Browsing by Author "Abeysinghe, A."

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5G Wireless Communication over Heterogeneous Networks: Solutions for Hardware and Software Fallacies.
(Faculty of Computing and Technology, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Abeysinghe, A.
Proliferating use of mobile communications have urged the need to develop networks able to cater to higher bandwidth, speeds and support a plethora of upcoming technologies. Introduction of 5G networks in a heterogeneous network architecture has been chosen as a viable solution to persistent issues in current implementations. However, these network designs lack several fundamental software and hardware pitfalls associated with problems in designing: associated cell optimizations, schemes on simultaneous base station associations and cooperation between tiers in the architecture. Therefore, this research will focus in fine tuning these software and hardware fallacies for the successful implementation of proposed 5G networks. A main software drawback in current networks is persistence of lazy caching themes. As shown in figure 1, currently user requests are often matched to arbitrary locations without the use of preenabled caching mechanisms. To overcome this issue proactive caching where base stations (BS) identify external clients possessing cached information and dynamic Device-to-Device (D2D) connection creation could be implemented. As shown in figure 2, significant improvements in successful requests could be achieved both under high load and under low load as users are efficiently matched to potential targets. A main drawback in mobile network hardware design is high energy consumption proportional to increasing user requests. To overcome this issue cell zooming could be introduced to 5G implementations. As shown in figure 3, the central cell could use an algorithmic approach to identify the network request density around it and zoom its range in or out to efficiently serve while neighboring cells could be switched off for a predetermined interval and vice versa. T-tests carried under this paradigm proved that significant cost savings in efficient use of energy in these cells could be achieved under this solution
Challenges Facing Preservation and Conservation of Asian Elephants
(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Abeysinghe, A.
Challenges Facing Preservation and Conservation of Asian Elephants
(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Abeysinghe, A.
Asian Elephants face near extinction in every place they exist; they lose their struggle for survival due to human-elephant conflicts, lack of food and water for survival, ivory poaching and illegal capture of them for work as well as for tourism. Their habitat has also been reduced due to development. As a result, the population of Asian Elephants has become less and they are isolated. At present, there are only 30,000 – 50,000 elephants in the wild, whereas, it was hundreds of thousands at the turn of the 20th century and they are scattered in habitat in 13 Asian countries. To overcome the challenges facing the preservation and conservation of Asian Elephant, proper action should be taken to alleviate the conflicts between development and wild life conservation. As such, there should be clear strategies such as protecting elephants and their habitat, promoting elephant-friendly policies, monitoring elephant numbers (population), reducing human-elephant conflict, conducting research on elephants to introduce conservation strategies and minimizing threats to elephants and their habitat. Asian Elephants are adaptable in diet and behavior and they can survive in any place from grasslands to rainforests. An elephant eats about 200 kilograms of food per day. This amount cannot be found in one place. Thus, they have to migrate to vast areas to find food and water, especially, during the dry season. Such vast areas are rare in Asian countries which itself is a threat to these elephants. This fact also leads to human-elephant conflicts as they tend to approach villages in search of food. This paper aims to discuss the challenges facing preservation and conservation of Asian Elephants. To understand the magnitude of the human-elephant conflict and focus on the preservation and conservation of Asian Elephants, there should be better mechanisms to mitigate the damage caused by such conflicts.
Computer-aided qualitative data analysis of Buddhist Canonical texts
(International Conference on Sanskrit and Eastern Studies, 2018 Department of Sanskrit and Eastern Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Abeysinghe, A.; Abeysinghe, A.
Buddhist texts composed in classical Sanskrit or in "Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit" are referred to as Sanskrit Buddhist Literature. Many non-Mahayana Nikayas have preserved their canons in Sanskrit, especially the Sarvāstivada. According to traditional Theravāda sources, the Buddha taught in Magadha, whereas in early Mahāyāna schools Sanskrit plays a significant role. ATLAS.ti 7 (Qualitative Data Analysis Software) is one of the leading computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) that has been used to analyse the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sūtra (Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtra). With advances in Information technology (IT), digitalisation of Buddhist documents has contributed immensely to Buddhist studies. Using computer-assisted techniques have been used for hermeneutic work commenced in 1980s. Many Sanskrit textbooks as well as scholarly papers have used ATLAS.ti 7 software package to analyse qualitative data. As this software package is user-friendly, transparent as well as credible, scholars in different fields such as engineering, IT, medical, management and education have used it. Apart from texts, audio, video as well as image archival databases are also digitalized and can be openly accessed. The Digital Library and Museum of Buddhist Studies and the Library of Luminary Buddhist Institute in Taiwan are two such places where this facility is available to researchers, students and those interested in browsing as well as referring to canonical texts
Conservation and preservation of locomotive heritage in Sri Lanka
(The International Conference on Land Transportation, Locomotive Heritage and Road Culture - 2017, 2017) Abeysinghe, A.
Travel and tourism is a large income generator in Sri Lanka. As such, train travel plays a significant role in promoting tourism, rendering tourists local and overseas an exceptional travelling experience as well as a multi-faceted cultural exchange. In Sri Lanka the railways network covers the scenic hill country with exceptional views of verdant hills, pristine beaches and secluded countryside. The railway network in Sri Lanka was constructed on the legendary route in the 19th century. The Viceroy Special which is a vintage steam train built to resemble trains of yesteryear is a locomotive heritage rendering travelers a unique experience of train travel, especially the hill country train ride which is considered as one of the best journeys in the world. But there are many challenges facing the conservation and preservation of locomotive heritage. As the constant movement of the railway engines and carriages will wear out original parts and will have to be replaced leading to destruction of valuable historical and technological nature of the locomotives, there should be better solutions to conserve them. Thus, there should be proper pragmatic solutions to conserve such locomotive heritages without altering the ancient outlook of the engines and carriages or else the ancient nature of such locomotives will be destroyed. In this paper, I will be looking at pragmatic solutions to conserve and preserve locomotive heritage in Sri Lanka considered a valuable heritage of the past.
Environmental impact of sustainable tourism in Sri Lanka
(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Abeysinghe, A.
Tourism and hospitality is a field which involves many sectors including the aviation industry, hotel industry, tourist boards, government ministries and departments as well as national parks and heritage sites. As such, it is a vast field involving many services and products catering to tourists (travellers) and also natural environment. All these have mutually reinforcing objectives to ensure sustainable tourism development. In Sri Lanka, tourism is the nation’s third foreign exchange earner and by the end of the year 2015, this figure is expected to be US$ 3 billion. The majority of tourism activities place extra pressure on environmental resources on which it is based. This is also intensified by present as well as future interests of tourists, tourism organizations and host populations. Without sufficient environmental protection, prospects for development will be weakened. Positive links should be built with the environment while breaching any negative links that may be encountered. There could also be negative links. To overcome this, there should be “trade-offs” between protection or rather conservation and developmental goals. It is the duty of the government and other stakeholders to safeguard the environment while developing necessary infrastructure for tourism. Otherwise, tourism will become a major destructive process destroying natural resources which it is based on. Those responsible for tourism management have a great responsibility for sustainable tourism and they should focus on protecting the environment, a vital factor of tourism development. Sri Lanka being a country rich in natural environment, bio-diversity as well as rich cultural heritage has to protect its resources; the major tourism attractions, while developing necessary infrastructure. In this paper, the focus will be mainly on the “Environmental impacts of sustainable tourism in Sri Lanka”, the problems associated with it and how to overcome such problems in the long term as well as the short term.
Environmental impacts of sustainable tourism in Sri Lanka
(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Abeysinghe, A.
Tourism is one of world’s important industries. It has a great impact as an important way of earning foreign exchange and also has a direct impact on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country, during the last 30 years in the majority of countries where tourism is a key income. As such, tourism is widely recognized as the world’s largest generator of wealth and this will continue to grow during the next decades and tourism will be significant for the national and global economies. Therefore, it is the primary target of the stakeholders of the industry to integrate sustainability dimensions, into its development strategies, especially, the environment it is mostly based upon. The modern tourism industry has become an umbrella industry for many businesses such as accommodation, transportation, entertainment, catering, tour operators and travel agencies. Therefore, tourism industry should take efforts to support the restoration, conservation as well as protection of valuable, natural, historic and cultural sites, landscapes as well unique biodiversity of a country while promoting and developing tourism. In this, the governments as well as stakeholders of the tourism industry such as hotels and tour operators have a significant role in protecting the environment. In this paper, I will be discussing in detail the “Environmental impacts of sustainable tourism in Sri Lanka”, the problems associated with it and how to overcome such problems in the long term as well as the short term.
Mastering Cognitive Computing as a tool for Information Design in E-marketing Strategies.
(International Conference on the Humanities (ICH), 2017 Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Abeysinghe, A.
The emergence of the paradigm of Internet marketing (E-marketing) has created new avenues in marketing strategies required for the Internet age. While traditional marketing strategies are replaced by Internet based strategies, a parallel transition in information design and representation has been a cornerstone in E-business ventures. Ephemeral buyer perception towards the current volatile market creates an urgency to identify what cognitive skills are required by marketers to successfully design marketing strategies and how information should be represented. Cognitive computing using artificial intelligence is a prospective solution where customer behavior could be observed and suitable strategies towards promoting content could be designed. This research paper thus focuses on how cognitive computing could be applied in an E-marketing context to design and represent information. The research uses an online survey as the source of gathering public opinion about existing E-marketing techniques. Then, the research identifies weaknesses in current E-marketing standards with respect to social media marketing and search engine marketing (SEM) techniques. Information gathered from survey results and recommended approaches to overcome aforementioned weaknesses are then processed using learning algorithms to choose appropriate information design concepts for the chosen target market based on user age, internet literacy and purpose of using E-marketing resources. The research further explores the magnitude to which cognitive computing is currently used in websites and mobile apps associated with E-marketing and provides recommendations on how the gap between existing standards and user perception could be abated to successfully apply the prospects of information design towards E-marketing.
Multidisciplinary approach for sustainable tourism: case study in Kandy,world heritage city, Sri Lanka
(Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, 2018 Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Abeysinghe, A.
Tourism in Sri Lanka is based on culture and nature. Sri Lanka has a growing tourism industry and the country’s tourism revenue reached USD 4 billion in December 2017. Sustainable Tourism is a concept promoted by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in 1998. It stresses the necessity to promote tourism development catering to the requirements of tourists and host communities while preserving the nature and paving the way for future development. Tourism industry has positive as well as negative impacts on the environment and local communities. It is important to have a multidisciplinary approach to understand long term effects of tourism to a host destination. Kandy is known worldwide as an attractive tourist destination. Managing as well as planning sustainable tourism development is not easy when there are multiple groups and industries using the same resources in a conflicting manner. Thus, there is a necessity for a sustainable approach to tourism which benefits the environment, the host community as well as Sri Lanka’s economy. Methods for implementing sustainable tourism practices have been under-researched. There is a gap between research, reality and normative approaches, especially, in the process of policy implementation as there are conflicts in the attempt to resolve diverse goals of key actors. Challenges faced by Kandy in sustainable tourism development are interlinked, such as the conversion of the natural environment as a commercial product for tourism marketing. In this endeavor, a single approach cannot address diverse challenges. Hence, a multidisciplinary method is necessary to address the issues by combining theory from public policy, marketing and tourism disciplines. Thus, an overall performative approach; a combination of three separate approaches such as Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework, Tourism Area Life Cycle Model and a Marketing Systems Theory are necessary to study the policy processes and to develop institutional arrangements over a period of time to gain insight on how sustainable practices in tourism can be best adopted.
Overcoming fissures in adopting Digital Humanities in ESL classrooms: A hybridized approach.
(International Conference on the Humanities (ICH), 2017 Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Abeysinghe, A.
Digital humanities have changed human perceptions about domains of traditional humanity principles as data is becoming more preferable over literature. The role of this transformation has created a digitized culture in the way humans handle information and this trend has become a massive boom in ESL (English as a Second Language) based e-learning centres. With the development of Information Communication Technology (ICT), using digital humanities in ESL classes is essential to make language teaching and learning interesting and interactive as teachers can use web-based stories, computer games, podcasting, listening to online news and use of weblogs to encourage students to learn the language. These practices change students’ learning processes in the ESL classroom because they can use a multiplicity of communication channels and social networking in their learning process to encourage and make language learning interesting. Nevertheless, learning English in a digital culture has caused learners in hasty hitherto futile adoption of e-learning materials causing a snag in this embrace. Potential solutions to these include a hybridized culture whereby students gain sufficient knowledge via traditional practices and later using online resources as verification systems for their productiveness, using online chats and participating in forums and virtual classrooms with online mentors and preferring materials with minimum presentational designs over high graphic content. Therefore, this research paper describes how this hybridized approach could be implemented using quantitative analysis acquired through ESL student sampling. Then questionnaires and surveys are used to identify how contemporary students perceive this transformation. Then a system that could be implemented in all demographic and socio-cultural background is presented. Finally, this system’s productivity is evaluated and fine-tuned.
Role of Information Technology in heritage tourism: UNESCO World Heritage sites of Sri Lanka
(Journal of Archaeology, Tourism & Anthropology, 2020) Abeysinghe, A.; Abeysinghe, A.
Heritage and Information Technology (IT) may seem inconsistent at first. But IT has a significant role in heritage tourism. IT provides effective resources by which heritage tourism has evolved as a modern tool without harming its cultural and heritage identity. IT applications in heritage tourism include many disciplines of computer science from workflow to archaeological discovery as well as to scientific preparation. As such, there are diverse areas of cooperation as well as interaction at different levels. The use of IT as a tool in heritage tourism has paved the way for a three-dimensional (3D) model with the use of input data such as photos and scans. At the same time, computer graphics have created accurate visual creations. Several applications of IT in heritage tourism such as 3-D Modelling, database management of records, online reservation systems, Content Management and marketing via websites and social media can be identified. In this age of Information Technology and with the fast access of information, tourists at present require fast and accurate information and they have a thirst for knowledge about the destinations they visit. Hence, it is the duty of stakeholders of heritage tourism to provide the necessary information for tourists without harming the historical and cultural nature as well as the value of the site while using modern technology and preserving heritage tourism for future generations. This paper will focus on the role of IT in heritage tourism in UNESCO World Heritage sites in Sri Lanka for enriching visitor experiences at World Heritage sites in Sri Lanka during the travel cycle. At present, the majority of tourists local as well as foreign accumulate information about World Heritage sites, make reservations as well as buy services available in relevant sites using search engines.
Use of Neural Networks in archaeology: preservation of Assamese manuscripts
(International Seminar on Assamese Culture & Heritage, 2018) Abeysinghe, A.; Abeysinghe, Aditya
Historical documents are engraved as manuscripts ranging from palm leaf manuscripts, metal carvings to paper manuscripts. These manuscripts reveal significant information about yesteryear. Although, there are thousands of such manuscripts, the majority of them are not in good condition. Assam has one of the most ancient and largest collections of manuscripts. Assamese 'manuscripts are bound up with Srimanta Sankardeva (15th–16th century Assamese polymath) as well as his Neo Vaisnavite Movement as the manuscripts were the medium of transmission of the ideals of this religio-cultural movement. At the same time, Assamese are grateful to Sankaradeva and his successors for manuscripts which displayed Assamese culture. This saint-scholar, poet and playwright wrote his compositions on these manuscripts. Assamese consider these manuscripts as objects of veneration. Over the years, manuscripts, especially those in print are prone to decay due to various reasons such as climate (light, heat, dust and humidity), pest attacks and theft. At present, Information Technology (IT) is used for preservation of cultural heritage including preservation of manuscripts, the primary source of historical information. Current methods include use of hyperspectral imaging and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to preserve and scan images to digital format. However, current technologies lack the capability to convert a manuscript to a digital artifact due to improper character identification methodology. As such, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) can be used for classification as well as pattern recognition functions. Therefore, this research paper introduces use of an ANN to identify sections of manuscripts obtained from the Assam region.
Using neural networks for mobile applications: self-driving tourism
(The International Conference on Land Transportation, Locomotive Heritage and Road Culture - 2017, 2017) Abeysinghe, A.; Arundathie, Abeysinghe
At present, tourism and hospitality industries extensively makes use of Information Technology (IT) with the objective of reducing costs, improving operational competence as well as improving the quality of service provided to customers, in order to render a better service for the clients. Thus a new dimension was merged to tourism with the adoption of IT in tourism related services. From e-Marketing to virtual tours applications of IT in tourism are diverse. A recent trend in IT-based tourism can be identified as deploying mobile apps as a part of tourism and capturing user data, to update the services to cope with user demands continuously. Sri Lanka as a developing country has limited street view and tourism cornerstones are highlighted in the Internet. This makes potential users to visit a plethora of websites and related apps to fulfil their demands. Building a centralized app for all key tourism areas based on a variety of options ranging from landscapes to business organizations would allow users to easily navigate, while uploading their own information. This research was conducted as a survey to capture user data and to build an Android application based on the data. The system uses a neural network multi-level perceptron (MLP) with back propagation based on the Android platform as a mechanism of centralizing tourism related services in Sri Lanka.
Virtual Learning – A Popular Learning Method Among Students.
(Faculty of Computing and Technology, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Abeysinghe, A.
A virtual learning environment (VLE) or e-learning is a popular method of learning at present. But VLE depends on student acceptance of such kind of programs; if they prefer e-learning or classroom learning. Though VLE could save time, cost, space and motivate students to learn in a new dilemma, VLE poses several drawbacks in addition to those experienced by traditional methods of learning. These include difficulties in adapting to this system of learning, lack of computer literacy, lack of student motivation as well as technical issues. This trend is prominent, especially in developing countries where students are still in the process of adapting to a web and mobile app-based culture of learning. Also, students in developing countries often face problems of low speed Internet as well as lack of Internet access. Therefore, this research focuses on how switching from a traditional culture to an Internet-based culture could be achieved and how distance learning could be promoted in the distant world thus minimizing the digital divide. This research focused on solving these issues under four main themes: providing foundation on how websites and mobile apps could be used, providing streaming and caching facilities for slow Internet connections, creating surveys among students from different demographic, ethnic and geographic backgrounds and designing courses appropriately and ensuring multilingual course availability. According to the research, it was found that these solutions could be achieved in the near future with the advancement of the Internet and new technologies in developing countries. As such, it was inferred that virtual learning could be promoted as a learning method among students in developing countries.