International Postgraduate Research Conference (IPRC)
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Item The Moderating Effect of Ethnicity on Relationship between Role Demands and Work-Life Balance among Women Lecturers in Sri Lanka(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Welmilla, I.Women lecturers participate in various work and life roles, which can create challenges when trying to balance the pressures and responsibilities associated with each role. This study is particularly relevant for women in the teaching profession specially for the university lecturers. The current study seeks to argue that the constructs of role demands and ethnicity have been neglected in the work-life balance literature in Sri Lankan context. The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating effect of ethnicity on role demand and the work-life balance of women lecturers in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the study examines the relationship between two aspects of role demands (work and family) and work-life balance among women lecturers in Sri Lanka as well as the role of ethnic identity as a moderator of the relationship. First, to investigate the direct relationship, two exogenous constructs; work demand and family demand and two endogenous constructs namely work satisfaction, family satisfaction were identified. Next, the study was to decide whether the relationship between role demands and work-life balance among women lecturers in Sri Lanka differ on the basis of ethnicity. To test this, ethnicity used as moderating variable and considered the two major ethnic groups in Sri Lanka namely, Sinhala and Tamil. The sample has been selected through random sampling and quantitative research approach has been applied. A questionnaire survey was used to gather data from women lecturers in state universities in Sri Lanka. There were 265 responses were obtained. The structural equation model was used in analyzing the data. First, the result of the study demonstrates that the significant negative relationship between role demands and work-life balance, and it fills a gap in the literature by validating the associations between role demands and work-life balance dimensions. Finally, the study shows that the relationship between role demands and work-life balance is not moderated by ethnic identity. This result is remarkable as this is the first study that presented the outcome of relationships between role demands and work-life balance among women lecturers’ in Sri Lanka as not differing on the basis of ethnicity. This study recognized that women lecturers can improve work life balance by balancing work and family role demands. Furthermore, it was implied that when living under the same economic and social system different ethnic groups gain similar perceptions.Item Subversive Others; Sexuality, Ethnicity, And Violence in Five Sri Lankan Novels in English(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Ambahelagedara, N.(Hetero)Sexuality seems to play a highly important role in Sri Lankan society, but it is a topic that is deliberately avoided in discussions that take place within “polite circles”. It is for the most part invisible or made to be seen as non-existent by a “norm-governed” society, which considers heterosexuality to be the “ideal” form of sexuality. In terms of ethnicity, again the impact of the ideologies of the dominant ethnic groups on other ethnicities of the country is substantial. In the process of taking measures to make Sri Lanka an essentially “Sinhala- Buddhist” country, other ethnic groups have been pushed to the margins. Today, these “ethnic and sexual others” are engaged in a constant battle of searching for an accepted identity within Sri Lanka. Some of the Sri Lankan writers in English have endeavoured to form a space within their work in order to express the “undiscussed” theme of sexuality, including those sexualities that are considered “heretical”. The Moon in the Water by Ameena Hussein, Giraya by Punyakante Wijenaike, Funny Boy by Shyam Selvadurai, The Jam Fruit Tree by Carl Muller, and Servants: A Cycle by Rajiva Wijesinha, which provide the basis for this study, are some of the Sri Lankan English novels that foreground “invisible spaces” such as sexuality. However, they are not confined to the theme of sexuality but illuminate the themes of ethnicity and violence as well. The boldness and honesty with which the authors address these issues on gender and sexuality have decidedly created a sense of awareness among the readership, as they attempt to create a space for those who are in the periphery, while providing an insight into the possible outcomes the “subversive other” would be subjected to. Hence, the objective of this study is to examine the ways in which such forms of violence are created, to show how these selected novels address the issues of sexuality, ethnicity, and violence and how transgressive sexualities and ethnic minorities threaten normative society and the status quo of the dominant groups.