Social Sciences
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Item Factors Affecting Remittances and Its Usage in The Rural Communities: Special Reference to Rural-to-Urban Labour Migration in Sri Lanka(Reviewing International Encounters 2018,The Research Center for Social Sciences (RCSS), University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Ranathunga, S.P.B.Remittances play a significant role in poverty reduction in rural sectors in developing nations. Labour movement from rural villages to cities can be viewed as a universal phenomenon of economic modernization. Despite abundant research on this topic, there is no clear consensus among researchers on the pattern of rural to urban labour migration, remittance inflows to rural sector and its usage. Although international labour migration has gained more attention than rural-to-urban labour migration in the recent debate on migration and development, migration practices and remittances have been considered as significant livelihood development strategies for many poor groups in developing countries across the world. Although rural-to-urban migration has contributed immensely to household poverty reduction and income diversification strategies in rural communities in Sri Lanka, there is dearth of attempt in the literature to identify and quantify these impacts. The research question address in this study here is what are the factors affecting remittance and its usage in the rural communities? Data for this analysis were obtained from a questionnaire based survey conducted by the author between January and April 2011 in Sri Lanka. The survey comprised 400 rural-to-urban migrant workers from 20 urban factories located in Gampaha District in Sri Lanka. The remittance data in this survey consists of both positive and zero values as usual, as migrants who remit and who do not remit were included in the sample. Due to the nature of this type of data (censored regression), a Tobit regression model was applied to identify the determinants of remittance in Sri Lanka. Tobit estimations have the limitation of making the signs of both the determinants of remittances and the magnitude of the remittances the same. Therefore, a probit model was also employed to examine the decision to remit. Consequently, probit estimations provided the factors influencing the decision to remit while Tobit estimates provided the simultaneous decisions of whether to remit or not and how much to remit The results indicate that the decision to remit depends on the purpose of using the remittance rather than the amount of wages or experience. Unmarried migrants are more likely to remit for daily expenses in their households of origin to support elderly people and/or parents who cannot work and do not have a proper income in the places of origin. Households with larger areas of farmlands are less likely to receive regular remittances for consumption purposes whereas they receive more remittances for farming purposes as an investment. Households with students are more likely to receive regular remittances for daily expenses. Migrants tend to remit for the purpose of education if there are students in the household of origin. This confirms that rural-to-urban migration and remittances are not only for consumptive purposes but also for investment purposes. Moreover, rural-to-urban migration contributes significantly to asset accumulation in the communities of originItem A Study on the Functions of Magic in Rural Communities in Sri Lanka (with Special Reference to Mirigama Secretariat Division in Gampaha District)(Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Jayakody, J.A.N.A.Most cultures of the world have religious beliefs that lead to the idea that supernatural powers can be compelled, or at least influenced, to act in certain ways for good or evil purposes by using ritual formulas. These formulas are, in a sense, magic. Rural people use Magic as a way of fulfilling emotional and social needs. Basically magic is divided in to two categories. Those are black magic and white magic. Social systems change constantly. Magic is most valued in rural society. At present, Sri Lankan rural communities are also subjected to great changes but the faith in magic is still visible in rural communities, where magic, faiths and beliefs play a major role. The main objective of this study is to identify the social functions of magic and explore the function and dysfunction of the visible and invisible. The case study and the functional method were used to gather primary data. Data was collected through observation and interviews because qualitative data is very important for this research. The sample was selected using random purposive methods according to the non-probability sampling theory. The sample consists of 30% of the population of the area. The Thalahena village in Giriullagama GN division in Mirigama secretariat division of the Gampaha district was selected as the research area. The main finding of the study is that many positive social functions are fulfilled by magic in rural communities in Sri Lanka. In this regard, magic has contributed to the improvement of mental health, developed social integration and helped people to bond with their religion.