SLIIT Conference and Symposium Proceedings

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Open Access
Is epilepsy solely a medical condition? A Review of “Fit Thamai” (2019), a Sri Lankan Autobiographical Short Film Representing Epilepsy
(Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2025-10-10) Dissanayake, A.K
This study explores the representation of epilepsy in Channa Bawantha’s autobiographical Sri Lankan short film titled Fit Thamai: Channa’s Untold True Story (2019). Employing content analysis and a discussion of the medical, personal tragedy and social models of disability, the study highlights the importance of well-roundedrepresentations of epilepsy in the attempt to challenge misinformation and stigma that surrounds epilepsy. The strengths identified in this short film are both its autobiographical narration and its emphasis on the importance of people with epilepsy sharing their epilepsy experiences with each other, as this creates friendship and camaraderie among people with epilepsy. Also, the short film shows different reactions to epilepsy as well as different treatment approaches towards epilepsy in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, it creatively contributes a uniquely Sri Lankan meaning to the word ‘fit’ (a word used interchangeably with seizures) alongside the range of other meanings conveyed via this word. However, the short film also posits people with epilepsy as ‘sick’ persons, or as patients, and equates epilepsy to a personal tragedy. It also treats epilepsy as exclusively medical in nature and ignores the socio-cultural factors in Sri Lanka which lead to the stigmatisation and misinformation surrounding epilepsy. Furthermore, the short film seems to unwittingly generalise Bawantha’s experience with epilepsy treatment as well as his symptoms to the wider population of Sri Lankanswith epilepsy. Therefore, this paper emphasises the need for representations of epilepsy in Sri Lanka which are backed by more in-depth understanding, reflection and analysis of epilepsy lived experiences.
Open Access
An Analysis of the Representation of Epilepsy in Pramod Rathnayake’s Short Film Natta (2019)
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2023-11-01) Dissanayake, A.K
This study explores the representation of epilepsy in the Sri Lankan short film Natta (2019) by Pramod Rathnayake. Epilepsy is a neurological disease that may lead to unconsciousness. Epilepsy is also a disability. A disability is distinguished from an illness in that the former is understood as created due to socio-cultural factors that could lead to marginalization of individuals with certain medical conditions. Although the condition of epilepsy has been understood and analyzed from a medical perspective, the human experience of epilepsy has not received much attention, especially in Sri Lanka. In this context, the short film Natta fulfills the role of portraying the dayto- day experiences of an individual with epilepsy named Samantha, from the first-person point of view. The film visually represents some symptoms of epilepsy and sheds light on how superstitious beliefs and misinformation about this condition hinder Samantha from successfully medically controlling his epilepsy. The impact of epilepsy on an individual’s employment opportunities and ability to drive a vehicle too are highlighted in the short film. While these are the strengths of the short film, Natta equates the epilepsy condition in a person to something inherently wrong or lacking in a person. Also, the film ignores the social stigmatization of epilepsy patients and indirectly blames people with epilepsy for marginalizing themselves. Finally, through the portrayal of the character of Sugandika, Samantha’s wife, the short film fails to acknowledge the role that family members or informal caregivers play in the process of looking after patients with epilepsy. Therefore, based on this content analysis of Pramod Rathnayake’s short film, it could be concluded that similar short films would be helpful in giving voice to the daily, personal experiences of people with epilepsy. However, such representations should not avoid blaming patients with epilepsy for their condition and social isolation but should be understanding and inclusive of the social pressure and stigmatization encountered by people with epilepsy.
Embargo
Employing the deaf community: challenges and opportunities for companies in the developing world
(SLIIT Business School, 2019-12-10) Charuka, W.A.A.; Samarakkody, N.W.; Senaviratne, V.E.M.G.; Wijayanayaka, K.A.M.S.
This research investigates opportunities and challenges of employing deaf personnel in organisations in developing world. Though much research related employing people with disabilities is done in western countries, only a few similar empirical studies have been published in this part of the world. Hence an exploratory investigation is carried out adopting a grounded theory approach. Accordingly, five companies in Sri Lanka, both large and small, employing deaf people have been investigated. 23 operational-level deaf employees (DEs), with five supervising managers are the subjects involved. The results brought a number of opportunities for hiring DEs from strategic, productivity and customer satisfaction perspectives. Managers of all companies confirmed that their skills, ability to learn, concentration on work and the productivity are much higher than their parallel workers. The DEs are not provided with any special privileges (e.g. remuneration, leave, infrastructure facilities). Thus, there is no extra burden, financially or otherwise, to the company for hiring them. However, as a safety initiative all DEs are assigned to work together with a parallel worker with no hearing impairments. Two companies where DEs deal directly with customers confirmed that customer feedback on DEs are very positive. All managers indicated a negative comment that the DEs become emotionally disturbed when their communication is not heard well. The existed negative connation of all managers on DEs had disappeared after orientation. It can be concluded that employing DEs appear to be me more productive to the company, as highlighted in the past research studies of the developed world.

SLIIT Conference and Symposium Proceedings

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