ICHSS-2016

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://ir.lib.pdn.ac.lk/handle/20.500.14444/3968

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 70

A critical evaluation of the social philosophy in early Buddhism
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Rev. Chullanaga, Godamune
Introduction The following books attempt to prove that Buddhism is an anti-social religion: Religions of India - By Max Weber (New York -1958), Central Philosophy of Buddhism - By T.R.V. Murti (London -1960), The Sleep walkers - By Arthur Koestler (Hutchinson – 1959), The Bodhisatva Doctrine of Buddhist Sanskrit Literature - By Har Dayal, (New Delhi - 1978). These authors represent early Buddhist thought as a teaching emphasizing personal salvation alone without any regard for social welfare. They assert that the attainment of Arahanthood is self-centric encouraging the individual to mind his own salvation alone leaving aside the rest of suffering humanity. Thus early Buddhist thought according to them has ignored service to the needy. To them Buddhism is devoid of any social dimension whatsoever. Max Weber in his "Religions of India" Weber says in relation to early Buddhism: "Salvation is an absolutely personal performance of the self- reliant individual. No one and particularly no social community can help him. The specific character of all genuine mysticism is here carried to its maximum......" 1 According to him Buddhism does not offer any relevance to daily life. It speaks of something beyond our experience. It is a religion to be practiced individually. Tirupattur Ramaseshayyer Venkatachala Murti in his "Central Philosophy of Buddhism" says "The ideal of the Arhat is the highest stage of the Hinayana system........... Again, the Arahant rests satisfied with achieving his own private salvation. He is not necessarily and actively interested in the welfare of others. The ideal of the Arahant smacks of selfishness; and there is even a lurking fear that the world would take hold of him if he tarried here too long..........." 2 Likewise all four of them have described Buddhism as an anti-social, selfish, mystical and socially sterile religion. Max Weber was responsible for the popularization of this interpretation of early Buddhism. He has utilized the terms “mystical” and “asocial” to describe the nature of Buddhism and to state that there is no collective endeavor recognized in Buddhism. According to them, Buddhism teaches its followers to escape from society and that there is no social progress in a society where Buddhism is practiced. The objective of this paper is to cite canonical commentaries and contemporary social facts to show that Buddhism is a social philosophy. Methodology This study will be based on early Buddhist scripture. Discussion The allegation that Buddhism is a religion with no socially important grounding can be easily refuted by focusing on the teaching which are directly connected to various basic social aspects such as the: 1. Three-fold meritorious deeds practiced by the laity– Dāna (giving), Sīla (virtue) and Bhāvanā (Meditation) 2. Four-fold modes of excellent life- Cattāro brahmavihārā - Mettā (Lovingkindness), Karunā (Compassion), Muditā (Altruistic Joy) and Upekkhā (Equanimity) 3. Ten meritorious deeds- Dasapunññakiriyāni 4. Ten perfections- Dasapāramitā 5. Ten principles to be practised by the king- Dasa Rāja Dhamma 6. Three-fold meritorious deeds- Alobha, Adosa, Amoha These teachings clearly point out that Buddhism has a social dimension. Justice is not done to Buddhism by denying this obvious fact. No one can claim that Dāna (giving) for example, has no social benefits. The emphasis given to Dāna in the teachings mentioned above tells us that Buddhism functions in a well-knit society. This is further collaborated by the teachings of ten meritorious deed and ten principles of kingship. This contradicts the anti-social allegations against Buddhism. It should be mentioned here that the predicament of humanity is diagnosed in Buddhism as a consequence of social corruption and malpractices. A person’s position can be better only when social evils are eradicated. The lesson of Buddhism is that the individual alone is not responsible for his or her problems. Society contributes so much to the problem. This is extensively discussed in the Aggañña Sutta and Cakkavatti Sīhanāda Sutta of the Dīgha Nikāya. It is quite strange that the scholars like Weber have not paid enough attention to these discourses. Similarly there is enough evidence in the Pāli canon to formulate a Buddhist concept of economics. The Buddha has preached to reshape man’s attitude towards environment. The Buddha has endeavoured to create a crime free society. To inculcate norms and values the Buddha not only devoted his entire life but also encouraged his enlightened followers to do the same. Isn't this enough to say that Buddhism has its own social Philosophy? In the pancasila or five precepts, it is quite clear that there are some resolutions taken by an individual in order to abstain from actions harmful to society and the individual, and the person is exhorted to cultivate certain virtues simultaneously for the benefit of society. For example a person abstains from killing while laying aside all the weapons of destruction (Nihita Daṇḍdo Nihita Sattho). And he who is compassionate (Dayāpanno) becomes merciful towards all living beings (sabbapāṇabhūta hitānukampi viharati). Similarly a person, while professing to abstain from steeling, satisfies himself with only what is given (Dinnādāyī) and enjoys what is given (Dinnapāṭi Kaṅkhī). Conclusion In this way, these precepts also lead one to develop one’s own character in relation to society. Hence these 5 precepts characterize the most fundamental socialization process in Buddhism. Resorting to meritorious acts one accumulates merits, the impact of which is to be realized not only in the next life but in this life as well. As all these topics have varying degrees of social implications, we can understand that the allegation that Buddhism is a religion with no concern for society can be easily rejected through critical examination.
The effect of metta meditation and time of day on the cultivation of mindfulness and attainment of mental composure: a physiological parameters perspective
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Wijesiriwardana , R.; Ratnayaka, S.
Introduction This abstract discusses a research study carried out to understand the effectiveness of metta meditation on improving mindfulness meditation (open monitoring). According to the canonical discourses, the Buddha mentions Brahma-Vihara practice, starting with metta meditation accompanied by mindfulness meditation as one of the most effective ways towards enlightenment. Over the years this method has sprouted variations such as tranquility wisdom insight meditation. The research study also examines whether early morning hours (3-7am -- just after waking up) are better suited for the attainment of mental composure. According to the canonical discourses, Siddhartha Gautama was enlightened during the early hours of a Vesak full moon day around 2500 years ago. In addition, according to Buddhist meditation schools’ general practices and the Vedic yogic practices (Brahma Muhurta), early hours are regarded as the time period most conducive to the cultivation of concentration. Further, most research on mindfulness-based meditation has focused attention on the object of meditation and the duration of meditation, together with the physiological and psychological parameters, but not considered the time of the day at which meditation takes place (Lutz, et al, 2008; Peng et al, 2004) . Even though experienced meditators may not have a preference on the time of day, for beginners selecting a time of day conducive to their mental composure becomes important. Methodology A group of beginner meditators who had completed a 10-day retreat were selected randomly and divided into four groups (3 persons per group) based on their habitual meditation patterns and were asked to participate in different combinations of meditative practice of metta and open morning practice, All four groups were instructed to conduct their meditation according to the Brahma-Vihara Metta meditation practice and Anapanasati meditation as their open monitoring meditation practice during the experiment. The first group conducted their metta meditation in the morning prior to open monitoring meditation. The second group conducted their open monitoring meditation in the morning without prior metta meditation. The third and fourth groups conducted their open monitoring meditation for a minimum of 2 hours per day in the day or night (at their convenience) but with metta meditation prior to the open monitoring meditation and without metta meditation respectively. In order to measure the progression of meditation by a coherent effect of physiological parameters, both qualitative and quantitative measuring metrics were used. After a 10 day retreat their ECG was monitored while they were undergoing open monitoring meditation. Progression of meditation was measured by using the relaxation response of heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), meditation depth index (MDI) and subjective qualitative data gathered by a questionnaire survey of the participants. Since progression of meditation depends on mental composure we assume that higher MDI is an indicator of higher mental composure. The ECG data collections were done until stable MDI values were obtained per participant in real time. Recent research studies have shown that the low frequency spectral density of the HRV data is an impartial and impersonal metric to measure the coherent effect of the progression of meditation (Wijesiriwardana, 2014; Lutz et al, 2008). Therefore we have monitored the HR of the meditators during the meditation by using a wireless PC based electro cardiogram (ECG) monitor. Then the HRV is estimated by using fast Fourier transformation and the normalized spectral density of the HRV was obtained. The MDI was then estimated by using the ultra-low and the low spectral powers of the HRV data. In addition, at the end of the meditation period, qualitative data (on items such as preferred time, length of meditation sitting etc) was collected based on a questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using multivariate analysis. The independent variables are the time of the day (morning hours or not) and the metta meditation before open monitoring meditation or not, resembling two binary variables “T” and “M” respectively. The MDI can be considered as a linear function of T, M and combination of T and M (Equation 1). 𝑀𝐷𝐼 = 𝑓(𝑇, 𝑀) According to the multivariate formulation, this can be rewritten as, 𝑀𝐷𝐼 = 𝑎𝑇 + 𝑏𝑀 + 𝑐(𝑇 ∗ 𝑀) + 𝐷 where a, b, c are coefficients and D is a constant. Results & Discussion The results of the multivariate analysis are shown below. 𝑀𝐷𝐼 = 0.196𝑇 + 0.175𝑀 + 0.610(𝑇 ∗ 𝑀) + 0.0145 As can be seen, positive values were obtained for the coefficients a, b and c A positive correlation of both metta meditation (M) and morning meditation (T) towards improving MDI during open monitoring meditation is observed. This indicates that both factors contribute to better mental composure. In addition, it was observed that both morning hours of meditation (T) and metta meditation (M) together contributed more to improving the participants mental composure, rather than T or M alone (since c was the largest coefficient value observed). Also it was observed that the early morning hours (T) for the meditation contributes somewhat more towards improving MDI than the metta meditation (M) (since a>b). Conclusion Since this initial research showed promising results, a more comprehensive controlled experiment followup is needed to widen our understanding of these factors.
Do romantic relationship breakups provide opportunities for personal growth?
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Dharmarathna, M. N. G. S. R.; Karunanayake, D. D. K. S.
Introduction Relationships are central to human existence. It provides camaraderie, courtship and love. Although the romantic relationships are primary source of happiness and satisfaction the loss or breakup of a romantic relationship can be a significantly distressing event. The pain of lost love is so intense and it can shake a person’s beliefs about human interaction and relationships. The idea that significant positive changes can occur in persons who are confronted with challenges, suffering and loss was suggested by Calhoun, Tedeschi, Cann & Hanks (2010). For example, negative outcomes of a romantic relationship break up represent only half of the picture and it leaves the positive outcomes under explored. Although the loss can produce a negative impact on a person, a person also has the capability of confronting the loss and surviving it. It may also result in positive changes in a person’s life. The theoretical framework of the personal growth following romantic relationship breakup was discussed by Schaefer and Moo’s model of crisis and personal growth (Park, Cohen, & Murch, 1996), Janoff – Bulman’s model and Horowitz’s model (Herbert, 2006) . Most research in this area studies distress following a breakup. This study formulates a new approach to understanding relationship breakups, by focusing on possible positive changes, which reveal personal growth. The research findings can be used to help people rethink their reactions to breakups by identifying the personal strength within them. The research will also inform interventions in such cases. The primary objective of this study was to find whether romantic relationship breakups provide opportunities for personal growth. * In line with this main objective, following questions were developed. * What are factors that contribute to personal growth after a relationship break up? * How does gender interact with post break up growth? * What factors result in romantic relationship breakups? Methodology The study employed a qualitative research design utilizing semi- structured interviews including a list of open-ended questions based on the research topic. Using the purposive sampling technique a sample of 6 participants including 3 males and 3 females were drawn from the Faculty of Art, University of Peradeniya. The sample was selected from participants who had breakup of romantic relationship within last 18 months. Thematic analysis was used to examine data gathered from interviews. Results and Discussion The analysis extricated five themes, which were characteristics of the break up, personal strength, improved relationship with others, characteristics of the person’s environment and factors affecting the break up. The study revealed that romantic relationship break ups provide opportunities for personal growth. Findings showed that although persons experienced negative changes as a result of relationship breakups, as time passed it provided an opportunity to view life more, positively. According to the findings, factors that affected the process of breakup and the reaction to the breakup were personal distress, duration of the relationship and the initiator status. The distress following a breakup can vary from person to person and gender played a significant role. The causes affecting romantic relationship breakups were betrayal, family disapproval and mismatching ideas and desires of the two individuals. Findings indicated personal strength as a major component of personal growth following a romantic relationship breakup and it includes self-perception and coping strategies. Finally it was revealed that person’s environment had an strong impact on a person’s growth following a breakup and that a breakup allowed individuals to build better relationships with others. Conclusion The study suggests that romantic relationship breakups do provide opportunities for personal growth. It is important to identify the characteristics of the breakup in order to develop an insight about romantic relationship. Personal distress, duration of the relationship and the initiator status were found as the major characteristics that are significant to understand the breakup process and the reactions to breakup. Factors impacting breakups are betrayal, family disapproval and mismatching of desires and wishes. As per this study, the way people experience romantic relationship breakup differs from one another and gender difference is identified as prominent. Females tended to express more sadness and feeling of being betrayed by the partner and males developed anger rather than sadness. The growth following romantic relationship breakup is attainable with the acquisition of personal strength, social support and the possibility of forming a new relationship. While a number of research related to this area were conducted in other countries this study was an attempt to explore personal growth following romantic relationship breakup in Sri Lankan society.
Understanding personality correlates of differential responses to trauma: a study of cancer survivors
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Malkanthi , H. G. D.; Usoof, R.
Introduction The American Psychological Association (APA) defines trauma as “an event or events that involve actual or threatened death or serious injury of self or others.” Similarly, Pearlman and Soakvitne (1995) defines trauma in Trauma and the Therapists as a “unique individual experience of an event or enduring conditions in which the individual’s ability to integrate his/ her emotional experience is overwhelmed”. In both definitions the focus is on the magnitude of the impact on the individual in terms of the threat the event / events pose(s) to his or her wellbeing. Research finds that there is considerable individual difference in how people react to such traumas. While the most widely studied of these responses is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), other responses such as resilience and Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) are also known to be possibilities. The scope of this paper is limited to a comparison between PTSD and PTG. This will be studied using a sample of cancer patients in palliative care. Being diagnosed with cancer has been found to be extremely traumatic because it poses a clear and direct existential threat. PTSD is characterized by the breakdown of psychological wellbeing, often portrayed in broken emotions, cognitions and sometimes as physical symptoms. DSM – IV diagnostic criteria include, re- experiencing symptoms, avoidance symptoms, numbing symptoms and arousal symptoms. For diagnosis, these symptoms have to be persist at least one month and during that one month, the individual should at least experience one re-experiencing symptom, three avoidance symptoms and two hyper arousal symptoms. PTG on the other hand is a positive psychological response that follows a traumatic event. PTG is evidenced by the following characteristics: Great appreciation of life and a change in sense of priority, warmer and more intimate relationship with others, greater sense of personal strength, recognition of new possibilities or paths of one’s life and spiritual development. (Hansenne, Reggers, Pinto, Karim, Ajamier, & Ansseau, 1999). However, research suggests that there are individual differences that play a role in whether a person progresses to PTSD or PTG after experience a trauma. The current study examines personality traits as a possible correlate of these differential reactions to traumatic events. The paper uses the Big – Five Model of personality to examine the relationship between personality and the likelihood of developing PTSD and PTG. The Big – Five Model categorizes personality traits in to the dimensions of Openness, Agreeableness, Extroversion, Neuroticism and Conscientiousness. Previous research has found that these dimensions are related to how persons process stress for example (e.g. Sutker, Davis, Uddo, &Ditta, 1991; Bramsen, Dirkzwager& Van - der, 2000; Lecic- Tosevski&Kalicanin, 1994). The study will examine how these five dimensions are related to the progression to PTSD or PTG after the trauma of being diagnosed with cancer, in a sample of cancer patients in palliative care. As a hypothesis it is predicted that higher levels of extraversion, openness and agreeableness will be associated with PTG, while higher levels neuroticism will be associated with PTSD. It is also predicted that lower levels of extraversion, openness and agreeableness will be associated with PTSD and lower levels of neuroticism will be associated with PTG. Methodology A sample of 60 cancer patients in palliative care at the Kandy General Hospital Cancer Home were selected using the convenience sampling method. The sample included 55% female and 45% male participants. While the sample had some ethnic and religious diversity, participants ranged between the ages 35 – 82 years. A questionnaire that consisted four sections was administered. The first section was a demographic questionnaire and then consecutively, they were given the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) (α = .69), The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian (PCL- C) (α = .74), and the Post Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) (α = .79). The questionnaire was administered as a structured interview after respondents expressed their informed consent. In addition, specific arrangements were put in place to ensure that counseling services were available to participants during the duration and after the questionnaire were administered to ensure that they were not exposed to undue mental distress. Results and Discussion Table 1.Correlates of PTSD and PTG with Big-five factors < table > Agreeableness, openness to new experiences, extraversion, and neuroticism were negatively correlated with the experience of PTSD. Openness to new experiences, extraversion neuroticism and conscientiousness were positively correlated with the experience of PTG. Conclusion The analysis clearly points to a relationship between personality traits and PTSD and PTG responses, specifically the research results suggested that most of the personality traits of the Big five model were moderately negatively correlated with PTSD while strongly positively associated with PTG. In understanding the relationship between the three variables the sample size of this study, is fairly small and the sample had more subjects who experienced PTG than PTSD. However, this by no means is an all-encompassing study. Therefore, more studies are recommended in this area.
Impacts of loving-kindness meditation (l km) on aggression and pro-social behaviors among middle school boys
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Sraman , C. S.; Dissanayake, G.
Introduction The Pāli term Metta is defined as a strong and sincere wish for the happiness of all beings, without discrimination, that is free of selfish attachment. Loving-Kindness Meditation is one of forty meditations based in Buddhism, and is frequently practiced by Buddhists (and non – Buddhists, particularly in clinical setting). The Pāli Canon includes many discourses that explain Metta (Metta Bhāvana) in different illustrative ways addressing different individuals’ personality and capability to grasp it. Many studies have demonstrated that Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM) promotes physical and psychosocial wellbeing in individuals (Fredrickson, Cohn, Coffey, Pek, & Finkel, 2008; Kearney, Malte, McManus, Martinez, Felleman, & Simpson, 2013; Sahar, Szsepsenwol, Zilcha-Mano, Haim, Zamir, Levi-Yeshuvi, & Levit-Binnum, 2014). However, no experimental studies have been conducted to examine the impacts of LKM on aggressions and pro-social behaviors. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to understand the affect of LKM on aggressive behavior and pro-social behaviors among middle school boys. This study attempts to understand if LKM reduces aggression in middle school boys and whether LKM increases pro-social behaviors in middle school boys. Methodology In this current research a Matched-Pairs Experimental Design was utilized. One hundred and seventy seven (N=177) eighth grade boys were selected from two Boys’ schools in the Kandy district. Out of those participants (N=177) ninety four participants (N= 94) were randomly selected for the experimental group. This study used two scales: the aggression scale- a self-report measure of aggressive behavior for young adolescents, developed by Orpinas, & Frankowski, (2001), and the revised pro-social tendencies measure (PTM-R) developed by Carlo, Hausmann, Christiansen, & Randall (2003). After receiving permission from the Zonal Director, informed consent was obtained from all participants and their parents before conducting this experimental study. Both schools’ experimental groups were exposed to a LKM intervention lasting four weeks which included fifteen to twenty minute sessions three times a week. The control group did not receive any intervention. Independent sample (between-subject) t-test analyses were utilized to examine the differences of aggressive behaviors and pro-social behaviors of the control group in comparison to the experimental group in pre-treatment and post-treatment. The differences of experimental group and control group along time 1 (pre-treatment) and time 2 (post-treatment) were examined using One Way Repeated Measure (within-subjects) ANOVA analysis. Results and Discussion Table.01. t-test statistic of pre test on aggression < table > Levene’s significant level (mean score on aggression in experimental and control groups were M=16.17 and M=17.24 respectively with p = .097) did not show significance difference between experimental group and control group before exposure to LKM intervention. Table.02. t-test statistic of post test on aggression < table > Levene’s p – value for the post test (mean score on aggression in experimental and control groups were M= 12.87 and M=16.71 respectively with p = .030), which meant the LKM intervention significantly reduced aggression among middle school boys. Table.03. Within subject ANOVA of experimental group on aggression < table > The within ANOVA analysis results suggested that, there is significant linear trend (F(1, 93)= 10.483, p= .002, partial η2 = .101) between LKM intervention and decreasing aggression across Time1 and Time 2. Pro-Social Behaviors Table. 04. Within subject ANOVA of experimental group on pro-social behavior < table> The results did not show significant linear trend (F(1, 93)= 274.090, p = .09, partial η2 = .03) on pro-social behaviors in the experimental group along time1 and time2. Consistent with hypotheses aggression in the experimental group was significantly reduced after exposure to the LKM intervention. Using independent sample t-test aggression scores of the experimental group were compared with that of the control group prior to LKM intervention (time 1) and after the LKM was over (time 2). The analysis does not show significant mean difference between experimental group and control group on aggression in the pre-test (Table. 01), but the analysis shows that there is significant reduction in aggressive behaviors among middle school boys after exposure to the LKM intervention (Table. 02). This result was triangulated using a One Way Repeated Measure (within- subjects) ANOVA analysis (Table. 03). Result obtained from One Way Repeated Measure (within-subjects) ANOVA analysis did not show a significant linear trend in differences in pro-social behaviors in the experimental group along time 1 (pre-treatment) and time 2 (post- treatment) (Table. 04) which contradicts the hypothesis on prosocial behavior. Conclusion LKM intervention significantly reduced aggression among experimental group, but it failed to show any significant impact on pro-social behaviors. The aggression scale measured the actual aggressive behaviors that had taken place during the past seven days, while Pro- social Behavior Scale measured attitudes of students. Hence, results for pro-social behaviors may not be indicative of individuals’ actual pro- social behaviors. Furthermore, the data collection in post-treatment happened during the year end examination process (after students finished writing an exam), hence contextual factors such as stress, wanting to leave school early etc. might have influenced the results of this experimental study.
Essentialist and ethical views of karma in Buddhist metaphysics
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Barborich, A.L.
Introduction Few things have been as contentious in Buddhism as detailing the connection between the doctrine of karma and rebecoming. In fact, this issue was at the centre of the controversies addressed at the 3rd Buddhist Council. While there is no accepted and definitive answer to this question, there are answers to this dilemma found in Early Buddhism that may help to reconcile modern Buddhist interpretations of karma with other philosophical and scientific theories. I have identified a problem in the Buddhist theory of karma that fails to answer strong critiques of the theory, especially from western critics. This is the conflation of essentialist karma and ethical karma. This research is intended as a new model of looking at Buddhist karma, by differentiating the metaphysical from the ontological and the essentialist from the ethical conceptions of karma theory. Methodology The research methodology is necessarily qualitative. The research begins with heuristic data collection across the range of Buddhist thought in order to subject that data to hermeneutic analysis using scientific and western philosophical methods. Scientific assumptions regarding the nature of mind will be made from the standpoint of biological naturalism, because it is thought to be the theory that accords with the preponderance of evidence in neuroscience and is representative of a larger trend toward materialistic analysis in global society. This analysis divides Buddhist karma into two categories, essentialist and ethical karma, which can be tested against the assumptions of biological naturalism and western ethical theories. It is hoped that groundwork can be found from which to approach the fixation of belief in karma and that groundwork can be identified in the broader traditions of early Buddhist thought in order to propose an acceptable solution to the doctrinal questions involved. Results and Discussion It is important to distinguish karma as a conditioning factor in the process of paṭiccasamuppāda from the ethicised karma that underlies Buddhist ethical practice. An essentialist view of karma is of one element in Buddhist ontology, while an ethicised view of karma and its effect on rebecoming is better viewed as an instrumental, and necessarily metaphysical (at least to the non-enlightened) conception of Buddhist morality, rather than as an ontological driver of the process of rebecoming. This repositioning clarifies the essentialist view of karma as a conceptualisation that captures the Buddhist principles of causality to be used as a tool to understand paṭiccasamuppāda. The understanding of paṭiccasamuppāda facilitates the understanding of suññatā and majjhimāpaṭipadā and leads to enlightenment. In establishing the essentialist view of karma as part of a larger understanding of paṭiccasamuppāda, one follows Nāgārjuna in refuting the essential nature of all things to come to an understanding of the Buddha’s teaching. Even the essentialist view of karma is shown to have no essential nature of its own, but merely a conventional, instrumental truth value (sammuti saccã). Many contemporary Buddhist interpretations conflate essentialist karma with the ethical doctrine of karma. Instead, if karma is divided into essentialist and ethical categories, then essentialist karma may be viewed as ontological while an ethicised concept of karma is rightly viewed as an ethical theory derived from the Buddhist worldview. The relation of ethicised karma to the process of rebecoming differs from the standard model of Theravada Buddhist philosophers who seek to eliminate metaphysical issues through the use of verificationism, following the lead of scholars who were heavily influenced by British logical positivists. However, this model is only tenable via appeal to “extrasensory perception” and the authority of the Buddha and the Arahants. While there may be few, if any, sources of wisdom on par with the Buddha, this argument is not philosophically satisfying because it is an appeal to authority disguised as an appeal to empirical verificationism. While an empiricist methodology is used in this research, it is divorced from the verificationist principle of logical positivism and the ethical aspect of karma theory is accepted as inherently metaphysical. However, all ethical theory is metaphysical, as is all theory relating to the existence of life after death. This does not mean that these theories have no value. The assumption that they are non-cognitive or meaningless is another legacy of positivism. For example, the differentiated functions of karma as a basis for Buddhist ethics and as a conditioning factor in the process of paṭiccasamuppāda are both maintained in pragmatic and neo- pragmatic evaluations without the need for a stretching of the verification principle to “prove” the existence of karma. Instead, ethical karma can be considered instrumentally and judged according to the same standards as other ethical theories; as well as empirically as part of a causal process that may be subjected to future scientific testing. This differentiation between the two types of karma allows analysts to avoid conflating a normative ethical theory with an ontological process. Conclusion Many fundamental doctrines of Buddhism (paṭiccasamuppāda, anattā and anicca in particular) accord to with scientific theories, but the theory of karma is partially in accordance with science and partially metaphysical. Having differentiated between essentialist karma and an ethical karma in Buddhist theory, it is becomes possible to better support the Buddhist doctrine of karma in the face of predominantly western criticism. Most of these criticisms of the karma are based on the imposition of western metaphysical assumptions, rather than scientific theory, on Buddhist thought to advance an unfounded view of annhilationism that was explicitly condemned by the Buddha. In fact, while the very nature of karma makes it impossible to conclusively “prove” it scientifically, karma and rebecoming are more evidence-based than the theory of annhilationism put forth by believers in eternal oblivion. Karma remains of fundamental importance to Buddhism in the modern world as an ethical theory rather than as an actual physical or metaphysical “force” bringing moral order to the universe. This reconceptualization of karma theory allows the doctrine to maintain its place within Buddhist philosophical thought in the sphere of ethical theory, while philosophically stronger concepts such as paṭiccasamuppāda and anattā are better placed than karma to explain Buddhist ontology.
Gender inequality in exercising land rights:a critical analysis of its implications for women headed families in post – war Jaffna, Sri Lanka
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Mathanaranjan, P.
Introduction Land is an important resource for livelihood generation and is an asset that is passed down through generations. Despite its importance, a gender inequity in the ability to exercise land rights is often witnessed. Women suffer negative impacts on social status, economic wellbeing, empowerment and the gross domestic product of the country is also affected. Although the right to property is not considered a fundamental right under Chapter III of the Sri Lankan Constitution of 1978, it can be ascertained from the Directive Principles of State Policy.1 Unlike in India2, the right to life is not enshrined in the Sri Lankan Constitution, thus, provisions relating to shelter, housing and property remain silent. The laws governing property in Sri Lanka are based on Roman Dutch Law and Customary Laws i.e. Kandyan Law, Tesawalamei and Muslim Law, which govern married women’s proprietary rights. These remain gender biased notwithstanding national3 and international instruments4 recognizing gender equality. This paper primarily focuses on the effect of discriminatory provisions in the Jaffna Matrimonial Rights and Inheritance Ordinance No.01 of 1911 as 191amended by No.58 of 1947 (JMRIO) in post conflict Jaffna. The Jaffna Tamil community is traditionally patriarchal, however, the war has left many families headed by women. In such situations, the discriminatory provisions in the JMRIO, have negatively impacted married women’s ability to exercise their land rights. The core objective of this paper is to identify problems in the JMRIO, in post conflict Jaffna and to examine coping strategies adopted by women. This study analyses the JMIRO and Married Women’s Property Ordinance5 and published works such as Land in the Northern Province by Bavani Fonseka et al., (2011); Sundaram Sriskandarajah et al., Legal Analysis of Property Issues affecting Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees in Sri Lanka, (2003), Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena and Jayantha de Almeida Guneratne’s Is Land Just for Men? Critiquing Discriminatory Laws, Regulations and Administrative Practices relating to Land and Property Rights of Women in Sri Lanka, (2010) and extended abstracts by Rose Wijeyesekera on Property Rights in Sri Lanka: A Means of Gender Discrimination?, and by Gbadegesin, Job Taiwo titled A Survey of Cultural and Traditional Implication on Women’s Rights to Land for Development. The paper examines how discriminatory provisions in JMRIO affect the women’s rights to land and property. In what ways do the provisions in JMRIO impact women headed families in Jaffna? And how does the law enable a married woman, whose husband has disappeared as a result of the armed conflict, to dispose her property? Methodology The research is a socio – legal study conducted using the qualitative approach. The primary data for this research was collected from Acts and International Conventions and secondary data was from textbooks, journals and scholarly articles. Acts and International Conventions and secondary data was from textbooks, journals and scholarly articles. Results and Discussion Even though women are discriminated under the Kandyan Law6 and Muslim Law, this paper is limited to an analysis of the impact of discriminatory provisions of the JMRIO against married women who are governed by the Tesawalamei law in post war Jaffna. Section 6 of the JMRIO provides that a married woman does not have a power to dispose her immovable property without the written consent of her husband. She can however, dispose her property without her husband’s consent in case he unreasonably withholds consent7 with the order of the District Court. Unlike under the Married Women’s Properties Ordinance, a married woman under the Tesawalamei law is unable to handle her properties as feme sole. This issue became critical with the end of the war when significant numbers of men were reported as missing or disappeared. This created families where women bore the responsibility of head of household. Though many women had immovable properties, they were unable to dispose of them, as consent could not be obtained from their husbands. The Sri Lankan government enacted the Registration of Deaths (Temporary provisions) Act No.17 of 2005 as a solution. Although the Act enables a married woman to dispose her immovable property by securing a temporary death certificate, many women hesitate to obtain these as they are certificates of death and not of absence. They are unwilling to betray their loved ones even though circumstances (financial need, dowries required for daughters on marriage etc.) may force them to do so. Additionally, accepting the certificate requires her to adopt a new cultural identity i.e. widow, which carries many negative connotations. Further, the Act, fails to address the effect of the transaction a woman makes based on the death certificate in case the husband is found to be alive. Conclusion It is evident from this study that policy intervention is urgently needed to ensure women’s rights to land. However, laws and policies alone are inadequate if their application is compromised by the customary. This paper finally emphasizes that any reformation must be subject to the consideration of cultural pluralism.
Patterns in youth unemployment in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Balamurali , N.; Dunusinghe,P.
Introduction Sri Lanka has grappled with youth unemployment for several decades, with the portion of out-of-work youth being persistently higher than the national average unemployment rate. Sri Lanka National Human Development Report (2014) highlighted youth unemployment as a significant development gap. This study focuses on the Northern Province of Sri Lanka which comprises five districts: Jaffna, Killinochchi, Mannar, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya, where a protracted war came to the end in 2009. In the post-war context, livelihood related obstacles continue as people in the Northern Province, particularly in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts, had multiple and continuous displacements. With this background, this study examines the socioeconomic characteristics of unemployed youth in the Northern Province. Studying the patterns of unemployed youth will help find constructive solutions to unemployment related problems. Methodology This is a descriptive quantitative study using micro level data from the Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey conducted by the Department of Census & Statistics in 2013. This study focuses on youth (i.e in the 15-29 age category) regardless of what they do or civil status. Full-time students were deliberately dropped from the study. Hence, a total of 1324 observations were extracted from the data set to represent youth in the Northern Province. The quantitative results are shown in the form of tables and graphs. Results and Discussion The economically active population or labour force comprises all persons of working age who are either “employed” or “unemployed” during the reference period. In the current study, it was found that overall youth labour force participation was 54.2%. Disaggregating by gender shows 78.8% for males and 29.4% for females. In fact, Figure 1 indicates that in all age categories, labour force participation of males is higher than for females. Fig 1. Labour Force Participation by Gender and Age- 2013 < chart > The unemployment rate among the youth is 14.5% in the Northern Province. At the district level, the highest unemployment rate of 20.3% was observed in the Kilinochchi district. Additionally, it is 17% in the Mannar district, 13% in the Jaffna district, 11.7% in the Vavuniya district and 11.1% in the Mullaitivu district. The unemployment rate is higher among females (by several folds) than males in all the districts of the Eastern and Northern Provinces according to the latest available data (Annual Labour Force Survey, 2012). This research also found that unemployment rate among males is 9% whilst being 29.4% among females. Figure 2 depicts unemployment by age and gender. Unemployment rate in the urban sector is 17.6% whereas it is 14% in the rural sector. Based on marital status, it is found that married youth have the lowest unemployment rate; that is unemployment rate among the married youth is 4.7% whilst being 17.9% among the unmarried youth. Fig 2. Unemployed youth by Gender and Age - 2013 < chart > In relation to education, the study found that the unemployment rate is higher among youth with higher educational qualifications. Unemployment rate is 33.3% among youth with postgraduate qualifications and 27.3% among youth with degrees. It was also discovered that 76.9% of unemployed youth have poor English literacy while 94.2% of Tamils are unable to read and write in Sinhala. Nearly 58.7% of youth expect paid employment while 9.6% expect self- employment. In addition, 31.7% reported that they would accept any type of employment. About 45.9% preferred public sector employment whereas only 6.6% preferred private sector employment. The remaining 47.5% were willing to accept employment from any sector. Unemployed youth have taken a number of steps to find a job or begin self-employment whilst some have even taken multiple steps. So 65% of unemployed youth have taken a step by inquiring from persons with public sector/private sector contacts/friends/relatives. 39% of unemployed youth have taken the step of registering for a government job. 40% of unemployed youth have responded to advertisements in government gazette/newspapers/published sources. In addition, 21% took actions to find financial and other resources to start self-employment and 16% registered with private sector institutions/via internet. 86.5% of unemployed youth do not have any work experience. Only 21.2% of the unemployed have successfully completed a formal professional or technical training relevant to an occupation or self- employment. Although vocational training is generally considered to be a factor that provides employment opportunities, unemployment is high among those who have successfully completed vocational training. Amongst youth that have gone through any form of training, 30.77% are unemployed. However, all youth who had received training in the fields of Health, Management, and Commerce and Finance are employed. Similarly, although having a professional training in IT is generally identified to be the most common professional training, 41.9% of youth with IT training remained unemployed. Conclusion Youth with higher education expect employment from the public sector and paid employment whilst youth with lower educational attainment expect self-employment or employment from any sector. A majority of unemployed youth continue to be unemployed because their expectations are not consistent with the realities in the labour market. That is why higher unemployment rates are associated with youth with higher educational qualifications. Employment in the public sector is perceived as a “good” job and other sectors are not valued to that extent (Aggestam and Hallberg, 2004). Among youth, labour force participants of females is lower compared to males. The steps taken by the unemployed to find an income generating activity seemed to be another reason for their unemployment problems. Constructive methods such as starting a self- employment are not preferred by a majority of the youth. Finally, this study recommends that promoting self-employment, awareness on the necessity of vocational training as well as English and second language knowledge and skills will offer some practical solutions to the unemployment problem. Further, vocational training or other field of training should meet the job requirements in the market. Hence, proper career guidance should be ensured.
The path to peace: a critical analysis of the Nepal peace process after the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement 2006
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Galagama, I. K.
Introduction The decades-long civil war between Maoists and the government created vast damages to the social, political and economic sectors in Nepal. With the termination of the rule of King Gyanendra’s regime in 2006, Nepal transformed itself into the democratic republic of Nepal. It was a big turning point for Nepal and its people since it could end the insurgency ended with signing the comprehensive peace accord on 21 November 2006. Though Nepal signed the peace agreement it could not fulfil all the points they agreed to while signing the peace agreement. According to Lederach (1997: xvi) “Building peace in today’s conflicts calls for long-term commitment to establishing an infrastructure actors the levels of a society, an infrastructure that empowers the resources for reconciliation from within that society and maximizes the contribution from outside”. The consequence of war is that a chance is given to transform negative behaviours and attitudes to create justice, peace, compassion, freedom, development and sustainability of the country and its people. For Nepal this can be done through implementing what both parties promised in the peace agreement. Though the peace agreement is not a premium package for Nepal to reach a sustainable peace, it can help it find the path to peace. Implementing and monitoring the peace process enables achieving justice for war victims and human development. It gives an opportunity for Nepal to work towards sustainable peace-building, eliminating future antagonisms. Methodology The method utilized for data collection was to utilise secondary sources of information, comprising books, journals, articles in newspapers, the internet and magazines. Literature was reviewed mainly to analyse findings. This research is a qualitative study, based on observations and the researcher’s personal experience. Nevertheless, simple methodologies of data tabulating and tables have been used where needed. Results and Discussion The Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by Maoist and an alliance of political parties was a crucial outcome of year-long negotiations to agree on electing people to a constitutional assembly through a constitutional assembly election. (1) Implementation of Comprehensive Peace Agreement Both parties agreed on an Interim Council of Ministers which would get all the responsibility to “determine working procedures of the National Peace and Rehabilitation Commission, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the High-Level State Restructuring Recommendation Commission and other mechanisms as may be necessary for the implementation of this Agreement [...]” (CPA, 2006:Section 8.4). (2) National Peace Rehabilitation Commission (NPRC) However, though the CPA agreed to establish a NPRC to protect security, political life and governance, it has not yet been established by the Council of Ministers. 3) Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Though the government prepared a TRC Bill to be included in the interim constitution, there were only minor actions towards the establishment of the TRC. UNSC (2008/454) reported that council minister recommitted himself on June 25, 2008 to establishing several commissions including the TRC within one month. Nevertheless, unfortunately though the parties agreed of implementation within one month due to delay of state reformation it did not happen. 4) High-Level State Restructuring Recommendation Commission (HLSRRC) The government of Nepal established the HLSRRC on 23 November 2011 to suggest a suitable federal model for Nepal. But due to debate about what kind of federalism is best for Nepal, the commission was divided into two parts. A majority of members proposed 10 province federal models based on ethnicity while a minority rooted for six provinces from North to South. (5) Monitoring of the management of arms and armies CPA has given power to the government bodies to "carry out monitoring, adjustment and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants” (CPA, 2006: Section 4.4). But still parties have to reach agreement on the modalities of integration into security force and rehabilitation of remainders (National Planning Commission, 2011). (6) Reintegration and Rehabilitation There are no accurate statistics regarding the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), but the UN estimates it at approximately 100,000-250,000 and 50,000 are thought to remain displaced. Most of the IDPs registered in the government list have already returned or have been compensated with the support of respective authorities (National Planning Commission, 2011). (7) Drafting the constitution and implementation of federalism International bodies have given their support to the constitution writing process providing various kind of assistance (National Planning Commission, 2011). The new constitution has been submitted to the CA with the proposed structure of seven states’ federal system. All major parties agreed to accept the federal structure suggested by the new constitution though the minority and marginalized groups offence for proposed federalism. Conclusion After going through a long political negotiation process, parties agreed on a finalized draft constitution which introduces secularism to Nepal. As it took several years to draft a constitution it has negatively affected peace-building. Therefore, there is high risk for the country to reverse back to the insurgency, as there is no responsible authority to take action in an emergency. In the Nepalese context the most challenging issue for them to reach for a durable peace is unstable government and a constitutional vacuum. In Nepal political, economic, and social powers were shared by the majority caste groups, especially Brahman. Culturally, there are some caste groups called untouchables. Therefore, power sharing gives them an acceptance in society without discriminations. However, it is the task of Nepal to find out what kind of power-sharing mechanism will work in the Nepal context. As ‘no one size fits all’, what Nepal can do is to learn about political structure from other countries and find new mechanisms for their own context.
Uncaring but ‘benevolent’: state guardianship of democracy and freedom in post-war Sri Lanka
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Samarakoon, A.; Priyantha, R.; Jayasena, C.
Introduction The civil war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) came to an end in 2009. Since then, the GOSL has followed a liberal peace agenda. The liberal peace discourse of Sri Lanka during the war was focused on ending political violence, disarming the rebellions and establishing a civil administration in the North and the East (Goodhand, Spencer, Korf, 2011). However, during peace talks, the LTTE and the GOSL had no stern policy agreement on establishing normalcy in everyday life and addressing the root causes of civil war (Goodhand and Korf, 2011). At the end of the civil war, peace talks were held within the framework of political discourse of elite groups rather than soliciting input from the ordinary people. However, the international debate on peace building was centred on the importance of ensuring a viable space for people who want to participate in decision making for peace (Sevensson and Lundgren, 2015). The aim of this paper is to examine the civil and political representatives’ perceptions of the government peace building process in Sri Lanka after 2009. The research problem is how, despite the normative ideology of a guardian democracy and freedom, have civil and public actors understood the GOSL’s application of these two principles in building peace at the grassroots level. Methodology This research relies on qualitative data. This is an effort to understand the social realism or social world through the lens of participants (Bryman, 2004). Empirical data for this research were collected from semi- structured interviews with ten civil society actors and two national level Tamil politicians and four Tamil intellectuals. The civil society actors were based in Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Jaffna. The two politicians are from Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. The Tamil intellectuals were from Jaffna. The snowball sampling technique was used. Secondary data on peace policy was collected through library and internet surveys. Results and Discussion Civil society actors, Tamil politicians and intellectuals perceived the State as a repressive instrument that eliminates the values of democracy and freedom of the Tamils. The feel that “there is no democracy and freedom at all. After 2009, the North and East have been controlled by the military. Before 2009, the areas were under LTTE paramilitary power. Nothing has changed much except the end of the civil war and good roads, but there is no freedom of movement because the military is everywhere”. However, the testimonies have revealed that the North and the East have the freedom to implement liberal economic projects. Moreover, civil society has a space and the grassroots are empowered by providing capital for micro-level enterprises, which in turn contributes to increasing the household income. Nevertheless, there is no political freedom to initiate a dialogue on justice for the deaths and disappearances during the civil war. Intellectuals said that “now at least we can recognise and discuss the pain of disappearances and the deaths. But there is still no public space for the discussion of what happened at the end of the civil war”. Tamil politicians define democracy and freedom as an extension of a violence free society. The politicians believe that a violence free society can be achieved in a separate administration and strong power devolution. “The people in the North and East have gone through a number of severe tragedies. They need a democratic political entity that can ensure their rights and freedom in the post-war context. That can achieve this through a new constitution and power sharing”. The speeches of the current Executive President and Prime Minster have pointed out the importance of power sharing, a new constitution, and a truth and reconciliation commission (TRC). Civil society actors and Tamil intellectuals have mentioned that the speeches and proposed commissions and amendments are not directly connected with peace in everyday life of war affected communities. For instance, these speeches are lacking on how to ensure an environment where civilians’ freedom in everyday life is not restricted while restructuring the state military apparatus in the North and the East. The empirical data has further pointed out that the peace building discourse is in need of being focused on reforms to the existing rigid bureaucracy, which has created elitism and suppressed the voice of non-elite groups. The testimonies still reflect a doubt about the realization of government policy for power sharing. In the opinions of the interviewees, the government’s promise of power sharing has been challenged by the majoritarian democracy, which has resulted in the Tamil community losing faith in the GOSL. Nonetheless, none of the interviewees suggested the need for an alternative discourse for contemporary peace building. Though they perceive the state as an instrument that violates human and fundamental rights, the mechanism to find solutions to their problems are still, according to them, with the state. Therefore, their consent is to change the state structure. The empirical data reflects the importance of building a strong state-civil society synergy. In that synergy, the state and civil society can cooperate on ensuring democracy and freedom. As mentioned in the testimonies that state-civil society synergy can be established through the unending process of democratization. Civil society, intellectuals, students, proletariats can be the stakeholders of this process of democratization. In a democratised society, the state is no longer a repressive organisation. Conclusion State and the elites of civil society have dominated the liberal peace project in Sri Lanka. The state has been identified as a guardian of democracy and freedom but that guardianship has been questioned in reality. The civil society of Sri Lanka in the liberal peace building project has become either an advocate or antagonist of the state’s policy rather than a monitor. The technocracy and bureaucracy of civil society and state have limited the public space for civilians to represent, participate and recognise their needs and voice in the decision making process.
Poverty and voting behavior: an electoral geographical analysis
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Indhumathy, S.
Introduction Voting patterns in Sri Lanka have tended to follow swings between the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)/People’s Alliance (PA)/United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). In recent times, the presidential election has seen substantial votes being garnered by an alternative party, the New Democratic Front (NDF). These trends are usually associated with socio-economic- political factors. While these factors have been studied, the role of poverty has not been specifically investigated in explaining election outcomes. Despite reasonable per capita income growth, the prevalence of pockets of poverty in Sri Lanka have been evidenced and measured in terms of their impact on overall measures of poverty in the country. Surveys by the Department of Census and Statistics have highlighted either the rural or the estate sector as having the highest incidence of consumption poverty at a particular time. It can be speculated that poverty as a distinct socio-economic variable could influence voter behavior. A person’s socio-economic status has been found to have influenced their vote in some studies. In many countries those who belong to high socio- economic status tent to support conservative parties while people with low socio-economic status tent to be supportive of leftist parties Handelman (1998). In contrast, Inglehart (1990) finds that the impact of social and economic status on elections is very low. The main objective of this study is to test for a relationship between poverty and voting behavior in Sri Lanka. Methodology The approach was to test for any association (correlation) between poverty and (presidential) elections results at district level. Poverty was measured by the official Poverty Headcount Ratio (PHR) compiled by the Department of Census and Statistics through their periodic surveys covering 1990/1991, 1995/1996, 2002, 2006/2007, 2009/2010, and 2012/2013. PHR data for all the electoral districts was available only since 2010, due to the earlier civil war situation. The PHR was matched with data from the Department of Elections for the 1988, 1994, 1999, 2005, 2010 and 2015 elections. This was done by creating PHR and election maps using GIS, and then constructing both variables as categorical (binary) variables. The null hypothesis was specified as no relationship between poverty and voting behavior. Fisher’s Exact Test was used to find test for correlation through cross tabulation, using SPSS. Results and Discussion Table 1. District-wise distribution of poverty status and election result < table > Results of the test for different years are given in Table 2 below. As per the probability values at 5% level, the null hypothesis of no correlation between poverty and election results cannot be rejected (no probability value was calculated for 1994 because there are no observed and expected values for one category). It is possible that factors other than absolute (consumption) poverty, such as historical voting patterns, caste, religion, culture, factors specific to each generation, influence of media, education, ethnicity, etc. exert a greater influence on voter behavior. At the same time, the district could be too large a unit to capture the relationship, compared with, e.g. a Grama Niladhari Division. Also, missing data for some years could have distorted the result. Table 2. Probability Value of correlation < table > Conclusion The study objective was to test for any correlation between poverty at district level and voters’ decision on whether or not to return the ruling party to power at presidential elections. Districts were classified according to whether their Poverty Headcount Ratio fell below or above the national PHR. Fisher’s Exact Test was used to find test for correlation. According to the test results, there is no correlation between the poverty headcount ratio and the probability of a party winning the election. We are forced to conclude tentatively that voting behavior is not related to poverty. Such a conclusion may hold if factors other than poverty are more important for election results. Alternatively the result may be due to the specific measure of poverty used, or the unit of analysis (district) being too large, compared with, e.g. a GN division. Hence the hypothesis needs further testing by refining the poverty and voting behavior variables, and narrowing down the regional unit of analysis.
Citizens’ trust in public institutions: the case of Sri Lanka
(2016-07-28) Ramesh, R.; Umadev , D.
Introduction Citizens’ trust in public institutions has often been viewed as an important element of successful governance. Citizens’ distrust in government institutions considerably affects the effectiveness and efficiency of public policies and implementation. The Human Development Report (UNDP, 2014) revealed that trust in most public institutions is alarmingly decreasing in Sri Lanka owing to inefficiency, ineffectiveness, institutional discrimination, endemic corruption and politicization of the public sector. This low level of trust in public institutions impacts the quality of democracy and government in Sri Lanka. The present government has been concerned about establishing good governance and an uncorrupt and independent public sector, which fundamentally requires citizens’ trust. Thus, this paper sheds light on citizens’ perception of public institutions and the level of trust that they have in them. It seeks to explain the decreasing amount of trust of public institutions through theoretical and empirical evidence. Methodology In the case of Sri Lanka, very few studies have taken place in the past on citizens’ trust in government institutions. The paper focuses on the following institutions: District and Divisional Secretariat Divisions, Grama Nailadari, Police, Agriculture, Hospitals, Education, Samurthi Office/Bank and Electricity. The study employs a mixed method research approach: quantitative data were collected in Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya in 2015 through a semi-structured questionnaire survey with simple random sampling of a sample of Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims. There was a total of 100 respondents: 59 female and 41 male. Qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions (FGDs). The locations had a multi-ethnic character, which enabled us to effectively gather data from the three ethnic groups. Secondary data were collected by reviewing much published and unpublished work on the topic. Both qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods were employed in the study to interpret results, particularly, simple descriptive statistics are used to describe the patterns of trust citizens have in various public institutions. Table 1: Sample Frame for Questionnaire Survey < table > Results and Discussion The study found that the overall trust in public institutions was 66.6%. The ethnic categorization was significant: 39.9% of Sinhalese indicated trust compared to only 29.9% of Tamils and 30.2% of Muslims. This could perhaps be attributed to the effective functioning of government institutions in Sinhalese concentrated areas and better access to public services. This study also reveals that the language of administration (Sinhala) has also enabled the ethnic majority to more easily access public institutions. It is important to note that the study found different levels of trust in relation to respondent’s socio-economic profile and age. Middle-aged people were fairly satisfied with public institutions compared to senior citizens. In relation to education, 58% of respondents with only primary education have high trust compared to 42% of educated people. Table 2: Level of Trust by Citizen < table > Identity and Trust Identity influences a citizen’s trust in governance. State funding, resource allocation and other necessary amenities were made available to the Sinhalese areas whereas public institutions in Tamil regions were under- funded and under-resourced. Political Patronage and Trust In the case of Sri Lanka, service delivery has often been linked to a system characterized by political patronage, partisan politics and political manipulation. When these practices prevail in government institutions, citizens in turn also have a limited degree of trust in those institutions. The majority of respondents (67%) revealed that the patronage system has had a powerful influence on citizen trust in government institutions. Because political parties have established patronage as a key medium in service delivery at the local level, citizens’ trust and the equality of service delivery is undermined. Trust in Selected Public Institutions and Corruption Corruption was a major grievance throughout the study, agreed upon by respondents belonging to all ethnic groups. They identified the Police and the Grama Niladari Office6 as the most corrupted institutions in their areas. On the other hand, the study found that Hospitals, Kachcheriya (District Secretariat) and Divisional Secretariat Offices are the most trusted institutions. A significant number of respondents expressed their grievances on experiences of discrimination and ill treatment in public institutions. The study found that experiences of family members, neighbours, colleagues and fellow citizens influence trust in public institutions. Although the government gives high priority to service delivery, it is also evident that the quality of goods and services in terms of access, equity, efficiency and sustainability has progressively deteriorated. Conclusion This study attempts to capture the level of citizens’ trust in government institutions. The study reveals various factors (political, social, ethnic and institutional) that negatively influence trust. This indicates the importance of improving service quality, impartiality, and equality in service delivery in order to increase trust among all sections. Low trust in public institutions considerably impairs the potential quality of public institutions and the notion of good governance that the present government keeps promoting. The Sri Lankan case shows that in ethnically diverse societies, building citizens trust in public institutions (institutional trust) continues to be a challenge due to ethnic, religious, linguistic and political divisions. Table 3: The level of trust in the government institutions < table >
National identity as an everyday discourse: reflections from cartoons
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Hennayake , H. A. N. M.; Kithsiri , T. N.
Introduction National identity is still the most fundamental geographic identity (Taylor & Flint, 2000) that defines modern social life. Generally, this is built on, though contested, around territorial fixity of a nation state. However, such national identity may be subjected to new and different interpolations, as social identity coupled with the territorial boundary changes with/over time, transforming the space in question with different meanings. Political cartoons, as a unique form of visual communication, provide a powerful framework for visualizing and articulating national identity critically, devoid of inhibitions and have an innate capacity to orient social issues (Abraham, 2009; Stroescu, 2003). The period from 2005 to 2006 in Sri Lanka was crucial as national identity was challenged by the prolonged civil war since the 1980s and the citizenry was eager to see an end to the conflict and war. In this context, the former President became a political icon cartooned frequently in the newspapers and these cartoons taken as a medium of popular culture and everyday life seem to reflect an otherwise unspoken world of national identity making. This study explores how these satirical political cartoons published between 2005 and 2006 produced a particular version of national identity leading towards personification of national identity and making it into an everyday discourse. Methodology The methodology of this study is entirely based on the theoretical position that the political cartoons - as a subtle form of popular culture is reflective of a social demand as well as a critique of the ongoing political practices. The cartoons for this study are selected from the publication ‘President Mahinda Rajapaksha-First Year in Cartoons’ (Sarada Mahinda (2006)). A compositional interpretation was done by analyzing the embedded symbology to derive detonations and connotations to understand the discourses within which these cartoons are produced and received. A simple questionnaire was administered to a purposive sample to measure the social impact of the cartoons while the artists of the selected cartoons were interviewed to clarify the context of production. Results and Discussion This study clearly reveals that cartoons play a heuristic and a critical role in interrogating the emerging discourse on national identity and the incorporation of the persona of the former President, along with his satakaya allows people to personalize national identity while ascertaining his political power. Satakaya and territorial integrity is visually intertwined even depicting class inequalities contrasted with the western dress-tie. Satakaya has obviously become an icon of poorer people and the rural, Buddhist Sinhalese. The survey helps identify the constitutive elements and the meanings of the cartoons. The respondents identify a tension between the rich and poor epitomized by the two leaders Ranil Wickramasinghe and Mahinda Rajapaksha, a clear relationship between satakaya and the Sri Lankan map, and a north and south divide in Sri Lanka. The survey results also show how the Tamil and Sinhala respondents react to the cartoons. Very interestingly, Tamil speaking respondents do not view these cartoons as explicitly representing a form of Sinhala national identity. However, the survey signaled the need for follow up interviews with the respondents in order to verify their positions. It is also interesting to find that one of the cartoons though produced in 2005-2006, is read by the respondents to be reflective of a comparison of Mahinda Rajapaksha and Ranil Wickramasinghe today. Both Sinhala and Tamil respondents derive a sense of dictatorship and Mahinda Rajapaksha’s sweeping powers over the entire country from one of the cartoons, but the Sinhala respondents seem to emphasize more on dictatorship than the Tamil respondents. All five cartoons in the sample use the satakaya to symbolize the united territorial space of Sri Lanka and it is recognized as a powerful and a major signifier of the cartoons. Wrapping the territorial space of Sri Lanka with the satakaya by both Weeramuni and Jeferey (2006) can be interpreted as a conceptual rejection of ‘Tamil Homeland’. The unitary nation-state of Sri Lanka is made visible by demarcating the island with satakaya and the former President Mahinda Rajapaksha. Jeferey (2006) in his cartoon again visualizes national identity of Sri Lanka through symbols of satakaya and Mahinda Rajapaksha. Wasantha (2005) has conceptualized the victory of Mahinda Rajapaksha in 2005 with the theme of ‘Mahinda as Sri Lanka’by embossing his entire face within the map of Sri Lanka, making the North and East as part of his head and hair. It appears that these cartoons suggest that satakaya has gone beyond its dress value as a piece of attire and has become an emotive symbol of iconography of the Sri Lankan state. Conclusion National identity is a key element in the production of political space. The cartoons appear to be a unique medium in producing a mental landscape of national identity in Sri Lanka during the first term of the former president. National identity is generally talked about in specific contexts –among political groups, news media, academic groups etc. - as a public discourse. The most interesting finding of this study is how national identity is transformed into an everyday discourse through the persona of the former President and especially satakaya. It appears that this personification of national identity through the amalgamation of territory (map of Sri Lanka), Presidency (power, politics, state), Mahinda Rajapaksha (Sinhalese, Buddhist, Male from the south) together with the traditional satakaya transforms the idea of national identity into a strong everyday discourse.
Modality in Sinhala and its syntactic representation
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Ananda, M. G. L.
Introduction Modality is considered a semantic concept expressing such notions as possibility, necessity, probability, obligation, permission, ability, and volition. These different notions have given rise to two major distinct sub-types of modality as epistemic and root modality. Languages vary considerably in the way they realize each of these finer distinctions. Epistemic interpretations are speaker-oriented, or, in the case of embedded clauses, matrix-subject oriented qualification or modification of the truth of a proposition. The root interpretations involve the will, ability, permission or obligation to perform some action or bring about some state of affairs. Nevertheless, sentences are often ambiguous between the two readings. Palmer (2001) observes that there is considerable variation in the ways that languages deal with grammatical categories, and there is probably more variation with modality than with other categories. He observes that one language may mark commands as irrealis, another may mark them as realis, while yet another may not treat them as part of a system of modality at all. According to Cinque (1999), epistemic modality expresses the speaker’s degree of confidence about the truth of the proposition (based on the kind of information he/she has). Further, in Cinque’s functional sequence, epistemic modals and root modals correspond to a structural difference as well: epistemic modals are generated higher in the structure and have scope over the root modals. Sinhala has a number of particles/suffixes to convey modality. They can attach to any lexical category in an agglutinative fashion and take scope over the domain to the left. (2) They can also attach at the clausal level thereby scoping the whole clause. (3) 1. Nimal kaareka seeduwa Nimal car washed Nimal washed the car 2. Nimal lu kaareka seeduwE Nimal EVID car washed-E Nimal, it is said, was the one who washed the car Example (1) is a neutral sentence. In (2), the subject, Nimal, is exclusively in the (narrow) scope of the evidential modal particle1, i.e. the evidential report is about Nimal. The same particle can attach at the clausal level, and then the whole clause comes under the (wide) scope of that particle (3). 3. Nimal kaareka seeduwa lu Nimal car washed EVID It is said that Nimal washed the car This paper explores modality in Sinhala from a syntactic perspective. In particular, it attempts to answer such questions as (1) what are different types of modalities that can be observed in Sinhala and how are they represented? (2) Does the root-epistemic distinction in modality hold syntactically, and if so, what is their syntactic projection? (3) How does modality in Sinhala interact with the verbal system? Is there modal agreement in Sinhala? The theoretical alignment of the study is the generative syntactic theory expounded by Chomsky (1965-), and within that, the cartographic framework proposed by Rizzi (1997-). Methodology Data for the present study consisted of the grammatical judgments of native speakers of Sinhala. Since the aim of generative syntax is to model the native speaker competence by examining his performance, this study too relied on such native speaker grammatical judgments. Although the researcher himself is a native speaker of Sinhala, it was still necessary to rely on a rather larger corpus. Hence, a sample of 10 native speakers representing different age groups was selected. This included 03 children aged between 8-13, and 6 adults in the age group of 30-60. The researcher too was considered as a member of the sample. About 40 sentences were presented to them with different ordering of modality particles. This was necessary in order to judge the scope properties of such modal particles, in addition to testing accuracy of the utterances. The utterances included both matrix and embedded sentences. Results And Discussion A classification of the modals in Sinhala is presented in Table 1 below. The table illustrates a number of significant properties of Sinhala modals. Of the epistemic modals, evidential, evaluative, epistemic (except epistemic possibility), and interrogative attach to the fully inflected verb, i.e. they attach to the present, past, future, and past participle verbal forms which may be inflected for indicative/ imperative/hortative/volitive/and future/irrealis moods of the verb. But in root/event modalities, the modalities of ability, permission and prohibition, only the infinitive/imperative verb forms are allowed. Narrow scope marking by the modal is not possible here. As the examples show, one major morpho-syntactic phenomenon associated with Sinhala modality is the special form the verb assumes when such modal particle is present in the clause. That is, the verb takes a special –e suffix, in the present and past tenses. This differential behavior of the –e suffix highlights two things: (1) it is not simply the modal particle that determines the contrastive modal interpretation, but the verbal inflection also takes part in this process. (2) It shows the scope marking potential of the modal particle and the corresponding verbal morphology.2 That is, when the modal particle attaches to any phrase level constituent, the verb inflects for –e. This creates a set of alternatives out of which one individual/entity is given saliency. But, when the same particle attaches to the whole clause, it does not inflect for the –e suffix indicating that the alternative set is not available in this instance. Table 1: Epistemic and Root Modals in Sinhala: < table > The three modals (epistemic possibility, root ability and root permission) can occur in embedded clauses. The evaluative, evidential and epistemic (vage) modalities are not part of the embedded periphery. Table 2 illustrates their properties. Table 2: Properties of the Modals < table > Conclusion The root/epistemic distinction hold in Sinhala not only semantically but also syntactically. In line with Cinque (1999), I propose that epistemic modals occur higher in the structure while the root modals occur closer to the vP so that the former takes scope over the latter. Sinhala modals show hierarchy not only with respect to epistemic-root distinction, but also among each other. Further, I consider the –e suffix as an overt reflex of an AGREE relation, i.e., a Spec-Head relation. The head orders of the modal functional heads can be illustrated as follows. MD Speech Act > T> INT > MD Evaluative > Md Evidential > Md Epistemic possibility (Puluwan)/Md Epistemic (vage) > Sent Neg (Naeahe) / Md Prohibitive (epa) / Possibility Neg (Baehae) > Root Modal ability/permission (Puluwan) > vP
Islamophobia and sinhala buddhist nationalism on facebook
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Wazeer , A.; Jayaweera, C.
Introduction Islamophobia is defined as the contrived fear, prejudice, hatred or hostility towards Islam and Muslims. It is perpetuated through negative stereotypes, misrepresentation, and the construction of the Muslim as the ‘Other’, which leads to stigmatization and discrimination of Muslims. Post - war Sri Lanka has witnessed the creation of a new “enemy”; although anti-Muslim feelings existed much earlier, as evidenced by the 1915 and 1974-5 riots, critics have identified the attacks as being primarily motivated by economic disparity and educational inequalities1 unlike the recent hostility which is explicitly political in character. In recent times, the Muslim minority has been subjected to ethno-religious hostility from the Bodu Bala Sena (hereafter BBS), a movement that focuses on promulgating anti-Muslim rhetoric. In the creation and distribution of anti-Muslim narratives, pro-BBS supporters have taken to Facebook to articulate Islamophobic sentiments. Facebook, with its popularity and easy accessibility, has become a relatively important platform on which a cohesive constellation of thematic is formed resulting in the transmission of the BBS Islamophobic analogy to a vast audience within a matter of minutes. Unaware of the ways in which the pedagogies of these pages position and regulate one’s perspectives, members of such pages (un)consciously subsume its ideological messages as autonomous and independent representations of a coherent reality. Methodology For the purpose of the study, public Sri Lankan pages on Facebook, which promote anti-Muslim sentiments and Islamophobia was used as primary data. All the groups that were studied reveal a close affinity with and follow the ideology of the BBS. Documentaries, speeches and petitions of the BBS circulated on Facebook were analysed. Results and Discussion The anti-Muslim narrative of these pages resonate a global pattern of Islamophobia. Associating themselves with a transnational Islamophobic movement, the anti-Muslim rhetoric of these Facebook pages converges with the narratives of Western and Indian anti-Muslim movements to create at once an internationally induced and locally disseminated form of Islamophobia. The narratives of the BBS and other anti-Muslim groups on Facebook constantly direct their attention to international events involving Muslims but is also always mediated by Sri Lankan comparisons. When reporting violence perpetuated by Islamic extremists in other countries, by aligning it with the socio-political context of Sri Lanka, the narrative makes the information not just threatening, but also captures an urgency calling for an immediate reaction to ‘Islamic extremism’ in Sri Lanka. Whenever an anti-Muslim stance is espoused by Western politicians, it is reported as a model that the Sri Lankan government needs to embrace. The ban on the headscarf in France was celebrated in many posts whilst urging the audience to fight until the Sri Lankan government follows France’s commendable example. The basis of the local Islamophobic narrative can be located under three interrelated premises: (1) cultural otherness (2) economic insecurity2 and (3) expansionist politics. Muslims are constructed as threatening the very existence of Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka. The locating of the ‘Muslim’ as the demonic other whose scheme is to annihilate the Sinhala race is intricately connected to the threat of “Islamic expansionism.” Islamophobia is justified under this paradigm of threat. Juxtaposed with the declining population of Buddhists is the ever-increasing Muslim population. In the BBS’s publication on demographics titled “Encountering the Demise of a Race: An Enquiry into the Population Trends in Sri Lanka”, it is claimed that the Muslims of Sri Lanka are striving to convert the country into “their next colony in an expanding Muslim empire, sought to be established by the Wahabbi movement spreading from the Middle East, Pakistan and Malaysia” (Liyanage, 2014). The rhetoric of the BBS abounds with the fear of globalization as a threat to Sinhala Buddhist hegemony, driven mainly by the belief that the minorities of Sri Lanka are more globally dominant than the Sinhala majority. In the alleged absence of international allies for the Buddhists, the Muslim minority is perceived as a threat due to its seeming facility to form connections with a powerful global political Islam. While the Muslims are depicted as having multiple “motherlands” (placing them within a homogenous Muslim Middle East), the Sinhalese are seen as having Sri Lanka as its only ‘motherland’. Invoking a sense of isolation, the narrative envisions a homogenous nation-state in which the hegemony of the Buddhist state exists unchallenged. The perceived fundamentalism of the Muslims makes them the ‘alien’ to the normalized ideas of the Sinhala society. It should be noted that the othering process is in turn posited by the Muslims themselves. As a result of globalization, with a greater knowledge of ‘Muslim issues’ around the world, there is an increasing identification with the global Islamic community among Muslims of Sri Lanka. The self-conscious turn of the Muslims towards the Islamic ideologies especially that of Saudi Arabia in recent times (the increase in the number of females choosing to wear the Abaya is itself indicative of the systemic assertion of Middle Eastern practices) has marked the Muslims as a conspicuous social other.3 Conclusion The nationalist rhetoric of the 1915 riots that identified the Muslim as a hostile economic competitor and an alien to the Sinhala Buddhist culture, has acquired a threatening urgency in the current anti-Muslim sentiment. Islamophobic expressions of anti-Muslim Facebook pages are demonstrated in a manner in which Islam is perceived as a fixed and static entity. By doing so, by readily equating Islam with any action of any Muslim, by generalizing that action as ‘Islamic’, a specific interpreted (reductive, monochromatic) picture of Islam is supplied which stamps and fixes the identity of Islam which in turn serves to create a confrontational political situation pitting ‘us’ against ‘Islam’. The change of government seems to have diminished the passion of the nationalist zealots; the public demonstrations and hate speeches of the BBS have significantly reduced, but the hatred and stigmatization of Muslims continue in the Facebook pages.
A comparative study of medieval Sinhala 'isa:' and modern Sinhala 'saha'/'ha:'
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Ariyawansa, D.
Introduction 'Saha' and 'ha:' are the particles in modern Sinhala that are used to combine nouns and adjectives. The meaning of 'saha' and 'ha:' is the same and the tradition is employs both to combine more than two words. e.g.: Veḷ enda: saha veḷ endijǝ bat ha: pa:n vikuṇ ǝti. Unlike in modern Sinhala, they have been employed in classical Sinhalese to express the meaning 'with'. They are particles with an Old Indo-Aryan origin (Karunatillake 2012, p. 286, 322). In this research, 'saha' and 'ha:' are considered as particles with the meaning 'and', i.e. as devices of co-ordination. Various graphical representations for 'saha' and 'ha:' can be found in inscriptions of Prakrit Sinhala era and Medieval Sinhala era, namely ca, ce, ica and isa:. Here, attention is paid to 'isa:' in Medieval Sinhala inscriptions. The resear is based on the Anuradhapura slab inscription of King Kassapa V, the Mihintale slab inscriptions and the Badulla pillar inscription. The meaning underlying Mediaeval Sinhala 'isa:' and Modern Sinhala 'saha' is the same. Although both of them can be considered as particles expressing the meaning 'and', one can see that they are employed in a different ways. This study examines how these differences can be identified. A clear understanding about Medieval Sinhala 'isa:' and Modern Sinhala 'saha'/'ha:' is expected through the comparative study. Methodology This is a qualitative research based on the Anuradhapura slab inscription of King Kassapa V, Mihintale slab inscriptions and Badulla pillar inscription. These inscriptions will be examined for their use of 'isa:'. Their contexts and patterns will be recognized. After that, it will be compared with the use of Modern Sinhala 'saha'/'ha:' and important points will be identified. Through these points, the study will conclude whether the meaning and employment of medieval Sinhala 'isa:' and modern Sinhala 'saha'/'ha:' are the same or different. Discussion and Results When examining particular inscriptions, using 'isa:' can be found in several contexts. Sometimes it combines two nouns and these nouns may be in dect case or oblique case. e.g.: seyi giri veherhi isa: abahayi giri veherhi isa:, gekuli: isa: maṇ uvæ:sarǝ isa: (Mihintale slab inscriptions). In complex sentences, the particle 'isa:' can be found without a limitation. It may be used to coordinate many subjects and many objects in the same sentence. e.g.: a:kæmija: isa: veherleja: isa: karanda leja: isa:… eknaṭ pas kiri: bægin isa:…. (Ibid.). Sometimes it is difficult to understand the meaning in these kinds of contexts. 'Isa:' has been always placed at the end of every word that is combined with it. Apart from nouns, 'isa:' has been employed with gerunds. In this case, graphical representations of gerunds may vary though they have combined with 'isa:', gas koḷ nokapǝnu isa: mela:tsi: novadna: isa:, gedaḍ noganna: isa: des nojavanu isa: (Anuradhapura slab inscription). Furthermore, it is noteworthy that 'isa:' has been used to combine two or more clauses in complex sentences. e.g.: daḍǝ ganut misæ anija: nokǝrǝnu isa: … tiræ genæ daḍǝ noilvanu isa… piṭat kotǝ no genæ janu isa….(Badulla pillar inscription). When examining particular inscriptions, it can be seen that one inscription may consist of two or three sentences. Sometimes more than twenty-five lines have been combined with the particle 'isa:'. Moving onto the employment of 'saha'/'ha:' in Modern Sinhala, one can clearly see that it is limited to combine two words in the sense of co- ordination. Unlike 'isa:' saha is never used more than once. In modern Sinhala, the pattern is to combine words with commas and employ 'saha' before the last word. When combining gerunds, they should be kept in the same form. i.e. karǝru saha balanu piṇisa instead of karǝnu saha bæli:mǝ piṇisǝ . When there are more clauses to combine, 'da', 'isa:' and 'ha:' is mixed in modern Sinhalese. e. g.: Amma: da mamǝ da potpat ha: a:ha:rǝ rægenǝ pa:salǝṭǝ saha pantijǝṭǝ gijemu. If 'da', 'ha:' and 'saha' in this sentence are replaced with 'isa:', the result is, *Amma: isa: mamǝ isa: potpat isa: a:ha:rǝ isa: rægenǝ pa:salǝṭǝ isa: pantijǝṭǝ isa: gijemu. It is difficult to get a proper idea from the sentence. When comparing these points, 'isa:' can be identified as a particle with various meanings such as 'and', 'furthermore', and 'not only… but also'. Depending on the contexts, the meaning of the particle varies. Contrastingly, 'saha'/'ha:' in modern Sinhala is employed only with the sense 'and'. When comparing the patterns, it could be seen that 'isa:' has been widely used in several sentence structures more than 'saha'/'ha:'. Conclusion Considering these facts, it can be understood that medieval Sinhala 'isa:' is not identical with modern Sinhala 'saha'/'ha:' in its use. Though it is considered that 'saha'/'ha:' are the results of the development of the particle 'isa:', differences have occurred with that development. Thus, apart from just identifying modern Sinhala 'saha'/'ha:' as the particles developed from Medieval Sinhala 'isa:', it should be recognized that both particles have their own meanings and uses as pointed out above.
The scientometrics of research output in environmental management
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Pratheepan, T.; Amsaveni , N.; Balasubramani, R.
Introduction This study measures the research output in Environmental Management (EM) research through scientometric techniques. This study deals with the analytical part of the thesis for framed hypotheses with source databases of Web of Knowledge which includes Science Citation Index (SCI), Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) and Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI). With the advent of Information Technology the emergence of viewer tools such as impact factor, h-index, priority index, activity index emphasize the relevance of scientometric studies. In this context, scientometrics and bibliometrics research and hence assessment studies always play a significant role in Library and Information Science Research. Also this study attempts to explain the theoretical and empirical discussions relating to research publications in EM from published reports. The objectives of the study are: (1) to identify the different sources, continent and country-wise distribution of EM research output, (2) to identify the proportion of authorship pattern and degree of collaboration in EM research and (3) to test the applicability of Lotka’s Law, Price’s Square Root Law and Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) to measure author productivity in the field of EM research. Methodology The present study examines the continent and country wide distribution of research output of global scientists in the EM field. The study examines the relative growth rate, absolute growth level, exponential growth and doubling time of publication during the study period. The authors’ productivity and degree of collaboration in EM research output are also examined. There are various sources contributing to the research output in the EM field. For this study the researcher has taken the secondary sources from Science Citation Index (SCI), Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) and Arts & Humanities Citation Index (ACHI) which is available via the Web of Science (WoS). The WoS is the search platform provided by Thomson Reuters (the former Thomson Scientific emerged from the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) in Philadelphia). The study period is 1989 to 2014 (26 years) and the search string is “Environmental Management” only. A total of 62059 records were downloaded, after eliminate duplicate records, 61877 records were found and analyzed using Histcite, VOSViewer and MS-Excel software. The tools and techniques used were Relative Growth Rate (RGR) and Doubling Time, Degree of Collaboration and Collaborative Index, Historiographic Map, Bradford’s Law of Scattering Journals, Lotka’s Law of Author Productivity. Results and discussion The leading source of articles is in the form of journal articles compared to other sources. The collection was exported to HistCite to obtain a list of 61877 articles produced by 6191 journals and 3,072,359 times cited references along with their local and global citation scores (69,332 LCS and 940,030 GCS). The European continent stood first and second rank. It was also found that USA in North America, UK in Europe and China in Asia dominate their respective geographical areas. Among the seven continents, the European Continent has a specialized relation with world output. “Environmental Sciences” has the highest contribution within the subject category. The “Environmental Management” journal has produced more number of articles and “Ecological Applications” is the most cited journal in the field. From historiographic analysis the “Journal of Cleaner Production” has the highest citation scores and links. Among the 214,351 authors, the authors of “Huang GH, Chang NB, Li YP and Zhang FS” were the contributors of highest number of articles and identified as the most productive authors in EM field. Through VOSViewer analysis the authors “Huang GH, Liu Y, Zhang FS and Zhang Y” have the highest productivity and highest bibliographic coupling values. Single author productivity is 5.22 percent while multi- authors’ productivity is 94.78 percent. The three-authored productivity has been highest and the three-authored team has contributed the highest number of authors. The authors of “Burger J and Huang GH” were identified as the active authors of different level of authorship pattern in EM research. The author “Chang NB” was identified as the active first author of different level of authorship pattern. From the historiographic mapping analysis, “Alavi M” has earned the highest citation scores. The collaborative index for universal level is 3.46 and degree of collaboration, C, is equal to 0.82; i.e. 82 percent of collaborative authors’ articles were published during the study period. Out of 28,127 institutions, the “Chinese Academy of Sciences” produced the most number of articles. The authors of “Porter ME” and “Hollings CS” were identified as the highly cited authors. The journals of “Strategic Management”; “Academic Management Review”, “Nature”, “Academic Management”, “Science” and “Ecological Model” show different colours for identifying the repeated cited journals. Conclusion India is far behind USA in North America, UK in Europe and China in terms of publication output, citation quality and share of international papers in the EM field. There is an urgent need for substantial increase in research and development investments, both at the institutional level as well as in terms of external funding from different scientific agencies. Academic institutes should take steps to create interest in research in EM among graduate and postgraduate students and also among young environmental scientists. There should be a substantial increase in international collaboration to increase the output and also to improve the quality of research. In addition there should be more collaboration among the Indian institutions.
Funding research output at the University of Peradeniya: a scientometric analysis
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Maheswaran, R.
Introduction Universities are institutions that perform a vital role in the contemporary societies by educating and generating knowledge. Research and development (R&D) is essential to build an institute’s research production potential in all sectors. It assists the progress of the institute’s growth and brings necessary changes in all divisions. Most of the research funding comes from two main resources, corporations and government. With the steady growth of R & D investment, funding has been playing a very significant role in research and publishing. Scientometrics is the study dealing with the quantification of written communications, which helps, in the measurement of the published knowledge. It reflects the pattern of growth literature, Inter relationship among different branches of knowledge, productivity, authorship pattern, and degree of collaboration, pattern of collection building, and their use. The University of Peradeniya is a state university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University Grants Commission established as the University of Ceylon in 1942. It hosts nine faculties (including the newly added Management Faculty), three postgraduate institutes, 10 centres, 73 departments, and teaches about 11,000 students in the fields of Medicine, Agriculture, Arts, Science, Engineering, Dental Sciences, Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Management and Allied Health Science. It claims to have the largest government endowment by a higher education institution in Sri Lanka, based on its large staff and faculties/departments. In this study, we evaluate the funding supported Social Science Citation Index papers and Science Citation Index in University of Peradeniya in order to carry out a quantitative measurement on the influence of funding agencies on research output. The main objectives of this paper are to identify the total number of SSCI papers and funding-supported SSCI papers, the total number of SCI papers and funding-supported SCI papers, analyze the top three funding agencies offered support to the University of Peradeniya and to find out the types of funding sources received by the University of Peradeniya to carry out research and publish papers. Methodology The data for the study was extracted from the Web of Science database which is a scientific and indexing service managed by Thomson Reuters. We have analysed the funding supported SSCI papers and SCI papers published by the faculties of the University of Peradeniya. The following search strategy has been used to extract data: ADDRESS-ABS-KEY (“Peradeniya University”) OR ADDRESS-ABS-KEY (“University of Peradeniya”) AND PUBYEAR (All years) and further by limiting the funding agencies, the data were downloaded. Bibliographic details such as Journals, research areas, collaboration, etc., were downloaded in CSV format and further analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Results and Discussion < table > The above table presents the top three funding agencies in the University of Peradeniya. In funding supported SSCI papers, the maximum number of papers comes from the National Research Council of Sri Lanka with 59 records, amounting to 16.76 per cent of funding-supported SCI papers followed by National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka with 53 papers, amounting 15.05 percent. WELCOME TRUST comes last with 24 papers amounting 6.81 percent. This study revealed that a total of 24 funding supported SSCI and 352 funding supported SCI papers were published by the University of Peradeniya. It is clearly seen that SCI has published a maximum of 2339 papers in which 352 papers are supported by funding agencies and SSCI has published a maximum of 221 papers in which 24 papers are supported by funding agencies In funding supported SSCI papers, the maximum number of publications comes from the Welcome Trust with 7 papers, amounting to 29.16 per cent of funding-supported SSCI papers followed by Bill Melinda Gates with same number of papers, amounting to 29.16 per cent. However, the Australian National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) comes last with 6 papers amounting 25 percent. In the type of funding sources the University of Peradeniya falls into this category in the funding supported SCI papers and falls into funding source diversified type category in the funding supported SSCI papers. Conclusion In this study, a scientometric analysis was undertaken to show the present state of funding supported SSCI papers and SCI papers of the University of Peradeniya. The results of the present study clearly showed that funding sources are diversified in the case of SSCI papers. However, it is total contrast in case of SCI papers, for this funding sources are dominated by double funding agencies predominated type.
An analysis of e-literature on the game of cricket in sport sciences
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Kalidasan, R.
Introduction Research and publications on a particular sport play a major role in its growth and development. Vigneshwaran (2015) viewed that “studying, analyzing and assessing published sports literature in particular area is not very common in the field of research. Such work will definitely document the various aspects including historical development of the sport, origin, growth & development of the sport, techniques, tactics, strategies, skill development, general & specific training, statistics, sport sciences, research influences, complete profiling of literature and so on.” Today Information scientists apply many techniques to assess publication on a particular area. In this respect, bibliometrics and scientometrics are popular methods used throughout the world. In the past few sports specific bibliometrics studies have been done on soccer, judo and rugby. (Vigneshwaran, 2015; Peset, 2013; Martin, et.al. 2013). Cricket is a popular sport which is played in more than 108 countries around the globe. Literature on ‘Cricket’ is plenty and available in various forms. The main focus of this work is to study, assess, analyse and document the publication pattern on the game of Cricket from the electronic source. To analyse the literature on Cricket globally, many techniques are used by modern day scientists. As there are no major Scientometric and Bibliometric studies on analysing the publication outcome in the field of Cricket, the investigator was motivated to take-up this study. The purpose of the study is to analyse the global literature on the game of Cricket in the area of ‘Sport Sciences’ which is available in the electronic form. It attempts to profile the literature on ‘Cricket’ under the following categories: the year-wise publications of literature on Cricket, country-wise distribution of publications, analyze the language-wise distribution of literature on Cricket, document the title-wise classification of literature on Cricket, list the top ten institutions with high productive literature on Cricket and the top ten contributing authors in Cricket publications. Methodology Bibliometrics research, which is a statistical analysi of scientific and technical literature, is adopted in this work. Bibliometrics analyses quantitative and qualitative data to describe publication patterns within a field of research. In the quantitative analysis, various parameters namely, year-wise distribution, country-wise distribution, language-wise distribution, title-wise distribution, institutions-wise distribution and author-wise distribution are systematically analyzed to measure and quantify the amount of literature and research output on Cricket during the study period. The electronic database known as the Web of Science, which has a very strong coverage and mostly written in English, was used in this study. The data were retrieved from this database by using the search term ‘Cricket’ in ‘topic’ published in all the years and all types were analyzed. In all, 7,139 documents were found in Web of Science database from 1st January 1993 to 26st February, 2016. In order to narrow down the study the research areas option and selected the area ‘Sport Sciences’ were used. In all 355 documents were found and all were taken for final analysis as the sample. In data collection, initially the researcher downloaded the bibliographical data in notepad files. The collected data were analyzed with the assistance of ‘Histcite Software’ for data classification and the unique data were rearranged in MS-Excel format to eliminate duplication from downloaded data. To cross check the data, with the assistance of analyse result option, the data for analyse were checked. Using the collected data, a Quantitative analysis was done. The results of the study were discussed broadly using illustrations in the form of diagram and table. Results and Discussion In all 355 documents were published on ‘Cricket’ under ‘Sport Sciences’ classifications, which was far less than for ‘Football’ under ‘Sport Sciences’ classifications (5,879 documents) in the database on the cut- off date. The maximum number of Cricket publications was in the year 2013 and triennial growth rate was observed after 2005 onwards. This study indicates that publications in Cricket were done in 29 countries and Australia tops the list with 180 publications, followed by England with 102 publications. Vigneshwaran et.al. (2014) observed that ‘86 countries have published at least one literature on Soccer’. The present result also reveals that out of 4 languages, English has 351 literatures and stood first among the source languages. ‘Journal of Sports Sciences’ has published maximum of 65 publications in Cricket. Vigneshwaran et.al. (2013) in their work documented ‘Journal of Strength and Conditioning’ has published maximum of 507 publications in Soccer. The result reveals that University of Western Australia had contributed a high number of literature in Cricket, followed by the University of Sydney. Most of the Australian Universities were among the top ten Universities that published on Cricket. Among all authors globally ‘Portus M’ has published 16 items in Cricket, followed by ‘Elliott B’ contributing 14 publications. From this study, it is evident that published work on ‘Cricket’ under ‘Sport Sciences’ classifications, was comparatively less than many other major sports played throughout the world. Conclusion Hence it was concluded that more works on Cricket should be encouraged internationally. To preserve the information and to enhance the research excellence globally, literature in Cricket should be in electronic form.
Protecting the rights of domestic workers in Middle Eastern countries
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2016-07-28) Bandara , W. J. M. H. C. J.
Introduction Each year scores of housemaids depart to the Middle East with the intention of creating a worthwhile future for themselves and their families. Most migrant ‘domestic workers’ are from rural villages, in poverty and unable to obtain an occupation with good wages due to their lack of educational qualifications. But while some of them reach their goals, many females return to home after being subject to labour or sexual exploitation. The recent incident of a Sri Lankan woman being stoned to death, and the episode of Rizana Nafeek clearly indicate their vulnerability. It also indicates the possibility that these domestic workers may not be entitled to non-discrimination and equal protection of the law - key concepts of Human Rights Law. Hence (it can be argued), the Sri Lankan government has a big responsibility to protect their rights. A review of the literature reveals that despite the existence of international and domestic legal regimes, many female migrants are subject to grave infringements of their rights: sexual abuse, forced abortion when pregnant after rape, illicit human trafficking schemes or prostitution, lack of freedom of movement, unequal economic treatment, religious and racial discrimination, arbitrary interference with their privacy, physical abuse, forced labour, food deprivation, wage exploitation, and confiscation of passports. The objective of this study is to critically evaluate whether the existing domestic laws and policies are adequate to protect the rights of Sri Lankan domestic workers in the Middle East, and to make suggestions on improving such protection. Methodology This study is based on a library survey where the researcher gathered relevant information from books with critical analysis, journal articles, conventions, statutes, newspapers as secondary sources to uncover the trends in this subject matter. Further statistics in this regard gathered by relevant authorities are used as primary source to complete this research. The analysis will cover the extent to which the rights of migrant workers are violated with special reference to the international conventions being implemented in Sri Lanka and Middle Eastern countries. Results and Discussion There are many international legal instruments such as the Convention of Rights of all Migrant Workers and members of their family (MWC), Convention of Eliminating all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDW), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) dealing with protecting the rights of migrant workers. Further there are domestic legal instruments: Bureau of Foreign Employment Act No.21 of 1985 and Sri Lankan national policy on labor migration, Article 12 of the constitution which guarantees the right to equality, and Article 11 which guarantees that no person shall be subjected to torture, cruelty, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. One of the major obligations of the International Labor Organization (ILO) is to protect a woman’s right to non-discrimination in her working environment. Countries which have not ratified ILO conventions are yet bound to protect Convention Nos. 29, 95, 100 and 111 which discuss the protection of workers. However according to ILO (2004) around fifty percent of domestic workers in Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE alleged physical, verbal or sexual abuse. Article 6 of the CEDW deals with the protection of women from trafficking and prostitution, but as mentioned in Human Rights Watch (2007) approximately 10% of women migrant workers from Sri Lanka cite harassment and abuse as serious problems. In the Sri Lankan context, it can be speculated that because migrant workers do not have the opportunity to vote in Sri Lankan elections politicians are not interested about their welfare. However, arguably the Sri Lankan government should ensure the migrant domestic workers’ right to equal protection of the law. Most of these people are from rural villages and are not well educated. In such a situation they presumably know little of what rights they are entitled for. Since undergoing training at the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) is mandatory for these migrants their training should include cultural practices in those countries as well as improve their knowledge about their rights. Articles 11(1), (2) of the MWC guarantee that no migrant worker shall be held in slavery and no migrant worker can be subject to forced labour. But in fact these workers may have to work beyond their contracted duties. Documented cases include taking on additional duties; e.g. workers recruited for childcare having to do the employer’s housework as well as taking care of elders, working in more than one house, foregoing adequate sleep and food, and obtaining their monthly wages. The above instances constitute violations of guidelines in Article 25(1) (a) of the ICCPR on migrant workers’ overtime, hours of work, weekly rest, holidays with pay, safety, health according to national law and practice. Further Article 7 of the ICESCR states everyone has a right to just condition of work and fair wages, to ensure a decent life for themselves and their families. Institutional intervention is arguably required – for instance through the SLBFE – to bring such workers back home and all their costs recouped by the agent who initiated the contract. Moreover by keeping an open line of communication with employees and the Sri Lankan embassies, the SLBFE could intervene with the assistance of the relevant embassy. To minimise cruel and degrading treatment (e.g. the case of L.P. Ariyawathi who allegedly returned to Sri Lanka with 22 nails and 5 needles in her body) a preventive and monitoring mechanism is needed. The Sri Lankan embassy could conduct health checkups twice a year for housemaids in these countries and maintain records. Sri Lankan national policy on labour migration aims at the protection and empowerment of migration workers and their families. According to UN 2010 report most of the Sri Lankan migrant workers’ children fall below six years. This affects the child’s personality development, education and health, and the child may be subject to sexual abuse. In legal aspect this violates universal concept of ‘best interest of child’. Therefore the Sri Lankan government should utilize the services of the SLFBE to check on the health and education of the children whose mothers are abroad. If those children’s reports are negative then the SLFBE should bring the mother back to the country. Through this process the author believes the best interest of the child can be protected. One of the major objectives of the SLBFE is to provide welfare and protection for the migrant workers. But the SLBFE has not established a proper procedure for the returnof migrant workers. When they come back after facing such brutal incidents Sri Lanka does not have proper procedure to rehabilitate them and their families. Hence it is essential to facilitate welfare programs for return migrant workers. Most importantly the author suggests that the Sri Lankan government adopts/adapts Section 4 of the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 which envisages that the State shall deploy overseas workers only in countries where the following conditions exist (cited). "(a) It has existing labor and social laws protecting the rights of workers, including migrant workers; "(b) It is a signatory to and/or a ratifier of multilateral conventions, declarations or resolutions relating to the protection of workers, including migrant workers; and "(c) It has concluded a bilateral agreement or arrangement with the government on the protection of the rights of overseas Filipino Workers: Provided, That the receiving country is taking positive, concrete measures to protect the rights of migrant workers in furtherance of any of the guarantees under subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) hereof. (Page 2 of the Act, cited in Human Rights Library (online) http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/research/Philippines/RA%2010022- 20%20Migrant%20Workers%20Act.pdf) Finally by enhancing self-employment and labor-intensive growth, the government can decrease the attraction of job opportunities as housemaids abroad. Also skilled migrant job opportunities such as nursing and teaching can be pursued in other regions of the world. Through that processes the government can keep its earnings of foreign remittances high. Conclusion Poverty is a leading reason for overseas migration of women. This demand for overseas employment will clearly create a potential for the social issues highlighted above. Also, migration of women especially affects their children negatively and it directly violates the universal principle of best interest of children. At a macro level, the Sri Lankan government is unlikely to stop sending them as housemaids to these countries as remittances earned by the domestic workers is second to only to the apparel industry in earning foreign exchange. The existing protection of domestic workers abroad by the Sri Lankan government through international and domestic legal regimes is not adequate to protect their rights. The government has a huge responsibility to protect their rights by enhancing the legal protection.

Browse

Recent Submissions