Social movements can occur at the individual level or the societal level and can advocate for either

minor or radical changes. This lesson will cover four kinds of social movements: alternative, redemptive, reformative, and revolutionary.

Social Movement
A social movement is a large group of people who are organized to promote or resist some social change. A social movement is typically based upon two factors - first, whom the movement is trying to change, and second, how much change a movement is advocating. Social movements can occur at the individual level or at the societal level, and they can advocate for either minor or radical changes. In 1966, cultural anthropologist David F. Aberle identified four kinds of social movements: alternative, redemptive, reformative, and revolutionary. In this lesson, we will discuss these social movements in terms of promoting social change.

Alternative Social Movements

Alternative movements are do-it-yourself efforts that seek to change some aspects of an individual's behavior. AT&T's 'It Can Wait' public awareness campaign is an example of an alternative social movement. It is focused on a simple message: no text is worth dying for. This is a nationwide movement that has tremendous support. For example, AT&T, its employees, National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and government agencies, such as the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), are all calling on all drivers to go to www.itcanwait.com to take the no-texting-and-driving pledge and then share their promise with others via Twitter (#itcanwait) and Facebook. The pledge effort is part of the company's public awareness campaign aimed directly at stopping the dangerous practice of texting while driving.

Redemptive Social Movement

A redemptive social movement is one that seeks total personal transformation and is typically religious in nature. The spread of Christianity is a prime example of a redemptive social movement. Missionaries have spread Christianity since the days of the Roman Empire. By the time Rome fell in 476 CE, much of Europe was Christian. Missionaries from the Byzantine Empire brought Orthodox Christianity to Russia. In Asia, medieval missionaries made converts as far away as India and China. With the founding of America, Christianity began to spread beyond Europe and Asia. Among the early missionaries were Catholics who journeyed to Central and South America seeking to convert native peoples. During the period between about 1500 and 1750, Christianity became the first religion to spread around the world, and by the 1900s, Christianity had spread to every continent on the globe. Today the Christian missionary work continues.

Reformative Social Movement

Reformative social movement is a social movement that seeks to change only some specific aspects of how society functions.

he movement to obtain marriage rights and benefits for same-sex couples is an example of a reformative social movement. This movement began in the 1970s but became more prominent in American politics in 1993 when the Hawaiian Supreme Court declared the state's prohibition to be unconstitutional in Baehr v. Lewin. During the 21st century, public support for legalizing same-sex marriage has grown considerably, and various national polls conducted since 2011 show that a majority of Americans support same-sex marriage. More recently, on May 9, 2012, President Obama publicly declared support for the legalization of same-sex marriage. In addition, as of January 2013, nine states - Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Washington - and three Native American tribes have legalized same-sex marriage, representing 15.7% of the U.S. population.

Revolutionary Social Movement

Revolutionary social movements seek to replace the existing social order through radical change. The social and political upheaval that occurred in France between 1789 and 1799 is an example of a revolutionary social movement. Amidst a financial crisis, the common people of France were increasingly angered by the incompetency of King Louis XVI. This resentment, coupled with growing Enlightenment ideas, fueled the revolutionary social movement, and the French Revolution began.

During this time period, the monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed within three years. French society underwent transformation as feudal, aristocratic, and religious privileges evaporated under the sustained assault from political groups, masses in the streets, and peasants in the countryside. Old ideas and traditions and hierarchy of monarchy, aristocracy, and religious authority were abruptly overthrown by new Enlightenment principles of equality, citizenship, and inalienable rights.

Lesson Summary
The four types of social movements discussed in this lesson were alternative, redemptive, reformative, and revolutionary. Alternative social movements are at the individual level and advocate for minor change. Redemptive social movements are at the individual level and advocate for radical changes. Reformative social movements occur at a broader group or societal level and advocate for minor changes. Revolutionary social movements occur at a broader group or societal level and advocate for radical changes.

Social Movements
Have you ever been asked to tweet, friend, like, or donate online for a cause? Perhaps you have 'liked' a local nonprofit on Facebook, prompted by one of your friends liking it, too.

Nowadays social movements are woven throughout our social media activities. Although many of the past and present social movements around the world differ from each other in many ways, they all generally go through a life cycle marked by the progressive stages of emergence, coalescence, bureaucratization, and decline. In this lesson, we will discuss the four stages of social movements. A social movement is not necessarily a political party or interest group, nor is it a mass fad or trend. Instead they are somewhere in between. They are defined as a group of people with a common ideology who try together to achieve certain general goals. Some characteristics of social movements are that they are involved in conflicts with clearly identified opponents and they share a collective identity. Their goals can either be aimed at a specific policy or be more broadly aimed at cultural change.

Stage 1: Emergence
Social movements start when people realize that there is a specific problem in their society that they want to address. This realization can come from the dissatisfaction people feel or information and knowledge they get about a specific issue. At the first stage, the social movement defines the problem it is going to address. The first stage of the social movement is known as emergence. Within this stage, social movements are very preliminary and there is little to no organization. Potential movement participants may be unhappy with some policy or some social condition, but they have not yet taken any action in order to redress their grievances, or if they have, it is most likely individual action rather than collective action. For example, a person may comment to family that he or she is dissatisfied with a particular issue. An example of this stage would be the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1950s. There was, of course, a general and long standing sense of discontent among the African-American population in the South. However, they were not yet organizing the mass and continued actions that came later, characterized by the Civil Rights Movement. It was not until after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954, which outlawed segregation in public schools, and the 1955 arrest of Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to comply with segregation laws on city buses by giving up her seat to a white man, that the American Civil Rights Movement would proceed to the next stage.

Stage 2: Coalescence
Often, social unrest or discontent passes without any organizing or wide-spread mobilization. For example, people in a community may complain to each other about a general injustice, but they do not come together to act on those complaints and the social movement does not progress to the second stage. The second stage of the social movement life cycle is known as coalescence. Stage two is characterized by a more clearly defined sense of discontent. It is no longer just a general sense of unease, but now a sense of what the unease is about and who or what is responsible. This is the stage when the social movement and the issues it focuses on become known to the public. At this stage, a social movement develops its plan of action, recruits members, holds protest

marches, forms networks, and gets resources. Most importantly, this is the stage at which the movement becomes more than just random, discontented individuals; at this point, they are now organized and strategic in their outlook. The American Civil Rights Movement again provides a good example. After the initial emergence, the movement began a series of high profile campaigns that sought to highlight the plight of African Americans in the segregated South. These campaigns included the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the lunch counter sit-ins in which African-American students would sit down at segregated counters and wait to either be served or to be dragged out by the police. These events galvanized support for the movement, and prominent leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. began to emerge. After many years of successful but hard fought campaigns and strong leadership, the movement became a more prominent political force.

Stage 3: Bureaucratization
The third stage of the social movement life cycle is known as bureaucratization. As a movement grows, it often tends to become bureaucratized, and paid leaders and paid staff replace the volunteers that began the movement. It also means that clear lines of authority develop. More attention is also devoted to fundraising. At the same time, if movements do not bureaucratize to at least some degree, they may lose their focus and not have enough money to keep on going. Many social movements fail to bureaucratize and, in this way, end up fizzling out because it is difficult for members to sustain the emotional excitement of the first two stages and because continued mobilization becomes too demanding for participants.

The gay rights movement is an example of a movement that has passed through this stage. The gay rights movement moved from agitation and demonstrations to having many formal organizations that now work toward the goals of the gay rights movement. Some of these organizations include the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination (GLAAD). If they did not form these bureaucratic organizations, many movements would have most likely faded away and their demands would have gone unmet.

Stage 4: Decline
The fourth stage of the social movement life cycle is known as decline. Social movements eventually decline for one or more reasons. For example, leaders may not run things properly, or there might be conflicts inside the organization. However, sometimes they achieve their goals and naturally cease to exist because there is no reason to continue. For example, the abolitionist movement became irrelevant with the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment ending slavery. There are several other general reasons why social movements decline. One is that popular support for their goals begins to erode. This can happen because the public may perceive that enough has been done already to meet the grievances of the members of the movement or that the movement has gone too far, asking too much of other Americans. Moreover, the public may simply get bored and move on to other issues. Another reason movements fade is that activists may become weary of the struggle.

Lesson Summary

Social movements tend to happen when a significant number of people come to define their own troubles and problems, not just in personal terms but in more general social terms, believing that there is a common cause for all of their troubles and that the government can be moved into action on their behalf. This combination of circumstances can be difficult to organize and sustain. Social movements have a life cycle: they are created (stage 1: emergence), they grow (stage 2: coalescence), they achieve successes or failures (stage 3: bureaucratization), and eventually, they dissolve and cease to exist (stage 4: decline).

Social Movement
A social movement is an organized effort by a large number of people to bring about or impede social change. Although social movements differ in size, they are all essentially collective. That is, they result from the coming together of people whose relationships are not defined by rules or procedures but who merely share a common outlook on society. Sociologists have looked at social movements and offered several theories to explain how they develop. Three of those theories - deprivation theory, mass society theory and structure strain theory - will be discussed in this lesson.

Deprivation Theory
Deprivation theory was first described by Robert Merton and states that social movements arise among people who feel deprived. According to this approach, when people compare themselves to others, they may feel that they are at a disadvantage. They join social movements with the hope of ending their grievances. This sense of having less than other people (money, justice, status or privilege), also known as deprivation, is the basis for the social movement. According to this theory, this comparison, which results in a sense of injustice, is the key to the start of the social movement. Women wanting equal rights is an example of deprivation theory. Women were seen as second-class citizens who had a social status lower than men's. For example, women were expected to restrict their interests to home and the family. Women were not encouraged to obtain a college education or pursue a career. In addition, women did not have the right to own their own property, keep their own wages or sign a contract. All women were also denied the right to vote. Although the women's rights movement focused mainly on the right to vote, it brought about other changes for equality as well. For instance, women's access to higher education expanded, and as a result, females began to enter traditionally male professions such as authors, doctors, lawyers and ministers.

Mass Society Theory

A mass society is a society in which prosperity and bureaucracy have weakened traditional social ties.Mass-society theory was first developed by the political sociologist William Kornhauser. In his theory, Dr. Kornhauser suggests that people who feel isolated and insignificant within a society are attracted to social movements. Social movements, according to this theory, are influenced by the media, and they provide a sense of empowerment and belonging that the movement members would otherwise not have. The key components in this theory are:

1. The media are a powerful force within society that can subvert essential norms and values and thus, undermine social order 2. The media are able to directly influence the minds of average people 3. Once people's thinking is transformed by media, long-term consequences are likely to result
The anti-communist social movement of the 1950s, started by Senator Joseph McCarthy, is an example of mass-society theory. McCarthy saw the media to be subversive and dangerous. In a climate where fear of communism was already peaking because of the events of the first half of the century, McCarthy cultivated further hatred and paranoia by claiming the widespread infiltration of the government by communists. Furthermore, any voice that would speak out against the injustices of the propaganda would face accusations of being unpatriotic or a sympathizer of the communist cause.

Structure Strain Theory

The American sociologist Robert K. Merton developed the structure strain theory as an explanation for deviant group behavior. According to Merton, the American society strives to obtain economic success, and when an individual is not able to obtain prosperity, crime is a normal response to the conditions that limit the opportunities. His theory is based on the idea that all members of society share common values and goals. Some of those values might be to own one's own home, own a car and enjoy vacations. However, because not all members in a society occupy the same economic or social position, they do not all have equal opportunity to realize those goals. For example, the philosophy behind the 'American dream' is that anyone, regardless of one's social background, can achieve financial success. The normal way to achieve material success is through hard work, education, determination and ambition. Unfortunately, the reality is that not everyone is able to succeed. The result is structural strain that produces deviance. Lower-class individuals are most likely to experience these strains because they aim for the same goals as the rest of society; however, they have blocked opportunities for success. These individuals are therefore more likely to turn to crime and deviance as a way to achieve economic success. There is a high correlation that exists between unemployment and crime, and the structural strain theory helps to explain this relationship.

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, we reviewed three theories that have been used to explain how social movements develop. Deprivation theory claims that social movements are started by people who feel they lack something. When people compare themselves to others, they may feel that they are at a disadvantage. This sense of having less than other people leads to a sense of injustice. People seem to join social movements with the hope of ending their grievances. In Dr. Kornhauser's mass-society theory, people who feel isolated and insignificant within a society are attracted to social movements. These social movements are influenced by the media and can provide a sense of empowerment and belonging that the movement members would otherwise not have. Lastly, the structure strain theory views crime as a normal response to the conditions that limit the opportunities for some individuals to obtain the economic success for which we are all supposed to strive.

Mass Behavior
Have you heard the news? The zoot suits from the 1940s are coming back into fashion, and absolutely everyone is wearing them. Did you know that if you go out shopping this weekend and purchase a zoot suit, you will be participating in mass behavior? Mass behavior is a type of social behavior and is defined as collective behavior among people who are spatially dispersed from one another. Collective behavior describes the actions, thoughts, and feelings of relatively temporary and unstructured groups of people. In contrast, a social movement is a large, ongoing group of people engaged in an organized behavior designed to bring about or resist change in society. There are many different forms of mass behavior. For example, mass hysteria, rumors, gossip, fads, and fashions are all examples of mass behavior. In this lesson, we will define and describe these examples of mass behavior.

Mass Hysteria
Mass hysteria is a common term used to describe a situation in which various people all suffer from similar hysterical symptoms. Hysteria is now viewed as a psychiatric disorder consisting of signs and symptoms of illnesses with no organic basis. Mass hysteria is also known as collective hysteria, epidemic hysteria, or mass psychogenic illness. An example of mass hysteria occurred in 1944, when a woman in Illinois smelled something odd outside her window, felt her throat and lips were burning, and suddenly couldn't move her legs. After calling the police, her symptoms went away. While looking for the source of the gas, her husband observed someone outside the house - a possible instigator of the 'gas attack.'

After gossip and the local newspaper spread the news of the event, many other people in the small town developed similar symptoms. No gas or evidence of any kind was ever found.

Rumors
Rumors are unsubstantiated information about a subject that is spread informally. A rumor is typically a piece of information or story that has not been verified, meaning that the person telling it doesn't know if it's true or false. Slander is a rumor about a person that is spread in order to purposefully cause pain or damage. When slander is written down (in text, Facebook, tweeting, email, etc.) it's called libel. There are many celebrities currently suing the tabloid magazines for printing damaging rumors that were not true. For example, the Star printed an article on Aretha Franklin claiming that she missed several concerts due to problems with alcohol. Aretha Franklin spoke out about this rumor, and she is threatening to sue the paper for $50 million because of the 'trashy and grossly untrue' article written about her.

Gossip
In general, gossip can be defined as a private conversation between two people about someone else who is not around. The information they are discussing is represented as factual even though the truth may not have been confirmed. Gossip also tends to be spoken by people about someone they know, not celebrities or historical figures. Another common aspect is that the speaker assumes a morally superior attitude in body language and tone. A final common trait is that people compare themselves to the target of the gossip and find themselves better off.

Fads
Fads are a form of collective behavior when large numbers of people enthusiastically embrace some activity or object for a short period of time. Examples of fads include music preferences, dance styles, and types of slang speech. Fad objects are such things as the hula hoop, styles of dress, or the Rubik's Cube. A fad, by definition, is a short-term event. Fads are often confused with trends; however, they are not the same thing. The major difference between a fad and a trend is duration. A fad product may be something like the beepers of the late 1980s, which enjoyed a few years of popularity, but as technology advanced, the use of the beeper disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. On the other hand, the use of the cell phones of the 1990s may have started as a fad but quickly developed into a growing trend that continues today.

Fashion
Fashion is a term commonly used to describe a style of clothing. A fashion usually remains popular for about 1-3 years and then is replaced by yet another fashion. In any era, fashion is a reflection of the times and what is going on socially and economically.

The 1920s represented a time of tremendous social change and economic prosperity. For example, women had just won the right to vote with the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and after World War I the entire country was booming economically. There was a sense of liberation in American society, which was reflected in the fashion of the time. For instance, women's fashion broke away from the Victorian style of wearing long dresses and corsets. Instead, they wore slinky knee-length dresses that exposed their legs and their arms.

Lesson Summary
In this lesson we covered mass hysteria, rumors, gossip, fads, and fashions, which are all examples of mass behavior. It is important to keep in mind that mass behavior is a type of social behavior that many people participate in. The people participating in the mass behavior do not need to be in close proximity to one another or even know each other in order for them to engage in this type of social behavior. For example, if you are one of the millions of viewers of the E! entertainment channel, you are being informed as to what the current fashion is and what the latest celebrity rumors are and thus participating in mass behavior.

ntroduction To Collective Behavior

Female character 1: 'I wonder why all those people are crowded up over there?' Female character 2: 'I don't know. I wonder if there is going to be a riot?' Female character 1: 'Why do you think that?' Female character 2: 'I was just learning about crowds in my sociology class yesterday.'

Collective Behavior Defined

My professor told us about collective behavior. Collective behavior refers to the spontaneous and unstructured behavior of a group of people in response to the same event, situation, or problem, like this crowd of people, for example. These events do not conform to typical structures that other events are formed around, such as rules or laws, but are not necessarily deviant in nature either. Collective behavior can be characterized as being:

Short-lived in nature Having no clear leaders or organization within the group Having weak to little guidelines or procedures to follow

Examples of collective behavior may include a crowd doing the wave at a football game, a group of people forming around a street preacher, or even widespread interest in a new fad or product, like silly bands. I will explain collective behavior in sociology through three main forms: the crowd, the mob, and the riot.

Crowds Defined
We are witnessing a crowd. The crowd is defined as a relatively large number of people in close proximity to each other (this is sometimes referred to as localized collectivities). The crowd reacts at once to a common focus or concern. This is different than the mass, which refers to people who are concerned about a common concern and influence each other's thinking but are not within close proximity of one another (often referred to asdispersed collectivities). Crowds share characteristics:

They do not define how to behave or share clear expectations on what will happen. They often feel something must be done right away to address their common concern. Attitudes and ideas about the common concern spread very quickly among crowd members. They often do and say things that they would normally not do, and they go along with the actions of others in the crowd.

Crowd Types
There are four different types of crowds. 1. Casual Crowd This crowd probably formed as a casual crowd. That person holding the sign and standing on the platform over there probably prompted people to stop and listen. Casual crowds are loosely organized and emerge spontaneously. The people forming the crowd have very little interaction at first and usually are not familiar with each other. 2. Conventional Crowd Conventional crowds result from more deliberate planning with norms that are defined and acted upon according to the situation. See, this crowd is starting to form a circle around the man on the platform. They have decided that this is the appropriate action to take. 3. Expressive Crowds Expressive crowds form around an event that has an emotional appeal. It seems the man on the platform is talking about the recent tax hike that the city council approved. That may be why this crowd has become engaged and is growing. 4. Acting Crowd An acting crowd refers to a crowd where the members are actively and enthusiastically involved in doing something that is directly related to their goal. This crowd is now chanting loudly, 'Lower our taxes now!' As we have seen, crowds can change types.

The Mob
When an acting crowd starts to engage in destructive and sometimes violent behavior, they become a mob. A mob is a crowd that is easily persuaded to take aggressive or violent action in order to gain attention or solve their problem. Mobs are dangerous because they often lead to behavior that an individual would not normally engage in and cause a lot of damage to physical property and others. We better get out of here. It looks like this crowd has turned into an angry mob! Another example of a famous mob is when Boston beat Vancouver in the 2011 Stanley Cup championship. The disappointed fans turned on the city and lit cars on fire, busted storefront windows, and caused a lot of destruction.

The Riot
The difference between a mob and a riot is nuanced. A riot is a type of crowd that is not as spontaneously formed as a mob but involves larger numbers of people and lasts longer. The concern of the group is more widely known and defined. For example, the Chicago riot of 1968 illustrates how a small crowd engaged in violence after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., confined to a neighborhood on the West side, grew into a riot to consume 28 blocks of Chicago. Ten thousand police were sent in to disperse the riot, 11 people were killed, and over 100 fires had been set.

Lesson Summary
So, in conclusion, collective behavior is when events and social processes emerge but lack structure or organization. These are spontaneous in nature and are often short-lived. Collective behavior includes crowds, mobs, and riots. Crowds are a group of people who share a common concern in close proximity of each other. Behavior for the people in the crowd is not defined, but the members of the crowd often feel something should be done immediately. There are different types of crowds. Casual crowds are loosely organized and emerge spontaneously.Conventional crowds result from more deliberate planning with norms that are defined and acted upon according to the situation. Expressive crowds rally around a concern that is emotionally charged, while an acting crowd enthusiastically engages in activities directly related to addressing the concern of the group. Crowds can quickly change types, and they often turn into mobs. Mobs are crowds in which the members are quick to take action and engage in behavior, sometimes violent, that they would not usually engage in. Riots have larger numbers of people and often last longer than crowds or mobs.

Environmental Issues

There is a critical association between the well-being of a society and the quality of the environment in which a society lives. In today's global society, there are many environmental issues that can diminish the quality of life on Earth, including overproduction of waste, the destruction of natural habitats and the pollution of our air, water and other resources. Environmental issues are harmful consequences of human activity on the natural environment. In this lesson, we will discuss some of today's major environmental issues: global warming, pollution and loss of habitat.

Global Warming
Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans since the late 19th century. The primary cause of global warming seems to be the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and natural gas. These fuels are used to generate electricity, power industrial processes, provide domestic heating and drive motorized vehicles and aircraft engines. All of these uses involve the production of carbon dioxide (CO2). Although this gas is not directly harmful to humans or wildlife at the concentrations found in the air, there is widespread agreement among scientists that it is making the planet warmer by acting like a sort of umbrella that traps heat in the atmosphere near the Earth. Evidence suggests that global warming is causing large scale melting of polar ice caps and glaciers in mountainous regions, which, if it continues, will lead to a rise in sea levels. This would potentially result in the loss of large amounts of valuable agricultural land in coastal areas. Sometimes, the loss of land hits close to home. For example, 40% of Florida's beaches are eroding away due to rising sea levels, at a rate of approximately one inch every 11-14 years, as of 2009. The National Research Council predicted that by 2100 the global average sea level would rise between 20 and 40 inches. Climate change could also lead to drought in some areas and flooding in others, as patterns of air circulation change. Attempts are underway to tackle the problem by reducing reliance on fossil fuels and investing in alternative energy solutions, such as wind and solar power.

Pollution
Pollution can be defined as the introduction of harmful substances into the environment. Most of the time, the harmful substances come from industry and modes of transportation, such as cars, which release waste products that are harmful to humans, animals and plants. Examples are sulfur dioxide (SO2), which is released by the burning of coal, and nitrogen oxides, which are produced by internal combustion engines. In the high concentrations that may occur in urban areas, these can harm people directly by causing respiratory problems. They also undergo reactions in the atmosphere that can produce acid rain, which can acidify soil and water, affecting plants and aquatic organisms and damaging stone buildings and monuments.

Pollution can also affect water directly through the discharge of wastewater from industrial processes, agriculture and mining. Some pollutants may find their way into the sea and accumulate in the food chain. On a more local scale, toxic chemicals from abandoned industrial sites and waste dumps can leave soil contaminated for long periods of time.

Loss Of Habitats
Habitat loss occurs when an animal population loses its home. Every animal in the animal kingdom has a place in their animal community, and without their specific habitat, they no longer have a place to live. Loss of habitat occurs because of the high demand on land for agriculture and building to accommodate an increasing human population. This has been a particular problem in parts of the Amazon rainforest, where rapid clearing of trees to create land suitable for agriculture has put a number of species under threat. Similar environmental issues exist in many other tropical rainforest areas, and there is concern that, with the vast diversity of plant life they contain, some plants of medical interest may be lost before they are discovered. The removal of trees also makes land more vulnerable to erosion. Soil can be washed away by the impact of heavy rain, which would have otherwise been lessened by the forest canopy, and can dry out through exposure to strong sun, leaving it susceptible to wind erosion.

Lesson Summary
In 2014, there are many environmental issues to resolve. In this lesson, we explored some of the most pressing matters, including global warming, pollution and loss of habitat. The key point to keep in mind is that by burning fossil fuels, such as coal, gas and oil, and clearing forests for human expansion and production, we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise. Although the impacts of global warming are not always easy to see, scientists are providing evidence that a higher average temperature in the Earth's atmosphere will continue to lead to unexpected and often severe climactic scenarios in our collective future.

Population
'Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc.' is a short essay written in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin. Writing as, at the time, a loyal subject of the British Empire, Franklin argues that the British should increase their population and power by expanding across the Americas, taking the view that Europe is too crowded. Well, that is exactly what happened as 60 million people left Europe and migrated to the United States between 1815 and 1932. This influx of immigrants impacted the population of the United States in many ways. In order to understand some of the ways a population can change, in this lesson we will discuss the definitions of demography, fertility, and mortality, and their impact on a population.

Demography
In the early 17th century, the population of the British colonies increased from several hundred individuals to about 2.5 million in 1780. Today Franklin's essay is remembered as an influential

precursor of the Malthusian theory. Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834), English economist and clergyman, argued that increases in population, if left unchecked, would eventually result in social chaos. Malthus predicted that the human population would continue to increase exponentially (1, 2, 4, 16, 256 ...) until the situation is out of control. He also warned that food production would only increase arithmetically (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ...) because of the limitations in available farmland. To say the least, Malthus provided a disturbing vision of the future that included massive global starvation as a consequence of unrestrained population growth. From the observations of population growth made by Franklin, Malthus, and others, the field of demography arose two centuries ago.Demography, from the Greek word meaning description of people, is the study of human population, while a person who studies the human population is known as a demographer. A demographer is actually considered a social scientist who analyzes the causes and effects of population changes.

Fertility
A population can change based upon people migrating into an area or out of an area, but a population can also change based upon how many people are being born, how many people are capable of having children, and how many people are dying. A population's size is first affected by fertility. Fertility is the number of children that an average woman bears during her reproductive years. A female's childbearing years last from the beginning of menstruation to menopause. Fertility depends on many factors such as nutrition, sexual behavior, culture, endocrinology, economics, lifestyle, and emotions. The term fertility is often confused with the term fecundity, but they are not the same thing. Fecundity is the number of children an average woman is capable of bearing. The number of potential children a woman can have is often reduced by health, financial constraints, cultural norms, and personal choice. For example, as of 2012 the world's average fertility rate is about 3 children per woman, while its fecundity rate is about 20 per woman. The highest fertility rate occurs in Africa where the average fertility rate is about 6. On the other hand, Europe has the lowest fertility rate where each woman has, on average, 1 child. In the United States, the average fertility rate is about 2.

Crude Birth Rate

A typical measurement used for fertility is the crude birth rate, which is the number of live births in a given year for every 1,000 people in a population. In order to determine a population's fertility rate, demographers use governmental records to figure out the crude birth rate. Demographers calculate the crude birth rate by dividing the number of live births in a year by the total population and then multiplying the result by 1,000. For example, in the year 2000, 327,882 live births occurred in Canada (population 30 million) for a crude birth rate of 10.9. The term 'crude' relates to the fact that comparing such rates can be misleading because it doesn't focus on women of childbearing age and it doesn't consider varying rates between racial, ethnic, and religious groups. It is, however, easy to calculate and provides a measure of a society's overall fertility.

Mortality
The death rate is known as mortality. Mortality also influences a population's size and is defined as the number of deaths in a society's population. Mortality is calculated much like how the crude birth rate is calculated. Demographers calculate the crude death rate as the number of deaths annually per 1,000 people in a population. Demographers calculate this figure by dividing the number of deaths in a year by the total population and then multiplying the result by 1,000. The crude death rate in the United States normally stays around 8 or 9. Infant mortality occurs when a child dies after birth. Childhood mortality is the death of a child before their fifth birthday. The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths among infants under age 1 for each 1,000 live births in a year. Ninety-nine percent of these infant and childhood deaths occur in developing nations. Generally the most common cause worldwide was dehydration from diarrhea. Many factors contribute to infant mortality such as the mother's level of education, environmental conditions, and political and medical infrastructure.

Lesson Summary
Demography is interested in changes in human populations; demographers focus on specific indicators of change. Two of the most important indicators are birth and death rates, which are also referred to as fertility and mortality. Mortality refers to the finite nature of humanity: people die. Mortality in demography is interested in the proportion of deaths in relation to the population. Fertility, on the other hand, affects the population by the number of children that a woman bears during her reproductive years.

Fertility
Fertility is the number of children a woman bears during her reproductive years and is related to social behaviors and personal decisions. A typical measurement used for fertility is the crude birth rate, which is the number of live births in a given year for every 1,000 people in a population. Demographers calculate the crude birth rate by dividing the number of live births in a year by the total population and then multiplying the result by 1,000. Fertility should not be confused with fecundity, which refers to the biological capability and capacity of bearing children. The human female is generally fertile from early teens to about mid-forties. The human male, on the other hand, generally remains fertile throughout adulthood, although sperm count and quality diminish from middle-age onward. Worldwide, there are significant differences between birth rates. For example, differences in family size range from 8.6 children in Jordan to 5.2 children in Indonesia. In developed countries, such as the United States and the European Union, there is a tendency for the family sizes, on average, to be smaller than the replacement level. Replacement level is the level of fertility required to replace themselves and their partner in a population. By definition, 'replacement' is considered only to have occurred when the offspring

reach 15 years of age. In the United States and other industrialized countries, the replacement level is approximately 2.

Mortality Rate
The death rate is known as the mortality rate, which is a measure of the number of deaths in a population. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year. For example, if there is a mortality rate of 9.5 in a population of 1,000, this would mean 9.5 deaths per year in that entire population or 0.95% out of the total. The mortality rate can increase due to epidemics, childhood diseases and war. However, it can also decrease. For example, antibiotics and improvements in medical care have resulted in decreases in the mortality rate.

Migration
The movement by humans from one area to another is known as migration. The humans who undergo migration are called migrants. However, according to the International Organization for Migration, there isn't a universally-accepted definition for a migrant. Nevertheless, the United Nations defines migrant as an individual who has resided in a foreign country for more than a year irrespective of the causes, voluntary or involuntary. An important distinction is that people who migrate into a territory are called immigrants, while people who leave a territory are called emigrants. Under such a definition, those traveling for shorter periods of time as tourists or businesspersons would not be considered migrants, immigrants or emigrants. Migration can affect the population in many ways. For example, in areas where natural disasters or military conflicts occur, this often leads entire populations to be displaced. For example, the large wave of Cubans who legally and illegally immigrated to the United States following the 1959 Cuban Revolution increased the United States' overall population. As of today, over a million Cubans reside in the United States, with the majority living in Florida and New Jersey. Another example of emigration is the internal relocation of many Louisiana residents following Hurricane Katrina. With their homes destroyed, the state's economy in ruin, and sea levels continuing to rise, many people reluctantly left.

Population Change
Fertility, mortality and migration can be used to determine how a population can change based upon the following formula: (Births - Deaths) +/- ((In-Migration) - (Out Migration)) = Population Change This part of the formula, (births - deaths), is called natural increase, which includes all births minus all deaths in a given population over a given period of time. However, it does not include the effects of migration. For example, in 1998 in the United States, there were 3.78 million births and 2.43 million deaths. The natural increase was therefore 1.35 million persons.

The other part of the formula, ((in-migration) - (out migration)), is called net migration, which includes all the in-migration minus all the out-migration in a given population over a given period of time. More specifically, the net migration rate is the difference of immigrants and emigrants in an area in a period of time divided per 1,000 inhabitants. A positive net migration value represents more people entering the country than leaving it, while a negative net migration value means more people are leaving than entering it. While the basic demographic equation holds true by definition, it is important to keep in mind that the recording and counting of events (births, deaths and migration) and the counting of the total population size are subject to error. Therefore, allowances need to be made for error in the underlying statistics when any accounting of population size or change is made.

Lesson Summary
Fertility, mortality and migration are principal determinants of population growth. As this equation shows: (Births - Deaths) +/- ((In-Migration) - (Out Migration)) = Population Change Population change depends on the natural increase changes seen in birth rates and the change seen in migration. Changes in population size can be predicted based on changes in fertility (births), mortality (deaths) and migration rates. It is important to note that natural increase refers to the increase in population not due to migration, and it can also be calculated with the fertility rate and the mortality rate. Net migration is the mathematical difference (subtraction) between those migrating into a country and those migrating out of a country.

Social Change
At the turn of the 20th century, many countries, including the United States, were evolving from predominately rural societies to predominately urban societies. This shift in social organization made many people sit up and take notice of all of the changes that were happening in their world. More importantly, in hopes of understanding the changing times, they attempted to classify the changes. In this lesson, we will focus on the classification of these changes by Ferdinand Tnnies and Ernest W. Burgess.

Gemeinschaft

Imagine that you live in a pre-industrial community where everyone shares common morals and are bound together by kinship and tradition. But not only that, people also take responsibility for their actions and behaviors because they have a collective sense of loyalty and strive to be the best that they can for their community. For example, in a society where everyone grows crops together, you wouldn't find someone avoiding their duty by taking a nap on a bale of hay.

Primarily, this is because shirking responsibility would go against what they feel is right, and secondly, it would not be beneficial for their community. A German sociologist named Ferdinand Tnnies classified this type of community as gemeinschaft. Gemeinschaft means 'intimate community,' and prior to the industrial revolution, this is how most rural communities were constructed. They shared a sense of togetherness, a feeling of belonging, and a mutual sense of family.

Gesellschaft
Now imagine that you live in a modern-day, post-industrial society where everyone works to earn a living in hopes of obtaining prosperity. In this society, people also take responsibility for their actions and behaviors, but they do so because it benefits themselves. For example, an employee diligently comes to work every day because it serves their individual purpose of having a salary and benefits. The employees care about the company to the extent that if the company fails, they will be out of a job. So, collectively, all of the employees maintain a work ethic so that they can keep their salary and benefits. Tnnies classified this type of society as gesellschaft. Gesellschaft means 'society' and refers to groups that are together because of a common goal, such as the employees at a company. According to Tnnies, people in this society have feelings of isolation, being an individual, and relying upon the city to meet all of their needs.

Gentrification
Have you ever heard of a rent-controlled building? This is where an individual rents an apartment, and the landlord is prohibited by law to increase the rent. Rent control laws came into effect because people were migrating to the cities for work, and when they found an apartment that they could afford, the landlord ended up raising their rent. If they couldn't afford their new rent, they were forced to move and look for work elsewhere. When a lot of people are displaced from an area because they can no longer afford to live there, it is known as gentrification. Gentrification is when an influx of higher income residents displaces the lower income residents.

though New York was one of the first states to have rent control, it is also one of the prime examples of gentrification. Buildings that are not rent controlled have increasingly charged more rent. For example, in 2003, 225,000 New York renters were displaced from their apartments because they could not afford the increase in rent. Not all rent-controlled apartment buildings lack modernization; however, with the increase in rent, improvements to the buildings, such as upgraded security systems and new appliances, can be made. So, unless the landlord is willing to pay for building improvements out of their own pockets, rents will continue to be raised and New York will continue to experience gentrification.

Concentric Zone Model

During the course of the Industrial Revolution, people moved to where the jobs were. In most cases, this meant that people moved from their farms to a city. However, where people lived often depended upon what job they could get, and the income to afford housing came with what

job they got. Since the city offered a wide variety of jobs, a wide variety of people came to fill those jobs. Thus, within the cities, social divisions sprang up, some of which were due to economic reasons and others were due to cultural reasons. The cities continued to grow, and in order to make sense out of this social change, Ernest W. Burgess, Ph.D. (the 24th President of the American Sociological Society) came up with a model. In 1925, Dr. Burgess presented his concentric zone model. The concentric zone model was one of the first theories to explain urban social structures. The concentric zone model divides cities into sets of concentric circles. Dr. Burgess used Chicago as an example, explaining that that the bulls-eye, or the inner circle, is where the downtown area is. For clarity's sake, the concentric circles will be named 'zones,' with Zone 1 being the innermost circle.

Zone 1 is where most of the employment opportunities were located. Zone 2 is where the hub of transportation is located. (For example, the rail yards and shipping yards.) Zone 3 is where the lower-income people live. Zone 4 is where the middle-income people live. Zone 5 is where the upper-middle-income people live. Zone 6 is where the high-income people live.

Dr. Burgess's model assumes that there is a correlation between where you live and how much money you earn. For example, the further from Zone 1, the more money you make, and thus you can afford a better quality of housing. Although the concentric zone model cannot be applied universally to all cities, it does take into account gemeinschaft and gesellschaft. Gemeinschaft can be seen in individuals who live outside of Zone 6. These people live in a rural environment and do not want to give up their sense of community by moving to a city, even though they don't make as much money as Zone 6 people. While gesellschaft can be seen in individuals who live any of the zones, these individuals left their sense of community and have become an individual working and living in a city for the chance to have a better quality of life.