Browsing by Author "Senevirathne, M"

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item: Article-Full-text
Folktales as a creative lab : a participatory design-based digital storytelling model to develop creative potential
(2022-09) Senevirathne, M; Rodrigo, B
Creativity is our ability to look at a problem and come up with an ideal solution. It has nothing to do with the subject, the job or what we learn. In the Sri Lankan education systems creativity is nurtured but not at a suitable level. It is more suitable to mention in that way rather than mentioning creativity is not fully nurtured. Creativity should be accessible to all, since everyone is creative. It is full of optimism, hope and the joy of changing things by making the truth come true. With the arrival of digital technology, children have ever-increasing opportunities for knowledge gathering and study. It encourages students to open up their creative abilities to share and build continuous relationships through their creativity. Therefore, students actively partici-pate in the process by taking responsibilities, working with the organisation, and experimenting and developing unique proposals for solutions. This project adopts the participatory design approach which is a design methodology in which the potential users of a design participate as co-creators in the design process, as a framework to develop a digital storytelling model and reflect how students express their creativity. In this process, students’ thoughts are interpreted using active participatory approaches such as illustration, photography, audio recording, writing, and drawing. This process involves creating a story based on students’ creative abilities and forcing students to act and make decisions to solve their creative problems. Participants use participatory approaches to analyse and synthesise stories through creative abilities.
item: Conference-Full-text
Optimising evacuation routes for rapid onset hazards amidst pandemics using nature-inspired algorithms: an application of the characteristics of nature-inspired solutions in a weighted centrality-based evacuation strategy
(Sri Lanka Society of Transport and Logistics, 2023-08-26) Senevirathne, M; Amaratunga, D; Haigh, R; Gunaruwan, TL
This research manuscript aims to explore the use of nature-inspired methods to optimise the evacuation of vulnerable communities during rapid-onset hazards, especially considering pandemic situations and additional challenges posed by pandemics. Multi-hazard scenarios can be identified as potential threats to public safety, and economic and infrastructure functionality in cities, especially in densely populated urban areas. The current COVID-19 pandemic has amplified these issues as multi-hazard responses including evacuation of communities were never prepared for such compound incidents, especially for highly dynamic and changing circumstances. This research proposes the use of three nature-inspired algorithms to optimise evacuation planning and ensure the safety and efficiency of response operations during compound hazards. The characteristics in Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO), Ant Colony Optimisation (ACO), and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) Optimisation algorithms are used to propose a novel approach to minimising the total distance of evacuation routes while considering a dispersed evacuation strategy to ensure social distancing in shelter spaces and between evacuation zones. The optimisation characteristics have incorporated the pheromone information and heuristic information to determine the most suitable evacuation route and direction to shelter based on information such as integrated risk at vulnerable locations, time and distance estimation to a safe location, shelter location and service capacity. The application of nature-inspired optimisation to multi-hazard evacuation planning can be considered a promising approach to improve public safety, especially in the context of compound hazards amidst pandemics. The result of this research could provide transport planners as well as emergency managers with novel insights for planning adaptive and dynamic evacuation plans for changing circumstances.
item: Article-Full-text
Pandemic vulnerability knowledge visualisation for strategic decision-making: a COVID-19 index for government response in Australia
(Emerald Publishing Limited, 2022) Yigitcanlar, T; Kankanamge, N; Inkinen, T; Butler, L; Preston, A; Rezayee, M; Gill, P; Ostadnia, M; Ioppolo, G; Senevirathne, M
Abstract Purpose: This study aims to develop a pandemic vulnerability knowledge visualisation index to support the strategic decision-making efforts of authorities. Design/methodology/approach: First, the key vulnerability factors from the literature are identified. Second, using the vulnerability factors as indicators, a composite index is developed. Last, from the index values, a set of vulnerability knowledge maps, showing the vulnerability hotspots, are prepared. Findings: Ten indicators are identified as vulnerability factors that could significantly impact the virus spread risks. Verifying the identified hotspots against the recorded infected cases and deaths has evidenced the usefulness of the index. Determining and visualising the high-vulnerability locations and communities could help in informed strategic decision-making and responses of the authorises to the pandemic. Originality/value: The study demonstrates that the developed pandemic vulnerability knowledge visualisation index is particularly appropriate in the context of Australia. Nonetheless, by replicating the methodologic steps of the study, customised versions can be developed for other country contexts.