Interests and attitudes of G.C.E. (A/L) physical science stream students on university education in STEM: A case study in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has a free education system that gives access to higher education opportunities through the G.C.E. (Advanced Level) examination to a limited number of students. Students can choose their preferred university course if they have fulfilled the required minimum results for university admission. This paper discusses the general interests and attitudes of a sample of physical science stream students towards university education in STEM as a case study in Sri Lanka. The study has investigated several perspectives of the selected sample of G. C. E. (A/L) students through an online survey that includes questions regarding students' attitudes and perceptions on university education and different STEM-related undergraduate courses. The study has covered several schools of three provinces in Sri Lanka, and some of the investigated results are discussed with respect to the provinces. The results revealed career prospects, the academic quality of the undergraduate courses and the reputation of the university as the most influencing factors for undergraduate course selection in STEM disciplines, while engineering-related undergraduate courses were the most preferred ones among the students. The study results can be an asset to further studies since this topic has been rarely explored in the Sri Lankan higher education context.

Spatiotemporal change analysis of long time series inland water in Sri Lanka based on remote sensing cloud computing

Sri Lanka is an important hub connecting Asia-Africa-Europe maritime routes. It receives abundant but uneven spatiotemporal distribution of rainfall and has evident seasonal water shortages. Monitoring water area changes in inland lakes and reservoirs plays an important role in guiding the development and utilisation of water resources. In this study, a rapid surface water extraction model based on the Google Earth Engine remote sensing cloud computing platform was constructed. By evaluating the optimal spectral water index method, the spatiotemporal variations of reservoirs and inland lakes in Sri Lanka were analysed. The results showed that Automated Water Extraction Index (AWEIsh) could accurately identify the water boundary with an overall accuracy of 99.14%, which was suitable for surface water extraction in Sri Lanka. The area of the Maduru Oya Reservoir showed an overall increasing trend based on small fluctuations from 1988 to 2018, and the monthly area of the reservoir fluctuated significantly in 2017. Thus, water resource management in the dry zone should focus more on seasonal regulation and control. From 1995 to 2015, the number and area of lakes and reservoirs in Sri Lanka increased to different degrees, mainly concentrated in arid provinces including Northern, North Central, and Western Provinces. Overall, the amount of surface water resources have increased.

The Tamil Issue in India–Sri Lanka Relationships: Priorities and Interests

More than 25 years of ethnic war in Sri Lanka ended in 2009. Expressing ‘serious concerns’ on human rights situation in post-civil war Sri Lanka, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has adopted critical resolutions. The eighth such resolution was adopted in March 2021. India abstained for the second time from voting on a resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC since 2014. In 2012 and 2013, India voted in favour of resolutions that have been critical of Sri Lanka. This article, examines shift in India’s approach towards the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka.

Common Spelling Mistakes of Hamza and Alif among Beginners

Alif is considered one of the first Arabic alphabets, while most linguists count the Hamza from the Arabic alphabet census, and these two letters have different forms in writing. So that some scholars do not consider both letters: Hamza and Alif, as independent letters of the alphabet, and at the same time they imagine in front of beginners in a close form, in addition to the lack of attention to train in writing these two letters correctly. This research seeks to detect mistakes made by students when writing and spelling with regard to Hamz and Alif, and to present the most appropriate ways to treat these mistakes. The researcher relies on the descriptive approach. As for the research tools, the research refers to the questionnaire, which is distributed to 103 first-year students from the Department of Arabic Studies of the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, in addition to the secondary data that helps the researcher cover the first objective—knowing that the analysis of the information is done by MS Excel. The research also concluded that the students have a theoretical knowledge of the use of the Hamza and the Alif in different words and phrases, but when they come to the practical side, they misspell, and they also have a simple experience in writing the Hamza and the Alif in various patterns, in addition to the difficulty that most students face when distinguishing the difference between them in sentences.

Student usage of open educational resources and social media at a Sri Lanka Medical School

Background The use of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Social Media (SM) for academic information seeking is common among undergraduates nowadays. There is limited data on OER and SM use for education in Sri Lanka. This study was aimed at evaluating the OER and SM use for education among the medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya. Stratified random sampling was used to select students from the first year to the final year. A self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect data. Results The study included 257 responses (response rate: 89.5%), of which 185 (72.0%) were females. The OER and SM use for educational purposes at least once a month among students was 96.1% (95%CI: 93.7–98.5%) and 88.3% (95%CI: 84.4–92.3%) respectively. There was no gender difference in OER and SM use. The main reasons for accessing OER were the availability of information at any time (36.1%) and ease of information access (31.5%). Wiki sites (84.4%) and Facebook (79.8%) were the highest accessed OER and SM platforms. The majority of students were in view that the information on wiki sites (51.4%) and results of general non-specific web searches (56.0%) were reliable. Only 33.9% of students searched information from educational and government-related sources and 18.7% had accessed e-journals. Through SM, 79.0% joined educational groups and 77.0% followed the medical-related sites, pages and people. More than one-third of students (35.8%) could not find academic information from SM due to the information overload and 31.1% mentioned that SM distracted their education. Conclusion The majority of the students used OER and SM for education; however, only a minority accessed reliable information. Students accepted information available in wiki sites and general non-specific web searchers without considering the credibility of sources. The majority of the students did not refer to e-journals. Distractions to academic work and the difficulty to access accurate information were major concerns of using SM. This study highlights the importance of improving information literacy among medical students.

Sri Lankan Footprint in Global Aquatic Science Research: A Scientometric Analysis

The present study summarizes the research productivity and international collaboration in aquatic studies conducted by Sri Lankan scholars during 2000-2019. The study was based on the SCOPUS® database. R programming language, package bibliometrix and Vosviewer software were employed in the analysis. Results of the present study indicate that increasing growth trend in the annual number of publications. A significant correlation (p<0.05) between the number of articles and per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Production) was also observed. Senior authors dominated in terms of the article count, citation count, h index, and other author productivity indices. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka had the highest article count (n=33). Aquatic studies in Sri Lanka were more locally funded. Sri Lanka had strong research collaborations with Japan, South Korea and Australia. During 2000-2019, the transition of aquatic studies from lacustrine field studies to molecular lab-based studies were observed. The findings of the present study may provide a comprehensive understanding on the current context and future directions of aquatic studies in Sri Lanka.