Practices of Hibah (Inter Vivos Gift) Among Technopreneurs in Kelantan

The protection of human subjects through the application of appropriate ethical principles is important in all research study. In a qualitative study, ethical considerations have a particular resonance due to the in-depth nature of the study process. The existing ethical guidance for undertaking qualitative research often provide general guidelines rather than focusing on how to apply it in practice, particularly when interviewing a vulnerable group of women. The aim of this paper is to present my own experience of conducting 33 individual face to face interviews on the women’s experience of postnatal depression across three different cultural backgrounds in Malaysia. This paper reflects on the strategies that can be adopted by a qualitative researcher to ensure that their participants’ identity is protected throughout recruitment and dissemination process, to deal with participants from different cultural backgrounds, and to handle and manage distress during an interview. The consideration of ethical issues is crucial throughout all stages of the qualitative study to keep the balance between the potential risks of research and the likely benefits of the research. Show more

Economic reforms in China over the past 20 years have led to a steady economic transformation that has created many opportunities for entrepreneurial firms. A central focus in this economic development has been to encourage the founding of more technology-related entrepreneurial firms, and the creation of joint ventures between Chinese and foreign firms that employ advanced technologies. However, the interactions between these private high-technology entrepreneurial firms and the Institutional forces In their environment are somewhat different from what occurs in traditional Western high-technology businesses. These differences are due principally to the culture present in the Chinese environment. In turn, these cultural differences lead managers of high-technology entrepreneurial firms to employ tactics not well known in the West in order to successfully navigate China's often hostile institutional environment. This article develops the theoretical understanding of these actions grounded with observations from managers in China. Show more