Alex, I am sorry to hear about the madness at your doorstep. I am interested to hear further what happens: downloading and retrieval of information for research go hand-in-hand. It's also interesting to me that Drexel seems to have turned your son over to RIAA. I've heard that some schools are refusing, and lawyers at those schools are advising students not to pay until they are identified. I think what we as a research community need to do is to figure out what makes the conditions possible such that, as you say, winning a lawsuit against RIAA is nearly impossible. Best luck to you and your son - Deanya alex@islands.vi wrote:
My son - a student at Drexel University - was served with a notice from lawyers for RIAA demanding settlement for unlawful downloading of music using LimeWire. The settlement $3,000. The RIAA is targeting university students and demanding payment. Not all kids, just enough to scare the rest. I investigated options, considering fighting a law suit. I have details for anyone who wishes details. Winning a suit against RIAA is nearly impossible. The cost of losing is up to $750 per song. Astronomical. Universities are being targeted since many students use Univ facilities to copy music and they are easier to target than kids at home. Easier to get teh incriminating data.
at issue is that many music sharing tools allow anyone to copy FROM yourHD... meaning everyone isa supplier of illegal copies.
Nevertheless - most students seem to think music should be free and freely copy their favorites.
I have details for anyone who wishes more on this case.
Alex Randall Prof of Communication Univ of the Virgin Islands.
I'm currently researching downloaded music, and my ethics committee was very concerned about my uncovering unlawful activity. While they did not see that I would be obliged to offer the information to authorities, they did say that I would be obliged to report the activity if asked by said authorities.
This seems to be the case for most research here - notifiable offenses such as child abuse excepted - you have to warn participants that if they tell you about, or let you observe illegal activities then you would be obliged to report that to law enforcement if specifically questioned. Notifiable offences you have to report.
Marj
Dr Marjorie Kibby, Senior Lecturer in Communication & Culture Faculty of Education and Arts The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308 Australia Marj.Kibby@newcastle.edu.au +61 2 49216604
Ellis Godard <egodard@csun.edu> 06/02/07 4:56 PM >>> The repeated message that I got in grad school was to consider any arguably illegal or immoral behavior as observed facts to be described and explained, not something to be reported beyond the role as researcher. One oft-repeated example (from someone whose courses I took but with whom I never worked closely) concerned having observed a policeman taking money from the wallet of a vagrant while nominally checking his ID. He did not report the theft either to the policeman's supervisors or to anyone else, though did report it as part of his study (and in class discussions of methods and ethics).
That may be wrong, wrong-headed, unpopular, illegal, unapprovable now, and/or something else - but is the requirement to report such behavior now widespread? Universal?
-eg
Erika Pearson wrote:
I've been reading the general sociology literature on conducting interviews as part of a research project, and some of the literature I have come across makes a point of noting that interviewers should be warning interviewees that any illegal or immoral behaviours uncovered during the course of the research/interview may be reported (for example, Adler and Adler, 2003).
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