Quest for Better Technology: Case of Brown Coir Fibre Industry in  Sri Lanka

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a number of attributes (a = 23) upon 5 major factors (Labor, Land and Capital, Machine, Technical and Market) that influence a selection of a particular technology to manufacture brown coir fibre in Sri Lanka (i.e. Sri Lankan Drum Pairs, Defibering Machine, D1 Machine). A cross section of owners of fibre mills (n = 30) located in the Kurunegaka, Puttlam and Gampaha districts were selected and a personal interview with each mill owner was carried out with the help of a structured questionnaire from May to June 2008 to collect data. The Semantic Differential Analysis techniques were employed to find the relative strength of the attributes of 5 factors considered in the analysis, where the responses were recorded on a seven-point bipolar scale. The “XLStat” software was used extensively to plot the relationships between the 23 attributes and 3 technologies. The results suggest that all three technologies are negatively perceived by the coir fibre millers on land and capital, and machine subsets. Further millers had negative perception on attributes related to labor subset of Sri Lankan Drum Pair technology. However, they hold the view that high quality of the bristle fibre extracted by this machine is not comparable with that extracted using any other technologies. The millers’ perception on technical and market attributes of the three different technologies was better than on other attributes. The results imply that policymakers should, more specifically, take into account the issues related to capital, machine and labor as they advise coir fibre manufactures about possible technology transfer, in order to avoid potential failures in these markets (i.e. plant-exit) and government policy (i.e. non-compliance).

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Grasping at Straws: Judicial Review of Legislation in Sri Lanka

ICL Journal ◽

10.1515/icl-2019-0002 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 281-306

Author(s):

Danushka S Medawatte

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Transitional Justice ◽

Judicial Review ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Executive Power ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Legal Literature ◽

Justice Process ◽

Provincial Councils ◽

The Impact

AbstractIn this paper, I attempt to examine the evolution of judicial review of legislation in Sri Lanka with a view to better understanding how it has impacted the democratic fabric and constitutional matrix of Sri Lanka. The impact that judicial review of legislation has had on rights jurisprudence, enhancement of democracy, prevention of persecution against selected groups are analysed in this paper in relation to the Ceylon Constitutional Order in Council of 1946 (‘Soulbury’ Constitution) and the two autochthonous constitutions of Sri Lanka of 1972 and 1978. The first part of the paper comprises of a descriptive analysis of judicial review of legislation under the three Constitutions. This is expected to perform a gap filling function in respect of the lacuna that exists in Sri Lankan legal literature in relation to the assessment of the trends pertaining to judicial review of legislation in Sri Lanka. In the second part of the paper, I have analysed decided cases of Sri Lanka to explore how the judiciary has responded to legislative and executive power, and has given up or maintained judicial independence. In this respect, I have also attempted to explore whether the judiciary has unduly engaged in restraint thereby impeding its own independence. The third part of the paper evaluates the differences in technique and stance the judiciary has adopted when reviewing draft enactments of the national legislature and when reviewing draft or enacted statutes of Provincial Councils. From a comparative constitutional perspective, this assessment is expected to provide the background that is essential in understanding the island nation’s current constitutional discourse, transitional justice process, and its approach to human rights.

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Oral Impact on Daily Performance (OIDP) scale for use in Sri Lankan Adolescents: a cross sectional modification and validation study

10.21203/rs.2.12854/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Uttara Amilani ◽

Prasanna Jayasekara ◽

Irosha R Perera ◽

Hannah E Carter ◽

Sameera Senanayake ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Oral Health ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Cultural Adaptation ◽

Concurrent Validity ◽

Stage Ii ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Validity Assessment ◽

Oral Impact ◽

Bartlett’S Test ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) measures play an important role in understanding subjective patient experiences in oral health care. The Oral Impact on Daily Performance (OIDP) scale is a validated OHRQoL tool that measures the impact and extent to which an individual’s daily activities may be compromised by their oral health. The aim of this study was to modify and validate a Sinhalese version of the OIDP for use in Sri Lankan adolescents. Methods Stage I involved cultural adaptation of the tool through translation and modification. Stage II involved the exploring factor structure and validity assessment. After translation and cultural adaptation, stage II was conducted among 220 students aged 15-19 in the Gampaha district, Sri Lanka. Participants completed the modified OIDP scale along with questions on self-reported perceived oral health problems and treatment need which were used to assesses the concurrent validity of the modified OIDP scale. Factorability was assessed by inspection of correlation matrix, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity as a measure of sampling adequacy. An exploratory factor analysis was carried out using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method and factors were rotated using the oblimin method. Results The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure was 0.87 and Bartlett’s test of Sphericity was significant (p<0.001) Cronbach’s alpha was calculated as 0.88, indicating a high level of internal consistency of the modified OIDP scale. The PCA is produced two factors with Eigen values ranging from 1.12 to 4.40, explaining 70.0% of total variance. Concurrent validity was satisfactory as the OIDP score increased when the adolescents’ perceived oral health decreased. The final modified OIDP consists of eight self-reported items which assesses the impact severity of eight daily performances over past three months. Participant scores ranged from 0 to 24 out of a worst possible score of 40, and nearly 48% of the responders reported at least one impact during past three months. The most prevalent oral health impact related to chewing and enjoying foods, reported by 36.8% of respondents. Conclusion This study suggests that the modified OIDP scale has promising psychometric properties and is appropriate for use among adolescents in Sri Lanka.

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The impacts of terrorism on risk perception and travel behaviour of the Dutch market: Sri Lanka as a case study

International Journal of Tourism Cities ◽

10.1108/ijtc-06-2020-0118 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Rami K. Isaac ◽

Annika Van den Bedem

Keyword(s):

Risk Perception ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Travel Behaviour ◽

Research Process ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Web Based ◽

Content Type ◽

Managerial Implications ◽

The Impact

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of terrorism on risk perception and travel behaviour of the Dutch market towards Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach The research process involved an online self-administered method created with one of the leading research and web-based survey tools called Qualtrics. The questionnaire was filled in by 328 respondents. Findings Findings indicate that Sri Lankan is perceived to be a relatively safe destination. However, the likeliness of visiting the country is unlikely. The respondents with past travel experience (PTE) perceive Sri Lanka to be safer than those without PTE and are more likely to revisit. Male respondents have a higher safety perception of Sri Lanka than women. Most of the respondents see Sri Lanka as an attractive destination and would consider travelling there with children. Research limitations/implications The majority of the respondents are female and aged between 18 to 29 years old. The majority of the respondents’ children were already 19 or older and not accompanying their parents on holiday. This study has managerial implications for Sri Lanka’s tourism board that could work on developing a marketing strategy that focusses on promoting Sri Lanka as a safe destination in combination with all the other unique selling points. Originality/value To the best of author’s knowledge, no analysis has been so far published with a focus on the impact of terrorism on risk perception and attitudes of the Dutch tourist towards Sri Lanka. The aim of this paper is to close the existing gap in the literature and to provide valuable knowledge on the influence of terrorism on risk perception and attitudes of the Dutch tourists’ travel behaviour towards Sri Lanka as a destination.

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Languages Speak Reconciliation: An Interdisciplinary Study on the Impact of National Language in Post War Reconciliation Sri Lanka

Technium Social Sciences Journal ◽

10.47577/tssj.v27i1.5275 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 27 ◽

pp. 665-679

Author(s):

Aruna Jayathilaka ◽

Thisiri Medagama ◽

Udeshini Panadare ◽

Prawardhani Menike

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Ethnic Groups ◽

National Language ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Huge Impact ◽

Post War ◽

Mixed Approach ◽

National Languages ◽

The Impact

The Role of National Language is endorsed in different contexts and it has triggered an inspirited debate within the Sri Lankan political history when its discriminatory nature policies marked a triumph of linguist nationalism. The recognition of the Sinhala language as the only National Language in Sri Lanka and its dominance, drifted both communities apart causing frustration and tension among ethnic groups, which have ultimately culminated in ethnic strife that lasted almost three decades. National Languages, hence wield as a sociopolitical tool that demands a balance among languages, recognition, and policies. Similarly, Sri Lanka, in its path to reconciliation also demands a balance among National Languages, policies, and its recognition among the communities. This study thus explores the Role of National Language in promoting social cohesion and coexistence among ethnic groups to achieve anticipated “Reconciliation” within Sri Lankan social fabric. The paper draws upon a mixed approach employing qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews. Data were gathered from interviewing 20 undergraduates from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Languages at the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. Data were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that the recognition of National languages in their due status will make a huge impact on fostering reconciliation within Sri Lankan Society. It is further not to be confused with the Link Language as a National Language since its duty in social integration is relatively limited in the cases where the understanding of cultural, traditional, and historical attributes of an ethnic community is more pronounced especially in grappling with attitudinal problems inherited within ethnic communities.

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Improving the Policy Utility of Cause of Death Statistics in Sri Lanka: An Empirical Investigation of Causes of Out-of-Hospital Deaths Using Automated Verbal Autopsy Methods

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2021.591237 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Lene Mikkelsen ◽

Sunil de Alwis ◽

Sridharan Sathasivam ◽

Vindya Kumarapeli ◽

Ajith Tennakoon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Cause Of Death ◽

Health Workers ◽

Policy Formulation ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Public Health Policies ◽

Chronic Respiratory Diseases ◽

Policy Debates ◽

Hospital Deaths ◽

The Impact

Background: Setting public health policies and effectively monitoring the impact of health interventions requires accurate, timely and complete cause of death (CoD) data for populations. In Sri Lanka, almost half of all deaths occur outside hospitals, with questionable diagnostic accuracy, thus limiting their information content for policy.Objectives: To ascertain whether SmartVA is applicable in improving the specificity of cause of death data for out-of-hospital deaths in Sri Lanka, and hence enhance the value of these routinely collected data for informing public policy debates.Methods: SmartVA was applied to 2610 VAs collected between January 2017 and March 2019 in 22 health-unit-areas clustered in six districts. Around 350 community-health-workers and 50 supervisory-staffs were trained. The resulting distribution of Cause-Specific-Mortality-Fractions (CSMFs) was compared to data from the Registrar-General's-Department (RGD) for out-of-hospital deaths for the same areas, and to the Global-Burden-of-Disease (GBD) estimates for Sri Lanka.Results: Using SmartVA, for only 15% of deaths could a specific-cause not be assigned, compared with around 40% of out-of-hospital deaths currently assigned garbage codes with “very high” or “high” severity. Stroke (M: 31.6%, F: 35.4%), Ischaemic Heart Disease (M: 13.5%, F: 13.0%) and Chronic Respiratory Diseases (M: 15.4%, F: 10.8%) were identified as the three leading causes of home deaths, consistent with the ranking of GBD-Study for Sri Lanka for all deaths, but with a notably higher CSMF for stroke.Conclusions: SmartVA showed greater diagnostic specificity, applicability, acceptability in the Sri Lankan context. Policy formulation in Sri Lanka would benefit substantially with national-wide implementation of VAs.

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Not your mother’s culture : second generation Tamil women negotiating trauma and identity through art

10.32920/ryerson.14647878 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ann Satkunam

Keyword(s):

Civil War ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Key Words ◽

Young Women ◽

Second Generation ◽

Research Paper ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

The Impact ◽

Tamil Diaspora ◽

Tamil Women

This research paper focuses on the Tamil diaspora community in Canada that developed in the aftermath of the Civil War in Sri Lanka. This paper explores the impact of trauma on children of survivors, and how daughters in particular navigate these traumas. Furthermore, this paper analyzes how young women bear the trauma differently from their male counterparts, as women tend to be seen as carriers of culture. These ideas of women as carriers of culture do not afford Tamil women agency—instead they are left without choice in certain situations. Ultimately, this paper explores if art can be used as a mechanism to release the burden women feel. It uses the interview of eight Tamil women to understand their complex narratives, and to see if they use art as a means to reclaim agency. Key words: Diaspora, Sri Lankan, Art, Second-Generation Tamil Women, Identity, Cultural Purity

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Theoretical analysis on the convergence of India and China’s interests and their impact on post-conflict Sri Lanka

The International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Invention ◽

10.18535/ijsshi/v5i4.04 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 4565-4572

Author(s):

M.S.H.U. Karunarathne

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Theoretical Analysis ◽

Domestic Politics ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Document Analysis ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Post Conflict ◽

The Impact ◽

Conflict Period

Convergence of India-China interests on Sri Lankan context became critical during post conflict period as it provided the platform for these two powerful nations to check and balance their interests. This paper aims at discussing the impact of their interests on post conflict Sri Lanka. The main objective of the study is to theoretically analyze the convergence of Indo-China interests on above context and their impact on Sri Lanka. To achieve aforesaid objectives qualitative approach has been adopted and secondary data is the main type of data obtained from various sources such as books, journal articles, newspapers, government records and other relevant documents available in both printed and electronic versions. Document analysis, theoretical analysis and descriptive analysis are used to analyze data. In document analysis documents are interpreted to give meaning and it collects available data related to the study and interprets them to find out specific issues. Concepts derive from literature review and theoretical analysis helps to develop broader understanding on those issues and collect new knowledge. Descriptive analysis also used in certain areas to provide comprehensive understanding of collected data. The research findings conclude Chinese influence over the other regions seems inevitable with its rise as a global economic and military power which is perceived as a threat by India. India is also trying to match Chinese rise resulting suspicion and fear psychosis among one another’s achievements. Both are engaged in a competition to achieve goodwill of their neighbors. Sri Lanka has become convergence point for both India and China due to its strategic importance in the Indian Ocean and it was intensified during post conflict period. Both attempted to attract the post conflict reconstruction projects but China impressed more positively on Sri Lankan policy makers since its aid came with no influences for domestic politics. India raised the issue on reconciliation and power devolution and even supported UN resolution against Sri Lanka. Chinese approach was more peaceful and beneficial for Sri Lanka whereas India

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Impact of Money Supply on Sri Lankan Economy: An Econometric Analysis

International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences ◽

10.18052/www.scipress.com/ilshs.67.11 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 67 ◽

pp. 11-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

A.L.M. Aslam

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Money Supply ◽

Serial Correlation ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Series Data ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Independent Variables ◽

Lm Test ◽

The Impact

Economists argue that the money supply positively impact on economic growth of nations. In Sri Lankan context this statement was not tested econometrically. Therefore, the aim of this study was to scrutinize the impact of money supply on Sri Lankan economy. To exam this objective, this study considered the time series data from the period of 1959 to 2013 and used two types of variables such as dependent and independent variables. Here, the gross domestic product was considered as dependent variable, and Money supply, Exchange rate, Exports earnings, Imports outflow, the Colombo consumer price index were deemed as independent variables. In the meantime, the multivariate econometric method was used to test the impacts of money supply on economic growth of Sri Lanka. According to the analytical results, the money supply has kept positive impact on the economic growth of Sri Lanka at 1% significant level. The R-squared of the estimated model was 92% which was indicated that the estimated model was desirable. Meanwhile, the Durbin Watson test statistic was 2.43 and also the Breusch –Godfrey serial correlation LM test results was greater than 5%. Therefore, these statistics indicated that, the estimated model was not suffering from serial correlation.

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Credit Risk and Profitability of Banking Sector in Sri Lanka

Journal of Economics, Finance and Accounting Studies ◽

10.32996/jefas.2021.3.1.6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 65-71

Author(s):

Herath Mudiyanselage Kasun Salitha Bandara ◽

Ahamed Lebbe Mohamed Jameel ◽

Haleem Athambawa

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Credit Risk ◽

Banking Sector ◽

Capital Adequacy ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Return On Assets ◽

Net Charge ◽

Panel Data Regression ◽

Capital Adequacy Ratio ◽

The Impact

This paper aims to investigate the impact of credit risk on the profitability of the banking sector in Sri Lanka. The profitability is measured with and Return on Assets. At the same time, credit risk is quantified with four indicators: Non-performing loan Ratio (NPLR), Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR), Net Charge off Ratio (NCOR), and Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR). Data from thirteen banks over eight years from 2010 to 2017 was analyzed using panel data regression analysis. The finding shows that the Profitability of the Banking Sector in Sri Lanka has been determined by important determinants such as credit risk. The study further finds that non-performing loans have negative and significant return on assets. However, the net charge-off ratio and the loan to deposit ratio are not important variables for expanding the bank's profitability. On the other hand, the CAR positively impacts returns on assets. The study suggested the need to strengthen the management of credit risk in order to preserve Sri Lankan banks' current profitability.

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Not your mother’s culture : second generation Tamil women negotiating trauma and identity through art

10.32920/ryerson.14647878.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ann Satkunam

Keyword(s):

Civil War ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Key Words ◽

Young Women ◽

Second Generation ◽

Research Paper ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

The Impact ◽

Tamil Diaspora ◽

Tamil Women

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