Browsing by Author "Jayathilaka, A."

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    Ethnic Triumphalism as a Bounded Foe of Ethnic Integration (Case Study of Sri Lanka)
    (Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Jayathilaka, A.
    Post war Sri Lanka continues to face a huge challenge of ethnic integration since, end of a civil war by military means does not necessarily mean the end of the conflict. This divided society can only build its shared future out of its divided past by having a well guided reconciliation process since, reconciliation is an approach which consolidates peace, breaks the cycle of violence by preventing the possibilities of the use of the past as the seed of renewed conflict. Further ethnic integration via reconciliation should be a holistic approach which should go beyond the ethno- religious boundaries in a multi ethnic society like Sri Lanka. Theravada Buddhism the main religion of Sri Lanka, has a negative view towards violence. Accommodative nature of Buddhism also provides a vast space for ethnic integration by bridging the ethnic demarcation lines. Hence, Cambodia provides a promising initiative for using Buddhism as a tool of post conflict peace building. Nevertheless religion may not be productive in peace building among the ethnicities, when politicized or manipulated as a tool of nationalism. Study finds that in the post-war context Sinhala- Buddhist ideology is the principal and determining goal of a government. When seeking a ruling ideology previous president, griped the Sinhala-Buddhist supremacism. Yet, neglecting the reconciliation triumphalism was well promoted. ‗Non violence‘ and ‗Empathy‘ which are the true essence of Buddhism were undermined by the arrival of fundamentalism. For instance, in post war Sri Lanka Bodu Bala Sena has emerged as a tool of Sinhala-Buddhist triumphalism by claiming as a counter - force of Islamic fundamentalism. Hence religious fundamentalism makes serious damages in the social and ethnic fabric of the country leaving reconciliation as a hostage of triumphalism. This leaves a huge challenge for the new government to utilizing of state mechanisms and social movements for the proper implementation of reconciliation process for ensuring post war ethnic integration.
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    Measles infection in lady Ridgeway hospital in 2013: a case control study
    (Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians, 2015) Navageevan, N.; Punchihewa, P.M.G.; Kumarendran, B.; Hathagoda, K.L.W.; Galappaththi, A.G.A.R.; Jayathilaka, A.
    BACKGROUND:A measles outbreak was reported in 2013 in the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children (LRH).OBJECTIVES:To describe the epidemiology of measles among paediatric patients admitted to LRH. DESIGN, SETTING AND METHOD:This case control study, conducted among patients admitted to LRH, recruited 167 clinical cases and 693 controls of six to 24 months age. All the clinically positive cases admitted to any of the six paediatric medical units during January to June 2013 and four patients admitted following each case were included. Data was gathered from the bed head tickets using data extraction sheet and by telephone interview. Significance was assessed at 5% level.RESULTS:Of the 140 clinical cases with available reports, 126 (90%) were positive for measles lgM (confirmed cases - CC). The CC included 75 (60%) males, 48 (38%) aged up to 9 months and 50 (40%) aged 10 to 12 months. Clinical features among the CC include high fever (100%), rash (100%), cough (94%), coryza (83%), conjunctivitis (63%), Koplik spots (14%), post measles staining (31%), diarrhoea (48%) and vomiting (31%). Complications among the CC included at least one complication (68%), pneumonia (65%) and 2 cases of death. Of the 47 CC with positive contact history, 41 had contacts in the hospital. Of the 28 cases aged above 12 months, 23 did not receive measles vaccine.Measles status was associated with measles vaccination status among children above 12 months of age (P<0.001), contact history (P<0.001), ethnicity (P<0.001) and mother's education (P<0.01). There was no evidence for an association of measles infection status with sex (p=0.9), income (p=0.3) and weight for age (p=0.2). CONCLUSIONS: • Around 78% cases were below 12 month old. • Majority of cases above 12 month of age did not receive measles vaccine. • Majority of cases had contact history in the hospital.