IP Outreach Research > IP Crime
Reference
| Title: | Teaching Ethical Copyright Behavior: Assessing the Effects of a University-Sponsored Computing Ethics Program |
| Author: | Jennifer Christie Siemens [University of Dayton], Steven W Kopp [University of Arkansas] |
| Source: | NASPA Journal 43, no. 4: 112-126 |
| Year: | 2006 |
Details
| Subject/Type: | Piracy |
| Focus: | Music |
| Country/Territory: | United States of America |
| Objective: | To investigate the effectiveness of a university-sponsored computing ethics education program. |
| Sample: | 380 freshman students at a private Midwestern university |
| Methodology: | Anonymous web-based survey taken by students enrolled in a required introductory course which included a module on the university's copyright policies with regards to computing resources |
Main Findings
Found that the education program informing students about negative effects of file sharing positively influenced students' ethical beliefs about downloading. The program increased awareness, agreement and compliance with university copyright policies.
However, even after attending the course, 43% of respondents still perceived illegal downloading as a "victimless crime", and males were less likely to agree with the university's policy than females. All methods of dissemination (guest speakers, lectures, online courses, articles in the campus newspaper, and class discussions) appeared to be equally effective. The number of exposures to anti-piracy messages was found to be very important for the success of the education program (two exposures were more effective than none, 4+ exposures were more effective than one).
Simply enacting an anti-downloading policy for the university is not enough - the policy needs to be communicated and explained to the students repeatedly. In view of this, the authors recommend repeating the same message using different dissemination methods, which increases the chance of exposure and, therefore, of success.
[Date Added: Aug 12, 2008 ]