon
English: The Free Open Source Software (FOSS) development approaches, as well as the justifications for using FOSS in the infrastructure domain where users are developers, are inherently problematic when applied to the Information Systems (IS) domain in developing countries. This thesis presents a theoretical and empirical informed analysis of FOSS development in IS using cases from the health and education sectors in Tanzania. It focuses on the interplay between the socio-technical conditions of IS in developing countries and the FOSS development approach. The objectives were to illuminate the design-reality gaps in FOSS development in the context of developing countries. The research design was based on participatory action research.
Three archetypal situations that exacerbate the reality of FOSS implementation in developing countries were identified as developer – sponsor, global developer – local developer, and local developer – local user gaps. The thesis recommends that, implementing FOSS in IS requires substantial investment on localising the software, training users, and developing support networks. The advantage of FOSS development in developing countries centres on the formation of sustainable collaborative networks through sharing of software and knowledge. These networks are important in helping a developing country to support the day to day customisation and managing of FOSS products. The core concept of FOSS is that full access to software source code must be granted in order to give individuals the freedom to create, use and distribute software. It emphasises the logic of non-discrimination to create conditions for free action and thought. This makes FOSS to be reminiscent to the Ujamaa policy of Tanzania which argues for all members of the society to have equal rights and equal opportunities.
Norsk: Åpen kildekode programvare (Free Open Source Software - FOSS) har vært mest brukt til utvikling av basis programvare som operativsystem og nettverkskomponenter. Knapt noen forskning har vært gjort om FOSS i utvikling av applikasjonsprogrammer, som informasjonssystemer for virksomheter. Dette doktorgradsarbeidet har inkludert aksjonsforskning, der to informasjonssystemer har blitt bygget: et distriktshelseinformasjonssystem og et studentadministrativt system. Systemene har blitt utviklet og iverksatt i helsetjenesten og på to universiteter i Tanzania. Det ble avdekket tre kritiske forhold som måtte håndteres for at systemene skulle fungere.
Kontaktperson
For mer informasjon, kontakt Lena Korsnes.