Page 604 - Sociology and You

574 Unit 5 Social Change
World View
World View
Internet Connections
As this map shows, the number of people connected to the Internet varies widely from country to country. As of the late 1990s, nearly 60 percent of Internet con- nections were on the North American continent. This map shows the number of computers connected to the Internet per 100,000 people.
North America
Europe
South America
Interpreting the Map
1. Do you see a pattern in the number of connections to the Internet? Explain.
2. What implications might this distribution have for future social change?
Adapted from The Macmillan Atlas of the Future. New York: Macmillan, 1998.
Africa
Asia
Australia
Computers Connected to the Internet per 100,000 People
Over 5000 3000–5000 1000–2999 500–999
250–499 50–249 Below 50 No data
In the early 1970s, OPEC (an organization of oil-producing nations) launched an embargo, refusing to sell its oil to other countries. Because of the natural short supply of oil without the contribution of the oil-rich Mid- eastern countries, oil products became scarce and expensive, contributing to economic inflation in the United States in the 1970s and early 1980s. As a re- sult, Americans began driving smaller, more fuel-efficient automobiles.
Revolution and War
Revolution and war are related factors that lead to social change. A revolution involves the sudden and complete overthrow of an existing social or political order. A revolution is often, but not always, accompanied by vio-
revolution
sudden and complete overthrow of a social or political order