Browsing by Author "Hewawasam, C."

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5

Age-stratified norms for Raven's standard progressive matrices for Sri Lankan adults
(Psychology Press, 2024) Dassanayake, T.L.; Ariyasinghe, D.I.; Baminiwatta, A.; Hewawasam, C.
OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to create age-stratified norms for the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) for Sri Lankan adults.METHODS A sample of 610 adults (age: 18-72 years; education: 1-19 years), underwent the 60-item version of the SPM under individual supervision of a test administrator. The sample was stratified into 5-year age bands, and the norms are presented as percentile tables and percentile curves.RESULTS The age-related changes were more accurately predicted by a curvilinear model (overall R2 = 0.961) than a linear regression model (R2 = 0.639). The SPM norms are presented as age-stratified percentile tables, as well as sex-, age- and education-adjusted multiple regression equations. The highest percentiles in the younger end of the age spectrum showed a ceiling effect. In the context of age-stratified US (1993) and British (1992) norms, older individuals in the Sri Lankan sample scored much lower than their Western counterparts. However, the difference narrowed in the younger age bands, showing no difference among the 18-to-22-year age bands in the three countries.CONCLUSIONS This age-by-country interaction can be partly explained by poorer education in the older individuals in the present sample compared to those in the US and UK standardization samples. SPM norms presented in this paper fill a hiatus in assessment of general intellectual ability in Sri Lankan adults. Given that Sri Lanka improves its educational, socioeconomic and health standards faster than the nations who have already reached higher standards, these norms would require re-standardization in the coming decades.
Disappearing image of an urban space: an impact of residential conversions
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Hewawasam, C.
Investigate the spatial equity in the provision of urban parks
(University of Kelaniya, 2011) Hewawasam, C.
Spatial equity is an upcoming research area, and the aim of spatial equity research is to ascertain whether the distribution of public services is equitable and correlates with observed socio-economic spatial patterns, (Talen & Anselin, 1998). The achievement of equity in the provision of urban public facilities is a significant goal to urban planners in the preparation of urban development plans, to improve the quality of urban environment. This study focuses on the city of Dehiwala-Mt. Lavinia located in the Western Province of Sri Lanka, evaluating the spatial equity of the provision of urban parks. This is an initial attempt in evaluating the spatial equity of urban public facilities in a Sri Lankan context. In this paper, it attempts to highlight the importance of having an integrated equity measure, using accessibility as the core factor in achieving spatial equity in the provision of urban public facilities as planners have been unable to give a comprehensive evaluation for spatial equity in the provision of urban public facilities. Finally, spatial equity evaluation in the empirical study indicated that spatial equity of urban public facilities is more uneven for aggregated level than for the disaggregated level.
The role of urban waters in the human settlement development: case study – city of Colombo
(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Anandagoda, I.; Hewawasam, C.
Sex-, age- and education-adjusted norms for the WHO/UCLA version of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test for Sinhala-speaking Sri Lankan adults
(Swets Pub., 2020) Dassanayake, T.L.; Hewawasam, C.; Baminiwatta, A.; Samarasekara, N.; Ariyasinghe, D.I.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to create sex-, age- and education-adjusted norms for the WHO/UCLA version of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) for Sinhala-speaking Sri Lankan adults. METHODS: Five-hundred and sixty-one healthy, community-living adults (252 men), aged 19-83 years, and had 0-23 years of education completed the WHO/UCLA RAVLT in Sinhala language. We conducted multiple linear regression analyses with sex, age and years of education to predict RAVLT list A1-A5 individual trial scores; trials A1-A5 total learning; list B score; immediate and delayed recall and recognition trial scores; and retroactive interference. RESULTS: We report regression equations to predict RAVLT norms based on sex, age and years of education; and the test variances accounted by those variables. Accordingly, all measures, except retroactive interference had a significant age-related decline. All measures, except the recognition trial hits, significantly improved with more years of education. Women had significantly higher scores in all measures except in trial B and retroactive interference. Proactive interference, learning rate, learning over trials were not associated with sex, age or education. A confirmatory factor analysis loaded the RAVLT outcome measures into two factors: acquisition and retention. CONCLUSIONS: We report sex-, age- and education-adjusted WHO/UCLA RAVLT norms for Sinhala-speaking Sri Lankans aged 19-83 years; and supplement the regression formulae with a calculator that produces predicted and standard scores for given test participant. These norms would help clinicians accurately interpret individual test results, accounting for the variability introduced by sex, age and education. KEYWORDS: Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test; Sri Lanka; age; education; factor analysis; memory; neuropsychological test; norms; sex.