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A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 1/22
A Baseline Survey on Free andOpen Source Software in theSouth Pacific: Knowledge,
Awareness, and Usage.
Marko SchützDept. of Math & CS, USP, Suva, Fiji
Natasha KhanICT Capacity Building at USP, USP, Suva, Fiji
Atish ChandDept. of Math & CS, USP, Suva, Fiji
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 2/22
Software• software is a medium• different representations: source code,
machine code• machine code: for execution on computer• source code: for humans to read, modify, ...
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 3/22
Free/open source software• distinction based on rights:
proprietary softwareuse on one computer
free and open source softwarefree distribution, access to source code,modifiable, redistribution
• “Free as in freedom,not free as in free beer”
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 4/22
MotivationFOSS usage increasing world-wide.Benefits derived in diverse environments.Ranging:• from developing to developed countries• from poor, rural regions to rich city
administrations• from very small to very large organizations
(e.g. ICBC in China: 390,000 employees)• over diverse private sector corporations in
e.g. IT, banking, hotel franchise,toy retailers
• from primary to tertiary education
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 5/22
FOSS benefits / requirementsaccessibility
adequate procurement
assistance
auditing
awareness
capacity building
community
empower
enable learning
job creation
license cost
government needs
localization
reliability
local investment
security
vendor independence
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 6/22
Questions and ObjectivesQuestion
“What are the obstacles for maximizingthe benefits derived from FOSS forthe region?”
Objectives• Knowledge and awareness
◦ heard of FOSS◦ understand its principles, principles of
proprietary software◦ able to classify popular packages
(Mozilla, Apache, Internet Explorer)◦ sources of knowledge
• ...
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 7/22
Questions and ObjectivesObjectives cont.
• Usage◦ extent of usage◦ who uses it?◦ purpose of usage◦ reasons for using / not using
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 8/22
Methodology• quantitative and qualitative• 467 structured interviews• distinguish organizations and individuals• participation from Fiji, Marshall Islands,
Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu,and Vanuatu
• no interest from Cook Islands, Kiribati,Nauru, Niue, and Tokelau
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 9/22
MethodologyInternet Sample Completed
Country Population users size interviews
Fiji Is. 851,820 55,000 300 159
Marshall Is. 54,313 1,400 40 30
Samoa 181,983 4,000 90 88
Solomon Is. 470,661 2,500 40 40
Tonga 103,058 2,900 80 77
Tuvalu 9,743 1,300 30 25
Vanuatu 213,364 7,500 40 48
Total 1,884,942 74,600 620 467
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 10/22
Background• based on 387 interviews
(225 organizations, 162 individuals)• at least a degree
42.7% organizations, 56.0% individualshigher degrees → larger organizations
• above age 3531.1% organizations, 10.5% individuals
• one third small, one third medium, one thirdmicro + large organizations
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 11/22
BackgroundOrganization’s sector % of total
Government and Public Sector 30.5
Private Sector 51.6
Civil Society 4.2
Regional Organisation 7.5
Other 6.1
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 12/22
Awareness• heard of FOSS
51.6% organizations, 59.3% individualsvaries with country, organization size
• want to know more57.8% organizations, 69.1% individuals
• understand basic FOSS principles24.4% organizations, 29.6% individualsbetter understanding in largerorganizations
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 13/22
Awareness• understand FOSS license principles
< 2%• classify popular packages
frequently misclassified:Netscape, Java, Mozilla, Real Player,MySQL / PostgreSQL, Internet Explorer,Windows Media Player
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 14/22
Usage• currently using proprietary software
91.1% organizations, n.a. to individuals• currently using FOSS
27.1% organizations, 34.0% individuals• used FOSS before, but not anymore
0.9% organizations, 4.9% individuals• FOSS usage varies
13.2% organizations in Tonga –45.8% individuals in Fiji
• 5.7% turnover ≤ F$30,000 –37.3% turnover > F$2 million
• 23.1% government and public sector –50.0% regional organizations
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 15/22
Recommendationsproblem lack of financial incentive due to use
of unauthorized copies. High unforeseencost when laws or enforcement changes.
recommendations• small business training addresses
licensing (proprietary and FOSS)• industrial and professional organizations
educate about risks and alternatives• regional organizations inform on
proprietary and FOSS licensing• USP strengthens information and
education on FOSS and proprietary andFOSS licensing
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 16/22
Recommendationsproblem general unawareness of FOSS and
its characteristics hinders maximal benefitgood sources Internet, magazines,
newspapers, work colleaguesrecommendations
• focus on good sources to increaseawareness
• IT workers form a common forum forsharing FOSS information
• authoritative FOSS personnel producecolumns on FOSS in PIC newspapers
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 17/22
Recommendationsproblem stable, low-cost Internet access
conducive for participation in FOSS, helpspromoting and utilizing FOSS, butunavailable in PICs
recommendations• regional governments strive for cheap,
reliable and fast Internet accesscomparable to developed nations.
• PICs and ICT organizations support aregional FOSS repository distributed viaDVD/CD for those without reliableInternet access
• FOSS developers are granted privilegedInternet access
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 18/22
Recommendationsproblem usage in government seems
sporadic, not part of strategy or vision.recommendations
• government officials are educated onFOSS
• regional governments develop ICTstrategy and (procurement) policiesconsidering advantages andcharacteristics of FOSS
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 19/22
Recommendationsproblem difficulty migrating to FOSS due to
lack of training facilities and cost ofmigration
recommendations• promote functional comparison of
proprietary and FOSS applications, e.g.MS Office and OpenOffice, to assistmigration
• training of instructors to assist withmigration
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 20/22
Recommendationsproblem teaching at USP is biased towards
proprietary software, internally andexternally distributed files use proprietaryformats, and there is little awareness ofFOSS in secondary education
recommendations• curricula at tertiary and secondary
schools include FOSS• CS and IS curricula at USP ensure
adequate treatment of FOSS• official policy encourages use of open
standards in file exchange (e.g. PDF,HTML, RTF, XML, CSV)
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 21/22
Recommendationsrecommendations cont.
• provide cheap computers installed withrelevant light-weight FOSS systems andapplications to PICs primary andsecondary schools
• teacher training institutes, PIC Ministriesof Education, and teaching associationsprovide training to teachers andcurriculum developers on FOSS
• the USP BED program in ComputerStudies and other teaching qualificationprogrammes include FOSS education
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·Software
·Free & open
·Motivation
·FOSS benefits /requirements
·Questions andObjectives
·Methodology
·Background
·Awareness
·Usage
·Recommendations
·Thanks
A Baseline Survey on Free and Open Source Software in the South Pacific: Knowledge, Awareness, and Usage - p. 22/22
Thanks• Abdul Nadeem Aziz,
Fiji Islands
• Mark Dennis, Solomon Islands
• Lupeti Fihaki, Tuvalu
• Kisione Finau, Fiji Islands
• Monica Gabriel, Samoa
• Jeffrey Garae, Vanuatu
• Mesui Halaufia, Tonga
• Maki Kato, Fjii Islands
• Dohsis Lokot, Marshall Islands
• Nola Mahe, Fiji Islands
• Christina Mitini,Solomon Islands
• Grinalee Mizutani,Marshall Islands
• Christian Omlin, Fiji Islands
• Tobias Pfeil, Germany
• Philip Pukefenua,Solomon Islands
• Steven Ratuva, Fiji Islands
• Vishal Sanjeeva Reddy,Fiji Islands
• Petra Schmuck, Fiji Islands
• Taniela Sila, Tonga
• Julia Solofa, Samoa
• Mataina Solofa, Samoa
• Adrian Vatuvoi, Tonga
• Edward Williams, Vanuatu
SoftwareFree/open source softwareMotivationFOSS benefits / requirementsQuestions and ObjectivesQuestions and ObjectivesMethodologyMethodologyBackgroundBackgroundAwarenessAwarenessUsageRecommendationsRecommendationsRecommendationsRecommendationsRecommendationsRecommendationsRecommendationsThanks