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AS Sociology > Demography > Flashcards

Demography Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Identify the four factors that affect the size of a country’s population.

A
  • Births
  • Deaths
  • Immigration
  • Emigration
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2
Q

Define natural change.

A

The difference between the number of live births and deaths per year.

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3
Q

Define net migration.

A

The differences between the number of immigrants and the number of emigrants, and is expressed as a net increased or net decrease due to migration.

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4
Q

Define birth rate.

A

The number of live births per thousand of the population per year.

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5
Q

Define total fertility rate.

A

The average number of children women will have during their fertile years.

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6
Q

Identify two reasons for changes in the fertility and birth rates.

A
  • Women are postponing having children: average age for giving birth now is 30, and fertility rates for older women in their 30s and 40s are increasing.
  • Older women may be less fertile and have fewer fertile years remaining, and so they produce fewer children.
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7
Q

Summarise the following reason for the decline in birth rate:
- Changes in the position of women.

A

Harper: Better education for women, who prioritise their career over starting a family.
- For example, in 2012, 1/5 of women aged 45 were childless which is double the amount of 25 years earlier.

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8
Q

Summarise the following reason for the decline in birth rate:
- Decline in the infant mortality rate.

A
  • Due to better knowledge of healthcare, more developed medical treatments that stopped whooping cough etc, better nutrition.
  • This lead to an IMR of 4 by 2012, compared to 1900 which had an IMR of 154.
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9
Q

Summarise the following reason for the decline in birth rate:
- Children are now an economic liability.

A
  • Laws banning child labour and intro of compulsory schooling meant that children were no longer an economic asset.
  • This means parents have less children so they can afford them.
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10
Q

Summarise the following reason for the decline in birth rate:
- Child centredness.

A
  • As the ‘child identity’ has been socially constructed, parents see ‘quality over quantity’ so they can pay them all special attention.
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11
Q

What is the reason for the slight increase in births since 2001?

A

The increase of immigration because, on average, mothers from outside the UK have a higher fertility rate than those born in the UK.

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12
Q

What is the effect of fewer babies being born on the family?

A
  • Smaller families means that women are more likely to be free to go out to work.
  • However, better off couples may be able to have larger families and still afford childcare that allows them both to work full time.
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13
Q

What is the effect of fewer babies being born on the dependency ratio?

A
  • Reduces ‘burden of dependency’ on working population.
  • Fewer young adults and smaller working population may increase burden of dependency.
  • Childhood may become a lonelier experience.
  • Fewer children could lead to them becoming more valued.
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14
Q

What is the effect of fewer babies being born on public services and policies?

A
  • Fewer services (e.g schools) may be needed.
  • Affects cost of maternity and paternity leave and types of housing built.
  • An ageing population: more old people relative to young people.
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15
Q

Define death rate.

A

The number of deaths per thousand of the population per year.

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16
Q

According to Tranter, what was the main reason for the decline in the death rate from 1850 to 1970.

A

Infectious diseases such as: measles, smallpox, TB etc.

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17
Q

By the 1950s, what kind of diseases had become the main cause of death?

A
  • Heart disease and cancer.

- Mainly affected middled aged and old people than the young.

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18
Q

Summarise each of the following social factors that had an impact on death rates:

  • Improved nutrition.
  • Medical improvements.
A

Improved nutrition:

  • McKeown: It accounted for half the reduction in death rate.
  • Due to TB because it increased resistance to infection.

Medical improvements (After 1950’s):

  • Intro of antibiotics
  • NHS (1948)
  • Immunisation
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19
Q

Summarise the following social factor that had an impact on death rates:
- Smoking and diet.

A

Smoking and diet:

  • Harper: Smoking reduction
  • However, obesity replaced it as in 2012 1/4 of adults were obese.
  • Deaths from obesity have been kept low due to drug therapy.
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20
Q

Summarise each of the following social factors that had an impact on death rates:

  • Public health measures.
  • Other social changes.
A

Public health measures:

  • Improvements in housing
  • Clean Air Act reduced air pollution.

Other social changes:

  • Decline of dangerous manual labour such as mining.
  • Greater public knowledge of the cause of illnesses.
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21
Q

Define life expectancy.

A

How long on average a person in a given year can expect to live.

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22
Q

What is the difference in life expectancy for a baby boy born in 1900 as compared with a baby born in 2013?

A
  • Males born in England in 1900 could expect on average to live until they were 50 (57 for females).
  • Males born in England in 2013 can expect to live for 90.7 years (94 for females).
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23
Q

Give one reason why average life expectancy was low in 1900.

A

So many infants and children didn’t survive beyond the early years of life.

For example, a newborn baby today has a better chance of reaching it 65th birthday than a baby born in 1900 has of reaching its 1st birthday.

24
Q

What is the projected number of centenarians in 2100?

A

1 million.

25
Q

Identify three factors that have caused the ageing population.

A
  • Increasing life expectancy: people are living longer into old age.
  • Declining infant mortality: nowadays hardly anyone dies early in life.
  • Declining fertility: fewer young people are being born in relation to the number of older people in the population.
26
Q

Summarise the effects of an ageing population on public services.

A
  • Older people consume a larger proportion of services such as health and social care than any other age group, Mainly old (75+).
  • Changes to policies and provision of housing, transport or other services.
27
Q

Summarise the effects of an ageing population on one-person pensioner households.

A
  • The number of pensioners living alone has increased.

- Account for about 12.5% of all households.

28
Q

Summarise the effects of an ageing population on the dependency ratio.

A
  • Economically dependent group (through taxes - pensions and healthcare)
  • As the number of retired people rises, the dependency ration rises + burden of working population.
  • 2015: 3.2 people of working age for every one pensioner.
  • 2033: Predicted to fall to 2.8
  • Age people can draw pension is rising (from 2020, people have to wait until their 66. Rising to 67 from 2026)
29
Q

Define ageism.

A

The negative stereotyping and unequal treatment of people on the basis of their age.

30
Q

In what ways might ageism be seen?

A

Ageism towards older people shows itself in many ways, such as discrimination in employment and unequal treatment in healthcare.

31
Q

Define ‘structured dependency’.

A

The old are largely excluded from paid work, leaving them economically dependent on their families or the state. This dependency is structured.

32
Q

How do Marxists view old age in capitalist society?

A
  • The old are no use to capitalism because they’re no longer productive.
  • As a result, the state is unwilling to support them adequately and so the family has to care for them.
33
Q

How does age determine people’s roles in modern society?

A
  • Age becomes important in role allocation, creating fixed life stages and age-related identities, such as worker or pensioner.
  • The old are thus excluded from a role in the labour force and made dependent and powerless.
34
Q

How does the life course in postmodern society differ from that in modern society?

A
  • In today’s postmodern society, the fixed, orderly stages of the life course have broken down.
  • For example, trends such as children dressing in adult styles begins to blur the boundaries between the life stages.
  • This gives individuals greater choice of lifestyle, whatever their age.
35
Q

How do people use consumption to create their identities in postmodern society? What does this mean for old people’s identities in postmodern society?

A
  • We can now define ourselves by what we consume. We can choose a lifestyle and identity regardless of age. Our age no longer determines who we are or how we live.
  • As a result, old people become a market for a vast range of ‘body maintenance’ goods and services to create their identities.
  • The centrality of the media: positive aspects of old age.
  • The emphasis on surface features: Anti-ageing products (able to write different identities for themselves.)
36
Q

How might a person’s previous occupational position affect them when they are older?

A
  • M/c have better occupational pensions and greater savings from higher salaries.
  • Women’s lower earnings and career breaks as carers means lower pensions.
37
Q

Identify two policy implications of an ageing population.

A
  • Social policies: how to finance a longer period of old age.
  • Housing policies: Encourage older people to ‘trade down’. Release wealth to improve standard of living and free up housing for younger people.
38
Q

Define immigration.

A

Movement into a society.

39
Q

Define emigration.

A

Movement out of a society.

40
Q

What part of the world do most immigrants to the UK now come from?

A

By 1980’s, non-whites accounted for little more than a quarter of all immigrants, while the mainly countries of the EU became the main source of settlers in the UK.

41
Q

Define an economic ‘push’ factor.

A

Economic recession and unemployment at home.

42
Q

Define an economic ‘pull’ factor.

A

Higher wages or better opportunities abroad.

43
Q

Define globalisation.

A

Globalisation is the idea that barriers between societies are disappearing and people are becoming increasingly interconnected across national boundaries.

44
Q

What processes are giving rise to globalisation?

A
  • The growth of communication systems and global media.
  • The creation of global markets.
  • The fall of communism in Eastern Europe.
  • Expansion of the EU.
45
Q

How does today’s pattern of super-diversity differ from pre-1990s migration patterns?

A

Before the 1990’s, immigration to the UK came from a narrow range of former British colonies. Most of these migrants had the right to settle and become citizens.

However, since 1990’s migrants now come from a much wider range of countries. Even within a single ethnic group, individuals differ in terms of their legal status; for example, as citizens or spouses.

46
Q

In what ways does the feminisation of migration reflect the gender division of labour in western societies?

A
  • The expansion of service occupations (which traditionally employ women).
  • Western women have joined the labour force and are less willing or able to perform domestic labour.
  • Western men remain unwilling to perform domestic labour.
  • The failure of the state to provide adequate childcare.
47
Q

List some factors that make up our identity..

A
  • Family
  • Friends
  • Neighbourhood
  • Ethnicity
  • Religion
  • Nationality etc
48
Q

Give an example of a ‘hybrid identity’.

A

Young British Asians have formed a ‘Brasian’ identity.

49
Q

What is meant by ‘hierarchical identities’? Use an example to illustrate this.

A

Eade found that second generation Bangladeshi Muslims in Britain saw themselves as Muslim first, them Bengali, then British.

50
Q

What does Eriksen mean by ‘transnational identities’?

A

Migrants are less likely to see themselves as belonging completely to one culture or country. Instead they may develop transnational ‘neither/nor’ identities and loyalties.

51
Q

What is meant by ‘assimilationism’? Why might this be a controversial policy?

A
  • Assimilationism was the first state policy approach to immigration. It aimed to encourage immigrants to adopt the language, values and customs of the host culture to make them ‘like us’
  • Transnational migrants with hybrid identities may not be willing to abandon their culture or to see themselves as belonging to just one nation-state.
52
Q

What is meant by multiculturalism?

A
  • Multiculturalism accepts that migrants may wish to retain a separate cultural identity.
  • However, in practice, this acceptance may be limited to most superficial aspects of cultural diversity.
53
Q

What is the difference between ‘shallow diversity’ and ‘deep diversity’?

A
  • Shallow diversity, such as regarding chickin tikka masala as Britains national dish, is acceptable to the state.
  • Deep diversity, such as arranged marriages or the veiling of women, isn’t accepted by the state.
54
Q

Why has there been a move back towards assimilation policies in recent years?

A

Since the 9/11 terrorist attack Islamist terror attack in 2001, many politicians have swung back towards demanding that migrants assimilate culturally.

For example, in France, veiling of the face in public was made illegal in 2010.

55
Q

Why does Castles see assimilationist policies as counter-productive?

A

They mark out minority groups as culturally backward or ‘other’.

AS Sociology (24 decks)

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