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Demography (Globalisation and migration (Acceleration - There has been a…
Demography
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Births
The number of births obviously affects the population size. sociologists use the concept birth rate to measure births. The birth rate is defined as the number of births per thousand of the population per year.
The total fertility rate - The factors affecting the birth rate are, firstly, the proportion of women who are childbearing age and secondly how fertile they are - this is, how many children they have. the total fertility rate is the average number of children women will have during their fertile years.
Reasons for decline in the birth rate - these reasons involve a range of social, economic, cultural, legal, political and technology factors.
1 changes in women's position - equal rights to vote, equal rights in employment and paid work, easier to get divorced.
2. Decline in the infant mortality rate -The infant mortality rate measures the number of infants who die before their first birthday, per thousand babies born per year. so the decline in the infant mortality rate has led to a decline in birth rate. The IMR has declined because of better health care knowledge for children, better standards of living, etc.
3 children are now an economic liability - Laws, banned children from working and making schools compulsory, meaning they were economically dependent on their parents for longer. Changing norms, about what is right to expect from their parents in material terms mean that the cost of bringing children up have risen
4 Child centredness - The increasing child centredness both of the family and of society as a whole means that childhood is now socially constructed as a uniquely important separate period in the individuals life.
Effects of changes in fertility - Changes in the number of babies born affect several aspects of society.
The family - Smaller families means that women are more likely to be free and go out to work, thus creating the dual earner couple typical of many professional families.
The dependency ratio - The dependency ratio is the relationship between the size of the working 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. children make up a large part of the dependent ratio, so by the birth rate decreasing it lowers the burden.
Public services and policies - A lower birth rate has consequences for public services. for example schools and health care services. it also affects the cost of maternity and paternity leave and the types of housing need to be built.
Migration
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Emigration refers to movement out of a society. The main reasons for emigration have been economic. push factors and pull factors
Net migration is the difference between the numbers of immigrants and the numbers of emigrants, and is expressed as a net increase or a net decrease due to migration.
The impact of migration on UK population structures - In recent years there has been an increase in immigration and emigration. this affects the population structure. Population size the UK population is currently growing. Age structure Immigration lowers the average age of the population. The dependency ratio immigration has helped to lower the ratio because the immigrant are more likely to be working age.
Deaths
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Life expectancy - Refers to how long on average a person born in a given year can expect to live. as death rates have fallen, so life expectancy has increased.
The ageing population
The ageing of the population is caused by three factors - Increasing life expectancy, declining infant mortality rate, declining fertility rate.
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Ageism, modernity and post modernity - One consequence of ageing population is that negative stereotypes and unequal treatment arise.
Modern society and old age - some argue ageism is the result of structured dependency. the old are largely excluded from paid work, leaving them economically dependent on their families or the state.
Postmodern society and old age - postmodernist sociologists argue that in today's society, the fixed, orderly stages of the life course have broken down. unlike in modern society, consumption, not production, becomes the key to our identities. we can define ourselves by what we consume. Hunt argues this means we can choose a lifestyle and identity regardless of age: our age no longer determines who we are or how we live.
Inequality among the old - However, while the orderly stages of the life course may have broken down somewhat, Pilcher argues tat inequalities such as class and gender remain important. many of these are related to the individual's previous occupation position.
Policy implications - Donald Hirsch argues that a number of important social policies will need to change to tackle the new problems posed by ageing population. The main problem will be how to finance a longer period of old age.