Open source software has emerged as a major field of scientific inquiry across a number of disciplines. When the concept of open source began to gain mindshare in the global business community, decision makers faced a challenge: to convert hype and potential into sustainable profit and viable business models. This volume addresses this challenge through presenting some of the newest, extensively peer-reviewed research in the area.

We are very pleased to introduce Open Source Development, Communities and Quality. The International Conference on Open Source Systems has come to its fourth edition – OSS 2008. Now, Free, Libre, and Open Source software is by all means now one of the most relevant subjects of study in several disciplines, ranging from information technology to social sciences and including also law, business, and political sciences. There are several conference tracks devoted to open source software with several publications appearing in high quality journals and magazines. OSS 2008 has been organized with the purpose of being the reference venue for those working in this area, being the most prominent conference in this area. For this th reason OSS 2008 has been located within the frameworks of the 20 World Computer Congress, WCC 2008, in Milan, the largest event of IFIP in 2008. We believe that this conference series, and the IFIP working group it represents, can play an important role in meeting these challenges, and hope that this book will become a valuable contribution to the open source body of research.

1 The Third International OPAALS Conference was an opportunity to explore and discuss digital ecosystem research issues as well as emerging and future trends in the field. The conference was organized by IPTI – Instituto de Pesquisas em Tecnologia e Inovação (www. ipti. org. br). IPTI is a member of the OPAALS Framework P- gramme 7 Network of Excellence, which is led by the London School of Economics and Political Science. OPAALS is a multi-disciplinary research network of excellence for developing the science and technology behind digital ecosystems. The conference was held within the scope of a broader EU–Brazil bilateral workshop hosted by IPTI in cooperation with the Brazilian government and the European Commission and designed to foster EU support of information and communications technologies (ICT) enablement and socio-economic development in Brazil. The event was held in the city of Aracajú, Sergipe, in the northeast of Brazil, during March 22–23, 2010. Aracajú is the capital of the state of Sergipe and is located on the coast, a tropical region with lush vegetation, rivers and mangroves and an e- nomic landscape dominated by fisheries, tourism and the challenges associated with fostering local economic development in the presence of low ICT penetration. Digital ecosystems (DEs) in some ways represent the next generation of ICT and Internet usage. Applicable to many contexts, they will perhaps have the greatest effect in enabling small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to compete on the global stage.

The pervasiveness of and universal access to modern Information and Communication Technologies has enabled a popular new paradigm in the dissemination of information, art, and ideas. Now, instead of relying on a finite number of content providers to control the flow of information, users can generate and disseminate their own content for a wider audience. Open Source Technology: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications investigates examples and methodologies in user-generated and freely-accessible content available through electronic and online media. With applications in education, government, entertainment, and more, the technologies explored in these volumes will provide a comprehensive reference for web designers, software developers, and practitioners in a wide variety of fields and disciplines.

Innovations in Computing Sciences and Software Engineering includes a set of rigorously reviewed world-class manuscripts addressing and detailing state-of-the-art research projects in the areas of Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Systems Engineering and Sciences. Topics Covered: •Image and Pattern Recognition: Compression, Image processing, Signal Processing Architectures, Signal Processing for Communication, Signal Processing Implementation, Speech Compression, and Video Coding Architectures. •Languages and Systems: Algorithms, Databases, Embedded Systems and Applications, File Systems and I/O, Geographical Information Systems, Kernel and OS Structures, Knowledge Based Systems, Modeling and Simulation, Object Based Software Engineering, Programming Languages, and Programming Models and tools. •Parallel Processing: Distributed Scheduling, Multiprocessing, Real-time Systems, Simulation Modeling and Development, and Web Applications. •Signal and Image Processing: Content Based Video Retrieval, Character Recognition, Incremental Learning for Speech Recognition, Signal Processing Theory and Methods, and Vision-based Monitoring Systems. •Software and Systems: Activity-Based Software Estimation, Algorithms, Genetic Algorithms, Information Systems Security, Programming Languages, Software Protection Techniques, Software Protection Techniques, and User Interfaces. •Distributed Processing: Asynchronous Message Passing System, Heterogeneous Software Environments, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, Resource Allocation, and Sensor Networks. •New trends in computing: Computers for People of Special Needs, Fuzzy Inference, Human Computer Interaction, Incremental Learning, Internet-based Computing Models, Machine Intelligence, Natural Language.

The innovative process of open source software is led in greater part by the end-users; therefore this aspect of open source software remains significant beyond the realm of traditional software development. Open Source Software Dynamics, Processes, and Applications is a multidisciplinary collection of research and approaches on the applications and processes of open source software. Highlighting the development processes performed by software programmers, the motivations of its participants, and the legal and economic issues that have been raised; this book is essential for scholars, students, and practitioners in the fields of software engineering and management as well as sociology.

Open-source development has been around for decades, with software developers co-creating tools and information systems for widespread use. With the development of open-source software such as learning objects, interactive articles, and educational games, the open-source values and practices have slowly been adopted by those in education sectors. Open-Source Technologies for Maximizing the Creation, Deployment, and Use of Digital Resources and Information highlights the global importance of open-source technologies in higher and general education. Written for those working in education and professional training, this collection of research explores a variety of issues related to open-source in education, such as its practical underpinnings, requisite cultural competence in global open-source, strategies for employing open-source in online learning and research, the design of an open-source networking laboratory, and other endeavors. It aims to enhance workplace practices in harnessing open-source resources in a time of budgetary frugality.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International IFIP WG 2.13 Conference on Open Source Systems, OSS 2010, held in Notre Dame, IN, USA, in May/June 2010. The 23 revised full papers presented together with 17 short papers, 5 workshop abstracts and 4 panel descriptions were carefully reviewed and selected from 51 submissions. The papers reflect the international communities of active OSS researchers and present a broad range of perspectives on open source systems ranging from software engineering through organizational issues to law.

The advancementof the softwareindustry has hada substantialimpact notonly onproductivityandonGDPgrowthglobally,butalsoonourdailyworkandlife. Software business refers to commercial activity of the software industry, aimed at generating income from delivery of software products and software services. Although software business shares common features with other international knowledge-intensive businesses, it carries many inherent features making it an intriguing and challenging domain for research. Until now, however, software business has received little attention from the academic community. The First International Conference on Software Business (ICSOB 2010) was organized in Jyv ̈ askyl ̈ a during June 21–23, 2010. This inaugural conference brought together a strong Program Committee of 52 members with research disciplines from various ?elds of business management and technology mana- mentaswellasinternational?avorwithmemberscomingfrom17countriesfrom South and North America to Europe, India and Australia. Wereceived35researchpapersubmissions.Thepaperswentthroughadoub- blind review process producing at least three reviews for each accepted paper. The ProgramCommittee accepted 13 submissions to be presented as full papers in the conference, equaling 37% of the submissions. In addition, ten papers were accepted as short papers. The accepted papers represent the wide variety of - searchactivityonsoftwarebusiness.Forthepurposesoftheconferenceprogram, the papers were organized under eight themes: business models, business m- agement, ecosystems, education and research, internationalization, open source software and social media, product management, and software as a service. In addition to the paper sessions, the conference program included three keynote presentations and a Business Innovation Track containing best-practice presentations from the software industry. The conference program also included two workshops, three tutorials and an adjunct meeting of the Cloud Software Consortia.

Free/Open Source Enterprise Resource Planning systems (FOS-ERP) are gaining popularity and acceptance due to two main factors: their lack of licensing fees and customizability. Given this, organizations are able to easily adopt and manipulate these systems to meet their individual needs. Free and Open Source Enterprise Resource Planning: Systems and Strategies unites research on FOS-ERP, comparing differences with proprietary Enterprise Resource Planning products, and demonstrating key research factors. It includes cases demonstrating how small enterprises have benefited from FOS-ERP in Spain and in Belgium, along with difficulties encountered and solutions developed. This essential reference addresses key issues such as security and legal risks, as well as challenges, opportunities, and barriers to adoption.