http://repository.lib.vpa.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10 2026-06-08T13:17:48Z http://repository.lib.vpa.ac.lk/handle/123456789/2524 Preserving the Historical Field Recordings of C. de S. Kulatillake Samarasinghe, K; Nethsinghe, R; Jayasooriya, SS Cyril de Silva Kulatillake was a pioneering Sri Lankan ethnomusicologist. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he embarked on a journey to document Sri Lankan music using reel-to-reel audio tapes, travelling to numerous villages. This paper concerns the restoration and preservation of a part of the Kulatillake field recordings. The study restored the open reel tape recordings and carefully digitized the soundtracks. Each tape was meticulously examined and cleaned; and the tape containers and accompanying notes were documented and photographed. Once digitized, the recordings, which represent various ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, were catalogued. The collection captures a rich tapestry of Sinhala and Tamil songs, Portuguese Burghers’ baila songs and Veddas’ ancestral tunes, offering a soundscape of Sri Lanka’s immaterial cultural heritage. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.lib.vpa.ac.lk/handle/123456789/2512 Public Health of Ancient Sinhalese in the Face of Epidemics Panapitiya, Saman; Embogama, Sumudu In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected countries globally, creating numerous social, economic, and, most significantly, health-related challenges that have significantly threatened human life and wellbeing. Not a single country has been immune to the devastation caused as a result of pandemics and epidemics that emerged at different points in history. This study aims to explore how communities in historical Sri Lanka confronted epidemic outbreaks and implemented strategies to mitigate their impact. The methodology is based on the thematic analysis of qualitative data obtained from purposively selected senior members of Sri Lankan communities. Although contemporary media often depicts decease prevention practices as modern innovations, the findings indicate that many such measures were commonly used by ancient societies in Sri Lanka. These include household and village isolation, travel restrictions, social distancing, hand washing, strengthening immunity through medicinal herbal concoctions, and wearing masks. The study further elaborates that certain contagious diseases, such as measles and chickenpox, were considered divine diseases, some of which were believed to have spread as a result of intense sunlight. Overall, the research concludes that ancient Sinhalese responded to epidemics by effectively adapting to nature while maintaining mental and physical resilience. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.lib.vpa.ac.lk/handle/123456789/2500 Benefits and Challenges with the Modular Model of Teacher Certification in Australia: Listening to Teachers’ Voices Brown, Bernard; Nethsinghe, Rohan This paper examines teachers’ views about the Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) Certification 2.0 Modular Model (CMM 2.0). The research reveals teachers’ voices and agency in relation to HALT certification. Participants in this study included HALT certified teachers, current HALT participants, and prospective participants. The semi-structured interviews conducted provide insights into the benefits and challenges associated with the CMM 2.0. Thematic coding and systematic analysis were applied to the data to arrive at the key findings. The research revealed that teachers believed that the modular approach was advantageous as it was flexible and provided professional recognition and development. Issues identified by the participants were the time, cost and workload involved, and the role of leadership and peer collaboration in certification. This study makes a contribution to knowledge about the nature and benefits of a modular approach, which can inform the design and implementation of certification in Australia and internationally. 2025-03-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.lib.vpa.ac.lk/handle/123456789/2483 Indian Ālāp and Vietnamese Dạo: A Study on Teaching Individual Creativity Jähnichen, Gisa In this study, the transmission of some essentials in music tradition from two different places in Asia, namely India and Vietnam, is taken as a metaphor to be further applied on cultural and social analysis in order to achieve a better understanding of how creativity is taught and culturally established. Indian music is asserted as a Guru centered science. The process of transmitting knowledge might be successful as far as the teacher gains satisfaction by the student’s behavior and capability of receiving and applying knowledge. Similar yet different processes can be observed with teaching in the South Vietnamese music tradition. Ālāp is a part in north Indian classical music as well as the Dạo in the Vietnamese music tradition. They dominantly create the mood of a Rāga or a Ðiệu respectively. The final outcome is an improvisation. Individuality and creativity develop in a process of tension between rules and breaking rules. Metaphorically, there are strong parallels to other subjects of transmitting social and cultural patterns of communication. 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z