Research Publications
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Publication Embargo Exploring the Usage of AI Tools in Education: Insights from Gen Z Undergraduates in Sri Lanka(University of Nigeria Department of Mass Communication, 2025-06-02) Nishshanka, N; Karunarathna, N; Dayapathirana, N; Karunarathna, R. V; Hewage, H. K; Anthony, PBackground: This study investigates the patterns of use and adoption of AI tools in Sri Lanka, with a special emphasis on Generation Z undergraduates who will enter the industry next. As AI is an emerging technology, how this generation interacts with and enriches knowledge through AI tools becomes a vital area of concern. Objective: To identify key subjective factors influencing the adoption and usage of AI tools in education among Gen Z undergraduates in Sri Lanka. Methodology: This study employs qualitative research methods, specifically semi-structured interviews, to gather insights from 18 university students across various disciplines. Thematic analysis was used to identify recurring themes related to undergraduates' subjective experiences, benefits received, and attitudes, for which MAXQDA is used as the analytical software. Results: The findings demonstrate four key subjective factors that influence adoption and usage, such as academic work, awareness and adoption, challenges and risk, and helpful and supportive factors. The frequently used AI tool in Sri Lanka was noted as ChatGPT, which showed a high usage pattern in the analysis. Conclusion: Understanding the usage patterns and adoption factors helps the community use AI tools effectively, as it makes them aware of the risks and helpful factors. Also, the facilities that aid in adopting these AI tools could elevate the efficiency of their usage by making many students, future undergraduates, AI developers, and educational institutions aware of its benefits. Unique Contribution: This research provides insights for future research by helping to understand the usage of emerging AI tools among Gen Z undergraduates in a developing country like Sri Lanka. The findings can be applied to understanding different generations and emerging generations, such as Generation Alpha.Publication Open Access Factors influencing migration intention of undergraduates in Sri Lanka: ‘About more than employment(Elsevier Ltd, 2026-01-26) Marawila, R; Weerarathna, R; Rathnayake, N; Guruge, R; Wehella, B; Udugahapattuwa, T; Weligodapola, MThe objective of this study is to examine the factors influencing Sri Lankan undergraduates' intention to migrate. Persistent economic, social, and political challenges have driven many youngsters and professionals to leave their Country of Origin (COO). The economic collapse triggered by COVID-19 further intensified this trend, leading to a sharp increase in outward migration. Recently, a growing number of Sri Lankan undergraduates and skilled professionals have expressed a strong desire to relocate abroad, often immediately after completing secondary education. For this study, a sample of 385 undergraduates from state and non-state universities across Sri Lanka was analysed. Given the national concerns of brain drain and shortages of trained and skilled workers, the study specifically focused on understanding undergraduates' aspirations to migrate. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied to identify and test the variables influencing migration intentions within the Sri Lankan context. The findings provide a holistic picture of the drivers of undergraduate migration. These carry important implications not only for students but also for policymakers and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), by informing policies and strategies that could encourage young people to realise their potential within Sri Lanka rather than abroad.Publication Open Access Knowledge Related to Ovulation among Female Undergraduate Students of a Selected Private University in Sri Lanka(School of Nursing, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2025-10-10) Rasiq, D; Muthucumarana, M; Samarasinghe, C; Katukurunda, S; Sathsarani, K; Wijedasa, SThe understanding of the menstrual cycle and the awareness of the fertile window enable individuals to make informed reproductive decisions. It helps promote reproductive health and prevent unintended pregnancies. However, the level of knowledge and awareness about ovulation and fertile window among young adults, particularly among university undergraduates in Sri Lankan context, was not clearly explicit. Hence, this study aimed to assess the knowledge of ovulation among female undergraduates at a non-state higher education institution in Sri Lanka. A descriptive cross-sectional study was done from December 2024 to March 2025. The study targeted female undergraduates across all faculties, excluding students of the Nursing program. A convenient sample of 111 participants was selected, and a self-administered, anonymized Google forms distributed via the official email account of the participants for the data collection. This study revealed a basic level of knowledge on ovulation among female undergraduates.Publication Open Access Relationship Between Sleep Quality and Perceived Stress among Undergraduates of a Selected Nonstate Sector Higher Education Institute in Sri Lanka(School of Nursing, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2025-10-10) Anthony, K; Wijedasa, H; Samarasinghe, C; Gunawardhana, S; Wanigasinghe, H; De Silva, DSleep is a fundamental determinant of health, and good sleep quality is positively linked to overall wellbeing. Stress, as a physiological response, can adversely affect health when experienced at high or prolonged levels. Due to various reasons, undergraduates often have poor sleep quality and a high level of stress. Therefore, it is important to assess the relationship between sleep quality and perceived stress level among undergraduate students in Sri Lanka. This study was conducted to assess the relationship between perceived stress and sleep quality among undergraduates in a selected non-state sector higher educational institute in the country.Publication Open Access Relationship Between Resilience and Optimism Among Young Adult Undergraduates: A Cross-Sectional Study in Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology.(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2023-11-01) Jayaweera, T.A; Aththidiye, RYoung adulthood is an important developmental stage in which individuals must go through a positive trajectory for a healthy and successful life. Young adult undergraduates in Sri Lanka face many stressors and adversities which affect their lives negatively. Therefore, it is important to determine the factors contributing to their resilience. Optimism is a factor that significantly enhances resilience. Moreover, there is a paucity of positive psychological and gender-sensitive research in the Sri Lankan context. In this sense, the present study aims to determine the relationship between psychological resilience and dispositional optimism among young adult undergraduates in Sri Lanka, the gender differences in resilience, and the gender differences in optimism. The instruments used were the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) to measure resilience and the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) to measure dispositional optimism. A total of 124 participants were involved in the study. The findings suggest that (a) there is a statistically significant moderately positive relationship between resilience and optimism (b) there are no gender differences in resilience between males and females (c) there are no gender differences in optimism among males and females. Importantly, the research provides practical implications for mental health practitioners, researchers, and positive psychologists to develop gendersensitive interventions to cope with stressors and adversities.Publication Embargo Students’ Positioning in the Classroom: A Case of Undergraduates Learning English as a Second Language in Sri Lanka(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2023-09-15) Ekanayake, K.K.T.N.; Dineeka, P.A.C.This study investigates the impact of positioning of ESL learners in learning English using first year undergraduates at University of Kelaniya. The Positioning Theory introduced by Davies and Harré (1990) provides the basis for the study. This study focuses on investigating how second language learners position themselves in framing the identities when interacting with their teacher and classmates, and the impact of using different seating arrangements (as a type of positioning) in providing language learning opportunities. Participants of this study were 2 lecturers of English and 35 first year undergraduates of Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya. Data for the study were collected from a background information questionnaire, classroom observations, and a focus group interview respectively. The findings of the study showed that students positioned themselves in different ways and it was observed that a least number of students make use of the opportunities in the language classroom. Hence, this study provides insights on the effective use of positioning of students in language classroom specifically in which the role of positioning by the teacher should be diverse, interactive, motivating and learner friendly in the ESL classroom.Publication Open Access The Impact of Brand Equity on Customer Purchase Intention of Mobile Phones: Evidence from Undergraduates of Private Sector Higher Educational Institutions in Sri Lanka(researchgate.net, 2022-06) Dissanayake, D. M. T. D; Nilmini, K. RBranding is a key decision to be taken by business people to increase their sales and keeping customers attached to their products. The present study was designed to explore how brand equity dimensions impact mobile phone purchase intention, which could be explored among undergraduates in Sri Lankan private sector higher educational institutions. The brand equity model has become the global standard for brand equity research. Brand equity is defined as brand awareness, brand quality, brand association, and brand loyalty As the Sir Lankan mobile phone market is rapidly changing, brand equity issues are also visible. Accordingly, 377 respondents from selected private sector higher education institutes have a higher student base than others. Data were analyzed through correlation and multiple regression techniques. Results revealed all brand equity dimensions impacted purchase intention. As a result, the study concludes that the brand equity dimensions are the essential variables influencing customer purchase intent.Publication Open Access Factors affecting the level of stress among undergraduates in Sri Lanka with special reference to covid-19(Business Research Unit (BRU), 2021-12-03) Madhusanka, A. K. P; Jayasuriya, N. U; Ravishanka, M. K. U; Pothupitiya, S. N; Weerarathna, R. S; Dunuwila, V. RTo combat the rapid spread of COVID-19 infections universities and higher educational institutes in Sri Lanka had to suspend all on campus activities and had to tranfer into online learning. This resulted in a swift change in undergraduates’ life style and they had to face many new challenges in their academics which created severe mental pressure. Therefore, the objective of the research is ‘to assess the factors influencing the level of stress among undergraduates in Sri Lanka’. The study looks into this mental pressure in terms of the stress levels of undergraduates which is considered to be the dependent variable whereas their online learning experience and university workload are the independent variables. The study takes a quantitative research approach as its primary data is collected through an online questionnaire created from Google Forms and answered by 384 undergraduates. The questionnaire provided data on the online experience and university workload variables and it included the DASS-21 scale (Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale) which measured the stress level of the undergraduates. Descriptive statistics was conducted on the data through the Microsoft Excel. Based on the data analysis, it was found that the stress levels of undergraduates were; 3% normal, 20% mild, 36% moderate, 21% severe and 20% extremely severe. Therefore, it could be said that 41% of undergraduates faced high stress levels that were beyond what is regular and it negatively affected to the way how they could face challenges and carry out their day to day lives. It should be noted that undergraduates appeared to have much higher stress levels as a result of the pandemic.Publication Open Access Factors affecting the level of stress among undergraduates in Sri Lanka with special reference to covid-19(Business Research Unit (BRU), 2021) Madhusanka, A. K. P; Jayasuriya, N. U; Ravishanka, M. K. U; Pothupitiya, S. N; Weerarathna, R. S; Dunuwila, V. RTo combat the rapid spread of COVID-19 infections universities and higher educational institutes in Sri Lanka had to suspend all on campus activities and had to tranfer into online learning. This resulted in a swift change in undergraduates’ life style and they had to face many new challenges in their academics which created severe mental pressure. Therefore, the objective of the research is ‘to assess the factors influencing the level of stress among undergraduates in Sri Lanka’. The study looks into this mental pressure in terms of the stress levels of undergraduates which is considered to be the dependent variable whereas their online learning experience and university workload are the independent variables. The study takes a quantitative research approach as its primary data is collected through an online questionnaire created from Google Forms and answered by 384 undergraduates. The questionnaire provided data on the online experience and university workload variables and it included the DASS-21 scale (Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale) which measured the stress level of the undergraduates. Descriptive statistics was conducted on the data through the Microsoft Excel. Based on the data analysis, it was found that the stress levels of undergraduates were; 3% normal, 20% mild, 36% moderate, 21% severe and 20% extremely severe. Therefore, it could be said that 41% of undergraduates faced high stress levels that were beyond what is regular and it negatively affected to the way how they could face challenges and carry out their day to day lives. It should be noted that undergraduates appeared to have much higher stress levels as a result of the pandemic.Publication Embargo An Empirical Study on the Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial Intention of Management and Arts Undergraduates: with Reference to USJ(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences,SLIIT, 2021-09-25) Silva, H. P. T. N; George, H. I. C; Madhuwanthi, S.H.DAs a developing country, Sri Lanka is currently facing several economic challenges, and it is necessary to decode how this positioning can be improved. Out of the various efforts that are available, enriching the number of entrepreneurs has been one such strategy that is proven to boost the economy. Sri Lanka still records low entrepreneurship rates in comparison to developing countries. This paves the way for the need to understand the entrepreneurship intention of youth. Therefore, this study was conducted with students of two faculties to identify the latent factors that affect entrepreneurship intention among undergraduates and to recognize if there are any significant statistical differences on the perceptions of students between the two faculties. The sampling method was stratified random sampling and the sample size was 106. Data collection was conducted through a selfadministered questionnaire. Using factor analysis it was identified 8 factors that affect entrepreneurial intention of the undergraduates in Sri Lanka. Of them, five proved to be controllable factors (aspiration, entrepreneur characteristics, awareness, readiness financial knowledge) by the students suggesting that actions can be demonstrated in enriching students’ motivation and consideration towards entrepreneurship. The remaining three factors (education received, financial ability, family influence) show that external factors such as parents, investors and educational institutions can influence students towards choosing a career path of entrepreneurship. The findings of this study can be used in structuring the youth mindset to enhance entrepreneurial intention among them.