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: Conference-Full-text
Strategies for enhancing innovative technology adoption in university facilities management
(Facilities Management Research Unit (FaMRU), 2026) Sadiq, MA; Amoah, C; Kajimo-Shakantu, K
This study examines strategies that enhance the adoption of innovative technologies for university facilities management (FM) in Ghana. Grounded in a post-positivist philosophy, the study adopts a quantitative approach. Data were collected through structured questionnaires administered to FM personnel, academic and administrative staff, ICT personnel, and student leaders across five public universities in Ghana’s Greater Accra Region. Using stratified random sampling based on Cochran and Neyman procedures, 385 valid responses were obtained. SPSS was used for descriptive and inferential analysis. The study finds that technology adoption in university FM is driven more by governance, stakeholder engagement, and human capacity than by financial or technical factors. Key strategies include clear policies, effective communication, staff training, and interdepart-mental collaboration, which highlight adoption as a socio-organisational process. Training emerged as a critical enabler, indicating that usability rather than access is the main challenge. Financial incentives support imple-mentation, but organisational readiness is more decisive. Adoption is a continuous, system-based process that requires institutional alignment and integrated strategies for sustainable outcomes, including ongoing training, stakeholder engagement, and practices to meet evolving needs. The study provides empirical evidence from Africa and offers practical, action-oriented guidance for policymakers and university managers seeking to im-plement technology-driven FM practices.
item: Conference-Full-text
Conceptualising an additive manufacturing-enabled agile new product development model for zero-waste apparel manufacturing in Sri Lanka
(Facilities Management Research Unit (FaMRU), 2026) Roopasinghe, R; Mallawaarachchi, H
As production volume expanded, the amount of pre-consumer textile waste generated globally by the apparel manufacturing industry increased dramatically. Because of this, the apparel manufacturing sector focuses on reducing waste in various ways. As a result, there are several opportunities to incorporate innovative technology and decrease textile waste in the apparel manufacturing process. By using precise, layer-by-layer production and faster product development, additive manufacturing helps reduce fabric waste and supports textile waste-reduction goals. This minimizes and eliminates waste that develops during the apparel manufacturing process. Among the many technological concepts spawned by the fourth industrial revolution (I4.0), additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as a vital element of this new trend. The Sri Lankan apparel manufacturing industry is still in its early phases and has yet to implement AM technology, whereas industrialized nations have incorporated AM technology to reduce waste. This study investigates the use of additive manufacturing to reduce textile waste in Sri Lanka's apparel manufacturing sector, allowing for rapid agile new product development (NPD). To achieve this purpose, a thorough non-systematic review of the literature was conducted. The findings reveal that AM and agile NPD can be integrated in the apparel manufacturing process as a significant promise for driving a reduction in textile waste in apparel manufacturing. Accordingly, a conceptual model integrating AM and agile NPD was proposed as a key implication of this research.
item: Conference-Full-text
Reframing inclusive education through learning facilities : a review of Sri Lankan education policy and practice
(Facilities Management Research Unit (FaMRU), 2026) Sewwandi, AI; Samarawickrama, S
Inclusive education has become a central priority within international development discourse and national education reform agendas in Sri Lanka. While policy frameworks consistently emphasise access, equity, and participation, the classroom environment is often treated as an assumed pedagogical backdrop rather than a critical condition for inclusive practice. This paper critically examines Sri Lankan inclusive education policy to reveal a conceptual gap in how learning facilities are articulated, arguing that inclusive classrooms must be explicitly framed as physical and material learning environments rather than implicitly assumed pedagogical spaces. The study adopts a literature-based comparative review of two key policy documents shaping inclusive education in Sri Lanka: the UNICEF Disability Inclusive Education Practices in Sri Lanka report (2021) and the National Education Policy Framework NEPF 2023 to 2033. These documents represent the country’s principal diagnostic assessment of inclusive education practices and its most recent national policy framework, enabling a comparison between evidentiary analysis and policy intent. By reframing learning facilities as inclusive class-room environments understood as the physical, spatial, infrastructural, and material conditions that enable or constrain educational participation, the review demonstrates that although both documents acknowledge the importance of learning environments, neither explicitly frames or operationalises learning facilities as inclusive classroom environments. The paper identifies a disjunction between diagnostic evidence and policy ambition and positions this reframing as a foundation for future field-based research on inclusive classroom environments in Sri Lanka.
item: Conference-Full-text
Post-consumer fashion disposal behaviour and its implications for circular facilities management: evidence from Sri Lankan gen z consumers
(Facilities Management Research Unit (FaMRU), 2026) Abeykoon, HGAN; Sendanayaka, SADNI; Jayasundara, JMDA; Warnakula, SHPJ; Jayathilake, J; Pathirana, G
Addressing the negative effects of fast fashion waste on the environment, this paper is intended to investigate post-consumer behaviour in fashion disposal practices. The research was conducted as a qualitative study, where participants were interviewed with semi-structured questions. The study examined Jacoby's Disposition Decision Model as a framework to investigate how the Sri Lankan Gen Z consumers dispose of their clothing, while exploring the factors that affect those decisions. The findings show that disposing of clothing is not a purely rational or environmentally conscious decision. Instead, it is influenced by everyday factors like cultural norms, sentimental attachment to clothing, inadequate infrastructure for disposal, and straightforward practicality. The study also presents a context-specific modification of Jacoby’s model, identifying six key context-specific disposal methods within the targeted population. The findings of this study will facilitate the stakeholders within the post-consumer waste ecosystem in Sri Lanka to form effective strategic decisions towards a circular economy.
item: Thesis-Abstract
Understanding the role of early marriage among rural community and its impacts on perpetuating rural poverty : a case study in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
(2026) Santhirasegaram, S; Rizvi , MN
In rural areas of Sri Lanka, early marriages have been steadily increasing, significantly affecting the social, economic, and cultural dynamics of these communities. Against this backdrop, the research aims to understanding the role of early marriage among rural community and its impacts on perpetuate rural poverty. The study was conducted in the Trincomalee district. The main focuses of this research are to examine whether and how early marriage influences rural community and hence effects perpetuating rural poverty within the Sri Lankan context, investigates the socio-cultural and economic effects of early marriage on rural women, and analyzes how the effects stemming from early marriage contribute to the persistence and deepening of rural poverty, thereby offering a holistic view of the interconnection between early marriage, poverty and rural planning.
This study used a mixed method for data collection. 03 villages in Trincomalee were selected in the rural setting, including 100 questionnaires, 25 in-depth interviews, 06 focus group discussions, 07 key informant interview and field survey. The data were analyzed using tools such as SPSS and Excel. The study finds that women who marry early in rural areas lose their human capital potential, social network, face unstable economic conditions, and are unable to meet their basic needs. They also experience intergenerational poverty, productivity and health risks, and struggle to access welfare social services, further hindering rural planning and development. In addition to these economic challenges, these women face various social and cultural obstacles. Among the women who married early, 63% were found to be in severe poverty, 11% in dependency poverty, 21% in the middle-income group, and 5% were economically stable. This indicates that early marriage has exacerbated the poverty situation in rural communities, with only a few families managing to escape poverty through their efforts. The research recommends increasing access to education in rural areas, improving economic opportunities, create vocational training programs tailored for rural girls to build their skills and economic independence, strictly enforcing laws and policies to prevent early marriage and its associated issues, providing sexual education to adolescent, conduct community-based workshops for adolescents, parents, and community leaders to increase awareness of the consequences of early marriage and encourage collective community responsibility in preventing early marriage and supporting at-risk girls, ensuring the continuous implementation and monitoring of existing policies and programs.