2022 - (Vol. 02, Issue 02)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://192.248.9.226/handle/123/20438
Browse
Recent Submissions
- item: Article-Full-textVariable sinhala typeface towards responsive design: an exploration(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2022-12) Perera, R; Samarawickrama, SVariable typography allows designers and programmers to fully leverage the capabilities of Responsive Web Design by modifying or animating the typeface. This study was conducted to analyse and design a dynamic variable Sinhala typeface that changes letters to letters or word to word. The research goals included using an existing typeface to use in making the transitions; analysing an existing Sinhala typeface to map out the issues of using the existing typeface; overcoming the issues identified by introducing a grid to develop a new typeface; and testing the legibility of the newly developed typeface, to generate different letter-to-letter or word-to-word animations using the developed typeface. Letter-to-letter or word-to-word variable transitions can be implemented in a web and interactive designs to enhance the engagement of the users with the corresponding digital medium. This Sinhala variable typeface can be combined with a variety of factors such as user interactions, mouse interactions, facial gestures, sound, light etc. This study shows the possibilities to create and design functioning Sinhala responsive variable typefaces with a well-founded framework, and possibilities to adapt them in any compatible systems.
- item: Article-Full-textBibliotherapy in Practice: Initiated a new service at the University System of Sri Lanka(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2022-12) Gunawardhana, NUniversity education creates a transition period from school education to the real world through the provision of professional knowledge, soft skills, and different experiences. Students learn to deal with challenges, overcome conflicts, adapt to new environments, and cope with stress in university life, not only in engaging academic fields. Students face different problems in this new environment for these reasons. University counselors provide solid mental support with various tools to prepare them for higher-level challenges in the future. Bibliotherapy is a popular tool for them, although it is not widely used in the context of Sri Lanka yet. This service was initiated at the University of Moratuwa Library in Sri Lanka, where the researcher has been practicing bibliotherapy as a counselor for years. This work presents a new approach, which is very important in university libraries, dependent not just on traditional services, but on serving users. This article aims at sharing the researcher’s experience with other professionals and motivating them towards it.
- item: Article-Full-textAdopting Blended Learning Across Built Environment Discipline at State Universities in Sri Lanka During and Beyond COVID-19 Pandemic(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2022-12) Pathiranage, I; Thyaparan, MBlended learning (BL) is defined as a technology-based teaching system that integrates face-to-face teaching approach with online learning system (Mahaye, 2020, p.2). With the impact of COVID-19 outbreak, the field of education was permanently changed, alterations to the educational process were necessary and BL was one of the most obvious solutions (Mahaye, 2020). A survey conducted between 25th March to 17th April 2020 revealed that two-thirds of higher education institutions were able to move to online teaching (Marinoni, Van’t Land, and Jensen, 2020). Blended Learning is not a new concept and has been in use for more than two decades (Alammary, Sheard, and Carbone, 2014), but the term may not have been explicitly realised. In pre-COVID period, Sri Lankan higher education institutes did not give priority to online education.
- item: Article-Full-textImpact of climate change on workplace safety and health hazard in facilities management(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2022-12) Asmone, AAnnually, 4% of global GDP is lost from accidents in workplaces; through stoppages, interruptions, treatment of injuries, rehabilitation and compensation [1]. Workplace safety and health (WSH) is thus a vital component of decent work, and by extension a step towards achieving sustainable development. WSH is considered a key policy area in addressing environmental, economic and social sustainability. This is ever important due to the transforming workplaces amidst the challenges posed by one of the other biggest challenges faced by the world today; climate change [2]. This is especially true for traditional industries such as building and construction, where green retrofitting and climate adaptation have been observed, altering traditional patterns of employment. The negative impacts induced by climate change on employment include damages to buildings and the impact on labour productivity by affecting working conditions and WSH of the facilities management (FM) industry. Such effects of climate change on WSH of future work have not been explored.
- item: Article-Full-textBolgoda Chat : the founding Dean of Engineering and Architecture(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2022-12) Karunathilake, H; Witharana, SI obtained my B.Sc. degree from the University of Ceylon, and Prof. Kuruppu was my batch mate. There was only one university those days. My career at the University of Moratuwa started when the newly established Ceylon College of Technology (CCT) was started with virtually the university status, and they wanted to hire academic staff members. I was at the University of British Columbia, Canada at that time. Prof. Kuruppu sent me a letter telling that he joined CCT, and asking to join as well. I applied from Canada. Since CCT was a government institution, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner came in person from Ottawa to UBC to interview me. I completed my PhD in Electrical Engineering in 1969, and was selected for the job. Later, the institution became a campus of the University of Sri Lanka. In 1972, I was the first Dean of Engineering and Architecture. Architecture at that time was a mature department operating under the University of Colombo, and they were shifted to Katubedda, and joined with the engineering programme. Later, after my time, the faculties were separated due to growth in different directions.
- item: Article-Full-textFeasibility of Establishing Desalination Plants at the Dry Zones of Sri Lanka(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2022-12) Yatawatta, J; Sridarran, P; Thirumal, SWater scarcity has already been recognised as a major 21st century global environmental problem [1]. Water scarcity arises when the demand for fresh water in a given domain exceeds the supply. Several nations are quickly depleting their freshwater supplies, and many large river basins in both developing and developed nations are experiencing severe water scarcity. According to Sri Lanka, the country is divided into two principal divisions based on annual precipitation of 1,875 mm: Dry Zones (DZ), which account for around 70% of the country, and wet zones, which account for the remaining 30% [2]. Sri Lanka’s DZ districts such as Ampara, Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Kurunega¬la, Hambantota, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Kurunegala, Mullaitivu, Polonnaruwa, Puttalam, Trincomalee, Mannar and Vavuniya are experiencing extreme seasonal or year-round water scarcity [3]. Water shortage is a common concern for residents of DZs during the dry season as a result of inadequate tank storage capabilities, maintenance and operation issues, and DZ population growth [4].
- item: Article-Full-textThe Bolgoda Ecosystem: A laboratory in the neighbourhood(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2022-12) Jayawardena, C; Seneviratne, TThe Bolgoda wetland complex [Figure: 1] is located on the southwest boundary of the Colombo District and is considered the largest freshwater resource in the Western Province. In detail, Bolgoda (north) Lake and Bolgoda South Lake, which the Bolgoda river connects, are two vast freshwater bodies that cover an area of approximately 400 square kilometers. In addition to Bolgoda Lakes, the Bolgoda Basin consists of five other lakes: Boralesgamuwa, Gamanpila, Kes-bewa, Uyanwatta, and Walgama and the Lunawa Lagoon. This wetland complex has been listed in the “1001 Natural wonders of the world: you must see before you die”, published in 2017 by Michael Bright (Ed.), due to its ecological, social, and economic significance. Bolgoda wetland usually receives considerable rainfall throughout the year, with peaks during the monsoons. Weras river, which travels through a major garbage dumpsite and an industrial zone, delivers the primary water source to the Bolgoda Lakes and the rain and runoffs from two small streams named Panape Ela and Rambana Ela fed by Maha Oya [1]. Further connections of the Bolgoda hydrological system exist through Bolgoda Canal & Kirulapone Canal to Kelani Riv¬er, through Keppu Ela to Kalu Ganga, and through Thalpitiya Ela to the ocean south of Panadura Estuary.
- item: Article-Full-textTowards commercializing the “made in Sri Lanka” Lithium-ion batteries(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2022-12) Hewawasam, D; Karunathilake, H; Subasinghe, L; Witharana, SEnergy plays a crucial role in the human civilization. Today, the whole world is facing an energy crisis with the rising energy demand, fluctuating prices, supply constraints, and environmental concerns. While renewable energy resources can alleviate some of the global energy security challenges, their intermittency and non-dispatchability can cause problems. Therefore, robust energy storage systems (ESSs) are also important in the sustainable energy transition. Among the many ESS technologies, battery energy storage system (BESS) is one of the most popular methods, as they can be easily adapted to distributed applications and quickly deployed. The Lithium-ion battery (LIB) has significant benefits over other batteries. They have a longer life cycle, higher energy density, faster charge and discharge cycles, quick manufacturing and deploying processes, and lower maintenance requirements. LIB technology is one of the best candidates for a BESS, and its market share and R&D efforts are growing fast [1], [2]. Over the last 30 years, the LIB has come a long way with various improvements to make it more compact and safe while simultaneously enhancing the energy density and cycle life.
- item: Article-Full-textEnergy performance enhancement in institutional and commercial buildings(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2022-12) Ariyaratne, R; Karunathilake, H; Punchihewa, HThe built environment has been identified as a major contributor to the energy consumption as well as the GHG emissions across the world. Enhancing the energy performance of the building sector is crucial in meeting the current climate action targets, as well as in improving the economic outcomes and welfare of building owners and occupants. With the current energy and foreign exchange reserve crises faced by Sri Lanka, it is clearly evident that reducing the energy use in buildings as well as the reliance on imported fossil fuels are important. When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions curbing and climate action initiatives, demand side management initiatives appear to be more promising for Sri Lanka compared to supply side interventions, as the latter have higher costs of mitigation [3]. The effectiveness of the energy efficiency enhancement strategies employed in buildings depends on the archetype of the building as well as locational parameters such as climate conditions [1].
- item: Article-Full-textAdapting concept of human-human multimodal interaction in human-robot applications(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2022-12) Priyanayana, S; Jayasekara, B; Gopura, RHuman communication is multimodal in nature. In a normal environment, people use to interact with other humans and with the environment using more than one modality or medium of communication. They speak, use gestures and look at things to interact with nature and other humans. By listening to the different voice tones, looking at face gazes, and arm movements people understand communication cues. A discussion with two people will be in vocal communication, hand gestures, head gestures, and facial cues, etc. [1]. If textbook definition is considered synergistic use of these interaction methods is known as multimodal interaction [2]. For example, , a wheelchair user might instruct the smart wheelchair or the assistant to go forward, as shown in Fig. 1(a). However, with a hand gesture shown in the figure, he or she might want to go slowly. In the same way as of Fig. 1(b), a person might give someone a direction with a vocal command ‘that way’ and gesture the direction with his or her hand. In most Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) developments, there is an assumption that human interactions are unimodal. This forces the researchers to ignore the information other modalities carry with them. Therefore, it would provide an additional dimension for interpretation of human robot interactions. This article provides a concise description of how to adapt the concept of multimodal interaction in human-robot applications.
- item: Article-Full-textPolyhydroxyalkanoates from Fruit Wastes; A Sustainable Panacea for Plastic Crisis!(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2022-12) Jayalath, S; Kothalawala, P; De Alwis, A; Keerthisinghe, T; Costa, S; Wijerathna, L“White pollution” which is defined as the solid waste generated through the consumption of different types of plastic products, has been identified as a significant global environmental issue threatening the natural environment, human health, and economies with regard to pollution. Plastics are chemically inert, preventing unnecessary gas and moisture exchange with the surroundings. Food packaging is an application where plastics are extensively used, as it significantly reduces the possibility of microbial contamination while retaining food quality. Moreover, it is lighter, possesses high specific strength, and is tear resistant. Plastics can be produced colorless or transparent if necessary, allowing the consumer to view food products through the packaging. It can also be easily moulded to fit the shape of the food item it is holding without affecting its performance requirements. Its stiffness and increased strength ratio make it desirable to be used as food containers and cutlery in rigid food ware applications.
- item: Article-Full-textQuills or Featherings? The mechanization of Cinnamon Processing(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2022-12) Gunawardhana, D; Gamage, JCinnamon, the dried edible-inner bark of the tree: Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Blume, is an essential spice used around the world. The history of the cinnamon trade goes beyond the 10th century. Since then Sri Lanka is the only place where true cinnamon, Ceylon cinnamon, can be found [1]. The annual turnover from Ceylon cinnamon export in 2020 is approximately USD 206 Million which is around 61.5% of the total spice export in Sri Lanka. This contributes to 2% of the total merchandise exports revenue of Sri Lanka.
- item: Article-Full-textDigitally Enhanced Information and Coordination System for Disaster Preparedness in Sri Lanka(Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2022-12) Siriwardena, DDisaster preparedness is one of the key phases of disaster management that mitigates the impact of hazards and ensures the effective response and recovery. Therefore, enhanced disaster preparedness is imperative to successfully cope with future disasters and thereby to minimise the adverse impacts. In terms of successful disaster preparedness, information and coordination systems play a major role by creating linkages among the different stakeholders and managing preparedness information. However, existing information coordination systems used in disaster preparedness of developing countries like Sri Lanka need to be enhanced by digital technologies in order to obtain successful outcomes of disaster preparedness. Therefore, under the joint collaboration of Multi-Agency Platforms for Building Resilient Communities (MOBILISE) research project and the Center for Disaster Risk Reduction at University of Moratuwa, we have researched on the nature of a digital information and coordination system that can be utilised for disaster preparedness in Sri Lanka.