Demographics Flashcards
Population dynamics looks into:
Fertility, Migration, Mortality.
Constrictive pyramid
Constrictive population pyramids are used to describe populations that are elderly and shrinking. Constrictive pyramids can often look like beehives and typically have an inverted shape with the graph tapering in at the bottom. Constrictive pyramids have smaller percentages of people in the younger age cohorts and are typically characteristic of countries with higher levels of social and economic development, where access to quality education and health care is available to a large portion of the population.
Demographic Transition model
STAGE 1: High birth rate due to limited birth control and the economic benefit of having more people to work. Also high death rates due to poor nutrition or high rates of disease. Modeled by: a high stationary population pyramid with a high birth rate.
STAGE 2: Seen in the beginnings of developing countries. The population begins to rise as death rate drop, because of improvements in health and sanitation and availability of food. Almost same birth rate so overall population begins to rise. Modeled by: Early expanding population pyramid. High birth rate, lots of young people but also lots of old people due to declined death rate. (nice pyramid shape).
Stage 3: Death rate continue to drop, but birth rates begin to fall due to access to contraception and changing social trend toward smaller families. Better healthcare and becoming more industrialized = fewer childhood deaths and kids dont need/arent allowed to work.
Stage 4: stabilizes. Both death and birth rates are low. Population is large. Low birth rate; good contraception and high % of women in the workforce and couple focus on careers instead. Modeled by: low stationary pyramid. Low birth and death rate and longer life expectancy.
Stage 5: Only a speculation, some believe the world population will be forced to stabilize as the Malthusian Theorem. Perhaps we will run out of resources and there will be a global food shortage. Constrictive: there are fewer young people than old.
Theories of Globalization
- World systems theory:
Fluid model. Focuses on the importance of the world as a unit, rather than looking at indv countries. Divides World into 3 regions:
- Core countries: Western Europe and US. Strong central gov, w/ enough tax to support it. They are economically diversified and industrialized, and relatively independent of outside control. They have strong, middle and working classes and have higher scope production of material goods rather than raw materials.
- Periphery countries: Latin American and Africa. Relatively weak gov. Depend only on one type of activity like extracting raw materials. High % of poor uneducated people. As well as small upper class which controls most of the economy. This creates huge inequality in population. Greatly influenced by core countries and transational corporations which can harm the future eco potential of periphery.
- Semi-periphery: India and Brazil. Middle ground between both^. Often not dominant in international trade but relatively diversified and developed economy. Either come from periphery moving up or core declining.
- Criticized for being too focused on economy and core countries.
Modernization theory:
All countries follows a similar path of dev from a traditional to a modern society
Looks at internal social dynamics as country adapts to new technologies, & political and social changes as well.
Dependency theory:
reaction to Modernization theory, Uses the idea of core and periphery countries from the Worlds system theory to look at the inequalities between countries.
-Its the idea that periphery or 3rd world countries are poor and export resources to the wealthy core or first world countries. Not because they are in an earlier stage of dev, but because they have been integrated in to the Worlds System as undeveloped.
They are in an unfavorable economic position; they dont have the opportunity to improve and develop. Remain poor and dependent.
Hyper globalist perspective
-Sees Globalization as a legitimate process, a new age in human history.
Countries economies become interdependent as the nations states themselves become significantly less important.
Skeptical perspective
Considers today’s intl processes as becoming regionalized rather than globalized. Countries borders are not becoming less important. Third world are not integrated into global economy with the same benefit as first world countries.
Transformationalist perspective
Doesn’t really have a cause or outcome. They believe National Governments are changing. Not sure of what specific patterns but just agree it is changing.
Social movements
Instrumental changes to changing the path of society.
Need organization, leadership, resources.
Activist movement: focused on changing some aspect of society.
Regressive: actively trying to resist change.
Relative deprivation theory:
- Relative deprivation
- Feeling of deserving better
- Believe conventional methods are useless to help.
Resource mobilization theory
Instead of looking at deprivation, It focuses on the factors that help or hinder a social movement. Practical constraints like access to resources.
Age cohort
An age cohort must be taken from the same generation.
A generation needs three common aspects: a sociocultural location or common experiences, a temporal location (20 to 25 years in length per generation), and a historical location or commonality of era.
Stable replacement fertility rate
The replacement fertility rate is the number of children a woman needs to give birth to, so that one daughter can reach childbearing age.
A stable replacement fertility rate is also sometimes referred to as zero population growth because the birth rate is equal to the mortality rate.
Every child has a roughly 50% chance of being female.
A woman would need to give birth to at least two children to replace herself and the father.
The stable replacement fertility rate is 2.1 children per woman. This number includes the two parents and many other factors, such as child mortality.
Mass society theory
Mass society theory does not view social movements as being organized or rational.
Mass society theory refers to social movements as being created with suspect intentions.
Social movements are dangerous, dysfunctional, irrational, and motivated by suspicious intentions.
Activity theory
Activity theory is concerned with the replacement of certain jobs and activities, lost due to an aging population.
Disengagement theory
Disengagement theory examines the self-reflection that occurs as one ages and how aging causes a separation of society.
Continuity
Continuity theory attempts to understand the choices one makes to maintain consistency in social roles as one ages.
Linguistic relativism / Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
How a language affects the way we think about the world.
Linguistic relativism means that there are certain thoughts we have in one language that cannot be understood by those who exist in another language context.
