BESC 201 10 2 2013 Lecture 14 Outline of Last Lecture I Demography Outline of Current Lecture II Population and Society Current Lecture 10 2 2013 Sex ratios The naturally occurring sex ratio has slightly more males than females 100 female infants to 106 males This is because males are slightly more prone to death before their reproductive age Because of the preference to males in China some parents are resorting to selectively aborting female fetuses leading to undesirable social consequences Population change results from birth death immigration and emigration Rates of birth death immigration and emigration determine whether a population grows shrinks or remains stable Total fertility rate influences population growth Total Fertility Rate TFR the average number of children born per woman during her lifetime Replacement Fertility the TFR that keeps the size of a population stable For humans replacement fertility roughly equals a TFR of 2 1 Various factors have driven TFR downward in many nations in recent years improved medical care urbanization Natural Rate of Population Change change due to birth and death rates alone excluding migration Many nations have experienced the demographic transition Over the past 50 years the life expectancy for the average person has increased from 46 to 69 years Demographic Transition a model of economic and cultural change to explain the changes in birth and death rates Population growth is seen as a temporary phenomenon that occurs as societies move from one stage of development to another The pre industrial stage death rates and birth rates are both high Industrialization and falling death rates transitional stage declining death rates due to increased food production and improved medical care birth rates still remain high These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute The industrial stage and falling birth rates birth rates fall closing the gap with death rates and reducing population growth The post industrial stage both birth and death rates have fallen to low and stable levels Is the demographic transition a universal process Cultures that place greater value on childbirth or grant women fewer freedoms many never complete the transition Whether developing nations pass through the demographic transition is one of the most important questions for the future of our civilization and Earth s environment Population and Society Family planning is a key approach for controlling population growth Family planning the effort to plan the number and spacing of one s children Birth Control the effort to control the number of children one bears particularly by reducing the frequency of pregnancy Contraception the deliberate attempt to prevent pregnancy despite sexual intercourse Low usage rates for contraceptives in some societies are due to religious doctrine or cultural influences that hinder family planning denying counseling and contraceptives to people who might otherwise use them Empowering women reduces fertility rates One benefit of equal rights for women is the ability to make reproductive decisions Equality for women also involves expanding educational opportunities for them Reproductive Window the period of a woman s life beginning with sexual maturity and ending with menopause in which she may become pregnant Population policies and family planning programs are working around the globe The United Nations hosted a conference at which 179 nations endorsed a platform calling on all governments to offer their citizens universal access to reproductive health care within 20 years o Marked a turn away from older notions of top down population policy geared toward pushing contraception and lowering population to preset targets Reducing poverty lowers fertility Over half the world s people live below the internationally defined poverty line of U S 2 per day Poorer societies tend to show higher population growth rates than do wealthier societies Poverty exacerbates population growth and rapid population growth worsens poverty The next billion people to be added to the global population will be born into these less developed regions Expanding wealth increases the environmental impact per person Individuals from affluent societies leave considerably larger per capita ecological footprints As population is rising so in consumption The human species is now living 50 beyond its means