Positivism - Presupposition and Current Controversies

Question: Discuss about the Positivism, Presupposition and Current Controversies. Answer: Introduction: The analysis of the 2011 census data for Gold Coast reveals the area has 494, 501 people residing in the city with a median age of 37 years. To improve understanding related to the data provided by the census, the functionalism paradigm is selected to understand the interrelation between different social systems at Gold Coast. Gold Coast has 65.2% people from Australia along with people from New Zealand, England, South Africa and Japan (Censusdata.abs.gov.au. 2017). According to the functionalism approach, the main questions is to determine what keeps the society running and how certain social issue may lead to intended and unintended events. The functionalist perspective is that interconnected systems in the society work together to maintain a state of balance and equilibrium (Alexander 2014). The census data may give idea about population, culture, economic distribution at Gold Coast and functionalism approach may help to identify factors that may lead to social issues at the place . The census data reveals that Gold Coast has the pressure of population growth and only 56.1% people in the city are employed fulltime (Censusdata.abs.gov.au. 2017). Hence, the link between population growth and lack of full time employment is that it is creating other social problems in Golf Coast. Lack of adequate social service and homelessness are some of the significant social problem making the people vulnerable to anti-social behavior and violence. Another major problem is the lack of social facilities and services which increases younger people vulnerability to crime and violence (Couriermail.com.au. 2017). With this affect on the society through population growth, the qualitative research project creates better understanding of the census data by analyzing social system through the functionalist lens. This approach has been effectively used to determine the different effects of social elements on society. Reference Alexander, J.C., 2014.Positivism, Presupposition and Current Controversies (Theoretical Logic in Sociology). Routledge. Censusdata.abs.gov.au. 2017., 2011 Census QuickStats: Gold Coast (C). [online] Available at: https://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/LGA33430?opendocumentnavpos=220 [Accessed 15 Mar. 2017]. Couriermail.com.au., 2017.Ugly side to Paradise. [online] Available at: https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/gold-coasts-rising-tide-of-social-issues-hit-the-young/news-story/a138bfc20ff7ee23e700ae097f9bfdf5?sv=6ea78d10769c2c35f7ac693e4ab82414 [Accessed 15 Mar. 2017].