Deck 8: Structural Sources of Societal Change: Economic and Demographic

Question 1

S. multinational corporations have invested heavily in ________ because production is more profitable there, mainly due to cheap, non-unionized labor and the relative lack of regulations.

A) foreign countries
B) domestic development
C) workforce development
D) social welfare structures

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The first phase of the Industrial Revolution involved the use of ________.

A) steam power
B) oil and electricity
C) atomic fission and fusion
D) solar power

Answer 2

A

Question 3

________ is the process in which individuals or groups adopt the culture of another group.

A) Assimilation
B) Adoption
C) Cultural transmission
D) Conformity

Answer 3

A

Question 4

More than ________ of the people in the United States are African American, Latino, Asian, or Native American; minorities make up a majority in six of the eight largest U.S. cities.

A) 1/3
B) 1/2
C) 1/4
D) 1/10

Question 5

Identify which of the following is not true of the new immigration?

A) The volume of immigrants is relatively large.
B) New patterns of immigration are changing racial composition in the United States.
C) The new residents are primarily African and Asian.
D) Immigration now accounts for a large share of the nation's population growth.

Question 6

In addition to legal migrants, an estimated _______ unauthorized immigrants enter the U.S. each year.

A) 2,500,000
B) 525,000
C) 25,000
D) 50,000

Question 7

Identify which of the following conditions contribute(s) to the declining middle class?

A) The jobs in the relatively well-paid industrial sector are being replaced predominantly by the low-pay and low-prestige service jobs that offer few benefits and no advancement potential.
B) Declining standard of living for entire communities experienced as a result of companies relocating.
C) Declining standard of living for those workers, who still remain in the manufacturing sector, which is a result of decreasing bargaining power of the unions.
D) All of the above

Question 8

________ refers to the movement of corporate monies from one investment to another, generally less costly one.

A) Capital flight
B) Globalization
C) Outsourcing
D) Third-Worldization

Question 9

Capital flight takes the following form(s):

A) investment in plants located outside the United States
B) plant relocation within the United States
C) mergers
D) all of the above

Question 10

________ is a term that refers to employees who work part-time, in temporary jobs, or as independent contractors.

A) Part-time employment
B) Day labor
C) Contract labor
D) Contingent employment

Question 11

Contingent employment shifts the burden of ________ to individual workers and their families.

A) fringe benefits
B) increasing productivity
C) skill development
D) direct labor

Question 12

The loss of high-wage manufacturing jobs, and their replacement with low-wage jobs, part-time work, chronic unemployment, and a greater concentration of wealth for the few, is referred to as ________.

A) Third-Worldization
B) economic insecurity
C) race to the bottom
D) None of the above

Question 13

Most independent contractors __________.

A) work for sunset industries
B) perform the majority of their work in corporate offices
C) are age 40 or older
D) have to pay for their own health insurance

Question 14

A sector of the population called the New Poor are poor because ________.

A) they have inadequate skills and education to find work in the new economy
B) they are displaced workers who, even if they find new jobs, face lower-paying opportunities
C) many are displaced workers over forty who find re-employment difficult because businesses consider them too old to retrain
D) all of the above

Question 15

Settlement patterns of the new immigrants are much more ________ than previous flows into the United States, which tended to concentrate in the industrial Northeast and Middle Atlantic regions.

A) geographically concentrated
B) geographically dispersed
C) culturally isolated
D) culturally concentrated

Question 16

A sunset industry is one that _________.

A) employs senior citizens
B) will soon die out completely
C) employs workers in the southern U.S.
D) is new and rapidly expanding

Question 17

The working poor are disproportionately________.

A) adolescents
B) elderly
C) men
D) women

Question 18

________ involve moving U.S. factories to places where wages are lower, unions are weaker or nonexistent, and the business climate is more receptive.

A) Closings
B) Mergers
C) Consolidations
D) Outsourcing

Question 19

________ is the movement of people across political boundaries.

A) Globalization
B) Immigration
C) Balkanization
D) Assimilation

Question 20

The ________ landscape and rate of population growth are greatly affected, as approximately 1 million immigrants annually set up permanent residence in the United States.

A) political
B) racial
C) economic
D) social

Question 21

________ have lost their position as the most numerous racial minority; ________ outnumbered them by three million.

A) African Americans / Latinos
B) Latinos / African Americans
C) Asians / Latinos
D) African Americans / Asians

Question 22

Identify which of the following is an option new immigrants have for adapting to American society.

A) They try to blend in as quickly as possible.
B) They resist the new ways and develop an adversarial stance toward the dominant society.
C) They focus more intensely on social networks created through ethnic ties.
D) all of the above

Question 23

With the current political mood to eliminate ________, new immigrants will have a more difficult time assimilating than their predecessors, and there will almost certainly be fewer social benefits available to them.

A) affirmative action
B) immigration quotas
C) bilingual education
D) special education

Question 24

The elderly population is disproportionately composed of ________ because they enjoy greater longevity.

A) men
B) women
C) racial minorities
D) whites

Question 25

Noted demographer William Frey views the current ________ from high immigrant areas as the possible prelude to the ________.

A) white flight / Balkanization of America
B) rural migration / strengthening of America
C) urban renewal / suburbanization of minorities
D) racial blending / creation of an American race

Question 26

A principal indicator of assimilation is ________.

A) values
B) lifestyle
C) language
D) appearance

Question 27

While the middle class is shrinking and the working class faces difficult economic hurdles, there is the danger that new immigrants will become ________.

A) racialized
B) stereotyped
C) outcast
D) scapegoats

Question 28

Which of the following is a problem of an aging society?

A) inadequate income from pensions or Social Security
B) escalating health care costs
C) a slowdown in advances in the medical sciences
D) both A and B

Question 29

Identify which of the following is not evidence used to show that immigrants do not take jobs from U.S. citizens.

A) Immigrants do not have negative effects on the wages of most Americans, but they do compete with the low-wage/poorly skilled segment of the work force.
B) Immigrants are more likely than the rest of the population to be self-employed, which creates jobs and strengthens local economies.
C) Immigrants are welcome and included in most American labor unions.
D) Immigrants do society's dirty work that many poor U.S. citizens are unwilling to do.

Question 30

With a falling birth rate and advances in medicine, there has been a tenfold increase in the ________ segment of the population since 1900.

A) adult
B) aging
C) adolescent
D) middle-aged

Question 31

______ accounts for a large part of the nation's population growth and is changing the racial composition of America.

A) Natural increase
B) Internal migration
C) Employee relocation
D) Immigration

Question 32

Identify which of the following is not one of the pronounced effects that the new immigration has that will accelerate in the foreseeable future.

A) There has been an increased bifurcation between the haves and the have-nots.
B) There has been increased racial diversity.
C) There is heightened tension among the races.
D) There is an increased orientation toward multiculturalism.

Question 33

______, the leading cause of dementia, rises from less than 4% of those age 65-74 to nearly half of those 85 or older.

A) Parkinson's disease
B) Multiple sclerosis
C) Alzheimer's disease
D) Arteriosclerosis

Question 34

An increase in ________ is likely in today's environment as animosities intensify over tough economic times and a revival of racism.

A) scapegoating
B) stereotyping
C) labeling
D) harassment

Question 35

Identify which of the following is not evidence to examine whether the increasing proportion of non-whites will lead to a heightening of racial and ethnic tensions.

A) When the racial and ethnic differences that many Americans observe about new immigrants is combined with economic uncertainty, a volatile mix results.
B) Because almost all Americans are descended from immigrants, the United States is a multicultural melting pot.
C) New migrants tend to locate in enclaves and increase the tax burden on particular communities.
D) New migrants tend to locate where other poor people leave for obvious reasons like cheap housing, and, as a result, disadvantaged groups often must compete for relative advantage.

Question 36

Identify the demographic factor(s) that make financing the Social Security program problematic.

A) More people are living beyond age 65.
B) After reaching 65, people live much longer than in earlier generations; average life spans are now 14 years longer than when Social Security was created in 1935.
C) There is a higher proportion of the population who are not working compared to the proportion who are.
D) all of the above

Question 37

We are in the midst of three societal earthquakes, which include

A) globalization of the U.S. economy.
B) the new immigration.
C) the aging of the population.
D) all of the above

Question 38

The ________ refers to the proportion of the population who are workers compared to the proportion not working.

A) dependency ratio
B) employment / retiree ratio
C) elderly ratio
D) retiree ratio

Question 39

When considering the factors surrounding retirement, ________ is most significant in terms of having a reasonable net worth.

A) A 401k account
B) education level
C) a pension
D) home equity

Question 40

Assimilation is the process by which individuals or groups adopt the ________ of another group.

A) culture
B) norms
C) mores
D) folkways

Question 41

The globalization of the economy has led to industrial decisions based on _______.

A) international cooperation
B) the creation of tariff barriers
C) principles of business ethics
D) maximization of profits

Question 42

According to David Kennedy, the closest historical parallel to the migration of Mexicans into the southwestern United States is

A) Quebec.
B) Falkland Islands.
C) Serbia.
D) Scotland.

Question 43

The demand for workers has shifted to people with _______.

A) physical ability
B) cognitive abilities
C) union affiliations
D) manual skills

Question 44

Millions of blue-collar workers have lost their jobs due to _______.

A) companies that have closed
B) relocation of companies in search of cheaper labor
C) automation
D) all of the above

Question 45

While immigration policies are ________, the cost of services to immigrants is typically provided by _______ .

A) state controlled, private agencies
B) set by the federal government, state government
C) international, federal government
D) set by the legislature, the courts

Question 46

Recent immigrants to the U.S. have tended to establish themselves______.

A) on the two coasts.
B) in the Midwest
C) in the South
D) in Alaska and Hawaii

Question 47

The first fundamental turning point in human history was the ________ Revolution.

A) Social
B) Neolithic
C) American
D) Industrial

Question 48

The interconnectedness of people worldwide is related to ________.

A) the Internet
B) Globalization
C) computer/satellite based communications
D) all of the above

Question 49

Parenti's concept of a "gradual third worldization" involves _______.

A) an increase in permanent employment
B) the abolition of low-wage jobs
C) a growth in part-time employment
D) an enlarging middle class

Question 50

Which of the following is not one of the four major waves of immigration?

A) Wave One - English-speaking Britons
B) Wave Two - Irish and Germans
C) Wave Three - Southern and Eastern Europeans
D) Wave Four - Africans and Western Europeans

Question 51

Workers over the age of 40 have difficulty finding work because _______.

A) they are considered too old to retrain
B) they do not have a college degrees
C) immigrants have taken their jobs
D) they support offshoring

Question 52

Economic downsizing was a result of _______.

A) the bursting of the technology speculation bubble on Wall Street
B) the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks
C) corporate mergers
D) all of the above

Question 53

Most significant in the emergence of the globalization of the economy was the ________.

A) new technologies associated with production, transportation, and communications
B) application of steam power, oil, and electricity
C) transition from nomadic pastoral life to agricultural settlements
D) creation of tariff barriers

Question 54

A positive feature of the new immigrants is they are more likely to be

A) temporary residents.
B) technologically skilled.
C) self-employed.
D) inclined toward assimilation.

Question 55

The majority of immigrants require more government resources

A) due to large families.
B) due to their lack of motivation.
C) as a result of substantial discretionary income.
D) because of their substantial tax contributions.

Question 56

The main difference between the old and new poor is _______.

A) the new poor can move on to find better jobs elsewhere
B) the new poor are more trapped in poverty
C) the old poor had no hope of rising out of poverty
D) the old poor were more positively viewed by society at large

Question 57

The new poor are different from the old poor in that the new poor are _______.

A) facing a rapidly expanding economy
B) more trapped in poverty
C) able to secure unionization
D) able to secure employment due to mass production

Question 58

Sometime before the year ________, whites will become a statistical minority in the United States.

A) 2010
B) 2040
C) 2060
D) 2015

Question 59

The problems associated with the economy and work in the U.S. are ______ in origin.

A) structural
B) educational
C) marginal
D) global

Question 60

Which state is a harbinger of the demographic future of the United States?

A) Florida
B) New York
C) California
D) Massachusetts

Question 61

Capital flight refers to investment choices that involve movement of corporate monies from one investment to another.

Question 62

Most undocumented immigrants are

A) young.
B) male.
C) Mexican.
D) all of the above

Question 63

S. multinational corporations have invested heavily in foreign countries because production is more profitable there, mainly because of cheap, non-unionized labor and the relative lack of regulations.

Question 64

Corporate mergers involve corporate administrators deciding to move their businesses to another locality.

Question 65

Anti-immigrant feelings in the states with the most immigrants have appeared in

A) a state proposition that denied certain types of public welfare to undocumented immigrants.
B) a state proposition eliminating bilingual education in public schools..
C) a state proposition that denies access to prenatal clinics and public schools for undocumented immigrants.
D) all of the above

Question 66

If the historical past of the United States is a guide, the new immigrants will

A) return to their homeland.
B) choose to be independent of the dominant society.
C) assimilate.
D) be spared resentment and hostility.

Question 67

According to historian David Kennedy, there is NO precedent in U.S. history for one immigrant group to have the size and concentration that the

A) Irish had in the Northeast.
B) African slaves had in the South.
C) Mexicans have in the Southwest.
D) Native Americans have in the West.

Question 68

The first phase of the Industrial Revolution involved the use of steam power.

Question 69

Among other changes, the new technologies have magnified the connections among peoples worldwide.

Question 70

The Agricultural Revolution marked the transition from Neolithic agriculture to technological innovation.

Question 71

Corporate decisions are based on what will maximize profits, thus, serving workers and the communities in which factories are located.

Question 72

Most contingent workers are paid less than those workers who hold similar full-time jobs.

Question 73

Contingent employment shifts the burden of fringe benefits to individual workers and their families.

Question 74

The jump in the percentage of people aged 65 and over is due to

A) a falling birth rate.
B) an increasing birth rate.
C) advances in medicine.
D) both A and C

Question 75

During the twentieth century, the population of the United States experienced a pronounced change: it has become

A) older.
B) younger.
C) significantly smaller in number.
D) more anglicized.

Question 76

Immigrants provide a service to society by

A) providing a new tax base.
B) filling low-wage positions.
C) blurring racial lines.
D) requiring few resources from the state.

Question 77

In the American workplace, women

A) are easy targets for downsizing.
B) usually have less seniority than men.
C) are more likely to be contingent workers.
D) all of the above

Question 78

In the long run, immigrants are ________ for society.

A) a substantial cost
B) of no financial benefit
C) unavoidable burdens
D) a good investment

Question 79

Day labor is a term that refers to employees who work for an employer as temporaries or as independent contractors.

Question 80

Offshoring involve moving U.S. factories to places abroad where wages are lower, unions are weaker or nonexistent, and the business climate is more receptive.