Browsing by Author "Samarasinghe, D. G. S. P."

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Analysis of the interrelationship between weather parameters in Colombo area
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2023) Samarasinghe, D. G. S. P.; Hewaarachchi, A. P.; Dissanayaka, D. M. P. V.
Colombo serves as the administrative, legal, and primary urban hub of Sri Lanka in terms of population. Its metropolitan vicinity houses around 5.6 million residents, with 752,993 within the Municipality. The city of Colombo is renowned for its tropical climate, characterized by consistently high average temperatures, substantial annual rainfall, and other meteorological factors. This study attempted to investigate the variations in the weather parameters and to model the interdependencies among those variables. The correlations of five weather parameters between January 2007 and May 2022 were analysed based on the monthly data collected from the Department of Meteorology in Colombo area. Rainfall, Minimum Relative Humidity, Maximum Relative Humidity, Wind Speed, and Temperature were considered in this study. Investigation of the correlation among various weather parameters holds paramount importance in understanding the intricate dynamics of Colombo's climate. A seasonal pattern was found in Minimum Relative Humidity, and high fluctuations were observed in Wind Speed and Rainfall out of the five weather parameters under study. Further, the study concluded that there is a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.5) between Rainfall and Minimum Relative Humidity and as well as between Rainfall and Maximum Relative Humidity (r = 0.7). A moderate negative relationship (r = -0.5) between Wind Speed and Maximum Relative Humidity is also found in this case study. In this research, vector autoregressive (VAR) models were employed to capture the relationships among weather parameters which indicated the presence of Granger Causality. According to the Granger Causality test it was found that Minimum Relative Humidity can be used in predicting the other four parameters i.e., Rainfall, Maximum Relative Humidity, Wind Speed, and Temperature. Maximum Relative Humidity can be used in predicting the Minimum Relative Humidity, Wind Speed, and Temperature. Also, Wind Speed can be used in predicting all other four weather parameters concerned in this study. It has been found that monthly average Temperature has the potential to serve as a predictive factor for all three of the weather parameters except Wind Speed under consideration in this investigation.
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.