Theme 7- Social Development Issues

Question 1

Define social development.

Answer 1

Social development- a measure of how well a society is changing for the better or how living standards are improving.

Question 2

Give indicators that could be used to measure social development.

Answer 2

1. Life expectancy
2. Literacy rates
3. The number of people per doctor
4. Average food consumption
5. The number of homeless people
6. Death from unsafe water and sanitation
7. The infant mortality rate

Question 3

Define life expectancy.

Answer 3

Life expectancy- the average age a person is expected to live to in a population.

Question 4

Define literacy rate.

Answer 4

Literacy rate- is the percentage of people in a population who can read or write.

Question 5

Define infant mortality rate.

Answer 5

Infant mortality rate- the number of babies per 1000 live births who die under the age of one.

Question 6

Give two areas frequently used to measure social development.

Answer 6

1. Gender equality in a society

2. Health of its citizens

Question 7

Give social indicators that can give an indication of gender equality.

Answer 7

1. Male and female literacy rates
2. Fertility rate
3. Male and female life expectancy
4. Male and female food consumption
5. Employment type

Question 8

Define fertility rate.

Answer 8

Fertility rate- the average number of births to a woman in her lifetime.

Question 9

Define gender inequality index (GII).

Answer 9

Gender inequality index (GII)- a measurement of gender disparity.

Question 10

Give 3 ways in which gender inequality is measured.

Answer 10

1. Reproductive health
2. Empowerment
3. Economic status

Question 11

What are those 3 ways to measure gender inequality designed for?

Answer 11

It is designed to expose differences in the achievements of men and women.

Question 12

Give indicators for the development of health.

Answer 12

1. Average life expectancy
2. Infant mortality rate
3. Percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) spent on healthcare
4. Length of hospital waiting lists and waiting times
5. Mortality rate of specific health conditions such as cancer and heart disease.

Question 13

Define gross domestic product.

Answer 13

Gross domestic product (GDP)- the total value of goods and services produced in a country in a year.

Question 14

Why is it too simplistic to describe a country as ‘unhealthy’ or ‘health’?

Answer 14

There are many variables involved. Instead, we need to think of a gradual progression or continuum of social development.

Question 15

Define variables.

Answer 15

Variables- factors that can change and influence an outcome.

Question 16

Define continuum of social development.

Answer 16

Continuum of social development- a way of thinking about social development as a continuous process that does not have an end point.

Question 17

Define development gap.

Answer 17

Development gap- the gap that exists in the measurement of development between the world’s richest and poorest countries.

Question 18

Define human development index (HDI) .

Answer 18

Human development index (HDI)- a measure of the development in a country taking into account wealth, education and average life expectancy.

Question 19

Give 4 ways to measure HDI.

Answer 19

1. Average length of schooling in years
2. Literacy rates
3. Gross national income (GNI) per capita
4. Life expectancy

Question 20

Define Gross national income (GNI) per capita.

Answer 20

Gross national income (GNI) per capita- the average income in a country per person.

Question 21

Why is HDI a reliable indicator of measuring overall development?

Answer 21

The HDI brings together social and economic factors therefore may be a more reliable indicator of measuring overall development.

Question 22

What does the population growth depend on?

Answer 22

It depends on the balance between birth rates and death rates. Social, economic and political factors influence these rates.

Question 23

Define birth rate.

Answer 23

Birth rate- the number of births per 1000 people per year

Question 24

Define death rate.

Answer 24

Death rate- the number of deaths per 1000 people per year

Question 25

Give factors that lead to higher birth rates.

Answer 25

1. Children provide labours on farms and security for old age (Economic)
2. Large families are seen as a sign of virility (Social)
3. Girls may marry early and therefor extend their child- bearing years (Social)
4. Women may lack education and stay at home to raise a family rather than work (Social)
5. A high infant mortality rate encourages larger families to ensure survival of some children (Social)

Question 26

Give factors that lead to lower birth rates.

Answer 26

1. People tend to marry later and therefore have reduced child-bearing years (Social)
2. Women are educated and often follow careers which delay or prevent them starting families (Political)
3. The high cost of living means it is expensive to raise children (Economic)
4. Couples prefer to spend money on material things such as holidays and cars (Economic)
5. Birth control is readily available (Political)

Question 27

Give factors that lead to higher death rates.

Answer 27

1. HIV, Ebola and other difficult to control diseases are having an impact on death rates in LICs (Social)
2. In HICs, the increasingly higher proportion of elderly people in ageing societies is leading to an increase in death rates (Social)

Question 28

Give factors that lead to lower death rates.

Answer 28

1. Better healthcare and vaccination programmes are more available to people (Political)
2. Less physically demanding jobs put less stress on people physically (Social)
3. People are educated about health and hygiene (Political)
4. Water supplies are more reliable and cleaner (Political)
5. There is more sanitary disposal of waste (Political)

Question 29

What are population pyramids?

Answer 29

Population pyramids are graphs that divide the population into five- year age groups which are shown as horizontal bars and then the graph is split into two to show males and females.

or

Population pyramid- a graph that shows the age and gender distribution of a population.