FLOSS as Democratic Principle
Perry, Mark & Fitzgerald, Brian (2006) FLOSS as Democratic Principle. International Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Society, 2(3), pp. 155-164.
|
PDF
(340kB)
4425.pdf. |
Description
Free software – software in which the human readable source code is disclosed and distributed to the world - provides an excellent opportunity to "scrutinise" how software operates. By way of contrast, software that is distributed in binary form with the source code not disclosed (closed) promotes secrecy and ignorance as to how the software operates. If I were just about to be convicted of murder or to elect a President through a democratic process that relied on software I would feel more comfortable knowing the inner thoughts of that software – for software as a discursive practice has the power through its coding by humans (normally large private corporations) to construct knowledge much the same was as language, and embodies the thoughts of those that build it. Our thesis is that core software infrastructure in a vibrant democracy must be able to be scrutinised, reviewed and made accountable by any citizen through access to the source code. At present, free software provides that opportunity. What is more, free software allows citizens to better participate in and improve upon the process of democracy.
Impact and interest:
Citation counts are sourced monthly from Scopus and Web of Science® citation databases.
These databases contain citations from different subsets of available publications and different time periods and thus the citation count from each is usually different. Some works are not in either database and no count is displayed. Scopus includes citations from articles published in 1996 onwards, and Web of Science® generally from 1980 onwards.
Citations counts from the Google Scholar™ indexing service can be viewed at the linked Google Scholar™ search.
Full-text downloads:
Full-text downloads displays the total number of times this work’s files (e.g., a PDF) have been downloaded from QUT ePrints as well as the number of downloads in the previous 365 days. The count includes downloads for all files if a work has more than one.
| ID Code: | 224955 |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Contribution to Journal (Journal Article) |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Measurements or Duration: | 10 pages |
| Keywords: | Core Government Infrastructure, Democracy, Free and Open Source Software, Security |
| ISSN: | 1832-3669 |
| Pure ID: | 33869456 |
| Divisions: | Past > QUT Faculties & Divisions > Faculty of Law Current > Schools > School of Law |
| Copyright Owner: | Consult author(s) regarding copyright matters |
| Copyright Statement: | This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the document is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe that this work infringes copyright please provide details by email to qut.copyright@qut.edu.au |
| Deposited On: | 07 Nov 2021 06:50 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Mar 2026 23:15 |
Export: EndNote | Dublin Core | BibTeX
Repository Staff Only: item control page