Volume 13 - Issue 2 - 2014

An Identity of One’s Own: The Use of Sri Lankan English in Ru Freeman’s A Disobedient Girl 1

2021-01-07T08:33:30Z

An Identity of One’s Own: The Use of Sri Lankan English in Ru Freeman’s A Disobedient Girl 1 Harischandra, Neshantha

Application of Seed Treatments to Increase Germinability of Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) Seeds under in vitro Conditions

2021-01-07T08:28:10Z

Application of Seed Treatments to Increase Germinability of Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) Seeds under in vitro Conditions Dahanayake, Nilanthi Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) has great commercial value as a spice in Sri Lanka. Due to the presence of hard seed coat, cardamom has low seed germination potential. Therefore the present study was conducted to study the potential to improve the seed germination by applying different mechanical, physical and chemical treatments and to develop a cost effective and rapid seed germination method in in vitro conditions. Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with ten replicates was used for the study. The seeds of cardamom were treated with 40 different seed treatments and surface sterilized by using 20% clorex. MS basal medium was used without plant growth regulators and solidified by 0.6% agar. Anova (DMRT) test showed that there were significant effects at p<0.05 level on seed germination of cardamom seeds with different seed treatments. According to the results 50% HNO3 for 15 min exposure was the best treatment to obtain higher number of germinated seeds (90%) within 6 weeks upto 0.6 cm height. The second and third best treatments were 75% HNO3 for 15 min and 75% HNO3 for 10 min which showed 80% and 65% seed germination percentages respectively. This experiment showed chemical treatment (HNO3 ) is the best to induce seed germination of E. cardamomum in in vitro conditions. The results obtained in this study will be important for plant breeders and farmers who cultivate these species commercially.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in Sri Lanka - Current Research Evidence Justification: A Review

2021-01-07T08:23:28Z

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in Sri Lanka - Current Research Evidence Justification: A Review Gunatilake, Sunethra Kanthi; Sunil Samaratunga, S; Rubasinghe, Ruvini Takshala In this article, the current scientific evidence of Chronic Kidney disease with unknown aetiology (CKDu), were critically reviewed and harnessed with other relevant literature with a view to justify the possible causative reason(s) for this chronic health problem. To this end, authors first reviewed the literature on socio-economic, environmental, meteorological, health and geo-environmental/chemical aspects in relation to the CKD of unknown aetiology in Sri Lanka and then studied the known aetiology of CKD (key medical facts) in detail highlighting a comprehensive list of causes. Based on the nature of economic development in the CKDu prevailing area, previous studies have suggested that the causative factor for CKDu is probably environmental and is related to the nature of anthropogenic activities. Therefore, authors investigated subject more into the chronic exposure to heavy metals associated with agricultural activities. Potential sources of heavy metals in the area are mentioned. The geochemical mobility and health effects of three selected elements namely arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) are studied in detail. The current scientific observations reported on CKD were evaluated with established chemical, geochemical, and health risk of As, Cd and Pb. According to the review, it can be justified that CKDu of the North Central Province (NCP) in Sri Lanka is a decease caused by the chronic exposure and cumulative effects of elevated levels of heavy metals associated with agricultural activities.

Government SME Development Programs in Sri Lanka: A Review in the Lens of Transaction Cost Economics

2021-01-07T08:17:59Z

Government SME Development Programs in Sri Lanka: A Review in the Lens of Transaction Cost Economics Priyanath, H. M. S; Premaratne, S. P The study reviews the government SME development programs of Sri Lanka in the lens of transaction cost economics in order to understand whether they facilitate the development of a favourable transaction environment for SMEs to govern their transaction cost in an economizing manner. Data were collected from the national development plan, strategic plans of the cabinet ministries, which are responsible for the development of SMEs and other publications related to the government national level SME development programs. The study mainly analyses the activities of each SME development program being currently implemented by the Sri Lankan government, employing qualitative content analysis to understand whether they facilitate to access information and to select appropriate governance mechanism. The study recognized that SME development programs of Sri Lanka do not positively contribute to develop a favourable transaction environment for SMEs. The government SME development programs do not facilitate SMEs to access sufficient and reliable information which lead to make more rational decision, to safeguard transactions from opportunism and to select suitable governance mechanism. SME development programs have neglected in supporting formal governance; instead, they encourage relational governance to some extent only for selected SMEs. As a result, there is a high possibility that SMEs in Sri Lanka have a greater transaction cost which averts the growth of SMEs. Therefore, SME development programs need to focus their attention to develop a favourable transaction environment for SMEs providing reliable information which facilitate to make more rational decisions avoiding opportunism on the one hand and to select better governance structure on the other in order to accelerate the growth of SMEs in Sri Lanka.