bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Work and Emotional Labour of Special Educators in Sri Lanka: A Case Study
Authors: Kariyawasam Manushi 
Published: April 2024

With the effects of the ever-changing nature of socio-cultural and political sphere that we live in, the notion of work has gained much attention in a variety of fields of studies. The different concepts and expectations of and about work have influenced the way in which one conceives of the world of work. However, the concept of work in the field of ‘education’ is rather blurred in terms of what constitutes the contents of work. Hence, identifying what is meant by work for the educators, more specifically, work for special educators, has been recognised as vital to be explored. In this context, the main purpose of this study is to explore how the work is perceived by special educators and how they perform and manage emotional labour with regard to the work they engage in. This research uses a qualitative approach by adopting the case study method as the strategy of inquiry. One of the leading special education institutions in Sri Lanka was selected as the case site of the study. Data was generated via conducting semi structured interviews with ten (10) special educators in the said organisation. Besides, non-participant observations and photographs were incorporated to generate more rich data. The findings have revealed that there are different ways in which work is being perceived by the special educators. It comprises of economic, intrinsically motivated and obligatory orientations. In broader terms, most special educators perceive work as something meaningful while some of them perceive it as an unpleasant chore. Moving further, the study has found that special educators perform emotional work and emotional labour which involve positive and negative emotions in their day-to-day roles, and it is necessary to develop particular qualities that are needed to work with students with special needs. Ultimately, by incorporating the voice of the participants, the researcher has conceptualised work, as perceived by special educators, as the spine that structures the way they live through monetary terms, as how they make contact with social reality through comforting and inspiring others with no boundaries in space or time, as the way they believe as noble, as meaningful but with a sub-domain of unpleasant and as the way they achieve personal fulfilment and satisfaction. Accordingly, the findings of the research will assist policy makers to identify and execute different strategies to reduce the complexity and tediousness of the ‘work’ perceived by special educators and to enhance their emotional wellbeing while overcoming the negative outcomes of the emotions they experience in their jobs. It also provides many managerial implications for special educational institutions in managing the challenging work and powerful emotional demands.
Keywords: Special Educators, Notion of Work, Emotional Labour
Specific Textual Analysis of the Itukama Commercial and Its Contribution to Society through the Concepts of 'Hero' and 'Nation' in relation to the Context of Sri Lanka’s Struggle against Battling COVID-19
Authors: Udugahapattuwa S.V.W. , Wijayawardhana R.M. , Jayarathna G.A.R.C. , Weerakoon H.R.D.F.G.A. 
Published: April 2024

This study focusses on the Itukama commercial launched by the Itukama project under the Presidential Secretariat. The commercial was a campaign to raise funds for the Itukama COVID-19 Healthcare and the Social Security Fund. The campaign was considered a success and is still ongoing. The commercial appealed to a sense of duty and responsibility in the Nation's people by carefully narrating the building of a new hero of sorts, placing them side by side with the existing heroes. The study analyses the commercial and the elements of the campaign in order to identify the process of the creation of the/a hero(s), the necessity therein at the time, how it aided in the national agenda, and the choices of inclusion and exclusion by virtue of the use of theories of nation-building. The study uses the methodology of textual analysis thereby providing a close reading of the commercial and the campaign in relation to the said theories. Through the analysis, it was made evident that while the commercial and the campaign that followed crafted a new definition for the concept of ‘hero’ and located it within the context of the ‘nation’ it was lacking in its attempt towards inclusivity. The commercial is able to instil a feeling of family and duty however the symbols used are neutral, scratching only the surface of the concept of ‘inclusivity’.
Keywords: COVID-19, Hero, Nation, Representation, Sri Lankan Commercials, Visualisation
Influence of Geographic, Demographic and Psychological Factors towards Customer Intentions in Purchasing Organic Food in Sri Lanka
Authors: Manorathne Hiroshi 
Published: April 2024

Organic food demand has seen an incremental increase in contemporary society, and it has affected different purchasing intentions of existing and potential customers. This study is concerned with assessing each influencing intentions by categorising them into three main categories to conduct a quality assessment. The organic concept is not a new concept to Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka has got a prestigious cultivating system that appreciates environmental safety and poison-free cultivation and consumption. This study was designed to explore the influence of geographic, demographic, and psychological factors on customer intentions towards purchasing organic food in Sri Lanka. Research objectives are identified to evaluate the impact of geographic, demographic, and psychological factors on customer intentions towards purchasing organic food and identify the most contributing factor/s to customer intentions to purchase organic food. Since this study was related to social and cultural phenomena, a qualitative research approach was selected with the thematic analysis method for data analysis. The researcher mainly targeted individuals who have different purchasing intentions towards organic food. Individuals in Colombo and Kandy districts were targeted by a convenience sampling technique. Data were generated by conducting semi-structured interviews and observations in Goods market - Colombo and in Kandy district specific supermarkets. The researcher conducted the research by adhering to all ethical considerations and the significance of this study is that currently there is a gap in Sri Lanka with only few research projects conducted for organic food and its purchasing intentions, demand and market. The findings of this study will redound to the benefits of students (school and higher education students), academic and non-academic parties, businesses and society will benefit from this research. The study concludes that there were no clear geographical influences that were able to explore. The demographic influences of marital status, disposable income, and occupation were investigated, and they were able to disprove the existing literature on formal education, gender, and age. As psychological influences, perceived food quality differences, environmentally friendly mindset, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, religious beliefs, other personal motives, trust in the seller and organic food certification were explored.
Keywords: Organic Food, Purchasing Intention, Geographical Influences, Demographical Influences, Psychological Influences
Factors Influencing Brand Evangelism: Experience from Sri Lankan Toothpaste Market
Authors: Kumarajeewa R. A. , Jayarathne P.G.S.A. 
Published: April 2024

The aim of this study is to examine the antecedents of brand evangelism in the toothpaste market in Sri Lanka. Further, the study focuses on how brand heritage aids in creating brand evangelists and whether inter-generational influence contributes to a toothpaste brand. Though many studies have been conducted to measure brand evangelism, it will be the first time the concept will be used to measure brand evangelism towards a toothpaste brand, and this will be first time brand heritage and intergenerational influence are tested in Sri Lanka. The current study will be taking a mixed approach because the researchers will be studying the relationship between antecedents and brand evangelism and influence of brand heritage in a quantitative method. In addition to that, they will also be studying the intergenerational influence on toothpaste brands in a qualitative approach since it cannot be tested through a questionnaire due to its complex nature. So, it will take a convergent parallel research approach. Due to the resource and time restraints, the primary data was collected via a self-administered questionnaire to address the quantitative study and an interview was done to collect data to address the qualitative aspect of the research. These results showed that among the antecedents, only consumer brand identification and brand trust had significant influence towards brand evangelism. Furthermore, it showed that brand heritage acted as a moderator for the antecedents. Although the study helps to fill a gap in knowledge that still exists in the literature in the Sri Lankan FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) domain, limitations do exist. A limitation emerges from the representativeness of the sample. In fact, in this study, there is a prevalence of only selected districts, and therefore, this may limit the generalisability of the medium. Furthermore, only two antecedents of the framework that was developed deemed to be significant. Future research can focus on extending this model to encompass other theoretical constructs by inserting new antecedents over the variables considered in this study. Lastly, this study was conducted for the toothpaste brand, so the results of this study may not be applicable to other brands or even other markets.
Keywords: Brand Evangelism, Brand Heritage, Consumer Brand Identification, Brand Trust, Inter-generational Influence
Assessment of Brand Equity and Its Effect on Intention of Advanced Level Students to Enrol in Medicine, Agriculture and Biological Science Degree Programmes Offered by State Universities
Authors: Tennakoon T.M.G.H.B. , Kodithuwakku S.S. , Abhayarathne M.H.R. , Hemachandra S.D.S. 
Published: April 2024

Brands are fundamentally about experiences and relationships, and therefore, they form the prime basis of an institution’s connection with its stakeholders. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of customer-based brand equity in service sectors, specifically in higher education institutes. However, minimal studies have assessed the brand equity of degree programmes offered by public universities in Sri Lanka. Thus, from students’ perspective, the current study aims to assess the brand equity of selected degree programmes in the biological stream (Medicine, Agriculture, and Science) offered by different public universities in Sri Lanka. The study adopted a quantitative methodology, where data were collected using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire. The target population was G.C.E. Advanced Level students in the biological stream living in Kandy, Badulla, Colombo, and Galle districts. A sample of 157 students was drawn using a convenient sampling technique. The data were analysed by a Friedman test, Spearman’s test, and panel order logistic regression with random effect. The findings revealed that the brand equity of the same degree programme differs when offered by different universities for all three selected degree programmes. The medicine degree programme offered by the University of Peradeniya scored the highest brand equity value among medicine degree programmes in Sri Lanka. With respect to agriculture degree programmes, the University of Peradeniya scored the highest brand equity value, while the University of Colombo scored the highest brand equity value for biological science degree programmes. Further, results indicated a significant positive (P<0.05) effect of brand awareness, perception and attitude, and brand reputation on the intention to join a degree programme for all three-degree programmes. Therefore, findings suggest that brand equity plays a significant role in degree programme selection. This study provides insights to stakeholders in higher education institutes, especially to help universities implement branding strategies to enhance the brand equity of degree programmes.
Keywords: Customer-Based Brand Equity, Public Universities, Brand Reputation, Perception and Attitude, Brand Awareness
Benefits of Green Walls: Assessment of Energy Cost Saving
Authors: Rajamanna Chaya , Zainudeen Nisa , Nadeeshani Malka , Ramachandra Thanuja , Madushika U. G. D. 
Published: April 2024

With the rapid urbanisation, most parts of the world have become a concrete jungle and yet the concrete structures are rising over the green footprint. This has an adverse effect on the natural environment as well as to habitat. Nowadays, increasing global warming, air temperature and air pollution have become critical issues in urban areas. Spreading greenery is the way to mitigate the effects of urbanisation. Since Sri Lanka is also rapidly moving towards the urbanisation, application of green features on buildings is the best option to spread green within the country. Though the whole world adopted the green wall concept, its application in the Sri Lankan context is still at a lower stage. Thus, this study aims to explore the most substantial benefit of green walls: energy cost saving to promote the green wall application in the Sri Lankan context. The comprehensive literature review identified the benefits of green walls mainly; energy-saving, mitigating the urban heat island effect, act as an insulation layer, increase building durability, enhancing aesthetic appearance, provide habitats, act as a sound barrier, and provide health benefits. Further, thermal performance and energy cost-saving which is a significant benefit of green walls were assessed through the case study. Two comparative buildings; 1. With green wall and 2. Without green wall were adopted to this study. Required data were extracted by obtaining the onsite temperature measurements. The case study findings revealed that the green façade contributes to the significant surface temperature difference reduction compared to the conventional wall which results in a saving of .7 kWh per m2 (73%) energy requirement for ventilation per month and as a result, 74% energy cost saving per month. On a positive note, this study concludes that the use of green walls is a suitable alternative to the Sri Lankan context in improving greenery with substantial potential for reducing energy costs for ventilation requirements.
Keywords: Benefits, Conventional Wall, Direct Green Facade, Energy Saving, Green Walls
Study on Factors Influencing Environmental Real Estate User Behaviour at Office Premises
Authors: Rasnayake R. M. K. S. , Kaluthanthri P C 
Published: April 2024

Corporate Real Estate (CRE) managers must concentrate on the occupant behaviour to reduce the environmental impact of the buildings. Thus, the main purpose of this paper is to analyse the factors effect on the real estate user behaviour at their working place, especially at office. Primary data were collected by distributing structured questionnaires among 250 office employees of Sethsiripaya Stage I Administrative complex, Sri Lanka, with a valid response rate of 213. Simple random sampling techniques were used to gather data. The partial least squares structural equation modelling was used based on the self-reported data obtained from representative sample office employees. The findings revealed that environment attitudes and mindfulness have positive and significant effect on Environmental Real Estate User Behaviour (EREUB) while perceived wealth and environmental education positively contribute to environmental attitudes. Further, it is confirmed that perceived busyness positively effect on mindfulness. The originality of this study lies in providing theoretical and empirical evidence regarding the effect of environmental attitudes and mindfulness, expressly on EREUB model, which has been empirically examined in the context of Sri Lankan employees who work in administrative office complex in Sri Lanka.
Keywords: Mindfulness, Environmental Awareness, Environmental Real Estate User Behaviour
Effect of Corporate Governance on Financial Performance of Listed Insurance Firms in Sri Lanka
Authors: Udayanga G.A.I , Buddhika H.J.R. 
Published: April 2024

Introduction - The mechanism through which organisations are directed and managed is known as corporate governance. The impact of corporate governance elements on the financial performance of Sri Lankan listed insurance corporations is investigated throughout the study. This study examines the relationship between corporate governance variables (board size, board composition, board meetings, and audit committee size) and controllable variables (firm age, firm size, growth, and leverage) among performance of the insurance firms. The firm performance is measured using Return of Equity (ROE) and Return on Assets (ROA). The population for this study is listed insurance firms on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE where the sample consisted of 11 insurance firms. For the analysis various tests like descriptive analysis, multiple linear regression, Pearson correlation, and collinearity statistics have been performed using IBM SPSS (version 23) software. Secondary sources of data used for the analysis expands from 2015 to 2019. According to this study, corporate governance impacts the financial success of insurance businesses in Sri Lanka. The 36.70% relationship between firm performance ROE and the 26.80 per cent relationship between firm performance ROAs is determined by the independent variables of corporate governance (board size, board composition, board meetings, and board audit committee size) as well as controllable variables (firm age, firm size, growth, and leverage). The study posits, through the Pearson correlation, that there is a positive relationship between board size, board composition, board meetings, firms age, firm size growth, and leverage with ROE and only the audit committee size is negatively related to the ROE. With the ROA board size, board composition, board meetings firm size, growth is positively related while audit committee size, firm age, and leverage variables have a negative relationship. This study's findings will be useful for insurance companies to manage their corporate governance elements towards the profitability. They can be critically concerned about the elements of board size, board composition, board meetings and audit committee size and controlling elements of firm age, firm size, growth, and leverage. Based on the elements top tier management can make accurate and efficient decisions on listed insurance companies.
Keywords: Corporate Governance (CG), Board Size, Board Composition, Return of Equity (ROE), Return on Assets (ROA)
Qualitative Study Exploring the Social Adjustment in Foreign Students at Universitas Islam Riau after Supportive Group Therapy
Authors: Herawati Icha , Hidayat Ahmad , Rizal Irfani 
Published: April 2024

Background:
There are 61 foreign students running undergraduate and master programs at Universitas Islam Riau. The problems that they commonly find are difficulties in following academic activities, difficulties in making new friends and adapt to other students. Based on observations made on foreign students from Pattani, Southern Thailand, they tend to be in groups and mingle with their fellow friends. In living their life as Pattani students at Universitas Islam Riau, they faced various problems. Common problems include academic pressure, financial problems, feelings of loneliness, interpersonal conflicts, difficulties facing change and problems developing personal autonomy.

Aims:

Providing Social Support To Pattani Students At Universitas Islam Riau.
Pattani Students Increase Bahasa Vocabulary
Pattani Students Establish Friendships With Students From Riau
Students Pattani Become More Confident Undergoing Lectures

Method (s):
The method to be used is social support therapy from Psychology students towards Pattani students. This therapy will consist of several sessions where each session has a slot that will contain activities that can provide Pattani students with social support. The therapy used is in the form of group counseling, eating together and exercising together.

Results:
The social support therapy that was carried out was very beneficial for Pattani students. They feel welcome and make new friends. From the activities carried out, foreign students become more open to new social and become more confident in building a social relationship.

Conclusion:
These results indicate that the problem can be solved to foreign students with appropriate care and a solution ongoing basis. One of them is needed policies from The Islamic Universities of Riau in dealing with international students.
An Analysis of Intra-Seasonal Variability and Predictability of Atmospheric Processes of Regional Scale in the Northern Hemisphere Mid-Latitudes
Authors: Vilfand R. M. , Kulikova I. A. , Khan V. M. , Makarova M. E. 
Published: April 2024

The issues related to the intra-seasonal variability and predictability of the atmospheric processes of a regional scale in the Northern Hemisphere are considered. To identify the latter, the circulation indices characterizing the large-scale modes of the atmospheric variability are used. An assessment of the regional intra-seasonal variability of the atmospheric processes in the summer and winter seasons of 1991–2020 is given. A study of the practical predictability of the regional atmospheric processes is carried out using the global semi-Lagrangian model developed at the INM RAS jointly with the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia, as well as the reanalysis of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on a weekly and monthly time scales. It is concluded that beyond of the first forecast week, the quality of deterministic (ensemble mean) forecasts drops sharply. In winter, the exception is the Pacific-North American oscillation region, where a useful signal is traced not only for the first prognostic week, but also for the second one. The use of the probabilistic forecasts makes it possible to increase the time interval of predictability compared to the deterministic approach from one week to a month. The biggest errors are noted in the forecasts of the circulation regimes in the west of the North Atlantic and in the west of the northern part of the Pacific, in the regions of the most significant intra-seasonal variability. The obtained results are supposed to be used in the operational practice of the intra-seasonal forecasting of the North Eurasian Climate Center (NEACC).