Browsing by Author "Herath, I."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Manipulating TV news
(Department of English, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Rathnayake, H.; Marasinghe, S.; Mahathmaarachchi, H.; Mahathmaarachchi, T.; Herath, I.
Media is the means of communication that teaches or influence people widely. Media does not only create news but they create news with a message. However currently it is impossible to find any news without biasness. This puts a heavy responsibility on TV news to adhere to the laws enacted upon the media. The fact that media tends to telecast news as exciting stories through political biasness, exaggerating the violent activities of the country, the omission of information and racism are often criticized. Research have been conducted on the responsibility of the media in presenting news to the general public. According to these research generally media should attempt to weigh ethical obligations of accuracy in order to fulfill the necessity of competitive reporting. Therefore this research intends to analyze popularity as a main reason for the above discussed matter and present it as the research gap of the study. Accordingly the research will use the viewpoint that “popularity” is the main objective of news media in broadcasting their news. In this study, we focus on analyzing the Sri Lankan television channels’ quest for popularity results the lack of reliability of news broadcasting. Content analysis and video based questionnaire are identified as more appropriate methods. We intend at capturing three important aspects, politics, excess depiction of violence and racism as tools to gain popularity. This research proves that TV news must be honest towards their efforts and should not have any concealed purpose in presenting news.
Microbial Status of Fresh Cut Cooking Banana Variety Alukesel (Musa acuminata× Musa balbisiana, ABB Group) as Affected by Pre-treatments
(2016) Siriwardana, H.; Abeywickrama, K.P.; Herath, I.
Fresh cut (minimally processed) cooking banana variety Alukesel was subjected to different pretreatments, packed in polystyrene packages and stored at 5-7 °C for a week. Effect of several identified pre-treatments on Total Plate Count (TPC) and Total Yeast and Mould counts (TYM) were evaluated. Bacteria isolated from plates were identified using biochemical tests and molecular tools. In pre-treated samples, microbial counts were within safe-to-consume limits. Bacillus cereus, Enterobacter ludwigii and Bacillus thuringiensis were identified from fresh cut samples using molecular tools. Citric acid at 3% w/v effectively controlled bacteria, yeasts and moulds and this observation was significantly different from the control (p<0.05). The present study has shown that 3% citric acid was the most effective pretreatment for minimal processing of Alukesel which controlled bacteria, yeasts & moulds completely. Alukesel pretreated with 3% citric acid was free from food borne pathogens such as Salmonella, Clostridium, Yersinia, and Listeria.
Quality assessment minimally processed immature jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus, Lam.) as affected by pretreatments
(Association of Food Scientists & Technologists, India, 2015) Ekanayaka, H.; Abeywickrama, K.P.; Jayakody, R.; Herath, I.
Abstract Degree of browning, firmness, sensory properties and microbiological quality of minimally processed immature jakfruit were investigated on initial and seventh day after stor- age at 5–7 °C. Samples were pretreated with 0.5 % and 1 % sodium metabisulphite, 1.5 % citric acid+1.5 % ascorbic acid, 3 % citric acid, 3 % ascorbic acid and packed in polystyrene packages and over wrapped with polyvinylchloride (PVC) stretch film before storage. When degree of browning in rela- tion to absorbance was assessed, immature jakfruit pretreated with 1.5 % citric acid+1.5 % ascorbic acid showed the lowest absorbance at 420 nm among all pretreated samples indicating low browning in samples. At 450 nm, minimally processed immature jackfruit samples pretreated with 1.5 % citric acid+ 1.5 % ascorbic acid showed the highest reflectance (indicating lowest absorbance) compared to other treatments. Variations in firmness were observed after treatment. Microbial counts were within safe-to-consume limits while coliforms were not detected in any of the samples. Erwinia aphidicola and Bacillus subtilis were identified from minimally processed immature jakfruit samples using molecular tools. 1.5 % citric acid+1.5 % ascorbic acid, 1 % sodium metabisulphite and 3 % citric acid were relatively more successful in retaining acceptable sensory quality of jakfruit even after 7 days of storage. Above pretreatments could be recommended during minimal processing of immature jakfruit meant for local sale in supermarkets where cold storage is available.