UNIT 3: CHANGE AND PROGRESS Evidence of change in culture and society (eg the Census); The individual and society - issues of control and Regulation.
You should be able to describe the main features of the national Census and some trends of national importance, such as different male and female survival rates, population size, ethnic and religious diversity and immigration. You should be able to discuss the implications of such findings. National Statistics Online - http://www.statistics.gov.uk
You should be able to show how trends discovered through measuring changes in society may be used by government to influence policy in many different areas and the justification for the formulation of legislation.
LIFE EXPECTANCY Males 1911 50.4 1991-93 73.4 2006-08 77.5 (75) Females 1911 53.9 1991-93 78.9 2006-08 81.7 (80)
As the population has increased, so it has become older.
WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT NEED TO COLLECT THIS DATA? So it can plan health provision financial provision pensions/benefits housing So it can make laws to put its plans into action, eg the changes to the retirement age.
THE NATIONAL CENSUS is supposed to happen every 10 years. The next is due in 2011. In1911 it was trying to find out how long the couple had been married. how many children were born alive how many were still alive the ages of the deceased the industry or service with which the worker is connected.
In 2001it asked the first question on religion on the main census form (England, Wales, and Scotland) As a result of a pyramid texting campaign, 390,000 people entered their religion as Jedi Knight (more than any of Sikhs, Buddhists or Jews), with some areas registering up to 2.6% of people as Jedi. Thus, 'Jedi' was fourth largest reported religion in the country.
In 2011 it will include questions relevant to civil partnerships. Other new questions involve asking migrants their date of arrival and how long they intend to stay in the UK, and will also require respondents to disclose which passports they hold.
How does the information reflect social change? One key change which is shown clearly in the census over the years is the huge rise in the number of women who are in full or part time work How is this information used? It helps the government to plan and bring into law Tax and benefit regimes Childcare provision Education
THE NEED FOR THE DATA PROTECTION ACT During the second half of the 20th century, businesses, organisations and the government began using computers to store information about their customers, clients and staff in databases. For example: names addresses contact information employment history medical conditions convictions credit history
THE PURPOSE OF THE DATA PROTECTION ACT The 1998 Data Protection Act was passed by Parliament to control the way information is handled and to give legal rights to people who have information stored about them. Other European Union countries have passed similar laws as often information is held in more than one country.
SURVEILLANCE- Twenty years ago, Britain barely had any CCTV cameras so what happened? In 1993 James Bulger and his murderers were captured on CCTV and provided a heartbreaking image that is still with us today.
Today CCTV cameras are everywhere - where we live, work, eat and shop, and along roads we drive on. They're even in places where you might not expect them in the back of cabs, on buses and trains. The truth is that we're being spied upon far more than we perhaps imagine. It's estimated there's one CCTV camera for every 14 of us and it's claimed that every day we are caught on camera 300 times.
How is this information used? Obviously the main way CCTV has been employed is in the monitoring of our streets in the pursuit of crime prevention. The development of the binge drinking culture is seen as a social change in recent years, linked to the changes in the licensing laws and the behaviour of young people. ASBO s, on the spot fines, 'Mosquito', and heavy police presence are all seen as ways of controlling young people.
You should be able to present different points of views on the need to collect information about the population, on how much information on individuals may be collected, on any restriction that might be placed on the use of such data and on the wider aspects of surveillance, eg through CCTV cameras and information collected by businesses about their customers.