Topic 4 - Demography

Question 1

what is meant by birth rate ?

Answer 1

-Birth rate is defined as the number of live births per thousand of the population per year

Question 2

what is evidence that shows the birth rate is declining ?

Answer 2

-there has been a trend towards a long term decline in the number of births since 1900. In 1900 England and Wales had a birth rate of 28.7, but by 2012 it had fallen to an estimated 12.2

Question 3

Has the birth rate constantly been decreasing and if not or so why ?

Answer 3

-there is evidence to fluctuations in the births , with 3 baby booms in the 20th Century
-the first 2 came after the 2 world wars , as returning servicemen and their partners started families that they had postponed during war years
-there was a third baby boom in the 1960s

Question 4

what are the 2 factors which determine the birth rate ?

Answer 4

-the proportion of women who are of childbearing age (usually between 15 and 44)
-how fertile the women are - that is , how many children they will have

Question 5

what is meant by the total fertility rate (TFR) ?

Answer 5

-The total fertility rate is the average number of children a women will have during her fertile years

Question 6

what do the changes in fertility and birth rates reflect the fact that ?

Answer 6

-more women are remaining childless , compared to in the past
-women are now postponing having children

Question 7

what are the 4 sociological reasons for the decline in birth rate ?

Answer 7

1.Changes in Women’s Position
2.Decline in infant mortality
3.Children are now an economic liability
4.Child Centredness

Question 8

Reasons for decline in birth rate - changes in women’s position -what are some major changes in the position of women during the 20th century ?

Answer 8

major changes in the position of women during the 20th Century include ;
-Legal equality with men , including the right to vote
-increased educational opportunities - girls now do better than boys in school
-more women in paid employment , plus laws outlawing unequal pay and sex discrimination
-changes in attitudes to family life and women’s role
-Easier access to divorce
-access to abortion and reliable contraception, giving women more control over their fertility

Question 9

Reasons for decline in birth rate - changes in women’s position - what does Harper believe the most important reason is for the long term fall in birth and fertility rates ?

Answer 9

-Harper , believes the education of women is the most important reason for the long term fall in the birth and fertility rates
-education has led to a change in mindset among women, resulting in fewer children
-not only are educated women more likely to use family planning , women now see other possibilities in life apart from the traditional role of the housewife and mother.
-many are choosing to delay childbearing or have no children at all , in order to pursue a career
-Harper also notes that , once a pattern of fertility lasts for more than one generation , cultural norms about family size change . smaller families become the norm and large ones become to be seen as deviant or less acceptable

Question 10

Reasons for decline in birth rate - Decline in the infant mortality rate -what does Harper believe a fall in the infant mortality rate leads to ?

Answer 10

-Harper argues that a fall in the infant mortality rate leads to a fall in the birth rate , this is because if many infants die , parents have more children to replace those they have lost
-by contrast , if the infant survives the parents will have fewer of them

Question 11

what is meant by infant mortality rate ?

Answer 11

-infant mortality rate measures the number of infants who die before their first birthday , per thousand babies born alive , per year

Question 12

Reasons for decline in birth rate - decline in infant mortality rate - what are some reasons that during the first half of the 20th century , the UK’s IMR (infant mortality rate ) began to fall ?

Answer 12

-improved housing and better sanitation , such as flush toilets and clean drinking water , reduced infectious diseases , infants are much more susceptible to infection because of their less developed immune systems
-better nutrition , including that of mothers
-better knowledge of hygiene , child health and welfare often spread via women’s magazines
-a Fall in the number of married women working may have improved their health and that of their babies
-improved services for mothers and children , such as antenatal and postnatal clinics
-From the 1950s , medical factors began to play a greater role such as mass immunization against childhood diseases such as whooping cough , measles etc

Question 13

Reasons for decline in birth rate -children are now an economic liability - what did children used to be and what are they now , what is meant by this ?

Answer 13

-until the late 19th century , children were economic assets to their parents because they could be sent to work from an early age to earn a wage
-however , since the late 19th century children have gradually become an economic liability

Question 14

Reasons for decline in birth rate - children are now an economic liability - what are 2 things that have led children to be seen as an economic liability and what is the impact of this ?

Answer 14

-laws banning child labour , introducing compulsory schooling and raising the school leaving age mean that children remain economically dependent on their parents for longer and longer
-changing norms about what children have a right to expect from their parents in material terms means that the cost of brining up children has risen
as a result of these financial pressures , parents now feel less able or willing than in the past to have a large family

Question 15

Reasons for decline in birth rate - child centredness - why has this meant that families decide to have less children ?

Answer 15

-in terms of family size , child centredness has encouraged a shift from “quantity” to “quality” - parents now have fewer children and lavish more attention and resources on the few they have

Question 16

what is one reason for the increase in birth rates since 2001 ?

Answer 16

-one reason for the increase in the birth rate is due to the increase in immigration because on average , mothers from outside of the UK have a higher fertility rate compared to those born in the UK
-Babies born to mother outside of the UK accounted for 25% of all births in 2011

Question 17

what are the 3 effects of changes in fertility ?

Answer 17

-the family
-the dependency ratio
-public services and policies

Question 18

effects of changes in fertility - the family - what do smaller families mean for families ?

Answer 18

-smaller families mean that women are more likely to be free to go out to work , thus creating the dual earner couple , typical of many professional families

Question 19

what is meant by the dependency ratio ?

Answer 19

-The dependency ratio is the relationship between the size of the working or productive part of the population and the size of the non working or dependent part of the population
-the earnings , savings and taxes of the working population must support the dependent population

Question 20

Effects of changes in fertility - the dependency ratio - what will happen to this due to fewer babies being born in the short and long term ?

Answer 20

-children make up a large part of the dependent population , so a fall in the number of children reduces the “burden of dependency “ on the working population
-however , in the long term , fewer babies being born will mean fewer young adults and a smaller working population and so the burden of dependency may begin to increase again.

Question 21

Effects of changing in fertility - the dependency ratio - how is falling fertility rates leading to “vanishing children” and what does this mean ?

Answer 21

-vanishing children - falling fertility rates mean fewer children , as a result , childhood may become a lonelier experience as fewer children will have siblings , and more childless adults may mean fewer voices speaking up in support of children’s interests
-conversely , fewer children could mean that children become to be more valued

Question 22

Effects of changes in fertility - public services and policies - what are some of the consequences for public services due to low birth rate ?

Answer 22

-a low birth rate has consequences for public services.
-For example , fewer schools and maternity and child health services may be needed.
-it also affects the cost of maternity and paternity leave and the types of housing that need to be built
-however , we should remember that many of these are political decisions , for example instead of reducing the number of schools , the government could decide to have smaller class sizes

Question 23

Effects if changes in fertility -public services and polices - what is one effect of women having fewer babies and what does this mean ?

Answer 23

-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 of the population has a number of important effects , which we look at later

Question 24

What is meant by death rate ?

Answer 24

-Death rate is the number of deaths per thousand of the population per year

Question 25

What is the trend towards the death rate include dates ?

Answer 25

-the death rate began falling from about the 1870s and continued to do so until about 1930 -it rose slightly during the 1930s and 40s - the period of he great economic depression , followed by world war 2 - but since the 1950s has declined slightly

Question 26

Reasons for Decline in death rate - what reason does Tranter give for why the death rate has decreased during the 20th century and who did this affect ?

Answer 26

-Tranter states that over three quarters of the decline in the death rate from about 1850 to 1970 was due to a fall in the number of deaths from infectious diseases such as measles , smallpox , TB (tuberculosis) etc -deaths from infectious diseases were most common in the young and most of the decline in the death rate occurred among infants , children and young adults

Question 27

Reasons for decline In death rate - what kind of diseases replaced infectious diseases in the 1950s and who did these mostly affect ?

Answer 27

-By the 1950s , so called “diseases of affluence” (wealth) such as heart disease and cancers replaced infectious diseases as the main cause of death -these degenerative diseases affected the middle aged and the old more than the young

Question 28

Reasons for decline in death rate - what are some possible reasons that decline in deaths from infection occurred ?

Answer 28

-its possible that the population began to develop some natural resistance or that some diseases became less virulent (powerful) -however , social factors , probably had a much greater impact on infectious diseases such as ; -improved nutrition -medical improvements -smoking and diet -public health measures

Question 29

Reasons for decline in death rate - how does McKeown use the term improved nutrition to help explain why the death rate from infectious diseases declined ?

Answer 29

-McKeown argues that improved nutrition accounted for up to half of the reduction in the death rates , and were particularly important in reducing the number of deaths from TB -this is because , better nutrition increased the resistance to infection and increased the survival chance of those who did become infected

Question 30

Reasons for decline in death rate - what are 2 ways that McKeowns explanation of improved nutrition as reducing death from infectious diseases can be criticised ?

Answer 30

-However , McKeown doesn’t explain why females , who receive a smaller share of the family food supply , lived longer than males -Similarly , he fails to explain why deaths from infectious diseases , such as measles and infant diarrhoea , actually rose at the time of improving nutrition

Question 31

Reasons for decline in death rates - what do sociologists believe about if medical improvements have helped to reduced the number of deaths from infectious diseases , if not what have medical improvements helped include some examples of medical improvements ?

Answer 31

-despite some important innovations , medical improvements played almost no part in the reduction of deaths from infectious disease -However , after the 1950s , improved medical knowledge , techniques and organisations did help to reduced death rates -advances included ; the introduction of antibiotics , immunisation, blood transfusions , improved maternity services , setting up the national health service in 1948

Question 32

Reasons for decline in death rates- why does harper believe smoking and diet has led to a fall in the death rate but what has this lead to an increase in ?

Answer 32

-Harper argues that the fall in the death rate hasn’t come from medical improvements , but simply from a reduction in the number of people smoking -however , in the 21st century obesity has replaced smoking as the new lifestyle epidemic , for example in 2012 one Quarter of all adults were obese

Question 33

Reaosns for decline in death rates-smoking and diet - what does Harper suggest we are moving towards and what does this mean ?

Answer 33

-Harper suggests that we may be moving to an “American health culture” where lifestyles are unhealthy but where a long lifespan is achieved by the use of costly medication

Question 34

Reasons for decline in death rates- public health measures - what are examples of these which have helped to improve the death rate ?

Answer 34

-some examples include ; -improvements in housing - producing drier , better ventilated , less crowded accommodation -purer drinking water -improved sewerage disposal methods -the clean air act reduced air pollution , such as smog that led to 4,000 deaths in 5 days in 1952

Question 35

Reasons for decline in death rates- what are examples of some other social changes which have helped to decline the death rate ?

Answer 35

Other social changes include ; -the decline of dangerous manual occupations such as mining -smaller families reduced the rate of transmission of infection -greater public knowledge of the causes of illness -lifestyle changes , especially the reduction in the number of men who smoke -higher incomes ,allowing a healthier lifestyle

Question 36

What is meant by life expectancy ?

Answer 36

-life expectancy refers to how long an average person born in a given year can be expected to live , as death rates have fallen the life expectancy has increased

Question 37

What is an example showing life expectancy has increased compare 1900 to 2013 ?

Answer 37

-males born in England in 1900 could expect on average to live until they were 50 , 57 for females -males born in England in 2013 can expect to live for 90.7 years and 94 for females

Question 38

What is one reason for the lower average life expectancy in 1990 ?

Answer 38

-one reason for the lower average life expectancy in 1900 was the fact that so many infants and children didn’t survive beyond the early years of life

Question 39

What does Harper believe if the trend towards longevity (long lifespan) continues and what does this mean ?

Answer 39

-Harper believes if the trend towards longevity (long lifespan) continues then she predicts that we will soon achieve “radical longevity” , with many more centenarians (People over 100 years old)

Question 40

Evaluation of life expectancy getting longer - what did Walker find about class differences ?

Answer 40

-According to Walker , those living in the poorest areas of England die on average 7 years earlier than those in the richest areas

Question 41

Evaluation of life expectancy getting longer - what is the difference between men and women ?

Answer 41

-in general women are expected to live longer than men , however this is narrowing due to changes in employment and in lifestyles such as more women smoking

Question 42

The ageing population - what does Hirsch believe is disappearing and what is this being replaced by and what does this mean ?

Answer 42

-Hirsch notes that the traditional age”pyramid” is disappearing and is being replaced by more or less equal sized “blocks” representing the different age groups -for example , by 2041 there will be as many 78 year olds as 5 year olds

Question 43

What are the 3 factors which impact the ageing of the population ?

Answer 43

-increasing life expectancy - people are living longer into old age -declining infant mortality - so that nowadays hardly anyone dies early in life -declining fertility -fewer young people are being born in relation to the number of older people in the population.

Question 44

What are the 3 main effects of an ageing population ?

Answer 44

1.Public services 2.One pensioner households 3.the dependency ratio

Question 45

Effects of an ageing population - public services - what is meant by this but how can this view be criticised ?

Answer 45

-older people consume a large proportion of services such as health and social care compared to other groups -however , we should be aware of over generalising , since many people remain in relatively good health well into old age

Question 46

Effects of an ageing population - due to the ageing population , what has happened to the number of one pensioner households ?

Answer 46

-the number of pensioners living alone has increased and one person pensioner households now account for about 12.5% , or 1 in 8 of all households -most of these are women because women generally live longer than men and because they are generally younger than their husbands

Question 47

Effects of an ageing population - the dependency ratio- what happens to this ratio due to the ageing population?

Answer 47

-the non working old are a dependent group who need to be provided for by those of working age , for example through taxation to pat for pensions and health care -as the number of retired people rises , this increases the dependency ratio and the burden on the working population

Question 48

Effects of an egeing population - the dependency ratio - evaluation of an ageing population leading to more dependents for the working population ?

Answer 48

-however , it’s wrong to assume that “old” necessarily equals “economically dependent” -for example , the age at which people can draw their pension is rising from. 2020 men and women have to wait until they are 66 to access their state pension -also , while an increase in the number of old people raises the dependency ratio , in an ageing population this is offset by a declining number of dependent children

Question 49

What is one consequence of the ageing population and what is meant by this and examples ?

Answer 49

-one consequence of the ageing population in modern society is the growth of ageism - the negative stereotyping and unequal treatment of people on the basis of their age -ageism towards older people shows itself in many ways , such as discrimination in employment and unequal treatment in healthcare etc

Question 50

Why do Marxists such as Phillipson believe ageism exists in a modern society and what does this lead to

Answer 50

-From a Marxist perspective , Phillipson argues that 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 especially female relatives , often have to take responsibility for their care

Question 51

In modern society , how is life structured and what does this mean for the old ?

Answer 51

-in modern society , life is structured into a fixed series of stages , such as childhood , youth and so on -age becomes important in role allocation , creating fixed life stages and age related identities , such as worker or pensioner -the old are thus excluded from a role in the labour force and made dependent and powerless

Question 52

How do postmodernists criticise modernists view that life is structured into fixed stages , what trends do they point to ?

Answer 52

-postmodernist sociologists argue that in todays postmodern society , the fixed , orderly stages of the life course have been broken down -for example , trends such as children dressing in adult styles , later marriages and early retirement all begin to blur the boundaries between the life stages , this gives individuals a greater choice of lifestyle ,whatever their age

Question 53

What does postmodernist Hunt argues now becomes key to our identities and what does this mean individuals can do regarding our age ?

Answer 53

-unlike in modern society , consumption , not production , becomes the key to our identities -we now define ourselves by what we consume -As Hunt argues this means we can choose a lifestyle and identity regardless of our age , our age no longer determines who we are or how we live -eg the old invest in markets such as cosmetic surgery , exercise equipment , gym memberships , anti ageing products , this begins to break down the ageist stereotypes found in modern society

Question 54

What are the 2 other features of postmodern society that also undermine old age as a stigmatised life stage ?

Answer 54

-The centrality of the media - media images now portray positive aspects of the lifestyles of the elderly -the emphasis on surface features - the body becomes a surface on which we can write identities . Anti ageing products enable the old to write different identities for themselves

Question 55

Inequalities among the old - what are the 2 inequalities which Pilcher points to regarding the old and why ?

Answer 55

Pilcher points to ; -Class - the middle class have better occupational pensions and greater savings from higher salaries , poorer old people have a shorter life expectancy and suffer more infirmity (weakness) -gender - women’s lower earnings and career breaks as carers mean lower pensions , they are also subject to sexist as well as ageist stereotyping such as being Described as “old hags”

Question 56

Policy implications - what are some of the important social policies that Hirsch notes will need to change to be able to tackle the new problems posed by an ageing population ?

Answer 56

-the main problem will be how to finance a longer period of old age , this can be done by paying more from our savings and taxes while we earn working and working for longer -housing policy may need to change to encourage older people to “trade down” into smaller accommodation as this would release wealth to improve their standard of living and free up housing for younger people -as Hirsch recognises , these policy changes also require a cultural change in our attitudes towards old age he sees old age as not a social construct but something shaped and defined by our society , eg in an ageing society , our idea of how old is old enough to retire may change

Question 57

What is meant by migration ?

Answer 57

-Migration refers to the movement of people from place to place

Question 58

What is meant by immigration ?

Answer 58

-immigration refers to the movement into a society

Question 59

What is meant by emigration ?

Answer 59

-emigration refers to movement out of a society

Question 60

What is meant by net migration ?

Answer 60

-net migration is the difference between the number of immigrants and the number of emigrants , and is expressed as a net increase or net decrease due to migration

Question 61

What is one consequence of immigration ?

Answer 61

-one consequence of immigration is a more ethically diverse society which has also led to a greater diversity of family patterns

Question 62

What are the main reasons for emigration ?

Answer 62

The main reasons for emigration have been economic ; -“push” factors - such as unemployment at home -“pull” factors - such as higher wages or better opportunities abroad

Question 63

How is the trend towards migration impacting population size ?

Answer 63

-population size - the UK population is currently growing partly as a result of immigration -net migration is high , for example in2014 there more immigrants compared to emigrants -there is also a natural increase , with births exceeding deaths , however , births to UK born mothers remain low . Births to non UK born mothers are higher and account for about 25% of all births

Question 64

How is the trend towards migration impacting the age structure ?

Answer 64

-immigration lowers the average age of the population both directly and indirectly ; -Directly - immigrants are generally younger eg in 2011, the average age of a UK passport holder was 41 whereas that of a non UK passport holder living in Britain was 31 -Indirectly - being younger , immigrants are more fertile and thus produce more babies

Question 65

What are the 3 effects that immigration is having on the dependency ratio ?

Answer 65

The dependency ratio - immigration has 3 effects ; -immigrants are more likely to be of working age and this helps to lower the dependency ratio , in addition to, many older migrants return to their country of the origin to retire -However , because they are younger , immigrants have more children , thereby increasing the ratio , over time , however , these children will join the labour force and help to lower the ratio once again -Finally , the longer a group is settled in a country , the closer their fertility rate comes to the national average , reducing their overall impact on the dependency ratio

Question 66

What is meant by globalisation ?

Answer 66

-Globalisation - is the idea that the barriers between societies are disappearing and people are becoming increasingly interconnected across national boundaries

Question 67

What are 3 of the trends in global migration ?

Answer 67

1.Acceleration 2.Differentiation 3.The feminisation of migration

Question 68

Trends in global migration - what is meant by acceleration , give evidence using that of the United Nations (2013)?

Answer 68

-acceleration - there has been a speeding up of the rate of migration -According to the United Nations (2013) between 2000 and 2013 international migration increased by 33% , to reach 3.2% of the worlds population , in the same year , 862,000 people either entered or left the UK

Question 69

Trends in global migration -differentiation - what are some of the different types of migrants ?

Answer 69

-permanent settlers -temporary workers -forced migrants such as refugees and asylum seeekers

Question 70

Trends in global migration - differentiation - what is evidence that shows globalisation is increasing the diversity of the types of migrants ?

Answer 70

-For example , students are now a major group of migrants ; in the UK in 2014 , there were more Chinese born (26%) than UK born (23%) postgraduate students

Question 71

Trends in global migration - differentiation - what does Vertovec believe globalisation has led to and what is meant by this ?

Answer 71

-Vertovec believes that since the 1990s globalisation has led to what he calls “super diversity “ -migrants now come from a much wider range of countries ,a given ethnic group may also be divided by culture or religion and be widely dispersed throughout the UK

Question 72

Trends in global migration -differentiation - there are also class differences among migrants , what are the 3 types of migrants that cohen distinguishes between ?

Answer 72

1.Citizens - with full citizenship rights eg voting tights and access to benefits 2.Denizens - are privileged foreign nationals welcomed by the state eg highly paid employees of multinational companies 3.Helots (literally slaves) - the most exploited group , states and employers regard them as “disposable units of labour power” a reserve army of labour , they are found in unskilled , poorly paid work and include illegally trafficked workers and those legally tied to particular employers such as domestic servants

Question 73

Trends in global migration - the feminisation of migration - who are more likely to be migrants and why ?

Answer 73

-female are more likely to be migrants -this is because female migrants fit patriarchal stereotypes about women’s roles as carers or providers of sexual services

Question 74

Trends in global migration - feminisation of migration - what are the 4 trends that Hochschild et al observes that are a result of care , domestic and sex work in domestic countries is increasingly done by women from poor countries ?

Answer 74

1.the expansion of service occupations (which traditionally employ women) in western countries has led to an increasing demand for female labour 2.Western women have joined the labour force and are les wiling or able to perform domestic labour 3.western men remain unwilling to perform domestic labour 4.the failure of the state to provide adequate childcare

Question 75

Migrant identities - what is meant by a hybrid identity ?

Answer 75

-migrants may develop hybrid identities made up of 2 or more different sources

Question 76

Migrant identities - who did Eade find had hybrid identities and what is the problem with hybrid identities ?

Answer 76

-Eade 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 “you’re not really one of us” or accuse them of not “fitting in”

Question 77

Transnational identities - what does Eriksen believe globalisation has made it easier for and what does this lead migrants to develop ?

Answer 77

-Eriksen believes globalisation as 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 develop transnational (neither / nor) identities and loyalties

Question 78

Immigration policies - assimilation -what is the aim of assimilation immigration policies ?

Answer 78

-assimilation - was the first state policy approach to immigration -it aimed to encourage immigrants to adopt the language , values and cultures of the host culture to make them “like us”

Question 79

Immigration policies - assimilation- what was the problem with assimilation policies when dealing with migrants with transnational identities ?

Answer 79

-however , assimilation policies face the problem that transnational migrants with hybrid identities may not be wiling to see themselves as belonging to just one nation state

Question 80

Immigration policies - multiculturalism - what is meant by this ?

Answer 80

-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

Question 81

Immigration polices - multiculturalism - what are the 2 types of diversity which Eriksen distinguishes between ?

Answer 81

-Eriksen distinguishes between shallow and deep diversity; -shallow diversity - such as regarding fish and chips as Britain’s national dish ,is acceptable by the state -Deep diversity - such as arranged marriages , which isn’t acceptable to the state