linuxchix.org.nz

Hi there!

My name is Maciej and I study Global Studies at Gothenburg University,
Sweden. Currently I'm preparing to write my master thesis in which I want
to investigate free and open source software community using global civil
society's theories. Therefore I would like to ask the FOSS community
members, both developers and users, to help me with my research. Your
motivations of using this kind of software is the key to my study. Although
vast majority of  FOSS community are men I believe that women's opinions
can contribute to valuable findings in this study. Therefore there are very
important to me.

I would like to create few virtual focus groups in which motivations of
using FOSS would be discussed by the interviewees. The place would be
Google groups (I hope not too many people will object using this platform,
but this is the easiest way to conduct a survey...). Whole discussion will
be carried out in English. Well, I'm Polish myself so if I find enough
Poles willing to take a part in the group interview one of the groups may
include Polish speakers only. Although everybody who declares using FOSS
can join the research, the focus groups in this study will be closed for
public. The survey will consist of asynchronous communication over a 2-3
weeks period and will start as soon as I get enough people – hopefully in
5-15 days time.

If you are interested please contact me to my e mail –
m.piosik@gmail.com
Few sentences about yourself would be  appreciated:) I expect my master
thesis to be done in September 2010 and the findings will be available to
all interested people. Also, I promise to preserve anonymity of anybody
taking part in the interview if such a person wishes so.

Please note that you don't need to create a Google account in order to use
Google groups – you can use your current e mail address. All instructions
will be given..

Needless to say that the software on my computer is almost all free and
open source.

Thank you for your help and I hope we will have fun in the discussion!

We'd like to encourage all women in the Linux community to submit a
proposal to speak at LinuxCon, the industry's premiere Linux conference.
While our CFP has closed officially, we still have it open to receive
last minute submissions.

LinuxCon 2010 is taking place August 10-12 in Boston, MA and will bring
together the best and brightest that the Linux community has to offer,
including core developers, administrators, end users, community managers
and industry experts. LinuxCon provides an unmatched collaboration and
education space for all matters Linux. With a wide range of speakers and
attendees, LinuxCon offers a unique conference experience that
encourages collaboration, progress and interaction. We invite you to
share your ideas and experiences with the Linux community by submitting
proposals for presentations, tutorials, birds of a feather sessions,
panels, lightning sessions and workgroups.

http://events.linuxfoundation.org/events/linuxcon/cfp

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The link will say that applications are closed, but apparently you can
still send them in and they will be accepted.