Could Sri Lanka afford sustainable electricity consumption practices without harming her economic growth?

The existence and direction of Granger causality between electricity consumption and economic growth, proxied by gross domestic product (GDP), has been investigated in this study using annual data covering the period 1971 to 2007. The results of the augmented Dickey-Fuller, GLS-detrended Dickey-Fuller and Phillips-Perron tests show that the natural logarithms of both the times series are individually I(1). The autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing approach to cointegration used in this study reveals that the two times series are cointegrated. The estimated long-run equilibrium relationship shows that 1% growth in GDP induces 1.45% growth in electricity consumption, and any deviation from the long-run equilibrium following a short-run disturbance is corrected within 17 months. Granger causality test results reveal uni-directional causality running from economic growth to electricity consumption without any feedback effect. The outcome of such results is beneficial to Sri Lanka’s economic growth since it is not dependent on electricity consumption, and thereby production. It is therefore possible to initiate energy policies towards minimizing wasteful electricity production and consumption practices, without compromising Sri Lanka’s GDP growth, to take her on an electricity-wise sustainable economic development path.ARDL; cointegration; Granger causality; gross domestic product; sustainable electricity consumption; Sri Lanka

Fossil fuel based CO2 emissions, economic growth, and world crude oil price nexus in the United States

With the prime objective of learning from the fossil fuel based CO2 emissions-economic growth-world crude price nexus of a leading economy, the underpinning nature of the relationship among them is investigated for the United States (US). Autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing approach to cointegration provides empirical evidence for the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship with 1% growth in GDP being tied up with 3.2% growth in CO2 emissions in the US. Increase in crude price and technological progress, proxied by time trend, are associated with decline in CO2 emissions in the long-run, though by comparatively small magnitudes. Short-run dynamics restore 25% of any disequilibrium in a year. Owing to the structural breaks identified in the individual series by the unit root tests, the stability of the model coefficients over the sample period is tested using the cumulative sum of recursive residuals test and ascertained. Error-correction based Granger causality tests provide evidence for fluctuating world crude real price Granger causing fluctuations in CO2 emission, and fluctuating CO2 emission Granger causing the rise and fall of real GDP. Deviations from long-run equilibrium are seen to Granger cause changes in both the CO2 emissions and the real GDP in the US.Carbon dioxide emissions; cointegration; crude oil price; forecast; Granger causality; gross domestic product; GDP; United States.

Interpolating South Asian Transnational Heritage: Allegory In South Asian Diasporic Metropolitan Young Adult Fiction

Young adult books written by western metropolitan authors clearly cater to a western audience: the protagonists, settings and the archetypes of these texts are Eurocentric. Eurocentric concepts and experiences are often assumed to be universal. This could result in the othering of the non-white imaginary within young adult fiction. However, multicultural young adult texts are increasingly available on the global market. This paper investigates a selection of young adult fiction written by authors of the South Asian diaspora to determine whether the use of allegory in the form of cultural myths and folklore drawn from an ancestral cultural repertoire allows these texts to insert themselves into and dismantle the hegemony of metropolitan Eurocentricism in the consciousness of the diasporic South Asian reader. To explore this possibility, the following works of South Asian diasporic metropolitan young adult fiction are analysed: Dahling If You Luv Me Please Please Smile (1999) by Rukhsana Khan; Bindi Babes by Narindher Dhami (2005); and Blue Boy (2009) by Rakesh Satyal. This study focuses on the ways in which the authors of these texts interpolate a South Asian transnational heritage into the setting of the metropolitan public school, especially through the allegorical mode. The ultimate aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the incorporation of South Asian cultural myths and folklore into settings familiar to young adult readers can contribute to generating awareness of the cultural heritage of diasporic youth

Bluetooth Accelerometer Mouse

The reason of inventing such device is to overcome problem faced in using wired mouse and also the need of a surface for its movement. It applies even for the wireless mouse too since a surface is always a priority for its usage. This could be a hassle when users are left with limited space. In order to overcome this difficulty, this particular wireless accelerometer based mouse is developed

Profitability analysis of listed manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka: An empirical investigation

This paper is determine the profitability of 10 selected  listed manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka over the period of 2008 to 2012, and  the performance of thecompanies against four commonly used financial performance indicators: Gross profit (GR) ,Net profit (NP),Return onAssets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE). The results indicate that during this periodSri Lankan manufacturing companies were considerably more profitable in terms of GP and ROA but less profitable in terms of NP and ROE. A similar trend was observed when the profitability and equity ofcompanies were analyzed by industry. The results revealed that the profitability of manufacturing companies is less satisfactory. Based on the Gross Profit Ratio, Net Profit Ratio, Royal Ceramics Lanka Ltd is at first whereas ABANS Electrical Ltd is at first based on ROA andLanka Ceramic Ltd (CERA) is at first on ROE. Outcome of the study is beneficial to academicians, policy makers, practitioners and so on. Keywords: Profitability, analysis, listed, manufacturing, companies, Sri, Lanka

Writing women in solitary: shifting narratives to make research count by Shanthini Naidoo

Author Shanthini Naidoo reflects on her decision to change the focus of her Master’s dissertation in order to uncover the narratives of anti-apartheid women activists in South Africa. This research formed the basis of her recently published book Women in Solitary: Inside the Female Resistance to Apartheid, which focuses particularly on four women: Joyce Sikhakhane-Rankin, Shanthie Naidoo, Nondwe Mankahla and Rita Ndzanga. As the UK celebrates Black History Month in October, Naidoo reflects on the importance of uncovering stories that not only evidence bravery and courage, but also the power of love and friendship in daily life

Language Status in Children with Birth Asphyxia: A Follow Up Study (Brain and Language)

Development of the brain is crucial to facilitatelanguage acquisition. Any form of injury and malfunctioning ofthe brain such as “Birth Asphyxia” can inhibit languageacquisition in children (Jansson-Verkasalo, 2004) and causesdelay in speech and language development (D’Souza et al 1981).This follow up study (2011) is an extension of a pilot studyconducted by Shanthini et al. (2009) that focused on analysing thelanguage status of children with birth asphyxia without any otherassociated problems to their individual APGAR score, time atwhich APGAR score reached 8 and cognition pertaining tolanguage

Maternal body mass index and feto-maternal outcome: a comparative study

Background: Increasing BMI in women poses multiple threat of illness especially in the reproductive age group impacting pregnancy. Pregnant women with overweight and obesity are at a higher risk of developing complications at all stages of the physiological pregnancy. A focus on the methods to prevent this trend of increasing weight gain in adolescence is essential curb the complications due to obesity.Methods: This prospective study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Madras Medical College, Chennai. Written informed consent was obtained and pregnant women visiting the antenatal OP were registered. Detailed history taking and examination was carried out with the measurement of body mass index as weight in kg/height in meter square. The women were followed up for the antepartum, intrapartum, post-partum variables and neonatal outcome.Results: Two hundred pregnant women with high BMI >25 kg/m2 and two hundred pregnant women with normal BMI were selected and were followed prospectively.  Present study showed an increased incidence of pre-eclampsia in patients with high BMI (28% as compared to 8% of the normal BMI) and a higher incidence of Gestational diabetes mellitus among women with high BMI with a value of 27.5 % compared to a value of 7.5% in women with normal BMI. Caesarean delivery was found in 54.5% of the high BMI mothers compared to 31.5% in normal BMI mothers. Postoperatively, wound gaping was found with an incidence of 4.5% in high BMI mothers. IUGR was found in 10% of babies of women with high BMI and still birth occurred in 2.5% of deliveries of high BMI mothers compared to 0.5% in mothers of normal BMI group.Conclusions: The obstetrician needs to be well versed with dietary advice and life style pattern advice to the women of the reproductive age group in order to prevent the complications of high Body mass index in pregnancy. Its imperative to counsel these women about the pre-pregnancy loss of weight, healthy food and exercise, and healthy life style pattern during pregnancy in order to have a healthy outcome

Isolation of rutin anti inflammatory agent from ethanolic leaf extract of Rivea hypocrateriformis (Desr.) choisy

Introduction: To extract the leafy parts with ethanol and perform the HPTLC studies with marker compounds Quercetin, Rutin, and gallic acid , a compound was isolated and susceptible to spectroscopic analysis. Background: Rivea hypocrateriformis (Desr.) Choisy holds Convolvulaceae family the leafy parts underwent a Soxhlet extraction with ethanol which was then subjected to a phytochemical investigation that shows the presence of alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, tannins, glycosides saponins, sterols, and carbohydrates. Material and methods: Firstly, the ethanolic leaf extract is treated with petroleum ether to remove excess lipids, sterols, and impurities. TLC was performed by toluene: ethyl acetate: formic acid and the same solvent system was used for column chromatography. The bands getting separated into the column were collected separately in a test tube. Once the solvent toluene ends, the next solvent system with 18 ml of toluene and 2 ml of ethyl acetate, is introduced into the column and continues the separation procedure. Collect separated bands and perform TLC of each separate band by using the same solvent system in a concentration of 5:4:1. A single component on a TLC plate with a solvent system of 12 ml toluene and 8 ml ethyl acetate was obtained whose characterization was done by IR, NMR, and mass. Results:The RF value of Rutin is 0.17 which correlates with the Retention factor of ethanolic leaf extracts of RH by HPTLC comparative studies and a compound was isolated by column chromatography. Conclusion: These studies have concluded that a compound is separated by means of HPTLC and spectroscopic interpretation and identified as Rutin