SLIIT Conference and Symposium Proceedings

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://rda.sliit.lk/handle/123456789/295

All SLIIT faculties annually conduct international conferences and symposiums. Publications from these events are included in this collection.

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    PublicationOpen Access
    Academic Ritualistic Behaviours and Exam Stress: Insights from Generation Z Undergraduates in Sri Lanka
    (School of Psychology. Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2025-10-10) Dissanayake, I. N. D; Abeysinghe, N
    This study explores the role of Academic Ritualistic Behaviours (ARB) in managing exam stress among Generation Z university students in Sri Lanka. Exams are often highly stress-inducing events, and this research aims to examine how ritualistic behaviours rooted in personal, cultural, generational, and psychological frameworks help students in managing exam-related stress. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six undergraduates between ages 18 to 26, till data saturation. The interview transcripts were thematically analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) framework, and the analysis gave rise to three themes: (1) Personal and cultural anchors: Rituals rooted in family, tradition, and peer influence; (2) Rituals as emotional needs: Objects, music, and symbolic actions providing comfort and focus; and (3) Technology-infused rituals: Apps, digital platforms, and manifestation practices shaping modern coping. While rituals promoted reassurance and structure, overreliance sometimes heightenedanxiety when disrupted, highlighting the double-edged nature of such practices. The Findings suggest that academic ritualistic behaviours influenced by cultural heritage and digital practices contribute to resilience, focus, and emotional stability during exams, but also reveal potential risks of overreliance. They emphasise the need for educators and researchers to acknowledge both benefits and risk associated with these behaviours when addressing student wellbeing.
  • Thumbnail Image
    PublicationOpen Access
    Red Flags at Work: A Qualitative Study on Gen Z’s Workplace Turn-Offs
    (School of Psychology. Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2025-10-10) Gunathilake, S; Ganeshan, A
    As Generation Z enters the workforce, their expectations regarding authenticity, equality and psychological safety are shaping new benchmarks for organisational culture. While global literature has begun to explore these shifts, there are limited empirical evidence on what constitutes workplace "red flags" for Gen Z in South Asia, particularly Sri Lanka. This study investigated the organisational behaviours and environments perceived as red flags by Sri Lankan Gen Z employees. An inductive qualitative approach was adopted, analysing approximately 69 anonymised responses from three Reddit threads posted in 2022, 2024 and 2025. Thematic analysis revealed six core themes: performative culture and corporate hypocrisy; lack of psychological safety and respect; exploitation and burnout norms; unfair HR practices and compensation systems; favouritism, discrimination, and lack of inclusion and organisational dishonesty. Differences were observed across sectors, with IT professionals emphasising overwork, rigid processes, and stagnant roles, while non-IT participants raised concerns about ethical breaches, gender-based microaggressions and superficial wellness initiatives. These themes were consistently evident across all three posts suggesting deeply held generational expectations. The study concludes that for Gen Z in Sri Lanka, alignment between stated organisational values and actual practices is essential.
  • Thumbnail Image
    PublicationOpen Access
    Exploring Sustainability-Driven Fintech Usage Intentions Among Gen Z in Sri Lanka
    (SLIIT City UNI, 2025-07-08) Vallaven, L
    With growing global environmental awareness, Generation Z (Gen Z) has emerged as a key demographic driving demand for sustainable, technologyenabled solutions. This concept paper, developed from an undergraduate research proposal, explores sustainabilitydriven intentions to use financial technology (FinTech) services among Gen Z in Sri Lanka. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the study aims to examines and offer new insights on how attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and environmental concerns influence sustainability-driven Fintech usage intentions among Gen Z’s in Sri Lanka. A mono-method quantitative design is proposed, with data to be collected from Gen Z individuals in Sri Lanka using purposive and snowball sampling. The data will be collected via an online questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
  • Thumbnail Image
    PublicationOpen Access
    Love and Marriage in the Eyes of Gen Z: A Qualitative Exploration
    (Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2024-12-04) Kulathunga, A; Abeysinghe, N
    Love and marriage are two interconnected concepts which serve as pillars of society. However, marriage rates are declining, and the percepti on of love changes with the newer generati ons. This study aims to explore the percepti on of love among Gen Zers in Sri Lanka and to understand the implicati ons of these percepti ons on marriage. A total of 11 parti cipants who belong to Generati on Z (age 18-26) were included in this study. Focus group and in-depth interviews were conducted to elicit the views on the related topic elements. This data was analysed using themati c analysis to identi fy the common themes presented within the data. Five main themes were constructed to explain the key ideas presented by the parti cipants. Namely: Views on love, Relati onship expectati ons and breakups, Views on marriage, marriage rates, and Role of culture. The results emerged showed that love is a crucial factor in marriage, especially in the newer generati ons because it has become a primary moti vator towards marriage in contrast to past generati ons where marriage was considered a social obligati on. However, the percepti on towards love has changed in the new generati ons, resulti ng in a decrease in marriage rates. This research off ers valuable insights into the evolving concepts of love and marriage in newer generati ons, emphasising the need for further explorati on to understand its broader implicati ons to the society.