Browsing by Author "Wickramasinghe, A"

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Aesthetics and socio-cultural representation of Sri Lanka on stamps
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2024) Ellawela, D; Wickramasinghe, A; Gopura, S; Ferrero-Regis, T
Postage stamps act as national symbols, commemorating events and reflecting a nation’s socio-cultural framework. In this study, aesthetics in Sri Lankan stamps refers to visual elements like color, form, and symbolism, which enhance beauty and express cultural values. Stamps also represent social and cultural life, depicting historical events, practices, landscapes, and symbols of Sri Lankan identity. Ultimately, they serve as a medium for communicating Sri Lanka’s heritage and societal evolution. Since the introduction of pictorial stamps in Sri Lanka in 1935, stamps have functioned both as communication tools and cultural artifacts. However, the rise of digital communication has reduced the use of physical stamps, threatening their cultural significance. As traditional mail declines, the rich narratives embedded in stamps risk disappearing. This study aims to preserve these socio-cultural stories by examining the historical and cultural importance of stamps in shaping Sri Lanka’s national identity.
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The ancient Sri Lankan female clothing details depicted from selected sculptures
(2013-11-08) Wickramasinghe, A
Clothes are symbols of the cultural development of any civilization and are classifications of the significant progress made through human behaviors and attitudes. In the past decades “Dress” was considered as “walking sculpture” because it revealed the whole process through which social and cultural transformation took place. Hence, the attire of traditional Sri Lankan designs, ideally, should have values and concepts. The sculptures were the visual facts that depict earlier female clothing precisely. Every sculpture represents the prevailing status of the era in which it was constructed. This paper is going to be discussing female clothing design elements from the Anuradhapura era to the end of the Nineteenth Century. The problem identification was based on how female clothing has evolved and developed over time. The examination of past sculptures is beneficial when articulating past Sri Lankan women’s clothing elements thoroughly as live visuals. The aim of this paper is to identify and observe design details and elements of past female attire. The methodology, which has been used collect data, is the qualitative method. To gather the necessary data the Researcher visited museums, temples, the cultural triangle and ancient cities and observed and gathered information as primary data as well as used books and electronic journals as secondary data. The results depicted that the women who lived in the Anuradhapura’ era to end of the Nineteenth Century, used limited dress designs sparingly, especially for the upper part of the body which was commonly covered by c jewelry And the lower part of the body was covered by draping a single cloth. Their clothing was sparingly simple and differed according to their caste, family status and creed. Jewelry was the main attraction of ladies in the past and not the different clothing styles as in contemporary women’s fashion.
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Dreams of weaving: Creative practice-led approach to handloom product development in Sri Lanka using artisans’ socio-emotional identit
(Routledge, 2022) Gopura, S; Wickramasinghe, A
Amidst the contemporary global trends of “hyper-localised” and “sustainable” fashion, the craft-based industries have been given substantial importance in recent times. Realising the competence of the Handloom weaving industry in Sri Lanka within the global fashion industry, this research proposes a new product development approach using the socio-emotional identities of the Handloom artisans. The study takes a practice-led approach following an initial data collection through qualitative research where a purposive sample of twenty-seven Handloom artisans from three provinces in Sri Lanka are interviewed and observed to identify their socio-emotional identities. The study subsequently guides the creation of an un-cut handloom textile developed by the artisans to explore the potential portrayal of the socio-emotional identities of a cross-section of Handloom weavers in Sri Lankan in the final product. This practice-led research chiefly contributes to the Handloom textile sector of Sri Lanka as it provides innovative and unforeseen avenues for new product development and contributes to the existing knowledge of craft-based research. The study affirms the need for acknowledging the Handloom artisans in Sri Lanka and adapting artisan-oriented approaches in future product development. These findings are also valuable in new product development for the Handloom weaving industry in the countries sharing the same industry attributes in the South Asian region.
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Effectiveness of e-portfolios for enhancing students’ job opportunities and learning environment
(2013-11-08) Wickramasinghe, A
The employability of the graduates of the course becomes comparatively low due to the competitive environment of the fashion industry and the other design graduates from private institutes. Furthermore, the final year students’ project works for assessment were not accessible and third year students could not see their seniors’ work. That was a problem to convince them the quality and the professionalism regarding the final year work. Thus these inconveniences persuaded to develop an EPortfolio concept among final year students. The research question was to identify the significance of E-Portfolios for Fashion Design undergraduates and pass out graduates at the University of Moratuwa. The research study has used qualitative and quantitative methods as a methodology to collect data from level four and level three students to convince the importance of use e-portfolios. The research objectives were: evaluating the employability of graduates who developed and not developed eportfolios within the time of three and half months of the graduation and analyze how 4th year students’ E-Portfolios affect to develop 3rd years’ project development by calculating the student's percentage who achieved ‘above 50’ and ‘lower 50’ mark. The research has found out 100% of students who developed E Portfolios got jobs within one-month time after the graduation and the others acquired three and half months to get jobs. The 3rd year students who looked E-Portfolios of their seniors’ 72% achieved ‘above 50’ mark for their project development and the remaining students achieved ‘lower 50’ mark and it was 28%. The research shows that the e- Portfolio contributes to enhance four aspects of design undergraduates: learning environment as well as job opportunities in terms of developing their personal professional development and effective use of self directed learning
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Folklore in fashion- preserving intangible cultural heritage through fashion.
(2023-08) Thilakarathne, S; Gopura, S; Wickramasinghe, A; Payne, A
Folklore has been an integral part of Sri Lankan culture for centuries and the story of Kuweni is one such entrancing narrative with historical significance, since it is directly linked to the origin of the Sinhalese nation. Kuweni’s importance extends beyond folk narratives and is also evident in ancient literature, describing her as a superhuman being, yet her true identity remains shrouded in mystery. Her shape-shifting abilities, as described in various legends, make Kuweni a fascinating character worthy of contemplation from many perspectives. Folklore is distinct from mythology, as it contains factual elements such as practices and customs that have a solid sociological background. Therefore, it is essential to preserve them ensuring that future generations can benefit from the sociocultural and anthropological values embedded to narratives. Folklore in Fashion PhD study addresses the crucial question of how to preserve folklore in a way that resonates with contemporary society.
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Google map and camera based fuzzified adaptive networked traffic light handling model
(Information Technology Research Unit, Faculty of Information Technology, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, 2018) Nirmani, A; Thilakarathne, L; Wickramasinghe, A; Senanayake, S; Haddela, PS; Wijesiriwardana, CP
Rising traffic congestion has turned into a certain issue as the number of vehicles on roads are increasing. This research study was conducted to develop ‘Google Map and Camera Based Fuzzified Adaptive Networked Traffic Light Handling Model’. The main road with six major junctions was selected as the target route for the project. During this study, we were able to plan a limit and control traffic congestion utilizing two neural networks which process together to provide an efficient, productive and optimized solution based on real-time situations. Real-time video streams and Google Map traffic layer were used as primary input sources to the system. The Main algorithm was used to reduce traffic at a specific point whereas secondary algorithm was used to produce optimum decisions for the overall network. As a further advancement, REST endpoint was implemented to get the best route considering all the accessible data. With the aid of the previously mentioned techniques, an optimal traffic management model was developed.
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Impact of ‘Student Self Help Groups’ on learning in the classroom
(2013-11-08) Wickramasinghe, A
This intervention was carried out to enhance students learning and motivate them to perform better. The research focused on four of the final year students (of Fashion Design and Product Development, University of Moratuwa) who had failed and were to repeat the course unit in the first term and but would not engage in individual tutorials in the second term effectively. Discussions with them individually revealed they need more attention from tutors than other students and also need continuous feedback for them to develop their learning. However, tutors were not able to give comments daily due to their other work commitments. Therefore introduced ‘Peer Mentoring Programme’ (PMP) through ‘Student Self Help Groups’ (SSHG). The intention of this intervention was to maximize the student engagement through tutorial sessions and facilitate them to achieve higher marks in the assessment. Students (those four repeat students and those who achieved highest marks for peer evaluation in the tutorials) were formed into pairs according to their marks of the last term. Then introduced ‘PMP’ and discussed with them individually and informed how they should mentor each other. The study analyzed the impact of the SSHG on learning, quantitatively using marks they obtained and qualitatively through tutors’ feedback. After the intervention the feedbacks from the tutors were positive and in the final submission of the second term those students who had fail achieved higher marks. The range of marks they obtained the second and third terms increased (6-29% and 10-25% respectively) compared to that of first term. Further their commitment, courage and dedication became higher level compared to previous term. Students who work negatively need extra attention, self-motivation and guidance to develop them. ‘Self Help Groups’ always can help students to develop their learning spontaneously.
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Impact of large-scale wind and solar power integration on operating reserve requirements of an islanded power system
(IEEE, 2018-05) Thilekha, MHTT; Siriwardana, KMHD; Siebel, NRD; Waslathanthri, DAD; Lidula, NWA; Siyambalapitiya, T; Wickramasinghe, A; Chathuranga, D
Many nations have shown their support to a battle against environmental pollution by integrating large scale solar and wind energy resources, to their respective grids. Although these commendable efforts have paved the way for a greener future, it has to be noted that non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) possess their own inherent drawbacks. Their availability is highly dependent on the prevalent weather conditions, which means that they are subjected to uncontrollable variability. With the rise of intermittent renewable resources, it is important to have appropriate amounts of operating reserves to provide backup to the system. This will ensure that the system will be stable under variable power conditions and thus, improve the reliability of the system. This paper is focused in quantifying additional operating reserves requirements to stabilize the system under intermittent conditions with the large penetration of renewables into an islanded power system. It assesses the spinning reserve requirement during the high wind and low wind seasons.
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Which is more feminine - the ‘Sari’ or the ‘Evening Dress’?
(2013-11-08) Wickramasinghe, A
The paper mainly discusses femininity in ‘Sari’ and ‘Dress’. The aims of the paper are identify most feminine attire for women among the ‘Sari’ and the ‘Evening Dress’ and define the facts of feeling, being feminine after wearing a dress. Data has analyzed quantitatively using participants’ preference as ‘wearer’ and ‘qualitatively’ using participants’ feedback as viewer. The survey completed by using hundred ‘MA Fashion Design and Technology’ students at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. Through the findings can define, it is critical to compare one’s feeling of the dress to another. The feeling of the dress depends on the wearer’s sense of the dress, the wearer’s awareness of its effect on others and the viewer’s points of view of the wearer