ASSIGNMENT+2+Family+Demographics


 * ASSIGNMENT 2: FAMILY DEMOGRAPHICS**

Please complete before class week #2

Family demographers follow trends in family life. They use data from the U. S. Census and the National Survey of Health Statistics (NCHS), a division of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to understand, explain, and predict changes in the family lives of Americans. Similar to how a scientist might track how a disease moves through a population, (for example, who gets Cancer, what is the average age for getting Cancer), demographers follow how divorce, marriage, cohabitation rates change (i.e. who cohabits, marries, and divorces). Next, you will visit the U.S. Census page at [|U.S. Census] Click on the Publications link on the left panel. Then click on the Population link --scroll down a bit in list. Then click "Estimates and Projections." Then click on document link to the right of the report titled "Projections of the Number of Households and Families in the United States: 1995 to 2010" Report # P25-1129. Scroll down and read the HIGHLIGHTS section on first page of the report. Then scroll down to page 4 and read the section titles "Household Types." Next, scroll down to page 11 and take some time to examine the chart showing the percentage of families with and without children, by type, comparing 1995 to 2010 projections. In your blog label this Part 1 Assignment 2 1) Describe 1 or 2 highlights that struck you from the report. Do not cut and paste from the report, use your own words. 2) Were you surprised by the data/findings on the chart or are they in line with what you would have expected? 3) What do you notice on the chart? 3a.) What types of families are more typical (higher percentage) compared to 1995. 3b.) What types of families are becoming less the norm (percentage decreases from 1995 to 2010. 4) What type of family do you expect to be living in, in 5 years? In 10 years? When you are 70 years old?

Part 2 on your blogs: Please read the Hymowitz article on the New Girl Order - [|New Girl Order article]. For those of you who have seen S&TC (Sex and the City) add comments from the movie. According to the reading by Hymowitz: 1) What is different about women today versus 40 years ago? 2) What is the norm in terms of what women are doing and when they are marrying? 3) Do women work more or less than in the past etc? 4) Next, please write about what you plan to do as you finish school and reach adulthood. Will you work and get your career started and then marry or the other way around? And - just for fun: if you are female: describe which Sex and the City girl you most identify with and why. You can also note your favorite boyfriend/husband. If you are male which main boyfriends do you most identify with and why or which female character would you most like to date. Would you date marry any of them? Why or why not?

If you are not familiar with the show, give us a short description of a show about families and how you see it relating to a topic/s in this class.