soci

Question 1

environmental sustainability

Answer 1

the degree to which a human activity can be sustained without damaging or undermining basic ecological support systems

Question 2

capital accumulation

Answer 2

refers to the reinvestment of profit in order to increase capital assets

Question 3

demography

Answer 3

the study of populations

Question 4

growth rate

Answer 4

the current population - initial population/initial x 100

Question 5

population composition

Answer 5

changing fertility, mortality and migration rates

Question 6

sex ratio

Answer 6

number of men for every 100 women

Question 7

population pyramid

Answer 7

population distribution by sex and age

Question 8

malthusian theory

Answer 8

three factors would control human population that exceeded the earth’s carrying capacity

Question 9

three factors of Malthusian theory

Answer 9

war, famine and disease

Question 10

positive checks

Answer 10

increase mortality rates - keeping the population in check (war, famine and disease)

Question 11

preventative checks

Answer 11

i.e. birth control and celibacy

Question 12

reasons people have not died off

Answer 12

technological increases in food production, new medicine, contraception

Question 13

zero population growth (ZPG)

Answer 13

the number of people entering a population through birth or immigration is = to number of people leaving it via death/emigration

Question 14

cornucopian theory

Answer 14

human ingenuity can resolve any environmental or social issues that develop

Question 15

demographic transition theory

Answer 15

future population growth will develop along a predictable four-stage model

Question 16

stage 1 of demographic transition theory

Answer 16

birth, death, and infant mortality rates are all high, life expectancy is short, i.e. 19th cen North America

Question 17

stage 2 of demographic transition theory

Answer 17

birth rates are higher while infant mortality and the death rates drop, life expectancy also increases, i.e. Afghanistan

Question 18

stage 3 of demographic transition theory

Answer 18

once a society is thoroughly industrialized, birth rates decline while life expectancy continues to increase, death rates continue to decrease, i.e. Mexico currently

Question 19

stage 4 of demographic transition theory

Answer 19

postindustrial era of society, birth and death rates are low, people are healthier and live longer, population stability, population may even decline, i.e. Sweden and Canada

Question 20

urbanization

Answer 20

study of social, political and economic relationships in cities

Question 21

3 prereqs for development of a city

Answer 21

1. good environment with freshwater/favorable climate
2. advanced technology
3. strong social organization

Question 22

gentrification

Answer 22

members of the middle and upper classes entering city areas that have been historically less affluent; renovating while the poor urban underclass are forced

Question 23

megalopolis

Answer 23

toronto-hamilton-oshawa, vancouver-abbotsford-chilliwack, calgary-edmonton; NEW YORK

Question 24

human ecology

Answer 24

focuses on the relationship between people and their built/natural physical environments

Question 25

concentric zone model

Answer 25

famous ex of human ecology, concentric circular areas expanding outward from the centre of the city

Question 26

carrying capacity

Answer 26

maximum amount of life that can be sustained within a certain area

Question 27

the commons

Answer 27

the collective resources that humans share in common, air/water/plant and animal life/commodification/trade

Question 28

NIMBY

Answer 28

not in my backyard, tendency of people to protest poor environmental practices when those practices will impact them directly

Question 29

authoritative knowledge

Answer 29

based on the accepted authority of the source

Question 30

casual observation

Answer 30

knowledge based on observation without any systematic process for observing or assessing the accuracy of observations

Question 31

content analysis

Answer 31

a quantitative approach to textual research that selects an item of textual content that can be reliably and consistently observed and coded, surveys and the prevalence of that item in a sample of textual output

Question 32

contingency table

Answer 32

a statistical table that provides a frequency distribution of at least two variables

Question 33

correlation

Answer 33

when a change in one variable coincides with a change in another variable, but does not necessarily indicate causation

Question 34

empirical evidence

Answer 34

evidence corroborated by direct experience and/or observation

Question 35

ethnography

Answer 35

observing a complete social setting and all that it entails

Question 36

hawthorne effect

Answer 36

when study subjects behave in a certain manner due to their awareness of being observed by a researcher

Question 37

hypothetico-deductive methodologies

Answer 37

based on deducing a prediction from a hypothesis and testing the validity of the hypothesis by whether it correctly predicts observations

Question 38

inductive approach

Answer 38

methodologies that derive a general statement from a series of empirical observations

Question 39

institutional ethnography

Answer 39

the study of the way everyday life is coordinated through institutional, textually mediated practices

Question 40

intervening variable

Answer 40

an underlying variable that explains the correlation between two other variables

Question 41

nonreactive

Answer 41

unobtrusive research that does not include direct contact with subjects and will not alter or influence people’s behaviours

Question 42

positivist approach

Answer 42

a research approach based on the natural science model of knowledge utilizing a hypothetico-deductive formulation of the research question and quantitative data

Question 43

textually mediated communication

Answer 43

institutional forms of communication that rely on written documents, texts, and paperwork

Question 44

value neutrality

Answer 44

a practice of remaining impartial, without bias or judgement, during the course of a study and in publishing results