demography Flashcards
(35 cards)
1
Q
what is demography
A
- study of statistics
2
Q
birth rate
A
- number of live births per 1000 of the population per year
3
Q
infant mortality rate
A
- the number of infants who die before their first birthday per 1000 born alive each year
4
Q
total fertility rate
A
- the average number of children a woman will have during her fertile years
5
Q
death rate
A
- the number of deaths per 1000 of the population per year
6
Q
emigration
A
- movement of people out of area, society or a country
7
Q
Immigration
A
- movement of people into an area, society or a country
8
Q
ageing population
A
- a population where the number of older people is growing and the number of younger people is declining
9
Q
the dependency ratio
A
- the relationship between the size of the working population on the nonworking population
10
Q
factors determining birth rate
A
- the proportion of women who are of childbearing age
- the total fertility rate (the average number of children women will have during fertile years)
- the average age for a woman giving birth to her first child is 29, fertility rates for women in their 30s and 40s are on the increase
- older women have fewer fertile years remaining and therefore produce fewer children
- these statistics reflect the fact that more women are remaining childless than in the past, and postponing having children
11
Q
reasons for the decline in birth rate
A
- changes in the position of women (more career focused - focused on work and promotions, more financially independent - have more freedom and dependence, increase in educational opportunities, access to abortion and contraception, easier access to a divorce)
12
Q
current statistics about childbearing
A
- nearly half of all children are now outside of marriage
- women are having children later in life (average age of first born child is 29, which has risen 4 years since the 1970s
- women are having fewer children: average number of children per women fell from 2.95 in the 1960’s to 1.94 in 2010
13
Q
reasons for the changes in childbearing
A
- decline in stigma and increase in cohabitation (only 28% of 25-34 year-old now think marriage should come before parenthood)
- women now have more options than just motherhood, many are seeking to establish themselves in a career before starting a family, or instead of having children at all
14
Q
factors affecting death rate
A
- decline in infectious diseases: fall in the number of deaths from measles, smallpox and tuberculosis due to the development of vaccinations helping to prevent the spread
- improved nutrition: better nutrition increases resistance to infection and increase survival chances of those who did become affected, great knowledge of a balanced diet
- medical improvements: improved medical knowledge and techniques, NHS, antibodies
- smoking and diet: reduced number of people smoking
- public health measures: government has passed / introduced laws led to improvement in public health and quality of the environment (eg pure drinking water, improved sewage disposal methods)
- decline in dangerous manual jobs
15
Q
advantages of the age population
A
- boosting the economy: the economy is supported by the grey pound (the purchasing power of older generations) particularly areas such as leisure and culture (eg tourism, theatres and galleries) because these generations have the time and money to do so
- community involvement: many people of these generations participate in volunteer work in society (eg organising community events) which helps to bring communities close together and provide opportunities for the younger
- family support: with many families consisting of two parents both of which are in paid employment, grandparents now play an important role in providing unpaid child care and household tasks, evidence found grandparents performed household and childcare tasks that would cost around £73 per week if paid for, benefits family life, the economy and childhood experience
16
Q
disadvantages of the age population
A
- an increase in one person pensioner households = more demand for housing, people retiring at an older age in order to have enough money
- a shift in the dependency ratio: more elderly people depending on the pension / working class = raises taxes
- a rise in poverty and hardship: due to an increase in older generations needing more funding, there may be caught to public spending elsewhere for younger generations (eg allowancespure) = cost of living crisis, cost of care
- increased strain on public services: bus passes and public transport design for elderly costs the taxpayers money, elderly people need more care such as care homes and nurses who visit
17
Q
social construction of aging as a problem: modern view, postmodern view of old age, inequality amongst the old
A
- modern society and old age: many sociologists argue ageism is the result of structured dependency, old people are excluded from paid work so ultimately economically dependent on the family of the state, marxists argue the elderly are no use to capitalism as they are no longer productive, so the state is unwilling to support them adequately, left to the family instead
- postmodern society and old age: post-modernists argue that early retirement gives individuals greater choice of lifestyle, old people become a market for a vast range of body maintenance or rejuvenation goods to create identities (eg gym memberships)
- Inequality among the old: middle class have better occupational pensions from higher salaries, poor old people have shorter life expectancy and suffer more, women’s lower earnings mean lower pensioners, subject to sexism and ageist stereotyping
18
Q
policy implications (Hirsch)
A
- argues that social policy must change to tackle the social problems arising due to the aging population
- people must be persuaded not to retire early and continue working after the age of retirement
- there should be more investment into education for the elderly is needed for them to remain employable in later life
19
Q
factors affected by migration and immigration
A
- population size: the population is currently growing, partly because of immigration (more immigrants than emigrants)
- age structure: immigration lowers the average age of the population both directly (immigrants are generally younger) and indirectly (being younger, immigrants are more fertile and produce more babies)
- dependency ratio: immigrants are more likely to be of working age, thus lowering the dependency ratio, however, they often have more children therefore increasing the ratio
20
Q
factors in the family affected by migration and globalisation
A
- who lives in the home
- adult roles and responsibilities: more / better job opportunities
- number of children: one child policy in china
- marriage: more homosexual marriage due to it being illegal in some countries, people moving to marry for religious reasons
- transnational identities: migrants move back and forth rather then seeing themselves as belonging to one country, may develop transnational identities which technology makes it possible to sustain without having to travel
21
Q
demographic effects on family types - dual earner families
A
- this type of family is more common now
- the decline in birth rates has led to a change in roles between adult adults in the family
- the rise of the symmetrical family (Young and Willmott’s) has occurred where both partners are likely to work
- now, families are expected to have more money to spend on goods and services because consumerism has increased to
- due to Increase life expectancy and the improvement in children’s rights and conditions, both children and the elderly have become an economic liability, so families are expected to obtain more income to support all nonworking family members effectively
22
Q
strengths of dual earner families
A
- feminists argue dual earner families give women their own financial income, not reliable on man - equality
23
Q
limitations of dual earner families
A
- parsons: critical of 2 working adults, men and women are predisposed to be the instrumental and expressive leader for primary socialisation
24
Q
demographic effects on family types - single parent families
A
- the number of younger single parents is on the rise, and most single parent families are headed by women, maybe due to the change in position of women
- In demographical changes, the decline in the total fertility rate and the growth of black Caribbean community has led to an increase in this family type
- Giddens argues that plastic sexuality has led to a growth in these families, people have started to engage in relationships with others for fun and enjoyment, rather than the sole purpose of reproduction
25
strengths of SPF
- Feminists argue this may be better because the nuclear families may have abusive fathers in the home
26
limitations of SPF
- Murray argues we have a culture of dependency in society, people on benefits were more likely to have children because they would then get more benefits / money from the government
27
demographic effects on family types - childless families (Morgan)
- due to the decline in birth rates, we are seeing an increase in childless couples
- women’s rights have increased because of the feminist movement, so they pursue careers and are less likely to have children
- Morgan believed that an increase in individualism may people care more about themselves, making themselves a priority rather than others = societies becoming more diverse in terms of different family types within it
28
strengths of childless families
- postmodernists: increase in individualism = becoming more self focused / orientated, only thinking about themselves (pure relationship)
29
limitations of childless families
- Murdock (functionalist) = rejects this view as couples aren’t conforming into roles in society (reproduction)
30
demographic effects on family types - beanpole families
- due to an age population and an increasing life expectancy as well as the decline in total fertility rate of women, we are seeing more and more families becoming beanpole shaped
- this means that there are many generations in a family still alive (eg grandparents and great grandparents) but fewer members in each generation (eg less or no siblings for each generation)
31
strengths of beanpole families
- family support: grandparents help with childcare and babysitting
32
limitations of beanpole families
- shift in dependency ratio: more older people reliant on taxes and so reliant on workers to provide it
33
demographic effects on family types - traditional/extended families
- due to rise in immigration within the UK, we are seeing an increase in the extended family type which decline during industrial period
- families from countries such as Pakistan may maintain their cultural or religious practices by living in a tight-knit extended family structure that was led by the man
- globalisation means that there has been an acceleration in the rates in which people are leaving the UK and moving to the UK
- for example, a growing Polish community who migrate to the UK for work, uphold a Polish culture that is strongly linked to catholic faith which increases the number of younger married couples with children
34
strengths of traditional/extended families
- functionalist would argue women are able to stay at home and perform their function as an in instrumental leader and carry out primary socialisation
35
limitations of traditional/extended families
- feminist argue this put women in a weaker position as immigration of extended families are seem to be run by men
