SLIIT Business school students hit yet another Benchmark in the realms of Academic Publications
A testimony to the unmatched and unparalleled quality of the education provided by SLIIT, an exemplary team of students, namely Ms. Inuri Yasara, Ms. Piyumi Jayasekara, Ms. Dewni Ruwanpura, and Ms. Sachindra Nambugoda have published a research paper in PLOS ONE, which is a high-ranked Scopus-indexed journal and classified under the top fourteen percent (14%) of the Scopus database (Q1 quartile) with Scopus Cite Score 5.6 and 350+ as H-index in Scimago.
SCOPUS is the world’s largest database of peerreviewed literature, managed by the esteemed Elsevier Publishing House and used by ranking and accreditation organizations. Accomplishing one such high score on the internationally recognized measure of the total impact of a scholar’s work is no simple achievement, so this marks a significant milestone for the institute as well as in one’s academic career, especially when the authors are still in the course of graduating.
The paper titled “Towards work-life balance or away? The impact of work from home factors on work-life balance among software engineers during Covid-19 pandemic” is based on a research project of the SLIIT Business School regular batch of 2022 and was further developed by SLIIT Business School Senior Lecturer Mr. Ranitha Weerarathna together with SLIIT Business School Lecturer Ms. Nilmini Rathnayake.
Offering a brief overview of the research, Senior Lecturer of SLIIT Business School Mr. Ranitha Weerarathna shared, “The study’s goal was to uncover factors that would have a significant impact on the work-life balance of software engineers in Sri Lanka who work from home. The study is significant in assisting IT service-induced economic growth in Sri Lanka by maintaining a well-balanced IT sector workforce, following the recommendation of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to embrace the permanent adoption of work from home in light of the key performance in earnings of services during Covid-19. The study findings are extremely beneficial for software engineers in determining which factors have the greatest impact on their work-life balance and taking the necessary steps to achieve this not only during Covid-19, but in the future as well. It was discovered that supervisor’s trust and support’ and ‘individual workspace’ have a significant impact on work-life balance, whereas ‘working conditions,’ possibility to access the organization’s networks,’ and ‘number of children’ have no such significant impact.”
Extending his gratitude to the SLIIT Business School, he continued: “This accomplishment was made possible by the collaboration of extraordinary, inspirational leadership and motivated scholars and researchers. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Prof. Samantha Thelijjagoda, Pro-Vice Chancellor (International and Research), the Dean of the SLIIT School of Business Prof. Suren Peter and the lecturers who guided the students for this achievement while encouraging them to conduct a fully quantitative study and for their commitment to excel”.
Ms. Inuri Yasara, Ms. Piyumi Jayasekara, Ms. Dewni Ruwanpura, and Ms. Sachindra Nambugoda were among the undergraduates who contributed to this research. The team added, “Being undergraduates, having able to achieve a publication in such a high-ranked journal, is a much significant accomplishment which we are quite proud and grateful about. The analysis of the study was carried out based on Partial
Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique using Smart PLS 3.3.9 software. This achievement would not have been possible without the guidance and support of our supervisor Mr. Ranitha Weerarathna and our cosupervisor Ms. Nilmini Rathnayake. We are much obliged for all the efforts they’ve put in to guide us towards this achievement.”
Dean of SLIIT Business School, Prof. Suren Peter extending his compliments to the faculty members and students who contributed to this significant accomplishment, stated, “I’d like to express my congratulations to the research team for their publication on work-life balance. The study is very topical considering the pressures employees faced in having to work from home during the recent pandemic, and simultaneously managing their families, in difficult circumstances. SLIIT Business School takes great pride that the research has been accepted for publication in a prestigious journal. While having a significant impact on business research, the ideas developed by SLIIT’s faculty also provide meaningful engagement with today’s social and environmental challenges. SLIIT has maintained its position as Sri Lanka’s premier research-driven business school due to its continuously growing and impactful research output over the past few years. We believe that this success exemplifies the intellectual prowess of our worldclass faculty and moves us closer to our goal of making significant intellectual contributions to the upliftment of our society. SLIIT is a top-tier institution committed to expanding the body of research knowledge through innovative study and ensuring that it has a positive impact on improving the quality of life of its stakeholders”