scholarly journals Sri Lanka: State of Research on Democracy

PCD Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Jayadeva Uyangoda
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
The State ◽  
The Body ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Main Research ◽  
State Of Research ◽  
New Research

In Sri Lanka's political science research, the body of work directly on the theme of democracy is somewhat thin. The survey and studies on the 'State of Democracy and Human Security', carried out by the Social Scientists Association (SSA) in 2004-2005 is the main research effort made directly in the field of democracy studies. This was a part of a larger South Asian study. The report on the State of Democracy in South Asia is now published by the Oxford University Press, India. Nevertheless, in the wide body of scholarly literature on political and social change in the post-colonial Sri Lanka written by political scientists, historians, sociologists and anthropologists, themes with direct relevance to democracy studies have constituted a subject of continuing interest.This paper has two main parts. In the first part, it presents a survey of the major themes that have constitued the broadly social science research that are useful to place the problematic of democracy in a new research agenda. In the second, the paper suggests a few possible areas of new research on the theme of democracy.

State-Minority Contestations in Post-colonial Sri Lanka

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 157-165
Author(s):  
Mansoor Mohamed Fazil
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Research Method ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Social Force ◽  
State Structure ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
State And Society ◽  
The Military

Abstract This research focuses on the issue of state-minority contestations involving transforming and reconstituting each other in post-independent Sri Lanka. This study uses a qualitative research method that involves critical categories of analysis. Migdal’s theory of state-in-society was applied because it provides an effective conceptual framework to analyse and explain the data. The results indicate that the unitary state structure and discriminatory policies contributed to the formation of a minority militant social force (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam – The LTTE) which fought with the state to form a separate state. The several factors that backed to the defeat of the LTTE in 2009 by the military of the state. This defeat has appreciably weakened the Tamil minority. This study also reveals that contestations between different social forces within society, within the state, and between the state and society in Sri Lanka still prevail, hampering the promulgation of inclusive policies. This study concludes that inclusive policies are imperative to end state minority contestations in Sri Lanka.

Social science ethics: the changing context for research

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Webster
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Research Ethics ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Science Ethics ◽  
Ethics Framework ◽  
Ethical Content ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
New Research ◽  
The Way

This article looks at recent developments that have had an impact upon the way in which the ethical content of research is judged. It then goes on to look in some detail at the guidance offered to social science researchers in the Economic and Social Science Research Council's new Research Ethics Framework.

scholarly journals Reward preferences in South Africa’s media industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark H.R. Bussin ◽  
Nokwanda N. Thabethe
Keyword(s):  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
The Body ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
Media Industry ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
African Media ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Non Parametric

Orientation: Employee remuneration is a key driver of employee engagement and thus organisational performance. A thorough understanding of employee needs is essential to enable management to develop an equitable mix in reward strategy.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine context-specific reward preferences in order to determine the overall reward preferences of employees in the media industry with the aim of improving existing reward strategies.Motivation for the study: The focus on reward preferences has emerged as a critical element in identifying what really motivates productive behaviour within the workplace. A better understanding of reward preferences is required to find ways to improve performance within the world of work.Research approach/design and method: The research was a quantitative, empirical and descriptive study of reward preferences in an industry-specific context. A self-administered survey was used as a measure and analysed using non-parametric tests to identify variances between dependent and independent groups, testing for internal consistency and non-parametric analysis of variance (ANOVA).Main findings: The following five reward preferences were rated as most important by participants: base pay or salary, merit increase that is linked to personal performance, incentives and bonus, safety and security at the workplace, and market-related salary. The results indicated that monthly salary (base pay) is the most preferred and/or significant reward category in attracting, retaining and motivating employees.Practical/managerial implications: Managers in South Africa’s media industry should investigate their organisations’ rewards through the perspective of the total rewards concept to assess and develop an equitable mix in reward strategy. A comprehensive analysis of reward preferences is required to ensure that all aspects that promote the attraction, retention and motivation of employees are taken into consideration. The importance of base pay should not be under-estimated as it represents the most significant reward preference for employees in the South African media industry.Contribution/value add: This study adds to the body of social science research, providing a deeper understanding of reward preferences, specifically in the context-specific setting.

Catastrophic Climate Risk and Brazilian Amazonian Politics and Policies: A New Research Agenda

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joana Castro Pereira ◽  
Eduardo Viola
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Amazon Rainforest ◽  
Climate Risk ◽  
The Social ◽  
Earth’S Climate ◽  
New Research

Climate and deforestation impacts are jeopardizing the resilience of the Amazon rainforest, one of the key elements in the Earth’s climate system whose dieback may trigger catastrophic climate change. The potential degree of climate risk that the planet is facing, and current Brazilian Amazonian politics and policies, make it alarmingly conceivable that a tipping point will be crossed that leads to savannization of the forest. However, the social science research community has not yet acknowledged this possibility. A timely revision of the research agenda is needed to address this gap.

Welcome Frustrations with the Climate: Comment on Redclift

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Gross
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Environmental Sociology ◽  
The State ◽  
Sociological Analysis ◽  
Climate Research ◽  
Disciplinary Problems

Abstract: Redclift (2011) provided a timely and perhaps deliberately provocative overview of sociological writings on climate change and the disciplinary problems of a post carbon world for environmental sociology. This comment emphasizes that he never actually clarifies what exactly are those problems that sociology faces in its attempt to open up a space for itself in the field of climate research. This omission also leads to unnecessary claims regarding the state of social science research on climate change as well as unspecified calls for more interdisciplinarity in sociological analysis of contemporary societies’ carbon dependence.

Introductory Remarks on African Humanities

1986 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Bennetta Jules-Rosette ◽  
Robert Cancel
Keyword(s):  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
African Studies ◽  
African Culture ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Western Influence ◽  
Popular Arts ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Other World

This issue of the African Studies Review is devoted to research in the African humanities. The appearance of new approaches to the study of literary texts, oral traditions, and the popular arts has inspired us to assemble this collection. Recently, the African humanities have been neglected as an important area in which new empirical and theoretical advances have been made for the study of oral texts, art, and performance.The articles in this collection by Robert Cancel, David Coplan, Bennetta Jules-Rosette, and V. Y. Mudimbe were presented at the Conference on Popular Arts and the Media in Africa held at the University of California, San Diego from May 17-19, 1982. This conference was sponsored by the Joint Committee on African Studies of the Social Science Research Council and the American Council of Learned Societies. We would like to thank the Joint Committee for their support of this conference and our initial efforts to develop a research synthesis for the African humanities.This collection begins with V. Y. Mudimbe's commentary on the nature of African art and the limitations of research models used to study it. He questions the role and position of African arts, especially visual arts, in the post-colonial world. He suggests that the time has passed where most of these works can be judged simply as self-enclosed cultural referents, isolated from the effects of the last two hundred years of history. The process of “aesthetization” that he describes is one which, in various transformations, informs each of the papers that follow. When Fanon suggested that to take on a language is to “take on a world,” he foreshadowed the ideas that acknowledge the development of Africa's humanities in a context of cultural interchange with other world traditions. This is not to accept the Victorian pronouncements that credited all African achievements to various forms of Western influence. Rather, it is a movement towards the view that African culture, always fluid and dynamic, has been responsive to all manner of influences, both local and foreign.

scholarly journals An Assessment of the Social Science Research Environment of the Sri Lankan State University System

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. S. Fernando ◽  
D. W. K. Hemachandra ◽  
A. Muthulingam
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Present Status ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
State Universities

Higher education institutions play a vital role in society in varied capacities, and one major contribution amongst it all is conducting research as a part of knowledge creation and dissemination. Social Science Research thereby provides valuable input for policy makers, decision makers and the public, in order to encourage the well-being of the society. Previous studies have highlighted the importance of conducting social science researches to address social issues and improve quality of life. However, the number of research conducted in this discipline in Sri Lanka is not adequate when compared to that of other countries in the region. Hence, this study aims to explore the present status and challenges that hinder the number of social science research conducted by academics in State Universities in Sri Lanka. The study conducted a detailed literature review that was followed by in-depth interviews with 50 academics representing five state universities in Sri Lanka. The universities were selected based on the availability of Social Sciences and Humanities Faculties/Departments. The data were then analysed qualitatively based on the Grounded Theory Method to achievestudy objectives. The study revealed three main categories that limit the number of social science researches conducted in State Universities in Sri Lanka. They are; organizational factors, individual factors, and policy related factors. In addition, collaboration with other universities/ faculties, publication opportunities, research awards, and research allowance were identified as aspects in support of social science research in Sri Lanka. The study findings significantly helps in policy making, to identify the present status as well as factors that can contribute to enhance the level of social science related research among academics of State Universities in Sri Lanka.KeywordsResearch Environment, Social Sciences Research, State Universities

New Data Sources in Social Science Research: Things to Know Before Working With Reddit Data

2019 ◽  
pp. 089443931989330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Amaya ◽  
Ruben Bach ◽  
Florian Keusch ◽  
Frauke Kreuter
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Front Page ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
New Research ◽  
Media Data

Social media are becoming more popular as a source of data for social science researchers. These data are plentiful and offer the potential to answer new research questions at smaller geographies and for rarer subpopulations. When deciding whether to use data from social media, it is useful to learn as much as possible about the data and its source. Social media data have properties quite different from those with which many social scientists are used to working, so the assumptions often used to plan and manage a project may no longer hold. For example, social media data are so large that they may not be able to be processed on a single machine; they are in file formats with which many researchers are unfamiliar, and they require a level of data transformation and processing that has rarely been required when using more traditional data sources (e.g., survey data). Unfortunately, this type of information is often not obvious ahead of time as much of this knowledge is gained through word-of-mouth and experience. In this article, we attempt to document several challenges and opportunities encountered when working with Reddit, the self-proclaimed “front page of the Internet” and popular social media site. Specifically, we provide descriptive information about the Reddit site and its users, tips for using organic data from Reddit for social science research, some ideas for conducting a survey on Reddit, and lessons learned in merging survey responses with Reddit posts. While this article is specific to Reddit, researchers may also view it as a list of the type of information one may seek to acquire prior to conducting a project that uses any type of social media data.

Stathis Kalyvas on 20 years of studying political violence

2020 ◽  
pp. 263300242097295
Author(s):  
Stathis Kalyvas ◽  
Scott Straus
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
The State ◽  
Scholarly Research ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
Research To Policy ◽  
State Of The Field

Stathis Kalyvas is one of the pioneers of social science research on political violence. In this interview with Scott Straus, Kalyvas reflects critically on the state of the field, on the risks of welding scholarly research to policy, on speaking to histories of violence in particular places, on defining key terms such as violence and terrorism, and on moving up and down the ladder of abstraction. He also speaks about his ambitious new book that seeks to synthesize the field of political violence. He ends with a stinging critique of research that privileges method over substance and with some reflections for graduate students entering the field.

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