Browsing by Author "Dunuwila, VR"

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item: Conference-Full-text
Factors affecting the level of stress among undergraduates in Sri Lanka with special reference to covid-19
(Business Research Unit (BRU), 2021-12-03) Madhusanka, AKP; Jayasuriya, NU; Ravishanka, MKU; Pothupitiya, SN; Weerarathna, RS; Dunuwila, VR
To combat the rapid spread of COVID-19 infections universities and higher educational institutes in Sri Lanka had to suspend all on campus activities and had to tranfer into online learning. This resulted in a swift change in undergraduates’ life style and they had to face many new challenges in their academics which created severe mental pressure. Therefore, the objective of the research is ‘to assess the factors influencing the level of stress among undergraduates in Sri Lanka’. The study looks into this mental pressure in terms of the stress levels of undergraduates which is considered to be the dependent variable whereas their online learning experience and university workload are the independent variables. The study takes a quantitative research approach as its primary data is collected through an online questionnaire created from Google Forms and answered by 384 undergraduates. The questionnaire provided data on the online experience and university workload variables and it included the DASS-21 scale (Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale) which measured the stress level of the undergraduates. Descriptive statistics was conducted on the data through the Microsoft Excel. Based on the data analysis, it was found that the stress levels of undergraduates were; 3% normal, 20% mild, 36% moderate, 21% severe and 20% extremely severe. Therefore, it could be said that 41% of undergraduates faced high stress levels that were beyond what is regular and it negatively affected to the way how they could face challenges and carry out their day to day lives. It should be noted that undergraduates appeared to have much higher stress levels as a result of the pandemic.
item: Conference-Abstract
Formulation of a national framework for the digital transformation of Sri Lanka’s public bus transport system
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2019-09) Dunuwila, VR; Jayakody, JADCA; Lokuliyana, S; Pasindu, HR
Public transport is considered to be a country’s primary transportation network that plays an increasingly important role in human navigation. Thus, many countries have digitally transformed their public transport services to ensure the delivery of a quality transportation experience to passengers whereas the use of digital practices in Sri Lanka’s bus transportation industry is minimal. As a matter of fact, majority of the vehicles entering Colombo are private vehicles that carry an immaterial number of passengers compared to public transport. The availability of more private vehicles with less number of people gives rise to the problem of traffic congestion thus creating a requirement for an efficient public transport system. Hence, the authors aim to present how modern-day IT advancements could be used to deliver a quality bus transportation experience to Sri Lankan passengers. First, the challenges experienced by passengers were investigated where, heavy traffic, long travel time, overcrowded buses, not receiving the correct amount of balance money and the inability to track the location of the bus beforehand were found to be the most common challenges experienced by passengers. Once, the issues and the corresponding needs were identified, the authors explored the different roles of IT in public bus transport and proposed four feasible solutions to overcome the prevalent issues. The recommended solutions consisted of a bus tracking cum arrival time prediction system that uses GPS and GSM, a bus crowd monitoring system that uses IR sensors, a cashless ticketing mechanism that uses the Touch travel card introduced by Dialog and an inquiry cum complaint management system that would facilitate real time complaint handling and management. Furthermore, the research also introduced a digital transformation framework that could be used to digitalize the operations of public bus transport. The digital transformation of Sri Lanka’s public bus transport system would result in the delivery of a quality transportation experience to passengers while minimizing traffic congestion in Colombo as the availability of a high-quality bus transport service would encourage citizens to use public transport more often instead of their own private vehicles. The proposed research contrasts with other researches as it facilitates the development of a Digitized National framework that would be applicable to the entire bus transport system of the country. Furthermore, it would be beneficial if the passengers are provided with an integrated up-to-date solution where information such as the location of the bus, arrival time, bus fare, duration and journey distance is available in real-time. Besides, the study is also significant as this area has not been much focused academically in the Sri Lankan context. The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, National Transport Commission (NTC), Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) and Sri Lanka Private Bus Owners Association will be the main organizations benefitted by this research in addition to passengers travelling in and out of Colombo.
item: Conference-Full-text
Quality of life (QoL) in university undergraduates in Sri Lanka
(2021-12-03) Wijayarathna, PL; Gamage, IG; Nimanthika, SHCN; Anasinghe, MN; Dunuwila, VR; Jayasooriya, S
Quality of Life (QoL) of university students remains an under studied topic that can raise problematic situations if not addressed properly. Many university students are immersed in an environment of high levels of stress due to academic workload and responsibility. The main objective of the study is to investigate the Quality of Life among Sri Lankan undergraduates using a cross-sectional analysis, among a sample of 165 undergraduates. The study analyzed the Quality of Life of state and non-state university undergraduates via four domains: Physical Health, Psychological Health, Social Relationships, and environmental Health. Data collection was done primarily through WHOQOL-BREF scale. The regression analysis test was used to analyze the relationship between the domains. Results indicate that the higher level of QoL reported by female undergraduates, out of the four domains that were investigated in the study and overall undergraduate’s psychological health seems to be better than other studied domains. When comparing the two university categories, the highest level of QoL was reported from non-state universities. Thus, it is evident that QoL serves as a powerful mediator in the relationship between the academic and social life of undergraduates in Sri Lanka. Eventually this research paper contributes to the literature pertaining to QoL of undergraduates where policies and implications are required to sustain their future.