Research Papers - Dept of Information of Management
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Publication Embargo Personal well-being index as a measure of quality of life of diverse groups of people with visual impairment and blindness(Springer Science and Business Media B.V., 2023-07-12) Jayathilaka, R; Dunuwila, V; Attale, D; De Seram, H; Sudusinghe, D; Abeyrathna, I; Suraweera, T; Thelijjagoda, SToday, the world adopts various assessment tools and indices to measure quality of life (QoL) of different persons. The Personal Well-being Index (PWI) is a popular and validated tool used by developed countries to assess the QoL of their citizens. The PWI consists of seven major domains that define people’s QoL. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to explore the application of PWI in measuring the QoL of the visually impaired and blind (VI and B) persons in Sri Lanka, and to identify how QoL varies with their demographic characteristics. Primary data revealed among 64 VI&B, 34 blind and 30 visually impaired people from Hambanthota, was analysed based on vision level, age, gender, marital status, and the level of education. Results indicated that visually impaired (VI) respondents had a higher PWI value than that of the blind. Accordingly, the age group of 40–59 contributes to a higher PWI value than that of others; while the results signify that the PWI values basically depend on the levels of education the participants received. It is significant that the blind and the partially sighted people are concerned about their future security to a greater extent compared to the other domains in the PWI. Also, QoL was perceived to deteriorate with age. Thus, it is evident that efforts to improve QoL of people with visual disabilities requires priority to secure a fruitful and secure future for them.Publication Open Access Can visual impairment impact your income potential?(PLoS ONE, 2023-04-20) Wickramaarachchi, C; Jayathilaka, R; Suraweera, T; Thelijjagoda, S; Kollure, LPeople’s quality of life (QOL) has been disrupted globally in the wake of the pandemic in recent times. This was mainly due to global economic crises fuelled by the coronavirus (COVID– 19) and other related factors. Sri Lanka, too, was facing major social and economic constraints in the period 2021–2022. Thus, all communities islandwide have been economically disturbed. Among others, people with Visual Impairment and Blindness (VIB) have been pushed to severely disadvantageous positions, financially and otherwise. A sample from three geographical locations in Sri Lanka; and eleven individuals representing diverse cadres in Sri Lankan society were purposively selected for the study based on the existence of the majority of the visually impaired community using a mixed approach. Descriptive statistics were utilised to analyse the identified socio-economic characteristics. Ordered probit regression was employed to determine the mediating effect of socio-economic status on income levels. Word Cloud illustrates the factors affecting the QOL. Most severely impaired individuals are more likely to earn a lower rate of income. This situation has degraded their lives and poor QOL. Participants’ responses elucidate that facilities, resources, education, opportunities, income, employment, and government activities would enhance their QOL. The study adds value to society by recognising VIB people, helping them gain financial independence and strengthening them without marginalising the impaired community. The proposed policies in this study would be valuable for these social groups to address their wealth concerns.Publication Open Access CHALLENGES & PROSPECTS FOR ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF PERSONS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT & BLINDNESS ENGAGED IN SELFEMPLOYED VENTURES(y Sri Lanka Forum of University Economists (SLFUE) Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021-01-21) Dunuwila, V. R; Suraweera, T; Jayathilaka, R; Thelijjagoda, SPeople with disabilities experience numerous barriers with regard to securing employment, thus, they are more likely to work for low wages, informally and precariously. Besides, some of them are entitled for a disability benefit which is often inadequate to cover their daily expenses (Global Disability Summit, 2018). Economic empowerment can be defined as a way of ensuring income security for people with disabilities to achieve income security, advance economically, enrich themselves through empowerment and autonomy to make economic decisions within and outside the home (Global Disability Summit, 2018). Self-employment is perceived as a viable option for empowering disabled individuals that facilitates achieving a balance between disability status and work life (Kitching, 2014; Pagán, 2009; Adams, et al., 2019). Pagán (2009) indicated the presence of a strong relationship between disability status and self-employment; thus, selfemployment rates were higher among people with disabilities compared to those who report no limitation in daily activities (Kitching, 2014; Pagán, 2009; Adams, et al., 2019). The Global Disability Summit (2018) indicates that obstacles to economic empowerment experienced by people with disabilities can vary depending on the nature of an individual’s impairment, their gender, socioeconomic status and the context in which they live. Adams, et al., (2019) further indicate that the decision to enter into self-employment for most disabled individuals were influenced by the ‘push’ factors such as lack of alternative employment opportunities, rather than the ‘pull’ factors such as passion or interest in a particular field, or the desire to work for themselves (Kitching, 2014; Adams, et al., 2019). Past research reveals that the disabled self-employed face significant problems in sustaining the business due to reasons such as consumer discrimination, inadequate training, poor access to information, absence of appropriate business support and challenges in accessing finance (Adams, et al., 2019; Kitching, 2014; Pagán, 2009; Vaziri, Schreiber, Wieching, & Wulf, 2014)Publication Open Access IN A QUEST FOR ‘WHAT THEY VALUE THE MOST’: PERSONS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND BLINDNESS IN A CLUSTERED COMMUNITY IN SRI LANKA(y Sri Lanka Forum of University Economists (SLFUE) Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2021-01-21) Attale, D.S.C; Sudusinghe, D. R; Abeyrathna, H. A. P. I; De Seram, S. S. H; Jayathilaka, R; Suraweera, T; Thelijjagoda, SThe community engagement and the resource requirements of a community would vary on the nature of the community. If one would broadly recognize persons with visual impairment and blindness (VI&B) as community per se, it is expected that their needs, resource requirements and the activities they engagedin would differ from the rest of the population in general. This research aims to explore the nature of resource requirements and the activities commonly engaged-in by a ‘community’ of persons with VI&B, in a ‘clustered village’ in Southern Sri Lanka. Though sociologists interpret the term community in various ways, this study adopts the definition of Sylvia Dale, (1990); “Community is a body of people living in the same locality…Alternatively, a sense of identity and belonging shared among people living in the same locality, Also, the set of social relations found in a particular bounded area” (Dale, 1990, p. 562). Accordingly, the ‘Siyanethugama’ 55th model village was developed by the National Housing Authority in 2018, where 27 families having at least one person in each with VI&B, would very well be embraced as a “community”. Each family is allocated a 10 perch land with a basic one-bedroom house. Visual impairment or vision impairment, is the degree of reduced vision level from low vision to total blindness that impedes a person’s ability to function at certain or many tasks. As at 2018, among the Sri Lankan population of 21 million (worldometer, 2020), considerably 1.7% of individuals carry a visual impairment (Devapriya, 2020). A study is yet be performed in the Sri Lankan context based on the theme “Resources and activities that VI&B people value the most in their lives”. The preference of an individual’s resources and activities may vary according to their demographic characteristics. This empirical study focuses on deriving what types of resources and activities the VI&B people ascertain the most in their lives, and how the demographic characteristics affect their lives based on their visual impairment type. This study contributes to draw attention from the government towards the VI&B people and types of actions the government can take, to improve the lifestyle of VI&B people in Sri Lanka.Publication Embargo Relationship between Socioeconomic and Demographic Characteristics of Persons with Visual Impairment and Blindness to their Levels of Vision: evidence from two geographical areas in Sri Lanka(Sri Lanka Journals Online, 2022-02) Wickramarachchi, C; Jayathilaka, R; Serasinghe, W; Kollure, L; Kollure, T; Suraweera, T; Thelijjagoda, SThis paper examined the extent to which socio-economic and demographic characteristics are related to the levels of vision of persons with visual impairment and blindness. A mixed method approach was employed in this study. Data collection was conducted in Siyanethugama Village in Hambanthota district and Polpithigama Divisional Secretariat in Kurunegala district in Sri Lanka. The study deployed convenient and purposive sampling techniques. Information was gathered through questionnaires and personal interviews. Overall, results revealed that level of vision vary with several socio-economic characteristics. Age and education were not related to the levels of vision in the Polpithigama region whereas in the Hambanthota region a significant relationship between age and education with levels of vision was observed. Income was not related to the level of vision. Participants’ views and opinions of resources, opportunities, income, employment, and government activities were found to be the driving forces of quality of life related to vision. The study concluded that age and education need to be considered in improving quality of life related to vision and further investigations are needed to determine the relationships between levels of vision and socio-demographic characteristics and to explore perceptions related to vision impairments.Publication Open Access Effects of Seven Domains of Personal Well-being on Quality of Life of Persons with Visual Impairment and Blindness in Sri Lanka(researchgate.net, 2021-08) Dunuwila, V. R; Jayathilaka, R; Attale, D; De Seram, H; Sudusinghe, D; Abeyrathna, I; Suraweera, T; Thelijjagoda, SThe quality of life (QoL) of people with disabilities is of interest to social researchers in most parts of the World. However, this is an area somewhat overlooked by society in general. It is obvious that the lifestyle of a person with visual disabilities may differ significantly compared to those who see the World with their own eyes. Additionally, persons with visual disabilities are known to experience specific challenges, unlike people who are sighted. Hence, the main objective of this study is to examine the extent to which the seven domains of the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI), namely, the standard of living, achievements in life, community connectedness, close relationships, health, safety, and future security, impact the QoL of people with visual impairment and blindness. The sample of 64 participants, 34 blind and 30 visually impaired individuals, were obtained via purposive sampling from one among 25 districts, Hambanthota, in Southern Sri Lanka. Data collection was carried out through a tailored questionnaire, employed as a telephone survey, and through face-to-face interviews. The relationship between the seven domains of PWI and QoL was analyzed through standard statistical methods using SPSS. Further, demographic factors such as age and gender were also examined in the analysis. Results show that the majority of persons with visual impairment and blindness, in particular those in the age group 40-59, are satisfied with the seven domains of PWI. However, the PWI domain of ‘future of security is of significant concern to this community. The results also assert that the ‘community connectedness’ and ‘achievements in life’ are two areas that need to be looked into by the policymakers for sustained QoL among persons with visual impairment and blindness. Authors acknowledge contribution of the World Bank assisted AHEAD Research project of SLIIT Business School for support extended in relation to data collection and guidance.Publication Open Access Change management in the context of IT project implementations(SLIIT, 2010-12) Suraweera, T; Kumarapperuma, C. U; Wijayasinghe, P. M. T; Madushani, P. L. B; De Silva, G. H. K; Jayathilaka, Y. C. PThis research titled Change Management in the context of IT project Implementations is focused on identifying empirical and knowledge gap between ERP implementation and change management processes through answering the research questions ‘why ERP system implementation projects fail’ and ‘how change management practices influence ERP implementation project success?’. A case study methodology was adopted in this research to study the current ERP implementation process adopted by Sri Lankan organizations.Publication Embargo Teacher attitude and ICT integration in the class room: Case of sri lankan schools(IEEE, 2017-01-27) Suraweera, T; Wickramasena, A; Jayalath, T; Ariyadasa, SAlthough Sri Lankan education authorities have taken many initiatives to enhance the ICT integration in schools, only minor improvements are seen in its use in the class room. With the view to addressing this issue in the long term, this research aims to review the critical dimensions influencing the usage of ICT for teaching within the classroom. Based on past research, this research attempts to comprehensively examine three factors, namely, personal skills, personal factors and organizational factors. Data gathered through in depth interviews of fifteen school teachers representing twelve schools have been analyzed in this qualitative study. The results show that the teacher attitude happens to be the critical driver of ICT integration within the classroom, while ICT skills of teachers and organizational factors play only a supporting role. It is also seen that the emphasis of the education authorities have been placed mostly on the latter two factors and not much on the attitudinal improvement.Publication Open Access Understanding IT management in SMEs(Academic Press, 2010-01-01) Cragg, P; Mills, A; Suraweera, TThere is evidence in the ITliterature indicatingthat IT management is one factor that influences IT success. In addition, there is much literature indicatingthat IT management is important in the SME context. However, much of this literature has focused on the important role of the owner and/or other senior managers. For example, Thong et al (1996) focused on top management support and its influence on IT success. This paper argues that top management support is only one aspect of IT management and other aspects of IT management havereceived little attention in studies of SMEs. The study commenced with a review of the literature which identified many different definitions of IT management. However, the broader management literature indicated that the classical functions of planning,organising, controlling and leading provide an excellent way of conceptualising the many activitiesinvolved in managing (Carroll andGillen, 1987). The management literature also provided working definitions for the four management functions. A multiple-case study approach was then used to collect evidence from four SMEs (with between fourand 50 employees). The data identified IT management practices associated with each of the four IT functions, ie, IT planning, IT organising, IT controlling and IT leading. For example, one firm had an IT committee made up of staff from different levels of the firm. Some on the committee would be assigned specific IT responsibilities, eg, training of other staff. This practice provided an example of IT organising, ie, of defining tasks and assigning personnel. Similarly, many other IT management practices were both identified and classified. The results provide a significant foundation for researchers of IT management in SMEs. For example, the conceptualisation indicatesfourIT management functions. Also, the definitions clarify important aspects of IT management. The study also indicated that some aspects of IT management have received little attention in prior studies. For example, while IT planning has received considerable attention, IT leading in SMEs has only been examined in the narrowercontext of top management support. Furthermore, few studies have examined the role and importance of IT organising and IT controlling in the SME context. Thus the study also indicates directions for future research, including the identification of IT management best practicesPublication Open Access Implementing accounting software in small businesses in New Zealand: An exploratory investigation(Academia, 2010) Pulakanam, V; Suraweera, TThe implementation of off-the-shelf small business accounting (SBA) software has become widespread among small and medium sized enterprises as it has become affordable and technically powerful. At the same time, selecting and implementing a suitable accounting software from among the numerous available software packages is often difficult for small businesses. Using interpretive approach based upon a qualitative research methodology, this paper explores the challenges faced by small businesses in New Zealand implementing SBA software. User confusion, lack of external guidance and support, and lack of accounting skills have been identified as major issues faced by small businesses in implementing SBA software. The external consultant’s play significant role in successful implementation of SBA software, but currently very little research has been done in this area.