Resources: Compare

#399, v1.0 Published:
#1850, v1.1 Published:

Title

Old VersionNew Version
1Demography from physical cemeteries, "virtual cemeteries," and census data 1Demography from "virtual cemeteries"

Authors

Old VersionNew Version
1Janet Lanza (University of Arkansas at Little Rock) 1Erin Larson ()
2Hayley Orndorf (University of Pittsburgh) 2Erin Larson ()

Description

Old VersionNew Version
1<p>This lab provides a rich and flexible version of widely used demography exercises that have been previously based on data collected from cemeteries. This lab teaches life tables and survivorship curves. Over two lab periods, small student groups develop and answer questions comparing the survival patterns of different groups of humans (e.g., groups that differ in geographic area, time period, gender, socio-economic background, or ethnicity). Data on human demography are available from three sources: (1) tombstones in local cemeteries that provide ages at death, (2) on-line cemetery records, and (3) census records that provide the numbers of people alive in different age classes. Students may also compare survivorship curves on the same groups generated by different data sets.</p> 1<p paraeid="{bf6d04a8-df2d-4caf-b116-ebcd177d0726}{87}" paraid="1401252397">This module is a modification of the &quot; Demography from physical cemeteries, &quot;virtual cemeteries,&quot; and census data &quot; module by Lanza 2012&nbsp;in TIEE Volume 8.&nbsp;</p>
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   3<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{2ff65ac9-b04d-44c3-9b72-e174dbf25077}{57}" paraid="1699439319" xml:lang="EN-US">&nbsp;</p>
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   5<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e2f342b4-86ff-4819-99ba-924b967bd293}{177}" paraid="1204684585" xml:lang="EN-US">This modification differs&nbsp;from the original module in several ways, while retaining the overall learning objective of&nbsp;analyzing population demography. This modification&nbsp;lets students collect data from online cemetery databases during class, eliminating the need for students to transport themselves to a local cemetery outside of class time. This modification also includes a&nbsp;life table template exercise to familiarize students with life table calculations and graphing in Excel.&nbsp;By implementing the module entirely during class, the instructor can also help mitigate any group dynamics issues arising from group work.&nbsp;</p>
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   7<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{2ff65ac9-b04d-44c3-9b72-e174dbf25077}{88}" paraid="171760866" xml:lang="EN-US">&nbsp;</p>
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   9<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e2f342b4-86ff-4819-99ba-924b967bd293}{184}" paraid="810470497" xml:lang="EN-US">This module modification is designed to be implemented in 1-2 lab/in-class periods&nbsp;(3 hours total), with no advance&nbsp;work.&nbsp;Students are assessed based on their answers to discussion questions in the lab handout, and their completed Excel files with their group&rsquo;s data, life table, and survivorship curves.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
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   11<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{2ff65ac9-b04d-44c3-9b72-e174dbf25077}{101}" paraid="1013604570" xml:lang="EN-US">&nbsp;</p>
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   13<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e2f342b4-86ff-4819-99ba-924b967bd293}{191}" paraid="174676455" xml:lang="EN-US">The author would like to thank the organizers of the QUBES ESA Data&nbsp;Access and Inclusion&nbsp;Spring 2020&nbsp;FMN, for their mentorship and organizational support.&nbsp;The author&nbsp;would also like to thank&nbsp;her fellow FMN participants for their peer support while teaching during Covid-19.&nbsp;</p>

Attachments

1 link — 1 link —
2 file — ./cemetery_small.jpg 2 file — publication_469_2004/cemetery_small.jpg
3 file — Cemetery Demography Lab Handout_Larson.doc
4 file — Faculty Teaching Notes_Larson.docx
5 file — StudentLifeTableTemplate_Larson.xlsx