The Problems and Constraints Faced by Small Scale and Informal Business Community in the Tourism Industry: A Case Study from Ella, Sri Lanka

Small scale and informal business sector in tourism is an effective mechanism which generates different advantages. It has come into existence as an important feature of peripheral tourist destinations. However, communities in such businesses confront different constraints which hinder their involvement. The main objective of this study was to analyze the issues and constraints faced by the small scale and informal business community of the Ella divisional secretariat division of the Badulla district. After a preliminary survey, this study area was selected. The total population (221) in the selected business sector was stratified into 13 categories and 90 respondents were selected by stratified random sampling method. Research techniques such as interviews and questionnaire surveys were employed for data collection. Qualitative techniques including the quotation and thematic analysis and quantitative techniques such as the methods of central tendency were employed for data analysis. The results of the study reveal that the small and informal businesses fall into 13 groups. The entrepreneurial characteristics identified were classified under the themes of the location and permanency of the business, source of capital and investment. The constraints were identified under 10 categories. Different measures have been introduced to eliminate such issues. However, there is a pressing need of carrying out an in-depth study to investigate these issues in detail and novel policies and plans are timely and significant to lessening the issues and constraints identified.http://doi.org/10.31357/fhss/vjhss.v05i02.0

An Analysis of Factors Causing Socio-Economic Impacts of The Urban Sprawl: A Case Study on Wattala-Mabole Urban Council Area and its Outskirts, Sri Lanka

Urban expansion in adjacent areas has been addressed by different dimensions depending on the context. Sri Lanka is gradually developing, and urban areas have mostly expanded in an unplanned manner resulting in uncontrolled urban sprawl in their new territories. Similarly, the Wattala-Mabole urban council area also has a site of urban sprawling. The main objective of this research is to identify and analyze the different factors which generate the socio-economic impacts of the urban sprawl in the study area. Further, the paper examines the challenges and opportunities of urban sprawl in the urban council and its surrounding areas. The methodological steps for the study include a questionnaire survey and interviews, and secondary data for the spatial analysis. Moreover, the spatial data have been analyzed through geographic information system applications. This study identified major factors of the urban sprawl which generate socio-economic impacts such as ‘monthly household income impacts the accommodation of the community, and unemployment causes robbery and illegal activities.’ Moreover, the rapid growth of urban council outskirts causes an increase in land value unaffordability. It was stated by the urban council that the service industries, warehouses, and massive production factories have utilized most of the low-lying lands in the outskirt area at comparatively low prices. Hence, this rejuvenated urban growth. Further, the study found that some people who are living in urban fringes gain economic benefits due to the urban sprawl by providing accommodations to the migrants, and having more business opportunities and demand for goods. However, both the urban and outskirt dwellers face socio-economic and environment related problems due to the urban sprawl. Thus, national and local governments should step ahead and implement policies to overcome the issues of the community. DOI: http://doi.org/10.31357/fhss/vjhss.v08i01.0

Women Empowerment through Cultural Tourism A Case Study in North Central Province of Sri Lanka

Cultural tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism niche markets in recentyears. It has received much attention in developing countries and economicallyimpoverished regions around the world, where it is being promoted and widely adoptedas a regional development strategy to contribute to the socioeconomic development ofthe lagging areas. At the same time, cultural tourism generates income, economic andsocial benefits for host communities living in rural and remote areas ensuring thewomen empowerment which is one of the dominated discussions at local and globalscales.The main objective of the paper is to analyse the contribution of cultural tourismfor women empowerment with particular reference to the North Central Province of SriLanka. Further, attention is given to analysis of women‟s involvement in culturaltourism activities.A representative sample of both cultural sites and rural villages with culturaltourism attractions and activities were selected for the detailed study. A 30 percentsample of host communities that are living within 02 km of surrounding areas fromselected research sites (villages and towns), were selected from each village usingrandom sample technique.Given the exploratory nature of the research, various research techniques like,field surveys, questionnaires, interviews, observations, group discussions, have beenemployed. Quantitative as well as qualitative analysis were used for data analysis.The overall findings of this study are that cultural tourism has contributed toentail optimal women representation in cultural tourism, women domestic improvement,entrepreneurial development, saving improvements, women representation in businesssector, women‟s right of decision making and the like. The findings of this investigationcan assist rural developers in the implementation of community development strategiesbased on women‟s empowerment.Key words: Cultural and rural tourism, Women empowermen

A Comprehensive Model for Anaerobic Degradation in Bio-Reactor Landfills

A new generation of sustainable landfill was designed and constructed in the City of Calgary, Canada to achieve sustainable municipal solid waste (MSW) management. This sustainable landfill called “biocell” involves sequential operation of a landfill cell to produce methane gas during the first stage of anaerobic degradation and in-situ composting within the cell footprint. Once methane recovery is minimal, the second stage aerobic degradation initiated by injecting air through methane recovery system and finally landfill is mined for resource and space recovery in the third stage. The resources that can be recovered include compost like material and recyclables such as plastics, metal, and glass. Non-recovered waste but with high energy content can be used as refuse derived fuel. The practice of this approach will no longer require the need to allocate valuable land for new landfills on an on-going basis. There is leachate re-circulation and environmental monitoring to enhance biodegradation in the biocell. The biocell eliminate problems of ground/surface water contamination, landfill gas emission and the need for new land to use for waste disposal. However, currently there is limited knowledge on landfill mining and in order to estimate the best time to initiate landfill mining a comprehensive mathematical model was developed. The model developed solves the mass and energy balance of waste decay, which computes the rate of gas generation, change of gas and gas flux through the system. This study focuses on anaerobic phase of biodegradation of biomass and the degradation of the biomass was assumed to follow first order kinetics. The decomposing bio mass is represented as cellulose for energy balance computation, which is a major constitution of the MSW. The degradation of bio mass due to micro-organisms generates methane, carbon dioxide and water as the final products and the reaction is exothermic. In this model using the decay of waste computed from mass balance and cellulose as equivalent chemical representing the waste a relationship between the mass degraded with time was established. The heat released due to anaerobic decay is computed and hence computes the increase in biocell temperature. Then selecting the representative decay constant for the computed biocell temperature, the decomposition of waste was computed for the next time step. The above computation is continued in order to obtain the landfill settlement, temperature and the movement of landfill gas and leachate

Tuning the properties of complex transparent conducting oxides: role of crystal symmetry, chemical composition and carrier generation

The electronic properties of single- and multi-cation transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) are investigated using first-principles density functional approach. A detailed comparison of the electronic band structure of stoichiometric and oxygen deficient In$_2$O$_3$, $\alpha$- and $\beta$-Ga$_2$O$_3$, rock salt and wurtzite ZnO, and layered InGaZnO$_4$ reveals the role of the following factors which govern the transport and optical properties of these TCO materials: (i) the crystal symmetry of the oxides, including both the oxygen coordination and the long-range structural anisotropy; (ii) the electronic configuration of the cation(s), specifically, the type of orbital(s) -- $s$, $p$ or $d$ -- which form the conduction band; and (iii) the strength of the hybridization between the cation's states and the p-states of the neighboring oxygen atoms. The results not only explain the experimentally observed trends in the electrical conductivity in the single-cation TCO, but also demonstrate that multicomponent oxides may offer a way to overcome the electron localization bottleneck which limits the charge transport in wide-bandgap main-group metal oxides. Further, the advantages of aliovalent substitutional doping -- an alternative route to generate carriers in a TCO host -- are outlined based on the electronic band structure calculations of Sn, Ga, Ti and Zr-doped InGaZnO$_4$. We show that the transition metal dopants offer a possibility to improve conductivity without compromising the optical transmittance

A phase II clinical trial to assess the safety of clonidine in acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An estimated 2–3 million people are acutely poisoned by organophosphorus pesticides each year, mostly in the developing world. There is a pressing need for new affordable antidotes and clonidine has been shown to be effective in animal studies. Our aim was to determine the safety of clonidine given as an antidote in adult patients presenting with signs or symptoms of acute organophosphate ingestion.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study was a dose finding, open-label, multicentre, phase II trial. Forty eight patients with acute organophosphate poisoning were randomized to receive either clonidine or placebo: Four to receive placebo and twelve to receive clonidine at each dose level. The first dose level was an initial loading dose of 0.15 mg followed by an infusion of 0.5 mg of clonidine over 24 hours. The initial loading dose was increased to 0.3 mg, 0.45 and 0.6 mg. at all dosing levels however the subsequent infusion remained at 0.5 mg of clonidine over 24 hours.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The baseline characteristics of both groups were similar. The trial was stopped after completion of the 3^rddosing level. At the 1^stand 2^nddosing level there were no reported adverse drug reactions. At the 3^rddosing level 5 patients (42%) developed significant hypotension during clonidine treatment that responded to intravenous fluids. There were no statistical differences in ventilation rate, pre and post GCS, and mortality rates over all levels.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings suggest use of moderate doses of clonidine in acute organophosphate poisoning can be used without causing frequent clinical problems but that higher doses are associated with a high incidence of hypotension requiring intervention. Further studies are needed to study the efficacy of clonidine as an antidote in organophosphate poisoning.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trial ISRCTN89917816.</p

Child Labour Utilization in the Tourism Industry: A Case Study from Ampara District in Sri Lanka

The tourism industry is considered as one of the world's fastest growing economic activities and the largest employer of manpower which generates millions of employment opportunities. Since tourism is a labour intensive industry there is an escalating demand for labour in different sectors of tourism. This demand becomes a critical issue due to reasons such as the scarcity of the trained and skilled human resource, lower salaries and wages and unwillingness among many people to pursue tourism-related employment. As a remedy to this critical issue, child labour has been used frequently. They have been employed in both formal and informal sectors of the tourism industry.  This situation is more common in the Sri Lanka tourism industry, especially in remote tourism regions.  The main objective of this research was to study the nature of child labour in the tourism industry of the Ampara district of Eastern Tourism region of Sri Lanka. After a preliminary survey, Ulla, Panama North and Panama West GNDs of the Ampara district of Eastern tourism region were selected as the study area. Applying judgment and purposive sampling techniques, 56 child workers and 19 accommodation establishments were selected as the sample. Both quantitative and qualitative methods such as questionnaire surveys, observations, interviews, group discussions and case studies were employed to collect data. The data was analyzed applying both qualitative and quantitative analytical methods. The overall findings of the study are discussed under several subheadings including the socioeconomic and family background of child workers, the existing nature and types of child labour, reasons for selecting of employment linked to tourism, places of work, salaries and wages, the nature of expenditure and problems faced by child workers. The overall findings of this study revealed that child workers have been employed in formal and informal sectors of the tourism industry. All the child labours are in the age range between 15 to 17 years. The most common form of utilizing child labour in the study area is as sellers. Economic burdens at home are the major reasons which draw the children to these jobs. Engaging in different activities, they are able to earn an income ranging from Rs. 3,000 to 15,000 and they have spent this income on different purposes. Since there are many problems related to child labour utilization active policies and plans are timely and significant to alleviate these problems.  KEYWORDS: Tourism Industry, Child Labour, Labour utilizatio

Review on Photomicrography based Full Blood Count (FBC) Testing and Recent Advancements

With advancements in related sub-fields, research on photomicrography in life science is emerging and this is a review on its application towards human full blood count testing which is a primary test in medical practices. For a prolonged period of time, analysis of blood samples is the basis for bio medical observations of living creatures. Cell size, shape, constituents, count, ratios are few of the features identified using DIP based analysis and these features provide an overview of the state of human body which is important in identifying present medical conditions and indicating possible future complications. In addition, functionality of the immune system is observed using results of blood tests. In FBC tests, identification of different blood cell types and counting the number of cells of each type is required to obtain results. Literature discuss various techniques and methods and this article presents an insightful review on human blood cell morphology, photomicrography, digital image processing of photomicrographs, feature extraction and classification, and recent advances. Integration of emerging technologies such as microfluidics, micro-electromechanical systems, and artificial intelligence based image processing algorithms and classifiers with cell sensing have enabled exploration of novel research directions in blood testing applications.

Use of a porous membrane for gas bubble removal in microfluidic channels: physical mechanisms and design criteria

We demonstrate and explain a simple and efficient way to remove gas bubbles from liquid-filled microchannels, by integrating a hydrophobic porous membrane on top of the microchannel. A prototype chip is manufactured in hard, transparent polymer with the ability to completely filter gas plugs out of a segmented flow at rates up to 7.4 microliter/s per mm2 of membrane area. The device involves a bubble generation section and a gas removal section. In the bubble generation section, a T-junction is used to generate a train of gas plugs into a water stream. These gas plugs are then transported towards the gas removal section, where they slide along a hydrophobic membrane until complete removal. The system has been successfully modeled and four necessary operating criteria have been determined to achieve a complete separation of the gas from the liquid. The first criterion is that the bubble length needs to be larger than the channel diameter. The second criterion is that the gas plug should stay on the membrane for a time sufficient to transport all the gas through the membrane. The third criterion is that the gas plug travel speed should be lower than a critical value: otherwise a stable liquid film between the bubble and the membrane prevents mass transfer. The fourth criterion is that the pressure difference across the membrane should not be larger than the Laplace pressure to prevent water from leaking through the membrane

Evaluation of pigeonpea accessions and selected lines for reaction to Maruca

Maruca vitrata (Geyer) is a serious insect pest of tropical legumes. In Sri Lanka, yield losses due to Maruca damage in pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] range up to 100%. The development of resistant cultivars and germplasm is one of the best means of control. The objectives of this study were to screen 271 accessions for resistance to M. vitrata and evaluate reaction of lines selected from the promising accessions. The high level of natural incidence of Maruca in Sri Lanka provided an opportunity for evaluation of germplasm at Field Crops Research and Development Institute, Maha Illuppallama. Screening of the germplasm accessions revealed large variation in Maruca damage to flowers and pods. On average, the Maruca damage in determinate accessions (66–75%) was higher than that of nondeterminate accessions (41–50%). Resistant plants from four determinate and 12 nondeterminate accessions were selected. Further selection for resistance to Maruca damage among and within lines derived from the resistant plants was exercised for six generations under nonsprayed field conditions. Under insecticide-free conditions, the selections from two accessions showed significant yield advantages over controls. Data on pod damage and larval counts indicated that the resistance was conditioned through yield compensation mechanisms. In pigeonpea, this is the first report of the selection of Maruca resistant lines. Further studies showed that by using the resistant genotypes it is possible to reduce the number of insecticide sprays for economic yields