Sociology

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  • Created by: Najma2005
  • Created on: 04-01-23 09:10
What is Demography?
Demography is essentially a word for who
makes up society.The study of statistics which
illustrate the changing structure of human
populations.
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Demography focuses on a variety of ‘rates’...
Age
Ethnicity
Gender
Social class
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What are the
two ways that
a population
can increase?
People being born
&
Immigration
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What are the
two ways that
a population
can decrease?
People dying
&
Emigration
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Population trends:
In Britain the
population has
increased over the
past 100 years, and
continues to grow.
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Population trends:
The number of deaths have
stayed level for the past 100
years (roughly 600,000 per year)
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The death rate
The death rate =The number of deaths
per 1,000 of the population per year
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Population trends:
Population growth in the UK is mainly due
to natural change
rather than net
migration.
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Natural change
Natural change is number of births minus
the number of deaths
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Net migration
Net migration is number of immigrants
minus the number of emigrants
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The birth rate
The number of live births
per 1,000 of the population per year
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The total fertility rate
The average
number of children a woman will have in
her fertile years (15-44)
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So why has Britain’s birth
rate decreased?
Changing Position of Women
Increased involvement in further education
More likely to work, and work full time
Changing attitudes to women’s role in family life
It’s easier and cheaper to divorce, and live
independently
Abortion and contraception are less stigmatised and
accessible.
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So why has Britain’s birth
rate decreased?
Fall in Infant Mortality Rate
The IMR (infant mortality rate) has fallen considerably
over the past 100 years.
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So why has Britain’s birth
rate decreased?
Children as an Economic
Liability
As we know from the ‘childhood’ topic, children used to be
an economic asset, whereas now instead of earning
money, they cost money.
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So why has Britain’s birth
rate decreased?
Child-centredness
Because of children now being economic liabilities, families have become more child-centred.
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What is happening to death and birth rates?
The birth rate is decreasing
The death rate is also decreasing
The average age is increasing
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What are the effects of a falling birth rate?
A changing dependency ratio
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What is dependency ratio?
The dependency ratio measures the % of dependent people (not of working age) / number of people of working age (economically active).
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Why Is the Dependency Ratio Significant?
The dependency ratio is a fundamental data unit for economists to analyze how demographic changes affect economies.
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Dependency ratio
Number of Children (0-15) + Number of Pensioners ( > 65 )
——————————————————————–
Number of Working age (16-65)
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High Dependency rate
A high dependency ratio, on the other hand, indicates stress on the economy as the dependent population is too large to be supported by the workforce.
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Low dependency rate
A low dependency ratio indicates that there is a sufficient number of people in the workforce that can support the dependent population. Lower dependency ratios typically signify better healthcare for aging adults as well as higher pensions.
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Factors that effect dependency ratio
Life expectancy: As people live longer, the number of aged dependents will climb, producing a higher overall dependency ratio.
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Factors that effect dependency ratio
Fertility rate: Societies with a high fertility rate will generally experience a decrease in the dependency ratio. Initially, this will create a higher child dependency ratio, but eventually, these people will enter the workforce, thus lowering the overal
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Factors that effect dependency ratio
Education: There is a long-established trend of higher education levels leading to lower fertility rates. As more women achieve higher levels of education, they spend more time in the workforce and have fewer children. This can lead to a higher dependency
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Factors that effect dependency ratio
Migration: As a country’s working-age population gets older, younger workers immigrating to that country can partially supplement the workforce. An influx of younger workers is one of the fastest ways to decrease the dependency ratio.
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Factors that effect dependency ratio
Health: A country’s overall level of healthcare can significantly impact the dependency ratio. Better health means lower child and maternal mortality and healthier seniors, shifting the dependency ratio higher or lower, as the specifics dictate.
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3 Critiques of the Dependency Ratio
Ageism: Some critics contend that the framing of the dependency ratio casts elderly people in a negative light, in part by assuming they are unproductive and less socially necessary.
Workforce changes: The dependency ratio does not reflect how working tr
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3 Critiques of the Dependency Ratio
Unemployment: Focusing on a society’s age structure does not consider that there is always a portion of the working-age population that is unemployed.
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Postmodernists
Postmodernists on the other hand, believe that people are always free to choose their identities through our lifestyle.
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Ageism
Most structural sociologists see old age as a life stage, which many argue has become stigmatised with associations of dependency and being a burden.
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What are the impacts of a high dependency ratio on a society? (use examples)
Increased strain on public services, for example the NHS. Less taxable income.
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Functionalists
Functionalists such as Parsons (1977) considered age to be of increasing importance in modern societies.In preindustrial society, Parsons argued, age did not really matter because family determined one’s place in society. However, since industrialization,
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Functionilsts
Pilcher (1995) suggests youth is a stage of
transition that connects childhood (which is mainly experienced as dependency upon adults in familiesand schools) to adulthood (which is mainly experienced as independence at work and in relationships that migh
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Criticism
However, critics note that there is a strong possibility that such social order might be undermined by unemployment, low pay, the expensive housing market, the lengthening of education and higher education costs. All these trends are likely to lead to mor
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functionalist point
Functionalists, such as Cummings and Henry (1961), suggest that the way society treats the old has positive benefits for society. The ageing process and the social reaction to it is part of a mutual process in which the elderly, either by voluntary choice
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Disengagement Theory
This process of ‘social disengagement’ functions to allow younger members of society to take the place of the old in the specialized division of labour with minimum disruption to both social order and economic efficiency.
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Criticism
However ,critics of disengagement theory point out that retirement from work and society is often not voluntary. Moreover, this disengagement also has negative consequences for the self-esteem of the elderly in terms of ageism
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Marxist
They tend not to have dependants and so are willing to work for low wages. In terms of full-time employment, their lack of experience legitimates low pay, and competition for jobs keeps wages low.
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Marixists
Marxists, such as Phillipson (1982), suggest that the logic of capitalism, which is about exploiting workers and consumers for profit, is incompatible with the needs of the elderly. The elderly, despite their greater needs, are neglected by the capitalist
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Critiscm
Marxists are often accused of economic determinism and for being overly-focused on social class
They therefore tend to neglect factors such as gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and nationality. For example, some people’s experience of childhood and
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Feminism
Itzin claims that older women are often doubly devalued by society when they get old because their status is devalued after the menopause (because they can no longer have children) as well as after retirement age.
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Critiscms
Feminists also make the mistake of assuming that the experience of girls and women is universally much the same. However wealth and social class can help mitigate the effects of patriarchy.
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Social action theory
Goffman says
Consequently, it may be that elderly people feel the need to wear ‘grey masks’ in public because this what is expected of them and the they fear the negative labelling that might result if the mask slips.They note that there is evidence that
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Critiscms
These theories tend to neglect the view that interaction and interpretation rarely exist independently of structural influences, for example, in a patriarchal society it is likely that interpretations of female behaviour is likely to be shaped or coloured
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Demography focuses on a variety of ‘rates’...

Back

Age
Ethnicity
Gender
Social class

Card 3

Front

What are the
two ways that
a population
can increase?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What are the
two ways that
a population
can decrease?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Population trends:

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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