SLIIT Conference and Symposium Proceedings

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All SLIIT faculties annually conduct international conferences and symposiums. Publications from these events are included in this collection.

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Author: search.filters.author.Suraweera, THas files: Yes

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    PublicationOpen Access
    Challenges of Mobility and Access to Transport for People with Visual Impairment and Blindness: An Exploratory Study
    (Emerald Publishing, 2022-12-01) Suraweera, T; Bandara, S; WickramaArachchi, C; Perera, D
    The ability to move around to get things done to fulfill one’s wants, and needs is critical for independent living, irrespective of his or her age or existence of impairments or disabilities. Safe and efficient mobility with confidence is widely recognized as influential factors of the positive wellbeing of persons with visual impairment and blindness. Inability to confidently move around pushes persons with visual impairment and blindness to a risk of social exclusion. Even though research into this area is significant, such research in developing countries like Sri Lanka is quite limited. While aiming at bridging the said knowledge gap, this research intended to explore challenges and obstacles of mobility and transport experienced by people with visual impairment and blindness in Sri Lanka. This study adopted a qualitative method through in-depth interviews. Fifteen persons with visual impairment and blindness were purposively chosen to represent a wide range of social and economic boundaries and interviewed in May-August 2021. With the prior consent of respondents, interviews were recorded and transcribed. The interview transcriptions were analyzed using a thematic approach. Data triangulation was done through focus group discussion and observation methods. The results confirmed that persons with visual impairment and blindness confronted challenges and obstacles in mobility and transport that is discussed in six themes: deficient infrastructure, access to information, improper attitudes of sighted persons, service provider issues, personal attitudes, and support. The findings urge the importance of implementing the existing provisions while introducing relevant public policies and social awareness.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Variation of Microwave Leakage Exposure Levels Close to a Microwave Oven with Load, Container Type and Time.
    (SLIIT, 2022-02-11) Suraweera, T; Jayaratne, C
    Nowadays people are living in a rush world and most people seek efficient methods to complete their day to day work with less time. Microwave ovens are the best option to cook foods as well as for reheating precooked foods. Microwave ovens use radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic waves around the frequency 2.4 GHz for cooking and reheating food by dielectric heating or high frequency heating. Many scientific reports have been confirmed that eating microwave food is not a risk, because radio waves cannot ionize foods. But the problem is exposing to the leakage microwave radiation when operating the oven. Authorized bodies such as International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) as well as Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have been published limitations for exposure to these RF waves. The limited plane wave power density for a microwave oven is 50 W/m2 at any point 5 cm away from the oven. Over exposure to these RF waves with high plane wave power densities may lead to health effects such as cataracts in the eyes, infertility, and brain tumors. In this study, leakage microwave plane wave power densities were evaluated by using spectran HF6065 spectrum analyzer under three situations with newly brought microwave oven. In the first study variation of RF levels at 40 cm from the front glass of the microwave oven with the load (water) were evaluated, In the second study RF levels around the microwave oven for same load kept in plastic and ceramic containers were evaluated separately and, in the third study, time variation of the power density at a distance 40 cm in front of the microwave oven for a duration of 180 s was evaluated. Results in the first study show that negative correlation (r=-0.6136) between the load and leakage microwave emission around the oven as well as maximum average plane wave power density of (512.78 ± 0.01) mW/m2 with no load inside the oven and maximum average plane wave power density with the load is 195.06 ± 0.01 mW/m2 with 100 ± 1 g of load kept in a plastic container with mass 68 g. For the second study considerably low RF levels were recorded when using the ceramic container than plastic container. Results for the third study show that microwave emission around the oven is fluctuating rapidly with time and it can be varied between 0.01 mW/m2 and 108.48 mW/m2 . Evaluated maximum RF plane wave power density among all three studies was (677.84 ± 0.01 mW/m2 ) and this value is 1.35 % of maximum permissible leakage level for a microwave oven as well as it is found that frequency of the microwave radiation is also varying when it is operating. However, authors would like to request not to stay close to a microwave oven when it is operating, especially children and pregnant women because they are more sensitive for non-ionizing RF radiations.
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    PublicationEmbargo
    Obstacles and Challenges for People with Visual Impairment and Blindness in Seeking Financial Services from the Banking Sector
    (Faculty of Humanities and Sciences,SLIIT, 2021-09-25) Suraweera, T; Wickramarachchi, C; Ranasinghe, R. A. B. N; Jayarathna, I. G. N. H; De Silva, W. P. P; Lokeshwara, A. A
    In Sri Lanka, it is observed that the persons with visual impairment and blindness are experiencing several difficulties and challenges when it comes to using banking services. This paper explores the obstacles and challenges encountered by this group of customers based on qualitative approach using semi-structured questionnaire. Ten customers representing the visually impaired and blind community and seven officials representing a range of commercial banks were the interview respondents. Thematic analysis was used to obtain corresponding results. The key findings of this study shows that this community experiences various obstacles when accessing the banking services due to the banks’ reluctance and inadequate training in providing the service with accurate information. Through this outcome, it manifests a clear insight on the key factors which affect the level of financial inclusion of persons with visual impairment and blindness. This research is an eye-opener for policymakers within and outside the banking sector to make improvements in financial inclusion concerning this vulnerable community that would help enhance their social and economic empowerment.
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    PublicationEmbargo
    Factors Affecting Academic Performance of People with Visual Disabilities in the Tertiary Sector
    (Faculty of Humanities and Sciences,SLIIT, 2021-09-25) Suraweera, T; Wickramarachchi, C; Dewage, N; Gunawardana, M; Nanayakkara, T; Yapa, N; Handapangoda, R; Wickramarachchi, C
    The role of education in enriching people’s lives is an undisputed fact. Most past studies have been conducted on the factors affecting academic performance focused on the sighted learners engaged in education in the academic systems. Given that the persons with disabilities are guarded/protected comparatively better in the Western word than in the developing nations, achieving academic goals for visually handicapped persons could be further challenging. This research is aimed at exploring the critical factors influencing academic performance of visually handicapped persons in Universities of Sri Lanka, a developing nation. Adopting a qualitative approach, eleven persons were purposely selected to represent varying levels of academic achievements in universities as case study subjects. The data collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews were analysed mainly through thematic analysis. Having a clear understanding of the key elements influencing academic performance of persons who are visually handicapped could make a significant difference to this community and is an eye opener for the policy makers in the tertiary education sector.