Research Publications Authored by SLIIT Staff

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://rda.sliit.lk/handle/123456789/4195

This collection includes all SLIIT staff publications presented at external conferences and published in external journals. The materials are organized by faculty to facilitate easy retrieval.

Browse

Filters

20223

Advanced Search

Filter by

Settings

Author: search.filters.author.Wickramarachchi, CSubject: search.filters.subject.Sri Lanka

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    PublicationEmbargo
    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, S
    This 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.
  • Thumbnail Image
    PublicationOpen Access
    Diagnosing autism in low‐income countries: Clinical record‐based analysis in Sri Lanka
    (Wily, 2022-06-16) Samarasinghe, P; Wickramarachchi, C; Peiris, H; Vance, P; Dahanayake, D. M. A.; Kulasekara, V; Nadeeshani, M
    Use of autism diagnosing standards in low-income countries (LICs) are restricted due to the high price and unavailability of trained health professionals. Furthermore, these standards are heavily skewed towards developed countries and LICs are underrepresented. Due to such constraints, many LICs use their own ways of assessing autism. This is the first retrospective study to analyze such local practices in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted at Ward 19B of Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) using the clinical forms filled for diagnosing ASD. In this study, 356 records were analyzed, from which 79.5% were boys and the median age was 33 months. For each child, the clinical form together with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) value were recorded. In this study, a Clinically Derived Autism Score (CDAS) is obtained from the clinical forms. Scatter plot and Pearson product moment correlation coefficient were used to benchmark CDAS with CARS, and it was found CDAS to be positively and moderately correlated with CARS. In identifying the significant variables, a logistic regression model was built based on clinically observed data and it evidenced that “Eye Contact,” “Interaction with Others,” “Pointing,” “Flapping of Hands,” “Request for Needs,” “Rotate Wheels,” and “Line up Things” variables as the most significant variables in diagnosing autism. Based on these significant predictors, the classification tree was built. The pruned tree depicts a set of rules, which could be used in similar clinical environments to screen for autism.
  • Thumbnail Image
    PublicationOpen Access
    Relationships between Socio-Economic and Demographic Characteristics of Persons with Visual Impairment and Blindness
    (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Ruhuna, 2022) Wickramarachchi, C; Jayathilaka, R; Serasinghe, W; Kollure, L; Thisarani, T; Suraweera, T; Thelijjagoda, S
    This 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.