The stress response that is triggered in an organism when facing a stressor is crucial to maintain stability and health. However, exposure to a severe or a chronic stressor can be maladaptive and cause several impairments in the body, such as cardiovascular diseases, atrophy of the brain, and psychopathologies mainly characterized by anxiety and depression. Resilience or vulnerability to stress is mediated through different biopsychosocial factors, one of which is the use of coping strategies. Different types of coping strategies have been linked to either adaptive or maladaptive outcomes, and are an important factor to consider regarding stress resilience. Cultural differences in symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and coping strategies were assessed through self-report measurements in the form of two questionnaires. 75 Swedes and 67 Sri Lankans between the age of 18-50 took part in the study. The most significant findings of this study suggest that 1) Sri Lankans experience more symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression compared to Swedes, 2) dysfunctional coping is correlated with higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in both Sweden and Sri Lanka, 3) higher levels of stress predicts higher levels of anxiety and depression in both Sweden and Sri Lanka, and 4) both countries tend to favor problem-focused coping over emotion-focused and dysfunctional coping. A discussion regarding the current findings, including limitations of the study is provided, as well as directions for future research.

The legal humanitarian regime, set out in the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, strives to alleviate human suffering through the provision of emergency goods and services, such as food supplies, water, temporary shelter, and medical treatment. This thesis examines how international non-government organizations (INGOs) contribute to the contestation of this regime in political emergencies, the effects of this contestation, and the factors driving INGO contestation. The thesis develops an analytical framework for understanding the nature and functioning of the legal humanitarian regime, and argues that INGO contestation occurs through the two processes of regime interpretation and regime implementation. It then goes on to identify the substantive content and effects of contestation, and the factors driving INGO contestation of the regime, through a detailed study of the policies and practices of CARE, Médecins Sans Frontiers, Oxfam, and World Vision, in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, from 1990-2010. The thesis argues that contestation has constitutive effects, as it re-defines the meaning of the formal humanitarian regime, and the underlying rules and norms that specify the regime’s function, scope, and operating principles. Contestation also has causal effects, as it can make INGOs participants in the conflict, eroding thereby the basis on which they negotiate access and their ability to respond to humanitarian needs, and the security of their staff. It has also facilitated the subordination of humanitarian assistance by donor states and combatants to their political and security objectives. INGO identity - expressed in terms of the constituent rules and norms that define INGO membership, their mandate and goals, and the manner in which they distinguish themselves from other actors - is argued to be a necessary factor for explaining INGO contestation. The focus on identity highlights the agency of INGOs in shaping the humanitarian regime and demonstrates that INGOs are not simply at the mercy of more powerful actors or external constraints.

This diploma thesis deals with the economy and the position of Sri Lanka in the international tourism market. The aim of the thesis is to analyze the performance of Sri Lankan economy and the country's position in the international tourism market. The thesis also concentrates on assessing the competitiveness of both the economy and the tourism industry. The development of the country is analyzed since the end of the civil war. The first chapter theoretically defines key concepts related to the issue of international tourism. The second chapter deals with the economy of Sri Lanka. Firstly, the structure of economy is introduced. Secondly, macroeconomic indicators and international trade are assessed and thirdly, the competitiveness of Sri Lankan economy is analyzed. The third chapter deals with tourism in Sri Lanka. After the presentation of tourism preconditions, the economic characteristics of the sector and of its impact on the national economy follow. The organizational structure and the tourism competitiveness are evaluated afterwards. Finally, SWOT analysis of the tourism industry in Sri Lanka is conducted.

This thesis deals with the accounting system and the tax system in Sri Lanka and compares these systems with Czech approaches to the issue. The aim is to acquaint readers with selected financial and tax system of a developing Asian country and to determine whether Sri Lanka can have an accounting system at the level of developed countries. In an effort to reconcile the Sri Lankan accounting standards with IFRS Sri Lanka adopted Financial Reporting Standards issued by the IASB. We can say that the financial system of the examined developing country is at the level of developed countries. On the fiscal side, it was found that the country focuses mainly on indirect taxation. Value added tax has the largest share in the tax mix. Unlike the tax mix in the Czech Republic there is a great importance of revenue from taxes on international trade. Contributions to social security, which is the most important part of the tax mix in the Czech Republic, are collected in Sri Lanka on an insignificant degree.

This study investigates resistance against female local government politicians in Sri Lanka during their first year and a half as members of local government councils, as a result of the 25 % gender quota introduced in 2018. Further, the study investigates these newly elected female politicians’ perceived ability to influence local government politics; experienced substantive representation. Through a minor field study, in-depth interviews were conducted to examine forms of resistance and perceived political influence of these newly appointed women. Several types of resistance were found and divided into three categories; Patronizing Behavior from Male Politicians; the Dispute Between Elected and Appointed Women; Public Distrust. Some evidence of the mandate effect and the label effect were detected, further hampering substantive representation. The study concludes that despite a significant increase in descriptive representation, substantive representation was not necessarily experienced by the interview subjects. Further studies are encouraged to deepen the understanding of the resistance towards appointed female politicians in Sri Lanka, and moreover the problematic effects of the implementation of gender quotas in highly unequal states.

Child sexual abuse is an ongoing societal problem, causing severe trauma to vulnerable individuals and evoking all manner of coping strategies in managing the aftermath of their experiences.  Whilst extensive research has directed attention onto sexual abuse and the coping strategies that result from such trauma, very few studies have concentrated on the professional perceptions when supporting sexually abused girls using coping strategies to combat their trauma. Therefore, this research intends to provide an exploration into how professionals perceive the coping strategies used by sexually abused girls in a non-governmental organisation (NGO) residential girl’s home in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Using semistructured interviews via email and individual video recorded zoom meetings from three participants: comprising of a director/counsellor, English teacher, and practitioner. The findings suggested that cultural/societal background, therapies, and interventions have led to or encouraged positive or negative outcomes and coping strategies aside from the sexual abuse trauma.

Production has relocated to the Eastern world, whilst consumption is dominating the Western world. Taking into consideration the cultural differences between East and West sanctions a problem, as it is identified that corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices require adaptation to the different cultural contexts. For this reason, it is of interest to study how the values in a middle-income country influence the attitudes that are formed towards CSR to further contextualise the need for adaptation of CSR. To accomplish the aim to the fullest extent, and to adequately form an understanding of how the values influence the attitudes towards CSR in a middle-income country, this study takes place in Colombo, Sri Lanka. As Sri Lanka is a country that has a prevalent textile industry, along with a strong focus on CSR activities and ethical production, augments the choice for the enactment of this study. In the essence of this, the encompassing purpose of this study is as follows: To illustrate how cultural values influence attitudes regarding CSR practices from a future managerial perspective in the setting of Sri Lanka, and if the cultural factors play an important role in the formation of values that inhere to CSR. The methodology of the research consists of focus groups that implicate a vignette technique that builds on the theoretical chapter. Five focus groups were performed, which comprised of fifteen students in total, all current fashion students within textiles, design and marketing at the University of Academy of Design (AOD) located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. By using the vignette technique enables the authors to compose ten scenarios, building on the concepts of CSR in where Carroll’s pyramid is of significance, along with cultural dimensions that are represented by Hofstede and Schwartz. Through these scenarios, the authors explore the attitudes of future managers, namely students, in their attempt to act upon ethical dilemmas. Thereafter, thematic analysis was used to extract four themes from the participants’ insights. These themes add up to the Sri Lankan Business Mindset, Hierarchy, Level of Recognition and Who is Responsible. The findings of this study suggest that in an attempt to approach CSR in a manner which strives to shape the values towards ethical reasoning, it is essential to take into consideration the four actors that are identified as responsible – namely the government, society, company, and individual.

This research study explored how intercultural communication factors such as values and communication styles might affect the interaction between Tamil asylees and their U.S. social workers. For this qualitative study, I interviewed 11 Tamil asylees and conducted a focus group with 3 U.S. social workers at an agency serving the Tamil participants. Based on the findings of this research as well as the literature review, this thesis reveals culture-specific information about Tamil asylees and highlights the implications of the research to the fields of intercultural communication, refugee studies, and social work. Findings revealed the following: culture general assumptions overshadow the complexity of values and communication styles when examined in context, refugees are a unique immigrant population and therefore should be the focus of more intercultural research, competent social workers seem to possess culture-specific and general intercultural skills, and social workers can apply the methodology of this study to learn about the values and communication styles of new refugee clients.

Democracy plays a crucial role in building a society where people’s freedom, human rights and social well-being are assured. In that light, media plays a considerable role as a source of information that can facilitate the smooth function of democracy. Due to the factors such as the rise of social media, political mismanagement and poor administration, media and democracy face numerous challenges in many countries. There is a lack of empirical research on the challenges for media and democracy from the citizens’ perspective. This study aims to identify the contemporary challenges for media and democracy in Sri Lanka from the young citizens’ perspective. Accordingly, the research question is formulated as: “What are the contemporary challenges for media and democracy in Sri Lanka from the young citizen’s perspective?”. ‘Normative theories’ are applied to understand the conduct of media. ‘Capability approach theory’ and Hasebrink’s concept of ‘users as citizens’ are used to understand the standard of living that people can achieve. This study conducted online face-to-face semi-structured interviews with sixteen young citizens in the Gampaha district in Sri Lanka. A case study research strategy was used, and the respondents were selected through purposive sampling. Thematic analysis is used to analyse the data and the identified challenges, and the sub-factors are illustrated in a thematic map. Twenty sub-factors that negatively contribute to media and democracy were identified and classified into five main challenges. The challenges for media and democracy identified in this study will be vital for policymakers, practitioners, journalists, and researchers in this area in order to mitigate the challenges whereby a sound democracy can be facilitated. These challenges identified would also be advantageous as a resource in formulating legal policies, introducing reforms and decision-making processes.

The purpose of the study is to understand the complex relationship between audit firm culture and audit quality within the unique context of Sri Lanka. Solely dependent on insights provided by a group of auditors the research identifies key factors that influence the culture of audit firms and its impact on the quality of audit services. The study highlights the fundamental role of ethics and professionalism as main components of audit firm culture in Sri Lanka. The auditors operate as per code of ethics promoting independence and transparency which is essential in developing trust and reliability in financial reporting and audit services. Work-life balance is another critical cultural aspect that significantly influences audit quality. Lack of emphasis on personal well-being and work-life balance will negatively impact auditors' performance and job satisfaction. The hierarchical structures in Sri Lankan society are also seen in audit firms, affecting business culture. Therefore, open communication within audit teams and senior management is essential for knowledge sharing and conflict resolution. The implementation of modern technology, improving technical skills, and regular training in accounting and auditing standards have been identified as vital factors in ensuring audit quality. Furthermore, the study recognizes that competitive remuneration and the recognition of professional auditors play a substantial role in retaining and motivating staff as equal opportunity audit firm culture ultimately enhances audit quality. The Sri Lanka’s regulatory influence and audit framework highlights the importance of adherence to ethical and professional standards where practicing audit firms influences its culture and improve audit quality. The interaction of the above factors forms the culture within audit firms in Sri Lanka, subsequently impacting the quality of audit services. Addressing these aspects Sri Lanka can enhance its audit quality and create a reliable financial reporting environment