Abstract The paper is based on a research study conducted in 10 districts among rural communities of Sri Lanka. The study investigated the community information needs and the way they consult channels and the status of information provision within the rural sector in Sri Lanka. The research study was able to coin a tool to identify rate of dependency over information channels, which is... The paper is based on a research study conducted in 10 districts among rural communities of Sri Lanka. The study investigated the community information needs and the way they consult channels and the status of information provision within the rural sector in Sri Lanka. The research study was able to coin a tool to identify rate of dependency over information channels, which is named as Channel Dependency Rate -CDR. The study deals with behavioural patterns of rural people in looking for information and its influence in selecting a particular information channel in the process of information seeking. The study indicates that there is an information flow at; Institutional level and Community level (Village level). There are two main categories of information providers identified at the rural setting; a) Institutions and b) Individuals. Under these two categories there were sub categories and which were separately analysed in the study. Recognizing the information providers paved the way to identify how ordinary rural citizens depend upon or consults different channels in looking for information. According to the responses received regarding the channel consulted in obtaining a certain category of information, a ‘Channel Dependency Rate’ was able to determine against each information need. Read More Read Less

Abstract In this paper, the modified travelling salesman problem, in which the delivery time and the fuel consumption are taken into consideration, is studied. The objective is to create the metaheuristic algorithm which can find the best route in the defined sense. Two algorithms, which are based on Ant Colony Optimization approach and Simulated Annealing approach, are proposed. The properties of these algorithms... In this paper, the modified travelling salesman problem, in which the delivery time and the fuel consumption are taken into consideration, is studied. The objective is to create the metaheuristic algorithm which can find the best route in the defined sense. Two algorithms, which are based on Ant Colony Optimization approach and Simulated Annealing approach, are proposed. The properties of these algorithms are evaluated on the basis of the simulations made using the designed, created and implemented experimentation system. Moreover, the paper contains the results of the comparison between the proposed algorithms and the Nearest Neighbor and Random Search algorithms used as a reference. The comprehensive studies show that the proposed algorithms based on Ant Colony Optimization can ensure the greatest profit among all examined. Read More Read Less

Abstract In this paper, the modified travelling salesman problem, in which the delivery time and the fuel consumption are taken into consideration, is studied. The objective is to create the metaheuristic algorithm which can find the best route in the defined sense. Two algorithms, which are based on Ant Colony Optimization approach and Simulated Annealing approach, are proposed. The properties of these algorithms... In this paper, the modified travelling salesman problem, in which the delivery time and the fuel consumption are taken into consideration, is studied. The objective is to create the metaheuristic algorithm which can find the best route in the defined sense. Two algorithms, which are based on Ant Colony Optimization approach and Simulated Annealing approach, are proposed. The properties of these algorithms are evaluated on the basis of the simulations made using the designed, created and implemented experimentation system. Moreover, the paper contains the results of the comparison between the proposed algorithms and the Nearest Neighbor and Random Search algorithms used as a reference. The comprehensive studies show that the proposed algorithms based on Ant Colony Optimization can ensure the greatest profit among all examined. Read More Read Less