Browsing by Author "Pathirana, G. P. N. M."

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Impact of past mental and physical harassments on undergraduates of University of Kelaniya
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Pathirana, G. P. N. M.; Subasinghe, G. K.; Samarasinghe, D. G. S. P.; Fernando, H. A. S.; Jayasinghe, M. G.; Herath, H. M. K. M.
Harassment is any physical, verbal, written, or otherwise unwanted, unwelcome behavior that may offend or humiliate an individual. Discriminatory harassment, physical harassment, mental harassment, psychological harassment, sexual harassment, etc., are frequently experienced worldwide, and these are related to adverse physical and mental health outcomes and injuries. The existing state of knowledge on this topic is that these incidents are prevalent even though no one has been able to pay much attention to such incidents. As a result, harassment increases gradually, and society has not enforced directive laws and punishments against those who commit such offences. Our objective was to determine the impact of past mental and physical harassment on undergraduates of the Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya. This study considers the most impacted scenarios and the discomforts undergraduates have gone through since childhood. From the results of a pilot study, a sample of 342 undergraduates from the faculty of science have undergone a survey. The study uses a stratified sampling method, and the level/ academic year of study is considered as strata. Major discomforts and aftereffects such as stress, anxiety, sleeping disorders, sexual malfunctions, weight loss, mental retardation, etc., of more specific harassments were analysed here. There is an equal proportion of participation in both males and females. The descriptive study shows how the respondents were impacted: physically, mentally or both. The way they reacted to the discomfort, to whom they were informed, and how much time has been taken for the action are discussed here. Major afflictions came out to be bullying, gender discrimination, cyberbullying, sexual abuse and racial/religious discrimination. Highest impacted discomfort has been experienced severely by most females but mildly by most males. The categorical analysis gave a relative risk of 1.121 to 2.247 on the female being more likely to encounter an aftereffect from discomforts. Experiencing severe cases is higher for females than males. The odds of a female encountering sexual abuse are about three times more likely than a male. Further, chi-square tests revealed aftereffect is independent of gender, but aftereffect and the discomfort types are significantly associated. Ratings (mild, moderate, severe) are associated with the discomfort type. The study identifies that there is an equivalent experience of harassment no matter what gender they belong to, but females have a higher tendency to get harassed. Consequently, the severity of the incident is higher for females than males. Further studies can be conducted to determine actions to reduce the aftermath, find cures and enlighten society about how to avoid discomfort.
Study on tension detection and acceptance of glove liners
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2023) Pathirana, G. P. N. M.; Jayasundara, D. D. M.; Chandrasekara, N. V.
The glove industry plays a leading role in the Sri Lankan economy. The quality of the final product is crucial when it comes to mass production. A significant shrink or extension of a glove can cause great losses to the company by increasing the number of defective products. The dimensions of knitted liners vary due to various factors in the knitting process. In finding a solution to this problem, the Six Sigma “DMAIC” approach is being used. This research investigated how the tension of the main yarn and yarn conditioning time affect liner dimension changes in a controlled temperature and humidity level. As for finding the dimension changes, the total length, cuff length, and the cuff width of the liners were considered. Relevant data was gathered from a leading glove manufacturing company in Sri Lanka. The Randomized Complete Block Design with 9-12 replicates, considering yarn conditioning time as blocks and tension ranges as treatments, was set up. Analysis of Variance suggested that there is a significant difference among the population means in all three dimensions. Hence, a multiple comparison test (Tucky’s test) is used to compare means. The results confirmed that the changes in yarn conditioning time had a significant impact on total length and cuff width. Nonetheless, factorial designs suggested that the interactions of tension and yarn conditioning time had a significant impact on the dimensions of knitted glove liners. As the tension increased, the length of the liners decreased. As tension levels increased, cuff lengths began to shorten. In contrast, the increase in tension of the main yarn caused the cuff widths to lengthen. Low-conditioned yarns contained significantly different dimensions than the rest of the liners knitted with yarns that had been conditioned for at least 24 hours. Generally, industries determine the optimal tension values of the main yarn manually using test gloves, which is time-consuming and costly. As a solution, this research used statistical modelling concepts, which aided in the development of a model to predict the level of tension required when the relevant liner length parameters and conditioning times were provided. Multiple linear regression and data mining techniques were used, and the models were compared. By having the lowest Root Mean Square Error, the Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN) outperformed the regression model and decision tree model. The error of the implemented GRNN model is 0.1521, and the independent variables explained more than 90% of the mean tension.
Survey on the acceptance of online education in state universities of Sri Lanka during the COVID-19 pandemic situation
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2021) Mahanama, K. R. T. S.; Mohamed, A. R. W.; Wickramarathne, R. A. S.; Pathirana, G. P. N. M.; Kumara, H. H. D.; Pathirana, M. P. R. L.; Wickramanayaka, M. P. A. T.; Gunawardena, S. L. H.; Dias, M. J. R.; Ihsan, M. I.; Kaushalya, K. D.; Kumara, M. S. M. S.
Online education is a mode of electronically facilitated distance education method. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, global educational institutions transformed into online platforms. As a developing nation, Sri Lanka had to make a rapid transition from face-to-face to the online teaching-learning process. According to the Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka, only 22.2% of households owned desktop or laptop computers (2020). Consequently, the availability and accessibility of infrastructure to transform into an online education platform are at a question. Hence, to appraise this current situation based on students’ points of view, a sample survey was conducted to explore the acceptance of online education mechanisms in state universities of Sri Lanka during the COVID-19 pandemic situation. As a first step, a pilot study was conducted on 44 undergraduates, who were selected by convenience sampling. With the experience of the pilot survey, the final questionnaire was fine-tuned with 27 questions, and it was delivered to the undergraduates in 14 state universities employing the snowball sampling technique. Based on observation of the pilot study, the required minimum sample size was found to be 570 with a margin of error of 0.04. Finally, a descriptive analysis was performed using 574 responses using Minitab software. Most of the students are more inclined to use online lectures (33%) and videos (55.3%). From 64.2% who had online sessions for practical courses, 38.9% are dissatisfied. Even though 36.3% had faced network problems, regular and usual participation figures were approximately 70%. 57.6% of the respondents in the sample are females, and among them, a higher percentage (44.8%) were participating in online lectures regularly compared to that of males (25.4%). The majority of the student has complained of difficulties in health problems (81%), inability in raising questions (64.9%), understanding course contents (86.9%), and heavy workload (89.4%). Overall, comparisons of face-to-face and online lectures revealed that the majority preferred face-to-face lectures (43.8%), and a significant proportion accepted both study modes (39.3%). On average, the acceptance of online education is ranked 2.86 on a scale of 1 (highly reject) to 5 (highly accept). Based on the findings, it is recommended to strengthen the interactions between students and lecturers, conduct break-through room assignments during the lectures, and use multiple communication platforms. In addition, student grievances can be accommodated by relaxing deadlines on assessment, aiding of educational, technical, and financial needs.