KDU-International Research Conference 2021 held via Online Platform: An Intellectual Academic Dialogue.

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General Sir John Kotelawala Defense University held its 14th International Research Conference under the theme ‘Security, Stability and National Development in the New Normal’ on the 9th and 10th of September 2021. Mr. Lalith Weeratunga, Principal Advisor to His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka, was the keynote speaker at the inauguration ceremony.

Plenary Session – Faculty of Management, Social Sciences and Humanities                                

The Plenary session of the Faculty of Management, Social Sciences and Humanities (FMSH) was successfully held on the first day (9th September) from 1400 hrs onwards under the theme ‘Revisiting  National Development in the New Normal’. Accounting, Social Sciences and Humanities, Humanitarian Logistics, and Languages were among the disciplines that contributed intellectually to the event. Dr. Hendrik Vollmer, Dr. Suren Raghavan, Prof. Dakshina De Silva, Dr. Thomas E. Fernandez, and Dr. Bimali Indrarathne, all well-known eminent professors, highly regarded scholars, and practitioners in their respective fields, addressed the unique gathering of discussants, academics, and research students who joined via online platforms.The session was chaired by Hon. (Prof) Charitha Herath, Professor of Philosophy and Member of Parliament, Sri Lanka. They presented their findings under the themes ‘The Place of Accounting in the New Normal’, ‘Changed Role of Higher Education for National Development under New/Next Normal’, ‘Tiebout Sorting and Environmental Injustice’, ‘Humanitarian Logistics in the New Normal’ and ‘Language Teaching and Teacher Education in the New Normal’ respectively.

Link to Plenary Session http://library.kdu.ac.lk/irc2021/Plenary-Session-1-Management_Social_science_Humanities.php

Technical Sessions on Management and Finance

Faculty of Management, Social Sciences, and Humanities of KDU presented the first parallel technical session on Management and Finance of the 14th international research conference. The event was chaired by Prof. PHT Kumara, Professor of Economics at Uwa Wellassa University’s Faculty of Management. Five papers were delivered after his introduction.The first presentation was ‘Competitive Edge Through Automation: A Study on Sri Lankan Apparel Industry’ by SAM De Silva, KASL Gunathilaka, HMKH Munaweera, HDS Perera and MMLC Gunathilaka from KDU. The second presentation was ‘A Study on the relationship between employee perceived autonomy and job satisfaction of remote employees’ by PD Karunarathna from CIPM. The third presentation was ‘Fuelling the Start-ups: Nexus of crowdfunding awareness, parental influence, and internet familiarity on start-up intention’ by SAMTP Siriwardhana and WDNSM Tennakoon from Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. The fourth presentation was ‘University Students’ Intention of Continuous Use in Zoom for e-learning’ by AHI Chandradasa and BL Galhena from University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. The fifth presentation was ‘Flexible working arrangements and job satisfaction of public sector employees: with reference to post COVID-19 situation in Sri Lanka’ affiliation with KDU by Hirushi Abeysinghe, Sanduni Ranasinghe, Dinishi Mendis and Lahiru Gunathilaka.

In the second parallel technical session five papers were presented and the chairperson was Prof. Amila Jayarathne, Professor in Marketing, Department of Marketing at the University of Sri Jayawardhanapura. The first presentation was ‘Exploratory Study in Conceptualizing Individual Work Performance (IWP) Construct in three different industries in Sri Lanka’ by GGTY Gunathilaka from Metropolitan College. The second presentation was ‘The Impact of Supply Chain Visibility on Consumers’ Purchase Intention of Organic Food’ by MA Supun, FMH Sigirige, PCDU De Silva, TD Meepagala, and W Premarathne from KDU. The third presentation was ‘Studying the Issues Facing in Branch Banking Operational Related Fraud Management’ by, Nilanrha S Akurugoda and Dr. UG Rajapaksha. The fourth presentation was ‘The Impact of Gender and Location on Career Indecision: Special Reference to Sri Lankan State Universities’  by MN Maduwanthi from the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. The fifth presentation was ‘The Role of Environmental and Psychological Factors in assisting Sustainable Entrepreneurial Performance (SEP) of Women-led Micro firms: A study based in the Kandy District’ by GHK Fonseka, RMAM Rathnayake, DU Kasthuriarachchi, PMRT De Silva, and Dr. Kalpana Ambepitiya from KDU.

The best oral presentation of the track was won by SAMTP Siriwardhana and WDNSM Tennakoon for the presentation on ‘Fuelling the Start-ups: Nexus of Crowdfunding Awareness, Parental Influence, and Internet Familiarity on Start-ups Intention’.

Technical Sessions on Language and Education

 Dr Bimali Indrarathne, Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, Department of Education, University of York, UK, shared her findings on Language Teaching and Teacher Education in the new normal during the plenary session.

There were two technical sessions under the theme of Language and Education. The first technical session was chaired by Professor Lalith Ananda from Department of English and Linguistics of the  University of Sri Jayawardenepura. There were five presentations in session one: ‘An Investigation on the Constraints Encountered by Lower Secondary Learners with Reference to the Bilingual Educational Policy in Sri Lanka’, ‘The Impact of the Socio – Political Tenacity on Language Usage in Sri Lankan English Journalistic Writings’, ‘Despondency of English Language Teaching Departments: Factors Impinging upon the Struggle to Enhance English Language Skills of Undergraduates’, ‘An Investigation on the Implementation of the Right to Participation in the Teaching – Learning Process at the Senior Secondary School Level’, and ‘Perception of Teacher Trainees regarding the Implementation of Continuous Assessment at National Colleges of Education in Sri Lanka’. Dr. Bimali Indrarathne, Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, Department of Education, University of York, UK, chaired the second session. Session II featured five speakers who discussed the research subjects of   ‘Attitudes of Tertiary Level English Learners in Sri Lanka towards Online Learning: A Study Conducted during the Covid-19 Pandemic’, ‘Assessing the E learner Autonomy among ESL Learners in Higher Education Institutes, Sri Lanka’, ‘Adopting Synchronous Teaching Technologies in Online ELT Classrooms during the Covid-19 Pandemic at Technological Education Institutes’, ‘Preliminary Findings of an Analysis of the Covid-19 English Terminology Used in Electronic News Media in Sri Lanka’, and ‘A Participatory Survey on Effective Utilization of Teacher-Student and Student-Peer Interaction on Online Platforms in Second Language Teaching Pedagogy’. The best oral presentation of the track- Language and Education was awarded to Ms. WS Sudusinghe and Mr. WGC Kumara for the research presentation on ‘Assessing the e-Learner Autonomy among ESL (English as a Second Language) Learners in Higher Education Institutes, Sri Lanka’. The completion of the technical sessions marked the successful completion of this annual event which was conducted on virtual platforms this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Technical Sessions on Social Sciences

On the 10th of September 2021, two (02) technical sessions connected to the Department of Social Sciences were held through Zoom under the main theme.

The first technical session was chaired by Dr. Dayani Panagoda (PhD, LLM, MBA, MA, Attorney-At-Law, Commissioner of Oaths) from 1330 Hrs to1500 Hrs. Dr. Dayani Panagoda is currently working as a Senior Technical Specialist at Global Communities, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Four research papers were presented during the session, and the presenters built strong arguments by emphasizing specific findings relating to a variety of topics.; Work-life balance relating to working from home concept, psycho-social encounters of female children living under institutional care, replantation of Tea lands of smallholdings and Vocational Training for Persons with Visual Impairment and Blindness.

Dr. Kamalika Jayathilaka (PhD in Sociology, MA in Social Research, MA in Sociology, BA (Hons) Sociology) presided over the second technical from 1530 to 1640 hours. Dr. Kamalika Jayathilaka is currently working as an Acting Head and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Indigenous Social Sciences, Faculty of Indigenous Social Sciences and Management Studies, Gampaha Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine.

The session was consisted of two research papers focusing on Economic Sensitivity of Non-Working Females for Wage Differential Compensation and Factors Affecting on Shifting from Current Cultivation to Hot Pepper Cultivation along with Contract Farming Practices.

Both sessions were enhanced by insightful remarks from both Chairpersons directed at all of the researchers, as well as constructive discussions among the presenters during the question and answer sessions. The best oral presentation of the track- Social Sciences was awarded to Ms. WAS Thilanka for the research presentation on ‘In a Home with No Home Feeling: Psycho-Social Encounters of Female Children Living under Institutional Care’. The Social Sciences technical sessions were successfully concluded with significant insights, motivating all participants to create and disseminate knowledge through research studies.

Related web links: http://library.kdu.ac.lk/irc2021/irc-2021-videos.php

http://library.kdu.ac.lk/irc2021/index.php

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