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This study aims to explore the SCImago Institutional Ranking (SIR) 2022 to gain insight into the profile of Sri Lankan universities. Additionally, the study aims to investigate whether there was consistency between Scopus profiles and SIR. Furthermore, the research delves into various factors that impact the research ranking of an academic institution as defined by SCImago, which goes beyond just the number of publications. The data for the study were retrieved from SIR (2022) and Scopus database (2022) and were systematically analyzed. The author chose the following options to extract the data for overall ranking, Universities as a sector, Sri Lanka as the country and 2022 as the year based on all subject areas. The study found that the number of Sri Lankan universities eligible for the SCImago ranking has gradually increased from 2013 to 2022. According to SIR, the University of Colombo is the top-ranked academic institution in Sri Lanka, followed by Rajarata University of Sri Lanka and the University of Jaffna. Out of the fourteen universities in Sri Lanka, eight were ranked by SIR, with six being in the Q1 (first cluster) and two in the Q2 (second cluster). Interestingly, the Rajarata University of Sri Lanka was ranked 1st in SIR 2022 for its research performance among Sri Lankan universities with their 105 publications indexed in Scopus. Analysis of data shows that there is no relationship between the Scopus profile and the SIR. It is also suggesting that having a high number of articles in the Scopus database does not necessarily guarantee a high rank in SIR. The SIR not only depends on the number of publications but also on other factors related to the quality of the publications. Therefore, universities cannot assume their SIR position by considering only the quantity of Scopus indexed publications. SIR mainly considers the quality of the publications to measure the institutional research performance. The SCImago ranking evaluates the institutional whole performance through three of its indicators, and research performance is measured only through Scopus indexed publication. Sri Lankan publications in local and international journals which are not indexed in Scopus and conference papers were not counted for research performance. The findings of this study will facilitate the institutions to compare their position with other institutions, standardize their research practices, improve the international collaboration to uphold the academic benchmark, regulate their research publications and promote their visibility and finally support government bodies and policymakers regarding fund allocations and strategic planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensive utilization of tropical inland water bodies for multiple and sometimes competing activities underlines the necessity for their integrated and holistic co-management. This paper presents our synthesis on lake and reservoir fisheries in South and Southeast Asia as social–ecological systems, based on a synopsis of our research findings from a previous EU-funded research programme in Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines (FISHSTRAT project). The paper attempts to merge our results with recent developments in research, policy and practice. We explore the effects of the main external and internal control mechanisms of the trophic state and pinpoint to the high production potential of traditionally unexploited small indigenous fish species. The limitations of conventional centralized management systems highlight the importance of introducing transdisciplinary approaches which integrate limnology, fish ecology and fisheries with the interests of other resource using stakeholders and decision makers in order to develop locally appropriate co-management strategies for sustainable aquatic resource use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aid relations in protracted displacement comprise a diversity of actors with different influence and involvement over time. Building on the case of Sri Lanka's northern Muslim's expulsion from the north of the country in 1990, this paper investigates the dynamic space of aid relations in their drawn‐out internal displacement. The study draws on 38 key informant interviews and 10 focus‐group discussions, conducted in Sri Lanka (Jaffna, Mannar, Puttalam, and Colombo) in 2022. The paper contributes new knowledge of the local dynamics of assistance in protracted displacement, by analysing the roles of a wide set of actors within this dynamic space of aid relations over time. The analysis incorporates angles and voices often overlooked in mainstream humanitarian studies, including internally displaced persons, hosts, and Middle Eastern aid funders. The study argues that a long‐term perspective and a variety of voices provide foundations for more productive engagement with localisation in humanitarian action in protracted displacement crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, in-person data collection methods have been considerably hampered by requirements for social distancing and safety. Consequently, academic inquiry has shifted largely to virtual means, leading to the considerable growth of virtual qualitative research. Conducting virtual research in post-conflict contexts, such as Sri Lanka, with increased state surveillance, security concerns, and censorship presents researchers with additional tensions, particularly during a pandemic. Limited literature, however, has grappled with these unique situations. This paper addresses this gap by reflecting on the process of conducting virtual qualitative research through a case study of faculty members in peace education instruction at Sri Lankan universities. The study drew on semi-structured interviews (n = 32), documentary evidence, and memos created during the data collection and analysis stages. This paper discusses the challenges and complexities of conducting virtual research within the intersections of peace education, post-conflict legacies, ethical dimensions, and positionality dimensions, which are interwoven, adding several layers of considerations in this context. Furthermore, the paper chronicles the key tensions faced: surveillance and consent, residual embodiments, and the choices made in response to navigate them. This paper concludes with a discussion around these tensions and aims to expand the literary discourse beyond the technological aspects of conducting virtual research. The study highlights the need for future research into residual embodiments, ethical and micro-ethical issues, and practical challenges in virtual research in conflict-affected contexts, suggesting that institutions should provide researchers with training to address these complexities and support robust knowledge co-creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates contemporary transformations of citizenship in India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar in their historical trajectories. More specifically, we focus on the contestation of liberal aspects of the respective citizenship regimes, in particular principles of non-discrimination on the basis of caste, race, gender, religion, or ethnic belonging as well as a high degree of legal certainty about one's citizenship status. We advance two central arguments. Firstly, we argue that while often studied in isolation, the processes by which liberal citizenship is contested across the three countries bear remarkable similarities. We therefore develop a transnational comparative perspective to highlight the legal mechanisms and social logics by which citizenship regimes across the region are being transformed. Secondly, we argue that to capture these transformations, we need to complement the analyses of legislative changes with an investigation of socio-legal practices. This dual focus reveals how the interplay between seemingly innocent legislative changes and particular bureaucratic practices across all three countries produces zones of liminality, in which entire population groups experience increasingly precarious citizenship status. We theorise this production of liminal citizenship by focusing on the social lives of official documents and the proliferation of rules and regulations governing the respective citizenship regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bay of Bengal is emerging as an important geopolitical theatre in the twenty first century in parallel to the developments in the broader Indo-Pacific region. In parallel to this development small states, especially the small island states situated in geographically strategic locations are emerging as strategic objects that can be shaped and used in various ways to enhance major powers' strategic positions. Amidst this backdrop, this paper locates Sri Lanka within the Bay of Bengal geopolitical discourse. It argues that Sri Lanka, a strategically located island state, is emerging as an important partner, especially as a port, for the Asian powers who are competing to gain influence. It contributes to the growing literature on small states and establishes that the importance of small island states located in strategic geographical locations increases as they can be used as strategic ports for the great powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of literature suggests that access to electricity has a positive impact on household's living standards and social welfare. This paper sheds new light on this discussion. Using expenditure dependent equivalence scales, this paper examines the impact of electricity access on food consumption economies of scale (FCES) and thereby the poverty measurements of households with and without access to electricity in Sri Lanka during 1990-2016. Results indicate that a low-income household of four adults with access to electricity spends about 20% less on food compared to a similar household without access to electricity. The results also reveal that although the incorporation of FCES into poverty measurements reduces the overall poverty levels considerably, the reduction in poverty levels is about 1.2% higher for households with electricity at the national level. These observations are consistent across the national and sub-national levels, however, with varying magnitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vanni: A Family's Struggle through the Sri Lankan Conflict (2019), is an ethnographic novel about the Sri Lankan civilians who were caught between the army and the LTTE during the final months of the Civil War. The novel is read in the light of Butler's concepts of precarity, grievability and alternate frames to demonstrate how the affordances of the graphic novel negotiate the representation of trauma, loss and vulnerability of refugeehood, in order to provide for alternate frames that make visible those lives that have been deemed losable and ungrievable by the mainstream narratives. The paper analyses how Vanni, through its participatory methodology and 'distillate fiction' (Dix and Kaur 2019, 33), becomes a 'human document' (Stott 1986, 8) that contributes to an attitudinal change in the perception of the Sri Lankan refugees. It may be noted that one of the authors is a practising cartoonist whose graphic intervention, which involves the perspectival revision of a selected panel, provides a way of conducting the argument in the paper. The leverage of praxis allows the author to pick the affordances of the frame and analyse how the suppression or expression of the elements of visuality contributes to the totality of the message. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examinations the nexus between creativity and teacher identity in post-war peacebuilding. It aims to understand how infusing creativity into teacher preparation geared towards peacebuilding can help language educators reflect on their identities, values and their roles in bridging a fragmented society at the end of a war. Drawing on data generated from a visual ethnography carried out in the aftermath of Sri Lanka's civil war, one of the longest civils wars in recent history, this study explores the power of self-generated identity portraits in helping teachers to visualise their identities as second language educators. This paper highlights the potential of creativity and creative approaches to teacher education to help teachers articulate their identities, expectations, responsibilities towards their learners and challenges they face. The paper highlights the power of creative approaches to meaning making, especially in tapping into identities that are otherwise hidden and the need be for teachers to be included in larger discussions on educational reforms towards peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of China has shifted the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region. China has tried to influence small island states that were previously under the spheres of influence of Australia and India by offering lucrative offers under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Small states remain in a quandary about how to approach the evolving regional security paradigm. Using a realism-based perspective, this paper explores small state options through two case studies: Sri Lanka and Fiji and contributes to the scholarly literature by analysing and drawing conclusions about small state options and whether they can opt to return to their traditional relationships and partnerships. The paper draws some conclusions that contrast with some realist assumptions, including a defiance on the part of small island states, who under the right circumstances can upend the status quo in the pursuit of greater economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, older adults have received little attention in the newly emerging technological narratives of transnational religion. This is surprising, given the strong association of later life with spiritual and religious engagement, but it likely reflects the ongoing assumption that older adults are technophobic or technologically incompetent. Drawing on ethnographic interviews with older Sinhalese Buddhist migrants from Sri Lanka, living in Melbourne, this paper explores the digital articulations of transnational religion that arise from older migrants' uses of digital media. We focus on how engagements with digital media enable older Sinhalese to respond to an urgent need to accumulate merit in later life, facilitating their temporal strategies for ageing as migrants. We argue that these digital articulations transform both the religious imaginary and the religious practices that validate and legitimize a life well‐lived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractObjectiveMethodsResultsConclusionsThe aim of this study was to create age-stratified norms for the Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) for Sri Lankan adults.A sample of 610 adults (age: 18–72 years; education: 1–19 years), underwent the 60-item version of the SPM under individual supervision of a test administrator. The sample was stratified into 5-year age bands, and the norms are presented as percentile tables and percentile curves.The age-related changes were more accurately predicted by a curvilinear model (overall R2 = 0.961) than a linear regression model (R2 = 0.639). The SPM norms are presented as age-stratified percentile tables, as well as sex-, age- and education-adjusted multiple regression equations. The highest percentiles in the younger end of the age spectrum showed a ceiling effect. In the context of age-stratified US (1993) and British (1992) norms, older individuals in the Sri Lankan sample scored much lower than their Western counterparts. However, the difference narrowed in the younger age bands, showing no difference among the 18-to-22-year age bands in the three countries.This age-by-country interaction can be partly explained by poorer education in the older individuals in the present sample compared to those in the US and UK standardization samples. SPM norms presented in this paper fill a hiatus in assessment of general intellectual ability in Sri Lankan adults. Given that Sri Lanka improves its educational, socioeconomic and health standards faster than the nations who have already reached higher standards, these norms would require re-standardization in the coming decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What happens to our stories of masculinity when they begin from the sensory and queer? This essay is an exercise in such storytelling, in particular the narration of two male bodies huddled under an umbrella in the pouring rain. Centering an ethnographic vignette from my fieldwork on queer erotics conducted in Sri Lanka in 2016 I read through the literature on hegemonic masculinity in Sri Lanka as well as sensory masculinities to insist on theorizations of masculinity that are more nuanced and supple and attend to the lived complexity of a structure. Through a speculative interpretive mode that braids the sensory and the discursive, the structural and the inter/intra-personal, this paper suggests that masculinity can be conceptualized as an assemblage that is always in formation, one constituted by symbolic, hormonal, libidinal, political, material, affective, historical phenomena and always in flux, responding to specific calibrations and intensities of stimuli. Such a theorization of masculinity allows me to think of the queer desire in this ethnographic scene as not anomalous, but rather made possible by the very conditions of normative masculinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By analysing participation and conflict in different spatialities and temporalities, this paper explores how Sinhalese and Tamil diasporas in Italy perceive themselves and forge their relationship with the contentious politics in their homeland. It investigates whether the features that characterised conflictual dynamics in Sri Lanka (homeland) have been transported to Italy (host country) and how they have been configured here (reproduction versus autonomisation), and it explores whether new asymmetries of power have arisen in Italy. The aim is to overcome a static approach to diasporas by exploring how identity and forms of participation are shaped, even through conflict. Building on interviews and an extensive analysis of secondary sources, the paper shows that both conflict autonomisation and conflict neutralisation are present in Italy, while new forms and purposes of political mobilisation have emerged, depending on the diasporic generation and the peculiarities of the new context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While personality predominantly influences human cognition, emotion, and behavior, there is still an unresolved research gap concerning the association between personality and substance use within the Sri Lankan context. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between personality traits and substance use among advanced-level students aged over 18 in Western province, Sri Lanka, in 2023. Data collection was carried out using selfadministered paper-pencil questionnaires. The study variables were measured using the brief version of the Big Five Personality Inventory and the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Questionnaire. Data analysis involved the use of the chi-square test and Spearman correlation. Findings: Of the 441 enrolled participants, 422 provided correct responses to the questionnaire. Among them, 154 (36.5%) reported substance use. The majority of students initiated substance use at the age of 17. The results reveal a significant association between the openness personality trait and substance use among advanced-level students in Western province. Additionally, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between the extroversion personality trait and amphetamine use among advanced-level students. Conclusion: The findings highlight a significant association between specific personality traits, particularly openness and extroversion, and substance use among advanced-level students in Western province, Sri Lanka. These results emphasize the significance of considering personality factors in understanding and addressing substance use behaviors among youth populations. Further research and targeted interventions are necessary to delve deeper into these associations and develop effective prevention and intervention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the individual's socioeconomic and demographic determinants of financial inclusion and its barriers among for South Asian countries in the lens of existing financial inclusion policy, using World Bank Global Findex database for the period 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2021. We use the Probit regression model to explore the main objective of this study. In addition, we also analyze the trend, pattern, and barriers of financial inclusion for the period 2011- 2021 to identify differences among south Asian countries. Our results reveal that Sri Lanka is the best performer in the inclusivity of financial products as well as removing barriers to financial inclusion in all four periods. While Pakistan and Afghanistan are the least financially included countries, also they failed to remove barriers to financial inclusion. Moreover, our empirical results suggest that individuals who are male, older, wealthier, and more educated are more likely to access financial services, with income and education exerting a higher influence. Further, age shows a non-linear (inverted U-shaped) relationship with financial inclusion indicators. Additionally, we found that individuals having a formal account are the most important indicators of financial inclusion. And the reasons for financial exclusion (i.e., not having an account) are mainly voluntary among South Asian individuals. In fact, it is found that policies like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana for India and National Financial Inclusion Strategy across all South Asian countries play a significant role in accelerating financial inclusion and helping in removing its barriers with different magnitudes. Therefore, our finding stresses the importance of heterogeneous integrated policy measures for the targeted groups of the population, particularly the most vulnerable group among South Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three‐decade‐long Sri Lankan civil war between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers) came to an end following a major GoSL offensive in May 2009, which resulted in GoSL claiming a "victor's peace." The war caused the death of around 80,000 to 100,000 people and internally and externally displaced hundreds of thousands. During the three decades, five attempts at formal peace processes were initiated, all of which ended unsuccessfully. This paper identifies the root causes of the Sri Lankan civil war using the social cubism analysis by Byrne and Carter (Peace and Conflict Studies, 1996, 3, 5). It then examines two of the five formal negotiations, namely the Indo‐Lanka Agreement of 1987 and the Wickramasinghe‐LTTE agreement in 2002. Finally, it explores an alternative approach to building peace in Sri Lanka using the multimodal approach by Byrne and Keashly (International Peacekeeping, 2000, 3, 97) utilizing the nested paradigm, and the time dimension of peacebuilding by Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (1997). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the factors influencing preferences for undergraduate study using administrative data on applications to the state university system of Sri Lanka, which is characterized by centralized administration, rule-based admissions, and virtually costless applications. The feature of costless applications implies that students are unconstrained from listing out all the programs for which they wish to be considered, while the rule-based nature of admissions makes it possible to identify the exact program choice set available to each applicant. Using the constructed choice sets, I estimate a conditional logit model including measures of institutional and program quality and academic and social matching between the student and the programs to which they are eligible. The results suggest that applicants prefer programs that are more closely matched to their ability and demographic profile, though there is some heterogeneity across genders, socio-economic status, and ability. Among the measures of institutional quality, students prefer those related to the quality of teaching, such as faculty qualifications and student teacher ratios, over the quality of research. These findings have important implications for policymakers and managers aiming to propose and develop new programs or improve the quality of existing programs and institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In early 2022, in the wake of the state collapse in Sri Lanka (due to a severe economic meltdown with near-political anarchy), we observed an extraordinary ambience of ethnic tolerance and togetherness among masses gathered under the slogan #GoHomeGota to protest the corrupt regime. The nexus between state collapse and ethnic identity construction is puzzling. Does state collapse facilitate the disintegration of ethnic attributes? To find answers, this paper draws on protest materials publicly posted on Twitter from April to June 2022. Rather than the collapse of the state in Sri Lanka weakening the ethnic ties of all ethnic groups equally, findings suggest that the state's collapse has hindered the ability of Sinhalese nationalism/majoritarianism to take hold, which may give the impression that the Sinhalese are becoming less tied to their ethnicity. However, while Aragalaya is largely represented by all ethnic, religious, and language groups in the country, it has been unable to erase minorities' strong in-group attachment, as well as their suspicion of Sinhala majoritarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I examine the process of migrant subject-making prior to departure based on the experiences of Sri Lankan women aspiring to become migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in the Arabian Gulf. Within a context of commodified, privatized and foreignized care migration regimes, women from developing countries have become "ideal" maids: cheap, docile and hardworking, they satisfy the growing social reproductive needs of more affluent countries. This image of the "ideal" MDW is re/produced, maintained and challenged through technologies of subject-making across the circuits of migration. In a combined public–private, local–transnational, and formal–informal thrust towards subject-making, different actors—including MDWs themselves—use different pre-departure technologies in a sociology of markets. Thus, passengers are carved out even before potential MDWs leave their home country; these passengers reflect different constructions, embodiments and connotations of "ideal" migrant subjects, where labour power is re/produced and exploited in the most intimate sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses David Graeber's work on the moral grounds of economic relations as a vantage point from which to reflect on the ethics of giving back in field research, drawing on my own fieldwork experiences in Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka as well as examples from existing literature. I argue that Graeber's exposition of different moral logics for economic relations – hierarchy, exchange and communism – provides a valuable set of conceptual distinctions for thinking through what is owed by, and to, researchers in different research interactions. In addition to a recognition of the incommensurability of what is often being exchanged, this approach responds to the danger of researchers setting the terms of ethical interaction, through distant institutional processes and practices built on logics of exchange, in ways that might constrain the ability of interlocutors to meaningfully articulate their own positions in fieldwork relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formal education has all too often been portrayed as a means of achieving social and economic mobility, there is a need to address the unequal footing for adolescents in the Global South attempting to achieve social mobility through education. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Sri Lanka, this article considers the impact of upward mobility-driven discourses of the North on the type of aspirations formed by adolescents in the Global South, and the social implications that arise as a result. Through observation, interviews and focus groups carried out at a secondary school for girls and a private tuition centre in Sri Lanka, the paper considers the value given to private tuition compared to government-funded schooling. In doing so, it examines the implications of mobility-driven discourses on the schooling experiences of adolescents in the Global South, particularly the heightening of educational and social inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel theoretical model for the community-based enterprise, which could assist in achieving UN sustainable development goals within craft communities in developing nations. This model focuses on building enterprise skills in vulnerable communities, sustaining traditional crafts and strengthening community capacity for self-determination. This article distills qualitative data from case studies, participatory action research workshops and field observations within traditional handloom craft communities in Sri Lanka. It explores the prevailing status of community-based entrepreneurship practices and argues that under current practices, entrepreneurial culture is not deeply embedded in community life, leading young people to move away from the traditional way of life and damaging the cohesion of traditional communities. This study establishes the need to sustain levels of social capital, support family networks, and encourage innovation to develop enterprise in craft communities. We recommend various strategies for overcoming structural and socio-cultural barriers to enterprise and to establish community-based sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While interest in early modern herbaria has so far mainly concentrated on the dried plants stored in them, this paper addresses another of their qualities – their role as manuscripts. In the 1670s, the German botanist Paul Hermann (1646–95) spent several years in Ceylon (today Sri Lanka) as a medical officer in the service of the Dutch East India Company. During his stay he put together four herbaria, two of which contain a wealth of handwritten notes by himself and several later owners. First, it will be shown that these notes provide information on the linguistic skills and interests of those who collected plants in an overseas trading settlement. Hermann's botanical practice demanded and, at the same time, generated knowledge of Sinhalese (an Indo-Aryan language that is spoken by the largest ethnic group on the island) and its script. In his herbarium, observations on the semantics, morphology, and pronunciation of Sinhalese are inextricably intertwined with those of botanical nature. Second, on the basis of these voluminous notes, the character of early modern herbaria as manuscripts will be highlighted. And third, Hermann's herbaria will be integrated into an investigation of scribal practices and publication strategies of eighteenth-century botany. Along with field notes, letters, manuscripts, illustrations, and printed books, herbaria were knots in the textual–visual mesh of early modern botany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the energy efficiency of a vehicle fleet is a complex task that can be identified as having multiple variables and nonlinear feedback loops influenced by different mobility, socio-economical, and environmental factors. Due to the prevailing concerns on the fuel economy and vehicular emissions, formulating a clear policy for electric and other alternative mobility forms requires a clear decision support tool to adequately consider the complexities involved. This paper presents a novel System Dynamics (SD) approach based on the cause-and-effect analysis and feedback loop structures as a suitable tool. The proposed SD model comprises four sub-models: socio-economic, new vehicle registrations, environmental influence, and fuel economy and e-mobility policy measures. The study presents the analysis of historical data and results from the impact analysis of fuel economy policies in Sri Lanka, including the introduction of electric mobility. The authors leveraged the Vensim SD software package for modelling, expert-in-the-loop sensitivity analysis and optimization. Three strategic fuel economy and e-mobility policy intervention scenarios have been developed to estimate the forecasted fuel economy for Four-Wheeled Passenger Vehicles (FWPVs) as per strategic interventions to change the fuel type of new vehicles registered. It is shown that hybrid and electric FWPVs can improve fuel economy by between 13 and 39% by 2030. • A System Dynamics approach is proposed to model the energy efficiency of Four-Wheeled Passenger Vehicles' registrations. • Four sub-models are developed to report the impacts of fuel economy and e-mobility policies. • Three policy scenarios have been formulated to test the application of a target of reaching 50% of the conventional fuel registrations. • The effective change of fuel economy improvement under three scenarios vary between 13 to 39%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Libraries are institutions that provide access to a comprehensive collection of information and resources for educational, research, and recreational purposes. They serve as repositories of knowledge and offer numerous services to their communities. In this process, libraries play a paramount role in preserving and conserving library materials for future generations. The objectives of this paper were to investigate the significant Preservation and Conservation (PAC) initiatives of library materials from the ancient periods (3rd Century BC to 5th Century AD), the colonial period (1505 to 1948), and the post-independence period (1948 to date), to identify the gaps related to the current practices of PAC in Sri Lanka and to identify the issues related to PAC in Sri Lanka. This study focused on a qualitative research method. Relevant literature was found through secondary sources such as books, journal articles, conference papers, organizational reports and websites based on subject-related keywords. The Department of National Museums (DNM), Department of National Archives (DNA) and National Library and Documentation Services Board (NLDSB) and Sri Lankan University Libraries (ULs), were purposively selected. The published year was not considered during the process, and priority was given to Sri Lankan and foreign-authored publications on PAC of library materials in Sri Lanka. Literature was analyzed based on above mentioned three time frames selected for the study. The study identified growing trends in PAC practices from ancient to post-independence periods. Even though some evidence goes back to King Vijaya's period (483 BC), official writing was started in 103-77 BC. Some writing materials, such as inscriptions, palm leaves, and golden plates, were used during this period. Later, in the colonial period, the Portuguese, Dutch and British developed writing materials and established positions such as Record keepers and Archivists. Then, in the post-independence period, the DNM, DNA, NLDSB and ULs were identified as pioneering organizations that led the task of preserving. It was identified gaps between the literatures and existing literature only identified palm leaves as a main library material to be conserved and preserved. The main issues derived from the analysis were a lack of financial allocations, policies, laws and regulations, training, and research related to the field. The study pointed out the need for a separate PAC unit to handle the preservation activities of library materials in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging geopolitical tension and the trade competition in the Indian Ocean urge Sri Lanka to plan its diplomatic ties prudently encouraging Sri Lankan decision-makers to envisage a new strategy for international diplomatic cooperation: minilateralism. This diplomatic engagement mode enables smaller states to cooperate with greater powers in small-scaled/sized cooperation patterns to increase their international opportunities. Since the Indian Ocean has become a hotspot of maritime trade competition and various geostrategic developments, Sri Lanka aspires to new venues for international cooperation. The 'new Quad' formed among the United States, India, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates can be a potentially lucrative partnership for a littoral state like Sri Lanka. Amid these developments, this paper seeks to fill a void by delving into the strategic reasons for Sri Lanka's engagement with the Middle East via minilateralism. This paper investigates the newly strategising affairs of the 'new Quad' which two of their member states, Israel and UAE are from the Middle East, and views on how Sri Lanka can benefit in economic ties and crisis management realms to deal with energy and maritime trade issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Tobacco use, in both smoking and smokeless forms, is highly prevalent among South Asian adults. The aims of the study were twofold: (1) describe patterns of SLT and combustible tobacco product use in four South Asian countries stratified by country and sex, and (2) assess the relationships between SLT and smoking intensity, smoking quit attempts, and smoking cessation among South Asian men. Methods: Data were obtained from South Asia Biobank Study, collected between 2018 and 2022 from 148,944 men and women aged 18 years and above, living in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka. Mixed effects multivariable logistic and linear regression were used to quantify the associations of SLT use with quit attempt, cessation, and intensity. Results: Among the four South Asian countries, Bangladesh has the highest rates of current smoking (39.9% for male, 0.4% for female) and current SLT use (24.7% for male and 23.4% for female). Among male adults, ever SLT use was associated with a higher odds of smoking cessation in Bangladesh (OR, 2.88; 95% CI, 2.65, 3.13), India (OR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.63, 2.50), and Sri Lanka (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.14, 1.62). Ever SLT use and current SLT use was associated with lower smoking intensity in all countries. Conclusions: In this large population-based study of South Asian adults, rates of smoking and SLT use vary widely by country and gender. Men who use SLT products are more likely to abstain from smoking compared with those who do not. What this paper adds?: • Tobacco use remains a leading risk factor of chronic disease in South Asia. Smokeless tobacco use is particularly popular in this region, even among adult women. Evidence on smokeless tobacco use and smoking cessation are inconclusive and may be dependent on specific cultural and historical factors. • Contemporaneous data on smokeless and combustible tobacco use patterns in South Asia are limited. Little is known whether SLT use is associated with smoking cessation in South Asia where the vast majority of the world's SLT users reside. • This study provided information on patterns of SLT use and smoking in four South Asia countries using a large population-based sample of 148,944 adults collected between 2018 and 2022. We observed that SLT use was associated with higher smoking cessation and lower smoking intensity among men. Strengthening SLT product regulation may have important population health implications with the changing tobacco use landscape in South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastrochilus flabelliformis (Blatt. & McCann) C.J.Saldanha is added to the orchid flora of Sri Lanka from the lowland intermediate zone and G. obliquus (Lindl.) Kuntze is omitted from the list. A detailed taxonomic description, color plates, and line drawings with habitat ecology and distribution are provided for the former. Taxonomic notes on the identity of true Gastrochilus dasypogon (Sm.) Kuntze are also discussed in this paper, resulting in the merger of G. acutifolius (≡S. acutifolium), G. denticulatus (≡S. denticulatum), and G. dentatus (≡S. dentatum) under the synonymy of the former. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early 19th century, the British colonial state in Sri Lanka embarked on an experiment in deploying convict labour for salt collecting. 'Criminals' from all parts of the island region convicted mainly for robbery and vagrancy and sentenced to hard labour by various courts of justice, were sent to an isolated outpost in the district of Hambantota in the deep south of Sri Lanka to labour at a naturally formed saltern known as the Maha Levaya. Executive, judicial, and administrative actors of the state played a key role in mobilising and immobilising the convicts at the saltern in order to fulfil the dual functions of punishment and profit. This paper contends that the inter-regional and local practice of im/mobilizing convicts to worksites as seen in Hambantota was a microspatial process of punishment, exile and labour extraction that was integral to larger processes of social control and labour coercion. However, despite the attempts at confining the convict labour force at the saltern through military and judicial means, the men condemned to labour for salt resisted the conditions of servitude through multiple strategies ranging from flight to evasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides a comparative reading of the female protagonists in two Sri Lankan films, focusing on how the female body becomes a contentious site of gendered violence, subject to state and male surveillance and containment. Through a close analysis of Prasanna Jayakody's 28 (2014) and Asoka Handagama's Asandhimitta (2019), this paper attempts to reveal how Sri Lankan cinema violently reconfigures the female body as a site of negotiation for articulation of victimhood and desire and becomes a potential space for the inscription of feminist issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autistic children are at increased risk of experiencing a range of mental health difficulties, including anxiety. A number of intervention programmes are now available in high-income countries to support autistic children. However, to date there are no evidence-based interventions to support families of such children in South Asia. Based on consultations with clinicians, researchers and parents in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, we developed a culturally tailored two-session skills-based group programme for parents whose autistic children present with anxiety. This paper describes the process of creating this programme, to be delivered by mental health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is written within the European Project "THREE-Lanka" which has the aim of modernizing the higher education related to Renewable Energy (RE) in Sri Lanka. The paper presents the outcomes of analysing various incentive schemes to stimulate RE development. In Europe, there was substantial growth in RE installation through generous incentives in the first years. Then, to regulate this growth, in recent years, the auction system has been introduced to improve the competition among companies that install RE plants. In Sri Lanka, on the other hand, the main energy tariff policies focus on the spread of PhotoVoltaics (PV) through contributions based on the electricity fed into the grid. This paper provides an updated view of the evolution of the energy tariff policies in the relevant European countries with respect to Sri Lanka, covering some recent policy developments. Within the Sri Lankan framework, four case studies involving residential, commercial, and industrial users are outlined to suggest better mechanisms (in the case of not adequate current incentive tariff) for supporting the deployment of grid-connected PV systems in a wide power range. Such knowledge transfer in the THREE-Lanka project will demonstrate the enormous potential RE capacity in a developing country, still depending on fossil fuels but willing to follow the path towards sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I discuss the evolution of Buddhist civilisational populism in modern Sri Lankan politics and civil society. I do this by historicising early forms of Buddhist civilisational populism in the country, during its occupation by the British Empire (1815–1945). As I discuss in this paper, some of the key concepts of "civilisationism" central to leading social and political movements in British Ceylon were a result of the disruptions caused by centuries of European colonial rule. Consequently, issues of identity and belonging have carried on to the post-independence context. In this paper, I discuss what these dynamics could possibly mean for the future of Sri Lankan politics and society, in the wake of the nation's debilitating economic crisis last year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Set against larger processes of reconciliation and peace building taking place at the end of one of the longest civil wars in recent times, this paper examines the nexus between teacher education and postwar reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Drawing on data generated from an ethnographic case study carried out in three teacher preparation programmes, including a programme located in war affected Northern Sri Lanka, the paper aims to better understand the impact reconciliations initiatives in education. It aims to do so by examining the often overlooked experiences of teachers who are being prepared to teach in schools that have emerged out of war. The insights of teachers are critical as the impact of any reconciliation initiative lies in the preparedness of teachers to be active agents of change. The paper argues for the need for transformative approaches teacher education that recognizes the centrality of teachers as change agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper investigates gender differences in the treatment effects of business grants on firm performance following natural disasters, and seeks to identify the mechanisms underlying the unequal effects. Method: A panel data-set from an experiment in Sri Lanka is used to measure the difference in the treatment effects of a business grant on the performance of female and male-owned firms following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The sample of 608 microenterprises includes 297 female-owned firms and 311 male-owned firms. There are 338 firms (Male = 176, Female = 162) in the treatment group that received the grant and 270 firms (Male = 135, Female = 135) in the control group that did not receive the grant. Data on firm performance, firm characteristics and owner characteristics were collected in 13 survey waves from April 2005 to December 2010. Firm performance, which is measured by firm profit, is assessed by employing linear regression with fixed effects in an intention-to-treat analysis. Findings: The results suggest that the business grant has a positive impact on the performance of male-owned firms, but zero effect on that of female-owned firms. Several potential mechanisms drive the results, including gender differences in business investment, household expenditure and initial business closures. The results also show a positive treatment effect of the business grant on the psychological recovery of recipients, but there is no evidence supporting gender differences in this dimension. Contribution: This paper provides new evidence on gender differences in the treatment effects of business grants on firm performance in the context of post-disasters, and has implications for business recovery programs aimed at supporting female microentrepreneurs in the aftermath of large-scale catastrophes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 targets universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services by 2030. Modern or clean energy is perceived to be the golden thread that connects economic growth, human development, and environmental sustainability. However, one third of the world's population still uses solid fuels for cooking, endangering human health, and the environment. This paper, therefore, analyses demographic, socio‐economic, and housing characteristics that affect the fuel choice for cooking. Further, it identifies how SDG 4 (quality education) and SDG 6 (clean water) create synergies with SDG 7 (clean energy). The data are obtained from the four waves of the Sri Lankan Households Income and Expenditure Survey, covering more than 79,000 households. The random‐effects panel multinomial logit results reveal that household income, wealth, marital status and education of the head, age and education of the spouse, household size, number of children, housing characteristics, and residential sector are vital in selecting clean fuel for cooking. Furthermore, advanced sustainability analysis shows SDG 4 and 6 have a strong synergistic effect on SDG 7. Policymakers can use the findings to prioritise educational, water, and sanitation programmes in national policies aimed at enhancing the use of clean cooking fuel and technologies to meet SDG 7 by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the contradictions of peasant politics in Sri Lanka's dry zone frontier in a highly militarized colonization scheme ('System L' of the Mahaweli Development Programme in Weli Oya in northern Sri Lanka). Through a detailed ethnographic study of the life histories of settlers who came in two waves to this scheme (1980s and post-2009), we show the workings of what we call the 'lure of land': first, as the (al)lure that attracts landless families to live out the mythical dream of becoming a paddy farmer; second, this lure of land is intimately tied to a nationalist territorial aspiration that transforms the settler into a patriotic colonizer of the land: due to its strategic location in the frontier zone between Sinhalese and Tamil inhabited territories, settlers became 'home guards' who live on and protect the frontier. But the lure of land is not without contradictions: Life in the frontier is dangerous (for the early settlers) and economically precarious (for the early and late settlers), because the state is unable to deliver the promise of land and water. Government officials deploy various tactics of repeatedly deferred promises and subtle threats to discourage settlers to abandon the colonization scheme despite the settlers' precarious life conditions, disappointments, and frustrations. A 'cunning state' thereby betrays its own 'frontiersmen', while safeguarding its nationalist territorial agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are typically monogenic. Data from the Indian subcontinent are relatively scarce. This paper evaluates IEI diagnosed in Sri Lanka. Methods: Data of patients diagnosed with IEI from 2010 to 2022 at the Department of Immunology, Medical Research Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka, were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Two hundred and six patients were diagnosed with IEI, with a prevalence of 0.94 per 100,000. The onset of disease was below 12 years in 84.9%, whereas in 10.9%, it was after 18 years. The male: female ratio was 1.78:1. Consanguinity was identified in 26.6%. IEI were found in all but one (bone marrow failure) of the 10 IUIS categories. Predominantly antibody deficiencies were the most common category among the nine identified (30.1%), followed by combined immune deficiencies with syndromic features (21.3%), immunodeficiencies affecting cellular and humoral immunity (19.9%), congenital defects of phagocyte number or function (13.1%), and defects in intrinsic and innate immunity (8.2%). Severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) was the commonest disease (14.6%), followed by chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) (10.6%) and X linked agammaglobulinemia (8.7%). Of the patients with a known outcome (n = 184), 51 died (27.7%). Mortality rates were high in SCID (83.3%), Omenn syndrome (OS) (100%), and CGD (31.8%) patients. Conclusion: IEI in Sri Lanka are diagnosed mainly in childhood. The low diagnosis rates suggest a need for educating clinicians regarding IEI in adulthood. The high mortality rates associated with some IEI indicate the need of transplant services in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sri Lanka has successfully met the challenge of controlling both lymphatic filariasis (LF) and soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH) as public health problems. The primary public health strategy for combatting both conditions has been preventive chemotherapy. The national programme for the elimination of LF implemented five annual rounds of mass chemotherapy in the endemic districts from 2002 to 2006 using a combination of diethylcarbamazine and albendazole. The overall microfilaria rate declined from 0.21% in 2001 before the mass chemotherapy, to 0.06% in 2016, at declaration of elimination of LF as a public health problem by the World Health Organization. Currently Sri Lanka is in the phase of post-validation surveillance. Achieving control of STH has been more difficult. Mass deworming programmes have been implemented for nearly a century, and national-level surveys reported prevalence rates declining from 6.9% in 2003 to 1% in 2017. However, neither of these infections has been completely eliminated. A situation analysis indicates continued transmission of both among high-risk communities. This paper explores the reasons for persistence of transmission of both LF and STH in residual pockets and the measures that are required to achieve long-term control, or perhaps even interrupt transmission in Sri Lanka. This article is part of the theme issue 'Challenges and opportunities in the fight against neglected tropical diseases: a decade from the London Declaration on NTDs'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pearlspot (Etroplus suratensis) is an indigenous fish endemic to India and Sri Lanka. It is the state fish of Kerala and very popular in the main tourist destinations/cousins in Kerala. It is mainly collected from brackish water creeks and canals for domestic consumption. However, several environmental and ecological problems lead to the significant reduction of pearlspot in natural water bodies. The promotion of Pearlspot farming is the only sustainable solution for this crisis. Nevertheless, one of the main issues in Pearlspot farming is the lack of quality seeds in sufficient quantities to undertake commercial farming. Massive seed production is the only way to meet the ever-increasing demand for Pearlspot seed. Several attempts to produce Pearlspot seed stock under hatchery conditions have been unsuccessful. The present paper reports the methods to achieve the mass-scale seed production using pond based seed production method. In this, two brackishwater ponds, each with dimensions of 40 m × 50 m × 0.9 m and water access from the creek, were selected. Scientific procedures were followed to produce large Pearlspot seeds throughout the year. The technology ensures the production of 50,000 seeds from a single breeding pond of 0.5-acre area, which can meet the seed requirement for above 3 ha area. The present study proved that Pearlspot reproduction in natural ponds could produce seed stock on a commercial scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-war Sri Lanka has witnessed revitalised tourism in the North. Tourism initiatives are now taking shape within a contested terrain still marred by decades of violence. Yet, tourism is reconfigured in the background of divided and often exclusive sovereign claims to territory and life-worlds. It is evident that dark tourism's consumptive practices are prevalent, instituting careful memorialisation of war; mollifying the sensibilities of the Sinhala majority. These practices valorise the Army and effectuate relations of supremacy and subjection. Moreover, with the Army as pre-eminent rulers this stark reality also entails narratives of displacement, exclusion, and surveillance. The paper argues that transformation of the North as governed by the Army alongside aggressive development constitutes necrocapitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Speech sound disorders (SSDs) are the most common form of communication disorders in children. SSD have an impact on children's abilities to make themselves understood to their listeners and can influence a child's social and emotional well‐being as well as their academic achievements. Therefore, it is important to identify children with an SSD early, in order to provide appropriate intervention. A wealth of information on best practice in the assessment of children with SSD is available in countries where the speech and language therapy profession is well established. In Sri Lanka, there is a paucity of research evidence supporting assessment practices that are culturally and linguistically appropriate in SSDs. Therefore, clinicians rely on informal assessment methods. There is a need to understand more about how clinicians in Sri Lanka assess this caseload in order to get general agreement regarding comprehensive and consistent procedures for assessment of paediatric SSD in Sri Lanka. This would support speech and language therapists' (SLTs') clinical decision‐making in relation to choice of appropriate goals and intervention for this caseload. Aim: To develop and gain consensus on an assessment protocol for Sri Lankan children with SSD that is culturally appropriate and based on existing research. Method: A modified Delphi method was utilised to gather data from clinicians currently working in Sri Lanka. The research involved three rounds of data collection, exploring current assessment practices in Sri Lanka, ranking these in order of priority and establishing consensus on a proposed assessment protocol. The proposed assessment protocol was based on the results of the first and second rounds as well as previously published best practice guidelines. Outcome and Results: The proposed assessment protocol achieved consensus in relation to content, format and cultural appropriateness. SLTs affirmed the usefulness of the protocol within the Sri Lankan context. Further research is required to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of this protocol in practice. Conclusions & Implications: The assessment protocol supports practicing SLTs with a general guide to assessing children with suspected SSDs in Sri Lanka. The application of this protocol built upon consensus enables clinicians to improve their individual practice patterns based on best practice recommendations in the literature and the evidence on culturally and linguistically appropriate practices. This study has identified the need for further research in this area, including the development of culturally and linguistically specific assessment tools that would complement the use of this protocol. What this paper adds: What is already known on the subject: The assessment of children with speech sound disorders (SSDs) requires a comprehensive and holistic approach due to their heterogeneous nature. Although there is evidence to support the assessment of paediatric SSDs in many countries where the profession of speech and language therapy is established, there is limited evidence to support the assessment of children with SSDs in Sri Lanka. What this study adds: This study provides information about current assessment practices in Sri Lanka and consensus on a proposed culturally appropriate protocol for the assessment of children with SSDs in this country. What are the clinical implications of this work?: The proposed assessment protocol provides speech and language therapists in Sri Lanka with a guide for assessment of paediatric SSDs to support more consistent practice in this area. Future evaluation of this preliminary protocol is required; however, the methodology used in this research could be applied to the development of assessment protocols for other range of practice areas in this country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, women have been disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the impact has varied between groups of women, women in the informal sector, mainly those managing micro- and small-scale businesses, have been severely affected. Drawing on the case of urban Sri Lanka, this paper explores the challenges that women owners of micro- and small-scale businesses faced during the pandemic and how they leveraged digital technologies to overcome these challenges. The paper adopts a feminist intersectional lens, which examines the everyday experiences of women in gendered economies through semi-structured interviews conducted in three phases during the pandemic. The first section of the paper details the challenges that women faced during the pandemic, including issues of mobility, competing care responsibilities, lack of institutional support, financial security, and health. The second section discusses how women used digital tools such as social media to overcome these challenges. The paper argues that although digital tools were initially used in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, they have been permanently incorporated into everyday entrepreneurial practices of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fiber from banana plant (Musa) is an agricultural waste and an abundantly available renewable resource. The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the effect of the mechanical extraction parameters on fiber properties of the ten varieties of banana fiber. This research paper gives physical and chemical properties of 10 selected banana fiber varieties in Sri Lanka. Decortications method are utilized in this study. The instruments used by the researcher were a universal tensile strength machine, Optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), Data color Spectrophotometer, and FT-IR spectrophotometer. The different banana cultivars vary in properties, the variation being of the order of 63% in terms of diameter (from maximum to minimum),44% in terms of fiber liner density, 31% in terms of strength, 67% in terms of elongation, and 13% in terms of moisture regain. The FTIR absorption bonds revealed that cellulose and non-cellulose components were present in these banana cultivars of fibers. The color of banana fiber varies according to the variety, from off-white natural color to cream, and have little luster effect. The inherent properties of banana fiber obtained from different varieties of stem vary considerably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offshore wind energy has become a hot spot in new-energy development due to its abundant reserves, long power generation time, high unit capacity and low land occupation. In response to the current situation whereby wind energy, and natural and human factors have not been taken into account in the selection of sites for offshore wind-energy-resource development in the traditional "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" region, this paper intends to establish a new risk assessment framework that comprehensively considers the influence of wind resources, the natural environment, and the geopolitical and humanistic environment. The rationality of the new index system and weight determination methods are separately investigated. Some interesting results are obtained by comparing the new framework with traditional frameworks. The results show that the Persian Gulf, the Timor Sea in northern Australia, and the northern part of Sri Lanka in southern India are rich in wind-energy resources and have a low overall risk, making them recommended sites. In addition, unlike the results of previous studies, this paper does not recommend the Somali Sea as a priority area for wind-energy siting due to its high geographic humanity risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mediation of development agencies is a growing concern for the Global South. Further research is needed to explore the manner in which authorised notions of development cascade down to the more discrete levels of society and alter understandings of heritage. This paper presents everyday narratives of craftswomen working in an export production village, discussing how development brings significant social, cultural, material, and economic changes. Highlighting the paradox of development – that it can intensify the very marginalisation it seeks to overcome – the paper suggests the need for careful integration of heritage within development activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jude Ratnam's 2017 Demons in Paradise explores the aftermath of the civil war by embarking on a personal and intimate odyssey during which different past traumas are revisited. The present collaborative article is the result of the authors' presentation of the film itself in presence of Jude Ratnam during a series of talks in cinemas in France in 2018 and 2019 during which numerous exchanges and discussions took place. The paper will first focus on the demons of the colonial legacy left by the British and how the divides broadened by the former imperial power exacerbated ethnic and religious tensions between Tamils and Sinhalese. In the second part, this paper will explore how Jude Ratnam explores and dramatises past traumas, to propose a form of ethics of the gaze questioning the political aporias of the post-war peacebuilding process and the hegemonic narrative of resistance imposed by the LTTE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the instant paper mill business formed from the waste of elephants in Sri Lanka. Due to deforestation, elephants in Sri Lanka are entering the villages in search of food often to sugarcane or banana plantation, in which farmers sometimes kill the hungry elephants in revenge. Papermakers in Sri Lanka and England had discovered a unique but profitable solution to this human-elephant conflict. The Maximus and Elli Poo paper companies used a centuries-old process, where the elephant dung is mixed with rice pulp, boiled, sanitized and transformed into beautiful stationery, notebooks, greeting cards and office papers. Thusitha Ranasinghe, a printer who conceived the idea of Maximus, stated that elephant is a walking paper mill.