The Trouble with Normal...
Journal of Peer Production #15 TRANSITION (Jul 2020)
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Deadline for submission of abstracts: 30 Jul 2020 https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rdFzMpVZ5Ys/Xv97Ne77ggI/AAAAAAAAzQQ/1MjgrXzkO_U__m3VAHY-GMrUMAskyCsrwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/pr.png Peer production and our crisesPeer producers are people who create and manage common-pool resources together. It sometimes seems as if “peer production” and “digital commons” can be used interchangeably. Digital commons such as free and open source software and Wikipedia are non-rivalrous (they can be reproduced at little or no cost) and non-excludable (no-one can prevent others from using them, through property rights for example). So, practically speaking, proprietary objects could be produced by equal “peers”. We argue that peer production has a normative dimension so that what chiefly characterizes this mode of production is that “the output is orientated towards the further expansion of the commons; while the commons, recursively, is the chief resource in this mode of production” (Söderberg & O'Neil, 2014, p. 2). The Journal of Peer Production has tracked the evolution of peer production from open knowledge to open design and manufacturing. It approaches its ten-year anniversary in the time of the global pandemic, and of the continuing environmental crisis. The impacts of Covid-19 are profound, but will not last forever, though local infection pools may subsist in poorer countries for much longer than in the Global North. In contrast, the environmental crisis is here to stay. The role of the Journal of Peer ProductionSignificant social change is required to stave off climate destruction, and principles such as cooperation and trust, transparency in production, collective democratic decision-making, etc., can usefully contribute to necessary processes of “relocalization” and “degrowth”.* What should be done to develop the digital and physical commons? What role should the Journal of Peer Production play in this development? And what shape should it take? It is clear that in addition to maintaining its uniquely transparent curation and dissemination of academic research, the Journal of Peer Production needs to expand its work in several ways:
* Should it feature more practical advice to develop commons, such as toolkits and how-to guides?
* Should it comprise policy proposals to help grow the infrastructure which supports the commons?
* In other words, should it combine research and action?
The answer is 'yes' in all three cases. To this end we seek creative, practical and policy-oriented ideas to help invent a new type of scientific journal that both fulfills strict academic criteria, and brings research work closer to practice. Our next issue, JOPP #15 will thus be a "TRANSITION" issue featuring, in addition to peer-reviewed research, experimental formats and "meta" articles. JOPP #15 TRANSITION - Call for PapersWe seek investigations into societal transition (how can we move towards a society where contributions to the commons are valued and recognised?), into the journal's editorial transition (how should the Journal of Peer Production change to assist this societal transition), as well as idiosyncratic understandings of scientific and political transitions. JOPP #15 TRANSITION - Peer-reviewed articles + ComplementWe invite submissions of peer-reviewed academic papers from multiple fields on how "things can change". What are the sociological and historical conditions for transition to occur? For example: what is the impact of manifestos? When is innovation socialised? How can allies be enrolled? etc. Editorial guidelines for peer-reviewed articles: max 8000 words; peer-reviewed in accordance with the JOPP peer review process. For this TRANSITION issue, academic papers must be complemented by a shorter piece in which the co[...]
Journal of Peer Production #15 TRANSITION (Jul 2020)
Website:
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 30 Jul 2020 https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rdFzMpVZ5Ys/Xv97Ne77ggI/AAAAAAAAzQQ/1MjgrXzkO_U__m3VAHY-GMrUMAskyCsrwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/pr.png Peer production and our crisesPeer producers are people who create and manage common-pool resources together. It sometimes seems as if “peer production” and “digital commons” can be used interchangeably. Digital commons such as free and open source software and Wikipedia are non-rivalrous (they can be reproduced at little or no cost) and non-excludable (no-one can prevent others from using them, through property rights for example). So, practically speaking, proprietary objects could be produced by equal “peers”. We argue that peer production has a normative dimension so that what chiefly characterizes this mode of production is that “the output is orientated towards the further expansion of the commons; while the commons, recursively, is the chief resource in this mode of production” (Söderberg & O'Neil, 2014, p. 2). The Journal of Peer Production has tracked the evolution of peer production from open knowledge to open design and manufacturing. It approaches its ten-year anniversary in the time of the global pandemic, and of the continuing environmental crisis. The impacts of Covid-19 are profound, but will not last forever, though local infection pools may subsist in poorer countries for much longer than in the Global North. In contrast, the environmental crisis is here to stay. The role of the Journal of Peer ProductionSignificant social change is required to stave off climate destruction, and principles such as cooperation and trust, transparency in production, collective democratic decision-making, etc., can usefully contribute to necessary processes of “relocalization” and “degrowth”.* What should be done to develop the digital and physical commons? What role should the Journal of Peer Production play in this development? And what shape should it take? It is clear that in addition to maintaining its uniquely transparent curation and dissemination of academic research, the Journal of Peer Production needs to expand its work in several ways:
* Should it feature more practical advice to develop commons, such as toolkits and how-to guides?
* Should it comprise policy proposals to help grow the infrastructure which supports the commons?
* In other words, should it combine research and action?
The answer is 'yes' in all three cases. To this end we seek creative, practical and policy-oriented ideas to help invent a new type of scientific journal that both fulfills strict academic criteria, and brings research work closer to practice. Our next issue, JOPP #15 will thus be a "TRANSITION" issue featuring, in addition to peer-reviewed research, experimental formats and "meta" articles. JOPP #15 TRANSITION - Call for PapersWe seek investigations into societal transition (how can we move towards a society where contributions to the commons are valued and recognised?), into the journal's editorial transition (how should the Journal of Peer Production change to assist this societal transition), as well as idiosyncratic understandings of scientific and political transitions. JOPP #15 TRANSITION - Peer-reviewed articles + ComplementWe invite submissions of peer-reviewed academic papers from multiple fields on how "things can change". What are the sociological and historical conditions for transition to occur? For example: what is the impact of manifestos? When is innovation socialised? How can allies be enrolled? etc. Editorial guidelines for peer-reviewed articles: max 8000 words; peer-reviewed in accordance with the JOPP peer review process. For this TRANSITION issue, academic papers must be complemented by a shorter piece in which the co[...]