Articles authored by UoM staff

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://192.248.9.226/handle/123/2106

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 728

item: Article-Full-text
Sri Lanka journals online (SLJOL) as a platform for scholarly journal publications by state universities of Sri Lanka
(Sri Lanka Library Association, 2023-09) Seneviratne, TM; Peiris, KPND
item: Article-Abstract
Environmental awareness on the Bolgoda ecosystem: approaches and actions
(Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka, 2023-10-18) Jayawardena, CL; Seneviratne, TM
Bolgoda is the largest freshwater wetland with two interconnected lakes in Sri Lanka located in the southern boundary of Colombo District and extending to the Kalutara District. Despite Bolgoda having a high ecological, social and economic value, it has been listed by Global Nature Fund as one of the “Threatened Lakes of the Year 2018. Hence, protective, preventive and rectification measures seem essential and an important aspect would be enhancing the awareness of this unique system, especially among the local communities to manage man-made disruptions. We holistically attempted to address the requirement of developing awareness in a two-fold approach: to increase environmental awareness and information sharing. The initiative employed a systematically designed series of activities to share information and develop insights into the Bolgoda region. These activities included guided sessions on information retrieval, promoting evidence-based decision-making and rational thinking, questionnaires on environmental literacy, and seminars. An article for the Bolgoda Plains research magazine, published by the University of Moratuwa, was also produced. Following these activities, a bibliographic reference for the Bolgoda Ecosystem was compiled. This reference links existing scientific publications, regulatory measures, and recent developments to provide a foundation for future research. It is planned to be updated annually to consolidate the relevant knowledge. These self-motivated and self-funded efforts establish a solid foundation for enhancing environmental literacy from a library perspective. This empowers scientists, researchers, and administrators to make informed decisions and contribute to the conservation and management of the Bolgoda Ecosystem, ensuring its long-term sustainability for both the ecosystem itself and the associated communities.
item: Article-Abstract
Bibliometric analysis of grey literature on the Bolgoda ecosystem with special reference to theses and dissertations
(Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka, 2023-10-18) Jayawardena, CL; Seneviratne, TM
Conservation of ecosystems such as Bolgoda is crucial in achieving sustainable development goal 11 – Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. To conserve such valuable ecosystems, the importance of reviewing research has been highlighted. Grey literature such as theses and dissertations are important sources of information since they include valuable context-specific local information not published in conventional scientific publications. Hence this study attempted to carry out a bibliometric analysis of theses and dissertations related to the Bolgoda ecosystem. Keyword searches were conducted across various academic platforms and repositories, seeking records related to the Bolgoda Ecosystem up to the year 2022. Bibliographic details and subject areas were recorded, with particular attention to the frequency of the term "Bolgoda" in retrieved documents. The study identified a total of 45 theses and dissertations related to the Bolgoda ecosystem, with 11 from foreign institutions and the University of Moratuwa contributing the highest number (16) among local universities. The majority were Master of Science (MSc) theses (58%), followed by Ph.D. theses (18%), with 25 documents originating from Taught Postgraduate programs. Categorization of the research according to Millennium Ecosystem Services (MES) revealed that the majority focused on Regulating services (e.g., water), followed by Provisional services (e.g., food) and Cultural services (e.g., aesthetic and recreational). Notably, documents with restricted access had an average of 3.56 occurrences of the word "Bolgoda," while open-access documents had 20.2 occurrences. This bibliometric analysis provided a comprehensive overview of Bolgoda ecosystem-related research, highlighting a concentration on certain ecosystem services. The study emphasizes the need to expand local research into less-explored areas to effectively manage the Bolgoda ecosystem and work towards achieving sustainable development goals.
item: Article-Full-text
New accessions in e- way: new additions e group of library, University of Moratuwa
(The Library, Eastern University, Sri Lanka. Vantharumoolai, Chekaladi,Sri Lanka., 2006-12) Seneviratne, TM
Preparing new accession lists is a conventional current awareness service in academic and other libraries of Sri Lanka. New accession list normally contains a list of bibliographic records of items added to the library collection in order of their addition. Univerity of Moratuwa, Library (UML) had a tradition of preparing new accession lists quarterly. These list(s) were then sent to all academic departments of University of Moratuwa and other outside libraries of interest. However, it was noted that the time lag between the actual addition of items to library stock and the distribution of accession list to the academics is signiﬁcant. As a result, academics did not have the opportunity of browsing or borrowing newly added items other than their own recommendations. On the other hand, inquiries regarding the items in the accession list were very low. Though, there is a possibility of generating New Accession lists through the Integrated Library System, further editing and inspection are always needed to publish a quality document. When consider the time and resources spent to generate these lists, UML felt printed accession lists were not cost effective.
item: Article-Full-text
Research commons: bringing research support activities of the University of Moratuwa to the next Ievel
(Nine Publishing, 2021) Seneviratne, TM; Kodikara, RC
Research Commons is a dedicated library spaceforresearchers. Research Commons in libraries is important to develop research culture in the university environment. The authors surveyed all academic staffofthe University ofMoratuwa to review the current status ofthe research support activities offered by the university library. The objectives ofthis survey were to: investigate the usage and importance of current research support services andfind out the significance ofsome proposed research support services. The research questionnaire was developed after conducting a pilot study among eminent researchers and focus group interviews with the library academics. According to their importance to the research activities ofacademic staff members, current library services and new library services were ranked using average weightedscores. Access to onlinejournals and databases, Plagiarism check, and electronic document delivery services are the library's most important current research support activities. Open access services, research impact assessment services, and assistance in scholarly publishing are the most important jnew research support services planned by the library. Since the ranking of the proposed services with the average weighted score provides an understanding of ;existing demand or the need among academics, it is essential to prepare a schedule 1forimplementingfollowing the strategic goals ofthe University ofMoratuwa.
item: Article-Abstract
A walking and talking library: a study on the impact of the strategy “read – aloud” on older adults with vision impairments
(Sri Lanka Library Association, Colombo 07, 2023-06-27) Tennakoon, TMRPK; Dissanayake, KH; Seneviratne, TM
The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of read aloud strategy on old lives with vision impairments for reducing loneliness and social isolation. Read aloud is an activity that incorporates variations in pitch, tone, pace, volume, pauses, eye contact, questions, and comments and provides cognitive stimulation to older adults. For older adults who loved to read all their lives, listening to someone read to them can bring profound comfort and joy. However, unlike in Western countries reading aloud is not a popular concept in Asia. 8 respondents (between 62 – 77 years) were selected considering family support, easy access, willingness to try out the concept of reading aloud, and level of vision impairment for the research. The majority (5) were female adults. An open-ended questionnaire was utilized to collect data after exposing them to 8 sessions (3- 4 hours) during 4 months. Various reading materials are used according to the preference of adults. Most loved materials by males were comic stories while females loved to listen to short stories mainly. Reading novels was not productive as most of them could not remember the previous session. The interest of older adults in read-aloud activities improved considerably after each session. Willingness to adopt the concept to eradicate loneliness and social isolation showcased their willingness to social engagement. It was evident that those who had the habit of reading could easily concentrate on the activities and sometimes they could predict the next part of the story. Studies proved that social isolation and loneliness caused by vision impairment can be reduced by reading aloud with the assistance of family or caregivers. This research concludes the need for large print reading materials for visually impaired adults, a special library corner for the elderly, and the introduction of read-aloud activities for the elderly especially institutionalized.
item: Article-Full-text
A sense-making approach for engineering undergraduates to retrieve environmental management information on Bolgoda ecosystem
(National Library and Documentation Services Board, Independence Avenue, Colombo 07., 2023-09-08) Seneviratne, TM; Jayawardena, CL
The use of methodologies, practices, and activities are encouraged in engineering education to solve real-world problems for which knowledge generation and information transfer is vital. For this purpose, it is essential to have access to authoritative information as much as possible. Dervin’s sensemaking framework involves a process of seeking, encountering and using the information to address an information need with respect to ambiguous and complex real-world situations. Retrieving information on Bolgoda Ecosystem for the purpose of environmental management was an activity with engineering undergraduate library orientation during the pre-academic term. Accordingly, the students have engaged in a guided literature search to retrieve information from nine resources on a topic of interest from six categories of the Bolgoda Ecosystem. This individual exercise comprising 13 hands-on sessions was designed in line with the sense-making framework and created in MS Form. The results were manually analyzed and evaluated for information retrieval productivity with respect to relevance and document type. The results from 1169 search records revealed that 98.3% have selected a topic relevant to a complex situation and they were able to retrieve 89.5% of appropriate document categories that included 89.9% for books/reports, 90.3% for articles and 87.1% for conference papers. It was also observed that Google Books, ScienceDirect database and the Institutional Repository of Moratuwa University have been mostly accessed for document retrieval. The productive use of sense-making theory for information retrieval during a library orientation is evident from this study. Also, it can be recommended as a tool to educate library users on effective information systems and designing new information systems. This enabled the fresh engineering undergraduates to engage in evidence-based decision-making and rational thinking to develop environmental awareness on a sensitive ecosystem.
item: Article-Full-text
New accessions in e way: new additions e group of library, University of Moratuwa
(The Library, Eastern University, Sri Lanka., 2006-12) Seneviratne, TM
item: Article-Full-text
හරිත නගර සංකල්පයේ කාලීන අවශ්‍යතාව: විමර් ශනාත්මක විමසුමක්
(Central Environmental Authority, 2019) මීටියාගොඩ, එල්; Meetiyagoda, L
හරිත නගර සංකල්පයේ මූලධර් මය වන්නේ චක්‍රීය නාගරික පරිවෘත්තියයි. එනම් චක්‍රීය ආකාරයට එකිනෙකට බැඳුණු ඒකක දාම ව්‍යුහගත වීමයි. එක ඒකකයක ක්‍රියාකාරීත්වය අනෙක් ඒකක ක්‍රියාකාරීත්වයට අත්‍යවශ්‍ය වන අතර සෑම ඒකකයකම සාර් ථක ක්‍රියාකාරීත්වය තුළින් සජීව ලෙස හරිත නගරය ක්‍රියාත්මක වේ. මෙම හරිත නගරවල ප්‍රධාන අරමුණ වන්නේ ඉතාමත් සීමිත සම්පතක් වූ භූමි පරිභෝජනය අවම කරගැනීම, බලශක්තිය හා ස්වභාවික සම්පත් අවම ලෙස පරිභෝජනය කිරීම ස්වභාවික පරිසරය රැක ගැනීම සහ අවසානයේ කාබනික අපද්‍රව්‍ය පරිසරයට මුදා හැරීම ශුන්‍ය කිරීමයි.
item: Article-Full-text
Mitigation of Tsunami inundation by coastal vegetation
(The Institution of Engineers, 2008) Ratnasooriya, AHR; Samarawickrama, SP; Hettiarachchi, SSL; Bandara, RPSS; Tanaka, N
In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami disaster in 2004, the protection offered by coastal vegetation has become evident in many countries affected and the role of vegetation as a possible tsunami impact mitigation measure has been identified. A study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of vegetation in mitigating tsunami inundation in which small scale physical model tests were carried out to investigate the influence of various characteristics of the vegetation in reducing the extent of inundation. Significant reduction levels of inundation were observed in the testing program and the relative influences of the location, density, extent and pattern of vegetation were identified.
item: Article-Full-text
අපේ නාගරික පරිසරය සහ-නිර්මාණය කරමු [Let's co-create our urban environment]
(Central Environmental Authority, 2022-10) මිටියාගොඩ, එල් [Meetiyagoda, L]
1986 වසරේ සිට සෑම වසරකම ඔක්තෝම්බර් මස තුන්වන (03) දින ලෝක ජනාවාස දිනය ලෙසින් ප්‍රකාශයට පත්කොට ඇත. 1985 වසරේ බටහිර ඉන්දියානු කොදෙව් දූපතක් වූ ජැමෙයිකානු රාජ්‍යයේ කිංස්ටන් නුවරට රැස්වූ එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මානව ජනාවාස කොමිසම, සිය වාර් ෂික සැසි වාරයේ දී වාර් ෂිකව ලෝක ජනාවාස දිනයක් ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කරනු ලැබීය. මෙම දිනයේ දී විෂයට අදාළ කාලීන තේමාවක් මුල්කරගනිමින්, ක්‍රියාකාරී සැමරුම් වැඩසටහන් ලොව පුරා දියත්කරනු ලබයි. මෙවර තේමාව, Mind the Gap යන්නයි. [Every year since 1986, the 3rdof October has been declared World Habitat Day. In 1985, the United Nations Human Settlements Commission, which met in Kingston, Jamaica, in its annual session, announced a World Habitat Day annually. On this day active celebration programs are launched around the world based on a current theme related to the subject. This year's theme is Mind the Gap.]
item: Article-Full-text
බලශක්ති අර්බුදය හමුවේ ගෘහීය බලශක්ති අවශ්‍යතාව සඳහා හරිත ආර් ථික ප්‍රවේශයක්: ජීව වායු තාක්ෂණය ප්‍රවර් ධනය කරමු [A Green Economy Approach to Domestic Energy Requirement in the Face of Energy Crisis: Promoting Bio-gas Technology]
(Central Environmental Authority, 2022-10) ද අල්විස්, ඒ [De Alwis, A]
සමාජයක පැවැත්මට අවශ්‍ය දෙයක් තමයි බලශක්තිය. අපි බලශක්තිය ලබාගන්නා ක්‍රමවේද දෙකක්(02) තිබෙනවා. පළමුවෙන්ම අපි අතීතයට ගියහොත්, අපේ බලශක්තිය ලබාගත්තේ, අපේ පරිසරයෙන් ලබාගත හැකි, උකහාගත හැකි ශක්ති ප්‍රභවයන් හරහා. කාලයත් සමඟ, දියුණුවත් සමඟ අප තේරුම් ගත්තා පොසිල ඉන්ධන, ගල්අඟුරු, ස්වභාවික වායු, වැනි ද්‍රව්‍ය හරහා අපිට විශාල බලශක්තියක් ලබා ගත හැකි බව. ඒ වගේ ද්‍රව්‍ය වල ඝනත්වය වැඩියි. මේවා නිර්මාණය වෙලා තියෙන්නේ වසර මිලියන ගණනාවක ක්‍රියාවලියකට හසුවීමෙන් පසුව. [Energy is something that is necessary for the existence of a society. There are two (02) methods by which we obtain energy. First of all, if we go back in time, we got our energy through energy sources that we can absorb from our environment. With time and development, we realized that we can get a lot of energy through fossil fuels, coal, natural gas, etc. The density of such materials is high. These are formed after millions of years of process.]
item: Article-Full-text
ඵලදායි ආර් ථිකයක් සඳහා විධිමත් නගර සැලසුම්කරණය: සැලසුම් උපායක් ලෙස සංචාරක කර්මාන්තය ප්‍රවර් ධනය [Formal City Planning for a Productive Economy: Tourism Promotion as a Planning Strategy]
(National Productivity Secretariat, 2018) මිටියාගොඩ, එල් [Meetiyagoda, L]
සමකාලීන ලෝකයේ කළමනාකරණ මූලධර්මයක් ලෙස ඵලදායිතා සංකල්පය ඉදිරියට පැමිණ තිබේ. ඵලදායිතාව යන්නෙන් අදහස් වන්නේ යම් අරමුණක් ඉටුකර ගැනීම සඳහා අදාල සම්පත් නිවැරදිව හා කාර්යක්ෂමව කළමනාකරණය කරමින් යොදවා අදාළ අරමුණ උපරිම සාධන මට්ටමින් ඉටු කර ගැනීමයි. සමාජ අභිවෘද්ධිය ඇති කර ගැනීම සඳහා තිරසර සංවර්ධන අභිමතාර් ථ ඔස්සේ ලෝකය ගමන් කරන අවධියක “ඵලදායිතාව” , “තිරසාරත්වය” යන සංකල්ප සමාජ සංවිධානය වී ඇති සෑම සමාජ සංස්ථාවක ම ප්‍රගතිය සඳහා අතිශය වැදගත් වී ඇත. අපගේ පෞද්ගලික ජීවිතයේ සිට සමාජ ජීවිතය සෑම කාර්යයක දී ම මෙකී සංකල්ප හා අනුගතව කටයුතු කිරීම සිය අභිවෘද්ධිය උදෙසා ඉතා ප්‍රයෝජනවත් වේ. [The concept of productivity has come forward as a management principle in the contemporary world. Productivity means achieving a certain goal by managing the relevant resources correctly and efficiently and using them to achieve the relevant goal at the maximum performance level. At a time when the world is moving towards sustainable development goals in order to achieve social progress, the concepts of "productivity" and "sustainability" have become extremely important for the progress of every social organization. From our personal life to our social life, working in accordance with these concepts in every work is very beneficial for our own development.]
item: Article-Full-text
Students’ perception towards the library user education programmes of the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka: A Case Study
Punchihewa, CND; Kiriella, KGAP; Kumara, ADB; Kodikara, RC
Library, University of Moratuwa has identified the importance of acquiring the user perception on different user education programmes offered by the library. The objective of this case study was to assess the students’ perception and examine the impact of the user education programmes conducted. 'Library Orientation and Tour', 'Information for Research', 'Research and Plagiarism' and 'How to do Referencing' are the library user education programmes considered in this study. The participants were the undergraduate and postgraduate students, who have participated in the library user education programmes during 2014-2015. A user survey method was adopted in this study. Considering the size of the student group, 30% of the total population (188) randomly selected for the study and online structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Results revealed that library user education programmes helped 98.7% of the students to obtain the awareness of library resources and services. In addition, more than 98% of the students claimed that library user education programmes support for their academic works. The study also highlighted the importance of continuing the library user education programmes in building research skills among the students to develop the research culture in the university.
item: Article-Full-text
Developing a reliable monitoring framework to detect environmental changes near mining areas : a remote sensing approach
(2011) Thiruchittampalam, S; Jayawardena, CL
Agriculture and mining are two key industries that govern the growth of the socio-economic systems of a country. Detrimental effects on the socio-environment during mining activities are unavoidable. Hence, a proper balance between social, environmental, and economic aspects needs to be promoted in mining industries. Developing robust real-time monitoring systems will prevent overexploitation of resources, negative impact on the socio-environmental system, illegal mining activities, and abandoned mines without proper reclamation. This study aims to recommend utilising no-cost satellite data to assess effects on the environment due to mining. Further, the machine learning approach in this study is expected to lead to an autonomous realtime monitoring mechanism. Based on accessibility and stakeholder interest, a cluster of abandoned and operating quarry sites in the Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka, was selected as the study area. Freely available high spatial resolution satellite images were obtained from Google Earth and Copernicus Open Access Hub (Sentinel 2 satellite data). Imageries acquired were subjected to object-based land cover classification. Machine learning algorithms, namely, Decision Tree, Random Forest, and Support Vector Machine, were used in the classification process. The best performing algorithm in land cover classification was chosen for multitemporal analysis of the area of interest. In addition, false colour composites and spectral indices were generated using Sentinel 2 images to differentiate human-induced negative impacts and natural changes. The results show that Support Vector Machine outperformed other algorithms in classifying land cover near mining areas. Further, multitemporal analysis of land cover changes using this algorithm implies autonomous monitoring using satellite data was viable. Additionally, auxiliary information such as false colour composites and spectral indices confirmed that the increased proportion of water bodies in the area was due to leaving the abandoned mines without proper rehabilitation. This study provides evidence that the fusion of machine learning based classification with spectral indices helps develop robust monitoring systems.
item: Article-Abstract
Evaluation of machine learning algorithms in classifying multispectral imagery on waterbody extraction
(2021) Jayawardena, CL; Brinthan, K; Thanujan, T
A comprehensive study for utilizing multispectral satellite imagery to enhance novel environmental monitoring techniques is crucial in terms of accuracy, processing time, and cost for a sustainable triple bottom. The accurate classification of water bodies from other features optimizes spatiotemporal analysis to address global challenges. Therefore, this study emerges as the new research frontier in proposing an apt algorithm for recognizing water resources and coastline in Sri Lanka. This study explores the potential of using classification algorithms for geospatial assessments and applications with their accuracy and reliability. The acquired Collection 2 Level 2 Landsat 8 imagery was geometrically and radiometrically pre-processed, and a false-colour composite was produced from the bands: short-wave infrared, red and nearinfrared. A total of 280 training samples were created with the reference pixels of 50.13 percent for water bodies and 49.87 percent for other features. The confusion matrix was generated using a distinct set of 500 random points for each classification technique, and the F-score and kappa coefficient were calculated for the accuracy assessment. The study depicts that the supervised algorithms: Support Vector Machine, Maximum Likelihood and Random Trees, and unsupervised algorithm: ISO Cluster performs equally in classifying water bodies and other features with higher kappa coefficient exceeding 0.95. Out of these, ISO Cluster was efficient than other algorithms due to reduced handling time. The findings enhance the decision-making ability on extracting surface water bodies using freely available 30 m spatial resolution imagery.
item: Article-Full-text
Sri Lankan fashion designers: Self-directed learning in the apparel industry
(2021) Gopura, S.; Payne, A.; Bandara, D.; Buys, L.
The Sri Lankan apparel industry is currently in transition from apparel assembly to manufacturing original designs as a value addition. Design teams work closely with Western brands, buyers and designers to offer advanced creative and technical design services. The purpose of this article is to investigate how Sri Lankan designers acquire personal, high value fashion knowledge and design skills in this crucial time of industry transition. The study adopts a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews conducted with 28 fashion design and product development professionals in the industry. Based on an inductive thematic analysis, the study finds that Sri Lankan designers’ acquisition of high value fashion knowledge and skills comes primarily through their self-directed learning. This study proposes the Designers’ Self-Directed Learning Cycle to illustrate how designers’ learning happens and is applied in their professional practice. The findings are significant in understanding the designers’ practice in the export-oriented apparel value chain.
item: Article-Full-text
Fashion exposure : Sri Lankan apparel industry designer interactions with the world of fashion
(2019) Gopura, S.; Payne, A.R.; Buys, L.; Bandara, D.C.
Developing countries engaged in apparel value chain are going global, seeking opportunities to upgrade the industry through providing higher value-added products and services. The purpose of this article is to investigate how Sri Lankan apparel industry designers interact with the Western fashion world in the apparel value chain process, and how they acquire, adapt and apply the knowledge needed to develop high-value fashion products in their fashion design practice.
item: Article-Full-text
The Fashion Designer's Evolving Role in the Apparel Value Chain : Perspectives from Sri Lankan Designers
(2019-06) Gopura, S; Payne, A.; Buys, L.
In the South Asian Region, the Sri Lankan apparel industry is transitioning from apparel assembly to providing higher value-added product and services. Fashion designers are key actors in this transition. The purpose of this article is to examine the evolving role of the fashion designerin the Sri Lankan apparel industry.The study adopts a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews conducted with twenty-eight fashion and product development professionals in the Sri Lankan apparel industry. Based on an inductive thematic analysis, the study finds that the Sri Lankan designers take a multidisciplinary approach to their design practice, integrating the key functions of fashion design, product development and manufacturing capabilities, in alignment with the functional and strategic ambitions of the apparel companies. Their approach to design through technical skills extends the conceptual approach of brand designers in fashion design practice. However, the fashion knowledge of Sri Lankan designers varies significantly depending on their familiarity with Western brands and retailers as well as Western consumer culture and lifestyle.
item: Article-Full-text
Confused Customer : sizing and styling related matters in online fashion shopping in Sri Lanka
(2021-09) Gopura, S.; Kothalawala, L.
The increased popularity of online shopping due to easy access, fashion retailers were opting for a different approach to increase their online sales. This study investigates the sizing and styling related matters in online fashion shopping in Sri Lanka. The study has taken a qualitative approach through a comparative content analysis of Sri Lankan and international fashion shopping websites selected from purposive sampling, and an inductive reasoning of fashion consumer survey of Sri Lanka, conducted among hundred participants who have been recruited in a mixed method approach of purposive and random sampling. The results of web content analysis highlight standard sizing and styling related indicators in fashion shopping websites and essential sizing related key indicators to be added to Sri Lankan fashion websites. The consumer survey identifies size and quality of product as key for conventional shoppers in making purchasing decisions. The study concludes the lack of such vital information in fashion shopping websites result in detaching consumers from online shopping in Sri Lanka. The study identifies web contents and presentations to attract more consumers, especially amidst the impact of Covid-19 pandemic in fashion retails. The findings are valuable for the countries sharing similar attributes in online fashion retailing globally.