Sociology-Families and Households-Demography Flashcards
1
Q
What is the trend of birth rates?
A
Long term decline since 1990 where birth rate went from 28.7 to 12.2 in 2014
2
Q
What fluctuations in birth rate have happened?
A
Three baby booms in the 20th century. First two after the two world wars (1914-18 and 1939-45) as servicemen and partners postponed starting families until war was over
3
Q
when was the third baby boom?
A
In the 1960s, after which the birth rate sharply fell in the 1970s. It rose again in the 1980s and fell after 1990s then slightly increased again in 2001
4
Q
What are two main factors that affect birth rate?
A
Proportion of women who are of childbearing age and how many children they have
5
Q
What is birth rate?
A
Number of live births per thousand of the population per year
6
Q
What is total fertility rate?
A
The average number of children women will have during childbearing years
7
Q
How has the total fertility rate changed in the UK?
A
Risen in recent years but is much lower than in past. Lowest is 1.63 in 2001, but rose to 1.83 in 2014. Highest was 2.95 in 1964 during the 1960s baby boom
8
Q
What do the changes in fertility and birth rates reflect?
A
More women remain childless than in past, and women postpone having children as the average age is now 30 and older women may be less fertile and have less fertile years remaining so may have less children
9
Q
What are the different reasons for decline in birth rates?
A
Changes in women’s position, decline in infant mortality rate, children are now an economic liability and child centeredness
10
Q
What were some of the major changes in the position of women during the 20th century?
A
Legal equality with men (eg right to vote), increased educational opportunities (girls do better than boys now), more women in paid employment (laws eg sex discrimination act 1975 for equal pay), changes in attitudes to family life and women’s role, easier access to divorce, and access to abortion/reliable contraception giving women more control
11
Q
What does Harper 2012 argue?
A
The education of women is the most important reason for the long term fall in birth and fertility rates as it led to a change in mindset, seeing other possibilities apart from traditional role of housewife and mother
12
Q
What is a statistic given for postponing children?
A
In 2012, 1 in 5 women aged 45 were childless, double the number of 25 years ago
13
Q
What does Harper argue about long term fertility rates?
A
Once a pattern of low fertility lasts for more than one generation, cultural norms about family size changed. Smaller families become the norm and large ones come to be seen as deviant or less acceptable
14
Q
What is infant mortality rate?
A
The number of infants who die before their first birthday, per thousand babies born alive, per year
15
Q
What does Harper argue about infant mortality rates?
A
Fall in IMR leads to fall in birth rate as parents don’t have to replace the children they’ve lost
16
Q
How have the infant mortality rates changed?
A
In 1990 in the UK it was 154 (over 15% of babies died in the first year-higher than in less developed countries today) by 1950s it fell to 30 and by 2012 it was 4
17
Q
What are several reasons for why the UKs IMR began to fall in the first half of the 20th century?
A
Improved housing/better sanitation, better nutrition, better knowledge of hygiene/children’s health/welfare, fall in number of married women working may have improved their/their babies health, and improved services for mothers and children such as antenatal and postnatal clinics
18
Q
How have medical changes affected IMR?
A
Before mid 20th century it was doubtful how much it had affected IMR though they had an indirect affect through campaigns to improve public health, but in 1950s medical factors placed a greater role eg mass immunisation against childhood diseases
19
Q
What do Brass and Kabir 1978 argue?
A
Argue that the trend to smaller families began not in rural areas, where IMR first began to fall, but in urban areas where IMR remained higher for longer
20
Q
How have the economic status of children changed?
A
Until late 19th century children were economic assets to parents as they could work from early age but since lat 19th century they have gradually become economic liabilities
21
Q
How have children become an economic liability?
A
Through changing laws (banning child labour/compulsory schooling/raising leaving age) and norms (children rights to expect from parents in material terms/rising cost of raising children)
22
Q
Why would birth rates decrease if children became an economic liability?
A
Because of the financial pressures, parents may feel less willing or less able n the past to have a large family
23
Q
Why would increasing child centredness cause birth rates to decline?
A
Childhood is now socially constructed as a uniquely important period in the individual’s life, encouraging a shift from ‘quantity’ to ‘quality’ so parents have fewer children to give them more attention and resources
24
Q
What are future trends for birth rates?
A
Increased immigration may increase birth rate as mothers outside the UK have a higher fertility rate and they accounted for 25% of all births in 2011, however the projection for up to 2041 expects the annual number of births to be fairly constant at around 800,000 per year
25
What is effected by changing fertility/birth rates?
The family, the dependency ratio, and public services/policies
26
How is the family affected by the changes in fertility?
Smaller families mean women are more likely to go back to work, creating dual earner couples though better off couples may be able to have larger families and still afford childcare allowing them to both work full time
27
What is the dependency ratio?
The relationship between the size of the working or productive part of the population and the size of the non-working or dependant part of the population
28
How does the changes in fertility affect the dependancy ratio?
Earnings/savings/taxes of working population support the dependent population. Children make up large part of dependent population, so less reduces the 'burden of dependency' on working population. However less babies means less young adults to become the working population, so the burden of dependency may then increase
29
How does the changes in fertility affect public services and policies?
Lower birth rate means fewer schools and maternity and child health services may b needed. Also affects cost of maternity and paternity leave, and the types of housing that need to be built, however many of these are political decisions, eg instead of reducing number of schools, government could decide to have smaller class sizes
30
What is an ageing population?
One effect of women having fewer babies is that the average age of the population is rising: there are more old people relative to young people. This ageing population has a number of important effects
31
What is death rate?
Number of deaths per thousand of the population per year
32
How has the death rate in the UK changed?
In 1990 it was 19 but in 2012 it over halved to 8.9. It began falling from 1870 but rose slightly during economic depression and war, but then continued to decrease
33
What did Tranter 1996 argue?
Over 3/4 of decline in death rate from 1850 to 1970 was due to fall in number of deaths from infectious diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis, which used to be most common cause of death among infants, children and young adults
34
What social factors affected the decrease in infectious diseases and decline in death rate?
Improved nutrition, medical improvements, smoking/diet, public health measures and other social changes
35
What does McKeown 1972 argue?
Argues that improved nutrition accounted for up to half the reduction in death rates and deaths by TB. It increased resistance to infection and increased survival chances of those who still became infected
36
What does McKeown however fail to explain?
Why deaths from some infectious diseases actually rose at times of improved nutrition, eg measles
37
How have medical improvements decreased death rates?
After 1950s, improved medical knowledge, techniques and organisation helped reduce death rates. Advances include the introduction of antibiotics, immunisation, blood transfusion, improved maternity services and the NHS in 1948
38
What does Harper argue about the decline in death rates?
Greatest fall in death rates in recent decades isn’t from medical improvements, but from a reduction in the number of people smoking and we have moved to an ‘American” health culture where lifestyles and diets are unhealthy, but long lifespan is achieved by use of costly medication
39
How have public health measures decreased death rates?
In 20th century, more effective central/local government with necessary power to pass and enforce laws led to a range of improvements in public health and quality of environment, including improvements in housing, purer drinking water, laws to combat adulteration of food and drink, pasteurisation of milk, and improved sewage disposal methods (clean air acts reduced air pollution that led to 4000 deaths in five days in 1952)
40
What are other social changes that played a part in reducing death rate?
Decline of dangerous manual occupations such as mining, smaller families reducing rate of transmission of infection, greater public knowledge of causes of illness, lifestyle changes eg reduction of smoking, and higher incomes that allow healthier lifestyles
41
What is life expectancy?
How long on average a person born in a given year can expect to live
42
How has life expectancy changed (UK)?
Born in 1900 life expectancy was 50 for males and 57 for females, Born in 2013 life expectancy is 90.7 for males and 94 for females
43
What is a reason for lower average life expectancy in 1900?
The fact that so many infants and children didn't survive beyond early years of life, eg a baby born today has a better chance of reaching its 65th birthday than a baby born in 1900 had of reaching its first birthday
44
What does Harper predict if the trend to greater longevity continues?
We will soon achieve 'radical longevity' with many more centenarians
45
What are gender differences in life expectancy?
Women generally live longer, though the gap has narrowed due to changes in employment and lifestyle
46
What does Walker 2011 argue about life expectancy?
Those living in the poorest areas of England die on average seven years earlier than those in the richest areas, while the average difference in disability-fee life expectancy is 17 years
47
How has the average age of the UK population changed?
in 1971 it was 34.1, in 2013 it was 40.3 and by 2037 it is projected to be 42.8
48
What does Hirsch 2005 note?
Notes that the traditional age pyramid is disappearing and being replaced by more or less equal-sized blocks representing the different age groups-eg by 2041 there will be equal amounts of 5 and 78 year olds
49
What three factors have caused the ageing population?
Increasing life expectancy, declining infant mortality and declining fertility
50
What is affected by an ageing population?
Pubic services, one-person pensioner households, and the dependency ratio
51
How are public services affected by an ageing population?
Older people consume a larger proportion of services such as health and social care than other age groups, though have to be careful of overgeneralising as many people remain in relatively good health well into old age. Apart from increased spending on health care, changes to policies and provision of housing, transport and other services may be changed
52
How are one person pensioner households affected by an ageing population?
Number of pensioners living alone has increased and these households now account for 1/8 of all households. Most are female as they generally live longer and are usually younger than their husbands (among over 75's there are twice as many women as men (feminisation of later life))
53
How is the dependency ratio affected by an ageing population?
Non working older group is dependent economically on workers eg taxes to pay pensions/health care. Increased retired people increases burden on working population, however old doesn't always mean economically dependent as age of drawing pensions is rising to 67 from 2026 for example
54
What is ageism?
Negative stereotyping and unequal treatment of people on the basis of their age, its a consequence of an ageing population
55
How can ageism towards older people be seen?
Many ways such as discrimination in employment and unequal treatment in health care. Discourse of old age and ageing has been constructed as a 'problem'
56
What do sociologists argue that ageism is a result of?
Structured dependency. The old are largely excluded from paid work so they are economically dependent on their family and the state. In modern society, identity and status is largely determined by roles in production, and so those excluded from it due to compulsory retirement have a dependent status and stigmatised identity
57
What is the Marxist perspective on the ageing population?
Phillipson 1982-Argues the old are of no use to capitalism as they aren't productive. As a result, the state is unwilling to support them adequately and so the family, especially female relatives, often have to take responsibility for their care
58
What do postmodernist sociologists argue?
In today's postmodern society the fixed, orderly stages of life course have broken down eg trends such as children dressing in adult styles, later marriage and early retirement start to blur boundaries between life stages giving individuals greater choice of lifestyle whatever their age
59
What does Hunt 2005 argue?
Unlike modern society, consumption (not production) becomes key to our identities, so we can choose a lifestyle and identity regardless of age (it no longer determines who we are or how we live)
60
What do the old become in postmodern society as a way to break down ageist stereotypes?
A market for a vast range of 'body maintenance' and 'rejuvenation' goods and services through which they can create their identities. These include cosmetic surgery, exercise equipment, gym memberships and anti-ageing products
61
What are two other features of postmodern society that also undermine old age as a stigmatised life stage?
Centrality of media and the emphasis on surface features
62
What is centrality of media?
Media images now portray positive aspects of the lifestyle of the elderly
63
What is emphasis on surface features?
The body becomes a surface on which we can write our identities. Anti-ageing products enable the old to write different identities for themselves
64
Who talks about inequality among the old and what do they say?
Pilcher 1995-Argues that inequalities such as class and gender remain important and many of these are related to the individuals previous occupational position
65
What are class inequalities among the old?
Middle class have better occupational pensions and greater savings from higher salaries. Poorer old people have a shorter life expectancy and suffer more infirmity
66
What are gender inequalities?
Women's lower earnings and career breaks as carers mean lower pensions. They are also subject to sexist as well as ageist stereotyping eg being described as 'old hags'
67
What is a criticism of the postmodernist view?
They understate the importance of these inequalities that are related to the structure of wider society and play a major part in shaping the experience of old age, often restricting the freedom of the elderly to choose an identity through their consumption
68
What did Concern 2004 find?
More people reported suffering age discrimination than any other form
69
What did Hirsch 2005 argue?
Argues a number of important social policies will need to change to tackle the new problems posed by an ageing population, the main problem being how to finance a longer period of old age, which can be done by paying more taxes while working, working for longer, or both
70
What other policies may need to change?
Housing policy, to encourage older people to 'trade down' into smaller accommodation to release wealth to improve their standard of living and free up housing for younger people
71
What does Hirsch also recognise about these policy changes?
They also require a cultural change in attitudes towards old age. His view illustrates notion that old age is a social construct eg in an ageing society, out idea of how old is old enough to retire may change
72
What is migration?
It refers to the movement of people from place to place, and can be internal, within a society, or international
73
What is immigration?
Refers to movement into a society
74
What is emigration?
Refers to movement out
75
What is net migration?
The difference between the numbers of immigrants and the numbers of emigrants, and is expressed as a net increase or a net decrease due to migration
76
What were migration patterns like in the UK until 1980s?
Fewer immigrants than emigrants
77
From 1900 until the second world war, who were the largest immigrant group?
The Irish, mainly for economic reasons, followed by Eastern and Central European Jews, who were often refugees fleeing persecution, and people of British decent from Canada and USA (very few non-white immigrants)
78
What was immigration like during the 1950s?
Black immigrants from Caribbean arrived in the UK, followed by South Asian immigrants and East African Asians during 1960s and 70s
79
What is a consequence of increased immigration?
A more ethnically diverse society. By 2011 ethnic minority groups accounted for 14% of the population, one result being greater diversity in family patterns, though most immigrants were white
80
What was emigration like in UK up to 1980s?
UK was almost always a net exporter of people (more emigrated to live elsewhere than came to settle in the UK
81
Where have emigrants gone since 1900?
To the uSA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa
82
What are the main reasons for emigration?
Economic push and pull factors, which contrast with reasons for migration of other groups who move for religious, political or racial persecution
83
What does migration affect?
Population size, age structure, and the dependency ratio
84
How does migration affect population size?
UK population is growing, net migration is high with more immigrants (in 2014 85% of immigrants weren't from the UK), natural increase with births exceeding deaths though UK born mother birth rates remain low but non UK born mothers account for about 25% of births in the UK and so the population still grows
85
How does migration affect age structure?
It lowers average age of population directly (immigrants are generally younger-average age of UK passport holder was 41, but 31 for non-UK holders) and indirectly (immigrants have more children as they are younger)
86
What are the three effects that immigration has on the dependency ration?
Immigrants are more likely of working age so lowers the dependency ratio (plus may go to home country to retire) though as they are younger they have more children which increases the dependency ratio (though when they grow they will lower the dependency ratio again) and the longer a group is settled in the country then the closer their fertility rate comes to national average which will reduce overall impact on dependency ratio
87
What is globalisation?
The idea that barriers between societies are disappearing and people are becoming increasingly interconnected across national boundaries
88
What is globalisation the result of?
Many processes including growth of communication systems and global media, creation of global markets, the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the expansion of the EU
89
How do many people see globalisation?
As producing rapid social changes eg increased international migrations
90
What are several trends in global migration?
Acceleration, differentiation and the feminisation of migration
91
What is acceleration?
There has been a speeding up rate of migration eg according to UN 2013, between 2000 and 2013m international migration increased by 33%
92
What is differentiation?
There are many types of migrant, including permanent settlers, temporary workers, spouses and forced migrants such as refugees and asylum seekers. Some have legal entitlement and others enter without permission. Diversity of migrants has increased due to globalisation eg with students in UK 2014, there were more Chinese born than uk born postgraduate students (3% more)
93
What is super diversity?
Since 1990s globalisation led to Vertovec 2007 'super diversity'. Migrants now come from much wider range of countries, and even within single ethnic groups there are individual differences in terms of legal status, culture and religion
94
What does Cohen 2006 distinguish?
Three types of migrant (class differences) there are citizens, denizens and helots
95
What are citizens?
Full citizenship rights eg voting rights and access to benefits. Since 1970s, UK state has made it harder for immigrants to acquire these rights
96
What are denizens?
Privileged foreign nationals welcomed by the stage eg billionaire 'oligarchs' or highly paid employees of multinational companies
97
What are helots?
Literally slaves, they are the most exploited groups. States and employers regard them as 'disposable units of labour power', a reserve army of labour. Found in unskilled, poorly paid work and include illegally trafficked workers, and those legally tied to particular employers, such as domestic servants
98
What is the globalisation of the gender division of labour?
Where female migrants find that they are fitted into patriarchal stereotypes about women's roles as carers or providers of sexual services
99
What is the feminisation of migration?
In the past, most men were migrants but now almost half of all global migrants are female
100
What did Ehrenreich and Hochschild 2003 observe?
Care work, domestic work and sex work in western countries like the UK and USA is increasingly done by women from poor countries
101
What are the trends that result in women from poorer countries taking on different types of work?
Expansion of service occupations (typically female employees) in Western countries led to increasing demand for female labour, western women joining labour force and less willing or able to perform domestic labour, western men remain unwilling to perform domestic labour and the failure of the state to provide adequate childcare
102
What does Shutes 2011 report?
40% of adult care nurses in the UK are migrants and mostly female
103
What else is there a global transfer of?
Women's emotional labour eg migrant nannies provide care and affection for their employers' children at the expense of their own children left behind in their home country. Also women migrants enter western countries as 'mail order' brides or as trafficked sex workers
104
What are migrant identities?
Migrants and descendants, may have an additional or alternative source of identity provided by their country of origin eg they may develop hybrid identities made of two or more different sources
105
What did Eade 1994 find?
Found that second generation Bangladeshi Muslims in Britain created hierarchical identities, they were first Muslim, then Bengali, then British
106
What can hybrid identities lead to?
Others may challenge their identity claims or accuse them of not 'fitting in'
107
What does Erikson 2007 argue?
Argues that globalisation has created more diverse migration patterns, with back and forth movements of people through networks rather than permanent settlement in another country
108
What do these diverse migration patterns lead to?
Migrants are less likely to see themselves as belonging completely to one culture or country. Instead they develop transnational identities and loyalties, especially as modern technology makes it possible to sustain global ties without having to travel
109
What does the globalised economy mean for migrants?
They may have more links to other migrants around the world than to either their country of origin or of settlement eg Eriksen found that Chinese migrants in Rome found mandarin more useful in everyday life than italian because of their global connections with Chinese in other countries and so are less likely to desire assimilation into the host culture
110
What is the politicisation of migration?
Increased global flows of migrants makes migration an important political issue and states now have polices to control it and deal with the ethnic and cultural diversity. They are also now linked more to national security and anti terrorism policies
111
What are the different migration policies?
Assimilation and multiculturalism
112
What is assimilationism?
First state policy approach to immigration, aimed to encourage immigrants to adopt language, values and customs of host culture so they can fit n
113
What is a problem with assimilationist policies?
Transnational migrants with hybrid identities may not be willing to abandon their culture or to see themselves as belonging to just one nation-state
114
What is multiculturalism?
Accepts that migrants may wish to retain a separate culture identity however in practice the acceptance may be limited to more superficial aspects of cultural diversity, leading to Eriksen's idea of shallow diversity and deep diversity
115
What is shallow diversity?
such as regarding chicken tikka masala as Britain's national dish, is acceptable to the state
116
What is deep diversity?
Such as arranged marriages or the veiling of women, is not acceptable to the state
117
What do critics argue about multicultural education policies?
They celebrate shallow diversity-superficial cultural differences, such as samosas, saris and steel bands, while failing to address deeper problems facing children from migrant backgrounds such as racism
118
How has multiculturalism changed?
From 1960s there was a move towards multiculturalism but since the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001, many politicians have sung back towards demanding that migrants assimilate culturally eg in France, veiling of the face in public was made illegal in 2010
119
What does Castles 2000 argue about assimilationist policies?
They are counter productive as they mark out minority groups as culturally backward or 'other', which can lead to minorities responding by emphasising their difference, as in the case of islamic fundamentalism, which increases host's suspicion of them as enemies and may promote anti terrorism policies to target them and breeds further marginalisation
120
What is a divided working class?
Assimilationist ideas may also encourage workers to blame migrants for social problems such as unemployment, resulting in racist scapegoating
121
What do Castles and Kosack 1973 say?
Racist scapegoating benefits capitalism by creating a racially divided working class and preventing united action in defence of their interests
