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
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Perception vs. practice: a gap analysis of sleep hygiene knowledge and behaviour in young adults
(Integrated Design Research, Department of Integrated Design, University of Moratuwa, 2025-11) Weeraman, P; Wasala, K; Samarawickrama, S
Poor and insufficient sleep are common among young adults, increasing health risks. Despite widespread awareness of sleep hygiene, many still engage in conflicting behaviors, revealing a clear knowledge–behavior gap. We reviewed 2019–2025 studies on 18–30-year-olds using content and thematic analyses of self-reported knowledge and practices. Findings showed that although about two-thirds score highly on sleep hygiene awareness, fewer than forty percent consistently follow guidelines. Three main barriers emerged: nighttime technology use delaying sleep, academic or work stress leading to sleep sacrifice, and the misconception that weekend “catch-up” sleep compensates for deficits. The COVID-19 pandemic further intensified these issues. Lifestyle-tailored interventions are needed—dCBT-I apps can provide personalized support, and campus programs can integrate sleep education. A participatory pilot with 12 students showed modest improvements in sleep quality, regularity, and hygiene adherence, suggesting that low-intensity, user-centered strategies can help translate awareness into lasting behavior change. This study combines a systematic review with a participatory pilot, offering an evidence-based foundation for scalable sleep interventions.
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Designing the void: activating the garment–body in-between
(Integrated Design Research, Department of Integrated Design, University of Moratuwa, 2025-11) Samarakkody, T; Liyanage, UPP; Samarawickrama, S
This paper reframes the garment–body in-between not as a residual gap but as a generative spatial condition central to contemporary fashion design. Conventional approaches to dress construction often privilege surface and silhouette, treating the void between fabric and skin as technically necessary but conceptually silent. Drawing on deconstructivist philosophy, phenomenology of embodiment, and spatial theory that recognizes the agency of thresholds and interstices, the research reconceptualizes absence as a locus of presence, relation, and memory. A qualitative, practice-led methodology integrates expert interviews, thematic mapping, and iterative prototyping within a Method-to-Strategy Framework that links conceptual inquiry to material decision. The central research question asks: How can the in-between space between garment and body be activated as a communicative, transformative, and mnemonic medium within fashion design? The study identifies four design strategies that render the void operative. Interaction treats sound and air as communicative media. Boundaries reframe seams as negotiated thresholds. Transformation addresses temporality through motion, delay, and projection. Memory positions absence as an intimate archive of trace and care. Situated in the Sri Lankan design-education context, the paper offers studio-ready formats, an assessment rubric, and curricular implications, inviting designers and educators to work with absence rather than against it.
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Creative intelligence in political visuals: a semiotic study of Facebook content in Sri Lanka’s Aragalaya
(Integrated Design Research, Department of Integrated Design, University of Moratuwa, 2025-11) Wattegedara IC; De Silva C; Samarawickrama, S
Social media visuals increasingly structure political communication in Sri Lanka, especially during and after the 2022 people’s protest movement (Aragalaya) which used visual and digital media to express dissent and solidarity. Despite their reach, there is still limited understanding of how creative intelligence operates within political visuals to steer interpretation and action. Using a semiotic approach grounded in Saussure’s dyadic model, Peirce’s triadic model, and Barthes’s denotation/connotation and myth framework, this study analyzes highly engaged Facebook posters, memes, and photographs from the protest period. The findings include that the visuals function as creative-intelligence devices: they simplify complexity through color, scale, montage, and typography and mobilize and coordinate publics, stage resistance to power and shape collective identities by binding personal pain to shared symbols. By revealing how design choices encode ideology and guide decoding across audiences, the study clarifies the ethical and political stakes of visual communication in Sri Lanka’s digital sphere, advancing accounts of democratic participation, political agency, and meaning making through design, memory, and imagination.
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The Role of 4E cognition framework in improving early childhood fine motor skills development through learning materials
(Integrated Design Research, Department of Integrated Design, University of Moratuwa, 2025-11) Kandanarachchi R; Dissanayake M; Samarawickrama, S
Early childhood is a critical period that influences a child’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. During this period, fine motor skills play a key role in promoting independence and academic readiness. This study focuses on the development of grasping as a core component of fine motor skills and examines how learning materials support its progress through the lens of the 4E cognitive framework. The framework views learning as embodied, embedded, enactive, and extended, highlighting the interactions between the child, the environment, and tools. Research was conducted with 30 preschool children representing urban, semi-urban, and rural areas of Sri Lanka. The findings indicated that children in urban environments exhibited better fine motor and grasping skills attributable to enhanced access to educational resources, whereas rural children exhibited slower development due to restricted exposure to such tools. Findings highlight the importance of equitable access to a variety of learning materials and provide insight into how the 4E cognitive principles can improve early childhood education practices.
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Are Animation movies meant only for children? a look at the evolving audience
(Integrated Design Research, Department of Integrated Design, University of Moratuwa, 2025-11) Shazeen, TA; Chandana, JAB; Samarawickrama, S
For over a century, animated movies have captured global audiences through imaginative storytelling and visual innovation. Despite this, a long-standing misconception persists that animation is a genre exclusively for children. This study explores how audience perceptions of animation have evolved, investigating why adults also engage with animated films. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining quantitative data from a structured survey of 47 participants aged between 6 and 40 with qualitative insights from interviews with two industry professionals: Canadian animator Alex Nagy and Sri Lankan filmmaker King Ratnam. The collected data were thematically analyzed to identify key factors influencing audience engagement, including nostalgia, storytelling quality, and emotional resonance. Findings reveal that while children remain a major target audience, young adults form a substantial portion of viewers who associate animation with creativity, comfort, and reflection. The study concludes that animation functions as a universal storytelling medium rather than a child-exclusive genre. This research contributes to contemporary discussions on audience psychology, cultural consumption, and the role of animation in global media, suggesting opportunities for future industry diversification and adult-oriented storytelling.