ARS - 2008

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An Analysis of Future Aspiration Factors of Successful and Unsuccessful Entrepreneurs before Commencing a Business. (Referring to the Gampaha District SMEs)
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Yatigarnmana, M.R.K.N.
The businesses very often encounter numerous problems. Their major role is to satisfy consumer needs, engage in new product development and make market efficiency. However, they have largely failed in achieving these objectives. Most of the businesses were begun by ambitious persons who are the focal figures of the enterprises. They showed an immense creativeness and innovativeness throughout the life of their businesses. Their commitment, risk taking nature and ability of exploiting opportunities make the society and the economy more advanced and stable. Thus, when starting a business, the risk taking ability makes a person an entrepreneur (Cambridge Dictionary, 2003 ). Successful entrepreneurs grow up their enterprises to a very comfortable stage while other entrepreneurs become collapsed or quit at the beginning or the middle of the businesses. When beginning of a business, every entrepreneur has a dream of where to go or what is to be achieved in the future. In strategic perspective, it is important to have such future intentions as to where the business should be in the future. Because, it will guides the businesses for a right direction for achieving the business success. The aim of this study is to find out the futuristic picture of the successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs and analyze them. Accordingly, data were collected from 60 entrepreneurs in Gampaha district and SPSS is used to analyze the data. The research finds that both successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs have realized the factor 'to become large scale' as the most desirable futuristic factor while earning more profits as the second important factor. Third and fourth most desirable factors of the successful entrepreneurs are having a wide distribution channel and to have its own place of business respectively. Further Successful entrepreneurs indicated that demand from the end consumer as the most frequent and crucial factor that they observed before starting the business while less competition in the market is the second most frequent development factor that successful entrepreneurs observed.
An Analysis Of Grammatical Errors Made By Second Language Learners Of English Whose First Language Is Sinhala, With Special Reference To Use Of Present Tense
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Ranasinghe, R.A.R.M.P.
Linguists who study about second Language acquisition have been studying about learner errors related to various grammar components and parameter settings. One such area which gets more attention is studying why learners of this kind make errors while using their second language. Various theorizing has been done in this regard and one is 'error analysis'. In this forthcoming research titled 'an analysis of grammatical errors made by second language learners of English whose first language is sinhala, with special reference to use of Present tense', it would outline what the common errors that the learners do in the acquisition of Present Tense, what the possible reasons for those errors are, what the most contributing factor for the errors they make in this regard is and seeing whether there is a correlation between learner errors and their level of proficiency. The main hypothesis in this research is that the acquisition of Simple Present Tense is difficult for the second language learners whose first language is Sinhala mainly due to Ll interference (Interlingual errors). Therefore it basically attempts to see the most contributing factor which makes it difficult for the L2 learners whose first language is Sinhala in the acquisition of the Present Tense of English. With reference to the errors analyzed, the researcher would claim that the learners' first language which has less complicated tense patterns than English, do not provide similar surface structure models to tenses thus ,would affect the acquisition of tenses fully. accordingly the discussion in the literature review would draw theories in 'Error Analysis' .and 'UG Theory' ofN. Chomsky in order to explain why Sinhalese speakers find it hard to acquire certain grammatical areas such as tenses. The group of participants who are in Grade, 10, 11 and Grade 12 from two different backgrounds provide evidence for the research. Further a comparison of students' errors related to the use of Present Tense would be done with the proficiency level of each. Finally pedagogical implications based on the findings will be given and by which researcher would explain the importance of providing much 'exposure' of English as the main second language of Sinhalese learners during their critical periods.
An analysis of the differences between male and female writing in the ESL classroom
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Perera, P.V.N.
It is already established that there is a difference between "women's language" and "men's language". Research has shown that there is a significant difference in the performance related to language between male and female students in ESL classrooms. However, most of the research conducted so far has mainly focused on the different styles of speaking between males and females. This paper seeks to explore whether there is a difference in writing in English between male and female undergraduates of the University ofKelaniya. A sample of essays, written on the same topic, by 30 male and 30 female undergraduates, randomly chosen from those who follow the course English for Communication-ELTU 13012 at the English Language Unit of the university, will be analysed to investigate if their writing style and content differ according to their gender. The findings of this study will contribute to the development of lesson material and teaching material and allow for lesson planners and teachers to deliver their content in a manner that will be beneficial for both genders.
An analysis of the Effectiveness of English Medium Instruction at the University of Kelaniya
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Weerasinghe, M.
Over the past decade, many Sri Lankan universities have shifted to offering English as a medium of instruction in their degree courses. Furthermore, several sub sections of these universities have made the English stream compulsory for all students. This paper will analyse how students have been affected by these shifts in policy, and whether these changes are helping advance the goals that were outlined when implementing them. Research has shown that in many developing countries, a strong correlation exists between external funding and English language policy changes (Brock-utne, 2002), and that many of these shifts are often fueled by external pressure (Phillipson, 2001) and are made without a satisfactory understanding of the mechanics of language acquisition. This paper will examine the circumstances surrounding policy changes in the departments being studied, and compare the goals of these initiatives with the results they actually deliver. Specifically, this paper will focus on the new English language policies of the Faculty of Commerce and Management of the University of Kelaniya, and attempt to analyse how effective they have been in helping undergraduates switch over to the English medium. In order to do so, this project will use both qualitative and quantitative research, including questionnaires, interviews with members of faculty and an analysis of student grades.
An Analysis of the Usage of Telephone Directories and its Importance on Customer Life Style: A case study of Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd (SLT) Directory usage
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Dissanayake, D.M.R.; Wanninayake, W.M.C.B.
The Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission (TRC) of Sri Lanka has imposed a rule to provide a detail directory for each fixed line telephone customer, as the controlling body of Sri Lankan telecommunication industry. However, due to the sophisticated communication methods currently being used across the country, people have shifted to different alternative quick access of numbers and details that they want to contact in daily life. Anyhow, still customers are received a directory as per the legal requirement though it is not used very frequently. This case study discusses how far the directory is useful and its importance to the customers lifestyle in the context of finding domestic and business telephone numbers and relevant information.Reserchers selected 1000 customers including both business and domestic customers in Colombo,Kalutara,Galle,Kandy and Kurunegala. Field investigators interviewed those customers through telephones provided by SLT Ltd, and researchers conducted few in-depth interviews to get an insight of the customers behavior.Discriptive statistical tools were used to analyze the data. It was found that nearly 89% of customers do not use the Directory to find contacts, and mobile phone memory has been the most frequent method of finding those numbers.Futher, the majority of domestic customers does not know the alternative sophisticated methods provided by fixed line and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators to find domestic and institutional numbers. It is nearly 80% of customers who are willing to have new methods rather than having bulky Directories to find required contact numbers. The related importance of Telephone Directory compared to other alternative methods has been significantly low in customers' life style, and it has been a hardly using method. Thus, this study highlights the importance of introducing an easy method of obtaining contact numbers in a cost effective manner.
Analytical proof of Fermat's last theorem for n=4
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Piyadasa, R.A.D.
Fermat's last theorem for n = 4 is usually proved [1] using the famous mathematical tool of the method of infinite descent of F ermat. In this contribution, it will be shown that the parametric solution of the polynomial equation d4 = e4 + g4, (e, g) = 1 can be obtained using a simple mathematical technique and thereby the proof of the theorem can be done, without depending on the sophisticated structure of primitive Pythagorean triples of Fermat[1] given by X= 2lm, y =!2-m2 , z = !2 + m2 ' where l >m> 0 and l, m are of opposite parity. The main objective of this contribution is to introduce a new simple mathematical technique which may be very useful in some other problems as well. If the equation (1) has a non-trivial integral solution for (x, y, z) , then one of e, g is even and we can assume that d, e, g are positive. If gis even, (d2-g2)(d2+g2)=e4 and terms in the brackets are eo-prime and hence , one writes d2 +g2 =x4 d2-g2 =y4 (2a) (2b) From these two equations, we get 2d2 = x4 + y4. (2c) Therefore (x2 -d)(x2+ d)=( d-y2 )(d + y2) and it is easy to deduce that terms in the brackets on the left-hand side or on the right-hand side of this equation may have only factor 2 in common since all numbers are odd and x, d, y are eo-prime to one another. In the following, a new simple mathematical technique is used to obtain the parametric solution for x, y ,d, g from this single equation. If x2 -d = d-y2, 2d = x2 + y2 and therefore 4d2 = x4 + y4 + 2x2 y2 , which means d2 = x2y2, and it leads to a contradiction since (d, e) = 1. Similarly we can easily show thatx2-d:t=d+y2. Now, let (d-y2)= a (x2-d) ,to obtain x2-d = ba-1(d-y2), b where(a, b) = l.Then k (x2 +d )= (d+ y2), x2+ d = ab-1( d + y2) .Now, let us form the a following two simultaneous equations, to obtain, x2-d =ba-1(d-y2) (a) x2 + d = ab-1(d + y2) (b) (3) Proceedings of the Annual Research Symposium 2008- Faculty of Graduate Studies University of Kelaniya (4) Since ( d, y) = 1 , b 2 + a 2 = dk , where k has to be determined. Then , one easily obtains 2 2ab+b2-a2 a2+b2 . 2ab = a2 -b2 + y2 k , y = , d = .Now , from(3), It follows that k k 2abx2 = (a2 +b2)d +(a2 -b2)y2 = (a2 +b2)2 +(a2 -b2)(2ab+b 2 -a2) k (5) It is clear from (5) that a and b cannot be of opposite parity since then k2 x2 y2 cannot be either odd or even. Hence a and b are both odd. and therefore k2 = 4 or 41 k2. a2 +b2 Thereforex 2y2 =(4a2b2 -(a2 -b2)2)14 =e2, d = , ab (a2 -b2)=g2 as given 2 below , which is the parametric solution of the equation (1 ), where a, bare parameters. 2 2ab+a2-b2-a2-b2 2a (a-b) 2 2 Now, x -d = = and k is a factor of a +b and if k k it is a factor of a-b , one deduces that k is 2 or a factor of a or b. Since (a, b)= 1, we conclude that k = 2 . Therefore x2 y2 = a2 b2 -( a2 -b2 )2 /4 Since (x2-y2)(x2 + y2) = x4-y4 = 2g2, which follows from(2a),(2b), it IS easy to deduce (6) Therefore a, b, (a2-b2) should be perfect squares. Now, if a=r2, b =s2, then r4 -s4 = t2 for some integers r, s, t. The famous and the only theorem that Fermat has proved is that there are no integers r, s, t satisfying r4-s4 = t2. Hence the Fermat's last theorem for n = 4 can be deduced. It is quite interesting that applying the mathematical technique used in this contribution ,we have shown[2] very easily that the equation r4-s4 = t2 has no non- trivial integral solution for r,s,t ,and then the Fermat's last theorem for n = 4 follows at once[1].
An Assessment of the Influence of Fundamental Factors on Share Prices in Sri Lanka,
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2008) Fernando, G.W.J. Sriyantha.
This study analyses certain fundamental factors which are determinants of equity share prices in Sri Lanka. These factors are earning, growth, leverage, risk and company size. The literature review of the study have identified various aspects of equity share valuation. The theoretical and empirical studies have been used to formulate the foundation for the study. To assess above mentioned fundamental factors on share prices, multiple regression analyze was used with a log linear model as a cross section analyses related to the period 1993-2001. The sample for the study was selected from companies registered and listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange. The sample consisted of 40 companies from a group of239 companies in all industries. Result show that dividends appear to be a powerful influence in determining share prices than growth and retained earnings. Business risk and financial risk cannot be assessed because they are redundant variables. Company size is having a considerable influence on share prices and, accordingly large companies enj oy higher values for shares. On the basis of findings the following observation was made about the stock market in Sri Lanka. "The determinants of valuation of the share prices are not very clear. It goes mainly by considering dividend and company size factors which are readily measurable. However, factors like growth and risk cannot be measured with more certainty"
Biocide testing programme for control of lichens on archeological monuments at World Heritage sites in Sri Lanka
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Fernando, S.; Jayaratne, D.L.
Cultural monuments in the world heritage sites in Sri Lanka have suffered many disfigurements over the centuries due to a variety of threats. The main threats are the biological agents such as higher plants, bryophytes, algae, fungi and lichens. Lichen is a symbiotic association of a fungus with an alga that appears to be a single plant. These lichens attached firmly to the surfaces of monuments and as they grow and spread progressively weaken the surface making disfigurement of monuments. This study focused on finding the safe and best effective treatment which can remove and control all the different types of lichens growing on stone monuments at Sigiriya and Anuradapura. The two acceptable methods for the removal of lichens from the archeological monuments are the physical removal and the chemical treatment for eradication. The application of biocide chemicals for the complete eradication of lichens have been considered as the most effective method than physical removal which allows remaining microscopic propagules eventually colonize monument surface making more denser cover than the previous colonization. Therefore, seven commercially available biocides; "Captan, Mancozeb, F olicur, Hadonal D, Paraquat, Mergal S 89 and No More Mould" were tested on the stone monuments in three different locations at Sigiriya and one location at "Abayagiriya Monastry", Anuradapura. To begin treatments, the lichen inhabiting surface areas of 1 00cm2 quadrates were marked on the stone monuments. Then randomly selected five quadrates in each location were assigned to each of the biocide treatment. The manufacturers recommended concentrations of the biocides were spayed at the rate of 0.03ml/cm2 onto the lichens inhabiting surface area of the assigned quadrates using hand operated sprayers. The observations were recorded every three months intervals during the 18 months period. Data were analyzed statistically using two-way ANOVA. The treatments showed highly significant effects on lichen control (p< 0.001). Further the Tukey's multiple comparison tests concluded that the product "No more mould" has highly significant positive control effect on the eradication of lichens in the treated areas. This product is an effective biocide recommended for the eradication of both partners (the fungi and algae) of the symbiotic association of lichens. Also, the treatment showed some kind of sealer effect to retard recolonization of lichens and other growth forms for a minimum of one year period on the treated quadrates of the stone monuments.
Cat or /k/ /re/ it!? : an analysis of two Sri Lankan ESL (English as a Second Language) books for teaching primary school students
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Edirisinghe, N.
The use of 'phonics' versus the ·whole word system' (look and say method) has been under debate in Sri Lanka (Lets learn English-Grade3, Educational Publications Department Sri Lanka2000,Perera, 2007). Research on reading acquisition has found that phonemic awareness facilitated by the phonic system is extremely important and that it initiates the foundation of a good reader or successful reading acquisition by any child (Ehri, 1998). This study deals with second language acquisition of primary school children, English in this case. Sri Lankan government schools have implemented the whole word system at present, and a recent analysis of the Grade 3 textbooks has predicted difficulties in children's reading (Perera 2007). Despite instructions to use the whole word system, some teachers believe, similar to many researchers that phonics is more of a success in comparison to the whole word method. Instructional strategies also affect how students learn (McBride-Chang et al, 2004). This work researches the issue of instructional material in teaching reading, pursuing the question "Does the whole word approach work better than phonics?" Textual analysis will be employed as the research method drawing a comparison between the Grade 3 text book with a primary level text that employs the phonics system. The strengths and weaknesses of these texts will be analyzed to discover which approach is more of success.
The changing patterns in the role of women in the field of agriculture of rural Sri Lanka
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Abeysinghe, A.H.M.S.N.
The contribution of the male in agriculture was higher than women's in the traditional Agro-economic system in Sri Lanka. In this context the role of the traditional women was exclusively looking after children and bringing them up. But the role of traditional woman has become more complex because of the social change in social, economic, cultural and political processes in the society. The status and role of the traditional women has changed with the social change and this condition has highly influenced for the creation of role conflict in the family. As the side effect of this changing situation; unemployment, poverty and domestic violence were the major issues they had to face in their life. T he women used to make a dynamic contribution to the agro-economic society with particularly regard to wellbeing of her family. In this context, the women had to play major role to stabilize and strengthen family economy. T he major objective of this study was to evaluate the contribution of women in the rural agro-economic system; To identify the differences between the role of rural and modern women, To study the contribution of women with regard to the rising of economic status in her family were the other objectives of this study. Survey method and functional method were used as the research method. Primary data was collected through observations and interviews. Kotawehera Secretariat Division in Kurunegala district was selected as the research area and 1 0 Graqma Niladari Divisions (GNDs) were selected out of 31 GNDs and 10 families were selected in one GND, Totally 100 families were investigated. The modern rural woman was able to make a great contribution for the agroeconomic system in her family and she was able to achieve specialization in a range of agricultural activities. T he data revealed that the rural women empowerment should be enhanced for the social development in Sri Lanka.
Code-Switching and Code-Mixing among the Sri Lankan Sinhala Speakers
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Karnalasuriya, H.K.
As occurring in every bilingual community, in Sri Lanka, too, code-mixing and code switching in speech, has become a common phenomenon, specially, among the Sri Lankan Sinhala speakers. They mix Sinhala and English often when they communicate and it has become a threat to our mother-tongue Sinhala. This paper focuses on how the Sri Lankan Sinhalese mix codes in speech the investigations of their speech patterns, and how code switching and code mixing has become a threat to the mother- tongue. A maj or aim of this study is to find out the possible causes, why and how people code switch or mix in discourse. It is shown that from a socio-functional perspective, the bilingual may use code -mixing for expressing modernization. In the second part of this study the characteristic features of the code- mixers and code-switchers are considered phonologically, morphologically and syntactically. The next section discusses how the attitudes of people towards code-mixing has changed from negative to positive and that it has imposed itself as the norm of language use in most bilingual - communities. Finally, this study discusses briefly the impact of code-mixing on language structure. A survey of the literature on code-mixing in different bilingual communities reveals that the use of code-mixing normally brings changes and innovations in the language structure.
Comparative study of heroic film tradition in Sri Lanka
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Nimalachandra, K.M.D.C.
In the history ofSri Lankan cinema, which begins with the film "Rajakeeya Wickramaya" there are a number of films based on heroic historical characters. They include films such as "Saradiyel", "Seegiri Kashyapa", "Weera Puran Appu", "Weera Madduma Bandara". The film "Aba" can be regarded as the latest addition to that list. Similarly, in the Indian cinema, which has provided the inspiration there are many films based on historical heroic characters. This study examines the exaltation of patriotism in these films. Lester James Peris's "Weera Puran Appu" Joe Michel's "Weera Madduma Bandara" as well as "Bhagat Singh" directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi and "Mangal Panday" directed by Kethan Mehtha have been selected for a comparative study. The method used in this study is the method of content analysis. The Indian film creates patriotic feelings not only through the story but also through sensitive characters situation and handling of music. On the contrary the creative lapses on the part of the Sri Lankan filmmakers keep the Sinhala film at a relatively low ebb in this regard.
A Comparative Study of the Way of Emancipation between Therawada and Zen Buddhism
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Gnanasena himi, Walapane
Construction and performance-analysis of a 'Solar-light" for efficient use of daylight
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Jayatissa, N.W.K.; Punyasena, M.A.
A pleasant and appealing environment, excellent color rendering, natural interior, and significant energy saving are the major advantages of using the daylight compared to the artificial lighting. Glare and heat radiation are the main drawbacks of utilizing direct sunlight for building illumination. This 'solar-light', a newly designed unit, can be used only during the day time and is operated from natural solar radiation with no additional power being required at all. It acts as a light guide which transfers the filtered visible spectrum of solar radiation from outside into the interior of the building. Solar-light that illuminates building interiors more efficiently with natural daylight, has been constructed and tested for its performance. The unit has been designed to reduce substantially the heat component of solar radiation with an IR-filter so that the building interior does not get heated up by increased cooling load due to lighting. This would considerably reduce the air-condition load of the building. The UV component of the solar spectrum is eliminated with a UV-filter installed inside the unit, thus only the filtered harmless visible spectrum is taken into the interior of the building. The Solar-light has a cylindrical shape (to minimize the internal reflection losses) with a height of 80 cm and a diameter of 26 cm. The transparent window at the top of the unit has a hemispherical shape in order to increase the effective area of the solar radiation input into the interior of the building. The small air gap between outer cylinder and reflective cylinder creates a convection path for heated air. A light-reflective coating is applied at the interior surface of the cylinder to minimize the loss of illumination. The filtered radiation finally is sent through a light diffuser also with the same diameter at the bottom of the unit before the light is finally delivered into the building. The performance of the unit has been tested in real environment and a maximum of 170 Lux was measured at the desktop height inside the building with the daylight. Diameter of the illuminated area is about 5-6 m of which the intensity variation is minimal within the . . mner regwn. A series of these solar-light units can be installed on the roofs of large buildings (ex: garments factories, ware houses etc.) to illuminate the interiors in place of fluorescent bulbs to save energy substantially reducing the electricity bill.
Consumer Response to Nutrition Claims
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Andrahannadi, J.U.I.
Nutrition has become a major concern for the majority of Sri Lankan consumers who are accumulating remarkable knowledge due to the development of health education, through the implementation of various governmental and volunteer projects. The nutrition claims accompanying food related products draw much attention of such sensitive consumers in the country, and the response expected is highly positive. In this scenario, marketers of such products have a social responsibility towards communicating and educating the consumers correctly about diet related disease issues. In Sri Lanka, many local products enter the market without nutritional labels. Given the liberalized economic environment in Sri Lanka, local food producers face immense competition from the imported products, specially from the products of giant multinational companies that have nutritional labels. Therefore, it is imperative to study the impact of nutrition claims on consumer buying behavior in Sri Lanka which is the major objective of this study. A questionnaire was administered to collect primary data, selecting a sample of 148 respondents from the Colombo district. The research findings reveal that majority of the consumers are knowledgeable of nutrition claims, and nutrition information appeared in food labels. The survey found that doctors were the most preferred and most trusted source of information. Further findings disclose that consumers highly prefer the labels which contain more detailed information and simpler wordings. Thus, it can be concluded that the local food marketers will immensely be benefited if they incorporate relevant nutrition information in their marketing communication.
A contribution of Minor Export Crops on Rural Economy in Sri Lanka (with reference to Rambukkana divisional secretariat)
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Nawarathna, H.M.
The talk in the town and village today is the sky racketing cost of living and how the ordinary citizen can face this situation. No one talks about the prices of minor export crops that are freely available and easily grown in the villages. These crops played a vital role in our agrarian economy long before the introduction of plantations such as coffee tea cocoa etc. by the British. The changes brought about by the introduction of a plantation economy had adverse effects to our religion-cultural and social value systems. The Waste Land Tax No. 19 of 1840, the Land Tax Act No. 5 of 1866 and the Grain Tax which was abolished by Governor Arther Havelock in 1892 were some of the Acts that changed the village agrarian economy. The prices of all minor export crops such as pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves coffee etc; that are grown easily and less labor intensive also fetch high prices to boost the income of the average village farmer. It should be remembered that over sixty percent of our population are rural and live in the villages. The problem of this study is there any contribution from minor export crops to the up-lift of rural economy in Sri Lanka. The objective of this paper is to identify the reason for low development of rural economy of Sri Lanka, identify the contribution of minor export crop to the upgrade of rural economy of Sri Lanka and identify the solutions for upgrading the rural economy of Sri Lanka. This study has been used both primary and secondary data. Secondary data was collected from secondary sources and primary data was collected from hundred families from Maligathenna Grama Seva Division in Rambukkana. Data was analyzed by using tables, graphs and percentages. Apart from reduction of the land area available for minor export crops, the available extent is infertile due to soil erosion, fragmentation, haphazard contour drains and other bad land management practices which has led to the degrading of the soil. But according to above data it can be said that there is big contribution from minor export crops to upgrade the rural economy of Sri Lanka. If one can reminiscence the Districts that these crops grow it can be seen that except for the North and East in most other Districts spices are grown. The land has been blocked out and used for construction purposes. In the Districts of Matale, Kandy, Kegalla etc; where rubber cocoa and pepper are grown in abundance the production of these crops have become minimal thus affecting the income levels of the rural masses. What a government could do to improve the village economy is to create avenues to earn more income through agrarian and agricultural practices and get better prices for their village agriculture and minor export products.
The contribution of the school librarian towards information literacy among school students- with special reference to selected national schools in the Gampaha district
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Rajapaksha, M.P.
The people are engaged in lifelong education throughout their life time. In this process, the school education system has a major role to perform in formal education. The school library is the major centre for producing a high quality citizen to the society; also it enhances their knowledge, attitudes and skills. The major purpose of the school library is to fulfill the education and information needs of students as well as academic and non academic staff in the school. It is anticipated to develop the information skills of students by the school library which is an information and resource centre. For achieving a high quality education in the student centered education system it is essential to develop the information skills among students. In this context, a great contribution from the school librarian is expected. The main role of the school librarian is to contribute for achieving goals of the school. The school librarian has a responsibility to become a person who is skilled in creating a successful school programme for the students and teachers. The major purpose of this study was to identify the contribution of the school librarians with regard to the fulfillment of information literacy and to highlight the problems faced by the school librarians in developing information literacy among students. l;'he survey method was used as the research methodology of this study. Data was gathered using questionnaires and interviews. As the sample 5 national schools in the Gampaha district were taken out of 17 National schools. A total of 100 students were selected from A/L classes in commerce, arts and science from the above mentioned national schools. The analysis of the data revealed that the contribution of school librarians were not in a satisfactory level for developing the information skills of students and also it was revealed that the majority of students do not have the ability to gain information through prescribed sources. However the major problem was the inability of school librarians to help the students to access right sources at the right time. To overcome this situation it is recommended to initiate well organized information literacy programme among students and it is recommended to introduce training programmes for school librarians in information literacy awareness. Relationship between students and teachers should be improved further more.
Coupling Shallow Water Equation with Navier-Stokes Equations: A viscous shallow water model
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2008) Karunathilake, N.G.A.
The general characteristic of shallow water flows is that the vertical characteristic scale D is essentially smaller than and typical horizontal scale L .i.e. £ := D << 1 . L In many classical derivations, in order to obtain the shallow water approximation of the Navier-Stokes's Equations, the molecular viscosity effect is neglected and a posteriori is added into the shallow water model to represent the efficient-viscosity ( a friction term through the Chezzy formula which involes empirical constants) at the bottom topography. However, the validity of this approach has been questioned in some applications as the models lead to different Rankine-Hugoniot curves (see e.g. [1]). Therefore, it can be useful to consider the molecular viscosity effect directly in the derivation of the shallow water model. On the other hand the classical shallow water models are derived under the assumption of slowly varying bottom topographies. Hence, for the description of incompressible shallow water laminar flow in a domain with a free boundary and highly varying bottom topography, the classical Shallow Water Equations are not applicable. The remedy consist of dividing the flow domain into two sub-domains namely, near field (sub domain with the bottom boundary) and far field (sub domain with the free boundary) with a slowly varying artificial interface and employ the Navier-Stokes Equations and Viscous Shallow Water Equations in the near field and far field, respectively. In this work, we derive a two-dimensional Viscous Shallow Water model for incompressible laminar flows with free moving boundaries and slowly varying bottom topographies to employ in the far field. In this approach, the effect of the molecular viscosity is retained and thereby corrections to the velocities and the hydrostatic pressure approximations are established. Coupling modified shallow water model with NSE has been carried out in a separate work. In order to derive the viscous shallow water model the two-dimensional Incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in usual notations au + au2 + auw + ap = 􀁊 ( 2v au) + 􀁌 (v au +V 8 w) , at ax az ax ax ax az az az aw + auw + 8w2 + ap =-g+􀁋 (vau +j.law) +􀁌 ( 2vau), ---------------------------(1) at ax az az . ax az ax az az a-w+ a-w= 0. ax az are employed in the far field with the suitable boundary conditions. On the free surface, we assume that the fluid particle does not leave the free surface and we neglect the wind effect and the shear stress. On the artificial boundary we set the conditions according with the Navier-Stokes solution at the interface. On the lateral boundaries inflow and outflow conditions are employed. Rescaling the variables with the typical characteristic 151 Proceedings of the Annual Research Symposium 2008- Faculty of Graduate Studies University of Kelaniya scales L and D, the dimensionless form of the Navier-Stokes's equations for shallow water flows are obtained. Similarly, assuming that the bottom boundary is regular and the gradient of the free surface remains bounded we obtain the dimensionless boundary conditions. The second order terms with respect to & in the system are neglected and asymptotic analysis is carried out under the assumptions, the flow quantities admit linear asymptotic expansion to the second order with respect to & and the molecular viscosity of the water is very small. Then, rescaling the depth averaged first momentum equation of the resulting system and substituting the zeroth order solution for the velocity and the pressure in it the zeroth order first momentum equation which include the interface conditions is obtained. Again integrating the continuity equation of the dimensionless system from z1 to H(t, x ), a more detailed view of the vertical velocity component is established. Similarly, integrating the vertical momentum equation the dimensionless system from z1to H(t, x ) and replacing boundary conditions, the second order correction to the hydrostatic pressure distribution is derived. Then, dropping o(s2) in the system and switching to the variables with dimensions, the following results are established. Proposition: The formal second order asymp t ot ic ex p ansion of t he Navier-St okes Equat ions for t he shallow wat er laminarfl ow is given by ( z -z I ) ou . I ou 2 u(t, x, z) = u(t,x,z1) + I--- -(x, z1 ,t)(z-z1)---(x, z1 ,t)(z-z1) 2h oz 2h oz h(t,x)+z1 OU w(t,x,z)=w(t,x,z1)- f -d1] OX Z=Zt - ou ou p(t,x,z) = g(h+ z1 -z)-v-(t,x,z)-v-(x,t) ox ox wit h t he viscous shallow wat er equations ah + £(􀁍h)= ( w _ u az 1 ) , at ax ax z=Zt 􀁎 (􀁍 h) +£ {􀁍z h) + £( gh2 J = £( 4v h a􀁍J -rl ' at ax 􀁏 8x 2 ax 8x where r, 􀁐 [ p : +v: +v: -2v : : +u(u: -w) L,, and z 􀁐 z,(x, t ) is t he interface. Concluding remarks In the zeroth order expansion as well as in many classical shallow water models, the horizontal velocity does not change along with the vertical direction. In contrast, our first order correction gives a quadratic expansion to the vertical velocity components retaining more details of the flow. As many classical models we do not neglect the viscosity effect but just assume that it is very small. Also, the zeroth order hydrostatic pressure approximation has been upgraded to the first order giving a parabolic correction to the pressure distribution.
Customer Satisfaction towards Services Quality of Sri Lankan Supermarkets: An Empirical Study
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Gajanayake, R.
Services quality is considered as a key dimension of customer satisfaction. In supermarkets, it is a basic retailing strategy which is practiced in all over the world. Sri Lankan supermarkets also try to enhance the services quality since it assists in both retention and expansion of existing customer base. The main objective of this study was to figure out the customer satisfaction towards services quality of supermarkets in Sri Lanka. Further it was aimed to identify the retailing strategies used by Sri Lankan supermarkets to improve the services quality. This study based on both primary and secondary data. The primary data were collected from the sample survey that was carried out by using structured questionnaire for 50 customers in Gampaha districts. Simultaneously unstructured discussions were also made to identify the attitude of supermarkets' employees towards the service quality. Descriptive statistical methods such as percentages, frequency counts and mean scores were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that there is a significant impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in Sri Lankan supermarkets and more than 80% of respondents were in the view that they select supermarket outlets because of the service quality and the convenience of selecting varieties of products.
Customs and rituals related to the coronation of kings in ancient South Asia
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Abayarathna, A.H.M.H.
The institution of kingship had originated as a result of a gradual development in Sri Lanka and as well as in India. When the Aryan settlements expanded in those countries the tribal leaders were called as Rajan or Raja. They became a special group. Then the coronation was regarded as an occasion which illustrates their power. There were some customs and rituals related to the coronation. The major objective of this research was to identify those customs and rituals connected to the coronation ceremony and their applicability. The research methodology was the comparative study of primary sources belonging to India and Sri Lanka. The researcher was able to find out that the tribal leaders who were more powerful among the others of their region, tried to display their powers and as a result of it the coronation ceremony was started and it became customary. Hence some customs and rituals originated and developed gradually. Among those customs and rituals were belief that the powers of kings were divine and to acquire that power they followed some activities and customs related water. Although the coronation ceremony in Sri Lankan has been greatly affected by that of India, the Sri Lankan society was capable of forming an identity of its own. Buddhism has played a vital role to maintain this identity as substantiated by the research.