Browsing by Author "Rajapaksha, S."
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Item A study of the application of the Community Radio in the Sri Lankan Perspective; Based on Kothmale Community Radio(11th Annual Research Symposium, Faculty of Graduates Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2010) Jayasekara, A.H.D.; Jinadasa, M.P.K.; Rajapaksha, S.; Harath, D.B.; Somarathna, D.The objective of this study is to analysis of the impact of the Kothmale Community Radio towards its community. Problem is that why does community radio not function properly and what are the consequences that lead to collapse the Community radio. The Hypothesis The principle of the community radio has not been appropriately established. This study was carried out during the period of in 2010. Methodology has consisted both quantitative and qualitative approaches. In this, it was used survey study consisting 250 questionnaires, for Kothmale and villages which are closely situated behind the community radio. Participatory observation and interviewing were used as the qualitative tools. Findings reveal that at the early stage there was a great impact upon its community. In comparison to its beginning there is no consequential participation of the rural community for the radio and in return no greater advantage upon the rural mass at present. Nowadays, the impact of the national radio channels has been a wide practice rather community radio. No community participation as emphasized in its principle for the development of the community while, bigger political interferences which are channeled through the top to down political higher achy.Item Behavior & Biometrics Based Masquerade Detection Mobile Application(4th International Conference on Advances in Computing and Technology (ICACT ‒ 2019), Faculty of Computing and Technology, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Chandrasekara, P.; Rajapaksha, S.; Abeywardana, H.; Sanjeevan, P.; Abeywardena, K. Y.Mobile phone has become an important asset when it comes to personal security since one’s mobile is now a virtual safe for that person. This is due to the sensitivity of the details which are stored in these devices. To protect the information inside a mobile phone the manufacturers use conventional technologies such as password protection, face recognition or finger print protection. Nevertheless, it is clear that these security methods can be bypassed by several other techniques as shoulder surfing, finger print or face recognition by pass with 3D printing. Due to these concerns post authentication is an increasingly discussed topic in the security domain. However, there are very few applied researches done on the post authentication of mobile platforms. In order to protect the phone from an unauthorized user a novel method is proposed by the authors. The aim of the research is to detect the illegitimate user by monitoring the behavior of the user. In order to detect the behavior four main parameters are proposed. Namely, Key stroke dynamics using a customized keyboard, location detection, voice recognition and App usage. Initially machine learning is used to train this mobile application with the authentic user’s behavior and they are stored in a central database. After the initial training period the application is monitoring the usage comparing it with the existing data of the legitimate user. Another unique feature is the inbuilt prevention mechanism which is designed to be executed when an illegitimate user is detected. The entire storage content will be encrypted and a current location alert along with a captured photo of the intruder will be sent to a pre-defined account of the real user in a cloud platform. The real user can log into the account remotely and obtain the phone’s location and the photo of the intruder. Furthermore, this application is proposed as an inbuilt application in order to avoid the deletion of app or uninstallation of the app by the intruder. With this proposed post authentication application “AuthDNA”, a user is able to protect sensitive information of the mobile device in case of theft and bypassing of initial authentication.Item Emerging pesticides responsible for suicide in rural Sri Lanka following the 2008-2014 pesticide bans.(BioMed Central, 2020) Weerasinghe, M.; Pearson, M.; Konradsen, F.; Agampodi, S.; Sumith, J. A.; Jayamanne, S.; Senanayake, S. M. H. M. K.; Rajapaksha, S.; Eddleston, M.BACKGROUND: Sri Lanka has reduced its overall suicide rate by 70% over the last two decades through means restriction, through a series of government regulations and bans removing highly hazardous pesticides from agriculture. We aimed to identify the key pesticide(s) now responsible for suicides in rural Sri Lanka to provide data for further pesticide regulation. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of data collected prospectively during a cluster randomized controlled trial in the Anuradhapura district of Sri Lanka from 2011 to 16. The identity of pesticides responsible for suicides were sought from medical or judicial medical notes, coroners' records, and the person's family. Trend analysis was done using a regression analysis with curve estimation to identify relative importance of key pesticides. RESULTS: We identified 337 suicidal deaths. Among them, the majority 193 (57.3%) were due to ingestion of pesticides while 82 (24.3%) were due to hanging. A specific pesticide was identified in 105 (54.4%) of the pesticide suicides. Ingestion of carbosulfan or profenofos was responsible for 59 (56.2%) of the suicides with a known pesticide and 17.5% of all suicides. The increasing trend of suicides due to carbosulfan and profenofos over time was statistically significant (R square 0.846, F 16.541, p 0.027). CONCLUSIONS: Ingestion of pesticides remains the most important means of suicides in rural Sri Lanka. The pesticides that were once responsible for most pesticide suicides have now been replaced by carbosulfan and profenofos. Their regulation and replacement in agriculture with less hazardous pesticides will further reduce the incidence of both pesticide and overall suicides in rural Sri Lanka. KEYWORDS: Pesticide; Pesticide regulation; Self-poisoning; Sri Lanka; Suicide.Item The establishment of a population-specific reference value for the ruler drop test for the clinical assessment of reaction time(Elsevier, 2023) Rajapaksha, S.; Kitulwatte, I.; Senarathne, U.; Edirisinghe, A.; Perera, P.BACKGROUND: Reaction time (RT) is the interval between a stimulus and an appropriate voluntary response in an individual. Alcohol is known to result in delayed RT. In Sri Lanka, an alleged drunken driver is legally subjected to a medico-legal examination to confirm or exclude impairment. The guideline for examining a drunk person in Sri Lanka includes the ruler drop test (RDT) as a test of RT. RDT is a simple test of visual reaction time in which the subject attempts to stop a falling ruler, and the height fallen is used to determine the time taken to react to the event. However, a formal study has yet to be carried out to establish population-specific reference values to interpret RDT results. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using 903 adults ≥18 years. A nonparametric approach was applied for deriving the reference values based on an inter-percentile interval. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 56.6% females, and the mean age of the participants was 41.6 years. Most (95%) of the study population could catch the ruler at or less than 40.0 cm of average height. The average height on RDT increased from younger to older age groups. However, subgrouping based on other variables, including sex, age, and alcohol consumption, did not show any statistically significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: The population-specific cut-off limit to identify alcohol intoxication by RDT in a Sri Lankan adult is 'average height' >40 cm.Item Estimating the government health-care costs of treating pesticide poisoned and pesticide self-poisoned patients in Sri Lanka.(PA : Taylor & Francis, Philadelphia, 2019) Ahrensberg, H.; Madsen, L.B.; Pearson, M.; Weerasinghe, M.; Eddleston, M.; Jayamanne, S.; Hansen, K.S.; Ariyarathna, V.; Rajapaksha, S.; Konradsen, F.BACKGROUND: Pesticide self-poisoning as a method of suicide is a major global health problem. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the cost and per patient cost of treating pesticide self-poisoning at different hospital levels in a Sri Lankan district, and to examine the distribution of cost components. Another objective was to investigate changes in total cost of treatment of pesticide poisoning for all causes at different administrative levels in Sri Lanka in 2005 and 2015.METHODS: The economic framework was a costing analysis, adopting a government perspective. Cost data were collected prospectively over a 4-month period in 2016 for patients admitted for pesticide self-poisoning to six hospitals in the Anuradhapura District. Assumption-based scenario analyses were run to determine changes in total pesticide poisoning treatment costs. RESULTS: We included 67 self-poisoned patients in the study. The total cost of treatment was US$ 5,714 at an average treatment cost of US$ 85.3 (9.7-286.6) per patient (across all hospital levels). Hospital costs constituted 67% of the total cost for treating self-poisoning cases and patient-specific costs accounted for 29%. Direct cost of patient hospital transfer constituted the smallest share of costs (4%) but accounted for almost half of the total costs at primary level. The estimated total cost of treating all causes of pesticide poisoning in Sri Lanka was US$ 2.5 million or 0.19% of the total government health expenditure (GHE) in 2015. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that the average per patient cost of pesticide self-poisoning treatment has increased while the total cost of pesticide poisoning treatment as a percentage of the total GHE in Sri Lanka has declined over the past decade. A continuous focus on banning the most hazardous pesticides available would likely further drive down the cost of pesticide self-poisoning and pesticide poisoning to the government.Item Gatekeeper training for vendors to reduce pesticide self-poisoning in rural South Asia: a study protocol for a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial(BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, 2022) Weerasinghe, M.; Pearson, M.; Turner, N.; Metcalfe, C.; Gunnell, D.J.; Agampodi, S.; Hawton, K.; Agampodi, T.; Miller, M.; Jayamanne, S.; Parker, S.; Sumith, J.A.; Karunarathne, A.; Dissanayaka, K.; Rajapaksha, S.; Rodrigo, D.; Abeysinghe, D.; Piyasena, C.; Kanapathy, R.; Thedchanamoorthy, S.; Madsen, L.B.; Konradsen, F.; Eddleston, M.Introduction: Pesticide self-poisoning kills an estimated 110 000-168 000 people worldwide annually. Data from South Asia indicate that in 15%-20% of attempted suicides and 30%-50% of completed suicides involving pesticides these are purchased shortly beforehand for this purpose. Individuals who are intoxicated with alcohol and/or non-farmers represent 72% of such customers. We have developed a 'gatekeeper' training programme for vendors to enable them to identify individuals at high risk of self-poisoning (gatekeeper function) and prevent such individuals from accessing pesticides (means restriction). The primary aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the gatekeeper intervention in preventing pesticide self-poisoning in Sri Lanka. Other aims are to identify method substitution and to assess the cost and cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Methods and analysis: A stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial of a gatekeeper intervention is being conducted in rural Sri Lanka with a population of approximately 2.7 million. The gatekeeper intervention is being introduced into 70 administrative divisions in random order at each of 30 steps over a 40-month period. The primary outcome is the number of pesticide self-poisoning cases identified from surveillance of hospitals and police stations. Secondary outcomes include: number of self-poisoning cases using pesticides purchased within the previous 24 hours, total number of all forms of self-harm and suicides. Intervention effectiveness will be estimated by comparing outcome measures between the pretraining and post-training periods across the divisions in the study area. The original study protocol has been adapted as necessary in light of the impact of the COVID-19. Ethics and dissemination: The Ethical Review Committee of the Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Rajarata University, Sri Lanka (ERC/2018/30), and the ACCORD Medical Research Ethics Committee, Edinburgh University (18-HV-053) approved the study. Results will be disseminated in scientific peer-reviewed journals.Item A probe on the concept of pragmatic communication of the Buddha(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Dhammaratana himi, I.; Rajapaksha, S.; Gamage, A.K.Item Risk factors associated with purchasing pesticide from shops for self-poisoning: a protocol for a population-based case-control study(British Medical Association, 2015) Weerasinghe, M.; Konradsen, F.; Eddleston, M.; Pearson, M.; Gunnell, D.; Hawton, K.; Jayamanne, S.; Pabasara, C.; Jayathilaka, T.; Dissanayaka, K; Rajapaksha, S.; Thilakarathna, P.; Agampodi, S.INTRODUCTION: Pesticide self-poisoning is one of the most frequently used methods of suicide worldwide, killing over 300,000 people annually. Around 15-20% of pesticide self-poisonings occur soon after the person has bought the pesticide from a shop. We aim to determine the characteristics of individuals who purchase pesticides directly from shops and how they differ from individuals who access pesticides from other sources such as home, home garden or farmland. This information will help inform possible vendor/shop-based intervention strategies aimed at reducing access to pesticides used for self-harm. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study will investigate risk factors associated with purchasing pesticides for acts of self-poisoning from pesticide shops, including cases identified over a 9-month period using a population-based case-control group approach. Four interviewer-administered data collection tools will be used for this study: a semistructured questionnaire, Beck Suicidal Intent Scale (SIS), Clinical Interview Schedule-Sinhalese version (CIS-Sn) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Each case (expected n=33) will be compared with two groups of individuals: (1) those who have self-poisoned using pesticides from the home, home garden or farmland and (2) those who bought pesticides from the same shops as the above cases, but not did not self-poison. Logistic regression models will be used to identify risk factors of purchasing pesticides for self-poisoning from shops. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has received ethical approval from the Ethical Review Committee of the Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka. A sensitive data collection technique will be used and ethical issues will be considered throughout the study. Results will be disseminated in scientific peer-reviewed articles. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.Item A study of the application of the Community Radio in the Sri Lankan Perspective; Based on Kothmale Community Radio(Research Symposium 2010 - Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2010) Jinadasa, W.W.M.P.K.; Rajapaksha, S.; BandaraHerath, D.; Somorathne, D.; Jayasekara, D.The objective of this study is to analysis of the impact of the Kothmale Community Radio towards its community. Problem is that why does community radio not function properly and what are the consequences that lead to collapse the Community radio. The Hypothesis The principle of the community radio has not been appropriately established. This study was carried out during the period of in 2010. Methodology has consisted both quantitative and qualitative approaches. In this, it was used survey study consisting 250 questionnaires, for Kothmale and villages which are closely situated behind the community radio. Participatory observation and interviewing were used as the qualitative tools. Findings reveal that at the early stage there was a great impact upon its community. In comparison to its beginning there is no consequential participation of the rural community for the radio and in return no greater advantage upon the rural mass at present. Nowadays, the impact of the national radio channels has been a wide practice rather community radio. No community participation as emphasized in its principle for the development of the community while, bigger political interferences which are channeled through the top to down political higherachy.Item A Study of the Circulation of Electronic Obscene Communication in Sri Lanka (With Special Reference to Internet and Compact discs)(University of Kelaniya, 2007) Jinadasa, M.P.K.; Rajapaksha, S.Obscene media gives a rapid expansion in Sri Lanka at present. The major reason behind this situation is the inability to access an open discourse of the sexuality and reproductive health education. Some of the technological improvements also affect this matter directly. These rapid circulations of pornographic communication have created certain sociocultural infections. A society of perverted sexual desires can be formed as a result of this condition. Insufficiency of relevant objective studies of this subject has increased this problem. Mobile phone as a current technological tool of communication is more crucial in disseminating this type of photographical texts. There is a trend in exclusive obscene visuals by using high technological camera facilities and sending them to varieties of audiences without any restriction. Phonographic length films can be abbreviated to a 2-3- minutes and putting them into mobile phones is a recent tendency. It is accessible for any sort of audiences. This has created a social issue. In this paper it is concerned to study the prevalent socio- cultural threats and to make a proper communicative programme in order to make awareness among the vulnerable groups.Item A Study of the Humor Character Analysis in the Sri Lankan Cinema(University of Kelaniya, 2007) Rajapaksha, S.There was humor in media and entertainment for decades. Cinema extended this tradition. in the early period humor in Cinema contributed to the entertainment we see this early in the period of the silent Cinema. Charley Chaplin has devoted his genius in order to create such a humourous feeling over the audience. He made deep philosophical analysis of life by using comedy and humourous acting. The same trend is seen in Sri Lankan Cinema from its initial period up to now. SouthIndian film, Sanskrit drama and Sinhala Nadagama have provided the background for the development of humor .in Sri Lankan Cinema. But the First Comedy roles were very conventional and failed to establish a local identity. It is very important to notice the role of that humorous character have played in Sri Lankan realistic Cinematic. Laughing, Smiling Criticizing Human foolishly, using double entendre, were some of the features that were used to make. This has not helped to build . a proper analysis of human behavior or provide sophisticated entertainment.Item අනගාරික ධර්මපාලතුමා භාවිත කළ සන්නිවේදන ක්රමවේද පිළිබඳ අධ්යයනයක්(Department of Mass Communication, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Rajapaksha, S.; Nandasiri, A.; Sajeewanie, K.Item ජාතික උරුමය, රූපවාහිනී මාධ්යය භාවිතය හා දේශපාලනය(University of Kelaniya, 2007) Rajapaksha, S.; Namalgamuwa, H.; Adikari, G.; Gunawardhana, P.Item නකල්ස් කඳුකරය ආශ්රිත ප්රදේශයේ සාම්ප්රදායික චාරිත්ර වාරිත්ර පිලිබඳ විමර්ශනයක්(University of Kelaniya, 2005) Rajapaksha, S.Item ප්රවෘත්ති හා ප්රවෘත්ති වාර්තාකරණය(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Rajapaksha, S.Item පාරිසරික පසුබිම සහ අතීත සමාජයේ ආරක්ෂිතභාවය: දුම්බර කඳුවැටිය ඇසුරින්(University of Kelaniya, 2006) Rajapaksha, S.Item පුවත්පතේ සමාජ වගකීම හා ප්රවෘත්ති වාර්තාකරණය(University of Kelaniya, 2006) Rajapaksha, S.Item ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ගුවන් විදුලිය කෙරෙහි එල්. සරත් පෙරේරා කමිටු වාර්තාව සිදු කරනු ලබන බලපෑම පිළිබඳ අධ්යයනයක්(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Rajapaksha, S.