title: Developments in non-mandatory disclosures in annual reports of companies: A case study

authors: Sharma, Umesh Prasad

subjects: non-mandatory disclosure

abstract: The paper investigates the extent of non-mandatory disclosure of information (NMD) in the annual reports of the 17 companies listed on the South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE) in Fiji, a developing country, and whether NMD by these companies has changed over time providing additional and useful information to stakeholders.  The empirical data was gathered from the years 2008 to 2010 to provide a clear picture of the change in the level and extent of NMD, and its influences over the periods 2008 to 2010. It can be seen from the Fiji perspective that the mandatory requirements tend to have a financial focus. However, it would be expected that the level of company disclosures would have changed over time, with not only global market forces but through differing societal values which have increased the frequency and demand of non-mandatory reporting by companies.  All companies showed some degree of NMD, and on average this demonstrates an increasing trend. The stakeholders are receiving more information about a company’s activities. The companies were analysed in light of recent developments in corporate governance by the Capital Markets Development Authority (CMDA) implementing their 10 corporate governance principles. This became a major driver of the increase in NMD levels of the disclosures in the annual reports of the listed companies. However, a large variation still exists between the level and extent of the NMD and the different listed companies. The minimum disclosure level found over the three years was 9.09 percent, which has increased to a minimum of 13.66 percent in 2010, and the maximum disclosure level over the three years was 81.82 percent. The findings for the extent of NMD was also similar where the minimum words used in NMDs was 114, increasing to 854 in 2010, and the maximum disclosure extent over the three years was 21,414 words. However, it was found that the measurement of counting words tended to fluctuate over different periods where significant events took place that affected the company. Therefore, it was established that disclosure is impacted by what happens in the reporting period, and can explain why one period may have greater disclosure than another. The paper aims to extend earlier work of Sharma & Davey (2013) on the extent of NMD in Fijian context.  While Sharma & Davey (2013) considered voluntary disclosure from 1999-2005, our study reviews NMD over 2008-2010.  The study has shown that corporate governance code issued in 2009 by Capital Market Development Authority has influenced the level of NMD.

text: Developments in non-mandatory disclosures in annual reports of companies: A case study The paper investigates the extent of non-mandatory disclosure of information (NMD) in the annual reports of the 17 companies listed on the South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE) in Fiji, a developing country, and whether NMD by these companies has changed over time providing additional and useful information to stakeholders.  The empirical data was gathered from the years 2008 to 2010 to provide a clear picture of the change in the level and extent of NMD, and its influences over the periods 2008 to 2010. It can be seen from the Fiji perspective that the mandatory requirements tend to have a financial focus. However, it would be expected that the level of company disclosures would have changed over time, with not only global market forces but through differing societal values which have increased the frequency and demand of non-mandatory reporting by companies.  All companies showed some degree of NMD, and on average this demonstrates an increasing trend. The stakeholders are receiving more information about a company’s activities. The companies were analysed in light of recent developments in corporate governance by the Capital Markets Development Authority (CMDA) implementing their 10 corporate governance principles. This became a major driver of the increase in NMD levels of the disclosures in the annual reports of the listed companies. However, a large variation still exists between the level and extent of the NMD and the different listed companies. The minimum disclosure level found over the three years was 9.09 percent, which has increased to a minimum of 13.66 percent in 2010, and the maximum disclosure level over the three years was 81.82 percent. The findings for the extent of NMD was also similar where the minimum words used in NMDs was 114, increasing to 854 in 2010, and the maximum disclosure extent over the three years was 21,414 words. However, it was found that the measurement of counting words tended to fluctuate over different periods where significant events took place that affected the company. Therefore, it was established that disclosure is impacted by what happens in the reporting period, and can explain why one period may have greater disclosure than another. The paper aims to extend earlier work of Sharma & Davey (2013) on the extent of NMD in Fijian context.  While Sharma & Davey (2013) considered voluntary disclosure from 1999-2005, our study reviews NMD over 2008-2010.  The study has shown that corporate governance code issued in 2009 by Capital Market Development Authority has influenced the level of NMD.

year: 2013

title: ‘Home is where the heart is broken?’: Examining the impact of intimate relationship challenges on meanings of home

authors: Smith, Paula Ngaire

subjects: home

abstract: This thesis makes an original contribution to emotional and material geographies by addressing the ways in which mutually constituted meanings of home and identity change in the wake of intimate, coupled relationship disruption. It examines practices of home making, unmaking and remaking of ten (nine women and one man) heterosexual individuals who have experienced relationship challenges and have homes the Waikato region of Aotearoa New Zealand. Three methods of data collection - semi-structured interviews; home visits; and, solicited and unsolicited diaries - were used to access the emotional and spatial experiences of this group of people.
Feminist, queer and poststructuralist geographical theories are used to analyse the connection between relationships, emotions and materialities of home spaces. My findings are organised into two related themes: materialities and emotions. The first theme - materialities – foregrounds the role of objects for making, unmaking and remaking home and heterosexual couples. Following objects in and out of couple’s homes highlights gendered power relations and the importance of intergenerational relationships. Individual power, as well as the power of objects, is examined, with attention paid to how power and coupledom can be subverted or queered. The second theme – emotions – allows for an understanding of care, love, guilt and shame across the scales of bodies, objects, and homes. Emotions and affect are ‘sticky’ in that they attach to objects and pass between bodies and homes. Physical violence enacted on the home, as well as emotional or financial abusive behaviour within the home, are considered. I also discuss home as a place of healing and recovery. 
It is hoped that this examination of heterosexual couple relationship breakdown and home disruptions will encourage more critical understandings of geographies of identities, home, materialities and emotions.

text: ‘Home is where the heart is broken?’: Examining the impact of intimate relationship challenges on meanings of home This thesis makes an original contribution to emotional and material geographies by addressing the ways in which mutually constituted meanings of home and identity change in the wake of intimate, coupled relationship disruption. It examines practices of home making, unmaking and remaking of ten (nine women and one man) heterosexual individuals who have experienced relationship challenges and have homes the Waikato region of Aotearoa New Zealand. Three methods of data collection - semi-structured interviews; home visits; and, solicited and unsolicited diaries - were used to access the emotional and spatial experiences of this group of people.
Feminist, queer and poststructuralist geographical theories are used to analyse the connection between relationships, emotions and materialities of home spaces. My findings are organised into two related themes: materialities and emotions. The first theme - materialities – foregrounds the role of objects for making, unmaking and remaking home and heterosexual couples. Following objects in and out of couple’s homes highlights gendered power relations and the importance of intergenerational relationships. Individual power, as well as the power of objects, is examined, with attention paid to how power and coupledom can be subverted or queered. The second theme – emotions – allows for an understanding of care, love, guilt and shame across the scales of bodies, objects, and homes. Emotions and affect are ‘sticky’ in that they attach to objects and pass between bodies and homes. Physical violence enacted on the home, as well as emotional or financial abusive behaviour within the home, are considered. I also discuss home as a place of healing and recovery. 
It is hoped that this examination of heterosexual couple relationship breakdown and home disruptions will encourage more critical understandings of geographies of identities, home, materialities and emotions.

year: 2017

title: Using gamification to support positive health behaviour change: A kaupapa Māori approach

authors: Jefferies, Dannette (Dannie) Louise

subjects: Gamification

abstract: As our lives become increasingly technology-dependent, healthcare practitioners and researchers recognise the opportunities to deliver effective digital healthcare initiatives to improve patient outcomes. Gamification is one such technological approach to consider. While some important work has been done in gamification, to date, there have been few gamified healthy lifestyle intervention studies undertaken within an Indigenous or minority population. Therefore, this research extends the current knowledge of gamification with a focus on an Indigenous population.
Māori are the Indigenous People of New Zealand, and as in many other colonised countries, Māori are over-represented in obesity statistics; a factor which contributes to significant health inequities, such as a higher incidence of chronic illness among Māori people. Gamification may be an effective means of supporting positive lifestyle choices (e.g., increased physical activity) to reduce the prevalence of chronic illness. This research takes a Kaupapa Māori approach to address the research question: How can gamification support positive health behaviour change? Kaupapa Māori is a philosophical Māori-centric approach that ensures tino rangatiratanga (the right to self-determination). The research approach follows Māori tikanga (customary practices) and recognises the importance of Te Reo Māori (Māori language) and Te Ao Māori (a Māori worldview).
This research followed a design science research (DSR) process and consisted of two phases: Phase One was a prototype design phase, and Phase Two evaluated the prototype. Phase One involved a series of co-design hui (focus groups) to explore the social context and health aspirations of Māori and to ideate potential solutions. Phase One found that normative beliefs strongly influence effective gamification design preference for Māori and that culturally-tailored design is effective for Māori; a notion that contradicts previous Western-oriented gamification implementations. Phase Two consisted of a cross-sectional survey and regression analysis to evaluate the prototype designed during Phase One. Major findings from Phase Two show that three critical factors predict whether Māori users would use the gamified intervention: Perceived Ease-of-Use; Māori-Centric Design; and the use of Whakataetae (competitive) persuasive design strategies.  
This research contributes to gamification literature by identifying the gamification elements that most significantly impact behavioural intention toward gamified health applications for Māori; knowledge that may be transferable to other Indigenous populations. The importance of implementing a competitive strategy contradicts previous literature on collectivist cultures and guides the development of future gamified interventions. This research also contributes to theoretical and practical knowledge by demonstrating that effective persuasive strategies are not universal; Māori-centric design is a self-determined approach that keeps the needs of the target audience central to the design of a solution. This research provides theory-driven practical guidelines for design processes and design decisions that are driven by the needs and aspirations of Māori.

text: Using gamification to support positive health behaviour change: A kaupapa Māori approach As our lives become increasingly technology-dependent, healthcare practitioners and researchers recognise the opportunities to deliver effective digital healthcare initiatives to improve patient outcomes. Gamification is one such technological approach to consider. While some important work has been done in gamification, to date, there have been few gamified healthy lifestyle intervention studies undertaken within an Indigenous or minority population. Therefore, this research extends the current knowledge of gamification with a focus on an Indigenous population.
Māori are the Indigenous People of New Zealand, and as in many other colonised countries, Māori are over-represented in obesity statistics; a factor which contributes to significant health inequities, such as a higher incidence of chronic illness among Māori people. Gamification may be an effective means of supporting positive lifestyle choices (e.g., increased physical activity) to reduce the prevalence of chronic illness. This research takes a Kaupapa Māori approach to address the research question: How can gamification support positive health behaviour change? Kaupapa Māori is a philosophical Māori-centric approach that ensures tino rangatiratanga (the right to self-determination). The research approach follows Māori tikanga (customary practices) and recognises the importance of Te Reo Māori (Māori language) and Te Ao Māori (a Māori worldview).
This research followed a design science research (DSR) process and consisted of two phases: Phase One was a prototype design phase, and Phase Two evaluated the prototype. Phase One involved a series of co-design hui (focus groups) to explore the social context and health aspirations of Māori and to ideate potential solutions. Phase One found that normative beliefs strongly influence effective gamification design preference for Māori and that culturally-tailored design is effective for Māori; a notion that contradicts previous Western-oriented gamification implementations. Phase Two consisted of a cross-sectional survey and regression analysis to evaluate the prototype designed during Phase One. Major findings from Phase Two show that three critical factors predict whether Māori users would use the gamified intervention: Perceived Ease-of-Use; Māori-Centric Design; and the use of Whakataetae (competitive) persuasive design strategies.  
This research contributes to gamification literature by identifying the gamification elements that most significantly impact behavioural intention toward gamified health applications for Māori; knowledge that may be transferable to other Indigenous populations. The importance of implementing a competitive strategy contradicts previous literature on collectivist cultures and guides the development of future gamified interventions. This research also contributes to theoretical and practical knowledge by demonstrating that effective persuasive strategies are not universal; Māori-centric design is a self-determined approach that keeps the needs of the target audience central to the design of a solution. This research provides theory-driven practical guidelines for design processes and design decisions that are driven by the needs and aspirations of Māori.

year: 2023