Networked information technologies and especially the internet, have brought about extensive changes and re-arrangements in cultural production, distribution, commercialisation and consumption of creative content. As an attempt to create a type of copyright licenses better suited for the online environment, the Creative Commons (CC) organisation has launched a license suite that allows creators to openly distribute and share their work under varying levels of restrictions. This thesis aim is to explore the motivations, expectations and understandings of both users and non users of CC licenses within the Independent Filmmaking Community. The research maps out the strategies and diverse business models that users of the licenses develop around their implementation but also the problems and conflicts that arise for both users and non users of the licenses. It therefore sheds light on the processes of adoption, implementation and subsequent fragmentation of the socio-legal innovation that is the CC license suite. While Free and Open Source models of software development (FOSS) have been thoroughly researched, little is known about how other content creators incorporate open licensing strategies within their creative fields. This research aims to address this gap in the literature through the examination of the use of CC licenses by Open Content Filmmakers. Building on theoretical and empirical research in Science and Technology Studies my aim is to analyse the legal innovation of CC licenses by focusing on how they are embedded within the everyday practices of open content filmmakers. By applying the Social Shaping of Technology framework and more specifically the Social Learning perspective, I examine the ways different actors ascribe meaning and conceptualise the role and usefulness of the licenses for their creative practices. Filmmakers negotiate the licenses’ significance through their interactions with diverse actors. These negotiations entail conflicting interpretations as different actors often have different agendas, commitments and resources, resulting in the transformation of both the licenses’ stated goals and of the perceived affordances of digital technologies. Drawing on multi-sited ethnography and rich qualitative data, this thesis captures the processes of learning by doing and learning by interaction, as filmmakers seek to find an appropriate way of applying the licenses, situating them within their localised creative endeavours through trial and error practices. The analysis of empirical evidence reveals how independent filmmakers navigate between ideological imperatives and practical considerations in order to form distinct, heterogeneous configurations that work for them, instead of outright adopting a homogeneous generic vision for how copyright should be applied in the digital environment.

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This dissertation examines localization of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Himalayan community technology centers of Nepal. Specifically, I examine strategies and practices that local knowledge-workers utilize in order to localize educational content for the disparate needs, interests, and ability-levels of learners in rural villages. This study draws on insights from non-formal education (NFE) stakeholders in Nepal, including government, UN, international and national NGOs, local knowledge-workers, and learners from different villages. I specifically focus on a sample of seven technology centers to better understand how localization is defined, designed, and executed at a ground level. I illuminate obstacles knowledge-workers face while localizing content and strategies to overcome such barriers. I conclude by offering key principles to support theory development related to OER localization. This study is anchored in hermeneutic inquiry and is augmented by interpretive phenomenological analysis and quasi-ethnographic research methods. This qualitative study employed interviews, focus group discussions, observations, and artifact reviews to identify patterns of localization practices and themes related to localization of critical content in Himalayan community technology centers of Nepal. This dissertation provides valuable evidence not only why localization matters (a statement that has been hypothesized for the past decade); but also provides proof of how localization is executed and concrete ways that localization could be improved in order for OER to reap efficacious learning gains for more rural people in developing countries and in other rural communities across the globe. The full text of this dissertation may be downloaded for free from http://etd.byu.edu/

The Government of South Africa adopted a policy on Free Open Source Software (FOSS) in 2003. This policy requires all government entities to migrate their IT to open source. This adoption of the FOSS policy is based on evidence of potential FOSS contributions to economic development generally, and directly support South African economic development priorities. In spite of the adoption of this policy, rates of adoption of FOSS in the SA government are low. This is partly because there is a lack of documentation of successful cases of migration. In addition, there is no strategic management framework that managers can use as a guide for migration. This lack of documentation may result in managers in government finding it difficult to know how best to go about migrating to FOSS. A failure to address this problem will delay the take-up of FOSS, in spite of all its stated benefits. Evidence so far within the government of South Africa is that the adoption of FOSS is progressing rather slowly. Making use of a qualitative research method that combines grounded theory with a case study method in four South African Government organisations, this study develops a strategic management framework for IT migration to FOSS in the South African public service. The four organisations that were part of this study were: the National Library of South Africa; the Presidential National Commission on Information Society and Development; the Electronic National Traffic Information System and the State Information Technology Agency. Data was collected using an open-ended interview guide. A strategic management framework for Information Technology migration to FOSS will assist the Government of South Africa with the better implementation of its FOSS policy. The framework will provide guidance to public sector managers regarding how the process of migrating can best be managed. Content analysis is used to derive the framework that shows that IT migration to FOSS in the public sector of South Africa follows a strategic management process. This process goes through the phases of strategic planning, operational planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. The framework is developed using eclectic explanations of strategic management, including mechanistic and organic perspectives. Correspondence analysis is used to corroborate and validate the framework. The framework is accompanied by a set of management guidelines that managers in the public sector can use in migrating their organisations' IT to FOSS. / School for Business Leadership / (D.B.L. (Strategic Management))

The Government of South Africa adopted a policy on Free Open Source Software (FOSS) in 2003. This policy requires all government entities to migrate their IT to open source. This adoption of the FOSS policy is based on evidence of potential FOSS contributions to economic development generally, and directly support South African economic development priorities. In spite of the adoption of this policy, rates of adoption of FOSS in the SA government are low. This is partly because there is a lack of documentation of successful cases of migration. In addition, there is no strategic management framework that managers can use as a guide for migration. This lack of documentation may result in managers in government finding it difficult to know how best to go about migrating to FOSS. A failure to address this problem will delay the take-up of FOSS, in spite of all its stated benefits. Evidence so far within the government of South Africa is that the adoption of FOSS is progressing rather slowly. Making use of a qualitative research method that combines grounded theory with a case study method in four South African Government organisations, this study develops a strategic management framework for IT migration to FOSS in the South African public service. The four organisations that were part of this study were: the National Library of South Africa; the Presidential National Commission on Information Society and Development; the Electronic National Traffic Information System and the State Information Technology Agency. Data was collected using an open-ended interview guide. A strategic management framework for Information Technology migration to FOSS will assist the Government of South Africa with the better implementation of its FOSS policy. The framework will provide guidance to public sector managers regarding how the process of migrating can best be managed. Content analysis is used to derive the framework that shows that IT migration to FOSS in the public sector of South Africa follows a strategic management process. This process goes through the phases of strategic planning, operational planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. The framework is developed using eclectic explanations of strategic management, including mechanistic and organic perspectives. Correspondence analysis is used to corroborate and validate the framework. The framework is accompanied by a set of management guidelines that managers in the public sector can use in migrating their organisations' IT to FOSS. / School for Business Leadership / (D.B.L. (Strategic Management))