Natural increase

Examples of Natural increase in the following topics:

• Three Demographic Variables

  • The basics of demographic population growth depend on the rate of natural increase (births versus deaths) and net migration.
  • The United States illustrates how the rate of natural increase and net migration combine to create population change—the fertility rate in the U.S. is at almost exactly replacement level, but migration into the country is high enough to lead to population growth.
  • Human population growth depends on the rate of natural increase, or the fertility rate minus the mortality rate, and net migration.
  • As this equation shows, population change depends on three variables: (1) the natural increase changes seen in birth rates, (2) the natural decrease changes seen in death rates, and (3) the changes seen in migration.
  • Natural increase refers to the increase in population not due to migration, and it can be calculated with the fertility rate and the mortality rate.

• Capitalism, race and gender inequality

  • The increase of immigrants in the U.S. and the loss of jobs to other countries illustrate a core belief that the greatest problem American workers experience is unfair competition from immigrants in the U.S. and workers abroad.
  • The belief, ‘they are taking our jobs' ignores the capitalist system itself, which by its nature increases the wealth of the few owners by controlling workers and keeping wages as low as possible, and it allows a few owners to control the majority of wealth, leaving a tiny share to be distributed among everyone else.

• The Middle Years

  • Middle adulthood is generally accompanied by a decline in physical health and fertility, and an increase in ability to cope with stress.
  • Advanced maternal age increases the risk of a child being born with some disorders, such as Down syndrome.
  • Advanced paternal age sharply increases the risk of miscarriage, as well as Down syndrome, schizophrenia, autism, and bipolar disorder.
  • Middle aged women will experience menopause, which ends natural fertility, in their late 40s or early 50s.
  • In developed countries, mortality begins to increase more noticeably each year from age 40 onwards, mainly due to age-related health problems, such as heart disease and cancer.

• Sociobiology

  • Sociobiologists believe that human behavior, like nonhuman animal behavior, can be partly explained as the outcome of natural selection.
  • Natural selection is fundamental to evolutionary theory.
  • Variants of hereditary traits, which increase an organism's ability to survive and reproduce, are more likely to be passed on to subsequent generations.
  • Discuss the concept of sociobiology in relation to natural selection and Charles Darwin, as well as genetics and instinctive behaviors

• Sociology and the Social Sciences

  • For example, Thomas Malthus believed human populations were subject to the law of exponential growth: as populations grew, more people would be available to reproduce, and thus the rate of population growth would increase, resulting in exponential growth.
  • Newton made a sharp distinction between the natural world, which he asserted was an independent reality that operated by its own laws, and the human or spiritual world.
  • In the attempt to study human behavior using scientific and empirical principles, sociologists always encounter dilemmas, as humans do not always operate predictably according to natural laws.
  • The social sciences occupy a middle position between the "hard" natural sciences and the interpretive bent of the humanities.
  • Isaac Newton was a key figure in the process which split the natural sciences from the humanities.

• Population Growth and Overpopulation

  • The alternative to moral restraint, according to Malthus, is biological and natural population limitation.
  • As the population exceeds the amount of available resources the population decreases through famine, disease, or war, since the lack of resources causes mortality to increase.
  • Some human populations throughout history support this theory, as consistent population growth began with the agricultural revolution, when food supplies consistently increased.
  • In this mode of thought, disease or starvation are "natural" means of lessening population.
  • Urbanization results from both industrialization (increasing efficiency among farmers) and population growth.

• Unmarried Mothers

  • One recent trend illustrating the changing nature of families is the rise in prevalence of the single-parent household.
  • Since the 1960s, there has been a marked increase in the number of children living with a single parent.
  • The 1960 United States Census reported that 9% of children were dependent on a single parent; this number that has increased to 28% by the 2000 US Census.
  • The spike was caused by an increase in unmarried pregnancies, which 36% of all births by unmarried women, and to the increasing prevalence of divorces among couple.
  • Discuss the factors involved in the increasing number of single-parent households

• State-Centered Theories

  • In contrast to market-oriented theories of inequality, state-centered theories do not assert that the capitalist free-market will naturally regulate prices and wages.
  • Socialism is an economic and political system in which the state owns the majority industry, but resources are allocated based on a combination of natural rights and individual achievements.
  • Communism operates on the principle that resources should be completely equally distributed, on the basis that every person has a natural right to food, shelter, and generally an equal share of a society's wealth.
  • State-centered theories of inequality critique market-driven ones on the basis that capitalists embroiled in the free-market will act to increase their own wealth, exploiting the lower classes.

• Property

  • An example of private property stimulating economic growth is when a homeowner makes home improvements to increase the value of their home, when in a similar situation a tenant in a government-owned building would not invest money in home improvements.
  • An example of private property stimulating economic growth is when a homeowner makes home improvements to increase the value of their home, when in a similar situation a tenant in a government owned building would not invest money in home improvements.
  • Socialist policies benefiting national economic growth may include the protection of natural resources to secure longterm access to land, oil, or fresh water, as opposed to private corporation's solely short term interest in exploiting natural resources for immediate profit.

• Lenski's Synthesis

  • In Lenski's view, inequality is a natural product of societal development.
  • As societies developed more advanced technologies and underwent industrialization, more surplus was created, increasing the potential for social inequality.
  • According to Lenski, inequality is the result of increasing surplus—some individuals will have ownership of surplus goods, others will not.