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Flashcards by Em Maskrey, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Em Maskrey
over 7 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| How do sociologists define the concept of birth? | The number of live births per thousand of the population per year. |
| What has happened to the birth rate since 1900? | There has been a long-term decline in the birth rate. |
| What is meant by 'baby booms'? | Fluctuations in the birth rate. There have been three baby booms since 1900 - two following the two wars (1918 and 1945), and one in the 1960s. |
| There are two factors determining the birth rate. What are they? | 1. The proportion of women who are of childbearing age (15 to 44). 2. How fertile said women are - that is, how many children they have. |
| What is the total fertility rate (TFR)? | The average number of children women will have during their fertile years. |
| What has happened to the TFR? | In the past 50 years, it has steadily dropped. |
| The changes in TFR and birth rates show what? | Women are having children later in life, or not at all. |
| One reason for the decline in birth rate is the changes that have occurred with regards to women's position. There were major changes in the position of women during the 20th century. List some: | 1. Legal equality with men. 2. Increased educational and work opportunities. 3. Laws make unequal pay and sexual discrimination illegal. 4. Easy access to contraception, abortion, and divorce. 5. Changes in attitudes. |
| What does Sarah Harper claim is the most important reasons for the long-term fall in birth and fertility rates, and why? | The education of women, because it has led to a change in mindset among women. Many women are choosing careers over motherhood. |
| According to Harper, once a pattern of low fertility lasts for more than one generation, what begins to change? | Cultural norms about family sizes. |
| What does the infant mortality rate (IMR) measure? | The number of infants who die before their first birthday, per thousand babies born alive, per year. |
| Harper argues that a fall in the IMR leads to a fall in the birth rate. Why does she believe this? | Because if an infant dies, the parents will have another child to 'replace' the first, thereby increasing the birth rate. If the infant survives, however, parents will not need to replace it. |
| In 1900, what was the IMR? How does this compare to 2012? | In 1900, it was 154. In 2012, it was 4. |
| During the first half of the 20th century, the IMR began to fall. This was for several reasons. Name some: | Housing, sanitation, nutrition, services for mothers and children, hygiene and medical knowledge all improved. |
| A third reason for the decline in birth rate is the fact that children are now an economic liability. What is meant by this? | Children were once economic assets to their parents, being sent out to work and earn an income. However, children are now an economic liability, depending on their parents and causing financial pressure. |
| Another reason for the decline in birth rate is child centredness. What is meant by this? | The increasing child centredness of both the family and wider society means that childhood is now considered a uniquely important time. In terms of family size, this has encouraged parents to have fewer children and give each child more attention. |
| Changes in the number of babies born affects several aspects of society. Most obviously, family sizes will decrease. What will this reduce? | The amount of time women need to be at home looking at children and/or doing domestic labour. Women will be free to go out to work, thus increasing the number of dual-earner families. |
| In addition, the dependency ratio will be affected. What is the dependency ratio, and why will it be affected? | The relationship between the working and the non-working population. Children make up a large proportion of the dependency ratio, and so a fall in the number of children reduces the 'burden of dependency'. |
| Public services and policies will also be impacted. Why? | Fewer schools and maternity and child health services will be needed. The cost of maternity and paternity leave will change, and the types of housing required will be altered. |
| Finally, the average of the population will do what? | Rise, subsequently causing an ageing population. |
| What is the death rate defined as? | The number of deaths per thousand of the population, per year. |
| What has happened to the death rate in the past century? | It has declined - in 1900, it was 19, while in 2012 it was 8.9. |
| There are many reasons why the death rate declined during the 20th century. What does N. L. Tranter argue? | The decline was due to the fall in deaths from infectious diseases. |
| By the 1950s, the main cause of death changed from infectious diseases to 'diseases of affluence'. What is meant by this? | Diseases of affluence, such as heart disease and cancers, showed an unhealthy lifestyle that came with having wealth. |
| The decline in deaths from infection may be due to the population developing natural resistance, but it is more likely that social factors had a greater impact on infectious diseases. List the social factors that may have had influence: | 1. Improved nutrition. 2. Medical improvements. 3. Decline in smoking. 4. Public health measures. 5. The decline of dangerous manual occupations. 6. Smaller families sizes. 7. Higher income. |
| According to Thomas McKeown, what accounts for up to half of the fall in death rates? However, what did he fail to explain? | Improved nutrition. Better nutrition increased resistance and increased survival chances. However, he fails to explain why females, who receive a smaller share of family food, lived longer than males, nor why deaths from certain diseases actually increased at a time of improved nutrition. |
| Furthermore, smoking and diet has an impact on the death rate. What does Harper argue? | The greatest fall in death rates in recent years has come from the reduction in the number of people smoking. However, the lifestyle epidemic of smoking has been replaced by obesity. |
| Finally, public health measures will have played a part in lowering the death rate. What is meant by this? | The government has become more effective, passing and enforcing laws that improve public health and the quality of the environment. |
| What does life expectancy refer to? | How long, on average, a person born in a given year can be expected to live. |
| As death rates have fallen, life expectancy has increased. Give one reason for the lower average life expectancy in 1900: | So many babies were dying during infancy, which severely impacted life expectancy. A baby today has better chance of reaching its 65th birthday than a baby born in 1900 had of reaching its 1st birthday. |
| Despite the overall reduction in the death rate and increase in life expectancy, there are still important class, gender and regional differences when it comes to how long a person can expect to live. Give an example for each factor: | 1. Working-class men are nearly three times as likely to die before they're 65 than middle-class men. 2. Women generally life longer than men. 3. Those in the north of the UK have a lower life expectancy than those in the south. |
| The average age of the UK population is rising. One way of illustrating the changing age-profile of the population is through 'age pyramids'. What do these show? | How older age groups are growing as a proportion of the population, while younger groups are shrinking. |
| What does Donald Hirsch note about age pyramids? | The traditional age pyramid is becoming an age block, due to the age sections now being equal sized. |
| The ageing of the population is caused by three factors. What are they? | 1. Increasing life expectancy. 2. Declining infant mortality. 3. Declining fertility. |
| An ageing population will affect public services and policies. Why? | Older people use more services - for example, the NHS - than other age groups. In addition, an ageing population may mean changes to policies and provisions of housing and transport. |
| The ageing population has also led to an increase in one-person pensioner households. How many households now consist of pensioners living alone? | 1 in 8. |
| Most of the pensioners living in one-person households are women. Among the group aged 75+, there are twice as many women as men. What has this been described as? | The feminisation of later life. |
| Another area affected by the ageing population is the dependency ratio. Why? | Because the non-working elderly are an economically dependent group who need to be provided for by the working population, for example through taxes. |
| While an increase in the number of old people raises the dependency ratio, what is this counterbalanced by? | A declining number of dependent children. |
| What is meant by ageism? | Negative stereotyping and unequal treatment of people based on their age. |
| One consequence of the ageing population is ageism. What is ageism a result of? | Structured dependency - the old are largely excluded from paid work, meaning they are made economically dependent, relying on their families or the state. |
| How does ageism towards elderly people show itself? | - Discrimination in employment. - Unequal treatment in health care. - Ageing being considered a 'problem'. |
| According to Age Concern, how many people have experienced ageism? | 29%. |
| Chris Phillipson takes a marxist perspective when examining ageism. What does he argue? | The old are of no use to capitalism because they're no longer productive, and the state is subsequently unwilling to support them, leaving the family to take responsibility. |
| In modern society, life is structured into fixed stages, such as childhood, adulthood, etc. Age allocation and age-related identities are now the norm. Why does this affect the elderly and their dependent status? | All elderly people are excluded from the workforce, despite possibly wanting to remain in work. They are made dependent and powerless as a result. |
| However, postmodernists argue that the orderly stages of life have broken down. Give examples that support this view: | - Many children now dress in adult styles. - People are marrying later. - People are retiring earlier. |
| In postmodern society, our consumption is key to our identities. What does Stephen Hunt state regarding this change? | This means lifestyle and identity can be chosen, and age no longer determines who we are. |
| Because identities are now created through consumption, the elderly have become a market for a range of body maintenance and rejuvenation products. What does this do to the ageist stereotypes found in modern society? | Breaks them down. |
| What are the two other features of postmodern society that also undermine ageism towards the elderly? | 1. The importance and impact of the media. 2. The emphasis on surface features (the body is a surface on which identities can be written). |
| Which sociologist argues that while the orderly stages of life have broken down, inequalities such as gender and class remain important? | Jane Pilcher. |
| Many gender and class inequalities are linked to the individual's previous occupation. How? | - Women's lower earnings and career breaks mean lower pensions. - The middle-class have better pensions and greater savings from higher savings, as well as longer life expectancy and better health. |
| According to Donald Hirsch, what needs to change to tackle the new problems posed by an ageing population? | A number of important social policies. |
| According to Hirsch, what will be the main problem of an ageing population, and how could this be tackled? | How to finance a longer period of old age. |
| There may also be an issue with regards to housing policy. What may it need to change to? | It may need to begin encouraging older people to 'trade down' into smaller accommodation, releasing wealth to improve their standard of living and freeing up housing for younger people. |
| In addition to natural change, another factor affecting the size and age of the population is migration. What does 'migration' refer to? | The movement of people form place to place. |
| Migration can be internal or international. What do 'immigration', 'emigration' and 'net migration' refer to? | Immigration refers to movement into a society. Emigration refers to movement out of a society. 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. |
| From 1900 until WWII, who were the largest immigrant groups? | The Irish, followed by Eastern and Central European Jews, who were often refugees. |
| After WWII, who began arriving in the UK? | Black immigrants from the Caribbean began arriving in the 1950s. Then, in the 1960s and 70s, South Asian immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and East African Asians from Kenya and Uganda began arriving. |
| One consequence of immigration is a more ethnically diverse society. By 2011, ethnic minority groups accounted for 14% of the population. What has this resulted in? | Greater diversity of family patterns. |
| From the mid-16th century to the 1980s, the UK was almost always a net exporter of people. What does this mean? | More emigrated elsewhere than came to settle in the UK. |
| What are the main reasons for emigration related to? | Money. |
| What is meant by 'push factors'? | Factors that encourage citizens to emigrate from their home country, such as economic recession and war. |
| What is meant by 'pull factors'? | Factors that make a country more appealing to immigrants, such as better opportunities and higher wages. |
| Recently, both immigration and emigration have increased. How does this affect the UK? | Its population, age structure and dependency ratio are all affected. |
| While there is a natural increase, with births exceeding deaths, births to UK born mothers remain low. Births to non-UK born mothers account for what percentage of all births? | 25%. |
| Even with births exceeding deaths, births remain below the replacement level of 2.1 per woman. What does this mean? | If not for net migration, the UK's population would be shrinking. |
| How does immigration directly lower the average age of the population? | Immigrants are generally fairly young. |
| How does immigration indirectly lower the average age of the population? | Being younger, immigrants are more fertile and thus more likely to produce more babies. |
| Immigration effects the dependency ratio. How? | Immigrants are more likely to be of working age, directly lowering the dependency ratio. However, being younger, immigrants are more likely to produce more children, indirectly raising the dependency ratio. |
| What is meant by 'globalisation'? | It's the theory that barriers between societies are disappearing and people are becoming increasingly interconnected across national boundaries. |
| Globalisation is the result of many process. Name a few: | 1. The growth of communication systems and global media. 2. The creation of global markets. 3. The expansion of the EU. |
| Globalisation produces rapid social changes, including global migration. What are the three trends in global migration? | 1. Acceleration. 2. Differentiation. 3. The feminisation of migration. |
| What does acceleration refer to? | Acceleration refers to the speeding up of the rate of migration. |
| Differentiation refers to the types of migrants, of which there are many. Name a few: | - Permanent settlers. - Temporary workers. - Spouses. - Students. - Refugees. - Asylum seekers. |
| Gobalisation has led to what Steven Vertovec calls 'super-diversity'. What does he mean by this? | Migrants now come from a much wider range of countries. Even within a single ethnic group, individuals differ in terms of their legal status, culture, class and religion. A given ethnic group may also be widely dispersed throughout the UK. |
| Robin Cohen distinguishes three types of migrants. What are they? | 1. Citizens, who have full citizenship. 2. Denizens, who are privileged foreign nationals welcomed by the state. 3. Helots, who are considered 'disposable units of labour power', found in unskilled, poorly paid work. |
| Previously, most migrants were men, but now almost 50% all global migrants are women. What do Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Hochschild observe about the jobs these female migrants perform? | Care work, domestic work and sex work in western countries is increasingly done by women from poor countries. |
| Women from poor countries carrying out care, domestic and sex work in western countries is a result of four trends. What are they? | 1. The expansion of service occupations in western countries, which has led to an increasing demand for female labour. 2. Western women now working and being less willing or able to perform domestic labour. 3. Western men remaining unwilling to perform domestic labour. 4. The failure of the state to provide adequate childcare. |
| According to Thomas Hylland Eriksen, globalisation has created what? | More diverse migration patterns, with back-and-forth movements of people through networks, rather than permanent settlement in one country. |
| As a result of these back-and-forth movements, migrants are less likely to see themselves as belonging completely to one culture or country. What may they develop instead? | Transnational 'neither/nor' identities and loyalties. |
| With increased global flows of migrants, migration has become an important political issue. What do countries now have? | Policies seeking to control immigration, absorb migrants into society, and deal with increased ethnic and cultural diversity. They have also become linked to national security and anti-terrorism policies. |
| Assimilation was the first state policy approach to immigration. What did it aim to do? | Encourage immigrants to adopt the language, values and customs of the host culture, making them 'like us'. |
| What problem do assimilation policies face? | Transnational migrants with hybrid identities may be unwilling or unable to shed their culture or see themselves as belonging to just one country. |
| What is multiculturalism? | An approach which accepts that migrants might want to retain a separate cultural identity. However, in practice, this acceptance is often limited to superficial aspects of cultural diversity. |
| Thomas Hylland Eriksen distinguishes between shallow diversity and deep diversity. What are they? | Shallow diversity, such as regarding curry as Britain's national dish, is acceptable to the state. Deep diversity, such as arranged marriages and the veiling of women, isn't acceptable to the state. |
| Since the 1960s, there was a move towards multiculturalism. However, what event caused this progress to stop, with politicians reverting back and demanding assimilation? | 9/11. |
| Stephen Castles claims that assimilation policies may be counterproductive. Why? | They highlight minority groups as being different and 'Other', which can lead to minorities emphasising their difference. This in turn increases suspicion of them, defeating the goal of assimilation. |
| Assimilation can also encourage workers to blame migrants for social problems such as unemployment. What do Castles and Kosack believe benefits from this? | Capitalism, because the working class is racially divided and united action is prevented. |
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