Browsing by Subject "Open source"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Development of an Ecosystem of Open Source Environmental Data Loggers
    (2021-12) Schulz, Bobby
    Automated data loggers are used extensively in the fields of environmental and agricultural monitoring. There exist a variety of commercial data logger options as well as several open source options. Between these systems there is the long established trade-off of reliability and support for cost. Open source systems generally do not have dedicated support and require a greater onus on the user, but as a result are significantly lower in cost. However, there is a potentially more significant issue which has yet to be addressed: flexibility. As the cost and power consumption of instrumentation has decreased in the previous decades, the field of automated instrumentation has expanded from standard meteorological (MET) stations into a myriad of novel sensing applications. This is an issue which, in general, both the commercial and open source communities have failed to address. By and large, the open source loggers which are available currently are developed with the goal of replacing their commercial alternatives, as a singular and highly generic device. It is felt that this is not the optimal approach, as it is unreasonable to believe that a single device could adequately serve all of these unique sensing challenges. With this in mind, we have developed a series of open source dataloggers, each designed to exist in concert with each other as opposed to in competition. All this is done with the goal of best meeting the needs of researchers for their unique applications in a flexible, low cost, and robust system.
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    The moral field of computing.
    (2011-12) Smajda, Jon
    This dissertation examines the culture of open source software development and debates around ``openness'' in computing through the lens of sociology. Drawing on contemporary theory and research in cultural, economic, and political sociology, I develop a framework---the moral field of computing---for making sense of the role that group boundaries and moral beliefs play in the day-to-day work of software development. I first show how this field emerged over time during the mid- to late-20th century, and then I show its structure animates the contentious debates and decisions within computing today by analyzing data collected as a participant-observer in several open source communities. For researchers studying computing, this dissertation places the unique culture of software development into a larger context of modern liberalism and sociological research and theory on the relationship between work, democracy, and the market. For sociologists, this dissertation represents a theoretical attempt to understand the relationship between group boundaries, community identities, and moral worldviews through examining an empirical case that has been understudied and undertheorized within the context of cultural sociology and sociological theory.
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    Organizational decision making related to instructional technology at small liberal arts colleges and universities
    (2013-06) Vandover, William Frederick
    This study examines the factors that influence the creation, purchase, and selection of free instructional technology. Specifically, this study uses the RIPPLES Model to examine the perceptions and reflections of instructional technology directors and staff members with regard to the Resources, Infrastructure, People, Policies, Learning, Evaluation, and Support available to instructional technology creation, purchasing, selection, and implementation at their institutions. Thirteen participants at seven small, residential liberal arts colleges and universities in the United States were located using peer nomination technique. The higher education instructional technology community was asked to nominate instructional technology staff members at institutions that were exemplars of building home grown instructional technology tools, purchasing instructional technology tools, implementing open source instructional technology tools, or utilizing free web-based instructional technology tools. The findings are based on interviews of approximately one hour with each of the thirteen participants. An interview protocol based on a previous interview protocol developed by Dr. Daniel Surry, the creator of the RIPPLES Model, was utilized. Creswell's three-step data analysis process was utilized to find categories of responses related to decision-making regarding instructional technology from the perspective of instructional technology directors and staff members are discussed. The Resources, People, Policies, and Evaluation dimensions of the RIPPLES Model provided the most salient findings about organizational decision making regarding instructional technology. The findings of the study provide small, residential liberal arts institutions with very useful comparison cases as they are considering the types of instructional technologies to explore and implement. The study also provides valuable information about how instructional technology staff groups are structured and the effects of staffing models on interactions with faculty members.