7.2.9 Open Source
Completion requirements
7.2.9 Open Source
To what extent should globalization shape identity?
Open source refers to the belief in open access for the production and design of various goods, products, resources, and technology. The term was first used to describe the development of software applications when computer programmers found that they could develop better and more efficient programs by working together without restrictions than they did by working independently or as part of corporate teams. Open source is based on the belief that ideas are free and should not be owned or copyrighted for profit.
The open source model has grown from software applications to other forms of knowledge sharing, product development, and decision making. It allows regular people with new ideas and expertise to help solve problems. A powerful example of the open source movement is the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, Wikipedia. There are also open source schools, open source media under Creative Commons, and even OpenCola, an organization that provides a recipe for a cola beverage they claim tastes the same as Coke or Pepsi, both of which have heavily guarded recipes!
Massive Change is a movement that was started by Canadian industrial designer Bruce Mau. Mau believes that we have the ability to construct the world we want. He believes that design has placed us at the beginning of a new, unprecedented period of human possibility in which our world is global and interconnected.
He also believes that we need to build a global society that can direct and control these new forces to achieve the most positive outcome. "We must ask ourselves: Now that we can do anything, what will we do?" (Bruce Mau)
His idea is that, through the sharing of many concepts including design, we can make the world a better place. The idea of collaboration and the sharing of technology is part of the open source movement.
Massive Change uses the media to communicate its message to people around the world. It has hosted informal public gatherings, an online discussion forum, installations at art galleries such as the Vancouver Art Gallery, books, a website, a newsletter, and frequent radio and podcast interviews. Many school jurisdictions are incorporating his work into the curriculum.
Massive Change in action: Massive Change helps make ideas reality. One project is the bicycle ambulance project in Malawi in southern Africa. Malawi is a very poor country where most people live in rural areas. Roads and cars are few. Getting ill or injured people to hospital is very difficult. Canadian design student Niki Dun thought of an idea for her final thesis at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design — an ambulance that could be pulled by bicycle.
A non-governmental organization, Transaid, became involved and helped Niki Dun with costs. Working with the agency in Africa and a garage and welding association, the first few bicycle ambulances were designed. Communication was a problem at first, but the team worked together to build a usable and sustainable design.
The design of the bicycle ambulance achieves both economic and humanitarian goals by hiring local people and materials. It fills a social need by improving access to medical care. When Transaid personnel made a follow-up visit to the area where the project was first tested, they found that the ambulances were being used extensively and were well managed by villagers.
Drawings for the bicycle ambulance will soon be available online to help more groups and more communities use this innovative and economical design.
Today, Niki Dun is working to establish an organization called Design for Development that will show that we can apply industrial design to produce long-term, appropriate, and practical solutions to meet the needs of developing countries.
Watch this short video that explains open source using LEGO!
Criticisms of open source: Some people believe that the open source movement cannot last because no profit is involved. They claim that, if people invent products or develop ideas in new ways, they should be rewarded with money. They should hold intellectual property rights for their effort. They suggest that, if people are not rewarded for their work, they will not be able to afford to build these new products.
However, open-source collaboration is sustainable and it can lead to greater prosperity while enriching our identities.
| "The future is open source everything." |
| Linus Torvalds, inventor of the Linux operating system |
The open source model has grown from software applications to other forms of knowledge sharing, product development, and decision making. It allows regular people with new ideas and expertise to help solve problems. A powerful example of the open source movement is the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, Wikipedia. There are also open source schools, open source media under Creative Commons, and even OpenCola, an organization that provides a recipe for a cola beverage they claim tastes the same as Coke or Pepsi, both of which have heavily guarded recipes!
Case Study: Massive Change
Massive Change is a movement that was started by Canadian industrial designer Bruce Mau. Mau believes that we have the ability to construct the world we want. He believes that design has placed us at the beginning of a new, unprecedented period of human possibility in which our world is global and interconnected.
He also believes that we need to build a global society that can direct and control these new forces to achieve the most positive outcome. "We must ask ourselves: Now that we can do anything, what will we do?" (Bruce Mau)
His idea is that, through the sharing of many concepts including design, we can make the world a better place. The idea of collaboration and the sharing of technology is part of the open source movement.
Massive Change uses the media to communicate its message to people around the world. It has hosted informal public gatherings, an online discussion forum, installations at art galleries such as the Vancouver Art Gallery, books, a website, a newsletter, and frequent radio and podcast interviews. Many school jurisdictions are incorporating his work into the curriculum.
Courtesy of Niki Dun
Courtesy of Niki Dun
Massive Change in action: Massive Change helps make ideas reality. One project is the bicycle ambulance project in Malawi in southern Africa. Malawi is a very poor country where most people live in rural areas. Roads and cars are few. Getting ill or injured people to hospital is very difficult. Canadian design student Niki Dun thought of an idea for her final thesis at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design — an ambulance that could be pulled by bicycle.
A non-governmental organization, Transaid, became involved and helped Niki Dun with costs. Working with the agency in Africa and a garage and welding association, the first few bicycle ambulances were designed. Communication was a problem at first, but the team worked together to build a usable and sustainable design.
The design of the bicycle ambulance achieves both economic and humanitarian goals by hiring local people and materials. It fills a social need by improving access to medical care. When Transaid personnel made a follow-up visit to the area where the project was first tested, they found that the ambulances were being used extensively and were well managed by villagers.
Drawings for the bicycle ambulance will soon be available online to help more groups and more communities use this innovative and economical design.
Today, Niki Dun is working to establish an organization called Design for Development that will show that we can apply industrial design to produce long-term, appropriate, and practical solutions to meet the needs of developing countries.
Watch
Watch this short video that explains open source using LEGO!
Reflect
Criticisms of open source: Some people believe that the open source movement cannot last because no profit is involved. They claim that, if people invent products or develop ideas in new ways, they should be rewarded with money. They should hold intellectual property rights for their effort. They suggest that, if people are not rewarded for their work, they will not be able to afford to build these new products.
However, open-source collaboration is sustainable and it can lead to greater prosperity while enriching our identities.