Maymester 2004
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Section 0201
Heavilon 227
M-F, 9:50-12:00.
Dr. David Blakesley
Office: Heavilon 302c
Hours: M-Th, 9:00-9:50 a.m. and by appt.
Ph: 765.494.3772
Fax: 765.494.3780
blakesle@purdue.edu

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This Open Source Contexts Project is the first phase of a larger Open Source Development and Documentation Project being launched at Purdue. In this first phase, the focus is on establishing an archive of essential readings for learning about business and professional applications of Open Source.

project summary

In this project, you will be asked to do web-based and library research and then to write in three-person teams an informative white paper on the history, development, and contexts of the Open Source movement, or about Open Source solutions in electronic commerce, digital communiction and workflow, and content management systems in business and educational contexts. How did Open Source get started? What is its nature as a community? Is it a good idea for businesses to invest in Open Source electronic commerce and content management systems, for example?  How can Open Source solutions help? What are the hidden costs? What examples are out there?

project goals

This project emphasizes several important goals that all professional writers should bear in mind and that are consistent with those of the Professional Writing Program at Purdue. In the Open Source Contexts Project, you will learn to shape your writing for very specific situations and purposes:

Writing in Context
Analyze professional cultures, social contexts, and audiences to determine how they shape the various purposes and forms of writing, such as persuasion, organizational communication, and public discourse.

Writing Process
Develop and understand various strategies for planning, researching, drafting, revising, and editing documents that respond effectively and ethically to professional situations and audiences.

Collaboration
Learn and apply strategies for successful collaboration, such as working and communicating on-line with colleagues, setting and achieving project goals, and responding constructively to peers' work.

Research
Understand and use various research methods to produce professional documents, including analyzing professional contexts, assessing and using information resources, and determining how various media and technologies affect and are affected by users and readers.

Technology
Develop strategies for using and adapting various communication technologies to manage projects and produce informative and usable professional documents.

Document Design
Learn to argue with visual data, understanding and implementing various principles of format, layout, and design of professional documents that meet multiple user and reader needs.

project summary | project goals | deliverables | resources | grading | grading criteria | revision | top

deliverables

Step 1: Topic Development. After your teams are formed and you've had a chance to discuss ways to focus your topic, write a one-page memo, addressed to me, stating your topic's focus and your reasons for choosing the topic and your approach. Follow the guidelines for memo writing outlined at Purdue's Owl. Your memo will be read and reviewed during class. Email an electronic copy in PDF format to me (blakesle@purdue.edu) and each team member. This step is due on Thursday, May 27 by the middle of class.

Topic Ideas (other topics possible, too)

• Origin and History of Open Source (may be broken down into early, middle, late)
• Grant Opportunities for Open Source Development and Engagement
• GNU License
• Linux in Open Source Movement
• Red Hat Development of Linux
• Nature of SourceForge.net
• Free Software Foundation
• Copyleft
• Creative Commons Licensing
• How to Publish a White Paper Under CCL or GNU
• Business and Open Source
• Political Issues in Open Source
• OpenOffice.org

Step 2: Resource list containing at least 10 entries, 2 of whiich should be print-based sources. Resources that offer definitive background information or that are frequently cited in the research should be included. Email your resource list in Word (.doc) format to me (blakesle@purdue.edu) for comments, suggestions, and compiling. Be sure to copy all team members. Provide full bibliographic information (Authorship/Title/Publication Information). Use the Columbia Guide to Online Style (CGOS) format for electronic sources. Use MLA citation style for printed sources. (See Purdue's OWL for more on that style.) Be sure to copy all team members. Electronic draft due by the end of the day on Friday, May 28.

Note: Here is the "Humanities Style" format for bibliographic entries:

Author's Last Name, First Name."Title of Document." Title of Complete Work [if applicable]. Version or File Number [if applicable]. Document date or date of last revision [if different from access date]. Protocol and address, access path or directories (date of access).

Step 3: White Paper. A white paper is an informative and definitive overview of a well-focused topic. White papers typically include an "Executive Summary," "Background Information," "Key Issues" or "Key Developments," "Resource List," and a number of other sections, depending on the nature of the subject matter (a chronology, remaining challenges, future prospects, etc.)

Rhetorical Situation: The primary audience for your white paper consists of peers working on Open Source development and documentation projects at Purdue. A subsidiary audience is other people interested in the Open Source movement and community, people who want to develop Open Source for business, education, and enterprise purposes. The purpose of your white papter should be to provide essential and accurate background reading on a wide-range of topics relevant to the Open Source Development and Documentation Project.

Length and Format: The length of your white paper will depend somewhat on your choice of topics, but you should try to limit it to five pages or less (double-spaced, using standard formatting criteria discussed in class).

Future Development: All authors who agree to do so, will publish their white papers under Creative Commons or GNU Licensing (or an appropriate alternative) on a site to be hosted by the Professional Writing Program.

Sample White Papers for Reference:

• Iraq: Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) (PDF)
• INTEGRATING FINANCIAL EDUCATION INTO SCHOOL CURRICULA (PDF)
• WHITE PAPER ON MANAGEMENT OF DCNR LANDS (PDF)
• China-U.S. Relations (PDF)

Uses of White Papers in Business:

• Effective Marketing Using White Papers (PDF format)
• Creating White Papers That Drive Sales (PDF format)

Printed draft due for peer review: Wednesday, June 2.

Step 4: Collaborative Project Evaluation. An important component of your project is successful collaboration. At the end, I want each member of the team to complete and submit individually in your Turn-In folder this completed the Collaborative Project Evaluation form (Word format). Your evaluation is intended to be private, so it should not be completed together as a team.  It should be in your turn-in folder on day your project is due, Thursday, June 3.

Turning in Your Project:
Please collect Steps 1-3 as a single PDF file and submit it to (at least) one team member's Turn-In folder. Also, submit steps 1-3 in Word format and as separate files so that they may be revised and re-edited later.

File-Naming:

For the PDF file (containing Steps 1-3): yourtopic-whitepaper.pdf

For the Word files:

1. yourtopic-proposal.doc
2. yourtopic-resources.doc
3. yourtopic-whitepaper.doc

The Project is due on Thursday, June 3, by the end of the day.

project summary | project goals | deliverables | resources | grading | grading criteria | revision | top

resources

White Papers/Articles on Open Source

• "The Cathedral and the Bizarre" by Eric S. Raymond
• The Origins and Future of Open Source Software (White Paper)
• Netscape Communicator Open Source Code White Paper
• A Brief Introduction to Open Source by Conor Nelson (PDF)
• A model for open source software development by Wilbur Pan (PDF)
• Uses of OpenOffice for eBusiness by Louis Suárez-Potts (PDF)

Websites

• SourceForge.Net
• NewsForge
• The GNU Project and About the  GNU Project and GNU Licenses
• Free Software Foundation
• Free Software Magazine
• OpenOffice.org
• What Is Linux?
• Sample GNU General Public License (Linux); Read also this NY Times article from May 25, 2004 on "R.I.P.: The Counterculture Aura of Linux" (PDF format)
• RedHat
• SCO Group (Unix)
• NetAction
• Creative Commons
• The Apache Software Foundation

Communities

• Drupal and the DrupalEd Development
• SourceForge.Net (Massive listings)
• OSCommerce

grading

The Open Source Contexts Project is worth 25% of your course grade. The breakdown for each of its components is as follows:

grading criteria

When I assign a grade to your project, I will pay particular attention to see whether your white paper is informative and accurate and that you avoid as much as possible arguing a particular position. You should strive for a balance of perspectives and accurate coverage of a focused topic. The point is not to advocate for a position or "pamphleteer," but to establish a foundation of knowledge about the subject that future students and researches will find useful. I will also weigh your feedback on the Collaborative Project Evaluation form (Word format) in assigning a grade for your participation in the project.

revision

You will have opportunities to revise your work over time and after the class as part of the continuing development of the Open Source Development and Documentation Project at Purdue.

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