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Various issues engage the attention of thinkers during various eras in history. Among those which have occupied commentators on the contemporary state of humanity are the problem of individuality--its origin, its nature, its significance for mankind as a whole--and a problem not unrelated to this: namely, the question of what may result from a cross fertilization of Eastern and Western ways of thought

This thesis investigates the nuanced factors influencing purchase intention and loyalty within the consumer durables markets of Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The study focus its attention on the trust and price value as main ingredients for purchase intention and loyalty while focusing on other environmental factors affecting consumer decision making efforts. The chosen research approach adopts a deductive method, with hypotheses derived from existing literature, concentrating on trust, loyalty, and price value concerning purchase intentions in Sri Lanka and Pakistan's consumer durables market. Primary data collection employs questionnaires distributed in these populations, utilizing a stratified random sampling technique to ensure diversity. The study supplements this with secondary data collection from reputable publications. The findings yield valuable managerial implications for consumer durable marketers targeting Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Key strategies encompass prioritizing transparent communication for trust-building, implementing fair pricing strategies, strategic investments in digital engagement, addressing environmental sustainability preferences, and adopting a holistic approach to customer loyalty. While emphasizing personalized engagement, community emphasis, and cultural resonance are crucial in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, global markets may demand standardized quality, innovation, and consistent customer experiences. Theoretical contributions extend to understanding consumer loyalty dynamics, exploring price value perception, and fostering cross-cultural insights, offering actionable insights for tailored marketing strategies and product offerings in these diverse markets. Despite its contributions, the study acknowledges limitations, including a restrained exploration of variables, a relatively small sample size, demographic homogeneity among participants, and exclusive reliance on a single data collection method. Recommendations for future studies encompass incorporating qualitative data exploration methods for a more holistic understanding of consumer decision-making, conducting a comprehensive analysis of environmental attitudes, recognizing the dynamic nature of consumer behavior through longitudinal studies, exploring cross-cultural differences, and expanding the geographic scope beyond Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Abstract   Sri Lanka battled a civil war for 26 years during a time when the majoritarian rule discriminated and marginalized Tamils from the rest of the society; the war ended in 2009 but numerous societal problems remained in the country. The Easter bombings in 2019 took the lives of 269 people, once again ethno-nationalistic powers and politics became of great importance within the country’s political sphere. The Rajapaksa family convinced many Sri Lankans that they could fight tensions in the country and uphold national security and Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the presidential election in 2019. In 2022, Sri Lanka faced the worst economical crisis since gaining independence in 1948 and many thousands Sri Lankans took the streets to protest against corruption and the and disproportionate use and even misuse of the country’s resources.   The aim of the thesis is to collect stories from Sri Lankans in Colombo from various religious, ethnic and cultural groups and to analyze their views on democracy, religious, ethnic and cultural identity and their views of possibly perceived unity. The overall aim of this study is to uncover the voices of those directly affected by the situation in Sri Lanka during the spring of 2022. Participatory observation and qualitative interviews were used to collect the empirical data of the study.   Massive protests (that came to be called ‘Aragalaya’ - the Sinhalese word for struggle) took place from March 2022 and transformations within the political sphere in the country due to the economical crisis during that time enabled deep insight and generated interesting perspectives from interviewees that participated in the research. The empirical data is analyzed through the theoretical perspectives of marginalization theory and theory on democracy and protests.

The primary objective of this thesis is to analyse the relationship between money and the macro-economy in Sri Lanka between 1977 and 1985, in order to identify the paths through which monetary policy impulses are transmitted over this period. In doing so, - we also hope to highlight the use of macro-simulation as a tool for the analysis of the monetary transmission mechanism and to emphasise the importance of formulating monetary policy within an explicit monetary control framework. This is especially important in Sri Lanka since monetary policy has been a key instrument of demand management since 1977 and historically there has been a noticeable absence of an explicit monetary control framework. Empirical research on the monetary transmission mechanism has been very limited as far as developing countries are concerned. An exception here is the SEACEN (1981) study which simulates the effects of monetary shocks on a number of South East Asian countries, including Sri Lanka, using a flexible monetarist approach. Our research is based upon a revision of the specification of this model for Sri Lanka and a more comprehensive disaggregation of the monetary transmission channels. Our empirical model produces statistical results which are generally acceptable and conform to a Priori expectations. This model is then simulated dynamically, both, to validate the equations in the context of a complete model and to quantify the impact of alternative policy scenarios relating to the monetary transmission mechanism in Sri Lanka. We believe that our results will help to shed light on the nature of the monetary transmission mechanism in developing countries as well as provide the basis for an on-going analysis of monetary management in Sri Lanka. / Central Bank of Sri Lanka

This thesis examines the implementation of Community Corporate Responsibility (CCR) practices among ten subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in Sri Lanka and the different factors which influence such implementation. Within this context, it specifically focuses on examining the internal factors residing within the MNC as an organisation and those factors which exist outside in the institutional environment of the host country. The study combines three broad theoretical domains: Corporate Responsibility implementation literature, International Business Strategy literature and Neo-Institutional theory. It uses a qualitative research methodology based upon the interview method. Qualitative interview data collected through sixty-two in-depth interviews with managers of the ten subsidiaries and key institutional actors in the host country were analysed using descriptive coding, interpretive coding and conceptualisation to arrive at the findings. The findings showed that non-specialist functional departments were mainly responsible for implementing CCR practices, indicating a lack of strategic and structural integration of CCR practices. The findings reinforces the dominant role of the MNC headquarters in implementing CCR practices within subsidiaries operating in a developing country, indicating that ¿power¿ relationships between subsidiary and parent is an important denominator in internal organisational practices implementation. Furthermore, dynamic and complex relationships were found between the subsidiaries and the Sri Lankan government and other institutional actors indicating the existence of a strategic approach towards legitimisation by iii subsidiaries, using CCR practices. Based upon these findings, this research proposes the need to conduct future studies across different MNCs and their subsidiaries located in multiple developing countries to further examine the implementation of CCR practices as it would enable public policy makers and business managers to better influence the global CSR of MNCs. / Bradford University School of Management

This study examined mental health outcomes for widowed Tamil women in Sri Lanka to identify any associations between type of spousal loss and several outcomes, including internalized stigma as a result of widowhood, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. A sample of 381 Tamil female widows living in Eastern Sri Lanka were surveyed in 2016 to understand their experiences in a post-disaster and post-war context. Type of spousal loss was separated into seven categories: war-related death, death as a result of tsunami, illness-related deaths, accidental death, suicide, disappearance, and other. Path analysis was used to assess whether type of spousal loss predicts variations in symptom outcomes, controlling for time they have been bereaved, number of children, social problems, and perceived sense of community. The Conservation of Resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989) was used to conceptualize how spousal loss is connected to distress symptoms and to explain the findings. Analysis revealed that the only types of spousal loss which associated with significant variation in symptom distress were spousal loss as a result of accident and "other" causes. Specifically, accidental causes of spousal death were associated with lower levels of depression, and "other" causes of death were associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety as compared to all other causes of death. In addition, the control variables of sense of community and social problems predicted significant variation in symptom distress such that higher levels of sense of community were associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms, and social problems were associated with higher levels of all measured types of mental health distress symptoms.

Excerpt: James W. Gair and W.S. Karunatilaka’s Literary Sinhala, published at Cornell University in 1974, remains the best textbook for non-native speakers who want to learn literary Sinhala, which is quite distinct from the colloquial language. Given that very few institutions outside Sri Lanka offer Sinhala instruction, many persons seeking a reading knowledge of the language use this textbook on their own. Literary Sinhala, however, was produced with the assumption that the user would have access to an instructor, and does not include English translations of the Sinhala reading passages. This publication, commissioned and published by the American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies 40 years after the appearance of Literary Sinhala, provides these translations. The intention is to make the textbook more helpful, especially for those using it without an instructor.

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