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M.A. / White-collar crime has had a significant impact on the economy and the quality of life of all the citizens of this country. The emphasis in addressing this problem has traditionally been on the limitation of risk to commit white-collar crime as well ason the 'typical' characteristics of white-collar offenders. The aim of this study was to understand this phenomenon from a different perspective: the ecosystems that have an influence on the causation and maintenance of white-collar crime. To determine which ecosystems played a role the researcher interviewed white-collar criminals who had already been convicted, and were serving prison sentences in the Gauteng Province. They were from both sexes, different race groups, different ages and they had committed different types of white-collar crime. The following ecosystems and subsystems were identified as contributing to causation and maintenance of white-collar crime: the individual: behaviour, emotion and relationships (in general and specific relationships). The bank environment Opportunity, as an element of all the systems, was also identified as a contributing factor. The researcher also identified two patterns in which the ecosystems interact. Different white-collar crime processes are indicated through these patterns. The main difference between these patterns is that some people commit the crime because they consider it to be the best solution to problem situation whereas other people commit the crime only because the opportunity to do so, exists. Most of the findings in the interviews can be confirmed by existing literature although there were some findings for which literature can't indicate a direct relationship. Recommendations are aimed at addressing the dynamics between the ecosystems as identified by the respondents. The most important aspect to bear in mind is that people do not function in isolation and constantly influence each other. We are co-creators of our reality and can therefore influence our environment by what we contribute to it through interaction and dialogue.

The pillaging of companies by those who control them is becoming a common occurence in South Africa. The problem arises where those in control of a company are its sole shareholders and the property they are charged with stealing, though not legally belonging to them, is vested in an entity which itself belongs to them. One defence is that there can be no theft where the company consents to the appropriation of its funds. It is argued that a theft is committed only where all the criminal elements of the crime of theft are satisfied, notwithstanding the consent, or absence thereof, by the company. Case law indicates that a conviction depends on the : solvency or insolvency of the company; degree of control and victim of the appropriation. It is submitted that it is inappropriate to base a conviction on these criteria. All abuses of the corporate structure should be punished. / Mercantile Law / LL. M.

A growing body of research has revealed that the financial cost and physical harmfulness of elite deviance overshadow the impact of street crime on society (Knowlton et al., 2011; Landrigan et al., 2002; Leigh, 2011; Lynch & Michalowski, 2006; Herbert & Landrigan, 2000; Rebovich & Jiandani, 2000; Reiman & Leighton, 2010). However, despite such discrepancies, crimes of the poor continue to outshine white-collar offenses in the news media (Barak, 1994; Barlow & Barlow, 2010; Ericson et al., 1991; Lynch & Michalowski, 2006; Lynch, Nalla & Miller, 1989; Lynch, Stretesky & Hammond, 2000), the criminal justice system (Calavita, Tillman, & Pontell, 1997; Maddan et al., 2011; Payne, Dabney, & Ekhomu, 2011; Tillman & Pontell, 1992) and even academia (Lynch, McGurrin & Fenwick, 2004; McGurrin, Jarrell, Jahn & Cochrane, 2013). Surprisingly, scholarly efforts that have investigated societal response to crimes of the powerful have limited their field of inquiry to public opinions about white-collar crime (e.g., Huff, Desilets, & Kane, 2010; Kane & Wall, 2006; Rebovich et al., 2000; Schoepfer, Carmichael & Piquero, 2007, etc.). While these studies have provided valuable empirical evidence of a growing concern among Americans regarding the danger posed by elite offenses, their failure to include a valid measure of lay knowledge about white-collar crime significantly limits our ability to infer the extent to which the public is familiar with the scope and magnitude of this social issue. The present study seeks to address such limitation by providing the first measure of public knowledge about elite deviance. Four hundred and eight participants completed an online questionnaire that comprised measures of respondents' knowledge and sentiments (i.e., perceived seriousness and punitiveness) about white-collar crime. Results of statistical analyses revealed that participants were not sufficiently informed about elite deviance and suggest the existence of popular "myths" about white-collar crime; more specifically, a substantial number of subjects were not inclined to acknowledge hard-earned empirical evidence such as the greater physical harmfulness of elite deviance over street crime and to recognize that some elite offenses - which they admit are common in underdeveloped nations (e.g., human trafficking) - can be committed in the United States with little to no legal repercussion for the perpetrators. Further, less knowledgeable subjects and "myth" adherers (including men, those with higher income levels, more politically conservative subjects, Republicans, conservative Protestants, and those who believed that white-collar offenders see no wrong in their actions) were often more lenient in their attitudes towards elite deviance, both in terms of perceived seriousness and punitiveness, compared with street crime. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are thoroughly discussed.

This thesis highlights the importance of workers’ perceptions of and attitudes to sexual harassment. Past researchers have found that a variety of individual factors (age, gender, gender role, and past experiences of sexual harassment), and organisational factors (gender ratio, sexual harassment policies and the role of employers), correlate with the incidence of sexually harassing behaviours. Two studies presented in this thesis extend this research and were designed to investigate how these factors relate to workers’ attitudes towards and perceptions of sexual harassment. Study one investigated 176 workers from a large, white-collar organisation. Study two sampled 75 workers from a smaller, blue-collar organisation. By comparing two different workplaces the effect of the organisational climate was investigated. Individuals from Study two experienced more sexual harassment, were more tolerant of sexual harassment and perceived less behaviour as sexual harassment compared with individuals from Study one. The organisational context was found to affect the way in which organisational and individual factors related to workers' attitudes to and their experiences of sexual harassment. However, the factors that influenced workers’ perceptions of sexual harassment were stable across both studies. Although workers’ attitudes to and their perceptions of sexual harassment were significantly correlated, they were influenced by different factors. Overall, workers’ perceptions of sexual harassment were influenced by their attitudes, the behavioural context, and the gender of the victim and perpetrator. In contrast, attitudes to sexual harassment appeared to be more strongly influenced by individual factors, such as age, gender, gender role, past experiences of sexual harassment, and perceptions of management’s tolerance of sexual harassment. The broader implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations for future research are suggested.

<p>Många faktorer påverkar självkänslan, såsom uppskattning och beröm. Finns det skillnad mellan arbetare och tjänstemän hur den egna självkänslan upplevs på arbetet? M. Rosenbergs (1965) self-esteem scale användes som globalt begrepp för att undersöka skillnader i självkänsla. Nittiofyra arbetare och tjänstemän deltog i enkätstudien. En signifikant skillnad fanns mellan arbetarna och tjänstemännen. Det var på betydelsefulla områden. Det visade sig att arbetet var viktigare för tjänstemännen än för arbetaren. Olikheter fanns mellan mäns och kvinnors självkänsla indelat i ålderskategorier. De starkaste prediktorerna för självkänslan var uppskattning och återkoppling. Således kan sägas: om företagsledningen bidrar till att höja de anställdas självkänsla ökar förutsättningarna för större vinst. Äldre män visade sig ha den svagaste självkänslan. Detta vore intressant att forska vidare om.</p>

Många faktorer påverkar självkänslan, såsom uppskattning och beröm. Finns det skillnad mellan arbetare och tjänstemän hur den egna självkänslan upplevs på arbetet? M. Rosenbergs (1965) self-esteem scale användes som globalt begrepp för att undersöka skillnader i självkänsla. Nittiofyra arbetare och tjänstemän deltog i enkätstudien. En signifikant skillnad fanns mellan arbetarna och tjänstemännen. Det var på betydelsefulla områden. Det visade sig att arbetet var viktigare för tjänstemännen än för arbetaren. Olikheter fanns mellan mäns och kvinnors självkänsla indelat i ålderskategorier. De starkaste prediktorerna för självkänslan var uppskattning och återkoppling. Således kan sägas: om företagsledningen bidrar till att höja de anställdas självkänsla ökar förutsättningarna för större vinst. Äldre män visade sig ha den svagaste självkänslan. Detta vore intressant att forska vidare om.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-101).

Thesis (M. P. H.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.