Exam 17: Contemporary Global Trends

Demographic-transition theory assumes a close connection between:

Thomas Malthus predicted that populations would grow much slower than the production of food and other resources needed to sustain the population.

The term "Green Revolution" refers to the increased use of to increase food production in Third World countries.

With the removal of government-controlled price restraints in Russia, the costs of food and other basic commodities went down.

In China, the government penalizes urban couples who have more than one child.

Anthropologist Katherine Verdery, who carried out ethnographic work in Romania, identified all BUT the following as a dilemma currently facing this post-socialist nation:

Anthropologists can probably aid in humankind's understanding of its existence in the global village by making a concerted effort to comprehend the historical and sociocultural incentives and roots that contribute to ethnic conflicts.

In the 1970s, a group of scientists known as the Club of Rome got together to assess global trends and predict the future of the world and the people on it. Using a neo-Malthusian perspective and computer models, they predicted:

The populations of Germany and Japan are both:

If a population is simply replacing itself, we say that the population has achieved:

A population has reached zero population growth (ZPG) when, on average, there is/are children born to each woman.

The globalization of the world economy has had relatively little effect on core industrial societies such as the U.S. and Japan.

What types of unanticipated problems has the implementation of the Green Revolution caused in areas where it was introduced? Are there any success stories, or is the verdict all negative?

Julian Simon has challenged the Doomsday Model since he believes the problems of pollution and environmental stress will ultimately be solved because:

Perestroika and glasnost are terms that refer to:

Make a list of all the ethnic (separatist) conflicts that are occurring across the world today. How many confrontations were you able to find? Do you think this type of dissension will continue to emerge, or can different ethnic groups learn to live in peace with one another?

What types of contributions can anthropologists make by studying ethnic conflict and separatism? What perspective can anthropologists take in this endeavor?

A British clergyman and economist named -------predicted that populations would grow at a very rapid rate (exponential rate) and the production of food and other vital resources would increase at a much slower rate. As a result, human populations would be subjected to a variety of checks on population growth such as warfare, famine, and disease.

A major factor that has influenced the emergence of the global economic network is the multinational corporation.

Anthropological research has shown that the Green Revolution has caused a number of unintended problems, such as widening the gap between the rich and the poor by displacing many small farmers and creating a landless peasant class.