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Many people skim over the quantitative material that they encounter,
in the form of tables, graphs, charts or text. However, it is important
for everyone to be able to engage with this kind of material to enable
them to extract information and make informed decisions about
issues that are of relevance to them. This activity uses a Five Step
Framework which has been designed to help you develop strategies
to understand and interpret data presented in a variety of ways. It
starts by looking at the context, then it considers actual numbers
and what they mean and then builds up to looking at the meanings
and reasons behind the data. Once you have used the framework
here and see how it works you can apply it to other situations.
Q: Look at the sources to decide how reliable you think they are.
Q: In which year was a person who was 20 years old in 2005 born?
Q: In which years could the 60-64 year olds have been born?
Q: Are there gender differences in the different age groups for Malaysia?
Q: Are there gender differences in the different age groups for Australia?
Child
mortality
Immunisation
Age care
Migration
Income
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
Females
Males
0.3
0.2
0.1
Australia Malaysia
Country
Some Answers
Step 1
Information about the populations of Malaysia and Australia by age and gender
2005
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau so would be reliable
We can compare shapes but not the actual population sizes from the look of the
graphs. You need to look at the scales for the actual numbers.
Step 2
About 1.4 million males & about 1.3 million females for 0-4 Malaysia
About 0.25 million = 250 000 & about 0.45 = 450 000 females for 80+ Australia
In 2002
In 1941-1945
Step 3
Largest males Malaysia 0-4 and Australia 35-39
Largest females Malaysia 0-4 and Australia 35-39
Step 4
Malaysia: Rapid growth
Australia: Slow growth
Malaysia: there do not appear to be any large gender differences
Australia: the main difference is that there are more 80+ females than males
See bar chart below for the 50-54 year olds-- no difference in Australia but a
difference in Malaysia.
Step5
Some suggestions only - you need to think about different aspects of the
countries look up information to help you make comments.
Looking at the two pyramids you can see different shapes that suggest some
differences in the nature of the two countries.
The longevity of life of the old people in Australia could be due to better health
care or immunisation at an early age.
The bulge in the middle of Australia might be due to immigration or children of
post war babies.
The small group of 0-4 year olds in Australia may be due to women delaying
childbirth for careers and leaving it too late, or more couples may be choosing
to remain childless.
Keep thinking!!