Blockchain-based roaming and offload service platform for local 5G operators

Abstract. 5G is the latest generation of mobile networks which will be deployed based on network softwarization concept. It will enable Local 5G Operator (L5GO) concept which is one of the most prominent versatile applications of the 5G in the near future. The unique locality features of L5GOs will be useful in many use cases such as smart cities, industrial internet and healthcare. The popularity of L5GOs will trigger more and more number of roaming and offloading opportunities between mobile users. However, existing static and the operator-assisted roaming and offloading procedures are inefficient for L5GO ecosystem. To address these challenges, we propose a blockchain / Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) based service platform for the L5GOs to facilitate efficient roaming and offload services. We introduce several novel features, namely, universal wallet for subscribers, service quality based L5GO rating system, user-initiated roaming process and the roaming fraud prevention system. Blockchain-based smart contract scheme is proposed to establish dynamic and automated agreements between operators. A prototype of the proposed platform is emulated with the Ethereum blockchain platform and Rinkeby Testnet to evaluate the performance and justify the feasibility of the proposal

Ergodic theorems for transient one-dimensional diffusions

For one-dimensional diffusions X that drift off to + ∞ we give conditions on a set B and the drift and diffusion coefficients of X for (1/t)∫t0 IB(X(u))du to converge w.p.l as t → ∞

Modelling and Forecasting the Unit Cost of Electricity Generated by Fossil Fuel Power Plants in Sri Lanka

The national grid system which is evolved to deliver electricity must be always kept in balance so that it must have a sufficient production to meet the demand of electricity while minimizing the generation cost. This study presents a statistical time series model for forecasting the Unit Cost (UC) of generation of electricity in fossil fuel power plants by using two approaches namely Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and time series regression. This is conducted as a case study in a Diesel/Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) power plant in Sri Lanka which consists of two sub stations. ARIMA (1,1,0) and ARIMA (2,1,2) were selected as the best models with the lowest Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) under the ARIMA model approach while two dynamic regression models with coefficient of determination (R2) value 0.55 were selected under time series regression approach for Station 1 and Station 2 respectively. The regression model was identified as the best forecasting method for two stations with the minimum Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The forecasts of the future generation cost of electricity are extensively helpful for the national grid system for financial and capacity planning, fuel management and operational planning

Irrigation and drainage in the new millennium

Presented at the 2000 USCID international conference, Challenges facing irrigation and drainage in the new millennium on June 20-24 in Fort Collins, Colorado.Includes bibliographical references.Climate potential in respect to onset, magnitude and risk associated with rainfall for crop production in the Nilwala basin, Southern Sri Lanka was assessed using the daily rainfall of 12 stations scattered in different locations for more than 35 consecutive years (1950-1995). The program CROPWAT was used to assess the irrigation need. It was revealed that rainfall of the basin increases from south to north with increasing elevation and altitude. Within a 70-km distance in the south north gradient, rainfall elevates from 1656 mm at Kekanadura to 4216 mm at Kudawa. The net irrigation requirement of Yala rice in different locations varied from 1012 mm to 1246 mm. It was established that the irrigation need in the Nilwala upper catchment is below 40 % of the total water requirement, but in downstream areas it constitutes above 70% of the total water demand. Therefore both the Yala and Maha seasons in Nilwala downstream areas appeared to be unsuitable for rice cultivation without supplementary irrigation. From April 10th onward until May 20th is the best period for establishment of perennial crops at upper catchment areas. Optimum dates for crop establishment at the mid and lower part of the catchment falls on the 14th meteorological week. It is important to note that delaying crop establishment in Yala by 2 or 3 weeks from the optimum date would result in a considerable increase of irrigation need even in the upper catchment areas; it is not advisable to delay the establishment of Maha rice until October when rice varieties off our month duration are cultivated

Tsunami impacts on shallow groundwater and associated water supply on the East Coast of Sri Lanka: a post-tsunami well recovery support initiative and an assessment of groundwater salinity in three areas of Batticaloa and Ampara Districts

Groundwater, Aquifers, Salinity, Natural disasters, Water supply, Drinking water, Wells, Rehabilitation, Mosquitoes, Disease vectors, Environmental Economics and Policy, Health Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Reflection of university extra-curricular activities of a candidate in employee selection: a descriptive study of HRM related jobs

The main purpose of this study was to identify whether there is a significant value given to the graduates who have engaged in university extracurricular activities in the selection process for a Human Resource Management related job. Further, the current study was designed to identify the industry perception about graduates those who have engaged in extracurricular activities, and who did not. This is a cross sectional descriptive research in nature. A standard questionnaire was used to collect the primary data through a survey. The respondents were the professionals who are directly engaging in the selection process selected from 40 private sector organizations in Sri Lanka. Descriptive statistics, paired sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data and make conclusions. Findings revealed that the private sector organizations significantly believe that graduates who have engaged in university extracurricular activities might have developed more skills, good personal qualities and other relevant employability behaviors than graduates those who haven't engaged. Thought the belief was that, further, it was identified the engagement in extracurricular activities is not a significant reason to get selected for a HR related job in the industry. It was found that the perception regarding undergraduates who have not engaged in extracurricular activities is not varying from industry to industry. But, findings revealed that the perception, and the given due recognition for undergraduates who have engaged in extracurricular activities is industry specific.</span

Global Economic Slowdown: Macroeconomic Impact and Policy Options for SEACEN Countries

The synchronised economic downturn in the U.S., Euro area and Japan in 2001, mainly caused by a correction in the global IT sector and the events of September 2001, sharply reduced the export demand in most SEACEN countries causing deterioration in external trade activities. The resulting economic contraction in most SEACEN countries demonstrated the vulnerability of these countries to external trade shocks. However, in comparison with the 1997 financial crisis, the impact has been less severe. Availability of policy options to minimise the impact of global slowdown largely depends on the soundness of macroeconomic fundamentals in the individual economy. For example, countries with strong macroeconomic fundamentals were able to use stimulus monetary and fiscal policies successfully to minimise the impact of global slowdown. Even member countries with some fiscal constraints were able to use monetary policy effectively to mitigate the impact. However, countries with macroeconomic imbalances had fewer options. Policy priority for these countries should be given to address structural rigidities by expediting the implementation of necessary structural reforms that help address existing macroeconomic imbalances. This would also help improve the effectiveness of policy responses. In an environment of increasing global integration, countries with macroeconomic imbalances would continue to be vulnerable to fluctuations of the global economy.

Does Gender Matter in Employment With Special Reference to Managerial Positions in the Licensed Private Commercial Banks in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan women participation can be seen in every sphere of the country invarying degrees. However, in certain circumstances, it is likely to perceive that, avariety of constraints would hinder the women involvement and discriminate her in thesociety. Thus, the study mainly attempted to assert whether there is such kind ofconviction, which creates constraints for women to attain managerial positions in theprivate sector with special reference to Licensed Private Commercial banks in SriLanka.Accordingly, the study is focused to identify the perception of selectedorganizations on women participation in managerial positions as well as to find outwhether there is gender inequality in the composition of Managerial positions inselected organizations.In the study both the quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in orderto satisfy objectives of the study. Accordingly, 30 employees from 9 private commercialbanks including 8 domestic banks and 1 foreign bank which are located in the Colombocity were selected as the sample of the research by considering the convenience for datacollection and accessibility. Questionnaires were used as the main method for primarydata collection. Secondary data were gathered through published and unpublishedsources. In order to make quantitative and diagrammatical base for data analysis,Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 16.0) and Microsoft Office Excel 2007were used.The results revealed that, very limited female participation could be found in topmanagerial positions in the selected banks. Further, huge household responsibilities andlong office working hours, would lead working women to struggle in striking a balancebetween personal and work life, especially married women and females in extendedfamilies. When considering the context of working environment, discrimination could be observed in terms of salary and opportunities for career enhancement. Also in theorganizational perspectives, male employees are more likely to be positively perceivedby the banks rather than female employees.In conclusion, study reveals that the female employees in the private banks aremore likely to be kept in middle level positions whilst top positions are held by maleemployees, showcasing the gender inequality in the selected banks.Key words: Gender, Employment, Managerial positions, Licensed private commercialbank

Walking on Water—A Natural Experiment of a Population Health Intervention to Promote Physical Activity after the Winter Holidays

Background: Very few experimental studies exist describing the effect of changes to the built environment and opportunities for physical activity (PA). We examined the impact of an urban trail created on a frozen waterway on visitor counts and PA levels. Methods: We studied a natural experiment in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that included 374,204 and 237,362 trail users during the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 winter seasons. The intervention was a 10 km frozen waterway trail lasting 8–10 weeks. The comparator conditions were the time periods immediately before and after the intervention when ~10 kms of land-based trails were accessible to the public. A convenience sample of 466 participants provided directly measured PA while on the frozen waterway. Results: Most trail users were 35 years or older (73%), Caucasian (77%), and had an annual household income >$50,000 (61%). Mean daily trail network visits increased ~four-fold when the frozen waterway was open (median and interquartile range (IQR) = 710 (239–1839) vs. 2897 (1360–5583) visits/day, p < 0.001), compared with when it was closed. Users achieved medians of 3852 steps (IQR: 2574–5496 steps) and 23 min (IQR: 13–37 min) of moderate to vigorous intensity PA (MVPA) per visit, while 37% of users achieved ≥30 min of MVPA. Conclusion: A winter-specific urban trail network on a frozen waterway substantially increased visits to an existing urban trail network and was associated with a meaningful dose of MVPA. Walking on water could nudge populations living in cold climates towards more activity during winter months

Consumers’ Awareness on Organic Food: Case of Urban Sri Lanka

The organic food market is rapidly expanding all over the world with the recent rise of concern in food safety and environmental protection. Thus, examining information about consumers’ awareness on organic food is one of the inspiring areas for producers and marketers to capture a greater market share successfully. Therefore, this study aimed at analyzing the consumer awareness towards organic food products while addressing socio-demographic factors affecting consumer awareness on organic food, knowledge of consumers about organic food, and their purchasing pattern. A sample of 600 consumers was selected from the main cities of six urban districts in Sri Lanka for the study. Data were collected via a consumer survey using a pre-tested questionnaire, from November 2018 to May 2019. The data analysis was carried out using frequencies, percentages, and multiple linear regression analysis. According to the results, the majority of the respondents were married females. The results revealed that Sri Lankan consumers have a better awareness on organic food. The results of the regression analysis highlighted that the consumers’ awareness is significantly affected by factors such as gender, marital status, education, and monthly income. Although most respondents have a good level of awareness on organic food, their buying trend is at a lower level. The findings of the study play an important role in promoting the organic food market and are essential for food marketing planners, researchers, and policymakers to enhance the organic food industry in the country in the future