Social Mapping In Australia

Australian society or ‘egalitarian society’ is one where every citizen is of the same social class, however, Australia functions as a meritocracy. Where, one is rewarded depending on the perceived distinction of their occupation (Cooper, 2015). The theory of social mapping can be put into practice when determining social stratification and prestige in Brisbane, from this, a suburb’s prestige is devised by both qualitative and quantitative principles (Fitzapatrick 2011). Based on qualitative field observations the five Brisbane suburbs studied can be ranked in the following order: St Lucia, West End, Mt Ommaney, Forest Lake and Durack.

According to different social theorists, the way in which society is divided or stratified determines which

In Marx’s ideal ‘egalitarian communist society’, all individuals would share access to the means of production, and social stratification would be non- existent (Marx's View of Class Differentiation 2015). Social theorists Davis and Moore devised a social stratification theory based on the idea of "functional necessity;" arguing that the most demanding and difficult jobs in any society are the most necessary and require the highest rewards and compensation to sufficiently motivate individuals to fill them. Once the roles are filled, the division of labour functions properly (Kingsley

These techniques included field observations and ‘action research’, however; there were a few limitations encountered which affected the validity of the data. To gather qualitative data, physical observations were made on a field excursion through the five suburbs. During this time, attributes of each suburb ranging from the maintenance of properties, roads and footpaths, to the physical environment of the suburb, including elevation and aesthetics were noted. Proceeding this, ‘action research’ was utilised in order for observations to be corroborated with other observants’ results in order to judge the accuracy and consistency of comments. Quantitative/ measurable data was obtained through access to 2011 census and suburb and community reports and profiles, where the legitimacy of the qualitative data could be compared to that of the quantitative. Additionally, subjective data could be objectified by the qualitative data found. However, limitations which have affected the validity of the information was found. As the census obtained is 5 years old, this results in the comparison between the qualitative and quantitative data not being up-to-date, and the observations made from the quantitative data on social stratification is not current. Also, the data is summative, taken at a certain point in time, where outlying factors could be