Writing a good research proposal is a big challenge to post graduate scholars as well as researchers in the academic world. This book is aimed at helping such scholars to write a good research proposal. It is intended also to help them to think about their proposed research in a clear, structured and meaningful way. As discussed in the book, a good research proposal needs to present a researchable topic, statement of the problem, justification of the research project, sources of literature review, formulate research objectives, research questions and hypotheses, frame a theoretical background, some consideration of the methods, sampling, data collection tools and data gathering, data analysis procedures, outline of project activities, and finally present the list all references utilized to develop the research proposal. Thus, the present book guides social researchers with all those essential steps in research proposal writing with valuable examples. Hopefully, the scholars in the disciplines of social sciences, urban and urban planning will find this book as an important guide to their research work.

This book analyses the characteristics and extent of urban poverty in Asia, using the three dimension of poverty: lack of income, lack of access and lack of power. Urban poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon. The urban poor live with many deprivations. Their daily challenges may include: limited access to employment opportunities and income, inadequate and insecure housing and services, violent and unhealthy environments, little or no social protection mechanisms, and limited access to adequate health and education opportunities. But urban poverty is not just a collection of characteristics; it is also a dynamic condition of vulnerability or susceptibility to risks. Many of the problems of urban poverty are rooted in a complexity of resource and capacity constraints, inadequate Government policies at both the central and local level, and a lack of planning for urban growth and management. The book will be of value to sociologists and other social scientists interested in urban development, politics and planning. The book will also be of interest to urban planners, city administrators, urban policy makers, and for university students.

This book on Sociological Study of City mainly focuses on the development of Urban Sociology from its pioneers to the later radical orders. The influence of industrialism in urbanization, as illustrated by early pioneers of the subject, it seems, has been a salient component in various theories that have come along since. As such each and every theory stemming from different focus points such as transitional communities, housing classes, class conflicts, space, capital, and markets are all firmly rooted in industrialism, and capitalism. However, there is much dissimilarity among the many urban theorists in their approach, owing to their respective focus points. While the Chicago School attempts to examine the structure of the urban locale, the radical theorists focus on the many struggles that originate within. Overall, this book, exploring the theories on city, is prepared with a view to provide a clear theoretical understanding of the nature and functions of city. It is hoped that the present book will provide a background and valuable insights for University Students and Scholars who are pursuing in Urban Studies, Sociology of City, Urban Policy, and Urban Planning.

This book on urban low-income neighborhoods mainly focuses on the 1983 riot affected areas in Colombo. Various kind of information proved that, except the Tamil people living in the low-income neighborhoods, a significant number of the Tamils in Colombo were affected by the violence by mobs. The study mainly focuses attention on the way in which the low-income people manage to live together despite ethnic differences in their neighborhoods. The overall data & findings suggests that a urban neighborhood life has a variety of dimensions & where these features of neighborhood personal, social, physical, geographical, & institutional offer strong inducements for involvement, community feelings will be high. The positive forms of social cohesion that identified in the research locations will help others to understand why these forms didn't appear in the areas of violent & conflict in other parts of the country. The lessons learnt from this study can be applied even to develop a national social integration among different ethnic communities & to enrich future city planning, urban housing policies, relocate the families and achieving communal harmony in the country

The main focus of this book is on understanding the emerging relationship between State, Market and Social Classes in the city of Colombo in the context of emerging housing market and citizens' access to livable house in the city and its suburbs. The people's recent residential patterns or segregation of the area, urban life styles, and class formation due to the new housing communities have received only scant attention. The commercialization of housing as a commodity by the private builders, whom the State has found impossible to exclude, due to its dwindling resources and infrastructure, has successfully manipulated the consumerist zeal of the consumers, both rich and poor alike, obsessed with status consciousness. The research findings of the study will help in formulating appropriate urban housing policies and the appropriate strategies to cater to the individual housing needs in future. The book will be of value to sociologists and other social scientists interested in urban development, politics and planning. The book will also be of interest to urban planners, city administrators, urban policy makers, builders and bankers.

The second volume of Domains, contains: "Selvi's Revenge" by Mangalika de Silva; "Ethnic differences and urban neighbourhood relationships among slum dwellers of Colombo" by Niriellage Chandrasiri Niriella; "Towards a political economy of Sri Lanka's 'ethnic' conflict," Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah & "Broken Glass: Women, Violence and the Rule of Law," Radhika Coomaraswamy. Domains is the refereed, scholarly journal of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka, and is edited by senior research fellow Pradeep Jeganathan.