53 research outputs found
A Buddhist approach to knowledge construction and education in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in the context of colonisation and southern theory
No full textThis paper examines knowledge construction and education informed by Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and their subordination to Western knowledge construction and education during the British colonial period. Taking the writings of a bilingual Buddhist scholar-philosopher on Buddhist concepts, approach and theory as the basis, the author considers how they can be used for transforming contemporary education characterised by self assertion and self actualisation. The author is critical of the rationalist-empirical approach to education advocated and adopted by modern social sciences. As an alternative, the paper presents details of virtuous form of education based on Buddhist values, ethics and contemplation capable of addressing issues facing individuals and societies.peer-reviewe
MICFuzzy : a maximal information content based fuzzy approach for reconstructing genetic networks
No full textIn systems biology, the accurate reconstruction of Gene Regulatory Networks (GRNs) is crucial since these networks can facilitate the solving of complex biological problems. Amongst the plethora of methods available for GRN reconstruction, information theory and fuzzy concepts-based methods have abiding popularity. However, most of these methods are not only complex, incurring a high computational burden, but they may also produce a high number of false positives, leading to inaccurate inferred networks. In this paper, we propose a novel hybrid fuzzy GRN inference model called MICFuzzy which involves the aggregation of the effects of Maximal Information Coefficient (MIC). This model has an information theory-based pre-processing stage, the output of which is applied as an input to the novel fuzzy model. In this preprocessing stage, the MIC component filters relevant genes for each target gene to significantly reduce the computational burden of the fuzzy model when selecting the regulatory genes from these filtered gene lists. The novel fuzzy model uses the regulatory effect of the identified activator-repressor gene pairs to determine target gene expression levels. This approach facilitates accurate network inference by generating a high number of true regulatory interactions while significantly reducing false regulatory predictions. The performance of MICFuzzy was evaluated using DREAM3 and DREAM4 challenge data, and the SOS real gene expression dataset. MICFuzzy outperformed the other state-of-the-art methods in terms of F-score, Matthews Correlation Coefficient, Structural Accuracy, and SS_mean, and outperformed most of them in terms of efficiency. MICFuzzy also had improved efficiency compared with the classical fuzzy model since the design of MICFuzzy leads to a reduction in combinatorial computation. Copyright: © 2023 Nakulugamuwa Gamage et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Study on introducing guidelines to prepare a data protection policy
No full textOver the past several decades, "Information Technology" has become the primary
technology that affects everyone in the modern world in their day-to-day lives. As the role
played by "information" in organizing, controlling, facilitating and managing a person's life
became ever more pronounced, the impact of information technology on individuals and
society also became more significant in its depth and far reaching in its breadth. In the
modern technologically-enhanced world we live in today, information technology had been
able to make a very positive impact by making our lives more enriching through the
availability of a myriad of services and capabilities tailor-made to our individual needs and
preferences.
Among these many and varied benefits of information technology lies certain critical factors
that could create negative outcomes. Main among these disadvantages is the possible
harmful effects on privacy of people. Beginning with the new millennium, Sri Lanka has
been on an accelerated program to bring information technology to nearly every aspect of a
citizen's life with special emphasis on public sector services led by the e-Sri Lanka initiative
of the government and the private sector services in banking and finance, insurance,
telecommunication, education, trade and commerce, etc. The government has given due
recognition to strengthen the legal framework for use of information technology in public
life through the enactment of legislation such as Electronic Transactions Act of 2006 and
Computer Crimes Act of 2007 that provide the laws and legal procedures for effective and
correct use of technology.
In addition to these new laws, the government has amended many other laws, rule and
regulations to accommodate information technology and its many capabilities for
improvement in services and process as well as in providing new services and other
capabilities for the benefit of the citizens and the country. Also, both the government as well
as the private sector in Sri Lanka have successfully implemented many initiatives to improve
the information technology skills and literacy level of users. An important outcome of all
these developments in technology, legislation, training, services, etc has been the ever
expending collection, processing and storage of data pertaining to individuals and
transactions that could have a significant impact on the privacy concerns of citizens. The
globally prevalent approach to address such privacy concerns has been the formulation and
enactment of legislation that are termed as "data protection laws" along with supporting
procedures and mechanisms for law implementation.
While it can be seen that a clear need exists for data protection laws in Sri Lanka through
comparison with other countries and considering the accelerated growth in information
technology and associated services; the extent of the need for a data protection law, the
parameters of importance in such a law and the guideline that should be considered in the
formulation of the law have not been systemically studied before. The research work
presented in this thesis seeks to address this lacuna through a focused study on finding
factors to be considered while preparing a data protection policy suitable for the Sri Lankan
context. The research methodology was based on an empirical study using a sample of
companies covering a broad spectrum of applications and services that collect, process and
store data with potential privacy impacts. The research studied existing practices impacting data protection (both positively and negatively) as well as issues faced by management
while protecting data.
The research found that certain widely practiced acts of organizations seen to be
commercially expedient could lead to serious information privacy violations to primary
owners of data. Also, the research showed a focus on data protection primarily through
company policy based approaches bereft of technological means such as data encryption that
would facilitate vigorous enforcement of those policies. Another important finding of the
research is the unintentional violation of data privacy by organization through the
unregulated actions of employees. The author expects the research findings presented in this
thesis to contribute to the knowledge area of information privacy concerns in Sri Lanka and
to assist in future research work related to the area of data and privacy protection
Changing Patterns of Anthropology and Sociology Practices in Sri Lanka in the Context of Debates on Northern and Southern Theory
No full textFormer British colony Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) developed the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya as a model for the region. Its academic staff in the Social Sciences had their intellectual roots in the British or US traditions of scholarship due to their postgraduate training and research in these countries. Up to the early 1970s, there was a thriving academic atmosphere along with knowledge production and dissemination activities but this started to deteriorate with the socio-economic and political changes, changes in the language of instruction and the composition of the student body. A brain drain contributed to the creation of a different practitioner community of Anthropologists and Sociologists in the universities whose focus was more inward looking. Its links to Western traditions of scholarship also became weaker. Being a participant in this process from early 1970s up to the mid 1980s, the author uses his reflections and experiences to recount the changing nature of Anthropology and Sociology practice, theoretical emphasis, players involved, and the role of two research centres established outside the university system. The paper looks at the views of three Sri Lankan Anthropologists and Sociologists who have expressed concerns about the changing nature of teaching practices and constructed reality in Sri Lankan universities. The author connects these with the ongoing debate about Northern vs. Southern theory and prospects of alternative knowledge production articulated by Raewyn Connell
A comprehensive guide to the English-language literature on Cannabis (Marihuana)
No full textOver 800 references, arranged under author and subject sections. Annotations included only in author section. Covers every significant discipline concerned with marihuana. Author index
The Concept of Sustainability in the Hybrid Hotel Industry : A Case Study of VALO Hotel & Work in Helsinki
No full textThis qualitative research-based thesis is focused on how the concept of sustainability is shown in the hybrid hotel industry, primarily using VALO Hotel & Work as a case study. Having years of work experience at the company, the author was determined to focus her research on a topic on which she could offer unique insights. This thesis aims to analyse how the sustainability practices initiated by VALO Hotel & Work have resulted in its performance, how those practices have impacted its stakeholders, and how the hotel would survive through the opportunities and challenges it comes across.
The theoretical framework consists of several key ideas, such as the concept of sustainability, how the hospitality industry can integrate sustainable measures into its businesses, sustainable practices initiated by VALO, third-party certifications that assess sustainable practices, and the opportunities and setbacks for the hotel that may affect its future. These concepts were thoroughly explained and amalgamated to create the content with relevance.
Carried out between August 2025 and November 2025, the study was implemented through secondary analysis and semi-structured interviews. Peer-reviewed textbooks, reliable websites, and previous studies were mainly utilised for the secondary analysis, whereas the interviews were conducted with significant stakeholders of VALO Hotel & Work.
The author was able to approach a set of conclusions, in which the research questions were answered, and the results were further discussed along with some practical issues that the author viewed as suitable for addressing
Identifying the gaps in infection prevention and control resources for long-term care facilities in British Columbia
No full textBackground: Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a critical, although often neglected, part of long- term care (LTC) management. Little is known about what IPC resources are available for LTC and how that impacts patient care and safety.
Methods: One hundred eighty-eight LTC facilities were randomly selected out of all British Columbia facilities and surveyed using a validated survey tool. The tool was used to collect data regarding IPC resources grouped within 6 indices: (1) leadership, (2) infection control professionals (ICP) coverage, (3) policies and procedures, (4) support through partnerships, (5) surveillance, and (6) control activities. All components measured have been identified as key for an effective IPC program. Survey responses were used to calculate scores for IPC programs as a whole and for each of the 6 indices.
Results: Of 188 randomly selected facilities, 86 institutions participated. Facilities were compared by region, funding source, and ICP coverage. Overall, LTC facilities lacked IPC leadership, especially physician support. Having no dedicated ICP was associated with poorer scores on all indices. Only 41% of practicing ICPs had more than 2 years experience, and only 14% were professionally certified. Twenty-two percent of ICPs had additional roles within the institution, and 44% had additional roles outside of the institution. Thirty-five percent of institutions had no IPC dedicated budget.
Discussion: LTC institutionsdwith bed numbers exceeding those in acute caredrepresent an important aspect of health services. These data show that many LTC facilities lack the necessary resources to provide quality infection control programs.Peer reviewedFinal article publishedInfection controlResourcesLong-term car
Where the speed matters : Zero-response-time search engine for small collections
No full textUsers with slow internet connections experience slow retrieval
of results in web catalogues. JavaScript search engines can be used to enable
client side search, reducing the load on the server, and increasing the response
time. However, it is not a popular method until now, because of various reasons
including limitation of number of data objects and lengthier response time for
the first search. Here the author suggests negotiating the issue of response
delay with the user. This would enable high speed basic search in small
catalogues, usually with less than 300 data objects. Larger catalogues can be
divided into smaller ones. Special or rare collections, multimedia artifacts and
subject (web) directories are prospective candidates for this type of search
systems. A prototype catalogue of ‘Sri Lankan Web Sites’ was tested in
www.srilankasupersearch.com. Users’ behavior and response to the system is
yet to be studied
The Pearly Gates: A collection of science fiction short stories
No full textWhen Saint Peter passes through the pearly gates, he is confronted with a profound dilemma. By the year 2100, Earth stands on the brink of extinction, and humanity as a whole seeks admission to heaven. However, in accordance with the admission criteria of heaven, every individual is entitled to enter, potentially overwhelming the heavenly supply chain. Can Saint Peter find a solution?To discover the answer and enjoy an additional 14 captivating short stories, delve into this book. While it falls under the umbrella of science fiction, it offers a unique twist. The author delves deep into the realm of science itself, moving beyond the familiar territories of aliens and time travel. This book is crafted to cater to both science enthusiasts and those less versed in scientific matters.Chamara Panakaduwa, a proud product of the University of Salford, the University of Bedfordshire, and Birmingham City University, presents this distinct creation for aficionados of science fiction as well as casual readers. The book's distinctive flavour is its infusion of the concept of sustainability, a personal favourite of the author
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