IPRC - 2018
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/19163
Browse
Item Abstract Art Style of H.A. Karunarathna in Contemporary Visual Arts(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Baddegama, S.K.H.A. Karunarathne becomes a remarkable personnel in the Sri Lankan art history, especially the modern art. Due to his leadership to establish a tradition based on several European and American styles namely abstract expressionism and European religious and philosophical art styles. His revolutionary approach on painting techniques, especially merging the pre ground, middle area and the background of the space used, provided unique appearance and beauty to his artwork. The shapes and colours of his art work were of significance due to its philosophical nature. Apparently, the indulgence of realistic and naturalistic approach enables many Sri Lankan artists to be inspired from his artwork. Thus the objectives of the present study are to identify and analyze the characteristics of the paintings of H.A. Karunarathne and his contribution towards the abstract art style in contemporary visual artItem Accuracy in the Usage of Direct and Indirect Speech in Learning English as a Second Language: Tertiary Level(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Jayasinghe, R.R.Direct speech in English Language refers to quoted speech, for example, Rani said, “I visited my uncle yesterday.” Indirect speech refers to reported speech, for example, Rani said that she had visited her uncle on the previous day. When direct speech is converted into indirect speech, there are some fundamental changes to be made: changing the tense of the verb, the punctuation marks and references in time, pronoun, etc. Due to these complex rules, there is a possibility that the learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) would find difficult to convert direct speech into indirect speech successfully. The objectives of this study are: to find out whether there are significantly different areas in converting direct speech into indirect speech where all the 12 tenses of verbs in English language are concerned; to examine the percentages of the accurate usage of the punctuation marks and references in time, place, and pronoun in both direct and indirect speech. Total number of 50 first year students, randomly selected from the Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, participated in this study. Twelve sentences in direct speech, each carrying one tense out of 12 tenses of verbs in English Language were provided to these students to convert into indirect speech, and vice versa. SPSS-21was used to analyse the correct usage of verb, punctuation marks, and the references in time, place and the pronoun in the direct and indirect speech. An ANNOVA was run, and the Tukey’s HSD test showed that there are significant differences in the correct use of verb across the 12 tenses in both direct and indirect speech. The findings concluded that there are considerable difficulties for these students in the use of verbs, punctuation marks and the references in direct and indirect speech. These findings can be used to facilitate teaching direct and indirect speech for ESL students at the tertiary level.Item The Adaptation and Validation of Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life (SAQOL-39) Scale for the Sinhala Language in the Sri Lankan Context.(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Karunathilake, K.M.M.G.S.L.; Rathnayake, S.; Ranawaka, U.K.Stroke and aphasia rehabilitation aims to improve the quality of life of the individuals affected. Aphasia is a disturbance of the language. Most of scales for measuring health-related quality of life in stroke exclude people with aphasia due to inability to communicate during the questionnaires. However, it is vital to identify the effect on quality of life among individuals with aphasia to provide proper rehabilitation. No reliable measure was developed in Sri Lankan context to analyze this, which became the research question of the present study. The Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 which is the commonest, valid and reliable measures was used in assessing quality of life among aphasia and it was analyzed applying to the Sri Lankan context. The following were the aims of the study, translate and adapt the (SAQOL-39) Scale for the Sinhala Language in the Sri Lankan context, identify its reliability and validity, identify the relationship between the severity level of communication and the quality of life level and analyze the most affected domain among aphasia population. The original (English) version of the SAQOL-39 has been adapted and translated using Delphi method. The sociocultural and linguistically adapted Sinhala version was administered on a group of 35 patients with aphasia to examine the test-retest reliability, inter rater reliability internal consistency reliability as well as the concurrent validity of the instrument. The inclusion criteria of the study population were as following, Aphasia resulting from a stroke at least after 6 months from the onset and not with the evidence of psychiatric illnesses and cognitive difficulty. 10 patients were used for the test retest assessment. And for the inter rater reliability assessment 2 raters were used. The Sinhala version of SAQOL-39 exhibited high test-retest reliability (ICC =0.83) as well as the inter rater reliability (ICC=0.99). This instrument exhibited high internal consistency (Chronbach's∝ =0.845) and also the concurrent validity was examined with the WHOQOL BREF and found a significant correlation between SAQOL-39 and WHOQOL-BREF (r=0.75, p=0.000). The most affected domain of the aphasia patients as the communication domain was identified through this study and it was also identified that there is a significant positive correlation (r=0.685, p=0.000) between the severity level of aphasia and quality of life. Despite the small sample size, the Sinhala version of the SAQOL-39 showed good internal consistency, inter rater reliability, test-retest reliability and concurrent validity. The importance of communication ability in perceiving the quality of life in patients with aphasia has also been highlighted.Item Analysis of antibiotic sensitivity pattern of clinically significant Staphylococcus aureus at a Base Hospital, Sri Lanka(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Wijesooriya, L.I.; Jayawardana, G.P.C.; de Silva, S.H.N.A.INTRODUCTION: Staphylococcus aureus. is a major organism that causes skin and soft tissue infections. Moreover, it causes an array of other infections. It is treated with flucloxacillin/cloxacillin. However, a significant proportion of S. aureus has developed resistance to flucloxacillin/cloxacillin; hence, they are termed as MRSA. Though MRSA is likely to present in hospital settings, it has crept to the community as well. Accordingly, the number of MRSA infections is increasing.OBJECTIVE: To analyze theantibiotic sensitivity (ABST) pattern of clinicallysignificant S. aureus. METHOD: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conductedover one year from 01/08/2017 to 31/07/2018involving patients infectedwith S. aureus in Base Hospital, Wathupitiwala. Demographic & clinical data & ABST results were analyzed. ABST (John Stokes method) was performed for chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, fusidic acid, linezolid, co-trimoxazole, gentamicin, clindamycin, teicoplanin & vancomycin. MRSA was identified using cefoxitin disc. The ABST pattern of MSSA was compared with that of MRSA. Statistical analysis was done via the R programming language (level of significance P<0.05). RESULTS: Of 210 patients,48 % (101/210) were males while 52% (109/210) were females. In study cohort,88.1% (185/210) was inpatients & the rest (11.9% - (25/210)) was outpatients. Of the isolated S. aureus, 42.9% (90/210) were from pus, 14.8% (31/210) from blood, 29.5% (62/210) from sputum & 12.4% (26/210) from urine. As per ABST, 69.1% (145/210) was MRSA & 31% (65/210) was MSSA. Sensitivity of MSSA was 84.6% (11/13) for chloramphenicol, 62.3% (33/53) for gentamicin, 55.8% (29/52) for ciprofloxacin, 68.9% (31/45) for clindamycin, 45.7% (21/46) for erythromycin, 84.2%(16/19) for nitrofurantoin, 69.2%(27/39) for fusidic acid, 92.1%(35/38) for linezolid, 74.6%(41/55) for co-trimoxazole, 84.6%(33/39) for teicoplanin & 92.3%(60/65) for vancomycin. Sensitivity of MRSA was 83.3% (20/24) for chloramphenicol, 35.6% (32/90) for gentamicin, 24.6% (30/122) for ciprofloxacin, 34.1% (42/123) for clindamycin, 8.0% (9/112) for erythromycin, 75%(12/16) for nitrofurantoin,65.8%(73/111) for fusidic acid, 99%(96/97) for linezolid, 58.9%(76/129) for co-trimoxazole, 87%(80/92) for teicoplanin & 98.5%(134/136) for vancomycin. Sensitivity of MRSA was significantly low compared to the sensitivity of the MSSA against erythromycin (P = 0.000), ciprofloxacin (P = 0.000), clindamycin (P = 0.000) & gentamicin (P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Skin & soft tissue infections were the most common infections caused by S. aureus. MRSA rates were alarmingly high in the study cohort. Less than 50% of MRSA were sensitive to erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, & clindamycin and it was significantly low compared to the sensitivity of MSSA against same antibiotics. Vancomycin and linezolid are effective empiric antibiotics for both MSSA & MRSA.Item Analysis of Clinically Significant Acinetobacter Spp Isolated from a Base Hospital (BH) of Sri Lanka during a One-Year Period(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Wijesooriya, L.I.; Jayawardana, G.P.C.; de Silva, S.H.N.A.Introduction: Acinetobacter spp are potential opportunistic pathogens. Being a water-trophic organism, it stays in humidifier water, sink basins, suction apparatus, disinfectant fluids etc. Number of cases due to Acinetobacter spp are increasing globally & locally. Treatment of Acinetobacter infections is a great challenge due to its resistance to most antibiotics. However, awareness about antibiotic sensitivity (ABST) pattern of the organism would streamline empiric antibiotic therapy. Objective: To identify the burden & ABST pattern of Acinetobacter spp isolated duringa one-year period. Method: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out involving patients with clinically significant Acinetobacter infection at BH, Wathupitiwala from 01/08/2017 to 31/07/2018. The number of Acinetobacter spp identified from the total number of positive cultures obtained during the same period was analyzed. Demographic& clinical data of patients infected with Acinetobacter spp were also analyzed. ABST (John-Stokes method) of Acinetobacter spp were analyzed for gentamicin, amikacin, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, cefepime, cefoperazone-sulbactam, piperacillin-tazobactam, ampicillin-sulbactam, ticarcillin-clavulanic acid, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, co-trimoxazole, meropenem& polymyxin B. Results: Of 920 total bacterial cultures performed over the study period, 44% (404/920 - urine samples, 26% (238/920) - sputum, 23% (215/920) - pus & wound swabs & 7% (63/920) - blood. Of positive blood cultures, 7% (5/63) were by Acinetobacter. Of the total, satisfactorily taken sputum samples, 21% (65/238) were positive for Acinetobacter. Acinetobacter positivitywas 7% (17/215) from pus & wound swabs. None (0/404) of the urine samples grew Acinetobacter. Of 87 patients, who had Acinetobacter infections, all were inpatients while 56.3% were males & 43.7% were females. Age distribution; 0% children (<12 years), 68.9 % adults (12- 65 years) & 31.1% elderly (>65 years) patients. As per ABST, sensitivity was 4.5% for cefotaxime, 6.9% for ceftriaxone, 9.2% for ticarcillin-clavulanic acid & ceftazidime each, 12.6% for cefepime, 16% for gentamicin & ciprofloxacin each, 14.9% for piperacillin-tazobactam & meropenem each, 16.1% for levofloxacin & co-trimoxazole each, 17.2% for ampicillin-sulbactam, 25.3% for amikacin, 60.9% for cefoperazone-sulbactam, & 94.2% for polymyxin B. Conclusion: Most Acinetobacter spp were recovered from respiratory samples indicating its preponderance to cause respiratory tract infections. Most Acinetobacter infections were from inward, adult, males. A great majority of Acinetobacter spp were sensitive to polymyxin B. Only about 2/3rd of isolates were sensitive to cefoperazone-sulbactam & sensitivity was <25% for commonly used cephalosporins, carbapenems, quinolones, aminoglycosides, co-trimoxazole, & beta-lactam – beta-lactam inhibitor combinationsItem An Analysis of Competencies of English Language in General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level Examination in Sri Lanka(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Ranathunga, H.This research intends to analyse the competencies tested in English language in General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (G.C.E.O/L) Examination in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the study evaluates the standard of the English examination in relation to the four competencies: writing, reading, speaking, and listening. It further discusses the suitability of test items in measuring the level of competencies. Moreover, it examines the competency expectation of the government. This is due to the general belief of many educationists and professionals that G.C.E. (O/L) English examination does not reveal the true competency levels of students. In other words, most of the students who learn English from grade 1 to 11 and pass the examination, are incapable of communicating in English. Explaining further, students lack fluency and comprehension ability in English. As a result, most of the students who continue higher education in the medium of English, face difficulties. Furthermore, the result obtained for this aforementioned examination is crucial in order to be eligible for most of the job interviews in the country. Qualitative approach has been adopted in order to gather data in achieving the objectives of the research. Accordingly, a document analysis on the past papers and the syllabus, was carried out. Analysis of past papers was made in terms of four skills and test items. Moreover, O/L English language syllabus was studied in understanding national objectives. On the other hand, a questionnaire consisted of both close- ended and open-ended questions, was distributed among English language teachers of grades 10 and 11, in order to be exposed to their attitudes. As the final method, a structured interview was conducted among students who obtained O/L results and those who were awaiting results, to be aware of their point of view. As a result, it was revealed that, G.C.E. (O/L) English examination focuses only on writing and reading skills. On the contrary, speaking and listening are not tested and they are neglected. And it was understood, a mismatch between the objectives of the syllabus and the examination, has created this result. Therefore, it is proposed through this research that all the four skills must be tested in order to give an authentic account of the competency levels of studentsItem An Analysis of Culture-Specific Items in the French Translation VIRAGAYA ou le non-attachement of the Sinhala Novel Viragaya(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Samarasinghe, H.Culture-Specific Items (CSIs) are the concepts which are specific for a language. The notions of these concepts differ from culture to culture. The CSIs employed in the novel Viragaya (1956) written by Martin Wickramasinghe have been analyzed with reference to its French translation VIRAGAYA ou le non-attachement (1995) translated by Bikku Mandawala Pannawansa. Wickramasinghe’s story brings out a philosophy of Buddhism; ‘viragaya’- a state where all desire, attachments, feelings are purged from the mind and it is presented through his protagonist Aravinda who is a product of the rural Buddhist background. In the process of translation, the French translator has targeted a reader who is neither familiar with Sinhala language nor its culture. Nevertheless, the translator used various translational strategies to transfer Sinhala CSIs in to French language in order to minimize the language gap between these two cultures. Thus, this study aims to categorize the gathered source language words, to identify the translational strategies used in the translation of CSIs of Sinhala to French, to find out the frequency of the translational strategies which leads to identify the most frequently employed strategy. The present study conducted based on both qualitative and quantitative methods. Collected data related to CSIs are discussed under 14 sub categories considering Peter Newmark’s Categorization of CSIs and Howard’s proposed categorizations. Then a total of 75 CSIs is analyzed using Eirlys E. Davies’s proposed taxonomy of preservation, addition, omission, globalisation, localisation, transformation. The findings highlight firstly, the strategy of preservation, globalization and the combination of preservation and addition are frequently used by the translator. Secondly, the most prevailing strategy is preservation which helps to preserve the local flavor added in the original. Thirdly, the strategy of preservation is used in the categorizations of species of flora and fauna, food culture, person names and place names, social related terms and employment, religious terms. The preserved cases are often explained with footnotes to assist the French reader to minimize the strangeness of the foreign text. This particular analysis is effective in the field of translation to identify the translational strategies used by the French translator when translating Sinhalese CSIs to French languageItem Analysis of Drinking Water Quality Related to Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology (CKDu) of a Disease Prevalent Area in Polonnaruwa District(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Perera, R.T.; Liyanage, J.A.Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) is a burning issue in the Sri Lanka over past 20 years. In those endemic areas, majority of CKDu patient’s drinking water source was well-water. According to the environmental and other collected data from the Medirigiriya where CKDu prevalent area in Polonnaruwa district and Buddangala reference area in Ampara district, both have similar environmental conditions and agricultural habits. But in endemic are high number of CKD patients have been reported and none of CKD patients have been reported in selected reference area. Hence, drinking water quality analysis was carried out in both areas. According to the hospital data obtained from the health service in north central province Ambagaswewa grama niladhari division in Medirigiriya divisional secretariat area, drinking water quality analysis was carried out. Because of highest number of reported CKD patients since 2001.Then Buddangala GN area was selected as reference site for this analysis. Thirty drinking water samples were collected from the drinking water sources of the CKD patient’s residential places in Ambagaswewa GN area and 30 drinking water samples were collected from the Buddangala area. According to the results obtained from this analysis, average Ca and Mg concentration values in both areas were not exceeded than the permissible level defined by SLS in drinking water as well as conductivity of water was also reported high in water samples. Moreover, in Ambagaswewa area, average pH value was 6.65 while Buddangala area it was reported as 7.20 average value. In addition to basic water quality parameters, Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Zn, Mn, As, Cu, Fe, Na, K, Al, F-, SO4-2, NO3-, PO4-3 concentrations were analyzed in collected water samples with the aid of ICP-OES and Ion chromatography instruments. Before the ICP analysis, samples were filtered using nylon Sylinger filters (0.2 micro meters). According to the results, average concentration of Fluoride which suspected to be toxic to the kidney function, has exceeded the permissible levels defined by SLS in Ambagaswewa area,1.32ppm (+0.73), but in reference area those values ware not exceeded the permissible limits, 0.44ppm (+0.24). Average Cd concentration in the endemic area was 3.99 ppb (+2.87) while reference area is 0.15ppb (+0.07). (LOD of Cd-0.07). As and Pb concentrations were reported below the SLS permissible limits in both areas. Further concentrations of other species in both areas were not exceeded the permissible limits defined by SLS. According to the results, it can be reported that fluoride and Cd content in the drinking water may contribute to CKD. Finally, it concludes that drinking water quality can be a very significant reason for the prevalence of the CKDu in the endemic areas.Item An Analysis of Writing Errors of the Korean Language Learners in Sri Lanka(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Diddeniya, C.V.At present, the number of foreigners who learn Korean language is rapidly increasing. There is no exception in Sri Lanka. Students who prefer to learn Korean language are gradually increasing every year. The main goal of conducting Korean language classes is to improve the students’ communication skills. Among the four skills of language learning (Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening), writing is the most difficult aspect. Therefore, it is very essential to develop a suitable methodology to teach Korean language writing in systematical way. The aim of this research is to clarify the writing errors done by Sri Lankan native students, when studying the Korean Language. For this purpose, a research was conducted in the form of a survey among 30 students. A sample of students was chosen from the University of Kelaniya, who study Korean Language as a major subject (2nd year - 15 students, 3rd year -15 students). To identify the errors, an error analysis on survey data has been done. The analysis was divided in to two parts, the word dimension and the sentence dimension. According to survey, more errors occurred in sentence dimension than word dimension. Word dimension was subdivided in to three major categories and sentence dimension was subdivided in to nine major categories. By analyzing answers of survey the most occurring writing errors in Sri Lankan native students have been identified. Moreover, by applying the proposed method in teaching environment, I expect improvement in Korean language writing education and also hope to contribute in developing learner's Korean language skill. One of the significant benefits of this study is that it attempts to investigate the students’ errors in their Korean writing. I strongly believe that the results of this study will facilitate the teaching and learning processItem An Analysis on the Impact of SMS News Alerts the Mismanaging Critical Environmental Attributes Sequential Pre-Disaster Warnings(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Dahanayaka, T.Sri Lanka has been facing natural disasters like floods, landslides and etc, for a long time. A common feature of all disasters experienced in Sri Lanka is that they emanate from mismanaging the critical environmental attributes of the country by the Government and the people alike. Sri Lanka’s environmental resources such as forests, water, rivers and wetlands deserve careful attention and protection as they form the basis of life of a nation. Severe deforestation still occurs in Sri Lanka and the UN estimated that 8,000 ha of forest are cleared every year even now. Corruption, mismanagement and covert and overt support by politicians exacerbate this destruction. Climate change, droughts and floods are closely related to deforestation and people and politicians are all culpable in this tragedy. Ancient people could find out disasters by observing the sky or environmental changes or behavioral of the animals. After that the department of Meteorology issues early warning to the public using electronic media before disasters occur. Electronic media adverted their excessive biography for communicable aspect to all people in one time about pre – Disaster warnings. There are many electronic media activated SMS News Alerts system via mobile phones. People can get breaking news direct to their phone via SMS, or they can call to hear about the latest events. This essential service helps to people keep in touch with what’s happening in Sri Lanka and around the world in the language of their choice. News Alert mean; state of careful watching and readiness especially for danger or opportunity, an alarm or other signal of danger, a state of careful watching and readiness especially for danger or opportunity. This research attempts to find out the potential of SMS News Alert in the communication of pre disaster warnings to the public. Although this is the main objective, it also tries to find out a what Sensory SMS News Alert System has spread in Sri Lanka. Methods like questionnaire and Interviews have been used to achieve these objectives. Hambantota, Matara, Kalutara and Anuradhapura districts selected in order of priority based on frequency of disasters occurring. 25 persons were selected randomly in each district. So far the early warning messages had been sent targeting only the key persons. Therefore, the overall purpose of this research is to find out how this method can be expanded, to send messages to the community as a whole. During the research it could be understood that people disbelieve of cause about early warning SMS News System, and these systems had not reached the society effectivelyItem Antagonist Potential of Vorticella microstoma on the larval development of Culex gelidus and Aedes aegypti(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Ranasinghe, H.A.K.; Amarasinghe, L.D.Selection of effective biological agents which can suppress the growth of immature stages of mosquito vectors has drawn a wide attention in disease control programmes. Vorticella microstoma is a parasitic ciliate which has an ability to parsitize on larval stages of mosquitoes and inhibit their growth. However, the potential antagonist activity has not been evaluated in detail in Sri Lanka. Fifteen each of first, second, and third instar larvae of Cx. gelidus and Ae. aegypti were placed in separate V. microstoma culture bottles at room temperature (27± 2 ºC) and mortality rate of mosquito larvae was observed after 48 h. Bioassay was done in completely randomized design with controls. The first, second, and third instar larvae of Cx. gelidus were allowed to be infested with the trophont stage of V. microstoma. Heavily infested larvae with V. microstoma were identified by the presence of parasites attached all over the body surface. V. microstoma trophonts did not usually attach to siphon region of mosquito larvae when they are alive. None of the instar levels of Ae. aegypti showed susceptible to infection with V. microstoma. In the first instar larvae of Cx. gelidus, thorax and the abdominal segments had the attachment of 30–35 trophonts of V. microstoma, whereas 2–4 trophonts had attached to the anal papillae. Higher densities of V. microstoma were found in abdominal segments of second instar larvae of Cx. gelidus, whereas total of 45–50 trophonts had attached to thoracic region and abdominal segments. Fifty to fifty-five trophonts of V. microstoma had attached to third instar larvae of Cx. gelidus, with higher densities in the anal papillae followed by abdominal segments; in the anal papillae, 20–25 trophonts were found to be attached. V. microstoma infection was positively correlated with the body size of mosquito larvae. The percentage mortality of the first, second, and third instar larvae of Cx. gelidus did not significantly differ from each other (One-Way ANOVA: IBM SPSS Statistic Software, P<0.05). Therefore, the study results would be a new avenue to work on environmentally agreeable manner in reducing the Cx. gelidus vector mosquito populations.Item Application of GIS in Construction Planning and Management towards Sustainable Development(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Jayasooriya, S.D.; Rupasinghe, A.R.; Weerasinghe, M.D.G.Geographic Information System (GIS) has been used in many fields of Science including construction industry. GIS is a Computer based tool which is used to solve engineering problems related to spatial data. The potential importance of GIS to construction planning and management in the construction industry has not been realized completely. GIS technologies have the potential to solve space related problems of construction planning and management involving, integration of information, urban planning, project site selection, soil studies, hydrology and environmental studies. In sustainability concept through GIS the users can determine exact resource needs, efficient planning of usage of lands and conserve environment for future generations. It was found that the construction industry in Sri Lanka is reluctant to apply the GIS in the construction projects. Therefore, this study was aimed to analyze the implementation issues of the application of GIS in the field of quantity surveying as a part of construction planning and management to sustainable development. Interviews were conducted to gather data from the senior quantity surveyor and GIS specialists in the fields of construction and project management. The sample was 40 and the selection method was purposive sampling specially based on the direct involvement in the project under the capacity of decision making. The study was done by using only the primary data and the analysis was done by developing a comprehensive content analysis by gathering common solutions and prioritizing them. It was found that there are key issues in the implementation of GIS including the unawareness and the overlapping with other specific techniques. The respondents have proposed the possible ways of implementing GIS to the construction planning and management for enhancing the productivity of the projects to achieve sustainability specially by doing a proper benefit analysisItem Application of Official Languages Policy in Sri Lankan Public Service(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Wickramasinghe, P.D.D.D.Every citizen of the country has the right to seek services in both official languages in public institutions according to the chapter IV of the constitution of Sri Lanka. Also, according to the public administration circular (PAC)7/2007 every public officer who was recruited to the public service after 01.07.2007 should obtain the proficiency of their second official language in order to give their service to the public in both official languages. The second official language of a public officer is the official language which is not the medium through which he/she has entered public service. Thus, general public expect that they can obtain the services in public institutions in the language that they prefer and government expects that public officers will give their service to the general public in the language that the public prefers. This study following hall mark features of a cross-focuses on public institutions in a selected divisional secretariat in Colombo District to find out the challenges faced by the public officers to deliver service in the Official Languages, the findings reveal several administrative issues that disrupts the Official Languages PolicyItem Assessment of Caring Behaviour of Nurses in Sri Lanka: Perspective of Patients and Student Nurses(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Jagoda, E.T.Background: Caring is the main theme of nursing. Caring behaviour implies acts, verbal behaviour and non-verbal behaviour of the nurses towards patients to convey caring and attention. Caring behaviours can significantly impact on patient satisfaction. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the perception of patients and student nurses on caring behaviour of nurses in surgical-medical wards at Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya (THK) in Sri Lanka. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in September 2018. The study population was patients who were 18 – 70-year-old and 3rd-year student nurses. They were from the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Ruhuna and College of Nursing Galle. The sample was chosen randomly. Validated and modified questionnaires consisted with 5 Point-Likert scales were employed; Caring Behaviors (PCB) were assessed according to the themes of professionalism, trusting interpersonal relationship and skills of registered nurses. Watson’s theory of human caring was the theoretical background of this study. Investigator administered questionnaire was used for the patients and self-administered questionnaire was used for the student nurses. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.88 and 0.93, respectively. Descriptive analysis was performed. Results: The mean value on the perception of caring behaviour of the patients (N=300) and student nurses (N=123) were 4.07±0.54 and 3.47 ±0.65 respectively. Under the theme of professionalism, the patients stated that 68.7% of nurses conversed in a polite and kind manner and 41.35% of nurses never provide information prior to investigations. Further 79%, 60% and 16% of the patients stated that they always received care and medication on time, nurses were quick to react to their requisitions and nurses never or occasionally understood their feelings. Results on trusting interpersonal relationship revealed that; 62.3% of nurses were always friendly, 32% nurses practised therapeutic touch and 20% nurses never asked required questions to clarify patients’ needs. Patients perceived that 47.3% of nurses never provide examination results and 22.4% of the nurses never given enough information regarding prevention, diet, discharge plan, etc. There was a significant difference between patients’ and student nurses’ overall perception of staff nurses’ caring behaviour (significance value = 0.038< 0.05). Conclusion: Patients perceived greatly well about nurses caring behaviour and it was above average level. Information provision and empathetic approach should be improved through in-service programs and curricular revisions. Patients’ awareness through nursing practice on ideal nursing care should be improved to maintain the quality of care. Jean Watson’s theory of nursing care is recommended to incorporate with the improvement of caring behaviour of nurses towards patients’ satisfaction.Item Assessment of Motivation for Rehabilitation among Male Illicit Drug Users in Rehabilitation Centers of Sri Lanka(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Darshana, I.L.A.N.; Wijesinghe, C.J.; De Silva, P.V.Relapse is a major problem encountered in addiction treatment. Illicit drug users who initiate rehabilitation should have a good motivation for rehabilitation to avoid relapses. This study was conducted to assess the level of motivation for rehabilitation among male drug users admitted to rehabilitation centers in Sri Lanka. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 431 male illicit drug users in five selected rehabilitation centers in four different districts; Mithsevana-Unawatuna, New Life Rehabilitation Center-Unawatuna, Sethsevana-Koswatta, Methsevana-Kandy and Nawadiganthaya-Nittambuwa. Study subjects were selected using convenient sampling method. Data were collected over a one-year period (December 2016 to December 2017) using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Sinhala translation of Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES) questionnaire was used to assess the motivation of the client under the three categories; Recognition, Ambivalence and Taking steps. The judgmental validity of the questionnaire was assessed using expert opinion. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Level of motivation was categorized as low, moderate and high according to the scoring system given in SOCRATES Profile Sheet.Majority of the sample were Sinhala (82.4%), Buddhists (70.5%) and early school dropouts (32.2%) with a mean age (SD) of 32(10.3) years. Nearly 40% were readmissions. The highest percentage of the drug users were from Western province (75.6%). Mean scores (SD) for recognition, for ambivalence and for taking steps were 17.19 % (9.89), 37.75% (11.28) and 12.20% (5.90) respectively. Mean score(SD) for total scale was 22.38% (6.48). None reported a high level of motivation and 97% had low level of motivation according to total score. Majority had low motivation level for recognition and for taking steps (95.6% and 98.1% respectively). Nearly 40% of drug addicts had a low motivation level and 58% had moderate motivation level for ambivalence. In conclusion, majority of drug addicts had poor motivation for rehabilitation. This may affect the effectiveness of the rehabilitation programs leading to relapses and recurrent admissions. Further investigation is recommended to identify reasons for poor motivation for rehabilitationItem Assessment of the Heavy Metal Concentrations in Mangrove Leaves of Negombo Lagoon(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Handagiripathira, H.M.N.L.; Deeyamulla, M.P.; Koichiro, S.Mangrove ecosystems play an important role in the biogeochemistry of heavy metal contamination in tropical coastal areas. During the last decades, heavy metals are one of the most serious contaminants in those environments due to its toxicity, durability and bioaccumulation problems with the long residence time within the food chain. Mangrove leaves are the primary producer of the food chains or food webs in mangrove ecosystems where there is a direct effect on the human health. The bioaccumulation levels of heavy metals in mangroves can be estimated by assessing such levels in leaves, sediments and water in the study area. This study was a part of a M.Phil. research and the main objective of this study was to assess the concentrations of selected heavy metals to understand the levels of contamination in the mangrove leaves in a selected lagoon system. The 27 locations of Negombo lagoon which is situated in urbanized area in Gampaha District of Sri Lanka was selected for the study. Four mangrove species of Rhizophor amucronata, Rhizophora apiculata, Avicennia marina and Lumnitzera racemosa were chosen since these arethe most common species in the lagoon. Mangrove leave samples categorized as young, matured and old and were collected in the wet and dry seasons of 2015 and 2016. Leave samples were cleaned and oven dried prior to grinding for fine powder. The elemental concentrations of heavy metals, Mn, Fe, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Hg and Pb were analyzed in the dried powder of mangrove leaves (297 samples) using Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique established in Medical University, Iwate, Japan. The results were evaluated to study the spatial and temporal variations of heavy metal concentrations in mangrove leaves of the Negombo lagoon. The distribution of metals in mangrove leaves were departed and depended on the mangrove species as well as climatic seasons in study period. The most prominent species of R. mucronata, R. apiculata were represented by 262 samples and both species were having same concentration levels except Mn and Zn, which act as essential plant nutrients, were greater in R. apiculatathan the other species. The ranges of metal concentrations (in ppm) of R. apiculata leaves in the studied area were observed in the order: Mn (15.2-453.0) > Zn (5.4-276.4)> Fe (28.6-224.9) > Cu (0.1-9.3)> Cr (0.2-7.3)> Hg (ND-5.9)> Pb (ND-4.0)> Ni (ND-2.3)> Co (ND-1.7)> As (ND-1.0). The heavy metal uptake by young, matured and old leaves were showed significant deviations for most of the studied metals. Cr content in all leaves was same and some metals (ie. Fe) were higher in old leaves and some metals (ie. Zn) were higher in young leaves. A comparative evaluation of studied metals was carried out with the similar studies conducted in the world. In general, heavy metal concentrations in mangrove leaves of Negombo lagoon were lower than the permissible limits as recommended by WHO (1996), except Cr, Zn and PbItem Attitudes on Mental Health and Intentions to Seek Psychological Help in the General Public of Sri Lanka(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Wijesuriya, C.P.; Gunasekara, H.There is a gross reluctance in today’s society to avoid seeking help in mental health even when required. Many factors such as stigma and negative attitudes about mental health have accounted for the avoidance of seeking help in mental health. In a country with such a collectivistic culture, seeking professional mental help is selected as a last option when other options fail. This study evaluated the relationship between attitudes on mental health and intentions to seek mental help among the general public in Sri Lanka in two phases. Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the first phase of the study involved the translation and content validation of four scales that measured the TPB constructs of: attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and intentions to seek mental help. In the second phase of the research, an online survey-based quantitative study was conducted of the TPB constructs and demographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, educational qualifications, previous mental help seeking history, previous mental health history and previous mental history of a close relative or friend. A sample of 200 English speaking participants were recruited via an online survey using stratified sampling method. All participants were above the age of 18 and were absent of a previous mental disorder. Results indicated that attitudes and perceived behavioural control had a significant relationship between intentions to seek mental help whereas there was no significant relationship between subjective norms and intentions to seek mental help. Furthermore, group differences between the demographic variables were further identified. It was discovered that while attitudes still have a strong relationship with intentions, the effect of subjective norms and behavioural control needs to be explored extensively to assess how it affects mental help seeking intentions. Necessary actions should be taken to reduce the overall stigma on mental health which will be one of the main factors in improving the attitudes of mental health in the general public. With considering the impact of educational status, it would be paramount to introduce the importance of mental health beginning from school level that will assist in reducing the stigma and attitudes on mental health for the future. Introducing positive mental health to the curriculum from a young age will assist in reducing the differences observed in gender, marital status and age from this study. Identifying the impact of the other variables will lead to better understanding of the stigma in the country and the path required to de-stigmatise mental health and increase literacy around the islandItem Attitudes towards Sri Lankan English: An Attitudinal Survey in a University Context(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Karunanayake, S.Sri Lankan English makes sense for anyone who had resided in Sri Lanka. In the words of Michael Meyler, "Sri Lankan English is the language spoken and understood by those Sri Lankans who speak English as their first language, and/or who are bilingual in English and Sinhala or Tamil." In other words, those are the heavily localized words and phrases used by Sri Lankans when expressing themselves in English. Although there are a significant number of Sri Lankans who use English as their first language, the establishment of Sri Lankan English as a separate variety has not been realized so far. Presumably, part of the problem has always been with reference to the attitudes towards Sri Lankan English (SLE). Hence, this research aims at investigating the attitudes towards Sri Lankan English. Thereby, the researcher anticipates to find some implication regarding the variety status of Sri Lankan English. The population selected for the study was the second year undergraduates of the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, those who use English as their second language. Sample selected was 100 undergraduates representing four faculties. It was drawn using simple random sampling so that each person had the chance of getting selected. A questionnaire was used as the main tool of primary data collection which was a combination of both closed-ended and open-ended questions. The secondary data was gathered using related journals, newspapers, theses and online sources. As the sample has been selected to represent four faculties of the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, the undergraduates displayed an attitudinal difference towards Sri Lankan English in accordance with the specific disciplines that are being followed by them. The results of the questionnaire suggested that for most of the undergraduates, the term “Sri Lankan English” carried connotations of ‘broken English’ or something ‘substandard’ and ‘inferior’. They believed that Sri Lankan English is used by those who are uneducated and are not quite familiar with English. A majority of undergraduates aspired to speak ‘British English’ and nothing less. Despite their specific disciplines, most of the participants declared that they speak British English or the Queen’s English and they are of the perception that Sri Lankans speak British English. Interestingly, although there were few undergraduates who were generally positive in their attitude towards Sri Lankan English, they remained relatively unaware of what exactly it consists of and how it differs from Standard EnglishItem Banking Sector Customer Centric Service Culture and Corporate Customer Bank Behavior(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Sandagiri, S.P.N.N.; Thilakarathna, P.M.C.This research paper investigates literature review in corporate customer bank behavior in light of introducing a customer centric service culture to Sri Lankan banking sector and provides a proposal for future research in studying how to create a customer centric service culture in banking and financial sector. Multidimensional nature of customer value perceptions often creates a value paradigm for service providers in understanding their customer behavior and there is a notable dearth of research findings in Sri Lankan banking sector corporate customer behavior. Further there is a research gap in terms of understanding how customer centric attributes and offerings of banking sector can influence corporate customer bank behavior and how banks can be benefited in introducing a customer centric service culture. Therefor this research aims to answer the research question of how to identify and assess customer centric attributes in banking sector. Accordingly, this research examines banking attributes and offerings that can trigger banking behavior of corporate entities and their relationship. In the current research customer behavior is the dependent variable and is observed with several customer centric measures which include satisfaction, repurchase intent, willingness to recommend, meeting expectations, value for money, retention and loyalty. Researchers intend to examine customer behavior with number of independent variables which include customer intimacy, compassion, operational excellence, product leadership, perceived sacrifice which is also identified as cost benefit, technical quality, and service quality of employees, corporate image, convenience and assurance. Rationale and concept for choice of customer centric variables are drawn associating sevqual model service quality dimensions along with previous research findings. Accordingly, researchers have examined the concepts of customer centricity, innovation and technology relevant to customer centricity and customer relationship management, customer satisfaction, service quality and attributes of corporate banking in a customer centric environment. Researchers utilize a quantitative research approach to provide background for future research. A survey questionnaire is also proposed to collect data. In this research several statistical tools are also proposed to investigate how different customer centric attributes can influence corporate customer bank behavior. These include exploratory factor analysis, kaiser-meyer-olkin (KMO) test, bartlett’s test and varimax rotation. These tools are expected to observe the underling pattern and suitability of variables and sample for future research. Multiple regression analysis is proposed to observe the relationship between customer bank behavior and banking attributes. This research paper will provide a significant value to banks in transforming their corporate banking practices more customer centric and do future research on their customer bank behavior to generate value to both customer and bank. Researchers have also recommended a methodological approach to examine the customer centric attributes and their relationship with corporate customer bank behaviorItem The Banking, Insurance and Finance Sector’s Contribution to Sustainable Growth: Evidence from Sri Lanka(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Tilakasiri, K.K.Many studies have defined the different way of sustainability development and sustainability terms. However, this study uses these terms for the environmental concerns. Sustainable development is development which meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Commision 1987). The purpose of this study was to identify the organisations’ work with environmental issues more specifically when they work with the business objectives. Manufacturing, and other production organisations’ contribution to sustainable development is high level. Many authors describe their contribution is high because production process finally include by products that pollute the environment. Therefore, manufacturing firms were forced to formulate and implement the necessary actions to reduce the environmental pollution. Thus, banks insurance and finance sector work with many people and those work capacity is higher than the other activities of the other firms. So their contribution is needed to understand the triple bottom lines, economic, societal and environmental. This was a qualitative studies and sample selected from the banks insurance and finance industry’s fifteen companies. Those organisations top management were interviewed for understanding the present sustainable development activities and understand the limitations future of the sustainability development. The study concluded banks and insurance firms have sustainability strategies to go for the sustainability development. A majority of the insurance companies use these strategies for the sustainability development, but strategies apply to different aspects of sustainability development and go into varying degrees of detail. The rest of the organizations already have the strategies to develop the sustainability of their firms however, their major activities not only the sustainability development.