Department of Demography

Introduction For identification of the dead, the assessment of height is important. There is a folk knowledge among sculptors that the height is eight times the hand-span. This research was conducted to assess whether there is a relationship between hand-span and heightin adults. Methodology A cross-sectional study was performed on consented adults attending a provincial hospital. From the hand-span (X) a hypothesis was made. Height= Head (1X)+Trunk (3X)+ Thigh (2X)+ Leg (2X)= 8X. Data were collected from 340 participantsand were analyzed using SPSS-19. Results Of the participants 82% (n=279) were females. Ages ranged from 18-74 years (mean 28.8 +/-SD 10.099). Heights ranged from 51-72 inches (mean 62.27 +/-SD3.007). The hand-span ranged from 6-9 inches (mean 7.490 +/-SD 0.587). There is a positive high correlation between hand-span and height (r=0.651) for males whilst a positive moderate correlation (r=0.461) for females (p=0.000). In Regression Analysis, though age was not statistically significant for both males (p=0.539) and females(p=0.477), the F value was significant (p=0.000) and hand-span showed a positive effect on the determination of the height of both males and females even controlling for age. According to Independent Sample T-test, the relationship between means of 'hand-span x 8' with gender had a highly statistically significant association (t = 5.325, df = 325 and p=0.000) and the mean values for males was 62.78 with SE +/-0.51 inches and for the females, the mean was 59.31 with SE +/-0.28 inches. Conclusions The study formulated the following formula. Person's height=hand-span x 8 +/-SE inches.Further, according to this study, the probable height of a male in inches = hand-span x 8 +/-0.51 inches. For the females, the probable height in inches = hand-span x 8 +/-0.28 inches. Finally, a national scale research is recommended

The main objective of this study is to examine some patterns of migration into the five major urban areas in Colombo district, Sri Lanka, assessing a number of hypothesis on internal migration. The major source of data has been the 10 per cent sample of the 1971 Census. The study has several limitations due to the inadequate information in the 1971 Census statistics on migration. The whole study is divided into five chapters. Firstly, the study provides a review of existing studies on internal migration in Sri Lanka and discusses the importance of the study. Secondly, it builds up a conceptual framework to validate certain hypothesis on internal migration. Thirdly, the study focusses on the volume of migration by temporary and permanent type. The study investigates the two types of movement to five major urban areas in Colombo district. The patterns of migration streams and the role of distance are analysed in this section. Fourthly, the study discusses the patterns of age-sex compo...

The process of demographic ageing in Sri Lanka is striking in comparison to the experience of other countries in South Asia, and in comparison to many developing countries more generally. The proportion of the population older than 60 years in Sri Lanka was much higher—almost double—than in any other country in the region in 2000, and by 2030, it is expected

titled Population and Development contains 16 articles, of which the first provides a biographical sketch of Emeritus Professor Siddhisena. In this biographical sketch, Dr. Sunetra Perera places on record the lifetime work of Prof. Siddhisena, which would enable junior academics and students to recognise his immense contribution to the discipline of Demography as an academic as well as an academic administrator and motivate them to emulate him for their own career development. It is followed by a list of Prof. Siddhisena’s publications in international and national peer-reviewed journals and research papers in conferences.The breadth of his academic interests span demography, poverty, livelihood support, labour force and manpower, alcoholism, trafficking of women and children, urbanisation and migration.

Active ageing is one of the most recent positive ageing discourses developed by the World Health Organization (2002), to enhance the wellbeing of elders all over the world. The social dimension of active ageing recognizes the importance of the inclusion of elders in the community. The current paper aims to examine the nature of social engagement among elders in Sri Lanka using a sample of 350 communitydwelling elderly men and women in three residential sectors viz., urban, rural and estate. The study was guided by the pragmatic paradigm adopted with a mixedmethods research design. The results highlight the current status of social engagement and the perceived benefits associated with active ageing among elders in Sri Lanka. The study revealed that 57.4 per cent of elders have been engaged in some form of societal activity at the time of the survey. The marital status and educational attainment are observed to be having a significant association with the societal participation, whils...