Papers by Dr. Lishanthi Wijewardene
International Journal of Management Studies and Social Science Research, 2024
In general, there are different types of pull and push factors that are encouraging both males an... more In general, there are different types of pull and push factors that are encouraging both males and females to become entrepreneurs, but the authors of this article identified that the same push and pull factors are acting in different ways according to the different situations. Therefore, the main purpose of this article is to find out how push and pull factors are affecting women-headed families in Jaffna District in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 randomly selected women entrepreneurs in the Ammachchi canteens in the Jaffna District, in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, because most of the women entrepreneurs at Ammachchi are the heads of their families due to the loss of their husbands. Further, this study is a qualitative case study, and data analysis was done through both narrative and thematic analysis methods; moreover, in this article, the authors selected family support, opportunity, education, network, independence, competition, and capital as pull factors in order to find out what factors are affecting women to start their businesses at Ammachchi. As a result of this study, the authors found that family support and opportunity factors are positively affecting, and education is negatively affecting these women entrepreneurs at Ammachchi under the push factors; then, network is a neutral factor at Ammachchi, but independence and competition are negative factors, and capital is acting as a positive factor under the pull factors.
People who see the world differently are the ones who change and develop the world. The Jack Frui... more People who see the world differently are the ones who change and develop the world. The Jack Fruit Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd is the realisation of the dream of a young visionary leader, Mr. Dulanjana Vithanage, who perceived the world differently as a budding Sri Lankan entrepreneur. This case study unfolds the challenging yet successful story of Mr. Dulanjana, who commits to achieving Sri Lanka's development goals through an authentic and morally responsible passion. This case study also delves into the challenges faced by Mr. Dulanjana and the strategic measures he took to navigate the business through the complexities of the current turbulent environment. Using his visionary insights, Mr. Dulanjana incorporated his dream enterprise, Jack Fruit Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd, which transformed the conventional tradition of jackfruit consumption in Sri Lanka by innovatively adding value to the wasted jackfruit surplus and turning it into an entrepreneurial triumph. The case study illustrates his divergent strategies, leadership, management capabilities and his passion for morality. Drawing extensively from insightful interviews with Mr. Dulanjana, this case study provides a comprehensive panorama of Jack Fruit Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd. It sheds light on the company's tenacity, spotlighting its journey of triumph over challenges in the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world, and emphasises its unwavering commitment to sustainability and innovation.
European Journal of Theoretical and Applied Sciences
This study examines undergraduates’ perception on referencing which is taught to them in the cour... more This study examines undergraduates’ perception on referencing which is taught to them in the course English for Academic Purposes (EAP). The objective of the research is to identify the extent to which awareness of academic referencing is perceived as significant by undergraduates at a private university where they follow EAP as a core module in their first year. The study examines the extent to which these undergraduates are adhering to their institutional academic integrity policy. An online questionnaire was administered among 400 undergraduates, inquiring about their experience in avoiding plagiarism, a form of academic dishonesty, and how much they are aware on overcoming this type of academic deceit. Additionally, attention was focused on examining how plagiarism is avoided with the advancement of technology where online based plagiarism is found to be common among undergraduates. According to the findings of the study, many undergraduates refer online resources when submittin...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Mar 22, 2023
The unexpected shift to online teaching from face-to-face was a noteworthy phenomenon to all stud... more The unexpected shift to online teaching from face-to-face was a noteworthy phenomenon to all students and teachers in Sri Lanka which affected English Language Teaching (ELT). However, e-learning commenced in Sri Lanka at the Open University of Sri Lanka, way before the COVI-19 pandemic emerged, where the first-year core course in English language regardless of the discipline has been a face-to-face delivery. The traditional face-to-face mode of lecture delivery unexpectedly shifted to online since 2020 due to COVID-19 which resulted in the temporary closure of the physical delivery of all university courses including English. Now it has been more than two years and it is essential to examine the studies conducted locally on online ELT at tertiary level. Eventually the present study has discovered twenty-four studies which were conducted in the said research context analyzing how these studies examined online ELT strategies, their effectiveness, how was it proven and whether any further steps are required to make it effective. Consequently, in most of the local research conducted, undergraduates possess a negative attitude to online learning due to technical flaws and inconveniences experienced when learning from home. In addition, all these studies recommend that leaners and academics be given more practice in online teaching and learning. These findings and conclusions can be utilized to decide on the adequacy of research conducted on online ELT in the local tertiary level context and whether any such scholarly research recommends that online ELT requires revision. Eventually, these conclusions can initiate the designing of a model for online ELT for local undergraduates. Following the findings, the study concludes that online ELT at local universities relies on the teaching practices, prevalence of effectiveness and strategies followed, concern paid and followed to fulfill further requirements for the development in effectiveness. Consequently, it is expected to inspire the implementation of effective strategies for online ELT for undergraduates. However, since most of these conclusions have been arrived at based on studies focusing on undergraduates' perspectives, it is essential to cross-examine the information obtained from both learners and lecturers via a mixed method approach, so that future transitions to the online approach can incorporate the best practices followed by both lecturers and students.
Journal of Economics & Management Research, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has paralysed the world for almost two years, has had disastrous eff... more The COVID-19 pandemic, which has paralysed the world for almost two years, has had disastrous effects on many sectors of society. Across the globe the educational system has plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic [1]. In Sri Lanka, a large population comprising school going children and university undergraduates are facing disruption to their studies due to the devastating effects in the education systems brought about by of the pandemic. The hasty transition from the traditional face-to-face classroom methodology adopted in the teaching of English to undergraduates into online learning and blended learning modes has created a plethora of problems ranging from internet connectivity issues to inability to possess devices for learning due to economic crises. Teaching English to undergraduates entails equipping them with the four language skills, namely reading, writing, listening and speaking. However, the online teaching method has to some extent curtailed the freedom that the face-t...
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 2021
Graduate employability is a topic of much discussion, and employability skills among graduates is... more Graduate employability is a topic of much discussion, and employability skills among graduates is an equally important topic of discussion, as it has been stressed in many scholarly articles that, most graduates do not possess employability skills. Among these skills, oral English proficiency rates high, as they play an important role in the employability and marketability of graduates. Much importance has been placed on English proficiency and good communication skills among graduates which will help in increasing their employability (Ting, Marzuki, Chuah, Misieng & Jerome, 2017). The results of a survey conducted amongst ten employers revealed that in order to be ‘employable,’, business graduates need to develop their oral English competencies, and that good English communication skills can increase the employability of graduates as English is particularly important for graduates (Shivakumar & Sharma, 2017). Thus this article intends to examine the oral English competency that ...
Education is a determining factor that plays a major role in identifying whether a country is mov... more Education is a determining factor that plays a major role in identifying whether a country is moving towards development. In Sri Lanka, one factor that plays a pivotal role, especially in the service industry, is the competency of English, especially the spoken and written skills in facilitating the employability of graduates into both the private and public sectors. A good English language proficiency amongst graduates enhances their employability and is a gateway to the world of work-readiness which will attract the attention of prospective employers. This situation has arisen due to the fact that English has been recognized as a lingua franca in today‘s globalized world with its free market economies. However there have been recurring complaints from employers in Sri Lanka, especially in the service sector that business graduates on the threshold of employment lack proficiency in English language skills, especially the spoken skill. Graduates from State universities in Sri Lanka ...
Communication plays a dynamic role and is an important aspect whether in one’s personal or corpor... more Communication plays a dynamic role and is an important aspect whether in one’s personal or corporate life. The success of any venture largely depends on the ability to communicate with its audience effectively (Shaikh, 2014). Word of Mouth (WOM) communication has been identified and is widely recognized as an important method of marketing and promotion, in addition to being an important source of information that greatly affects the purchase decisions of a customer. WOM plays a significant role in any industry, as it provides consumers the opportunity to assess the worth of a product and/or a service with first-hand information prior to purchase or experience. Thus it could be said that WOM plays an influential role in the overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction of a consumer in relation to any product or service. It is therefore an imperative that marketers and service providers have a better understanding about WOM and thereby endeavor to generate a positive WOM in relation to pro...
OALib, 2021
Undergraduates in the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka find it challenging to achie... more Undergraduates in the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka find it challenging to achieve the outcome of improving business presentation skills during their one-year Intensive English Course. In this study, we explored whether different delivery modes (of face-to-face, online and blended) influenced this outcome achievement. Three tutors with the same level of qualifications and service record were employed to evaluate the three groups of students (N = 180) who practised thirty sessions of business presentations in the face-to-face, online and blended modes in four batches from 2017 to 2020. A pre-test and a post-test were conducted to assess presentation skills. The online group received their training fully online with no face-to-face hours while the blended group received 70% of their practice online, with 30% in the physical classroom. The three groups showed the performance improvements as Blended mean difference = 8.933, Online mean difference = 2.000 and the face-to-face mean difference = 5.267 showing a significant improvement in the blended mode group indicating an association between the mode of learning and presentation skills which will be of use for the Business Communication course developers in Sri Lanka in the future. This study, with further confirmatory evidence, can have implications for improving Business English presentation skills in the context of enhancing communication skills in higher education.
International Journal of Research in Commerce and Management, 2015
must be informative and explain the background, aims, methods, results & conclusion in a single p... more must be informative and explain the background, aims, methods, results & conclusion in a single para. Abbreviations must be mentioned in full.
Uploads
Papers by Dr. Lishanthi Wijewardene