UoM Repository

item: Thesis-Abstract

Mapping the effects of energy poverty on thermal comfort and skin temperature profiles of residents : a field study of naturally ventilated multi-storey social housing in Colombo Metropolitan Region

(2024) Chathuranga, IHN; Rajapaksha , IGP; Siriwardana, CSA

Global warming is causing unprecedented climatic extremes and a rapid rise in urban temperatures, leading to overheated indoor environments. This issue is particularly critical for residents of social housing with deprived socio-economic backgrounds, as they face an increased risk of heat-related health implications. These conditions underscore the urgent need to enhance indoor thermal comfort and living standards in urban social housing. In response, this study conducts an experimental investigation into the indoor thermal conditions of a naturally ventilated 12-storey social housing building in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The research methodology combines field surveys, in-situ measurements of thermal environmental parameters, and infrared thermography, using a representative sample of 98 residents and their household units. Findings reveal that indoor temperatures ranged from 30.4°C to 34.2°C, indicating significant indoor overheating. The mean relative humidity was elevated at 63%, while a low mean air velocity of 0.1 m/s indicated poor natural ventilation. A mean thermal sensation vote (TSV) of 2.2, along with 90.8% of residents expressing a preference for significantly cooler conditions, highlights widespread thermal discomfort. Additionally, 38.8% of households were identified as multi-dimensionally energy- poor, with a significant correlation observed between higher levels of energy poverty and increased thermal discomfort. Skin temperature analysis revealed elevated mean facial temperatures, with the forehead showing the highest at 35.5°C. This analysis further suggests a strong association between elevated facial skin temperatures and greater thermal discomfort. According to the linear regression method, the comfort temperature was 28.8°C, while the Griffiths method estimated it at 27.3°C. To cope with thermal discomfort, residents frequently used adaptive behaviours such as using fans (89.8%) and going outside (53.1%), while bathing (18.4%) and changing clothing (6.1%) were less preferred. These findings highlight the urgent need for tailored interventions to improve living standards in social housing and offer valuable insights to inform policies and strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing residents’ quality of life.

item: Thesis-Full-text

Development of a gamified application to enhance community education on risk- sensitive urban development

(2025) Mahamood, MR; De Silva , C; Kankanamge, N

Flooding is the most significant natural hazard that Sri Lankans experience annually. The education and awareness associated with it remain traditional, with teachers feeding students with their expertise. The traditional educational mode needs to change to a more exciting and engaging mode. Globally, disaster education has already upgraded to an interactive an innovative level. Use of gamification or serious gaming to provide disaster education to the children can be considered as an example for such innovative learning and teaching model. This model is successfully applied in disaster education in countries such as Australia, The United States of America, New Zealand, Japan, Philippines, Italy and many more. However, such gamified applications are either limited to board games or do not have comprehensive learning experience. Therefore, this study focuses on developing a desktop gamified application to improve flood disaster education for school children. The methodology was designed under four phases: (a) Initiation; (b) Production; (c) Testing and (d) Releasing. After the said four phases the developed game was tested using 175 children and youngsters as the sample. Two testing iteration has been completed on the game prototype and final game is developed for launch. More than 85% of the participants responded favorably to the gamified application, which also indicated that they had raised awareness of floods. This research contributes to the growing field of serious gaming and gamification in disaster education by integrating cognitive, behavioral, and experiential learning theories into an interactive digital platform. The study also provides an empirical framework for assessing the effectiveness of gamified applications in knowledge retention and user engagement. The project delivers an interactive, scalable, and replicable educational tool that can be adapted for broader disaster preparedness initiatives. The insights from this study can inform policymakers, educators, and game developers in designing effective, engaging, and context-specific disaster education programs for vulnerable communities

item: Thesis-Full-text

Development of a web application through a mobilized crowdsourcing platform to enable participatory risk sensitive urban development

(2025) Kangana, KMND; De Silva, C; Kankanamge, N

Flooding remains the most frequent and destructive natural disaster in Sri Lanka, exacerbated by rapid urbanization and evolving precipitation patterns, leading to extensive socio-economic damage. Despite the availability of technological tools for disaster management, community engagement in early warning systems and risk mitigation remains minimal. This study addresses this gap by developing an integrated platform comprising a crowdsourcing-based mobile application and a web-based geospatial decision support system, aimed at fostering participatory risk-sensitive urban development. The mobile application enables real-time flood data collection from affected communities, while the web platform visualizes and validates this data, providing actionable insights for disaster response authorities. A flood vulnerability assessment model was developed using 30 years of historical flood data, nine key conditioning factors—including topography, weather patterns, hydrology, land cover, and soil type—and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery to enhance prediction accuracy. The methodological approach integrates machine learning techniques for crowdsourced data verification, participatory workshops for system validation, and mobilization strategies for community engagement. The research makes significant contributions to both theory and practice. Theoretically, it advances the discourse on participatory disaster management by integrating community-based crowdsourcing with remote sensing analytics. The study also refines geospatial modelling techniques for flood vulnerability assessment, incorporating novel indicators such as Night-Time Light (NTL) data to measure human exposure to flooding. In practice, the developed platform enhances disaster preparedness by providing a scalable, cost-effective solution for real-time flood risk assessment. The findings demonstrate that combining crowdsourced data with remote sensing can bridge critical information gaps in disaster management, empowering communities and authorities to respond proactively to flood hazards. The study's framework can be adapted to other flood-prone regions, contributing to global efforts in urban resilience and risk-sensitive development.

item: Thesis-Full-text

Development of a mobile augmented reality application to enhance youth engagement in designing public spaces

(2025) Ranasinghe, RADM; De Silva, C; Kankanamge, N

Ethical considerations are integral to the work of entrepreneurial engineers, whose innovations and decisions frequently carry significant societal implications. This study explores how Sri Lankan entrepreneurial engineers as a group of technology entrepreneurs adhere to engineering ethics, the challenges they face, and the strategies they employ to uphold ethical principles in their techno-entrepreneurial ventures. Addressing a significant gap in the literature, the research employs a constructivist grounded-theory methodology, drawing on face-to-face interviews with a purposive and theoretically selected sample of 22 entrepreneurial engineers. The findings reveal that most entrepreneurial engineers perceive engineering ethics as a "guideline" for ethical business practices, navigating a business environment populated by stakeholders and competitors characterized as "ethical-unethical colleagues." They also encounter an "avaricious society" that presents numerous ethical challenges during their entrepreneurial journeys. To adhere to engineering ethics, the participants adopt a tripartite strategy involving internalization, employee engagement, and public outreach. The consequences of these practices include "lasting benefits" and "short- term losses," ultimately contributing to the "enduring prosperity" of their firms. This study introduces the substantive theory called “theory of enduring prosperity”, illustrating how adherence to engineering ethics fosters long-term business sustainability in the Sri Lankan context. The findings suggest that entrepreneurial engineers should prioritize ethical practices from the startup stage, as these lead to sustainable growth, even if they encounter temporary setbacks in a challenging societal environment. This study makes a holistic contribution to the existing literature by underscoring the importance of engineering ethics in entrepreneurial success. However, limitations such as gender bias and reliance on the perspectives of entrepreneurial engineers are noted. Future research could address these limitations and explore how entrepreneurial engineers can contribute to achieving sustainable development goals through the application of engineering ethics.

item: Thesis-Full-text

Engineering ethics & entrepreneurship : a grounded theory based study among entrepreneurial engineers in Sri Lanka

(2025) Wijesinghe, DPS; Jayawardane, VPT; Dasanayake, SWSB

Ethical considerations are integral to the work of entrepreneurial engineers, whose innovations and decisions frequently carry significant societal implications. This study explores how Sri Lankan entrepreneurial engineers as a group of technology entrepreneurs adhere to engineering ethics, the challenges they face, and the strategies they employ to uphold ethical principles in their techno-entrepreneurial ventures. Addressing a significant gap in the literature, the research employs a constructivist grounded-theory methodology, drawing on face-to-face interviews with a purposive and theoretically selected sample of 22 entrepreneurial engineers. The findings reveal that most entrepreneurial engineers perceive engineering ethics as a "guideline" for ethical business practices, navigating a business environment populated by stakeholders and competitors characterized as "ethical-unethical colleagues." They also encounter an "avaricious society" that presents numerous ethical challenges during their entrepreneurial journeys. To adhere to engineering ethics, the participants adopt a tripartite strategy involving internalization, employee engagement, and public outreach. The consequences of these practices include "lasting benefits" and "short- term losses," ultimately contributing to the "enduring prosperity" of their firms. This study introduces the substantive theory called “theory of enduring prosperity”, illustrating how adherence to engineering ethics fosters long-term business sustainability in the Sri Lankan context. The findings suggest that entrepreneurial engineers should prioritize ethical practices from the startup stage, as these lead to sustainable growth, even if they encounter temporary setbacks in a challenging societal environment. This study makes a holistic contribution to the existing literature by underscoring the importance of engineering ethics in entrepreneurial success. However, limitations such as gender bias and reliance on the perspectives of entrepreneurial engineers are noted. Future research could address these limitations and explore how entrepreneurial engineers can contribute to achieving sustainable development goals through the application of engineering ethics.

Institutional-Repository, University of Moratuwa

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