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| Population |
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here |
The world's population is booming on an unprecedented
scale. The number of humans on earth turned six
billion for the first time at the end of the last
millennium and it is predicted to rise by another
three billion by the middle of this century. One
year from now there will be an extra 78 million
people on the planet, though this growth is expected
to be very unevenly spread over different areas.
Five countries account for half of the increase
in population. At present India is top of the growth
league and accounts for some 20 per cent of the
World's population growth. China accounts for some
16 per cent of the total. By 2050 the two countries
together will contain three billion people, more
than the total number of people in the world in
1950. In poorer countries large families continue
to be seen as an insurance against poverty in old
age, but where resources are scarce the increasing
numbers can lead to individuals receiving an ever
smaller slice of the cake.
There is a growing awareness in developing countries
that the traditional large family may have to change
to protect the resources of the future. One problem
for those who wish to space their families is the
lack of reproductive health services, although pioneering
projects with a holistic approach are on the increase.
But whereas population growth in the developing
world is a concern to many, there are others who
are equally concerned about the population decline
in the West. Europe's population is shrinking and
if other countries follow Italy's example where
the birthrate has fallen below replacement level,
economists argue that we could be heading for serious
and irreversible problems. With an ageing population
and insufficient workers to provide financial support,
countries in the developed world could spiral into
economic decline. |
| Listen
to Professor
Ashish Bose, Population expert |
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| Meeting
and Mating |
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Listen
here |
The ways in which people are meeting their partners are
changing. In earlier times, people chose their partners
from their immediate environment. They usually met and
married the boy or girl next door. However, in the Age
of global communication and mobility, next door may be
thousands of miles away. People have a much wider choice
of potential mates. They can select from all over the
world, reaching thousands of possible partners across
all kinds of cultural boundaries. This is the product
of a much more mobile population where people can travel
from one continent to another with relative ease.
In the future, the emerging trend of marriages over the
Internet is likely to increase as more and more people
have access to the new technologies. However finding a
mate will remain one of the most traditional areas of
life for many people. For example, in India, the practice
of arranged marriages remains extremely popular, and it
is unlikely to disappear. However, the tradition of arranged
marriages is increasingly being adapted to suit today's
climate of wider choice. In a growing number of cases,
young people are claiming for themselves a greater degree
of influence on the selection of their future spouses.
Dating agencies are also proliferating in many parts of
the world, and they are becoming increasingly international.
One such agency in Tokyo caters for Japanese women seeking
husbands on the other side of the world in Europe. However,
in the more distant future, people may even be selecting
their partners through genetic and psychological profiling.
So Meeting and Mating may have changed unrecognizably
by the end of the next millennium. |
| Listen
to Kumi Naidoo,
CEO of World Alliance for Citizen Participation |
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| Sex
and Procreation |
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Listen
here |
There have been many factors that have influenced changes
in our sexual and reproductive behaviour over recent decades,
and increasingly technology will open up new choices for
those who wish to take them. Already it is possible to
conceive through in vitro fertilisation without any sexual
contact.
As a consequence, some people believe that sex and procreation
will become increasingly separated in the future. This
will offer new opportunities to those who want to reproduce
without a partner, or with a partner of the same sex.
As a result, many commentators are worried about the implications
of these developments for these children and Society as
a whole. Other advances in reproductive technology will
theoretically open up the way for men to have babies,
although whether there will be any takers is another matter.
The cloning of animals has already happened and scientists
predict that we will have human cloning within a few years,
despite the worldwide ban in operation at the moment.
New technology will also offer the possibility of a major
transformation of sexual experience. In the very near
future cyber-sex will leave the realms of science fiction
to become a reality. With the separation of sex from reproduction,
and cyber sensual experiences on the horizon, what will
happen to relationships? Romance? Traditional morality?
However, these developments will not impinge on the lives
of most people for the foreseeable future, if ever. Yet
the widening choices presented by technology raise many
questions for which there are no easy answers. We are
moving into uncharted waters in this new century. |
| Listen
to Lord Robert Winston,
Fertility Scientist |
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| Gender |
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Listen
here |
The drive for gender equality, and the redefinition of
gender roles and identity has been one of the greatest
forces for change in the last century. Women in almost
all parts of the world have seen their status improved,
and the quest for full equality will continue for decades
to come.
Education is one of the greatest levellers, but it is
still denied to girl children in some communities, or
it is just not seen as a priority. Increasingly, pioneering
projects such as Lok Jumbish or ' People's Movement' in
Rajasthan in India, are tackling this inequality. Dedicated
teachers go deep into the community to persuade parents
of the importance of primary education for their daughters.
Violence against women is a continuing sign of this gender
inequality. Some predict that this problem will escalate
in the early part of the century as men lose their traditional
ascendancy. The problem of domestic violence cuts across
all cultures and nationalities and there is no sign that
it will come to an end in the near future. However, campaigners
believe that a key factor will be in changing Society's
attitude towards it.
However, there is also hope in the fact that gender roles
are changing to allow more partnership between the sexes.
This is now a global trend. We are moving away from the
idea of rigid identities to a less polarised view of how
men and women are. Many feel that this will be of benefit
to men as well as women. Although there is still discrimination
against women in many fields, there is also discrimination
against men. In progressive Scandinavia, current research
shows that men are still excluded from childcare jobs
which are considered to be in women's domain. There is
still a long way to go before full gender equality, but
there is a feeling that we are accelerating towards that
goal. |
| Listen
to Marilyn Waring,
Associate Professor in Social Policy and Social Work |
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| The
Family |
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Listen
here |
Family forms are changing all over the world. In China
the extended family is disappearing. Although the joint
family is still the norm in India, there is a trend towards
the nuclear family in urban areas. These changes are viewed
with mixed feelings. On the one hand the move towards
greater autonomy is seen as a positive, but on the other,
the loss of support provided by the large extended family
is lamented.
In the West the changes over the last three decades have
been seismic. In the United States, half of all marriages
end in divorce and a third of all births are out of wedlock.
However, paradoxically, marriage itself is as popular
as ever. Current research into the effect of divorce on
children is not encouraging. Family forms are diversifying,
and increasingly people are 'choosing' their family members
rather than relying purely on blood ties. More and more
people are living alone, either through choice or circumstance,
and it is predicted that this trend will continue.
This social transformation in the West has raised many
concerns about the loss of 'family values' and there are
fears that trends in developing countries will mirror
the Western pattern. There are others who are not concerned
about changes in family structure as they welcome them
as part of a global shift towards diversity. The family
will continue to be of vital importance for the individual
and society, so say the pundits. It is the definition
of what exactly constitutes a family that is changing.
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| Listen
to Professor
Nana Apt, Sociology Expert talk about the family in
the 21st Century |
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