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The internet as a catalyst for microdeviation: An integrated theory of digital music piracy

Date

2016-05-12

Journal Title

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Type

Degree Level

Doctoral

Abstract

Digital music piracy has persisted as a contested form of online deviance for more than two decades, garnering social, industry, and legislative responses. This dissertation outlines an integrated approach to explain this form of deviance through a combination of the networked society, social learning, and moral disengagement theories. This approach was developed based on three hypotheses; first, that technological competency defines online experience; second, that online experiences dictate the form of social learning encountered by users; and third, users’ social learning experiences shape the way they neutralize their deviance. The hypotheses were empirically tested using a data set of 616 cases drawn from a self-administered online survey. Linear regression analyses were conducted for each test and statistically significant models as well as linkages were developed for each hypothesis; however, moderately strong findings in some cases suggest that additional theory considerations should be made. This dissertation concludes with a discussion of the study’s implications, particularly as they relate to an increasingly pluralistic internet.

Description

Keywords

Music piracy, piracy, criminology, sociology, social learning, moral disengagement, microdeviation, network society

Citation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Sociology

Program

Sociology

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DOI

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