Determinants of Unlawful File Sharing: A Scoping Review

We employ a scoping review methodology to consider and assess the existing evidence on the determinants of unlawful file sharing (UFS) transparently and systematically. Based on the evidence, we build a simple conceptual framework to model the psychological decision to engage in UFS, purchase legally or do nothing. We identify social, moral, experiential, technical, legal and financial utility sources of the decision to purchase or to file share. They interact in complex ways. We consider the strength of evidence within these areas and note patterns of results. There is good evidence for influences on UFS within each of the identified determinants, particularly for self-reported measures, with more behavioral research needed. There are also indications that the reasons for UFS differ across media; more studies exploring media other than music are required

BLOODY PIRATES!!! *shakes fist*: re-imagining East Asian film distribution and reception through online filesharing networks

Through an examination of the findings of an ethnographic study of online forums concerned with sharing East Asian films, this article considers how these filesharing forums enable audiences to both reimagine and reconfigure their relationship with the text. Rather than replacing traditional forms of production, distribution and consumption, these activities exist alongside them, but can be considered to further blur the boundaries between such categorizations. On filesharing forums, films will be sourced, encoded, shared, promoted, subtitled, recommended and reviewed by a range of people who cannot be easily categorized as simply consumers, producers or distributors in any traditional sense. As such, the ‘linear’ industry model where a film is produced distributed and consumed by people who occupy strict roles in the process explodes into a network model that involves a varied and dispersed group of people (both professional and amateur). Perhaps more significantly, these forum members see their online activities as adding value to the product; far from viewing themselves as revenue-stealing ‘pirates’ they conceive of themselves as almost part of the East Asian film industry. By viewing their activities as promotional and adopting ethical codes they interpret their own behaviour as positively contributing to an industry that they hold in the highest regard

Changing Deliberative Norms on News Organizations\u27 Facebook Sites

Comments posted to news sites do not always live up to the ideals of deliberative theorists. Drawing from theories about deliberation and group norms, this study investigates whether news organizations can affect comment section norms by engaging directly with commenters. We conducted a field study with a local television station in a top-50 Designated Market Area. For 70 political posts made on different days, we randomized whether an unidentified staff member from the station, a recognizable political reporter, or no one engaged with commenters. We assessed if these changes affected whether the comments (n = 2,403) were civil, were relevant, contained genuine questions, and provided evidence. The findings indicate that a news organization can affect the deliberative behavior of commenters