Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

xvi, 159 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This dissertation involves two studies investigating the disclosure of life experiences in the context of real relationships in real time. Study 1 included 126 university students and community members. Pairs of participants who had known each other for at least three months were eligible. After participants completed a set of self- report measures, one member of the pair was randomly selected to disclose an experience he/she had not previously disclosed to the other member of the pair. A final set of self- report measures was then completed by each participant. The interaction was videotaped for coding and analyses. Using the coders' and disclosers' ratings of listeners' behaviors, we examined the impact of both verbal and nonverbal responses to disclosure and identified two modifiable behaviors (interruptions and posture) that contributed to conveying support. Results indicated that leaning backward was associated with more negative responses to disclosure and moderate levels of interruption were associated with more supportive responses to disclosure. Study 2 involved similar recruitment procedures to Study 1 and included 220 university students and community members. Pairs of participants were randomly assigned to an experimental or control condition and researchers were blind to condition. After completing a series of self-report questionnaires, the person randomly assigned to the discloser role was asked to describe an experience of mistreatment not previously disclosed to the other participant. This interaction was videotaped. Following this, participants completed post-disclosure questionnaires Then, psychoeducational materials regarding either healthy lifestyle improvements (control condition) or supportive listening techniques (experimental condition) were distributed, followed by a quiz on these materials. A second experience of mistreatment was disclosed and a final set of post-disclosure questionnaires was completed. Results indicated that the psychoeducational materials were effective in enhancing supportive responses to disclosure such that listeners in the experimental condition demonstrated significantly fewer unsupportive behaviors than listeners in the control condition. Listeners who started with high levels of unsupportive behaviors benefitted the most from the psychoeducational materials. Although there are several limitations of these studies and additional research with more diverse samples is needed, the findings represent an important preliminary step in research. / Committee in charge: Jennifer Freyd, Chairperson, Psychology; Gordon Hall, Member, Psychology; Sara Hodges, Member, Psychology; Jeff Todahl, Outside Member, Counseling Psychology and Human Services

O risco de mercado pode ser entendido como o risco de perdas em decorrência de oscilações em variáveis econômicas e financeiras, como taxas de juros, taxas de câmbio, preços de ações e de commodities. A adequada evidenciação dos aspectos relacionados ao risco de mercado tem assumido importância crescente no sistema financeiro, por diversos fatores, como as crises financeiras de amplitude global, o desenvolvimento dos derivativos, os colapsos empresariais decorrentes de deficiências na gestão de riscos, e as exigências de capital em função dos riscos incorridos pelas instituições. O objetivo da pesquisa é verificar e analisar o grau de evidenciação, por parte das instituições financeiras com atuação no Brasil, quanto às questões relativas ao risco de mercado. Para a avaliação das informações prestadas, são utilizadas como parâmetro as recomendações de evidenciação do Comitê de Supervisão Bancária da Basiléia, bem como informações sobre as práticas de divulgação de instituições financeiras no mercado internacional, a partir de levantamentos realizados pelo BIS (Bank for International Settlements). Assim, questiona-se se as instituições financeiras com atuação no Brasil têm apresentado aderência aos padrões internacionais de evidenciação na área de risco de mercado. Os resultados obtidos com a pesquisa empírica, que consistiu na análise de relatórios anuais (de 1997 a 2002) de bancos com atuação no Brasil, permitem concluir que a evidenciação bancária no mercado doméstico, apesar de mostrar indicadores de evolução na área de riscos de mercado, ainda apresenta um nível incipiente de transparência quando comparado com as práticas de divulgação de instituições do sistema financeiro internacional. Identifica-se, assim, a necessidade de melhoria do nível de disclosure bancário brasileiro. Para tanto, mais do que impor regras que tornem compulsórios determinados padrões de evidenciação, requer-se o desenvolvimento de todo o conjunto de precondições legais, institucionais e culturais relevantes para o amadurecimento do mercado de capitais doméstico e de seus sistemas de governança corporativa. / Market risk may be understood as the risk of losses resulting from fluctuation in economic and financial variables, such as interest rates, exchange rates, stock and commodities prices. The adequate disclosure of aspects related to market risk has assumed increasing importance in the financial system, because of several factors, such as global financial crises, development of derivatives, business collapses due to deficiencies in risk management, and regulatory capital requirements related to risks assumed by the institutions. The objective of this work is to verify and analyze the degree of disclosure, presented by financial institutions operating in Brazil, concerning market risk. For the assessment of the information rendered, a benchmark was constituted with the disclosure recommendations of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and information about the disclosure practices of financial institutions in the international financial market, based on surveys carried out by BIS (Bank for International Settlements). Thus, the question is whether the financial institutions operating in Brazil have been presenting adherence to international standards of disclosure in market risks area. The results obtained with the research, which consisted in the assessment of annual reports (from 1997 to 2002) of banks operating in Brazil, allow to conclude that banking disclosure in the domestic market, in spite of indicating an evolution in the market risks area, still presents an incipient level of transparency when compared with the disclosure practices of international financial institutions. It is identified a need for improving the disclosure level of Brazilian banks. For this, it is not enough to impose rules that make compulsory certain disclosure standards; it is necessary the development of legal, institutional and cultural preconditions that are required for the maturing of the domestic capital market and its corporate governance systems.

Análise do conteúdo dos relatórios ambientais de empresas do setor de papel e celulose em nível internacional. Objetiva esta pesquisa investigar, com base nas práticas correntes de relatórios anuais e ambientais, como está o nível de disclosure de informações ambientais apresentado pelas empresas do setor de papel e celulose. Apresentam-se na revisão da literatura os principais aspectos relacionados à contabilidade e ao disclosure ambiental, as regulamentações e diretrizes sobre relatórios ambientais, bem como um sumário de várias pesquisas realizadas sobre disclosure e relatório ambiental. São realizadas análises do conteúdo dos relatórios de 42 das 50 maiores empresas, por vendas, do setor de papel e celulose em nível mundial, assim como de oito das dez maiores empresas brasileiras desse setor. Os achados sustentam a tese de que o disclosure de informações ambientais apresentado pelas empresas do setor de papel e celulose diverge entre as companhias com relação ao tamanho da empresa, ao país de localização e ao tipo de relatório (financeiro ou específico), mostrando-se ainda incipiente e frágil em relação ao nível de confiabilidade e comparabilidade das informações. Conclui-se também que: a) a maioria das informações ambientais das empresas desse setor é evidenciada nos relatórios ambientais específicos, sendo essas informações praticamente descritivas; b) o país de localização da empresa influencia no nível de disclosure das companhias do setor de papel e celulose; c) quanto maior o tamanho da empresa, mais detalhada é a apresentação do disclosure das informações ambientais; e d) o nível de disclosure ambiental das empresas brasileiras de papel e celulose é menos detalhado que a média do nível disclosure de informações ambientais de empresas de outros países nesse mesmo setor. São sugeridas novas questões para estudos e mais investimentos para o fomento de pesquisas empíricas na área de contabilidade e disclosure ambientais. O resultado deste estudo é restrito à amostra analisada. / Analysis of the content of the companies' environmental reports of the pulp and paper industry in international level. The objective of this research is to investigate, based on the annual and environmental reports currently practiced, how the environmental information disclosure level presented by the companies of the pulp and paper industry is. The literature review presents the main aspects related to the environmental disclosure and accounting, the regulations and guidelines about environmental reports, as well as a summary of several researches on environmental reports and disclosures. Analysis of the reports contents of 42 of the 50 larger companies, for sales in the pulp and paper industry worldwide, as well as of eight of the ten larger Brazilian companies of this sector are performed. The findings sustain the thesis that disclosure of environmental information presented by the companies of the pulp and paper industry diverge from company to company regarding size, country location and type of report (financial or specific), being incipient and fragile as far as information reliability and comparability is concerned. One can also conclude that: a) most environmental information of companies in this sector is made evident in specific environmental reports, being this information practically descriptive; b) the country where the company is located interferes in the level of disclosure in the pulp and paper industry; c) the bigger the company, the more detailed is the presentation of the disclosure of the environmental information; and d) the level of environmental disclosure of the Brazilian pulp and paper companies is less detailed than the average level of disclosure of companies of the same sector in other countries. New issues for studies and further investments to develop empiric researches in environmental disclosure and accounting are suggested. The result of this study is restricted to the sample analyzed.

Maslow (1956) suggested that self-actualization in an important determinant of the type of love experienced in heterosexual relationships. Recent work has suggested that the self-actualization of each member of a couple may also be important in determining the level of self-disclosure intimacy which occurs in the couple, and also that self-disclosure itself is an important determinant of interpersonal attraction. The present study employed the technique of path analysis (Wright, 1960) to determine 1) the direct and indirect contribution of each partner's self-actualization to his experience of five love components identified by Critelli, Myers, Ellington, and Bissett (1981), 2) the contribution of each partner's self-actualization to his self-disclosure intimacy, and 3) the contribution of the partner's self-disclosure intimacy to their experience of the five love components.

Whilst previous research has explored women's experiences of disclosing symptoms of postnatal depression (PND) to health professionals, very little qualitative research exists on women's experiences of disclosing to people in their personal support networks. Research has shown that some mothers with PND find it difficult to disclose to professionals and prefer to seek support from partners, family and friends. Aim: The current study aimed to explore the overall process mothers go through to disclose PND - to people with whom they have personal relationships, as well as health professionals. Method: Five women who experienced and disclosed PND participated in semi-structured interviews. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results: The analysis produced four super-ordinate themes: 'Trying to cope whilst making sense of experiences', 'Deciding whether to disclose: Facilitative and inhibiting factors', 'The two-way interpersonal nature of disclosure', 'Disclosure as part of a transformative process'. Conclusions: This study highlighted the influence of internalised expectations of motherhood and stigma surrounding PND on how mothers try to cope with their initial symptoms and on their decisions about whether or not to disclose. The participants described a cautious approach to disclosure in which they had to deal with setbacks. Consequences of disclosing were considered alongside how the disclosure process was influenced by recovery from PND.

This study investigated the effects of trust level and note-taking upon the level of self-disclosure among prisoners. Sixty inmates at a federal prison were administered the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale. Next, using a median split, participants were divided into two groups of high and low mistrust. Subjects within each of these groups were then randomly assigned to a high, low, or no note-taking condition. Each prisoner then discussed an intimate topic for thirty minutes. Level of self-disclosure was measured by an abbreviated version of the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank. No significant differences were found as a function of trust level or note-taking condition. Some implications for further research are suggested.

This study explores the concept of accountability in Islamic Banks (IB), which may achieve through disclosure. It aims to measuring the bank’s disclosure levels which contains Sharia, Social and Financial (SSF) as well as determinants and consequences of this disclosure. It moreover aims to identify the gap between Islamic banks’ board and stakeholders concerned with the accountabilities priorities of IBs. To achieve these objectives the researcher conducted six empirical studies. The first three empirical studies uses content analysis to measuring compliance level with Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) standards as well as measuring the and sharia, social and financial disclosure (SSFD). It furthermore adopts Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) to identify the determinants of SSF reporting related to firm characteristics and corporate governance of Board of Directors (BOD) and Sharia Supervisory Board (SSB). The fourth empirical study uses the same method (manual content analysis) and OLS to measuring the economic consequences of SSFD on the firm value through testing the impacts of disclosure on market capitalization and return on assets. The fifth empirical study adopts questionnaire as well as Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to measures the non-economic consequences of SSFD though surveying the perceptions of stakeholders who deal with IBs about the increasing SSFD on loyalty; trust and satisfaction. Finally, the sixth empirical study uses questionnaire to explore the consequences of SSF practices on the perceptions 600 stakeholders who deal with IBs and non-customers who do not deal with IBs. Highlighting the distinctions between economic and non-economic consequences of disclosure in the study enables the researcher to obtain greater insights into the implications of SSF reporting. Moreover, exploring accountability practices from different viewpoints (management, stakeholders and non-customers) and based on different methods (content analysis and questionnaire) allows the researcher to obtain greater insights into IBs accountabilities’ practices. This study provides several interesting findings. With regard to the disclosure and compliance levels, the study finds a variation between IBs in the number of SSFs disclosed, with a notably low level of non-financial reporting (Sharia and social). It also finds high compliance level with AAOIFI standards related to financial and Sharia reporting and low compliance levels with social reporting requirements. Concerning with the determinants of disclosure; the analysis shows positive significant association of disclosure levels with existing Sharia auditing department; auditor; size and profitability. It also finds that corporate governance mechanisms play an important role in improving SSF reporting. The analysis indicates that corporate governance mechanism of board of directors (BOD) as well as Sharia supervisory board (SSB) are the main determinants behind the disclosure levels for IBs such as SSB size, SSB reputation; BOD independence, duality in position and ownership structure. Concerned with the economic consequences of disclosure, the study finds that Sharia, social and overall disclosures have a positive impact on Firm Value (FV) based on the accounting-based measure (ROA). It moreover finds that Sharia and overall disclosure has a positive significant impact on the FV based on market-based measure (Market Capitalization). It argues that the association between disclosure and FV is sensitive to the category of disclosure and the proxy employed for FV. Consequently, the study provides evidence that the SSF disclosures not derived from the same factors, and both have a different impact on firm value. With regard to the non-economic consequences of disclosure, the results indicate that there is a significant association between disclosure and stakeholders’ trust, satisfaction, and loyalty. The results furthermore indicate that there is a partial mediating of trust and satisfaction in the relationship between disclosure and loyalty. A pyramid of IBs’ accountabilities from stakeholders’ perspectives shows the importance of Sharia, then financial and social accountability for both stakeholders and non-customers. It moreover shows that the main criterion of stakeholder’s selection of IBs was Sharia, financial then social factors. Stakeholders who deal with IBs are satisfied about the practices of these banks. Both of groups believe that IBs may guide by Sharia, financial then social objectives. The results identifies gap between the orientation of IBs’ board based on the disclosure and orientation of stakeholders and non-customers based on their perceptions towards SSF accountability. The main originality for this study is measuring SSFD for most of Islamic banks around the world from different perspectives and methods as well as identifies the main determinants and consequences of this disclosure. These results have several implications for regulators, policy makers, managers, IBs, investors, FASB and AAOIFI. For instance, the present study has revealed that disclosure of SSFs - especially non-financial ones - was limited in many annual reports as well as websites. Therefore, regulatory bodies may identify a minimum level of SSFs to publish by each IB. The study has crucial implications to how IBs may improve its Sharia compliance disclosures to create a competitive advantage. The present study is one of the first to investigate the determinants and consequences for SSF disclosure for IBs based on a holistic model. Moreover, the current study is one of the first to investigate the non-economic consequences for corporate disclosure. The current study has some limitations, in either sample or data; disclosure indices; approach; or in its research methodology, which have to consider as potential avenues for future research.

Please read the abstract in the 00front part of this document Copyright 1996, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Basson, LM 1996, A phenomenological study of therapist self-disclosure, DPhil thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-01242007-134730/ > / Thesis (DPhil (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / unrestricted