Second Half Study Guide Geog324 Fall 2006 -- Updated 12/6/2006
The Final will have three parts:
1. Multiple choice and or short fill-ins (about 40 points worth)
2. Short answers -- few sentences (about 10 points)
3. Comparative Essay Question (about 50 points)
As you study for the exam you may want to write out your answers to practice for the test. Also I realize that essay questions are bottomless pits, anyone could spend 2 or 3 times the allotted test time even with only a moderate improvement to their answer. So pace yourself. Don't ignore easy points to add redundancy. Make a statement and provide examples/evidence then move on to another point in your essay.
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Below are a study questions for many of the readings, lectures, and videos that we have utilized in the second half of the course. Questions on the final will be very similar to these, but don't limit your understanding of the readings to only these specific questions. Try to critically integrate materials. Also, realize that many of the questions raised here can be quite open ended, so do not necessarily limit your thoughts to a single book, article, … in fashioning an answer. In fact the essay question will ask you to compare and contrast material from more than one source.
As an example of how you might want to answer an essay question consider the following example:
How one might answer this question:
Then in actually laying-out an answer simple titles like the following could be used:
Fertility Rates and trends in China
Fertility Rates and trends in Japan
China's future fertility trends vs. Japan's historical experience
Causes of Japan's decline in fertility since 1950 up till the present
Current situation in China
Compare and contrast the geographic impacts
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Starr: Chap 11: One Billion Plus; Controlling Population Growth
What is the "one child policy" and when did it start? Has it been successful by Government measures? Give some evidence
Are all equally affected by the "one child policy"? Explain any exceptions, what are they and why do they occur? Does Geography have a role to play in this?
What is the story of the infamous "Mrs. Liao?" What is happening to male/female birth ratio and why?
Yi, Zeng. 1996. "Is Fertility in China 1991-92 Far Below Replacement Level?"
What is the current fertility rate in China, is it above or below replacement level? Relatively how does this compare with Japan's? Might similar factors be at work in China that lead to the earlier lowering of fertility rates in Japan?
Why is China's fertility rates being disputed? Can we trust these results and why? Would one expect similar problems with data in Japan?
What is the "One Vote Down" campaign and how might this have effected estimates of fertility rates?
Is there any good empirical evidence that fertility rates have routinely been underreported in the past? Explain.
Retherford, Robert; Naohiro Ogawa, and Satomi Sakamoto. March 1996. "Values and Fertility Change in Japan",
What has been the pattern of fertility change in Japan? What reasons have been given for these changes?
What is the relationship between fertility change and value change in Japan?
How do men and women feel about marriage in Japan? Are their ideas converging or diverging?
Is there a relationship between the values discussed in this article and Confucian ideals? Explain.
It was hypothesized in this article that value changes follow socio-economic changes, yet the article also said that value changes have a life of their own (they change independent of Soci-economic changes). Can you find evidence of both of these statements? Please describe and discuss them, then after you have done this provide your own conclusions as to whether the hypothesis works or does not work. In regards to value changes why is it important to know the difference between a heterogeneous and homogeneous society?