Analytical Framework for Institutional Contribution in Land Tenure Reforms

Land tenure systems, especially in Sri Lanka and many other developing countries in Asia and Africa are very complex. This complexity has arisen from complex relations between man, land, and organizations. These relations are mainly based on different institutions. However, in most cases, consistencies between these institutions are poor. This results in inefficient tenure system which in turn brings tenure insecurity, low productivity, resource degradations, etc. The main objective of the paper is to develop an analytical framework to study the institutional character of land tenure system so as to reduce the institutional inconsistencies and thus to form an effective land tenure system. Accordingly, based on a thorough literature review and field experiences, the paper has developed an analytical framework to study the land tenure relations and institutions involved in them. The analytical framework also describes the interdependent nature between property rights and other institutions within a land tenure system and their contribution towards the development of a coherent land tenure system. By using the analytical framework the paper has analyzed the land tenure system in Sri Lanka. For this purpose the case study method was adopted. The outcomes show that failure of the land tenure system is mainly caused by institutional inefficiencies. Further, this paper discovers that a well developed institutional analytical framework can be used to identify the institutional inconsistencies within a land tenure system. Thus, it can be an effective tool in land policy making

Harnessing of Offshore and Deep Sea Fishery Resources in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka declared her Exclusive Economic Zone in 1977, under Section 56 of the Maritime Zone Law No.22 of 1976. With this declaration she extended her jurisdiction over a 500,000 km of sea area as a coastal state. The acquisition of this vast sea area enables Sri Lanka to provide the most needed animal protein requirement of her population by harnessing the fishery resources available in the EEZ. This paper reviews the impact of the declaration of the Exclusive Economic Zone on the offshore and deep sea fish production in Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1990 especially in relation to expectations and capabilities of harnessing the offshore and deep sea resources. The review also includes a discussion of the impacts of permitting foreign fishing to harness these resources and some proposals to be considered for future development of the offshore and deep sea fishery in Sri Lanka

Decentralization as a tool to enhance sustainability

All major rural water supply projects implemented in Sri Lanka during last few decades were centrally managed by a Project Management Unit with their own Project Implementation Units at district levels for service delivery. With the winding up of these projects, sustainability of facilities constructed remain solely in the hands of beneficiary communities, risking long term benefits of the investment in the absence of proper back up support mechanism. The Government, taking this important matter into consideration has embarked on a significant sector reform program through decentralized implementation arrangements involving Provincial Councils (PCs) and Local Authorities (LAs) as key stakeholders in the implementation process. Although some reluctance was evident at the beginning due to lack of human and other resources, participating PCs/LAs have undertaken the task of RWSS project implementation successfully. Lesson learnt is that with clear strategies and commitment of participating stakeholders, inherent weaknesses in the public sector can be overcome

Assessment of the Vulnerability of Paddy Cultivation to Impacts of Climate Change in Anuradhapura District in North Central Province, Sri Lanka

Anuradhapura District in Sri Lanka heavily relies on paddy cultivation and plays a significant role in the country's paddy production. Given the grave threat posed by climate change to paddy cultivation in this region, it is crucial to assess its vulnerability. This study aims to fill the gap in sub-national vulnerability assessments by determining the degree of vulnerability and mapping it in the district. A combination of secondary and primary data was employed in this study. Secondary data encompassed the analysis of average annual and monthly rainfall and temperature variations in Anuradhapura District from 2010 to 2020, as well as the occurrence of droughts and floods in the same period. Additionally, the study examined the variations in average annual paddy yield in Anuradhapura District from 2010 to 2020. For primary data collection, Climate Change Vulnerability Indices (CCVI) were employed, which included indicators, exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Under the exposure indicator, climate exposure, biophysical exposure, and biological exposure were considered. Sensitivity was assessed through social, financial, and farm sensitivity sub-indicators, while adaptive capacity was evaluated using socio-economic, agricultural, and institutional capacity sub-indicators. The field sampling focused on divisions with significant paddy lands that depend on minor irrigation and rainfed cultivation, such as Thirappane and Kahatagasdigiliya. Nuwaragam Palatha Central which had fewer paddy lands and a population engaged in non-paddy-related activities, was used as a control. Two Grama Niladhari (GN) divisions from each selected Divisional Secretariat (DS) division were randomly chosen for detailed sampling. In each GN division, 50 families were randomly selected to participate in semi- structured questionnaire surveys supplemented with focus group discussions and key informant surveys. The collected data were used to create a vulnerability map for Anuradhapura District through GIS analysis. The study results revealed that the annual rainfall showed a decrease from 2010 to 2020. Other parameters did not show significant variation. In terms of vulnerability, Kahatagasdigiliya DSD exhibited the highest vulnerability followed by Thirappane DSD. The lowest vulnerability was observed in Nuwara Gampalatha Centre DSD.   Keywords: Climate change, Paddy cultivation, Adaptation measures, Vulnerability assessment, Anuradhapura &nbsp

Studies in numerical taxonomy of soils

A series of established numerical taxonomic strategies was applied to soil data from three sources: USDA (1975), De Alwis (1971) and the Soil Survey of England and Wales. The first two sources provided data for 41 soil profiles, which were classified without reference to their geographical location. The data obtained from the Soil Survey of England and Wales related to a particular geographical area (West Sussex Coastal Plain) and the geographical relationship between soil individuals was also examined. Two methods of soil characterization (soil profile models) were compared with respect to their effect on the results produced by two hierarchical agglomerative strategies based on two measures of inter-individual similarity. Comparison of results, obtained from the agglomerative strategies for the two soil profile models, was made. The nature of inter-attribute correlation for depth levels modelled as arrays of independent attributes was examined, and all attributes were classified on the basis of inter-attribute correlation. Seven hierarchical agglomerative strategies were examined with respect to their goodness-of-fit in the original space and also the relationship between goodness-of-fit and clarity of clusters was examined. From these comparisons, two agglomerative strategies were chosen to represent two classes of strategy: (a) strategies with minimum of distortion, (b) strategies with a greater distortion but clear clusters. The average linkage method from the first category and the Ward's error sum of squares (ESS) method from the second category were selected. These two strategies were applied to the data sets described above using two measures of similarity namely (a) squared Euclidean distance and (b) Mahalanobis D2, and a divisive strategy, REMUL, was also applied to classify the soil populations. The classifications obtained from these strategies were compared by Wilk's Criterion A and the classification which had the lowest A was treated as the best initial partition. The best two partitions of the two populations obtained from the agglomerative strategy, Ward's ESS method, were further analysed. The optimum number of groups (G) in each population was decided by the relationship between LambdaG2 and G. The soil profile groups produced by these methods were further examined and improved by a reallocation strategy based on the Mahalanobis distance between individuals and the group centroids. Reallocation was done using 30 attributes from the uppermost soil horizons. Canonical analysis was performed on the populations both before and after the classification. Canonical plots were produced and a comparison was made with the dendrograms obtained for the best partitions. The classifications obtained were examined in relation to parent material classes. The spatial relationship of the soil groups of the West Sussex Coastal Plain was also investigated. As shown by this study, it is possible to produce a better classification of soils by numerical taxonomic methods compared with traditional methods. For this end, it is not necessary to use all attributes of soils, but a sufficiently large number of properties, which can be empirically determined, is adequate for the purpose of producing a natural classification. The soil groups produced by numerical methods showed a closer association with parent materials.<p

Prematurity and early life programming

Preterm infants are at increased risk of cardiometabolic and neurodevelopmental disorders in later life. The typical postnatal growth pattern of failure to achieve the equivalent of a normal fetal growth rate, followed up by catch-up growth, altered adiposity and altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) activity may be predisposing factors. Potential mechanisms that may mediate such programmed effects include altered DNA methylation and faster telomere attrition. A prospective cohort of 46 very preterm (25+2 to 31+5 weeks’ gestation, mean 28.6) and 40 full term (38+3 to 42+2 weeks’ gestation, mean 40.2) infants was established to investigate potential mechanisms. Infants were studied at birth, term equivalent age, 3 months and 1 year corrected for prematurity. At all time points, linear growth and body composition (by densitometry) were measured and buccal (epithelial) cells was collected for measurement of DNA methylation (5mC) and relative telomere length. Compared with full term infants, preterm infants were lighter (p < 0.001) and had a smaller head circumference (p < 0.05) at all time-points and were shorter at term equivalent (p < 0.001) and 3 months corrected age (p = 0.002). Preterm infants also had greater percentage body fat at term equivalent age (mean difference = 5.5%, p < 0.001), which normalised by 3 months corrected (mean difference = 0.9%, p = 0.4). Preterm infants had a blunted salivary cortisol response (mean difference 0.4 μg/dL, p = 0.02) to a stressor (physical examination) at 3 months compared to term infants at this age, suggesting altered activity of the HPA axis. 5mC is fundamental in the control of expression of imprinted genes involved in fetal growth. Notably, a number of studies in humans exposed to an adverse environment in early life have demonstrated altered 5mC at the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) controlling the expression of the key fetal growth factor insulin like growth factor 2 (IGF2) and at the linked H19 imprinting control region (H19 ICR). At birth, preterm infants had a significant decrease in 5mC at DMR2 compared with term infants at birth (β = –11.5, p < 0.001) and compared with preterm infants at term equivalent age (mean difference = -7.4, p = 0.01). By term equivalent age, preterm infants had decreased 5mC at both DMR2 (β = –2.8, p = 0.01) and the H19 ICR (β = –2.3, p = 0.048) compared with term infants at birth, although this difference disappeared at 1 year corrected. Although research has suggested that catch up growth may confer an unfavourable metabolic phenotype, poor initial weight gain can associate with worse cognitive outcome. A pathway was established for obtaining advanced magnetic resonance images of the preterm brain. 5mC at H19 ICR and DMR2 in buccal DNA showed no association with measures of white matter microstructure or whole brain volumes. Term infants demonstrated telomere lengthening over the first year of life (mean difference = -0.3, p = 0.02). There was no significant change in telomere length over the first year of life in preterm infants (mean difference = 0.2, p = 0.34). However, as preterm infants at term equivalent age had longer telomeres compared to term infants at birth (β = 0.6, p < 0.001), ultimately there were no differences between the term and the preterm groups at 1 year corrected age (β = 0.3, p = 0.07). The DNA modification 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) is a stable modification in its own right and is also thought to be an intermediate step in DNA demethylation. 5hmC is abundant in the placenta but has not been studied in the context of fetal programming. Additionally, previous research using methods such as bisulphite conversion would not have discriminated between 5mC and 5hmC and therefore the role of 5mC may not have been accurately measured. To study the relationship between 5mC, 5hmC and fetal growth, gene expression of candidate imprinted and non-imprinted genes in full term placental samples from the Edinburgh Reproductive Tissue BioBank was analysed. 5mC and 5hmC within the IGF2/H19 and KvDMR (controlling CDKN1C) loci was estimated using chemical capture and immunoprecipitation techniques that discriminate between modifications. Relationships between the expression of IGF2 (r = 0.3, p = 0.02) and CDKN1C (r = -0.3, p = 0.01) and birth weight across the normal range were found and in keeping with the known action of these genes. 5mC at IGF2 DMR0 (β = 0.3, p = 0.02) and KvDMR (β = 0.3, p = 0.02) and 5hmC at H19 gene body (β = 0.2, p = 0.04) associated with birth weight. Thus, DNA modifications at imprinted DMRs may modulate environmental influences on fetal growth across the normal range. DNA methylation at IGF2/H19 can be influenced by early life events. It remains to be seen whether any changes are present later in childhood and whether they associate with risk factors for the metabolic syndrome

A Feasibility Study to Develop an Integrated Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programme in the Western Province of Sri Lanka

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus which can lead to sight loss, if not detected and treated in time. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the feasibility of integrating DR screening (DRS) services into free public sector health care in Sri Lanka. The objectives were to identify barriers to access DRS, to determine the most appropriate DRS modality and to assess acceptability of a health educational intervention (HEI). Methods: The study was conducted using mixed methods. The barriers were assessed through systematic literature search and qualitative studies. A systematic literature review and meta-analysis was conducted to assess the diagnostic accuracy of DRS using digital retinal imaging. Based on the results of the formative stages, a local context specific DRS modality was defined and validated at a tertiary level medical clinic by trained physician graders. Finally, a HEI was adapted and acceptability was assessed using participatory approach. Results: The formative studies revealed that lack of knowledge and awareness on DR, lack of skilled human resources and DRS imaging infrastructure as the main barriers. In the meta-analysis, highest sensitivity was observed in mydriatic more than two field strategy (92%, 95% CI 90-94%). In the validation study, sensitivity of the defined referable DR was 88.7% for grader 1 and 92.5% for grader 2, using mydriatic imaging. The specificity was 94.9% for grader 1 and 96.4% for grader 2. The overall acceptability of the HEI material was satisfactory. Conclusions: Knowing the barriers to access DRS is a pre-requisite in development of a DRS program. Non-mydriatic 2-field strategy is a more pragmatic approach in implementing DRS programs in low income non-ophthalmic settings, with dilatation of pupils of those who have ungradable images. The process of adapting HEI was not simply translation into local language, instead a tailored approach for the local context

Does Engagement of Employees affect to Organizational Commitment? Evidence from Non-Academics in Sri Lankan State Universities

Area of the Study This study is aimed to discuss the impact of employee engagement on the organizational commitment of the Sri Lankan non-academics in the state universities. Problem of the Study As an interesting research area, there are different finds of the impact of employee engagement on the organizational commitment. However, it is difficult to find the empirical findings of these two phenomenons among the non-academics in the state universities. Therefore the problem of the study is: Does employee engagement of non-academics in the state universities affect their organizational commitment? Method of the study 317 non-academics in the Sri Lankan state universities were selected randomly as the sample of the study and structured questionnaire was used to measure the employee engagement and organizational commitment of the sample respondents. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were basically used statistical analysis of the study. Findings of the Study The major finding of the study is that there is a positive and significant relationship and impact of employee engagement and organizational commitment of the non-academics in the state universities. However, there is weak and no relationship was found between the employee engagement (both job engagement and organizational engagement) with the continuance commitment. Conclusion of the Study The administrations of the state universities have to consider the employee engagement as an important human behavior and they have to pay their attention to enrich the employee engagement. Keywords: Employee Engagement, Organizational Commitment, Non-academics, State Universitie

The HRM Practices on Job Satisfaction of Operational Workers in the Apparel Industry in Colombo District, Sri Lanka

Area of the StudyHRM practices on job satisfaction are a widely discussed topic today. Therefore this study is aimed to discuss the HRM practices on job satisfaction of operational workers in the Sri Lankan apparel companies located in Colombo district.Problem of the StudyThere are no any theoretical and empirical findings on how HRM practices affect job satisfaction of operational workers in the apparel sector in Sri Lanka. Then, the problem of the study is: Do HRM practices affect job satisfaction of operational workers in the Sri Lankan apparel companies located in Colombo district?Method of the StudyThe data were collected from 300 operational level employees from four selected large scale apparel companies in Colombo district through structured questionnaire. Questionnaire consisted of 60 questions for HRM practices and 20 for job satisfaction and all questions were scaled with five point scale. Correlation and regression analysis were used to analyse the data using SPSS (Version 16).Findings of the StudyThe major finding of the study is that there is a significant and positive relationship and association of HRM practices with job satisfaction. Further, there are few HRM functions which strongly do not affectjob satisfaction of employees.Conclusion of the StudyAs conclusion, companies have to enrich the significant HRM function is to enhance the employees’ job satisfaction based on the findings.Keywords: Job Satisfaction, HRM Practices, Extrinsic Job Satisfaction, Intrinsic Job Satisfactio