2022
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://rda.sliit.lk/handle/123456789/2683
Browse
Publication Open Access LEXISGURU: Mobile Application for Learning Basic Lexis in English for Kids(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2021-11-05) Jayasinghe, M. J. W; Hennayaka, W. H. M. A. D. H; Fernando, M. P. M; Thilakarathne, K. N. U; Samarakoon, U; Kumari, SLexis is an essential part of English vocabulary that puts a good foundation on a child’s English knowledge. In this rapidly globalizing world, it is fundamentally essential to learn English from a young age. In recent years eLearning, mobile applications have been developed for teaching Lexis to children. The market of educational mobile apps, especially for English language learning, has been rapidly growing. Especially in a country like Sri Lanka, English is not the mother tongue, it is the second language. So, when that second language is not taught right the child will lose interest in learning that language. The problem is that the existing lexical learning mobile applications does not aim at keeping the child interested and interactive in the learning process and in Sri Lanka, children find it difficult to understand these lexical parts. As a result, teachers and parents had to spend a lot of time to teach them those lexical parts. We designed and developed a mobile application called “LexisGuru” that uses interactive and effective ways to teach three lexical parts that are homophones, synonyms, and antonyms to children aged between 8–10 in Sri Lanka. This mobile application uses Machine Learning (ML), Image Processing (IP), gamification that includes collaborative environments, and speech recognition techniques. The developed mobile application was introduced to primary level learners, and they were all very attracted and interested while using this application. The attractive user interfaces, the pretests, and posttests, notifying the child when he loses focus while learning, using interesting stories and activities to teach lexis, playing a game with multiple players, and asking questions from the lesson and taking the voice inputs gave a new experience and showed that making the mobile application interactive as possible is an effective way to teach lexis to children.Publication Embargo Accuracy of Diabetes Patient Determination: Prediction Made from Sugar Levels Using Machine Learning(Springer, Cham, 2022) Krishnananthan, S; Puvanendran, S; Puvanendran, RThis study focuses on the prediction of the Diabetic Patients through the sugar levels. The Dataset is analyzed using the data mining techniques such as feature extraction, associate rule mining and classification. The Fast Blood Sugar (FBS) and Post-Prandial Blood Sugar (PPBS) sugar levels are selected as the important features, identification of a rule depending on the selected feature is identified and the performance metric for three classifiers is analyzed based on the selected attributes and choose the classifier with high accuracy. Classification algorithms like random forest, decision tree (J48), and Naïve Bayes were utilized to identify the patients with diabetes disease. The performance of these techniques is considered using the factors relating to the accuracy from the applied techniques. The accuracy is seeming to be higher for Naïve Bayes. The outcomes acquired demonstrated that Naïve Bayes outflanks from different strategies with most noteworthy precision of 74.8%.Publication Embargo Identifying Objects with related Angles using Vision-based System integrated with Service Robots(2022) Lakshan, K.K. PasinduManipulation an object can be done with the collaboration of a human to a robot by introducing the object in a proper way. To do this in an easy way, we can model the object inside the robot head and add some sensors and cameras to identify the specific object. But when it comes to the real world, we cannot model all the objects in the world inside a robot head. If we can manipulate every object there can be more work would have done by the robots in efficient way. This research will present a strategy to identify the unknown objects using a visionbased system and with the perspective angles of the detected object and the system is integrated with service robots. This will go in a way when the robot should be able to identify the objects around the robot in an asynchronous manner with rotational angles and the pitch and roll angles, perspective to the robot standing surface. The research will be based on Artificial intelligence, Machine learning, and Robotics. Robotics operating system is used for simulating the robots and identification. For the identification process, a few ways can be used. Vision-based identification using color and depth images from an RGB camera, and this research is mainly based on this RGB, and depth feature integrated with YoloV5. And there are some other ways to identify objects like using a 3D-LiDAR laser scanner. However, this learning process, should have a stable object to model and train the object. After the object recognition, by using the proposed methodology robots can calculate and estimate the angles of the detected object. After the acquisition, the robot should be able to identify the object any time when it sees the object. Since this is a robot, we can use this to model unknown objects and retrieve the data from its database and manually name them if there is no one to name it in the time beingPublication Open Access Erratum to “Using social and economic factors for ranking pavement maintenance and rehabilitation projects(Elsevier, 2022-01) Gunathilaka, S; Amarasingha, NCurrent pavement maintenance and rehabilitation project prioritization in Sri Lanka considers only economic factors while neglecting social, political, and environmental factors. In this study, the Analytic Network Process (ANP), which can be used as a multicriteria decision-making tool, was utilized for the evaluation of three different pavement maintenance and rehabilitation projects in Sri Lanka. Social and economic factors that affected the three projects were considered and the inner and outer dependencies among them were evaluated and weighted. Pairwise comparisons were conducted complemented by interviews of transportation experts from the Road Development Authority (RDA) of Sri Lanka. Given that the RDA’s current method only considers economic factors, our results highlighted differences between the two methods. Therefore, ANP could be recommended for prioritizing pavement maintenance and rehabilitation projects in Sri LankaPublication Embargo Super Learner for Malicious URL Detection(IEEE, 2022-02-23) Hevapathige, A; Rathnayake, KMalicious Uniform Resource Locator (URL) detection is one of the prominent research areas in Cyber security. Machine learning and statistical models are mainly used for this task due to their ability to adapt complex patterns. This research study mainly focused on implementing a machine learning classifier model using Super Learner ensemble to classify malicious URLs. Static feature set is extracted using only the URL information with less latency and reduced computational complexity to support offline and real-time detection. Proposed binary classifier model is used to separate malicious URLs from benign ones whereas the proposed multi-class classifier model separates URLs into benign and multiple categories of attacks (phishing, malware, spam and defacement). These classifiers are tested on a dataset comprising around 750,000 URLs. The empirical results show that the proposed model works well in malicious URL detection. The binary classifier provides 95.145% accuracy and 96.844% precision whereas the multi-class classifier provides 94.69% accuracy and 96.234% precision. Also, the comparison results show that the proposed model outperforms leading supervised machine learning algorithms in malicious URL detection.Publication Open Access Comparison of Instrumented Pile Load Test Results with Finite Element Simulation(World Congress on Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering, 2022-04-10) Diyes, G. H. I.; Thilakasiri, H.S.; de Silva, L.I.NDue to the proximity of the bedrock, rock socketed bored and cast in-situ piles are used to support the heavy super structure loads from the high-rise structures transferring to bedrock. In order to design single piles or group of piles, it is very important to know the carrying capacity of the bedrock in terms of skin friction distribution along the pile shaft and the load carried by the pile toe. Such information can be obtained by using the instrumented pile load tests but the instrumented pile load tests are expensive and not always carried out in most of the piling sites in Sri Lanka. In this study, it was aimed to find out the carrying capacity of cast in-situ bored single piles using commonly used finite element software PLAXIS 2D and compare the results with the instrumented pile load test results obtained in the field. Prior to the use of software package based on finite element analysis to find out the carrying capacity of the pile, the accuracy of the model used was verified by the results instrumented pile load test and the nearby borehole test results. Further, the differences and the difficulties of the interpretation of results with their potential reasons were discussed within the study. In the current study, the soil and rock properties were used from the nearby borehole results. It was shown that the best match results with the field instrumented pile load tests for weathered rocks were obtained when the elastic modulus for rock layers were twice the value suggested by Hong Kong geo guidelines (Geo,2006) whereas the best match results with instrumented pile load test results were given when half the value of the Young’s modulus of rock suggested by the Hong Kong geo guidelines (Geo,2006).Publication Open Access Investigating applicability of sawdust and retro-reflective materials as external wall insulation under tropical climatic conditions(Springer link, 2022-04-19) Dharmasena, P; Meddage, D. P. P; Mendis, SBuildings require energy to maintain their performance. In consequence, built environments cause a surge in the world’s energy demand. Providing passive measures is an efective method of optimizing operational energy usage. In this study, we propose insulation materials (thermal barrier type and resistive insulation) for the walls of a building. Experiments were performed on small-scale physical models constructed with; (a) no insulation, (b) sawdust–cement mortar, and (c) retrorefective (RR) material for external walls. In addition, regression models were developed to predict indoor air temperature with insulation. Subsequently, associated operational energy-saving and decrease in emissions were estimated for each material. The comparison reveals RR (sawdust–cement mortar) is efective in warm (overcast) climatic conditions. Developed regression models have shown a good agreement with experimental results (R>0.8). Moreover, sawdust–cement mortar (RR) materials contributed a 9% (13.4%) reduction in operational energy and a 9% (13.3%) decrease in CO2 emissions. The project highlights the potential to utilize sawdust—a waste material—and RR material as wall insulation to decrease intense operational energy demand.Publication Embargo The Automated Temporal Analysis of Gaze Following in a Visual Tracking Task(Springer, Cham, 2022-05-15) Dhanawansa, V; Samarasinghe, P; Gardiner, B; Yogarajah, P; Karunasena, AThe attention assessment of an individual in following the motion of a target object provides valuable insights into understanding one’s behavioural patterns in cognitive disorders including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Existing frameworks often require dedicated devices for gaze capture, focus on stationary target objects, or fails to conduct a temporal analysis of the participant’s response. Thus, in order to address the persisting research gap in the analysis of video capture of a visual tracking task, this paper proposes a novel framework to analyse the temporal relationship between the 3D head pose angles and object displacement, and demonstrates its validity via application on the EYEDIAP video dataset. The conducted multivariate time-series analysis is two-fold; the statistical correlation computes the similarity between the time series as an overall measure of attention; and the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) algorithm aligns the two sequences, and computes relevant temporal metrics. The temporal features of latency and maximum time of focus retention enabled an intragroup comparison between the performance of the participants. Further analysis disclosed valuable insights into the behavioural response of participants, including the superior response to horizontal motion of the target and the improvement in retention of focus on the vertical motion over time, implying that following a vertical target initially proved a challenging task.Publication Open Access SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY OF PUBLICPRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP) IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS OF SRI LANKAN HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR(https://ciobwcs.com, 2022-06-24) Kandawinna, N; Mallawaarachchi, H; Vijerathne, DTo gain economic advantages in the competitive world, governments tend to adopt new financing methods in construction projects. Accordingly, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects are a popular choice mainly due to the reduction in transaction cost and innovation. PPP projects have spread from the typical use on infrastructure projects such as airports, roads, railways, ports, and water sanitation to the more recent use for projects in the higher education sector such as universities and colleges. Thus, adopting PPP for the higher education sector related construction projects in Sri Lanka is vital to consider. Accordingly, this research aims to observe the Critical Success Factors (CSF) for the successful delivery of PPP projects in the construction projects of the higher education sector in Sri Lanka. A comprehensive literature review was first conducted to identify the CSFs of PPP in higher education construction projects and 22 CSFs were identified. The survey method was used under quantitative phenomenon since this research required evaluating the identified CSFs. The identified factors were evaluated through a questionnaire survey, which was conducted among the 30 selected professionals who are aware on PPPs, such as Quantity Surveyors, Project Managers, Government Professionals, and Academic Professionals. As the key findings derived through analysis, “communication between parties”, “transparency in the procurement process”, financial capability and support”, “project technical feasibility” and “appropriate risk allocation and risk-sharing” were determined as the top five CSFs for PPP projects in the higher education sector related construction projects in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, strategies were also proposed to ensure the successful implementation of CSFs in the higher education sector in Sri Lanka.Publication Open Access CIRCULAR ECONOMY (CE) BASED MATERIAL SELECTION: DEVELOPMENT OF A CE-BASED ‘10R’ EVALUATION FRAMEWORK FOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN SRI LANKA(https://ciobwcs.com, 2022-06-24) Wanaguru, K; Mallawaarachchi, H; Vijerathne, DThe building construction industry is globally identified as one of the major consumers of materials. Thus, the material wastage in building construction projects is very excessive. In the Sri Lankan construction industry, it was identified that the main reason for generating material wastage is the absence of proper material selection criteria. The concept of Circular Economy (CE) has been obtained the world attention in reducing material wastage in the construction industry as it targets zero waste and pollution throughout the lifecycle of materials. Applying CE principles in the material selection not only reduces the wastage of materials but also reduces the use of virgin materials. Hence, this research aimed for developing a CE-based 10R evaluation framework for materials selection in order to reduce the wastage of materials in building construction projects in Sri Lanka. A comprehensive literature review was first conducted to review the concept of CE, CE principles and its importance for reducing material wastage in the construction industry. Deductive approach was chosen as the suitable research approach in this study. Survey method was applied as the suitable research strategy under quantitative phenomenon. A questionnaire survey was conducted with a conveniently selected sample of 58 industry professionals to collect the data. The collected data were analysed by using Weighted Mean Average (WMA) technique. As key findings derived through analysis, the level of importance of each CE principle for selection of materials was determined. Accordingly, the CE-based 10R evaluation framework for material selection was developed as the main implication of this research. Various strategies, such as reusing demolition materials, adopting prefabricated building components, developing plans to on-site recycle and using alternative materials were also proposed to implement the all identified CE principles assuring a successful application of the developed framework.Publication Open Access EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON THE SMALL-SCALE CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES: THE CASE OF COLOMBO DISTRICT, SRI LANKA(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2022-06-26) Gunarathna, N; Namarathna, C. PCOVID-19 is a global pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the lives of many individuals and has had a severe impact on the global economy. During this crisis, small and medium-scale businesses suffer the most and are the least prepared among all companies as per the previous studies done in other parts of the world. The majority of the small-scale construction firms in Sri Lanka act as subcontractors and generate job opportunities for a considerable number of people and are able to create a multiplier effect on the whole economy. However, it was observed that they are more vulnerable to the adverse impact of the pandemic. Thus, the principal goal of this research is to explore possible survival strategies to overcome critical financial issues of small-scale construction companies during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka. A mixedmethod approach was adopted to gather the data for the study. A comprehensive literature review was carried out to identify the impact of COVID-19 on both global and local construction industries. The data for this study was gathered using semi-structured interviews and a comprehensive questionnaire survey with small scale construction company owners and construction industry professionals. The findings highlighted the key financial issues faced by the small-scale construction companies due to the pandemic including delays in client payments, supply chain management issues, frequent price escalation of construction materials, and inability to repay loans. The respondents suggested creating partnerships with financially strong companies, reduction of unwanted expenses, modifying supply chain channels and agreements, and ensuring business continuity plans as the strategies to be used to overcome the financial burden that occurred due to the pandemic.Publication Open Access IMPLEMENTING SAFE WORKING CYCLE (SWC) CONCEPT AMIDST THE COVID-19 CRISIS IN SRI LANKA(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2022-06-26) Rasanjana, H.P; Allis, CThe phenomenon of COVID-19 has introduced critical challenges in the architecture, engineering, and the entire construction industry. A safe Working Cycle is a Japanese concept. It incorporates to enhances the effective implementation of safety management systems, thereby helping to prevent health and safety issues. This research mainly aims at identifying the strategies for overcoming barriers to implementing the Safe Working Cycle (SWC) concept during the COVID-19 pandemics in Sri Lanka. The research study focused more on reducing health-related illnesses caused by COVID-19 than on the other physical safety issues at the construction site. In such a critical health issue, the protection of human resources, an essential part of the construction industry, should be prioritized. The aim of the Study was reached through the sequential mixed method. The semi-structured expert interviews were initially conducted, and after that questionnaire survey was achieved among health and safety officers in construction projects in Sri Lanka. In the semi-structured interviews, data were analyzed using Nvivo thematic analysis software and questionnaire survey; M.S. Excel analyzed the collected data. Following the findings, several potential barriers were arisen to implementing the SWC concept in the Sri Lankan construction industry: including limited Budget allocation, poor safety attitude, limited land space, strict project schedules, and unawareness of workers. Further, this Study also indicated several potential practical strategies to overcome these barriers identified for SWC implementation. Such as; Implementing the COVID-19 bio bubble concept, Organizing regular toolbox meetings, demonstrating sign boards specific to this new concept, arranging separate systematic time slots, buildup a good communication network. The safe Working Cycle (SWC) is not currently practised in Sri Lankan construction culture. However, health and safety professionals are familiar with almost every aspect of the Safe Working Cycle (SWC); therefore, it is possible to put this into practice in the Sri Lankan construction industry. © 2022, Ceylon Institute of BuildersPublication Open Access Exploring the growth direction: the impact of exchange rate and purchasing managers index on economic growth in Sri Lanka(Springer Science and Business Media B.V., 2022-06-26) Jayathilaka, R; Rathnayake, R; Jayathilake, B; Dharmasena, T; Bodinayake, D; Kathriarachchi, DNumerous studies have been conducted, globally and locally, on the impact of the exchange rate on economic growth. In the local context, only a handful of research have investigated this area of study to determine the extent to which the Purchasing Managers’ Index infuence economic growth with the exchange rate, with limited research have been performed in Sri Lanka. This study explores the impact of exchange rate and Purchasing Managers’ Index on economic growth. Consequently, adopting an applied research methodology, the present study was based on secondary data published quarterly by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka reports and the Department of Census and Statistics of Sri Lanka from 2015 to 2021. The Vector autoregression model and Granger Causality Wald test were performed in this study. The empirical fndings highlighted that economic growth and Purchasing Managers’ Index have a signifcant negative impact on the economic growth, while the exchange rate had a signifcant positive impact on the economic growth. Furthermore, the exchange rate and the Purchasing Managers’ Index did not help to predict the exchange rate. The implications of the study demonstrate the relevance of the exchange rate and manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index as indicators of changes in overall economic growth activities at the macro level. The fndings will assist the Sri Lankan Government, policymakers, and foreign investors for efective decision making.Publication Open Access Influence of Crumb Rubber and Coconut Coir on Strength and Durability Characteristics of Interlocking Paving Blocks(MDPI, 2022-07-13) Gamage, S; Palitha, S; Meddage, D. P. P; Mendis, S; Azamathulla, H. M; Rathnayake, UInterlocking Paving Blocks (IPB) are, nowadays, a widely used construction material. As a result of the surge in demand for IPBs, alternative materials have been investigated to be used for IPBs. This study investigated the strength and durability characteristics (compressive strength, split tensile strength, density, water absorption, skid resistance, and abrasion resistance) of IPBs in the presence of (waste materials) crumb rubber (CR) and coconut coir fibers (CCF). Both compressive and split tensile strength increased in the presence of CCF to a certain extent. CR-based IPBs showcased an increase in skid resistance that satisfied both SLS 1425 and BS EN 1338 specifications. Abrasion depths of CR-based and CCF-based samples show a comparable increase in values when the respective fraction (CR or CCF) increases. Therefore, this research fills the knowledge gap, highlighting the importance of incorporating waste materials (CR and CCF) for the IPB industry rather than open dumping.Publication Open Access Analysis of Meandering River Morphodynamics Using Satellite Remote Sensing Data—An Application in the Lower Deduru Oya (River), Sri Lanka(MDPI, 2022-07-16) Basnayaka, V; Samarasinghe, J. T; Gunathilake, M. B; Muttil, N; Hettiarachchi, D. C; Abeynayaka, A; Rathnayake, URiver meandering and anabranching have become major problems in many large rivers that carry significant amounts of sediment worldwide. The morphodynamics of these rivers are complex due to the temporal variation of flows. However, the availability of remote sensing data and geographic information systems (GISs) provides the opportunity to analyze the morphological changes in river systems both quantitatively and qualitatively. The present study investigated the temporal changes in the river morphology of the Deduru Oya (river) in Sri Lanka, which is a meandering river. The study covered a period of 32 years (1989 to 2021), using Landsat satellite data and the QGIS platform. Cloud-free Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 satellite images were extracted and processed to extract the river mask. The centerline of the river was generated using the extracted river mask, with the support of semi-automated digitizing software (WebPlotDigitizer). Freely available QGIS was used to investigate the temporal variation of river migration. The results of the study demonstrated that, over the past three decades, both the bend curvatures and the river migration rates of the meandering bends have generally increased with time. In addition, it was found that a higher number of meandering bends could be observed in the lower (most downstream) and the middle parts of the selected river segment. The current analysis indicates that the Deduru Oya has undergone considerable changes in its curvature and migration rates.Publication Embargo Analysis of the ‘Toll Free Agricultural Advisory Service’ Data as Decision Support Tool for the Department of Agriculture(IEEE, 2022-07-18) Dias, N; Rajapaksha, NThe Department of Agriculture’s Toll-Free Agricultural Advisory Service was formed with the 1920 short code and is connected to all land and mobile telephone service providers in Sri Lanka. This short code allowed farmers and other stakeholders to contact technical officers which Agriculture Instructors immediately. All the information was gathered into the 1920 call center database. Farmers all over the island bring their agricultural problems to the 1920 Agricultural Advisory Service. Nevertheless, it can be seen that they do not do any analysis of these problems. This big data if properly examined has the potential to assist the country on a massive scale in the future. This study for carrying out to explore the possibility of introducing decision support for the 1920 reporting system to generate enhanced analytics and to make it easier to make informed decisions by the top management of the Department of Agriculture, more efficiently and effectively than the reporting method previously.Publication Open Access Fabrication of TiO2 Spheres and a Visible Light Active α‑Fe2O3/ TiO2‑Rutile/TiO2‑Anatase Heterogeneous Photocatalyst from Natural Ilmenite(researchgate.net, 2022-07-26) Usgodaarachchi, L; Thambiliyagodage, C; Wijesekera, R; Vigneswaran, S; Kandanapitiye, MHigh-purity (98.8%, TiO2) rutile nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using ilmenite sand as the initial titanium source. This novel synthesis method was cost-effective and straightforward due to the absence of the traditional gravity, magnetic, electrostatic separation, ball milling, and smelting processes. Synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles were 99% pure. Also, highly corrosive environmentally hazardous acid leachate generated during the leaching process of ilmenite sand was effectively converted into a highly efficient visible light active photocatalyst. The prepared photocatalyst system consists of anatase-TiO2/rutile-TiO2/Fe2O3 (TF-800), rutile-TiO2/Fe2TiO5 (TFTO-800), and anatase-TiO2/Fe3O4 (TF-450) nanocomposites, respectively. The pseudo-second-order adsorption rate of the TF-800 ternary nanocomposite was 0.126 g mg–1 min–1 in dark conditions, and a 0.044 min–1 visible light initial photodegradation rate was exhibited. The TFTO-800 binary nanocomposite adsorbed methylene blue (MB) following pseudo-second-order adsorption (0.224 g mg–1 min–1) in the dark, and the rate constant for photodegradation of MB in visible light was 0.006 min–1. The prepared TF-450 nanocomposite did not display excellent adsorptive and photocatalytic performances throughout the experiment period. The synthesized TF-800 and TFTO-800 were able to degrade 93.1 and 49.8% of a 100 mL, 10 ppm MB dye solution within 180 min, respectively.Publication Open Access Analysis on Future Training Needs in Health Sector of Sri Lanka(SRAC - Romanian Society for Quality, 2022-08) Weerarathna, R; Rajapakshe, W; Pathirana, G. Y; Malage, M. HSri Lanka holds a unique position in South Asia as one of the developing nations to provide universal health. Government spending on welfare mainly involves compromising or constraining a country's development budget. It requires sound management strategies to utilize limited resources, including the human resource of the health sector. Training and development of health professionals can be identified as a critical component in strengthening the quality of health services. Fewer studies exist on Training Needs Analysis (TNA) on health professionals in Sri Lanka, and this study assessed the Training Needs of Sri Lanka's healthcare professionals. This is a cross-sectional study collecting data from 240 health sector professionals in Sri Lanka. The Hennessey Hicks Training Need questionnaire was used to obtain data. Data from the source was analysed through the one-way ANOVA to compare the training needs of various professional groups, and the Word Cloud Online tool was applied to analyse the open-ended questions. The study identifies published research evaluation, communicates with patients, identifies viable research, introduces new ideas, prioritizing works, assessing patients' needs, using technology, undertaking health promotion activities, collecting research information, and undertaking administrative duties as current training needs. While computer literacy training, training on new medical equipment, awareness programs on workplace stress-reducing, training on quality assurance certifications like ISO, programs on effectively communicating with patients, management training, and language training were identified as future training needs of professionals in the health sector. The study concluded that, continuous training programs as the preferred approach to access the performance gap. It also demonstrates that this awareness of information regarding the training needs is beneficial for the health sector policymakers, managers, employees, and the community. Having a better understanding of their job roles, performance needs, and involvement in the decision-making process is likely to motivate healthcare sector employees to improve service quality. These benefits will be reflected in positive outcomes on service quality, improving the overall healthcare system in the country.Publication Open Access Analysis on Current and Future Training Needs in Health Sector of Sri Lanka(SRAC - Romanian Society for Quality, 2022-08) Rajapakshe, W; Weerarathna, R. S; Pathirana, G.Y; Malage, M. HSri Lanka holds a unique position in South Asia as one of the developing nations to provide universal health. Government spending on welfare mainly involves compromising or constraining a country's development budget. It requires sound management strategies to utilize limited resources, including the human resource of the health sector. Training and development of health professionals can be identified as a critical component in strengthening the quality of health services. Fewer studies exist on Training Needs Analysis (TNA) on health professionals in Sri Lanka, and this study assessed the Training Needs of Sri Lanka's healthcare professionals. This is a cross-sectional study collecting data from 240 health sector professionals in Sri Lanka. The Hennessey Hicks Training Need questionnaire was used to obtain data. Data from the source was analysed through the oneway ANOVA to compare the training needs of various professional groups, and the Word Cloud Online tool was applied to analyse the open-ended questions. The study identifies published research evaluation, communicates with patients, identifies viable research, introduces new ideas, prioritizing works, assessing patients' needs, using technology, undertaking health promotion activities, collecting research information, and undertaking administrative duties as current training needs. While computer literacy training, training on new medical equipment, awareness programs on workplace stress-reducing, training on quality assurance certifications like ISO, programs on effectively communicating with patients, management training, and language training were identified as future training needs of professionals in the health sector. The study concluded that, continuous training programs as the preferred approach to access the performance gap. It also demonstrates that this awareness of information regarding the training needs is beneficial for the health sector policymakers, managers, employees, and the community. Having a better understanding of their job roles, performance needs, and involvement in the decision-making process is likely to motivate healthcare sector employees to improve service quality. These benefits will be reflected in positive outcomes on service quality, improving the overall healthcare system in the country.Publication Embargo Wireless Power Transfer for Cardiac Pacemaker(IEEE Computer Society, 2022-08-17) Uthayakumar, U; Jayaweera, YCardiac pacemaker is an electronic device used to regulate the heartbeat of patients suffering with congenital heart defects. Considering the limitations in lifespan of current cardiac pacemaker battery, a wireless charging mechanism for cardiac pacemaker is proposed in this paper. Circuitry model and electromagnetic geometry is developed using Ansys Maxwell and Ansys High-Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) software to analyze three main technical issues such as: implantation, efficiency and safety. Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and induced electric field in a 3-D model human body is evaluated by numerical analysis and simulation to ensure that the developed system adheres to safety limits proposed by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard and International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines.