Objective: The objectives of this discussion are to apply what you have learned in the class and to understand the power of unobtrusive research.

Background: Unobtrusive research can be a very useful way of learning and understanding. Researchers rely on second-hand data and do not have to collect data themselves. Therefore, it is often less time-consuming than other types of research such as experiments and surveys. Please visit the following website,

http://populationpyramid.net/

You can find the population pyramids of different countries (clicking a different tab). Based on the population pyramids, you can see that countries are in different stages of development.

1. Please look at the pyramids of the U.S. in 1950, 2010, and 2070. How have the population structure changed in the last 60 years and how will the structure change in the next 60 years? What are the potential concerns that you can see the changing age pyramids? (Pay less attention to the total number. Instead, please focus on the shape of the age pyramid).

2. Please select one European country, one Asian country, and one African country. Compare the pyramids with that of the U.S. Describe what you learn about the countries from an examination of the population pyramids for the year 2010.

After you draft your original post, you can visit the following sites for information about human population and factors affecting the shape of population pyramids.

1. BBC’s quick guide on population changes: https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zyxm82p/revision/1 (Links to an external site.)

2. Population Reference Bureau: http://www.prb.org/Publications/Lesson-Plans/HumanPopulation/Change.aspx (Links to an external site.)

3. Wikipedia about population pyramids: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_pyramid (Links to an external site.)

4. U.S. Census Bureau’s quick info about population pyramids in local areas: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2016/06/americas-age-profile-told-through-population-pyramids.html (Links to an external site.)

Operation: At the minimum, each student should make ONE original post by Wednesday night and FOUR substantive comments by Sunday night in order to receive the full participation credit. The discussion concludes by Sunday night.

What constitutes an original post and a comment?

You should start an original post to express your original thoughts. We expect that each original post should include 400 words or more.

Whereas comments should be made in response to others’ original posts or comments in order to explore the thought, comment, or idea further. Each comment should have at least FOUR complete sentences.

To make a new post a person should be in their respective discussion board and “Reply” to this instruction. Comments, on the other hand, are usually made in response to, or with some reference to a post, or comment, someone else has made.