title: Impact of ownership structure on the level of voluntary disclosure: A study of listed family-controlled companies in Malaysia

authors: Zaini, Syeliya Md

subjects: Social Sciences

abstract: This paper investigates the level of voluntary disclosure in the annual reports of listed companies in Malaysia by examining the impact of ownership structure. A mixed methods approach was adopted to analyse the content and level of information disclosed voluntarily in companies’ annual reports. Family-controlled companies tend to voluntarily disclose information in relation to external factors and global conditions. Most family-controlled companies provide financial warnings in their disclosures. Studies that examine a voluntary disclosure practice by family-controlled companies in Malaysia are limited. As such, little is known about the effect of ownership structure on the level of voluntary disclosure.

text: Impact of ownership structure on the level of voluntary disclosure: A study of listed family-controlled companies in Malaysia This paper investigates the level of voluntary disclosure in the annual reports of listed companies in Malaysia by examining the impact of ownership structure. A mixed methods approach was adopted to analyse the content and level of information disclosed voluntarily in companies’ annual reports. Family-controlled companies tend to voluntarily disclose information in relation to external factors and global conditions. Most family-controlled companies provide financial warnings in their disclosures. Studies that examine a voluntary disclosure practice by family-controlled companies in Malaysia are limited. As such, little is known about the effect of ownership structure on the level of voluntary disclosure.

year: 2020-01-01

title: Designing sustainable materials: The role of material perception in consumer acceptance

authors: Thundathil, Manu

subjects: biocomposites

abstract: Material perception is vital in designing new materials and products that consumers widely accept, especially in the case of sustainable materials like biobased composites, which are unfamiliar to the average consumer. Understanding the effect of visual and tactile characteristics of the biobased composites on the formation of material perception could help material engineers and designers create sustainable and high-value materials. In this study of biobased composites, the semantic differential method is used to assess material attributes (in digital and physical settings), along with the qualitative assessment of material characteristics. These attribute ratings and qualitative descriptors help evaluate sensory qualities and generalise their influences on material perception. It is observed that respondents refer to past material experiences to define materials, especially the ones with uncertain attributes. While visual/tactile inconsistencies are a hallmark of natural products, such irregularities in materials with evidence of human interaction (e.g., weaving, geometric patterns) lead to poor perception of beauty and value. Fibreness is a strong signifier of naturality and warm and earthy tones reinforce this perception. Visual and tactile attributes influence perceptions of beauty and values, pointing to their bimodal nature; this also emphasises the role of sensory characteristics in creating desirable biobased composites.

text: Designing sustainable materials: The role of material perception in consumer acceptance Material perception is vital in designing new materials and products that consumers widely accept, especially in the case of sustainable materials like biobased composites, which are unfamiliar to the average consumer. Understanding the effect of visual and tactile characteristics of the biobased composites on the formation of material perception could help material engineers and designers create sustainable and high-value materials. In this study of biobased composites, the semantic differential method is used to assess material attributes (in digital and physical settings), along with the qualitative assessment of material characteristics. These attribute ratings and qualitative descriptors help evaluate sensory qualities and generalise their influences on material perception. It is observed that respondents refer to past material experiences to define materials, especially the ones with uncertain attributes. While visual/tactile inconsistencies are a hallmark of natural products, such irregularities in materials with evidence of human interaction (e.g., weaving, geometric patterns) lead to poor perception of beauty and value. Fibreness is a strong signifier of naturality and warm and earthy tones reinforce this perception. Visual and tactile attributes influence perceptions of beauty and values, pointing to their bimodal nature; this also emphasises the role of sensory characteristics in creating desirable biobased composites.

year: 2025-04-03

title: A newly-available resource for historians of early New Zealand: The Marist Missionary Letters (1838-54)

authors: Jennings, William

abstract: The 7000 pages of primary documents of the Lettres reçues d’Océanie constitute a vast new source for the study of the Pacific during the period 1838-54. Published in 2009 after sixteen years of transcription, the Lettres are the collected correspondence of the first French Marist missionaries to New Zealand and other Pacific islands. In the words of Pacific historian Hugh Laracy, they are ‘the single most important foundational contribution to Pacific history in its fullest extent since J. C. Beaglehole’s magisterial editions of James Cook’s Journals. About 2000 of those pages are transcripts of letters written in New Zealand that open up a fresh perspective of life before the wars of the 1860’s. This paper will locate the early French Marist Māori mission within the context of New Zealand public history before exploring how the Lettres reçues d’Océanie can complement existing views of early colonial New Zealand. To better contextualise the correspondence, it would be useful to begin with a brief background of the Marists’ presence in New Zealand.

text: A newly-available resource for historians of early New Zealand: The Marist Missionary Letters (1838-54) The 7000 pages of primary documents of the Lettres reçues d’Océanie constitute a vast new source for the study of the Pacific during the period 1838-54. Published in 2009 after sixteen years of transcription, the Lettres are the collected correspondence of the first French Marist missionaries to New Zealand and other Pacific islands. In the words of Pacific historian Hugh Laracy, they are ‘the single most important foundational contribution to Pacific history in its fullest extent since J. C. Beaglehole’s magisterial editions of James Cook’s Journals. About 2000 of those pages are transcripts of letters written in New Zealand that open up a fresh perspective of life before the wars of the 1860’s. This paper will locate the early French Marist Māori mission within the context of New Zealand public history before exploring how the Lettres reçues d’Océanie can complement existing views of early colonial New Zealand. To better contextualise the correspondence, it would be useful to begin with a brief background of the Marists’ presence in New Zealand.

year: 2012