Corporate crimes, defined as \"illegal and harmful acts committed by officer and employees of corporations to promote corporate interests,\" have a greater impact on society than many street crimes. Corporate crime includes a range of white-collar crimes that affect employees and consumers. White-collar and corporate crimes are often ignored by the media unless there is involvement in some high profile scandal. There tends to be a paucity of research associated with coal industry related corporate crimes. This includes personal and death related events in the coal mining industry. This was evident in the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia that resulted in the death of twenty-nine miners. The goals of this thesis include the examination of how the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster was represented by various institutions, including governmental agencies. Included are explanations of how Massey Energy corporate officials violated safety regulations and permitted the continuous operation of a mine that have been previously cited for numerous safety violations. Ultimately, a position is presented that the injurious and harmful actions of Massey Energy Corporation officials was criminal as opposed to a preventable accident.
","abstract_html":"<p>Corporate crimes, defined as "illegal and harmful acts committed by officer and employees of corporations to promote corporate interests," have a greater impact on society than many street crimes. Corporate crime includes a range of white-collar crimes that affect employees and consumers. White-collar and corporate crimes are often ignored by the media unless there is involvement in some high profile scandal. There tends to be a paucity of research associated with coal industry related corporate crimes. This includes personal and death related events in the coal mining industry. This was evident in the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia that resulted in the death of twenty-nine miners. The goals of this thesis include the examination of how the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster was represented by various institutions, including governmental agencies. Included are explanations of how Massey Energy corporate officials violated safety regulations and permitted the continuous operation of a mine that have been previously cited for numerous safety violations. Ultimately, a position is presented that the injurious and harmful actions of Massey Energy Corporation officials was criminal as opposed to a preventable accident. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Tate, Cassandra"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Justice Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:19Z","subjects":["coal mining","safety violations","corporate crimes","Criminology and Criminal Justice"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2013 Cassandra Tate"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/140","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Tate, Cassandra"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Justice Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["coal mining","safety violations","corporate crimes","Criminology and Criminal Justice"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2013 Cassandra Tate"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/140"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Corporate crimes, defined as \"illegal and harmful acts committed by officer and employees of corporations to promote corporate interests,\" have a greater impact on society than many street crimes. Corporate crime includes a range of white-collar crimes that affect employees and consumers. White-collar and corporate crimes are often ignored by the media unless there is involvement in some high profile scandal. There tends to be a paucity of research associated with coal industry related corporate crimes. This includes personal and death related events in the coal mining industry. This was evident in the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia that resulted in the death of twenty-nine miners. The goals of this thesis include the examination of how the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster was represented by various institutions, including governmental agencies. Included are explanations of how Massey Energy corporate officials violated safety regulations and permitted the continuous operation of a mine that have been previously cited for numerous safety violations. Ultimately, a position is presented that the injurious and harmful actions of Massey Energy Corporation officials was criminal as opposed to a preventable accident.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion: Occupational Hazard or Preventable Tragedy; A Look at State-Corporate Crime"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Tate, Cassandra"],"dc:description.abstract":["Corporate crimes, defined as \"illegal and harmful acts committed by officer and employees of corporations to promote corporate interests,\" have a greater impact on society than many street crimes. Corporate crime includes a range of white-collar crimes that affect employees and consumers. White-collar and corporate crimes are often ignored by the media unless there is involvement in some high profile scandal. There tends to be a paucity of research associated with coal industry related corporate crimes. This includes personal and death related events in the coal mining industry. This was evident in the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia that resulted in the death of twenty-nine miners. The goals of this thesis include the examination of how the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster was represented by various institutions, including governmental agencies. Included are explanations of how Massey Energy corporate officials violated safety regulations and permitted the continuous operation of a mine that have been previously cited for numerous safety violations. Ultimately, a position is presented that the injurious and harmful actions of Massey Energy Corporation officials was criminal as opposed to a preventable accident.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/140"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2013 Cassandra Tate"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["coal mining","safety violations","corporate crimes","Criminology and Criminal Justice"],"dc:title":["The Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion: Occupational Hazard or Preventable Tragedy; A Look at State-Corporate Crime"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Justice Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:19Z"}