Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences最新文献

{"title":"Beyond ‘do-no-harm’: development, social safeguards policies, and human rights","authors":"J. Perera","doi":"10.4038/sljss.v44i1.8199","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/sljss.v44i1.8199","url":null,"abstract":"Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have in­troduced environmental and social safeguard policies to protect the environment and improve human conditions. The paper at­tempts to demonstrate why MDBs should combine safeguard policies with the human rights to combat poverty and promote shared prosperity. It highlights MDBs’ reluctance to link safe­guards policies with human rights and how such reluctance has emboldened borrowers to ignore or to pay lip service to the human rights of development-affected persons and communi­ties. In this context, MDBs need to update their safeguard poli­cies to accommodate human rights and use approaches such as material incentives, persuasion, and long-term acculturation to encourage and lead borrowers to adhere to safeguard policies and human rights in planning and implementing development projects. In 2013, in India, such persuasion and incentives re­sulted in introducing in 2013 a comprehensive social safeguard framework covering physical displacement and resettlement and adverse project impacts on tribal people. Similarly, the For­est Dwellers Act of 2007 brought distinct benefits and a legal framework for tribal people to gain benefits of development and respect for their human rights. In Sri Lanka, a series of procedural reforms introduced from 2001 to the Land Acqui­sition Act of 1950 has helped to include several international safeguard best practices in the local regulatory framework such as land compensation at replacement cost and assistance to the untitled land users. However, the continuity of urgency clause (Section 38a) of the Act weakens the reforms’ impact.","PeriodicalId":53779,"journal":{"name":"Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46659831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Linguistic and psychometric validation of Sinhala version of Menopause Specific Quality of Life questionnaire","authors":"N. Rathnayake, G. Alwis, J. Lenora, I. Mampitiya, S. Lekamwasam","doi":"10.4038/sljss.v44i1.7959","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/sljss.v44i1.7959","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract \u0000Menopause Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire assess the health related quality of life (HRQOL) of postmenopausal women (PMW). It includes 29 menopausal discomforts distributed among four main domains namely vasomotor, psychosocial, physical and sexual. This study was aimed for linguistic validation of Sinhala version of MENQOL questionnaire and evaluation of its psychometric properties. Sinhala version of MENQOL questionnaire was adapted following standard methodology of cross-cultural adaptation; forward and backward translations, review by an expert group, focus group discussion and pre-testing. It was self-administered among 200 PMW aged 56.0±3.3 years, selected randomly from Galle, Sri Lanka along with the previously validated menopause rating scale (MRS). After two weeks from the previous administration, MENQOL questionnaire was administered again among a sub-group of PMW (n=100) selected from the 200 PMW. Then, the validity and reliability were evaluated. MENQOL questionnaire showed a high test retest reliability; intra class correlation=0.98 (0.97-0.99) and correlation coefficient=0.98 (<0.001). The global Cronbach’s alpha was 0.95 that indicates higher internal consistency. Seven factors with Eigen value exceeding 1, explaining 77.11% of cumulative variance was observed in Factor analysis with principal component analysis. It also showed more explanatory factor extraction. Strong significant positive correlation between MENQOL questionnaire score and the MRS score (r=0.78, p<0.001) was observed that confirms the criterion validity. We observed that the self-administered, 29 item, Sinhala version of MENQOL questionnaire is a valid, menopause specific tool with satisfactory psychometric properties. Therefore, it is recommended to measure menopausal discomforts and HRQOL of Sinhala speaking Sri Lankan PMW.","PeriodicalId":53779,"journal":{"name":"Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45575311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Welcome guests: settlements of Sinhalese IDPs and local integration process in Sri Lanka","authors":"S. Wanninayake","doi":"10.4038/sljss.v44i1.8049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/sljss.v44i1.8049","url":null,"abstract":"Three decades of civil conflict in Sri Lanka that broke out between the government security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the early 1980s came to an end in 2009. Although more than one decade has passed since ending the civil conflict between them, Sri Lanka is still suffering many multi-faceted issues and challenges concerning the integration of resettled people in the post-conflict resettlement process. This study aims to examine the process of settlement, and the local integration process, as a solution for the settlement issue rather than return and resettlement into the original villages of the Sinhala Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the northern part of Sri Lanka. As for its empirical evidence, the study is based on qualitative methods. The study areas were selected within the districts of Anuradhapura and Vavuniya. The research finds that there is no one single reason that affected the integration of both communities; IDPs and hosts, but rather a combination of several socio-economic key factors. The study illustrates that the displacements and their settlements show innovation with their integration process rather than marginalisation from the host communities.","PeriodicalId":53779,"journal":{"name":"Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48546682","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Marrying for a Future: Transnational Sri Lankan Tamil Marriages in the Shadow of War by Sidharthan Maunaguru (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2019)","authors":"Sumathy Sivamohan","doi":"10.4038/sljss.v44i1.8397","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/sljss.v44i1.8397","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53779,"journal":{"name":"Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46101756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"List of Referees","authors":"The Editor","doi":"10.4038/sljss.v43i2.8270","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/sljss.v43i2.8270","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53779,"journal":{"name":"Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49307699","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Needs Analysis on the language skills required by the industry from vocational graduates","authors":"D. Ranasuriya, Sreemali Herath","doi":"10.4038/sljss.v43i2.7932","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/sljss.v43i2.7932","url":null,"abstract":"This article is published under the Creative Commons CC-BY-ND License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nd/4.0/).This license permits use, distribution and reproduction, commercial and non-commercial, provided that the original work is properly cited and is not changed anyway. Abstract: This paper presents a segment of a larger Needs Analysis, conducted among the diverse stakeholders involved in Vocational Education (VE) in Sri Lanka, related to the Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Mechatronics. The focus of the study is on the perceptions of industry personnel on the kind of English vocational graduates need to use in the workplace. VE plays a significant role in the educational sphere, providing higher educational opportunities to individuals who are less fortunate with regard to formal schooling, and providing employment for skilled youth in many identified vocations. One significant challenge these graduates face at the work place is their poor English language skills, which hinder their chances of entering the world of employment. To ensure that the English language skills provided to prospective graduates of the University of Vocational Technology (Univotec) are adequate and helpful in performing effectively in industry, this study explored the perceptions of industry personnel and identified the shortcomings of the English course designed for vocational graduates. The findings were used to revisit the English language course offered to vocational graduates at Univotec by critically exploring whether they needed English for Specific Purposes (ESP) or English for General Purposes (EGP). In order to ensure that the findings are focused, rich and nuanced, industry personnel from the field of Mechatronics were a part of the focus group discussions. The sample consisted of 15 industry personnel who shared their perceptions on the needs required by vocational graduates at the workplace. The key findings included the vital need of English for effective performance in industry. The study also revealed the importance of knowledge of ESP with a foundation in EGP and also the importance of Technical English which could be used in specific situations.","PeriodicalId":53779,"journal":{"name":"Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46510995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Between the sea and the land: small-scale fishers and multiple vulnerabilities in Sri Lanka","authors":"F. A. Ibrahim","doi":"10.4038/sljss.v43i1.7641","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/sljss.v43i1.7641","url":null,"abstract":"The small-scale fisheries sector plays a crucial role in the livelihoods, food security and nutritional needs of a large population in Sri Lanka. In the overall fisheries sector, the contribution of coastal fisheries, which is primarily generated by small-scale fishers (SSFs), has been continuously high. However, in recent years, it has started to decline. Changes occurring at local, national and global scales in the economic, political and policy spheres have impacted Sri Lankan SSFs differently, increasing their vulnerabilities. Drawing on a comprehensive review of the literature, this study examines the multiple vulnerabilities faced by SSFs in Sri Lanka, relating to four major themes: (1) Palk Bay geopolitics; (2) the war; (3) the tsunami and post-tsunami recovery; (4) post-war development and policy priorities. This paper builds a case for understanding these vulnerabilities and the way in which they continue, reemerge and threaten SSFs and their future livelihoods. It argues that, in the wake of new threats and opportunities created by post-war development, policy changes and geopolitical constraints, greater attention must be paid to SSFs. The paper concludes by summarising the discussion and recommending that SSFs should be meaningfully incorporated into the postwar development agenda and “blue economy” policy reforms.","PeriodicalId":53779,"journal":{"name":"Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2020-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46574936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Strangers at home: narratives of northern Muslim returnees in post-war Sri Lanka","authors":"D. Chattoraj, Eva Gerharz","doi":"10.4038/sljss.v42i2.7686","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/sljss.v42i2.7686","url":null,"abstract":"This article focuses on the experiences, aspirations and challenges of Sri Lankan Muslim returnees to northern part of Sri Lanka in Jaffna and analyses their strategies to cope with the ambivalent situation thereafter. The empirical point of departure is drawn from the stories of three Muslim returnees in Jaffna who returned from different parts of Sri Lanka. The article finds that the Muslim returnees conceptualise home as a place where they can have a “better future” than the displaced location where they stayed for so long. The authors argue that this unveils the different kinds of attachment they have to their homes through memories, emotions and material and immaterial properties. There exists feelings of alienation and detachment from their homes among some. Furthermore, their aspirations of a good life seem to be decaying in their homes after their return.","PeriodicalId":53779,"journal":{"name":"Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2019-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47201718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Harnessing science, technology and innovation for sustainable development","authors":"S. Colombage","doi":"10.4038/sljss.v42i2.7967","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/sljss.v42i2.7967","url":null,"abstract":"Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) play a critical role in fostering sustainable development which encompasses the core elements of economic growth, social equity and environmental protection. STI is a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on its own, as per UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. SDG-9, which aims to build resilient infrastructure, promotes inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. Specifically, SDG-Target 9.5 envisages enhancing scientific research and upgrading the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, particularly in developing countries.","PeriodicalId":53779,"journal":{"name":"Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2019-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41705154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"NSF International Conference on Social and Cultural Nexus of Science and Technology Development (2019)","authors":"S. Colombage","doi":"10.4038/sljss.v42i2.7969","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4038/sljss.v42i2.7969","url":null,"abstract":"Currently, the world is undergoing an age of unprecedented technological progress exerting dramatic influences on individual lifestyles, social relations and natural environment. Undoubtedly, Science and Technology (S&T) have proven to be the key drivers of sustainable socioeconomic progress in many parts of the world in recent decades. However, there are serious concerns about the harmful effects of modern technology on society. Such effects include cyber security risks, threats to personal well-being and safety, increasing sense of social isolation, relational problems, cultural breakdowns, technology addiction, environmental hazards and threats to wildlife.","PeriodicalId":53779,"journal":{"name":"Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2019-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48493907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}