Exploring the criminal lifestyle: a grounded theory study of Maltese male habitual offenders

Exploring the lifestyles of habitual criminals throws light on the processes of becoming and remaining a criminal, the development of criminal careers and on possible interventions geared towards reversing those careers. This paper draws on narratives of habitual criminals discussing their life stories and shows how the criminal lifestyle is characterised by distinctive behavioural patterns and sustained by a particular ‘habitus’. The lifestyle offers advantages to those who choose to pursue it. The development of commitment to the criminal lifestyle is put forward as an important defining factor of whether young men stop offending as they approach adulthood and the assumption of adult roles, or whether they continue to offend, often with increasing severity, well into their adult years. As a result of commitment, the actor comes to reject alternatives and defines himself according to the behaviour he is consistently engaging in. Once a social identity has been established, rejection of that identity becomes even more difficult. The criminal lifestyle is not only maintained by penalties when the offender attempts to return to conventional living but is also supported by rewards associated with the criminal lifestyle and supported by role identification, specific attitudes, cognitions

Corporate Social performance and Financial Characteristics

Whereas firms traditionally have been evaluated solely on financial criteria, contemporary firms are also evaluated on various non-financial criteria, including Corporate Social Performance (CSP). Such data is useful in the pursuit of evidence of a relationship between CSP and various financial characteristics, including financial performance. Evidence on such relationships is valuable from many perspectives. It is valuable to managers who seek to improve their understanding of the ways in which CSP interacts with firm characteristics, it is valuable to investors who seek to improve their understanding of how CSP relates to financial asset characteristics, and ultimately it is valuable to regulators who seek to improve their understanding of the firms financial incentive to self-regulate on corporate social responsibility issues. This paper presents a cross-sectional analysis comparing environmental, social and corporate governance performance with financial characteristics of 237 Australian firms over the August 1997 to July 2003 period. The analysis allows for some heterogeneity in CSP-financial characteristics relationships related to company size, trading history and industry, which provides valuable additional information on such relationships. Findings indicate that the financial incentive to self-regulate on environmental criteria is weak and contingent on industry. The financial incentive to self-regulate on social criteria is marginally stronger and less contingent on industry. The financial incentive to self-regulate on governance criteria is very strong across the board, though it is particularly strong within the banking, diversified financials, insurance and telecommunications industries. This is indicated both by a significant positive association between governance and financial performance and very strong significant negative association between governance and risk. Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to Corporate Monitor and the Securities Industry Research Centre of Asia-Pacific (SIRCA) for supplying data and support.Corporate environmental performance, corporate social performance, corporate governance performance

The Corporate Social Responsibility and the Theory of the Firm

This paper investigates the extent to which the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) challenges the validity of the traditional firm model. Contrary to what have been suggested by some critics of CSR, CSR does not appear to have been accepted as an alternative to the traditional profit maximising objective. Rather, CSR appears to play an integral part in the development of new theories aiming to improve our understanding of how contemporary firms operate, survive and succeed.

Retirement Savings Investment Strategy: Member Choices and Performance

Three crucial ingredients influence how much individuals will have to fund retirement income needs: how much they contribute to savings, how long they save for, and the performance of these savings. This paper focuses on the issue of performance, and how individuals perform when they are given the choice of making their own investment strategy for their retirement savings contributions. An empirical examination using a large sample gathered from four Australian superannuation funds is utilised and finds that on average members underperform their own funds default option both in raw returns and on a risk-adjusted basis. For trustees and regulators charged with the responsibility of looking after the interests of members an important result identifies significant differences in performance based on how members are allowed to construct their investment strategy.Retirement savings, Superannuation, Asset allocation, Investment performance Acknowledgements: The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the four funds who supported this research. We would also like to thank Jacqui Whale for her efforts in making sense of four databases. Paul Gerrans would also like to thank Susquehanna University for the time in writing the paper.

School careers and delinquent involvement : a retrospective investigation into the schooling experiences of habitual offenders

This paper investigates the schooling experiences of young people who pursued a criminal career and consequently became habitual offenders. The data presented are part of a larger grounded theory project on criminal career development among Maltese male youth. The narrative approach adopted in the study allows one to explore offenders’ school careers from their perspective and adopts an inductive design. While the direction of the link between schooling and juvenile delinquency remains complex and contested, exploring the role of the school in delinquent development has important implications for intervention. This paper shows how school experiences have important implications for the development of delinquent careers and are an important contingency in relation to early onset of delinquency. Participant’s negative school experiences and adjustment, engagement in truancy and labelling within the school context are some of the key themes which emerged from the students’ narratives. Although not conclusive, the data from this study implies that dissatisfaction with the educational experience combined with other contingencies, may set the stage for more serious delinquency in and out of school.peer-reviewe

Gender differences in information resource usage when making retirement saving decisions

Population ageing is raising the profile of retirement incomes policy. In Australia assets of retirement savings funds are growing rapidly and fund members are assuming a greater role in determining funds\u27 investment strategies. The decision processes of fund members have not been extensively researched, however, these decisions are significant not only for members but also for employers and government. This paper provides information on retirement savings in Australia and reports on a survey of members of the Superannuation Scheme for Australian Universities (SSAU). In 1999 members of SSAU were asked to choose between a defined benefit scheme or one of four investment accumulation accounts. The paper explores gender differences in resources used to make the decision. Results indicate women were more likely to make less risky investment choices. Men were less likely to consult anyone about their decision and were more likely to use web-based information sources

The needs of Maltese families with dependent children : a focus group study among professionals

This article seeks to identify the needs of Maltese families with dependent children. The sociocultural context in which Maltese families are embedded will serve as a theoretical framework for this study. A series of six focus groups with experts in the area of family and children were moderated for the purpose of the study. These focus group sessions were audiotaped and transcribed and the results analysed using thematic analysis. This article draws on the findings of these focus groups and compares them to extant literature on Maltese families before making a number of policy recommendations. Three key themes were elicited: the need for more community work and early intervention; the need for education for life; and the need to support families achieve work-life balance. The main recommendations are: the set-up of family centres for community work and early intervention; the implementation of relationship education programmes; and more family-friendly working practices.peer-reviewe

Letters and Postcards We Wished We Had Sent to Gary Bellow and Bea Moulton

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the publication of Gary Bellow\u27s and Bea Moulton\u27s The Lawyering Process, this essay consists of eleven letters and postcards about how The Lawyering Process inspired the writing of the authors’ books - Pretrial Advocacy: Planning, Analysis & Strategy and Trial Advocacy: Planning, Analysis & Strategy. Alas, this correspondence is imaginary because that exchange of ideas did not take place. This method was inspired by the medieval letters of Abelard and Heloise and the modern-day fictional postcards and letters of Griffin and Sabine. Tracing the evolution of their thoughts from first reading the Bellow and Moulton text, the authors describe the specific ways in which The Lawyering Process stimulated the writing of their own books. These include both the organizational structure of the authors’ books and their emphasis on narrative. As they journey in this new, high-tech millennium, the authors hope that the familiar genre of letters and postcards provides both an entertaining, voyeuristic voyage into their minds and hearts as writers, and a fitting tribute to the bold, creative enterprise that was The Lawyering Process

Letters and Postcards We Wished We Had Sent to Gary Bellow and Bea Moulton

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the publication of Gary Bellow\u27s and Bea Moulton\u27s The Lawyering Process, this essay consists of eleven letters and postcards about how The Lawyering Process inspired the writing of the authors’ books - Pretrial Advocacy: Planning, Analysis & Strategy and Trial Advocacy: Planning, Analysis & Strategy. Alas, this correspondence is imaginary because that exchange of ideas did not take place. This method was inspired by the medieval letters of Abelard and Heloise and the modern-day fictional postcards and letters of Griffin and Sabine. Tracing the evolution of their thoughts from first reading the Bellow and Moulton text, the authors describe the specific ways in which The Lawyering Process stimulated the writing of their own books. These include both the organizational structure of the authors’ books and their emphasis on narrative. As they journey in this new, high-tech millennium, the authors hope that the familiar genre of letters and postcards provides both an entertaining, voyeuristic voyage into their minds and hearts as writers, and a fitting tribute to the bold, creative enterprise that was The Lawyering Process