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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Publication Open Access Institutional Best Practices Amidst and Beyond the COVID-19: The Case of Higher Educational Institutes in Sri Lanka(SLIIT Business School, 2023-12-24) Rathnayake, N; Weerasinghe, A; Weerasinghe, N; Kumarasinghe, JCOVID-19 is a blessing for the higher education industry in developing nations since it has accelerated the digitization of higher education. Education is essential to transforming people into human capital. The COVID-19 restrictions on physically entering educational institutions gave boost to the biggest educational disaster in the world. The objective of this study is to investigate the best practices employed by the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Sri Lanka to enhance university academic role both amid and beyond the pandemic. The technique of nonprobability purposive sampling was employed, and the results were then analyzed thematically. Best practices in academic research and knowledge dissemination fields, and teaching have been recognized by the study from the viewpoint of the HEIs. Beyond the pandemic, virtual laboratories, concurrent delivery, and hybrid deliveries are still in use, while academic research and knowledge dissemination are being digitalized and exposed to a global audience. The shift from traditional classrooms to the distance learning environment in developing nations has accelerated the process of meeting the sustainable development objective of high-quality education by 2030. As a result, policymakers in these nations can emphasize digitally enabling the higher education sector.Publication Open Access Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Study of Mothers’ Perspectives(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2023-11-01) Liyanage, H; Fernando, TThe COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching global consequences, causing substantial changes in all aspects of daily life. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are highly sensitive to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study explores the impact of COVID-19 on children with ASD by focusing on qualitative data obtained from their mothers. The study aimed to determine the impacts of COVID-19 on children with ASD, the challenges mothers of children with ASD faced during COVID-19, and the coping mechanisms they have used. A purposive sample of 6 mothers of children with ASD who fulfil the requirements of the inclusion criteria were recruited. Qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted to obtain in-depth information. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Four major themes emerged: Pandemic’s influence on the social development of kids with ASD, ASD children’s psychological response to the pandemic, Motherhood struggles during the pandemic, and Adaptive responses to the challenges of COVID-19. The study findings indicate both positive and negative impacts of COVID-19 on children with ASD, particularly affecting their social skills. Motherhood struggles and adaptive responses during the pandemic are also discussed. Further research is necessary to identify interventions aimed at mitigating the effects of COVID-19 on children with ASD.Publication Embargo An Exploratory Study on Work Stress and Job Satisfaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hotel Sector Employees of Sri Lanka(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2022-09-15) Bradie-Miles, E.M.A; Donmanige, I.CCOVID-19 has affected employees worldwide, especially in the hotel industry, with restricted travel, limited incoming flights, and guests, which presents challenges for hotels and employees. Therefore, it is essential to investigate how COVID-19 has affected hotel employees' job satisfaction and work stress. This study aimed to determine whether the stress at work generated by COVID-19 directly affects the job satisfaction of hotel employees in Sri Lanka. The researcher recruited hotel employees in Sri Lanka through purposive sampling following a selective criterion; 18 years or older, locally employed, with two or more years of industry experience. The researcher, part of a larger mixed-method project, presented the qualitative findings in this article, using a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews to collect employee responses (N = 7) before subjecting the responses to content analysis. Ultimately, the main findings indicated that work stress generated by COVID-19 partially impacted the job satisfaction of Sri Lankan hotel employees. Other factors reported included COVID-related financial issues and procedural changes that significantly affected employees. Several solutions presented in the findings to improve job satisfaction and work stress during COVID- 19 included effective financial management by hotels, and extra support, for example, counselling and improved workplace communication. Overall, the satisfaction of Sri Lanka’s hotel workers' jobs has been affected by work stress and partially by COVID-19. Therefore, future research should explore the influences of COVID-19 on job satisfaction and work stress among Sri Lankan hotel employees and throughout the world.Publication Embargo Factors Affecting Corona Deaths in Sri Lanka: Time Series Modeling Approach(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2022-09-15) Wathsala, W.A.D.R; Peiris, T. S. G.Whole world has been affected by COVID-19 Pandemic which kills people on a large scale. Identifying, controlling and taking preventive actions for the factors that cause such deaths is crucial. This work intends to investigate the factors affecting COVID-19 deaths reported in Sri Lanka, during the period of 2020 to 2021 by using Vector Auto Regressive model. The empirical results of the model indicated the factors that significantly affected COVID-19 deaths short term as well as long term. Short term, factors such as increase in reported new cases in the previous day, positive number of test results, additional hours per day spent at residence compared to the median value of duration stayed at residence from 3rd January to 6th February 2020(difference between the actual hours and median hours spent at residence has been considered), number of new visitors to outdoor places and a decrease in previous day’s deaths. In a long term forecast, variables such as reproduction rate, new vaccination doses, stringency index, additional time spent at residence, new users of public transport, new users of retail and recreation and new visitors to outdoor spaces significantly influence on the mortality. The Granger Causality test confirmed the past values of new cases and positive number of tests have a predictive ability in determining the present values of deaths. On the other hand, the Variance Decomposition method indicated that the variation in deaths in short term is due to deaths itself.Publication Embargo Fostering Resilience of Smes to Supply Chain Disruptions: The Role of Relationships(SLIIT Business School, 2021-12) Manathunge, K.A.D.N.; Samaraweera, V.A.; Withanage, W.J.H.; Karunarathna, W.A.S.N.; Weligodapola, W.; Madhavika, W.D.N.The global spread of the recent coronavirus outbreak has disrupted supply chains in both unanticipated and unprecedented ways. In the wake of such numerous catastrophic incidents, the core notion of supply chain resilience has sparked the attention of countless researchers and practitioners. However, the supply chain resilience of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) remains rather underresearched to date. In such turbulent times, it is important to investigate the role of relationships in achieving supply chain resilience in the context of SMEs. Thus, the overall intention of this study is to explore the influence of supply chain relationships on the resilience of SME supply chains by exploring the impacts of both outsourcing and collaboration. A well-structured online questionnaire was administered by selecting respondents using stratified random sampling techniques. In order to measure all the variables, a 5-point Likert scale was used. The survey was administered to a total of 160 SMEs and 114 valid responses were returned (response rate of 71.25%). Quantitative data was analyzed using correlation and regression analysis with the help of SPSS tool. The results of the study revealed that both outsourcing, and collaboration positively influences supply chain resilience. Therefore, the study recommends SMEs to engage in outsourcing and collaborative processes to foster resilience in supply chains during turbulent times. To the best of the author’s knowledge the present study is one of the first study done regarding SME supply chain resilience in Sri Lanka. The study recommends SMEs to focus better on outsourcing techniques and collaborative procedures in order to nurture supply chain resilience. Therefore, the guidance of this study will provide future scholars and practitioners to pursue an effective study in the field. The present study was limited to quantitative methods to achieve the objectives of the study. Hence, the authors recommend future researchers to focus on qualitative methods that can aid in the advancement of knowledgePublication Embargo Perception of Postgraduate Students on Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) During the COVID-19 Lock-Down: A Cohort Study in a Public University in Sri Lanka(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences - SLIIT, 2021-03-26) Beneragama, C.K.; Pieris, B.C.N.; Pieris, S.E.Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) is a temporary shift from an instructional delivery to an alternate delivery mode, perhaps online, due to the current pandemic situation, which involves the use of fully remote teaching solutions or some blended learning as a hybrid. The present study was conducted with a cohort of students(n=37) within the age range 25-35, pursuing a Master’s degree program in a public university in Sri Lanka to elucidate their perception about ERT. In the pre-COVID-19 time, the major portion of the course has been offered face-to-face. However, due to the crisis situation under the COVID-19 lock-down since March 2020, the course has been shifted totally to online modes, considering ERT, with the concurrence of the students. All online sessions and activities were carefully selected, planned and executed to ensure effective learning takes place. Sessions were delivered asynchronously using the Learning Management System of the institute, WhatsApp and emails. After completion of the course, an online perception survey was conducted using a Google Form to obtain their feedback. The data was cross-tabulated, and a factor analysis was performed. The results revealed that the students perceived all the activities conducted as Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) highly positively, during the COVID-19 lock-down period. The findings of the present study will give all educationists an opportunity to re-visit the courses offered totally face-to-face until now, and to think of moving towards blended learning to facilitate the 21st Century learning.Publication Embargo The Ideological Basis for Linking Social and Emotional Learning with Sri Lankan University Education during the Corona Epidemic(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences,SLIIT, 2021-09-25) Basnayake, B.M.R.H.KThis research examines the ideological basis of university education in Sri Lanka based on the concept of social and emotional learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals with strong socio-emotional skills face challenges daily and can reap academic benefits as well as social advantages. The main group affected by the epidemic represents the youth. However, the government ordered the closure of all academic institutions from March 2020. Accordingly, universities in Sri Lanka analysed the socio-emotional conditions on the current academic process of the youth community in line with the third wave. The study was conducted using a mixed technique. Of the 800 undergraduates randomly selected from 16 state universities, 80 students as randomly selected were given a questionnaire through the Google form. As a notable addition, a selected sample of 25 undergraduates was interviewed using magnification technology. The main conclusion of this data analysis is that the corona epidemic reflects the peculiarities of socio-emotional learning in the educational process of the university youth community. The research data show that there is no direct link between the socioemotional education systems in Sri Lanka for the university youth community. It therefore reveals the dynamics of our current understanding of the role of socio-emotional competence in promoting progress in university studies. Finally, this research shows that a strong socio-emotional learning dynamic can be built within the Sri Lankan university community.Publication Embargo Preventing violence against women during COVID-19: A qualitative study done in Sri Lanka(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences,SLIIT, 2021-09-25) Wijesena, V; De Zoysa, P; Iqbal, I; Randombage, Y; Gunasekara, MMany countries, including Sri Lanka, reported an increase in violence against women (VAW) during the lock-down for COVID-19 pandemic. VAW results in not only physical and psychological repercussions, but also inter-generational violence - a vicious cycle. Hence, the objectives of this study were: (i) to increase awareness of VAW and its physical and psychological consequences, (ii) to address masculine norms, and (iii) to spread a clear message of zero tolerance to VAW. The study methodology comprised of creating creative informational posts and videos that addressed the objectives and disseminating these through various social media platforms, in English, Sinhala and Tamil languages. The project gained wide attention and appeared to reach numerous social groups. Several comments were received from organizations and the public on the usefulness of this project. Online conversations too ensued, including those among university students. Furthermore, the results obtained showed that there is an improvement in knowledge and awareness about VAW. To conclude, VAW took place even before the pandemic, but COVID-19 has created even more challenges for women and girls. The project delineated in this paper was able to not only empower women and encourage victims to speak out, but also address and condemn toxic masculine norms that contribute to VAW.Publication Embargo Prevalence of Computer Vision Syndrome among the Academic Staff of SLIIT, Malabe Campus amidst COVID-19 Pandemic(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences,SLIIT, 2021-09-25) Jayakody, L. W; Bandara, P.C; Liyanage, K; Wijekoon, W. M. P. D. S; Anthony, D. K.Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) is considered as an occupational hazard in the 21st century resulting from high utilization of computers, laptops and mobile phones in the workplace. Current study aimed to determine the prevalence of computer vision syndrome and its associated factors among the academic staff of SLIIT, Malabe campus amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive cross-sectional institution-based study was conducted among 145 academic staff members. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire that consisted demographic questions and a standard questionnaire validated to measure CVS. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. The participants of the study comprised 50.3% of female respondents and 49.7% of male respondents while majority of the participants were in 20-30 years age category. The prevalence of CVS among the participants was 59.3%. Dryness in the eyes (52.4%), itching (54.4%), eye pain (65.5%) and headache (76.5%) were the most common symptoms reported by the staff members, while coloured halos around objects (20.7%) and double vision (21.4%) were experienced by a limited number of participants. Laptops and mobile phones are used by the majority of the academic staff employees (91.5%) while 6-8 working hours in front of a digital screen was reported by 42.1% of academics. Awareness of CVS was identified among 136 employees. Taking breaks in-between the working time (26.2%), adjusting the screen (21.5%) and adjusting the chair and posture (20.7%) were the most common methods used by the participants to minimize CVS. A significant association was observed between age categories and the prevalence of CVS (p= 0.006). A high prevalence of Computer Vision Syndrome was observed among the academic staff of SLIIT. Further, institutional activities to raise awareness on CVS and ergonomic practices are recommended to reduce the prevalence of CVS among the academic staff.Publication Embargo Compulsory Licence a Myth or Reality; Analysis through Experiences of India and Sri Lanka during the COVID-19 Pandemic(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences,SLIIT, 2021-09-25) Adikari, CThe Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provides compulsory license as one of the exceptions for patented pharmaceuticals. The issue is whether compulsory license is an effective solution for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in responding to a global health pandemic like COVID-19 since all countries are not homogeneous. Most of the LMICs are countries that have low or no manufacturing capacities. Further, due to fear of granting a compulsory license, most of the pharmaceutical products have not been patented in LMICs. Hence, when there are no operating patents in the own jurisdiction of LMICs, they are unable to proceed with generic drug productions by using a compulsory license. This doctrinal research reveals that the existing social economic legal and political disparities of LMICs have exaggerated the inability of realising compulsory license as an effective solution during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the global community is currently considering several alternatives like COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), and TRIPS waiver proposals to remove barriers associated with LMICs in realising compulsory license in midst of a global health pandemic. Global initiatives like C-TAP and TRIPS waiver proposals can be appreciated as timely efforts for reducing disparities in realisation of compulsory license by LMICs in responding global health pandemic of COVID-19.