Firstly good luck with your dissertation!

1. I initial changed to digital as it was cheaper, but it has become a lot more about productivity and organisation. I am a bit of a computer geek, and enjoy developing on the computer (digital dark room).

2. I think I pretty much covered that above I think. Digital has had a positive effect on my productivity. In relation to how it has affected my work, I don't really think it has. I am not any more complacent with my approach, which can be a problem with the switch to digital. Digital is not really that different to me as I perceive it the same way I do when using a different coloured pencil of the same lead. A camera, digital or otherwise, is a tool for a photographer and should not affect the desired outcome. Digital does offer ease when manipulating with the computer for obvious reasons, however there is still availability for this with alternatives (film).

3. No. Art is the conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colours, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium. Any method of achieving this can and should be considered art.

4. Again, no. Digital is existent now and widely practised in many mediums therefore being, more or less, completely accepted as a method of creation. There is the possibility of digital being relieved by future technologies, but that is progress and should not be avoided.

5. Do I see digital as a natural and positive progression? Yes, I do. The still image is never going to be become extinct as the human senses enjoy the beauty of the perfect moment in its stillness. I do think moving image and interactive imagery, including but not limited to film, will become more popular as technologies become more advanced and allow for greater ease in distributing such information. I believe it will become more prominent in our daily lives in future years.

6. When I first got into digital my productivity was in fact lower as I had not yet experienced it. Now that I have more experienced I can produce my work more efficiently than I could with film. I do not let the device control my desired outcome, as I mentioned above digital has not effected my outcome. I would not have switched if it would have hindered my ability to create. In relation to copyrighting I find myself divided in opinions. I revel in the fact that global networks allow for sharing of information with great ease, and encourage it. I on the other hand find it hard when people steal work from others, claiming or showcasing it or part of it as their own. This downside however is not exclusive to the digital medium, but is much easier.

P.s. The 'Zenit-E', pictured above, was my first SLR and has retained a nostalgia for film, despite the film rewinder occasionally faulting, much to my despair.

1-The print industry was going digital, and to work in the commercial field I had to get with the program, and the cost and process to produce using digital got cheaper and less troublesome.
2-Digital photography has no effect on the process of getting the picture taken, but we had to learn to adjust the amount of lighting and flash since digital camera tends to be less sensitive with receiving light. It has no great difference in the end product now that the technology gets better.
3-No, creativity comes from the brain and the mind, not from the cameras, be it digital or film.
4-Digital photography has caused lots of competition of bargain basement prices in the field, lots of no talent people have taken up digital photography, mostly fixing stuff in photoshop, and charge really low prices, and customers are after really cheap prices for good work because of it.
5-digital photography in the long run is a tool, it's the use of photoshop that is an issue, but mostly on how it's being used, people could manipulate images and put on magazine covers and readers think it's real, the impossible aspiration of beauty. Even though photos were always retouched but never to the extend they do it nowadays.
6-The copyright issue is something still evolving with posting digital work on line, but it's impossible to police for individual the web is so vast.

My answers to your questions:
#1- Still I use my film camera, Minolta Dynax 7
#2- Still I do prefer film camera over digital one
#3- Not really. I reckon any body as young as 4 years old could click and take an image with any digi camera WITHOUT knowing much knowledge about the property of light and photography.
#4- I reckon it would be a longer time that digital technology reach to film camera photography.
#5- Personally I have not found any, but you could see what I have found thru my viewing images in one of these photography sites:

Easy stealing during DIGITAL ERA

During the film era, there was not that many cases about stealing images compare to our new era of digital photography.

These days the crooked people under the good name of Pro-Photographer could steal any images thru internet very easily. Then they could change them little bit and present them as their own hard work to few fools.

I DO have a proof.

I managed to caught a thief during my daily critic/comment writing among images. [(K=37501) on 3/3/2006]

Then I managed the spot this.

http://www.usefilm.com/Photo_Forum/11/1012217/

Now examine those images for yourself and judge if I am right in my reason.

Good luck with your dissertation.

thank you all so much for your replies to this post. your passion for your craft is evident and thus your views and opinions are invaluable to me.

anymore ideas and views and i'll take them on board.

thakns again and you'll get a quick mention in my dissertation. lucky you. bet its what you've always wanted....

Rupert

1. My first camera was a cheap 2 megapixel thingy, I'm only 22, I started taking pictures for fun at the start of the digital age. My first manual camera was an old Canon AE-1 from my parents, I still use it.

2. I use a digital camera if the end medium is gonna be digital, this is mostly for commercial work but I still love using film for my more personal work. For the most elaborate work I use medium or large format film and scan it then, for me this is a nice trade of between film and digital.

3. Not at all, everyone can be a photographer now, it rases the competition, I love competition from every kind of person. It keeps you sharp and on top of things. I think this has a positive influence on photography. Photographers have to consider their work more due to all this.

4 & 5. Not at all, look at Inez & Vinoodh. I love their work. Cell phone and party/street photography (face hunter/cobrasnake) are gonna have a huge impact too, future of photography is looking pretty sweet.

6. Not really, I'm not that concerned about copyright in the first place. People copying your work might suck, but there's no way in copying a creative mind. Personality is starting to play a big role these days. But I'm still not sure on what my opninion is about that.