Institutional-Repository, University of Moratuwa
Welcome to the University of Moratuwa Digital Repository, which houses postgraduate theses and dissertations, research articles presented at conferences by faculties and departments, university-published journal articles and research publications authored by academic staff. This online repository stores, preserves and distributes the University's scholarly work. This service allows University members to share their research with a larger audience.
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Recent Submissions
item: Thesis-Abstract
Biological factors affecting the breast cancers among Sri Lankan women : a case study of Wathupitiwala Base Hospital
(2023) Senanayake, SAPM; Jayasundara, DRT
Breast cancer remains a significant public health concern worldwide, with varying risk factors across diverse populations. The incidence of breast cancer in Sri Lanka is also observed to be on the rise, with nearly 3000 women being diagnosed each year. Therefore, the objective of this research is to identify the underlying relationships between significant biological factors affecting the breast cancers among Sri Lankan female population and to uplift the awareness of risk factors among total population.
This study case study was carried out at one of the Base Hospitals in Sri Lanka. The data set was acquired from the patients admitted to the medicine ward of Base Hospital, Wathupitiwala, Sri Lanka. Data collection was carried out by a team of trained medical graduates and nurses between January 2018 and August 2018 period. In this study, data from a total of 144 participants were collected, and it is important to note that all individuals included in this research cohort had tested positive for breast cancer. Data were gathered across 17 distinct variables, encompassing both continuous and categorical variables. Specifically, these variables include Age, Incidental lump, Breast pain, Nipple discharge, Nipple retraction, Breast asymmetry, Age at menarche, Age at first childbirth, Number of pregnancies, Number of children, Breast feeding history, Age at menopause, Usage of Oral Contraceptives, Usage of depot Provera, Family history, Skin Nodule, and Skin ulceration. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based on Factor Analysis was employed for the analysis of the dataset. The initial dataset underwent a rigorous cleaning process utilizing diverse methods within SPSS, followed by a comprehensive data validation step involving Normality testing. Subsequently, factors were derived, and the correlations between these factors and the initial variables, denoted as factor loadings, were established. Through this analysis, variables exhibiting factor loading values surpassing 0.5 were identified as highly correlated with their respective principal components.
Notably, the study pinpointed the relationship among most significant risk factors associated with breast cancer incidence among Sri Lankan women. These prominent relationships include Number of Children and Number of Pregnancies, Skin Ulceration, Skin Nodule, Breast Asymmetry and Nipple Retraction, Age, Age at menopause and Use of Depot Provera, Nipple Discharge and Breast Pain. While the risk factors of Breast Feeding and Age at Menarche are incorporated into distinct components, there is no discernible significant relationship between these two factors and any other risk factors.
item: Thesis-Abstract
An Analysis of drawbacks in online teaching and feasible solutions : a case study of Anuradhapura education zone
(2023) Silva, KNS; Mathugama, SC
Online education is important because it provides accessibility, flexibility, safe learning during pandemics, and reaching a broader audience with cost-effectiveness. At present, there is very little research on Sri Lankan teacher’s difficulties towards online teaching. Therefore, this study was initiated to provide scientific results about Sri Lankan teachers’ difficulties towards online teaching. The Anuradhapura education zone is selected for this study, since it contains a lot of remote areas and schools.
This study was conducted based on a questionnaire survey design. Altogether 209 teachers in Anuradhapura Education Zone were surveyed. The questionnaire in this research was used basically to identify the difficulties and feasible solutions of online teaching in Anuradhapura Education Zone. The demographic factors were analyzed and presented using descriptive statistical methods. Multinomial Logistic Regression Model & Factor Analysis were used as advanced statistical methods.
Multinomial Logistic Regression Model was used to model the relationship between Mean Barrier Level and identified explanatory variables. Factor Analysis was used to identify common factors for the observed set of difficulties.
Study shows that “monthly internet bill”, “number of classes per week”, “number of students in a class” & “internet connection type” can be considered as significantly associated explanatory variables with Mean Barrier Level in the Multinomial Logistic Regression Model. Also findings of this study show that, “lack of attractive teaching & assessment methods” as the most important common barrier. Next important common barriers are “lack of knowledge & infrastructures” & “surround interruptions”. The least important common barrier is the “consume more time”. Therefore educators should implement interactive teaching methods, online assessment platforms that can automatically grade assignments & government should provide training, discounted internet packages, high-speed broadband infrastructure, workshops, webinars, or tutorials to help educators to enhance successful online education.
item: Thesis-Abstract
Assessing the user satisfaction with mobile Internet service providers based on technical and demographic factors
(2023) Madushan, HPP; Dissanayaka, DMPV; Jayasinghe, JABU
In the contemporary digital landscape, where the internet has become an intrinsic component of daily life, this study titled "Assessing User Satisfaction with Mobile Internet Service Providers Based on Technical and Demographic Factors" sheds light on the pivotal role of the internet in Sri Lanka. This research is driven by three core objectives. The first aims to quantify the technical performance quality of internet services, the second to gauge customer satisfaction and ascertain alignment with service provider performance, and the third to pinpoint customer demographic factors influencing selection of the most effective internet service providers. The study commences in the Narthanagala Grama Niladhari Division, specifically the 616C division in Horana, employing a methodically structured questionnaire to capture demographic data and glean insights into customer experiences. Technical data were observed using “Open Signal” and “Network Cell info” mobile applications. The research hinged on three primary objectives, each facilitated by various statistical theories and techniques. The first objective was achieved through Principal Component Analysis, effectively reducing the initial 9 dimensions of internet service quality to a singular dimension with the primary principal component explaining 84.40% of variance. This reduction was corroborated through the composite index of "Application-Based Technical Performance of Mobile Data Service". Subsequently, the second objective was approached using Factor Analysis and simple linear regression, revealing two influential latent factors: Customer-Perceived Technical Performance of Mobile Data Service and Customer Service Satisfaction, which collectively accounted for 60.66% of variability within a 6-dimensional framework. Lastly, the third objective employed 2-way Frequency Tables and Binary Logistic Regression to discern pivotal demographic variables that significantly impacted the selection of a mobile internet service provider, namely: Period of time using the mobile service to access internet, Client’s knowledge of internet data packages available connection, The way client activate data packages, Average monthly fee you pay to access the Internet with their interaction terms. The consistent outcomes from Forward Wald and Forward LR step-wise methods pointed to a 94.4% likelihood of selecting Dialog and a 54.4% likelihood of opting for Mobitel as the mobile internet service provider, culminating in an overall prediction success rate of 78.8%.
item: Thesis-Abstract
Risk factors of motorcycle accidents in Sri Lanka
(2023) Hapuarachchi, HADT
Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) constitute a substantial public health concern and are among the foremost contributors to injury-related fatalities and overall mortality worldwide. Considering the past ten years, Motorcycle Accidents (MAs) have shown a remarkable proportion among RTAs in European and Asian Countries. MAs have emerged as a prominent subset of RTAs in the Sri Lankan context. MAs contribute to approximately 40% of the reported annual RTAs. Hence, the primary objective of this study is to pinpoint the risk factors linked to fatal Motorcycle Accidents in Sri Lanka spanning the years 2013 to 2019, offering valuable insights for policymakers and those in decision-making roles. The research objectives were accomplished through the examination of existing data pertaining to various aspects related to motorcyclists, including personal factors, the characteristics of MAs, and specific attributes of motorcycles as ownership and age. The association between the severity of MAs and the aforementioned factors was investigated. According to the fitted binary logistic regression model, the calculated odds were those fatal motorcycle accidents are approximately 60 times more likely to happen on dry road surfaces compared to other types of road surfaces, nearly 3 times more likely in rural areas compared to urban and estate areas, nearly 3 times more likely on weekdays, nearly 2 times more likely on roads with no junctions, nearly 2 times more likely when the motorcyclist is in the age group of 40 to 59, and equally likely among male and female motorcyclists. These factors have proven to wield a significant and positive association with accident rates and the severity of resulting injuries. The adoption of measures like improved signaling, the construction of pedestrian bridges, and the implementation of pavement tunnels to reduce interaction with moving vehicles is strongly recommended based on their effectiveness
item: Thesis-Abstract
An Empirical analysis of queuing practices in relation to patient satisfaction at the Outpatient Department of Teaching Hospital Kalutara
(2023) Karasinghe Arachchi, KANL; Thanuja, ALARR
A waiting line or a queue is a common phenomenon, particularly where the demand for a service exceeds its supply. However, an operations research technique commonly known as queueing theory is now widely used in many applications of optimizing operations that deal with this mismatch. Waiting, which is known to cause patient dissatisfaction is a common occurrence in public healthcare settings. However, it is not only the waiting that brings dissatisfaction to the patients but also the other factors such as quality of care, consultation time, rapport with physicians, and physical environment of the settings, etc. A descriptive cross-sectional and analytical study was designed and carried out at the outpatient department of Teaching Hospital Kalutara, with data collected primarily through an interviewer-administered questionnaire and an observation chart over a two-week period. This study attempted to describe the level of satisfaction of patients in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics, frequency of visiting, perceived waiting for service, perceived speed of service, and perceived serving time. The associations between socio-demography, perceived waiting, and satisfaction were found significant. However, the associations between the perceived speed of service, perceived serving time, and the level of satisfaction were not significant. Having identified the queuing system that complies with exponentially distributed inter-arrival times and serving times in the presence of multiple servers (M/M/c queuing model) as an appropriate model to analyze the queuing system of the outpatient department of Teaching Hospital Kalutara, it was observed that the system has been heavily overutilized. The results of the parameter estimates were challenged by the fact that the arrival rates of the system often exceeded the rate of serving. The simulation results indicated that about twenty-eight physicians are therefore needed to serve during rush hours if the expected standards of care were to be achieved. However, having a large number of serving physicians at once is not an appropriate solution in terms of operational, administrative, and financial feasibility. Therefore, an appointment system to schedule the arrival process, and to deploy an appropriate number of physicians resolute through M/M/c simulation-based modeling, which should essentially carry the standard criterion for service rate, is recommended to achieve better patient satisfaction by optimizing care at the outpatient department of Teaching Hospital Kalutara.