Browsing by Author "Dabare, C"

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Evaluating the Effectiveness of Mind Heaven: A Virtual Reality Meditation Solution based on Theravāda Buddhist Practices
(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2025-12-09) Dabare, C; Arachchi, D.C.T
In modern urban life, stress and anxiety are prevalent due to fast-paced environments and limited access to tranquil spaces. Buddhist meditation, known for its therapeutic effects, often requires calm settings that are hard to access in urban areas and some of these kinds of environments might experience unexpected accidents as well. This research presents a Virtual Reality (VR)-based personalized Buddhist meditation application call Mind Heaven, aimed at stress reduction and mental relaxation. The application evaluates users' moods before and after meditation, offering individualized meditative environments based on users' emotional states. Through collaboration with Theravāda Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka, the system integrates authentic meditative guidance. Additionally, smartwatch-based physiological stress tracking and post-session survey are used to verify user feedback. The pilot evaluation with twenty participants indicates mood improvement and stress reduction in indicators. This study demonstrates the potential of immersive VR in mental wellness, paving the way for future integration with brain-computer interfaces and diversified meditation techniques.
Open Access
Technology-Enabled Flood Disaster Management: Lessons from Malaysia and a Context-Aware Adaptation Framework for Sri Lanka
(Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, 2026-05-21) Dabare, C; Herath, H; Wijesinghe, K.I
Flooding remains one of the most recurrent and socio-economically damaging natural hazards in South and Southeast Asia. Sri Lanka experiences frequent flood events, particularly in low-lying urban regions such as Colombo, where flood risk is intensified by wetland encroachment, drainage limitations, and fragmented institutional responsibilities. Malaysia, which faces similar monsoonal flood patterns, has developed comparatively mature flood disaster management practices integrating early warning systems, centralized coordination, and technologyenabled decision support. This paper presents a practitioneroriented and technology-focused comparative analysis of flood disaster management approaches in Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Governance structures, early warning mechanisms, data integration, infrastructure maintenance, and public communication strategies are examined. Based on documented practices and limitations, the study extracts transferable lessons and proposes a multi-layered, technology-enabled adaptation framework tailored to Sri Lanka. The framework emphasizes decision support systems, real-time data integration, and community-aware communication mechanisms to enhance preparedness and response capabilities.