\u25ca You have found two possible sources. Read the extracts and then complete the paragraph from the introduction to the essay using both sources.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n1. The demographic revolution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Fifty years ago, overpopulation was seen as a major threat to human survival. But since then attitudes to family size have shifted significantly, so that many countries now have a fertility rate below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman. A recent poll asked people in 19 countries about their ideal family size, and also whether or not they would achieve their ideal, and why. In less than half the countries surveyed people actually have more children than the ideal; notably Nigeria, where the ideal is 5.4 children but in fact they have 7.7. But the majority of countries display the opposite: people have fewer children than the ideal. Greeks, for example, would like 2.6 children in their families, but are likely to only have 1.7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One reason often given for limiting family size is financial, especially in countries which have been most affected by economic difficulties post-2009. The cost of education, especially private education, is a concern for many parents, as is the price of housing. In Spain, for instance, the average man cannot afford to set up his own household until the age of 30. But even in more dynamic economies such as China the fertility rate has fallen to 1.6, well below the replacement level. Urbanisation is an undoubted factor in discouraging large families, which are less of an asset when rural life is left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because couples are postponing getting married and starting a family for economic and social reasons, a new difficulty for older would-be mothers is actually getting pregnant. Many women in their 30s experience some problems, with an increasing number having to use IVF treatment. In addition to the suffering experienced by these families, many governments are increasingly concerned by the shortage of young working people to support the growing number of older citizens and their pensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Deliban, K. Oxford Review<\/em>,September 2016, pp. 45\u20136)<\/p>\n\n\n\n2. Childlessness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n In many European countries it is becoming common for women not to have children. 22 per cent of German women in their early 40s, for example, are childless, and the figure is higher in cities, while the birth rate is only 1.5. In England childlessness is also common, at 17 per cent, although the birth rate is higher. But demographers argue that this is not a new situation, pointing out that in the nineteenth century and earlier many women delayed marriage for financial reasons or never married at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social attitudes to childlessness are also changing, since it is decreasingly seen as something shameful. This may be due to the increasing economic necessity for both parents to work, especially in countries such as Japan where there is little provision for working mothers. Many well-educated women may simply prefer to follow their career path rather than raise children. Other reasons for childlessness include not finding a suitable partner or medical difficulties, especially among women whose postpone starting a family until they are over 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although results vary from place to place, many studies have found that childless couples may often be happier than those with children, especially young children. Such people make significant contributions to society, being especially prominent (according to a German study) in setting up and running charities. They are also far more likely than couples with children to leave money in their wills to charity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Scarrow, W. and Langbein, R. The<\/em> New Europeans<\/em>,2014)<\/p>\n\n\n\nComplete the following introductory paragraph to your essay, \u2018Is there a role for the state to influence family size?\u2019<\/strong> In the past governments have sometimes attempted to encourage or discourage their citizens from having children, for instance offering financial incentives for having extra children. Today there is evidence of a worldwide trend to reducing family size \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\nAnswers<\/summary>\n(Model answer)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2018Is there a role for the state to influence family size?\u2019 In the past governments have sometimes attempted to encourage or discourage their citizens from having children, for instance offering financial incentives for having extra children. Today there is evidence of a worldwide trend to reducing family size, due to the pressures of urbanisation and other economic factors. Deliban (2016) states that this tendency is a concern for governments facing a future lack of the young workers needed to provide tax income. However, Scarrow and Langbein (2014) point out that in both Europe and Japan women are increasingly likely to be childless. Again, they see this partly as a response to the economic climate, but also due to the difficulty of combining motherhood and a career.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n
C2 – Contrasting Sources 2<\/h2>\n\n\n\nView C2<\/summary>\nYou are investigating risk-taking among adolescents and, in particular, whether anything can be done to mediate this. You have found two texts and below are excerpts from the abstracts of those texts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2662 Read each text and make brief notes on what the author(s) say(s).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nIt is argued that adolescence is a period of heightened vulnerability to risk taking because of a disjunction between novelty and sensation seeking (both of which increase dramatically at puberty) and the development of self-regulatory competence (which does not fully mature until early adulthood). This disjunction is biologically driven, normative, and unlikely to be remedied through educational interventions designed to change adolescents’ perception, appraisal, or understanding of risk. Interventions should begin from the premise that adolescents are inherently more likely than adults to take risks, and should focus on reducing the harm associated with risk-taking behavior. [from: Steinberg, L. (2006) Risk-taking in Adolescence: What Changes and Why?<\/em>] <\/td><\/tr>Notes<\/strong> <\/strong> 1.<\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong> 2.<\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong> 3.<\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWe first measured fluid intelligence* and probabilistic reasoning ability**. Then, to measure decision-making under explicit conditions of risk, participants performed the Game of Dice Task<\/em>, in which they have to decide among different alternatives that are explicitly linked to a specific amount of gain or loss and have obvious winning probabilities that are stable over time. Results:<\/em> Analyses showed a significant positive indirect effect of fluid intelligence on advantageous decision-making through probabilistic reasoning ability that acted as a mediator. Specifically, fluid intelligence may enhance ability to reason in probabilistic terms, which in turn increases the likelihood of advantageous choices when adolescents are confronted with an explicit decisional context. *the ability to solve novel reasoning problems **an ability to operate comfortably with complex, real-world situations [from: Donati, M. A., Panno, A., Chiesi, F. and Primi, C. (2013) \u2018A mediation model to explain decision-making under conditions of risk among adolescents: The role of fluid intelligence and probabilistic reasoning\u2019. www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/13803395.2014.918091]<\/td><\/tr>Notes<\/strong> <\/strong> 1.<\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong> 2.<\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u2662 Using your notes, decide whether the two sources are:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\nsaying the same thing<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\nsaying different things<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\nsaying contradictory things<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\u2662 Now write a two-sentence summary of both sources.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nAnswers<\/summary>\nIt is argued that adolescence is a period of heightened vulnerability to risk taking because of a disjunction between novelty and sensation seeking (both of which increase dramatically at puberty) and the development of self-regulatory competence (which does not fully mature until early adulthood). This disjunction is biologically driven, normative, and unlikely to be remedied through educational interventions designed to change adolescents’ perception, appraisal, or understanding of risk. Interventions should begin from the premise that adolescents are inherently more likely than adults to take risks, and should focus on reducing the harm associated with risk-taking behavior. [from: Steinberg, L. (2006) Risk-taking in Adolescence: What Changes and Why?<\/em> Laurence] <\/td><\/tr>Notes<\/strong> <\/strong> 1. <\/strong>Adolescents more likely to be risk-takers due to age, i.e. lack of maturity. <\/strong> 2. <\/strong>Therefore education to improve their awareness and calculation of risk not going to be effective. <\/strong> 3. <\/strong>Education about risk should concentrate on reducing harm. <\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWe first measured fluid intelligence* and probabilistic reasoning ability**. Then, to measure decision making under explicit conditions of risk, participants performed the Game of Dice Task<\/em>, in which they have to decide among different alternatives that are explicitly linked to a specific amount of gain or loss and have obvious winning probabilities that are stable over time. Results:<\/em> Analyses showed a significant positive indirect effect of fluid intelligence on advantageous decision making through probabilistic reasoning ability that acted as a mediator. Specifically, fluid intelligence may enhance ability to reason in probabilistic terms, which in turn increases the likelihood of advantageous choices when adolescents are confronted with an explicit decisional context. *the ability to solve novel reasoning problems **an ability to operate comfortably with complex, real-world situations [from: Donati, M. A., Panno, A., Chiesi, F. and Primi, C. (2013) \u2018A mediation model to explain decision-making under conditions of risk among adolescents: The role of fluid intelligence and probabilistic reasoning\u2019. www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/13803395.2014.918091]<\/td><\/tr>
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