An assessment of the role of business entrepreneurs in conflict transformation - a case study of South Eastern Sri Lanka

Last three decades of Sri Lankan history has been overshadowed by conflict and war. Fortunately, the war came to an end and now the peace is very much evident in the country. However, the dividends of peace have yet to come for the people living in conflict areas. Social and economic status of the post-war period has continued to be the same. Meaningful measures of recovery from war to peace have to be initiated. This paper investigates the present status and contribution of business entrepreneurs in helping the post-war recovery of the conflict affected South - East region of Sri Lanka which has a ethnically, religiously and linguistically mixed population. Data were collected from the entrepreneurs and people through an intensive field investigation carried out in the South-East region using a questionnaire. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques. The results revealed that the entrepreneurs are ethnically segregated and lack interactions across ethnic boundary. The reason for such pattern of entrepreneurship is that the existing businesses mainly target consumers in an ethnically homogeneous population. This has led to in ethicizing other aspects of business establishments as well. For example, in most business establishments, employers, employees and customers are from the same ethnic group. War and conflict may have influenced this pattern of entrepreneur behavior. The ethnic discrimination and negative perception towards other ethnicity groups have been deeply rooted among the entrepreneurs in this region. The present trend of spread and contribution of entrepreneurship is not a healthy sign for the post-war recovery. Attempts have to be made to diversify all aspect of business establishment which would target the best outcomes and best benefits to most in the region. Then the entrepreneurs will surely help erasing off the marks of war in the minds and hearts of people leading to healthy and free society

INTEGRATING FOREST RESOURCE VALUES INTO NATIONAL INCOME ACCOUNTING: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

The traditional System of National Accounts (.\"NA)neglects the Total EconomicValue (TEl) oftheforest resource, and any degradation to which it is subjected.This study proposes an Environmental and Natural Resource Accounting(ENRA) frameworkfor theforest resource in Sri Lanka. The economic values ofmarketed and non-marketed commodities are estimated by various techniques.Changes in the monetary value of the timber stock are computed from estimatedeconomic accounts, using the net price method. The results for 1995 put the TEVof the forest resource at Rs 13,-100 million. The total depreciation offoresttimber stock in 1995 was Rs -116 million. The true contribution of the forestresource to the National Income (NI) was 2.2-1% of the Gross Domestic Product((IDP). However, the contribution of the forest resource as estimated by thetraditional ,,)"iYAwas reported by the Central Bank ofSri Lanka as only 0.2% 0/the GDP. This misleading estimate may have led to under-investment in theforestry sector in the past. This past under-investment needs to be compensatedfor in thefuture national investment in forestry

Innovative Value Addition in Tea (Camellia sinensis)%253A A Comparative Analysis between Sri Lanka and Japan

Sri Lanka is the third largest tea exporter in the world, but nearly 60%25 of its total exports are comprised of bulk tea. Bulk tea secures the lowest prices in world tea market. Sri Lanka earned an average value of US$4.83 per kilogram from 2014 to 2018 for its tea exports, compared to US$24.24 per kilogram over the same five-year period in Japan, a highly innovative tea-producing country. The objective of this study is to examine the root causes of product innovation in Sri Lanka, as compared to Japan, by conducting a historical analysis followed by a survey and key informant discussions. Sri Lanka has mainly focused on incremental innovations in blending, flavoring and packaging than radical innovations. About 98%25 of the tea produced in Sri Lanka is black tea, produced mainly in large scale-processing factories. The focus on economies of scale and heavy dependence on traditional product baskets and market destinations have bottlenecked product innovation capabilities in Sri Lanka. In contrast, Japan produces a large number of innovative beverage and non-non-beverage products. Their main beverage type is sencha (58%25), followed by many other beverages including gyokuro, kabusecha, matcha, tamaryokucha, black tea, oolong tea, fermented teas and white tea. The Japanese produce a variety of non-beverage products including confectionaries, snacks and cosmetics made from same tea plant that beverage tea is made from. Having a large number of processing factories (4698), Japans product innovation capabilities are mainly attributed to firm-level factors and support services. This study recommends that Sri Lanka should link together farmer organizations, processing factories, research institutes and universities to make its tea industry more innovative and flexible and consequently more profitable and sustainable. Foreign direct investment and partnerships presumably would be instrumental in bringing in much needed funding, expertise and advanced technology to stimulate product innovation

Fluorescent Signalling Crown Ethers; \u27Switching On\u27 of Fluorescence by Alkali Metal Ion Recognition and Binding in Situ

Sodium and potassium ions enhance the fluorescence quantum yield of the N-(9-anthrylmethyl)monoaza crown ethers (1) in methanol by factors of up to forty-seven while all other electronic spectral parameters remain unaltered