scholarly journals Reinventing the Wheel: Perpetual Innovation in Sinhalese Potter Assemblages

2021 ◽  
Vol XII (2) ◽  
pp. 257-265
Author(s):  
Deborah Winslow ◽  

This paper describes a linked series of potter’s wheel reinventions and abandonments from the mid-20th century through 2013. The wheel is analysed as one element in a complex and dynamic assemblage of people, resources, technologies, meanings, places, and time. Primary data come from ethnographic observations and interviews in a Sinhalese Sri Lankan potter community followed since 1974. As they shifted from one potter’s wheel to another, these potters have altered social and physical supporting technologies for procuring and preparing clay, acquiring fuel, organising labour, and marketing pottery. Some, having reached the limits of a wheel’s capabilities and their own bodies, have abandoned the wheel in favour of moulds and mechanical presses, setting off more cascades of change. Their experiences help to clarify the adaptive capacities and limitations of both potter’s wheels and their users. As this story unfolds in often unanticipated ways, it reveals the importance of attending to spatiotemporal scale. Locally, the wheel highlights the relatively fast-changing affordances and constraints with which individual potters, households, and communities engage. But the wheel also brings into focus the slower moving consequences of regional heterogeneities and paths laid down by national colonial and post-colonial policies decades ago.

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf Elberfeld

In the 20th century the European sciences have tried in different ways to develop post-colonial forms of knowledge. Since the 1920s, under headings such as »intercultural«, »multicultural« and »transcultural«, discourses have arisen in the USA and in Europe in which, until the present, new perspectives and structures in the sciences have developed. The article offers, on one hand, a discourse analysis of these three headings until 1980 and makes clear by way of examples how complicated and deep the challenges are for knowledge discourses in Europe within the scope of the research perspective of »interculturality«.


Author(s):  
Obinna Nwodim ◽  

This paper argues that the British colonialists introduced indirect rule to deliberately slow down development in Nigeria and therefore examines how policies influenced the nature and character of socio-cultural and political activities in Nigeria, as well as made it dependent on the west for the sustenance of its economy. It adopts the Dependency Theory as theoretical framework. The study is qualitative and thus obtained secondary data from text books, journals, newspapers and magazines both online and offline, which were content analyzed and formed the basis of conclusion. It observed that the colonial masters had deliberate policies that negatively affected the post-colonial development of Nigeria. It recommended, amongst others, a comprehensive restructuring and overhaul of the political and economic structures that impede development, as well as the reawakening of the consciousness of Nigerians for veritable development.


Author(s):  
M. A. K. Sriyalatha ◽  
P. J. Kumarasinghe

This study examines the factors influencing online education for selected Sri Lankan universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also analyses the moderate effect of gender and type of the university on online education. Primary data were collected using a questionnaire via google form from Management students in Sri Lankan selected universities. Data analysis was done through structural equations using analysis of moment structures (AMOS) version 22.0. Attitude, internet and related facilities, curriculum, and self-motivation were found to have a significant positive impact on online education, while workload & time have no significant effect on online education. Among four factors, the strongest influence was derived from self-motivation followed by the curriculum. We have not found significant differences among male and female students’ views on online education, while the impact from the type of university is different among the two categories. This study effectively guides policy makers and university administrators across the educational institutes to decide on continuing online education. It reveals some insights to the teachers, students, and parents to understand the significance of the modern online learning environment and its positive impact on the new learning mode. There is no study related to the factors associated with the impact of online education during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Sri Lankan context.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. NILUSHI SITHARA FERNANDO ◽  
◽  
W. M. N. DILSHANI RANASINGHE ◽  

This study investigates about how product personalization can be used to stimulate attachment between products and Sri Lankan consumers. Through the literature it was evident that, consumer involvement and the final personalized product, in product personalization can act as the main sources which evoke positive emotions, through self-expression, enjoyment and memories, to stimulate attachment. Three hypothetical scenarios of product personalization followed by online questionnaires about the experience were created to verify these findings of literature. The feeling of attachment was evident towards these personalized products as discovered through literature, especially in the responses of female participants. It was also evident that they would most likely to protect and use the product for a longer time than male participants. Several methods providing personalization options to stimulate long term attachment were identified together with the literature and primary data. Additionally, providing adequate options to personalize the product to their satisfaction, requirement of less technical knowledge in personalization process and already having a need of personalizing the primary functionality of the product were identified to be promoting the feeling of attachment.


Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 519
Author(s):  
Nancy Rushohora ◽  
Valence Silayo

More often than not, Africans employed local religion and the seemingly antagonistic faith of Christianity and Islam, to respond to colonial exploitation, cruelty, and violence. Southern Tanzanians’ reaction during the Majimaji resistance presents a case in point where the application of local religion, Christianity, and Islam for both individual and community spiritual solace were vivid. Kinjekitile Ngwale—the prominent war ritualist—prophesied that a concoction (Maji) would turn the German’s bullets to water, which in turn would be the defeat of the colonial government. Equally, Christian and Islamic doctrines were used to motivate the resistance. How religion is used in the post-colonial context as a cure for maladies of early 20th-century colonialism and how local religion can inspire political change is the focus of this paper. The paper suggests that religion, as propagated by the Majimaji people for the restoration of social justice to the descendant’s communities, is a form of cultural heritage playing a social role of remedying colonial violence.


Author(s):  
David Attwell

Noting that many pre- and post-colonial oral forms have always been political, the article focuses on the literary culture wars that arose in the context of mid-20th-century decolonization. These debates include the question of whether writers should use indigenous or colonial languages; the complexities of publishing with access to local and international markets; the adaptation and indigenization of European forms to African value-systems, mythic structures and social realities; and the relationship between cultural decolonization and debates in Europe after 1968, when the emphasis fell on questioning realism. The article concludes by noting that the cultural nationalism of the 20th century is giving way to new forms of transnational politics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasadi Kanchana Jayasekara

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the types of contents shared through Facebook during different phases of disaster management. Design/methodology/approach The primary data of this study were collected using the qualitative method. To acquire the necessary data, researcher selected 50 Sri Lankan Facebook users who can read and understand Sinhala with more than 1,000 friends using the snowball sampling method. Selected Facebook users had to collect Facebook posts related to flood during two weeks time period. Data were collected until it reached data saturation point. The collected Facebook posts were transcribed and translated into English. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the Facebook posts. Findings The most prominent use of Facebook for disaster communication can be observed in, during and post-disaster phases. In the during-disaster phase, people used Facebook to share posts related to disaster warning, request for help or rescue, share information about rescue missions, share contact numbers of rescue teams, request donation items, coordinate aid distribution, ask for volunteer work and to provide feedback about the ongoing funding programs. In the post-disaster phase, people used Facebook to request volunteer help for cleaning, to provide feedback about the progress and to ask about donating cleaning products. Originality/value Findings of this study can be used by the government or authorized bodies to develop official social media channels, which would fulfill information requirements during disaster situations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Kent Baker ◽  
N. Jayantha Dewasiri ◽  
Weerakoon Banda Yatiwelle Koralalage ◽  
Athambawa Abdul Azeez

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the dividend policy determinants of Sri Lankan firms and why they pay dividends.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses several quantitative approaches to investigate dividend determinants using market (secondary) data of 190 Sri Lankan firms and 1,330 firm-year observations. Dividend determinants are also identified using survey (primary) data from 141 of the 190 firms. Triangulation is then used to facilitate validation of the data through cross-verification from two data sources.FindingsAnalysis of the market data reveals that firm size, industry impact, corporate governance, free cash flow, earnings, past dividends, profitability, investment opportunities, net working capital, concentrated ownership structure and investor preference represent the most important dividend determinants. Survey data confirm these findings. The evidence supports the pecking order, signaling, free cash flow, catering and outcome theories using both secondary and primary data and the bird-in-the-hand theory using survey data.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are useful not only for corporate decision makers in establishing an appropriate dividend policy but also for shareholders in making investment decisions. Because the current study is limited to Sri Lanka, future researchers should study the same phenomenon in other countries using the triangulation approach.Originality/valueThis study provides a hybrid approach to dividend policy research by using both primary and secondary data in a single study. It is the first dividend study in Sri Lanka to use a triangulation approach.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Viruli Ajanta De Silva ◽  
H.H.D.N.P. Opatha ◽  
Aruna S. Gamage

Employee ethical behavior (EB) has been recognized as the behavior that organizations pursue to drive performance and success. Despite many positive consequences of EB, corrupt business practices and unethical behavior are common in organizations. How Ethical Orientation of Human Resource Management (EOHRM) or ethical criteria embedded HRM functions directed as a ‘bundle’ could address this problem has not been empirically tested in research. This study examined how EOHRM could influence employee EB in organizations through an identified mediator employee Ethical Attitude (EA). A three-construct integrated model was developed based on literature gaps and tested empirically. The type of investigation was correlational, cross-sectional in the time horizon and unit of analysis was individual. A stratified random sample of 550 senior and middle-level managers was selected from 11 domestic Licensed Commercial Banks (LCBs) in Sri Lanka. A pre-tested structured questionnaire (with 5-point Likert Scale) was used to collect primary data. Using SPSS Version 23.0, correlation and regression analysis were performed on 360 usable responses (72%). EOHRM was positively and significantly related to employee EA (0.432, p<.001) and EB (0.494, p<.001). Employee EA partially mediated (0.269, p<.001) the relationship between EOHRM and EB. Results were consistent with the theoretically derived four hypotheses, establishing that EOHRM, or ethical criteria embedded HRM functions directed as a bundle will increase employee EA and EB at work. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings and directions for further research are discussed.


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