Sociological study of population

1. Population data help us to understand social life. Sociologists are interested in relating these data to age, income, education, race, and other factors. Sociologists are particularly interested in the numbers of births, deaths, and migrations. Changes in these figures both reflect and cause changes in social institutions. Population data also are relevant when we assess the adequacy of a society’s environmental resources and the impact of population numbers on an ecological setting. Although survey data are useful for establishing public opinion and attitudes, the conclusions of these surveys become more meaningful when placed in the context of changes in the demographic structure of a society.

2. Demography is the study of how births, deaths, and migration affect the composition, size, and distribution of populations. Demography is considered to have two aspects: 1) it is used in a broad way to describe social structure and 2) it is used in a more micro way to understand individuals and their actions. That is, demography proves to have both structural and action perspectives.

3. Demographic analysis requires accurate and detailed information from a variety of sources so that population distributions can be assessed and future trends can be projected. The most important source of demographic data is the national census, which counts the total number of people as well as the numbers of people in various regions. Many nations conduct elaborate censuses periodically, but a full census is not always practical. Many less developed nations have no established census programs. In such situations, demographers use surveys and ethnographic methods to arrive at indications of population patterns. Censuses often are the subject of political controversy because they may have implications for the distributions of power.

4. Sociologists also distinguish between fecundity and the fertility rate. The former reflects the biological potential for reproduction; the latter reflects the number of actual births per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44. Birth and fertility rates in the United States have been declining steadily for many years. The rate of decline varies according to socioeconomic status. In addition, family size was decreased because of the high cost of bearing and rearing children, women’s increased participation in the labour force, and the tendency for career-minded women to marry later and to postpone starting families. Several factors influence a nation’s birthrate: 1) the desire for children, 2) the number of fertile women in the population, 3) the marriage rate and marriage age, and 4) the availability of effective contraceptives.

IX. Ответьте на вопросы.

1. What are sociologists especially interested in?

2. How can demography be defined?

3. What is the most important source of demographic data?

X. Подтвердите или опровергните следующую информацию.

1. Survey data are useful for establishing public opinion and attitudes.

2. Sociologists do not differentiate between fecundity and the fertility rate.

3. Censuses often are the subject of political controversy.

ВАРИАНТ 3

I. Перепишите следующие предложения. Подчеркните в них инфинитив и переведите предложения на русский язык.

1. The technique of collecting information will differ according to the problem to be solved.

2. She stopped as if to ask him a question.

3. To avoid making mistakes is always difficult.

4. I came here to speak about the article.

5. The sociologists try to find stable principles of man’s behaviour.

6. In order to explain this we have to start from personal experience.

7. There is every reason to believe that the child was kidnapped.

II. Перепишите следующие предложения. Подчеркните инфинитивные обороты Complex Subject и Complex Object и переведите их на русский язык. Найдите в 1 абзаце текста 2 предложения с Complex Subject , выпишите их и переведите на русский язык.

1. It would be unfair to expect other people to be as remarkable as oneself.

2. There is no fire in the grate and hunger has made him faint.

3. Environmentalists are likely to do their best to restore the ecological balance on the planet.

4. He told me he never expected this charitable organisation to be run on such businesslike lines.

5. Nobody saw him come back after his decision to migrate abroad.

6. Drug addiction happened to lead to unemployment and isolation.

7. They noticed him overcome his troubles.

III. Найдите ошибку в предложениях и исправьте ее. Перепишите исправленный вариант и переведите его на русский язык.

1. It’s late. I must going now.

2. Could you to help me with this experimental procedure?

3. Do you want me help you?

4. I wasn’t feeling very well but the medicine made me feeling better.