Topic 2 (demographic trends in the UK since 1900: birth rates, death rates, fam size, life expectancy, ageing pop, migration and globalisation) Flashcards

Question

What is AGEISM? | What effect has the ageing population had on ageism?

Answer 1

AGEISM = the negative stereotyping and unequal treatment of people based on their age. this can be shown in many ways such as discrimination in employment and unequal treatment in health care. Ageism is thought to be the result of 'structured dependency'. The old are largely excluded from paid work, leaving them economically dependent on their families or the state. PHILIPSON (1982) the old are no use to capitalism because they are no longer productive. As a result, the state is unwilling to support them adequately and so the family, often takes responsibility of their care. in modern society, age becomes important in role allocation - creating fixed life stages and age-related identities.

Answer 2

``` they argue that the fixed, orderly stages of the life course have broken down. trends such as children dressing in adult styles, later marriage and early retirements all, begin to blur the line between life stages. this gives individuals greater choice of lifestyles, whatever their age. HUNT argues that this means we can choose a lifestyle and identity regardless of our age - it no longer determines who we are or how we live. the old become a market for a vast range of 'body maintenance' goods and services through which they can create their identities. EG. cosmetic surgery, exercise equipment, anti-ageing products. these trends break down ageist stereotypes found in modern society. PILCHER (1995) - argues that inequalities such as class + gender remain important: middle class have better occupational pensions and greater savings from higher salaries. poorer old people have a shorter life expectancy + suffer more infirmity (physical + mental weakness). ```

Answer 3

Hirsch - Argues that several important social policies will need to change to tackle the new problems posed by an ageing population. The main problem will be how to finance the longer old age. this can be done by paying more into our savings + taxes while we are working or by working for longer. Housing policy may need to change to encourage older people to 'trade down' into smaller accommodation. this would release wealth to improve their standard of living and free up housing for younger people. These policy changes will require a cultural change in our attitudes to old age. HIRSCH argues that old age is a social construct - it's something that is shaped and defined by society.

Answer 4

older people consume a larger proportion of services such as health/social care than other age groups. however, this could be an over-generalisation - many old people remain in relatively good health well into old age. an ageing population may also mean there are changes to policies + provision of housing, transport, + other services.

Answer 5

There is an increase in extended families due to increased life expectancy. with people living longer there are increases in multi-generational + beanpole families.

Answer 6

the number of pensioners living alone has increased and single-person pensioner households now account for 1/8 of all households. most of these are female, both because women generally live longer than men

Answer 7

From 1900 to the Second World War the largest immigrant group to the UK were the Irish, mainly for economic reasons; followed by Eastern and Central European Jews, who were often refugees fleeing persecution and people of British descent from Canada and the US. Few immigrants were non-white. However, by the 1950s, black immigrants from the Caribbean began to settle in the UK; followed by South Asian immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladeshi and Sri Lanka and by East African Asians from Kenya and Uganda during the 1960s and 1970s. As a consequence, the UK has become a much more ethnically diverse society. By 2011 minority ethnic groups accounted for 12.1% of the total population, and this has contributed greatly to the diversity of family patterns found in contemporary Britain.

Answer 8

From as early as the mid-16th century until the 1980s, the UK has almost always been a net exporter of people: more people emigrate than have come to settle. Since 1900, the great majority of emigrants have gone to the US and the old Commonwealth countries (Canada, Australia and New Zealand) and South Africa. The main reasons have been economic, both in terms of ‘push’ factors such as economic recession and unemployment at home and ‘pull’ factors such as high wages or better opportunities abroad. Earlier in the century, there were often labour shortages in these countries. These economic reasons contrast with other groups who have been driven to migration by religious, political or racial persecution.

Answer 9

- population size has increased. the key reason for this increase was the expansion of the European Union in 2004 to including ten new member states, mostly in Eastern Europe, giving their citizens the right to live and work in the UK. - Age structure: both immigrants and emigrants are generally young and slightly more likely to be male than female. Immigrants are generally younger. Being younger, immigrants are more fertile and thus produce more babies. However, a significant number of emigrants are older, with 40% moving to EU countries such as Spain to retire. - Dependency ratio: On one hand migrants are mainly of working age and this reduces dependency, however immigrant women tend to have higher fertility rates. In the short term, this contributes to a higher dependency, but in the long term produces more workers, helping to reduce the ratio once again. The longer a group is settled in the country, the closer their fertility rate comes to the national average, reducing their overall impact on the dependency ratio. - As a result of internal migration during the industrial revolution of the 19th century there was a population shift from the largely agricultural South to the industrial North for jobs in mining, shipbuilding, steel, iron, textiles etc. In 1851 Britain was the first country to see more than half of its population living in towns and cities. However, during the 20th century as these industries declined and gave way to newer ones (cars, chemicals, electrical engineering etc.) developing in the South and Midlands there began a population shift in the opposite direction in search of job opportunities. More recently, London and the South East have exerted an important pull because of the growth in the finance and service industries located there. A corresponding trend has been suburbanisation with the growth of large residential areas surrounding the major cities and more recently still, there has been a reversal of the outflow of population from inner city areas.

Answer 10

Globalisation is the idea that barriers between societies are disappearing and people are becoming increasingly interconnected across national boundaries. It is the result of many combined processes, including the growth of communication systems and global media, the creation of global markets, the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the expansion of the European Union. Many see globalisation as producing rapid social changes. One major social change resulting from globalisation is international migration.

Answer 11

- There has been a speeding up of the rate of migration. - Globalisation is increasing the diversity of types of migrants. There are many types of migrant including permanent settlers, temporary workers, spouses and forced migrants such as refugees and asylum seekers. Some may have legal entitlement, while others enter without permission. since the 1990s globalisation has led to what VERTOVEC calls 'Super diversity'. Migrants now come from a much wider range of countries.

Answer 12

Identifies three types of migrant: Citizens: full citizenship rights (voting rights + access to benefits) Denizens: privileged foreign nationals welcomed by the state. Helots: the most exploited group. states + employers regard them as 'disposable units of labour power'.

Answer 13

Family and Household Diversity: Global migration means there is an increase in the range of families and households linked to ethnic differences: Black families are more likely to be headed up by a lone female; Asian families are likely to be larger; with the increase in women there will be less households that just have male migrants. Population Size: The key reason for this increase was the expansion of the European Union in 2004 to including ten new member states, mostly in Eastern Europe, giving their citizens the right to live and work in the UK. Age Structure: Both immigrants and emigrants are generally young and slightly more likely to be male than female. Immigrants are generally younger. Being younger, immigrants are more fertile and thus produce more babies. However, a significant number of emigrants are older, with 40% moving to EU countries such as Spain to retire. The Dependency Ratio: On one hand migrants are mainly of working age and this reduces dependency, however immigrant women tend to have higher fertility rates. In the short term, this contributes to a higher dependency, but in the long term produces more workers, helping to reduce the ratio once again. The longer a group is settled in the country, the closer their fertility rate comes to the national average, reducing their overall impact on the dependency ratio.

Answer 14

We all have multiple sources of identity: family, friends, neighbourhood, ethnicity, religion, nationality etc. and they give us a sense of belonging and of who we are. For migrants and their descendants, their country of origin may provide an additional or alternative source of identity. Reflecting this, migrants may develop hybrid identities; identities made up of two or more different sources. Eade (1994) found that second generation Bangladeshi Muslims in Britain created hierarchical identities: they saw themselves as Muslim first, then Bengali, then British. Those with hybrid identities may find that others challenge their identity claims or accuse them of not fitting in.

Answer 15

According to Eriksen (2007), globalisation has created more diverse migration patterns, with back-and-forth movements of people through networks rather than permanent settlement in another country. As a result, 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. Modern technology also makes it possible to sustain global ties without having to travel. The globalised economy means that migrants may have more links to other migrants around the world than to either their country of origin or of settlement. For example, Eriksen describes Chinese migrants in Rome who found Mandarin more useful for everyday life than Italian – simply because Mandarin was important for their global connections with Chinese individuals in other countries around the world. Migrants in a globalised world are thus less likely to desire assimilation into the host culture.

Answer 16

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’. However, assimilation policies face the problem that transnational migrants with hybrid identities may not be willing to abandon their culture or to see themselves as belonging to just one nation-state. · Multiculturalism: accepts that migrants may wish to retain a separate cultural identity. However, in practice, this acceptance may be limited to more superficial aspects of cultural diversity. For example, Eriksen distinguishes between shallow diversity: such as regarding chicken tikka masala as Britain’s national dish, is acceptable to the state and deep diversity: such as arranged marriages or the veiling of women, is not acceptable to the state. From the 1960s there was a move towards multiculturalism but since the ‘9/11’ Islamist terrorist 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.

Answer 17

Argues that assimilationist policies are counter-productive because they mark out minority groups are culturally backward or 'other'. This can be lead to minorities as emphasising their differences. This increases the hosts' suspicion of them as the 'enemy within' and may promote anti-terrorism policies that target them. This breeds further marginalisation, defeating the goal of assimilation.

Topic 2 (demographic trends in the UK since 1900: birth rates, death rates, fam size, life expectancy, ageing pop, migration and globalisation) Flashcards

(42 cards)