http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10675 Thu, 23 Apr 2026 11:27:13 GMT 2026-04-23T11:27:13Z http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10743 Modality in Sinhala and its Syntactic Representation Ananda, MGL. Modality is considered as a semantic concept expressing such notions as possibility, necessity, probability, obligation, permission, ability, and volition. These different notions have given rise to two major distinct subtypes of modality as epistemic and root modality. Languages vary considerably in the way they realize each of these finer distinctions. This paper explores modality in Sinhala from a syntactic perspective. In particular, it attempts to answer such questions as (1) what are different types of modalities that can be observed in Sinhala and how are they represented? (2) Does the root-epistemic distinction in modality hold syntactically, and if so, what is their syntactic projection? (3) How does modality in Sinhala interact with the verbal system? Is there modal agreement in Sinhala? The theoretical alignment of the study is the generative syntactic theory expounded by Chomsky (1995 and thereafter), and within that, the cartographic framework proposed by Rizzi (1997), and Cinque, (1999). Data for the present study consisted of the grammatical judgments of native speakers of Sinhala. A sample of 10 native speakers representing different age groups was selected. This included 03 children aged between 8-13, and 6 adults in the age group of 30-60. The researcher too was considered as a member of the sample. About 40 sentences were presented to them with different ordering of modality particles in order to judge the scope properties and accuracy of such modal particles. The major conclusions of the paper are that the root/epistemic distinction holds in Sinhala not only semantically but also syntactically; epistemic modals occur higher in the structure while the root modals occur closer to the vP so that the former takes scope over the latter; Sinhala modals show hierarchy not only with respect to epistemicroot distinction, but also among each other; The –e suffix is as an overt reflex of an AGREE relation, i.e., a Spec-Head relation. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10743 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10741 Community Learning Needs in Gender Based Violence with Special Reference to Northern Districts in Sri Lanka Saja, A. The communities in the Northern Sri Lanka recognize gender based discrimination as one of the major problems in their daily activities that leads to disturbances of life at family and community level. There was hardly any evidence of community based mechanisms to address the roots causes of gender based discrimination. Although communities have a basic understanding of the causes of gender discrimination and Gender Based Violence (GBV), key community based entities such as Women Rural Development Societies (WRDS) and youth groups lacked clear understanding of gender based issues, legal framework and the available state mechanisms. Communities’ interaction with the GBV stakeholders also seemed to be very weak and lacked confidence in GBV response mechanisms. Despite ad-hoc interventions to address GBV - primarily reactive, GBV remains a great concern for communities. The existing development programmes failed to focus on prevention of GBV, long term commitment and structured mechanisms from community to district level. Communities were little aware of the available mechanisms to address GBV too. Learning needs assessment carried out in 2013 in two selected districts in the Northern Province, highlighted that regular awareness raising to sensitize the communities on GBV, confidence building programs specifically for the youth and vulnerable women groups such as women headed households were found to be immediate priorities. Community watch groups could be formed from WRDS and trained to identify, monitor and respond to GBV and should be linked to mechanisms in divisional and district levels. The network can be widened and strengthened through connecting networks in neighboring villages to make them part of larger women voice networks at district and national level. Making men understand gender equality and rights of women are also key to the successful programme outcomes of any future interventions. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10741 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10740 National Security of Sri Lanka: Importance of Mass Media and Communication Senaratne, B. This decade is proving to be crucial to national security of Sri Lanka as there are many international pressures upon the country. Some of these pressures are legal whilst others are economic. However, the common nature of all these pressures is that it threatens Sri Lanka’s national security and obstructs the development of the country. Therefore it is imperative that Sri Lanka conducts itself in a manner that safeguards the country’s national security. In this context, this research highlights the importance played by mass media and communication in safeguarding Sri Lanka’s national security and interests. The research thus provides an analysis of mass media in reporting international pressures on Sri Lanka. It will also analyse the media relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs against these international pressures. Towards this end, the research mainly utilises secondary data such as newspaper articles, press releases, feature articles from reputed websites and reports from social media etc. The research will also analyse media relations against existing communication models among others Shannon – Weaver and Defleur and identify a mechanism that will help safeguard Sri Lanka’s image. The research identified there is a communication gap and that mass media is not being utilised appropriately by the relevant authorities in presenting and projecting the image of Sri Lanka. In conclusion, the research provides a communication tool for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to follow when interacting with the media both local and international in order to safeguard Sri Lanka’s national security. It also highlights the importance of social media and its uses in the future and finally provides a link to the interconnectedness of national security and mass media as they both together assist with the development of the country Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10740 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10739 Seismic Activity near the Sunda and Andaman Trenches in the Sumatra Subduction Zone Gamage, SSN Subduction zones are generally characterized by well-defined inclined seismic zones extending, in some cases, down to about 670 km deep beneath the Earth. The Sumatra subduction zone is characterized by the IndoAustralia Plate subducting beneath the Sunda plate and Andaman micro plate about 55 mm/yr, causing seismic activity along the plate boundary. Seismic activity of the shallow part of Sumatra subduction zone near the Sunda and Andaman trenches and outer-rise region was analyzed by using earthquake locations and their focal mechanisms to study the seismic tectonic of the region. The study region was divided into five sub-regions and in each sub region, the focal mechanisms were analyzed according to the depth variation of bathymetry. The distribution of pressure axes, Tensional axes and Null axes of focal mechanisms were investigated. The results of the study can be concluded as given below. Present study shows that normal faulting events are recorded than the reverse faulting events in the outer-rise region. In the near trench of the region, reverse faulting events were observed more than the normal faulting events and more reverse faulting events were observed in the shallow part of the trench. Although only the focal mechanism solutions of large events were used for the analysis which may have location errors, the present study results reasonably agree with the results obtained by the other subduction zones. Patterns of hypocenter distribution and focal mechanisms found in this study are almost the same as that found under the near-trench slopes of other subduction zones by previous investigators. This characteristics of focal mechanisms may be due to the bending of the subdcting plate near the Sunda and Andaman Trenches. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT http://dr.lib.sjp.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10739 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z