International Postgraduate Research Conference (IPRC)
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Item Open Educational Resources (OER) and Social Media (SM) for Academic Information Seeking at Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya(International Postgraduate Research Conference 2019, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Hettige, S.; Wickramaarachchi, G.K.; Dasanayaka, I.P.E.U.; Ediriweera, E.P.D.S.Use of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Social media (SM) for academic information seeking is a common practice among modern undergraduates. There are limited data in Sri Lanka on OER and SM use as educational tools. This study aimed to evaluate the use of OER and SM for academic purposes among the medical students at Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya. We undertook a cross sectional study at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya. Stratified sampling with proportional allocation was used to select students from each batch and 287 students were recruited from 1st to 5th year. Informed written consent was obtained and a self-administered questionnaire was given. The questionnaire consisted of questions on OER and SM use in academic activities along with the frequency of usage. 257completed questionnaires were analyzed. Of 257 (89.6%) respondents, 185 (72.0%) were females. The OER and SM use in education were 92.5% (95%CI: 89.3% - 95.8%) and 89.0% (95%CI: 85.2% - 92.6%) respectively. Both findings were not significantly different by gender or between academic years. The reasons for using OER in education included: the availability of information at any time (38.1%), easiness to search (33.9%), availability of detailed information (17.3%) and updated information (7.2%). Wiki sites (89.0%) were the most popular OER followed by Slide Share (37.2%) and e-journals (20.3%). 3.8% participated in medical forums. 53.4% believed information in wikis are reliable. Facebook (79.8%) was the commonest SM platform followed by YouTube (60.3%) and Google+ (50.2%). 79.0% used SM to follow the medical related web sites. 76.3% used SM to join education groups. 41.2% used SM in academic discussions and sharing information with group of foreign students. 35.8% could not find academic information via SM due to the information overload. 31.1% mentioned that the SM disturbed concentration on their academic works. 12.5% did not trust the contents in SM. Students also searched the web to find the information. 58.9% trusted the information without considering the source and only 36.4% specifically searched the information in educational and government related sites. Majority of students have used OER and SM for academic purposes. Wiki sites and Facebook were the most popular OER site and SM platform among students. Majority students trusted the information found on web search without considering the credibility of sources. E-journals are not popular among students. The majority had followed the medical related web sites and joined educational groups via SM. Disturbances to academic works and difficulty in finding accurate information were major concerns in using SM. This study highlights the importance of improving information literacy among the medical studentsItem Using Google Analytics to Enhance the Quality and Layout of a University Website: A Case Study(International Postgraduate Research Conference 2019, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Solangaarachchige, M.B.; Madushani, J.A.P.; Hettiarachchi, W.G.; Ediriweera, E.P.D.S.A university website plays a significant role in showcasing the culture of the university, academic achievements and study programmes. The objective of this case study is to use Google Analytics data effectively to revamp the website of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya. Google Analytics records web traffic and performance data which can be used to identify the areas to improve a web site, however, this information does not indicate the ways to improve a website. Hence three hypotheses were developed to make effective modifications based on the Google Analytics reports. Hypothesis 1 is to restructure the Home page to enhance pageviews. Hypothesis 2 is to lessen the page depth to increase user retention on the page. Hypothesis 3 is to improve responsiveness to attract more mobile visitors. This section presents results according to the Old Website (OW) versus New Website (NW) for a period of 6 months (April to November 2018 vs 2019). Page interaction from Landing page as Home to visited pages were identified in Student notices (SN) (4 vs 0) and Staff directory (SD) (4 vs 2). Furthermore, pageviews for the SN (42,173 (15.6%) vs 53,478 (16.6%)) and SD of the department sites (23,417 (8.7%) vs 4,427 (1.4%)) were examined. Further, News and Events (4,180 (1.6%) vs 6,806 (2.1%)), Academic programmes (3,358 (1.2%) vs 5,703 (1.8%)), Research (538 (0.2%) vs (1,611 (0.5%)) and About Us pages (273 (0.1%) vs 2,465 (0.8%)) were visited. We also explored Page depths (3.78 vs 3.20), Average session durations (02:53 vs 02:40), Average time on page (01:02 vs 01:13) and Bouncing rates (55.1% vs 64.8%). Users visited the website using desktops (12,003 (61.9%) vs 10,983 (34.4%)), mobiles (6,178 (31.9%) vs 19,331 (60.6%)) and tablets (1,210 (6.2%) vs 1,597 (5.0%)). First hypothesis was assessed with views to restructured home page. We observed an increase in views for SN, News and Events, Academic programmes, Research and About Us pages. Decrement of pageviews to SD by individual department sites may due to visitors directly referred to SD via home page rather than via department sites. Therefore, we concluded that the first hypothesis is satisfied. Second hypothesis was assessed with Average time on a page. There we observed an increment. However, there was a decrease in Average session duration and Bouncing rate. It indicates that the visitors find the results they seek through the landing page. Therefore, we concluded that the second hypothesis is satisfied. Third hypothesis was assessed with device type. We observed an increase in mobile users. Nevertheless, there was an increment of overall users. Therefore, we concluded that the third hypothesis is satisfied. The overall review of Google Analytics pre and post-revamping data explains the increase in pageviews, user retention and user attractionItem Implementation of an Online Histopathology Reporting System in the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Hettiarachchi, W.G.; Ediriweera, E.P.D.S.; Mahendra, B.A.G.G.; Liyanage, S.K.; Hewavinsenthi, S.J.D.S.; Ratnayake, R.M.U.S.The Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya provides histopathology reporting for the Colombo North Teaching Hospital (NCTH) as an honorable service. The department currently uses a standalone Microsoft access database to generate reports and it has limited data retrieval capabilities. A newer system was required to address the issues faced, mainly a prolonged turnaround time caused by lack of clinical data, inability to track delays in sample processing, delays in data entry and report dispatch. More efficient data retrieval for research purposes and monitoring of postgraduate training were also considered important. The aim of the work was to implement anonline histopathology reporting system that has facility to track the reporting stage, postgraduate evaluation and data retrieval for researches. Every report is attached with a diagnostic code that can be used in research purposes. A web-based application was developed that has ability to capture data at each step from specimen receiving from the surgery theatre until dispatch of reports. The system has developed to easily customizable to different settings. Thus, it has facility to add new reporting templates, anatomical sites, surgical specimens or diagnostic codes to system through web forms. Data entry was facilitated by using drop down menus and prompts. Standard templates for reports with option to edit were uploaded enabling quick report generation. It facilitates postgraduate supervision by enabling the trainer to determine the time taken, quality and quantity of work done by the trainees. Mainly open source scripting languages and databases were used to developed the system: PHP, HTML 5, CSS Javascript, Ajax and MySQL. The system hosted on the faculty intranet and available 24/7 from anywhere at the faculty. The system supports both windows and androids operating systems and the system can be accessed in desktop and tablet computers using any commonly used modern web browsers.Item Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Cloud Storage among the Medical Students at Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya(19th Conference on Postgraduate Research, International Postgraduate Research Conference 2018, Faculty of Graduate Studies,University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Hettige, S.; Hettiarachchi, W.G.; Solangaarachch, D.I.K.; Dasanayaka, I.P.E.U.; Ediriweera, E.P.D.S.The rise of the healthcare spending on cloud services indicates the adaptation of the cloud technology in recent past. The aim of this study is to assess the attitudes and practice of cloud storage (CS) among the students at Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya. Stratified sampling with proportional allocation was used to select students. Number of students selected from 1st to 5th year were 46, 49, 47, 50 and 43 respectively. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data after obtaining written informed consent. 261 returned questionnaires and 26 were removed due to incompleteness. Of 235, 75 (32%) were male students. 138 (59%) students were aware of CS, among them, 127 (92%) had used CS. 126 (54%) students believed CS is useful and 121(52%) students have used CS to save materials, among them (53%) for educational material, (36%) for personal information and (11%) for entertainment material. Among the students who were aware of CS, the main limiting factors of using CS were lack of time (40%) and knowledge (20%) and they were also concerned on limited accessibility (33%), lack of security (27%) and privacy (24%) in CS. Among the 41% who were not aware of CS, 74% mentioned that they would like to have training on CS and another 22% indicated that they are not interested on CS. The majority of students were aware of CS and lack of time and knowledge hinder CS usage. The accessibility, security and privacy are the main concerns about CS. Study shows majority of students are willing to learn on CS and teaching CS during undergraduate training would be beneficial to the students.Item Individual risk factors of snakebites in Sri Lankan community(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Ediriweera, E.P.D.S.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Kasturiratne, A.; Gunawardana, N.K.; Jayamanne, S.F.; de Silva, H.J.; Diggle, P.J.Sri Lanka has 92 identified snake species, and one of the highest snakebite incidence (SBI) rates in the world. According to hospital statistics about 37,000 patients are admitted to government hospitals annually as a result of snakebite. The aim of the present study is to identify individual risk factors for snakebite in Sri Lanka. Methodology A community-based island-wide study (―National Snakebite Study‖) was conducted in all nine provinces of Sri Lanka, with 5,000 households sampled in each province. All the residents of the selected households were included. One-year recall data for all permanent residents of that particular household was obtained regarding the experience of snakebite. Generalized linear models were used to model SBI. Individual-level gender, age, ethnicity, religion, income, education and employment were included as explanatory variables. Statistical analysis used the R programming language. Statistical significance was assessed at the 0.01 level. Results and conclusions Out of 125,391 participants, 63,604 (50.7%) were males. There was no SBI difference amongst 10-year interval age groups from 30 to 59, hence these three age groups were collapsed. High SBI was observed in the age 30-59 year group compared to age less than 20 (P<0.001), 20 to 29 (P<0.001), 60 to 69 (P<0.003) and over 70 (P<0.007), with lower SBI in the two extreme age groups. Males had higher SBI compared to females (P<0.001). Field workers had higher SBI compared to non-field workers (P<0.001). Ethnicity and income showed a significant interaction. Low income non-Sinhalese had high SBI compared to middle income (Rs. 5000-19,999, P<0.001) and high income (Rs.>20,000, P=0.001) non- Sinhalese, whereas Sinhalese had high SBI irrespective of their income status. In summary, the high risk categories for snakebites are males, field workers, 30 – 60 year individuals, Sinhalese and low income non-Sinhalese.