Volume 06 Issue 01
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/13932
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Item The Influence of Adult Attachment Styles on Marital Satisfaction among Married Couples(Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2014) Vithanage, R.D.H.Previous studies indicate a strong relationship between adult attachment styles and marital satisfaction. It is revealed that individuals with secure attachment style are the most satisfied with their marriage compared to those having an ambivalent or avoidant attachment style while individuals with ambivalent attachment style are the least satisfied with their married life. This study aims at studying the influence of attachment style on marital satisfaction among married couples in Sri Lanka. Since this area has not been studied in relation to the Sri Lankan context, this study looks into identifying the dynamics among Sri Lankan married couples. Based on the notions from the previous studies, it is hypothesized that there will be a positive correlation between secure attachment style and marital satisfaction while ambivalent attachment style would result in less marital satisfaction. Two separate questionnaires are administered to identify the attachment style and level of marital satisfaction of 68 married couples (N = 136) who have been married at least for one year. Adult attachment style is identified through Experience in Close Relationships Scale and marital satisfaction is measured by Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale. The correlation between adult attachment style and one‟s level of marital satisfaction is analyzed for its statistical significance. Results indicate a positive correlation between secure attachment style and marital satisfaction. As hypothesized, ambivalently attached individuals reported the least marital satisfaction with an insignificant difference to the results of the previous studies. The findings will be useful to family therapists and marital counsellors to understand the expectations of partners in a marriage.Item The effectiveness of the communication in community development projects implemented by the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Sri Lanka(Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2014) Priyadarshanie, P.K.D.Non-governmental organizations are based on interested groups of citizens, aiming at providing social services or implementing social policy. The post-colonial socio-economic situation in Sri Lanka created a conducive environment for NGOs, which was accelerated by the political, and subsequent economic changes in 1970s. Presently NGOs contribute significantly to the community development sector in Sri Lanka. NGOs work to improve living standards through community participatory processes, and use communication in all aspects of the project cycle. The objective of this research is to study the evolution of NGOs in Sri Lanka, the role of local and International NGOs in community development and assess the effectiveness of communication in community development projects. Two prominent NGOs, Sarvodaya and World Vision Sri Lanka were studied through participatory observations and interviews. Documentary programs and audio-visual material were evaluated. NGOs use effective communication in their community development projects. Local NGOs pioneer in this regard to international NGOs, as they plan communication in a more people-centered manner. They use conventional and modern media effectively, but the negligibly use social media. Communication strategies need to match the local context planned according to the intervention and target group. Use of communication methodology extracted from the community itself, is high in relevance and effectiveness. From the planning phase onwards, a parallel communication plan needs to be developed. In each phase of the project, different communication strategies such as inter-personal and group communication, participatory development communication, new and mass media etc. can be adapted.Item Looking at rural poverty and aid effectiveness through gender: a case of rural Sri Lanka(Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2014) Rodrigo, ChaturaSri Lanka is a middle income country with a gross domestic production of about $ 50 billion. The human development index places Sri Lanka at the 97th position. Gender Inequality Index (GII) rank Sri Lanka at 74. The Gini index has reduced from 46 in 1995 to 40.3 in 2007; however, the economic inequalities are severe among rural areas. There is a significant discrepancy between the gender in terms of economic opportunities and economic status. The majority of Sri Lanka‟s workforce resides in rural areas and is engaged in agricultural activities. A significant share of the agricultural production is still used for self-sufficiency. Economic performance and poverty are not evenly spread across the nine provinces in Sri Lanka and serious regional disparities exist. Despite the many interventions by donor community and the government, there is a growing debate on the effectiveness of these aids on reducing the poverty of the rural Sri Lanka and the disparities among male and female headed households. This study looked at Uva and North Central provinces where the poverty rates are extremely high while donor interventions on poverty reduction are high as well. Results have suggested that while the short term livelihood interventions have been successful the long term interventions have not created significant impacts in reducing the poverty. There are disparities among the women headed households in receiving the livelihood supports both short and long term. While male headed households are more successful in utilizing long term livelihood support to come out of poverty, female headed households have failed to do so.Item Variation of Terms of Trade in Small farming Sector: with Special Reference to Paddy and Vegetables Cultivation in Sri Lanka(Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2014) Henegedara, G.M.Decline market prices of paddy and vegetables relative to prices of consumer food items and fertilizer inputs become a core factor of losing farm income of small farmers in Sri Lanka. Though the dropping farm income is a common problem in many agricultural countries, its impact is very crucial for a small country like Sri Lanka where nearly 30 percent of labour force is occupying in agricultural activities. Though all the successive governments in Sri Lanka have implemented various policies in this regard, still declining prices of food crops were greatly influenced to reduce farm income and subsequent it was affected for food security and public welfare of the country. Therefore, the main objective of the paper is to review factors influenced in changing TOT of small farming sector and assessing its impact on the economy. The paper was based on deductive method and used both primary and secondary sources of information. Price variations of farm products and consumer food items were measured by calculating parity ratios of respective commodities and accordingly it found that, values of Terms of trade (TOT)) of paddy and vegetable farming has been deteriorated continually in Sri Lanka, compared to imported food items and farm inputs. Thus farmers have to pay nearly 2 kilo of paddy for purchasing a one pound of bread in 2012 instead one kilo in 1984. Required paddy amount for receiving one kilo of sugar has fluctuated between 3.53 in 1999 and 3.57 in 2012. The required paddy amount for receiving one kilo of fertilizer has increased from 0.95 in 1984 to 1.65 in 2005. Similarly though farm gate prices of vegetables were also fluctuated throughout the year, the deterioration of TOT of vegetables farming is not significant as paddy farming since occasional price fluctuations were able to offset the price increases of consumer items and farm inputs. It shows that both demand and supply factors were influenced for deteriorating terms of trade of farm outputs. The demand factors were related to disposal income and substitute products while the supply factors were related with increase cost of production, matters related to crop planning, crop management and marketing. Finally it suggests some policy recommendations that required for protecting small producers in food crop sector.Item Reflection of ‘access’ in ICT4D evaluation: The case of Nenasala telecenter initiative in Sri Lanka(Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2014) Jayashantha, D.L.C.; Raman, U.As the world moves towards information society, countries started to extend access to information and communication technologies to their populations. Telecenters have been seen as an important means of bridging the digital divide; providing access to appropriate information required for social and economic development. Hence development of rural information kiosks has become increasingly popular development initiative, increasing in number worldwide. In Sri Lanka, e-Sri Lanka strategy, acknowledged affordable access to ICTs will ensure more effective, citizen centered and business friendly government, empowerment of the rural poor, women and youth. It envisioned a „community-based open access workstations‟ program called Nenasala, to ensure availability of affordable basic communication services, access to social services, e-commerce and mobilization of local knowledge. Evaluation work in the development sector has evolved through a revolutionary path, as a practice as well as profession. The taxonomy of evaluation is multipronged, can be seen categorized based on different perspectives, criterions, inputs used, and perhaps the phase of intervention being evaluated. But there is as yet no widely accepted systematic evaluation procedure for telecenter programs. No shortage of evaluative frameworks for ICT for Development, but, none is completely satisfactory for measuring access to ICTs. Therefore alternative evaluative frameworks are increasingly required or existing evaluative criterions should be redefined to cater to the specific requirements of telecenter initiatives, for instance to measure the extent to which beneficiary groups are effectively and meaningfully engaged with ICTs. This paper gives a brief overview on evaluation of development aid, and then moves on to discuss what is missing in evaluating „ICTs for Development‟ initiatives. While introducing the „Nenasala‟ telecenter initiative in Sri Lanka, it reviews the magnitude of reflection of access in three consecutive evaluations commissioned to study the telecenter program.