Applied Anthropology

Enhancing the Legitimacy and Authority of Disciplinary Practice.

A theory of practice is necessary to establish and grow the legitimacy and authority of both the discipline and its practice. The more explicit the theory of prac- tice, the greater the value that it reflects; the more this value is acknowl- edged and respected, then the greater will be the authority that practitioners carry with them into their professional contexts and the greater the power of the discipline within society.

Anthropologists in Business and the Business of Practicing Anthropology

(Private sector- health care) My job was to develop research proposals to keep the center afloat. I came up with some innovative proposals that focused on ethnicity and response to health care. I was particularly interested in compliance in ethnic populations with diabetes and hypertension.My responsibilities at Kaiser ranged from setting up a computerized system for the documentation of complaints and grievances to group facilitation, local call center management, focus groups, training, financial management, TQM, and organizational development. I was also involved in the development of a regional call center that was part of a large scale re-engineering effort led by Deloitte-Touche. I worked with team members so that they could develop the process change in a way that blended with rather than confronted the existing cultural context. Private Sector—Aerospace The first project I engaged myself in was an analysis of the cultural context of the workplace. From the shop floor, to middle management, and then to upper management, I explored how things are done and the glue that holds it all together. Examples are my involvement with self-directed work teams (SDWTs) and integrated product teams (IPTs). A small group of SDWTs were formed a year ago as a pilot. As a result, great strides have been made in the reduction of cycle time and the corresponding decrease in unit cost in these areas. However, while the focus has been on team leader training, there has been little understanding of how this impacts the work life of shop floor mechanics. By interviewing shop floor mechanics in one unit, I have been able to develop and recommend changes in the way team leaders work with their groups so that the process will come closer to its theoretical intent—the involvement of the whole labor force in determining the course of work. My involvement with IPTs continues to be as a mediator and translator between and within functional areas. One of the challenges in improving operational effectiveness and efficiency is reduction in time span and operating cost. When individuals from different functions are not working toward common goals or do not understand the upstream and downstream impact of their decisions regarding a work effort, valuable time, materials, and energy can be lost.

Comparative need

A certain standard has been set for a group of people, and only some receive the standard, while others do not, the need there is comparative.

Social Impact Assessment

A comprehensive impact study usually contains component projects, including those of economists, human geographers, town planners, sociologists, public health officials, wildlife biologists, soil scientists, engineers, and others as well as anthropologists and archaeologists. Systems analysts, working through government agencies or consulting firms, usually develop the final syntheses and interpretations of the component studies. Final decisions as to whether to proceed and at what level of development are made by senior government officials.

Establishing Requirements for Education and Training.

A theory of prac- tice is fundamental to education and training. It is important that both the knowledge and use value of practice be understood clearly by a commu- nity of learners, so that future practitioners can be properly prepared for competent professional work. The training requirement ensures not only that practice will deliver its intended societal outcomes but that useful knowledge will be generated from practice as well. This suggests that not only practitioners but everyone involved in training those who eventually will become practitioners (including theorists) must understand relations between theory and practice.

Defining Conditions under Which Practice May Contribute to Theory.

A theory of practice also helps to establish the epistemological and meth- odological grounds upon which practice may contribute to theory. In other words, it delineates the special conditions and mechanisms which enable practice to generate new knowledge that would not be generated other- wise. For example, in most disciplines with mature practice, practitioners must rigorously employ specific methodologies if their findings are to be taken seriously by theorists. By requiring sound methodology in practice, a theory of practice legitimates application as germane to disciplinary knowledge under the canons of inquiry in a particular discipline.

What is a theory of practice?

A theory of practice is a set of ideas that explains and legitimates the role of practice inside and outside the discipline. A theory of practice answers questions such as: What is the use value of the discipline, and to whom? Upon what founda- tion does this value reside? How can this value be further developed and implemented? Testing the "real world" validity of concepts and theoretical rela- tionships, opening new fields of research, discovering new phenomena, and advancing societal support for the theoretical arm of the discipline through demonstration of practical value are all ways in which practice is shown to be necessary for theoretical vitality. Together, these two basic di- mensions of theory-practice relations explain why theorists and practitio- ners need and should value one another, based both on their individual self-interests and on their common interest in seeing the discipline grow and develop over time

Discrepancy model Needs Assessment

An expert group has identified goals, and has determined a specified way of measuring performance. Ex. Standardized testing in a school system

Formulating Guidelines for Ethical Conduct.

Another role for a theory of practice is in the area of ethics. Understanding the values that underlie the disciplinary knowledge base and its application helps both theorists and practitioners to understand the scope and limits of their knowledge, and the ways in which knowledge can be abused. Such understanding is a prerequisite for the sustainment of ethical conduct among professionals.

Challenges with Social Impact Assessments

Anthropologists face challenges and controversies in the social impact assessment field, and they have to be prepared for them. In many cases, social impact assessment is not a neutral process. The monitoring or administration of studies may be done by government agencies, supposedly acting as guardians of the public interest. It might eveu be cfone through the financing and administration of the mining, petroleum, pulp, and paper companies, which made the proposal in the first place. In both situations there may be very strong expectations and subtle pressures on contract researchers to make them discover good reasons why the project should go ·ahead and why any social costs should be minimized. The company wants the profits, the government wants to take credit for job creation as well as benefit from the increase in tax revenues, and there may be various pressures on the government through unions, construction companies, or other lobbying to proceed with development By training and general inclination, anthropologists may be genuinely concerned about the impact on the local communities, especially when they see much greater local costs as likely impacts. Yet ironically, the local people might resent the anthropologist's presence, perhaps intuitively anticipating the coaptation of his or her findings in favor of the development proposal better than he or she does. The locals may be annoyed because the anthropologist seems to legitimize a process merely by participating in iL Moreover, the community itself may be divided into several factions, for and against the development The anthropologist is faced with the dilemma of deciding which side to promote and how to convey the subtleties of the differing points of view. Other difficulties may result from working within a multidisciplinary team. A lone anthropologist may be an added-on, subordinate member of a group oriented toward "hard" numericar data that supposedly will precisely "measure" costs and benefits in dollar terms. Anthropologists may be frustrated because they cannot persuade the other members of the team that qualitative methods are necessary to get the local points of view about dimensions of life that are important to them and have impact on them. They may object that there is not enough attention given to meaningful public consultation or that the proposals offered for C H A P T E R 8 / Social Impact Assessment 123 mitigation are completely naive and inappropriate to the people affected. Given their understandings of qualitative methodologies and ethnography, anthropologists may be dissatisfied with the time allocated for completing the baseline or profiling studies regarding the current conditions about the people. An important part of the seasonal cycle may be neglected if the findings have to be completed by a certain date. In most cases, solutions or comfortable compromises can resolve many of these difficulties. Much of the answer is as simple as clarifying appropriate contracts and understandings at the very beginning. Certain conditions would have to be met-that there be full consultation and partnerships in research with the communities in question; that some coresearchers and assistants have to be hired from the community; that minority opinions be fully aired; and that all reports be fully vetted and discussed through public meetings and forums. Anthropologists should make arrangements with employers for a set of preliminary discussions with the community under consideration before going any further with an SIA. In some cases, it could even be arranged for the community to receive subcontract funding and hire some people for their own social impact assessment. The anthropologist could make sure that the importance of his or her place on the research team is fully understood and that bis or her repon be allowed to stand on its own. Anthropologists also have the option of working "outside of the system," of doing a formal social impact assessment as an advocate for the local or "native" cause. Anthropologists, in consultation with other opponents of the development, could also rally the press toward understanding the inequities or damages involved in the proposed development Finally, it should be pointed out that, even though it is always prudent to anticipate the worst, social impact assessments are frequently benign. There are situations with ample time for consultation; the positions of the anthropologists are secure and uncompromised, and the processes of assessment and mitigation are conscientious and fair. In some significant cases, proposals have been abandoned and governments have learned from the accumulated wisdom of environmental and social impact studies.

Nonacademic Settings

Anthropologists practicing in nonacademic settings perform a multitude of roles. They can engage directly in community development work at a grassroots level, working with vil lagers in planning and setting up enterprises that benefit them. They can train or instruct peo ple in such skills as cross-cultural sensitivity or research methods, mediate conflict, serve as expert witnesses in court cases, or engage in public advocacy for a cause. They might co manage natural resources such as fish, wildlife, and forestry resources in a U.S. National Forest with federal, local, and tribal governments. Practicing anthropologists design and implement projects that optimize public use of national or state parks. They can do various types of research to provide the information necessary to establish land claims, conduct research into the cultural appropriateness of technology or human service programs, or ana lyze the basis of conflict or social problems.

Theoretical Contributions of Applied

Applied anthropologists in the United States have been remarkably successful as pioneers in opening new frontiers of research in diverse domains. Van Willigen (1993) cites more than 32 new fields of research opened by applied anthropologists since 1945. On a new frontier, differences between basic and applied re- search often are blurred significantly. When little is known about an area, any credible research effort is likely to yield new knowledge that can ad- vance fundamental understanding. This is true in new fields of science such as bioengineering and artificial intelligence, where problem-oriented and basic research often cannot be distinguished from one another. Extension and Revision of Existing Theory. When practicing anthro- pologists situate anthropological theory in new contexts, existing theoreti- cal constructs are challenged in a way that can yield new insights. One ex- ample is reflected in the work of Weidman (1976), who contributed significantly to our understanding of cross-cultural interaction through development of the concept of coculture, an extension of Eric Wolf's original thinking about culture brokers (van Willigen 1993). Discovery of New Phenomenon. In their Yankee City series, Warner and Low (1946) were the first to document a systematic causal relationship between social changes in a formal organization (i.e., a factory) and changes in that organization's environmental context (i.e., the national economic system and the community). This fundamental discovery was stimulated by Warner's work on Elton Mayo's Hawthorne project, a prob- lem-oriented research program aimed at understanding the sources of hu- man fatigue in factories.Testing of Theory. There is a long-standing tradition whereby applied anthropologists attempt to draw theoretically oriented generalizations from their research on culture change. Bennett (1996.S31) cites 19 examples of published articles and books, many well known, which represent collec- tions of applied insights into the theory of change. These works may be viewed as reports on deductive "tests" of what we know about cultural sys- tems, (i.e., they examine the results of applied research to determine whether or not theoretically postulated relationships hold in concrete in- stances.)

What do Applied Anthropologists do?

Applied anthropology must, of course, be based on pure anthropology. What is therefore necessary in the first place is the development of the pure science by the discovery or formulation of the fundamental principles of social integration. - Anthropologists test theories then put them into practice

Role of Malinowski

Both acculturation and functionalist approaches were associated with applied work in the 1930s. Malinowski suggested that anthropologists provide information on land tenure, jurisprudence, health, demographics, and ongoing change.

Participatory action model

Bottom up focused approach; group of people conduct research- clients, potential clients, members of self-help groups; assess their own needs based on group discussions and other social science methods they have mastered. Allows people to empower themselves and gives balance to bureaucracies.

Conflicts of Applied Anth

Conflict over timing and content plagues anthropologists and policymakers.

Purpose and Expectations of a Needs Assessment

Done on the assumption that specific action can be taken within the institutions mandates. For example, the ability to attend to a mental health need within a retirement home, but not others, like housing, if it was not in the mandate

Nonprofit Sector

FERA is dedicated to enhancing the performance of nonprofit organizations committed to improving the quality of life for any person. This occurs through conducting formative evaluations, facilitating strategic planning efforts, and teaching about evaluation. We work with local, national, and international nonprofit organizations. I draw from anthropological theories to understand the underlying assumptions individuals and organizations make about social change. Second, I spend a great deal of my time "in the field." I use my past experiences with how to gain entry and what questions to ask and my knowledge about some of the potential benefits and drawbacks to being an outsider or to working in my own backyard. As an applied anthropologist I work with stakeholder groups to design evaluations, to interpret data, and to develop lessons learned and recommendations for the future. I am working with foundations and capacity-building organizations to build new local, regional, and statewide infrastructures for grassroots participation in community problem solving and resource distribution.

Theory in applied anthropology

means theory of practice. The existence and actualization of these distinctive theo- ries of practice may help to establish applied anthropology as a "fifth sub- discipline," a definable body of knowledge which has its own unique relationship to general anthropology, one that is not replicated by any of the other four subfields but is generative of new knowledge in the ways dis- cussed above.

Expressed Needs

Felt needs that have become demands for action

Rapid Assessment

Focused on the needs of a particular agency or institution, there can be a manageable number of key informant interviews, a focus group or two, and a rapid examination of the existing records and documents. 2-3 weeks & report 2 weeks after.

Linear Theory

It was Foster (1969) who initially developed the notion of a two-way interaction between theory and application, in his critique of the linear theory of practice. Based on the writing of Leighton (1946), Fosters work argued that anthropology was not like physics; that is, our discipline is not sufficiently developed as a science to enable theorists to "hand off" exact formulations or lawlike generalizations to a class of technicians (i.e., the "engineering model"). Rather, practitioners need to be trained to manipulate the same basic concepts and methods as theorists, and their intellectual work is much the same as that of theorists: it is creative, discovery oriented, and capable of knowledge generation

Feedback Approach

Given that practitioners apply anthropological theory (together with whatever other discipline's concepts are needed to work in an applied domain), the next question is to what extent practical efforts have fed back to theoretical development. A close examination of the lit- erature reveals that applied and practicing anthropologists have made significant theoretical contributions in all of the ways predicted by Foster and other theorists of practice.

Strength of Anthro Perspective

Its strengths are a vast and deep knowledge base, holism, insights from qualitative methodologies, and, most of all, grounded connections to communities' realities, aspirations, and needs. Anthropology also inspires empathy, which is an essential quality in the search for solutions to human problems. Overall, the anthropological perspective provides a tool for exploring a human topic in considerable depth, from many angles, in comparison to other situations, and, most especially, from the point of view of the participants.

Needs Assessment

I define needs assessment as a process of identifying and seeking solutions to the problems of particular peoples or institutions, regardless of whether programs or solutions have already been designed to ameliorate them. It has become a major part of policy planning, and policy formulators review needs but remember there can be major discrepancies in the way different groups define needs. Needs are related to values. The determination of values between needs anthropological perspective is valuable.

Directing Organizational Culture Change through Strategic Planning and Leadership

I facilitate planning, accreditation, and policy development for the university, which primarily serves the culturally diverse 3.5 million people of South Florida. In the development of written policies and plans, ethnographic skills are invaluable in documenting behaviors, beliefs, and practices. The understanding of social structure, social organization, and culture change facilitates the building of a consensus for setting priorities concerning goals and policies. And the understanding of linguistic and cognitive processes allows for the creation of words and symbols to portray a future vision built on acceptable cultural themes.the invention and diffusion of electronic information technology are revolutionizing the communication patterns, decision making, and authority structures of the workplace and organizations. Strategic planning is a conscious, purposeful effort to influence the future. To be successful at these efforts, one must consider the organization's external environment, especially the political, economic, and demographic influences. The anthropological perspective considers these macroinfluences as well as the microprocesses of human interactions and beliefs. From a comparative analysis of organizations implementing strategic planning, I have identified recurrent patterns of organizational culture change. my role has been to organize information, symbols, and people in ways that influence the allocation of resources and facilitate change in directions consistent with the goal of the university. Applied anthropologists continue to face a double bind. As noted by Hazel Weidman (1976), we produce research that develops new programs, but frequently we do not receive authority to manage them. Pursuing this challenge and given the insights gained from our cross-cultural and holistic paradigm, if applied anthropologists want to make a significant difference, we must create new policy- and decision-making roles that can influence cultural change. Practicing anthropologists should be trained to seek leadership roles and the authority to implement what anthropological research produces.It is important that applied/practicing anthropologists publish their experiences in order to refine and advance our understanding of humanity and, just as important, how anthropology can address human problems and critical social issues.

Policy

In other words, application should inform and improve policy. applied anthropology as a policy science, that is, a distinct domain of inquiry and generalizable knowledge that pertains to the formulation and implementation of governing principles in formal policy-making contexts. The notion of a special body of theory that fills the gap between anthropological knowledge, on the one hand, and utilization of that knowledge, on the other, is a distinctive conceptualization of theory. This second point of view, sometimes referred to as policy research, is defined by Rylko-Bauer et al. as "the process by which objective, representative information is collected, analyzed and communicated to help decision makers set guidelines for the goals and activities of various agencies, firms, and governments" (1989:2). In this model, the anthropologist is a consultant or technician who gathers and analyzes policy-relevant information and attempts to bring this information to bear on the policy process.8 While this role certainly would be enhanced by knowledge drawn from a policy science, it does not appear that the existence of such a science is a strict prerequisite; anthropologists may engage in technical aspects of the policy process strictly on the basis of their credentials as wielders of anthropological knowledge and methodology. While policy research expands the knowledge base, this expansion mainly benefits the subject matter area in which the research is conducted (e.g., development). Anthropological methods also may be improved, but the generation of anthropological theory is not an objective of this approach. The connections between anthropological theory and practice in this approach appear to be largely undifferentiated from those found in the linear, or positivist, model.

Communicating Anthropology

In short, I learned how to communicate to a lay audience—an Important skill. Applied anthropologists may be asked to write grants; communicate their findings—orally and visually—to managers, clients, or employers; and train people in communities to continue the work they started together. Learning how to work effectively with multidisciplinary teams and to manage multiple projects were two other important skills I learned in my first career. As a creative director and manager of an audiovisual department, I learned how to bring together people from different "subcultures"—artists, writers, photographers, and salespeople—for the purpose of developing and implementing quality projects. The communications world has its own language, subgroups, rituals, and a wide range of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. I often had to act as the culture broker between two work groups with different opinions and ways of doing things. Communications skills must not be taken for granted; they are critical to the development and maintenance of long-term relationships among individuals, groups, and communities. I designed and conducted a customer satisfaction study for an advertising agency serving Fortune 500 clients, conducted a study to identify communications issues between an American manufacturing company and its Canadian and Mexican clients, investigated employee issues associated with corporate restructuring, conducted a study for an automotive company to identify sales skills training needs, and worked with a multidisciplinary sociotechnical systems team that investigated the impact of work culture on the implementation of new technology in a corporation and military base.

How does Applied Anthropology relate to Anth Theory?

In the United States, there was a close relationship between theory and practice in the 1930s and during World War II. As Baba (1994: 181) points out, Lloyd Warner's famous ethnographic study at the Western Electric Hawthorne Plant pointed to the significance of infonnal organization and made a significant breakthrough by explaining factors of produc tivity on the assembly line. That approach fueled a whole series of other studies in industrial and organizational anthropology as well as insights used in the more academic set of studies associated with "Yankee City." Similarly, during World War II, Ruth Benedict's configura tionalist theory, focusing on consistent and patterned cultural values in each society, led to a workable explanation of Japanese values and behaviors that was used during the American occupation of Japan (Benedict 1946). However, after the war, theory and practice diverged for complex reasons. A basic rea son was concern among academics that anthropology should avoid major societal interven tions for fear of unintentionally doing serious damage to people. This wariness was strongly influenced by the disillusionment of physicists who had participated in the construction of the atomic bomb. In addition, the vast majority of anthropologists were able to find employ ment in expanding academic institutions, where a premium was placed on basic and theoret ical anthropology. From the 1950s through mid-1970s, the major theories or approaches in anthropology structuralism, neo-evolutionism, cultural materialism, political economy, interpretive anthropology-were nurtured in university settings. Middle-range theories such as sub stantive versus fonnalistic approaches in economics, cultural and human ecology, net work theory in urban anthropology, componential analysis in kinship studies, acculturation approaches for the study of change, and many others were developed. Those of us who trained during this period were fed huge amounts of theory and debated the relative merits of competing theories. We were also exhorted by our thesis advisors to develop good theories for explaining our ethnographic research fmdings and to locate findings within theoretical debates. The standard aphorism of thesis advisors was that a good theory was the best methodological tool that an anthropologist could have. From the early 1970s to the present, much of applied and practicing anthropology grew independently of theoretical or basic anthropology. Practicing anthropology had to respond to the needs of its clients, not intellectual curiosity. Grand or even medium-range theories play minimal roles in applied research, recommendations, or action plans. Most of the time, intimate fIrsthand knowledge of peoples and communities and the discovery of cul turally appropriate recommendations for ameliorating problems were the most important factors. Theoretical discussions are rarely part of an applied anthropologist's report to a client.

Why do we need a theory of practice?

In the West there is broad acceptance of the idea that a discipline (a formal body of knowledge) should have some utility within its social con- text. The positivist movement that gave rise to the traditions of modern sci- ence was founded on the premise that systematic knowledge of the objec- tive universe would bring benefits to humanity. Usually, in such disci- plines there are systems of ideas that connect the discipline, and society, to its practice.

Goal of agency or jurisdiction commissioning needs assessment considerations

Is the agency committed to immediate policy and programming changes or to a broad and long-range view of circumstances? Research could be done to appear to do something with no real intention of changing anything. Goal is to stall further pressure from the community. Researchers should be very careful in not selecting research methods, such as community forums and focus groups, that might unrealistically raise expectation levels.

Consideration of methods

Key informant interviews- revealing but take hours of collecting and transcribing and only cover a small part of the community or group under scrutiny. Survey questionnaires, although sources of valid information, and covering represesntative samples of the community, can sak up large amounts of money very rapidly. Constructing sampe frames, designing questions, pretesting them, and training interviewers alre all very costly. Other costs are the wages and time of interviewers as they go door to door to do the actual interviewing. If mail interviews are used, then the costs of postage of the interviews and reminder letters should be takin into account. Expenses have to be anticipated, including the copying of archival or other documents.

Program Evaluation Methods- Qualitative Approach

Key-informant interviews provide qualitative information about the staff and intended beneficiaries' views of a program. In focus groups, staff, clients, and managers come together to share information and opinions on the effectiveness of services. More formal group approaches, such as nominal and Delphi panels can identify obstacles, opportunities, successes, and perhaps, needed changes in mission statements, long range goals, and short-term objectives. Continuing focus groups consisting of stakeholder representatives might supply important feedback to an ongoing research project so that the collaborative use of the results and recommendations is more likely. The use of public ( or sometimes confidential) records is essential for almost any program evaluation. We always need a history of how the program and policy under question was conceived in the first place. Memos, letters, position papers, previous studies such as needs assessments, staff records, meeting reports, minutes, and financial statements should be sorted through. These can be supplemented with oral histories of the evolution of programs. Any kind of measurement or assessment would have to keep the original goals and objectives in mind. Sometimes the goals are not explicit or change over time, so the researchers may have to do a lot of digging on their own, sorting through documents and informant statements to identify the purposes and criteria for evaluation of the program. Another less common technique is the use of public forums and written briefs to outline the views of a group. This technique would be appropriate if the program was making major impacts upon the community or if community cooperation was essential to the success of the program. These programs could include health promotion strategies to improve nutrition, deal with infant hunger, eliminate diseases, replenish soil, and other programs. From our perspective as anthropologists, the most significant qualitative methodology is that of participant observation or ethnography. Being around the actual daily operations of a program throughout its seasonal cycle is extremely revealing.

Anthropology in the Contemporary Museum

Most professional anthropologists in museums today are archaeologists—approximately 60 percent of museum curators are archaeologists, 30 percent are cultural anthropologists, and 10 percent are physical anthropologists. comparatively little of what we do in terms of public programsand exhibits is directly related to archaeology. natural affinity between archaeologists and museums for the past century because both have focused on material culture. Most of it is ethnographically oriented depictions of non-Western cultures—the exotic "other." Museum anthropologists must excel at the delicate task of public communication. provide broad intellectual leadership within the museum to articulate and advocate the knowledge, findings, insights, and messages of contemporary anthropology. active involvement in research programs.how to transform both the image and the reality of professional anthropologists working in museums from "curators of collections" to"communicators of anthropology. My proposal would abandon the ... culture-specific exhibit format and use the halls as vehicles to communicate broad principles of anthropology. One hall would be devoted to an exploration of the "complexification" of cultural systems from relatively simple hunting and gathering societies to much larger,denser, complex state and imperial polities. Perhaps the biggest challenge in getting the message of anthropology out to a broad public audience is one of language. Within the academy we speak our own language—hermeneutics, commodification, processualism, avunculocality, proxemics, and so on into the dim night. Outside of the academy, people do not understand this language

Felt needs

Needs that are elicited when asked what people really want like therapy, or shelter for example.

Normative needs

Normative needs- standards such as weight, caloric intake, poverty line

Types of Needs

Normative, Expressed, Felt, and Comparative

Outcomes Evaluation (Approach to Program eval)

Outcome Evaluations Traditionally, the approach most favored by program evaluators, funders, and policy makers focused on outcomes (Chambers 1985: 162; Weiss 1972: 34-42). This model deals precisely with the measurable benefits of a program that has been -designed to bring about some favored outcome. On this basis, programs are considered successes, failures, or in need of revision.

Things we can learn from the past

Pitfalls and occasional excesses of the past, especially those associated with paternalism and colonialism. Ethics.

Praxis

Praxis in applied anthropology is a way of knowing that relies on en- gagement in social reality, on being embedded in the processes of social life. Praxis is, in part, subjective since the practitioner is not a spectator but an actor. The practitioner of praxis is engaged in complex interactions with social reality, as it is lived "o.n the ground." Partridge (1986) has argued that the implicit patterns learned through subjective experience are essentially habitus, habits of personal mastery (Bourdieu 1977). Subjective experience entails mastery of the unspoken yet essential rationale that lies behind all social structure and process. The habits of personal mastery are not accessible to objective instrumentation: surveys, interviews, and content analysis will turn up the objective struc- tures and symbolic logic that reflect and reinforce it. It is only by direct ob- servation and recording of sequences of visible and audible behavior that the subjective rationale of a particular phenomenon can be discovered. These are most accessible to the practitioner, through her or his lived ex- perience.

Decision-making model

Preferred and more developed model, agency based, assumes that a focus of the needs of clientele will improve products and services, all needs are identified and considered, program development, plans of action, budgets. Takes into account expectations of potential clients and staff.

Purpose of a needs assessment

Preparing grant applications, budgeting, setting priorities, and raising awareness about undesirable situations, or to clarify views of particular client groups- researcher must understand the purpose of the research and consequence of findings

Areas of Applied Anthropology

Private sector, academia, nonprofit, business, policy, human rights, advocacy, government, human services, museums, international development,

Process Evaluation

Process Evaluations The process approach (Chambers 1985: 163; Patton 1980: 60--64) to program evaluation is another option. Rather than measuring outcomes in specific programs, process evaluations look at overall progress through the steps or means to the desired ends. In reality, this is more appropriate for human service delivery, because desired outcomes do not occur over short periods, and measurement of success tends to be elusive. To maintain some continuity with the previous example, consider the circumstances of involuntary immigrants or refugees to the United States or Canada. Two overall goals could be identified. One is integration-inclusion in the wider society through jobs, knowledge, use of mainstream institutions, and the same rights as members of the larger society. This could be measured by such markers as taking out citiz.enship or getting a satisfactory job. Yet, in reality, the process of integration never ends just there.

Direction of Applied Anthropology

So in the end, we can ask ourselves the question again: In which direction should applied anthropology be going? Should it stress theory-building, linking theory to practice, and practice to theory? Should applied anthropologists emphasize methodology and policy analysis, even creating boundaries that distinguish themselves even more clearly from aca demics? Should there be a concerted effort to reinforce praxis and service to the community in a spirit of decolonialization? Alternatively, should efforts be made to unite anthropology in the common purpose of tying academic anthropology theory to practice-a major task? In the current dynamic climate of anthropology, all of these things seem to be happen ing at the same time. Emphases depend on the values and visions of the particular anthro pologists participating. The resulting variety is probably healthy because it gives us more options.

International Development

The IDA Latin American program has focused on food and agriculture, the environment, and natural resources. The unifying theme is exploring how social relations that organize production shape people's use of land and other resources. Among the major projects we have undertaken is a five-year study of the production linkages between upland valleys and tropical lowland areas in Bolivia and the association of the production of coca leaf for cocaine with development policies that resulted in widespread rural impoverishment and subsidized capital accumulation by a small agroindustrial elite.conducted in collaboration with nongovernmental and grassroots organizations and, in some cases, with government agencies. We are currently preparing to undertake a long-term study of social conflicts associated with the establishment and management of protected areas in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, which we will codirect with the Latin American Social Science Faculty in Quito and environmental nongovernmental organizations in each of the three countries. very aware of the political dimensions of practicing anthropology and of the complexities of political processes. For example, one cannot do researchon land use without being confronted with very basic questions involving who defines and controls access to critical resources and whose access is restricted or, often, cut off altogether.

A Public Archaeologist in a Public Agency

The chief archaeologist serves as the primary adviser to the director of the NPS and other senior officials of the organization on activities and issues relating to archaeology. For example, I develop national policies and guidelines for how archaeological sites and collections are treated. I recommend how funds for archaeological investigations are distributed nationally to other NPS offices. The job does not involve conducting archaeological field investigations or what normally is considered archaeological research. Washington office of the NPS as chief of the Archaeological Assistance Program and began a program of working with other federal and state agencies, as well as private archaeological organizations, for the protection, preservation, and interpretation of archaeological sites throughout the United States

Ethical Considerations

The client, public, agency, organization

Praxis Approach

The creation of fundamental insights from subjective en- gagement in real world experience, one of the hallmarks of praxis theory, is not an alien concept in anthropology (either for scholars or practitioners). In anthropology, this process is known as participant observation. When any anthropologist undertakes activity that parallels the experience of native community members in order to gain a deeper understanding of an- other person's world, he or she is gaining new knowledge through immer- sion in doing rather than solely by abstract intellectual manipulation of ideas. While practitioners often are primarily participants who also may choose to be observers, this does not negate the validity of their experi- ence as a source of new knowledge, any more than the academic re- searcher's insights are negated due to the fact that he or she is typically anobserver who also may choose to be a participant. Indeed, the experience of the practitioner-turned-observer probably is more intense and therefore more valid (in the sense of actually being a native). A praxis approach in applied anthropology requires the development of methodology that is ethical and emancipatory-methods that engage research participants in action and theoret ical discussion. A praxis anthropology requires analysis of the way in which value, percep tion, and belief mediate the translation of theory into strategic action. Praxis investigations would focus attention on cooperative activities that assist individuals to make decisions and assume responsibility for planned change, rather than conceding that task to the experts.

Linear Approach

The dominant theory of practice throughout the West is lin- ear, or positivist. The definitions of applied anthropology presented earlier make this clear: one starts with something called anthropology (the knowl- edge base of the discipline) and then employs this substance in problem- solving outside the bounds of the discipline. Theory first, then application.

Program Evaluation motivation

The main motivation for program evaluation comes from funders, who want programs and policies to be made accountable-to produce identifiable benefits that justify the money Policy Analysis and Practice spent on them. This seems to be the case with most American legislation from the early 1970s onwards, and presumably that also applies to many state, municipal, and county jurisdictions. In Canada, evaluations of programs and policies have come later but are rapidly catching up; now most organizations have �uilt-in mandates for review. There are also many pilot projects being developed (e.g., to reduce drug abuse or to educate the public on the dangers of HIV/AIDS), and those projects must be evaluated before they are expanded. Financial crises supposedly justifying downsizing and restructuring put more emphasis on program evaluation.

Policy Approach

The policy theory of practice (i.e., policy science) has been written about extensively (see Chambers 1987; van Willigen 1993) but has never materialized as a distinctive body of literature with its own knowl- edge base. There are substantive areas in which the literature is rich with policy-relevant insights (e.g., agriculture in developing nations, industry and organizations), but this knowledge has not given rise to a policy sci- ence. A more coherent anthropology of policy and practice would therefore not only examine the epistemology or conceptual base upon which policy is formulated, but also its social impact, and, more importantly, its meaning for those individuals and conununities that are at its receiving end. (1997 : 144) A more theoretically focused anthropology of policy would also direct us to "uncover the cultures of the policy professional, those in power, or those who attempt to impose their def initions of social situations and make them persist" (1997: 145). These would involve such matters as hidden hierarchies and agendas of government and industry dominating peoples' lives. Borrowing from Laura Nader (1980), Shore and Wright also recommend theoretical analyses of "vertical slices," linking issues, individuals, communities, institutions, corpora tions, and government-policy communities that go beyond a local or horizontal one.

Challenges of Applied Anthropologists

The realm of practice for anthropologists is incredibly wide, and is at least as wide as, if not wider than, the subject of anthropology itself. We do so many things that their variety does not make for immediate pigeonholing as to what precisely practicing anthropology is. Nor can we always easily articulate what is specifically anthropological about such practice. Many of the precise details of practice can vary, and they cannot be placed into neat classifi cations, in which precise and unique principles of the ethical practice can be detailed to match standard tasks and procedures. This may be less of a problem for other fields such as nursing, social work, medicine, law, and occupational therapy, where the tasks of service and the ethical requirements can be much more easily circumscribed. In other words, it would be a difficult task to write a composite job description for a practicing anthropologist, because so much variety and flexibility in tasks and roles exist. How do anthropologists deal with these challenges? Although the field of anthropo logical practice may seem ambiguous or shapeless, that can be an advantage. Most of us who have been attracted to anthropology tend to be flexible, have a higher tolerance for ambigu ity, and may be able to work more effectively on "boundary" or "peripheral" topics. Change has been rapid through rampant organizational restructuring and economic "globalization." Although specialized knowledge is still valuable, the capacities to uncover information at frontiers and find bridging solutions are becoming more necessary. When we are exposed to stereotypical impressions of anthropology, we can counter or inform others with impressions of mainstream practicality. Also, becoming more conversant with this applied work helps us to more consistently develop our own pragmatic faith in the subject, which is a prerequisite for advocating our own skills and competency. Students must broaden and intensify their skill bases by writing, communicating, researching, mediating, interpreting, analyzing, solving problems, and administrating. In the end, employers are more interested in the skills of the applicant than in a professional iden tity. But at that point, there is an opportunity to advocate the "value-added" benefits that can come out of anthropological backgrounds. Student readers should realize that they will have many opportunities to make use of anthropological knowledge throughout their professional lives. Anthropology does not reside in a set of codified knowledge and principles strictly governed by an academic "priest hood." It is reinvented and practiced through the activities of thousands of anthropologists. Even though standards and disciplinary core principles are important, each person, to some extent, always creates his or her personal vision of what anthropology is and how it can be used. That vision may change several times over a lifetime, but a student should form the basis of that vision now (see the Appendix for a vision exercise). He or she can have a life time of continuing involvement in anthropology outside of the university, but that process has to begin with a plan followed by action.

Program Evaluation methods - Quantitative Approach

The types of data and research methods for program evaluation and needs assessment are much alike. Statistics on trends or changes as well as rates of utilization are essential to measure progress. In the health field, changes in mortality, morbidity, and other factors that reflect improved health can be important indicators of the effectiveness of particular programs. In the Comadrona project described in Chapter 4, successes were measured by lower rates of infant mortality and incr�ed weights of babies during their first year. As an index of evaluation, rates of utilization demonstrated that the strategies ( ethnic pride, ethnically specific staff. support groups and natural networks of communication in the community) were leading to success as shown by the significant increase in clinic use by pregnant Puerto Rican women.

Feedback

This view was called the "clinical" model, based upon the two-way interactions between theory and practice in clinical sciences such as medicine and psychology. Foster envisioned many benefits that could be derived from a feedback theory of practice: it offered opportunities for research experience that were not readily available to traditional theorists, it imported research questions from other intellectual domains, it broadened the range of topics studied, and it created pressure to improve research methods. The broader the range of social systems examined by anthropologists, the more robust our theories would become.

Strategies for Needs Assessments

Time & money are the biggest indicators for methods

Marketing model Needs Assessment

To identify felt and expressed needs of clientele to improve services and perform legitimate public service - not for the sole purpose of agency survival- community centered

Rapid Assessment Process

iteration- keeping all involved in the loop at all stages. Triangulation- study includes all genders, nationalities, religion, etc. and employs various methods, and RAP's involve teamwork.

Pressures on Anthropologists

Vulnerabilities, knowledge is seen as a commodity rather than an important end in itself, integrity, self-esteem, losing control over one's work.

Research questions to consider

What is the research question? What was the problem the project sought to address? b. What was the anthropologists' role, and what skills did the anthropologist bring to the project? c. What is the methodology? How are they collecting data? d. How well do the data collection methods meet the goals of the research question? e. What are alternative way to conduct this project? f. Who else was involved in the project, and what difference, if any, did anthropology (or the anthropologist) make?

Anthropology in Disaster Research and Management

a disaster is an unfolding process, beginning with socially constructed conditions of vulnerability in which a community lives.my focus has been on issues of post disaster social organization, including class/race/ethnicity/gender differential patterns of aid distribution, social consensus and conflict, grief and mourning issues, and social mobilization of community-based reconstruction activities such as housing and resettlement issues. I have also worked on post-hurricane housing education methods as a mitigation strategy.The goal today is to become proactive, linking vulnerability reduction to development, rather than continue to use a reactive and replacement orientation in reconstruction. When a serious disaster has taken place, such as that in Honduras, the goals of reconstruction must be oriented to reduce future vulnerability, not merely to replace what was so vulnerable that it was destroyed.

Other research considerations

confidentiality- focus groups and community forums may risk sensitive or inflammatory questions coming to public view and stir up conflict in the community- report writing. Feedback- how much feedback is advisable. Focus groups and community hearing for preliminary findings and recommendations to assess validity- may be a good idea to bring in experts and staff. Cultural distance and difficulty of outside agencies with community they are studying

Types of needs assessments

discrepancy model, marketing model, or decision-making model, participatory action model

Fallacy of Aggregation

fallacy of aggregation, whereby impacts and needs of a minority group or category are submerged within larger or more "average" categories or circumstances. Aggregation is usually brought about by the more standard econometric approach-statistically it would total assets in land machinery and other holdings and come up with some per-capita figure that then could be applied in a compensation formula for all those having to be displaced.

Ways to unite theory and practice

newly engaged anthropology- Engagement with the troubles of our own social context has been represented as a strategy by which an- thropology can revitalize theory, as well as make a contribution to the ame- lioration of social problems. Participatory action research (PAR), a contemporary form of praxis theory. By placing the subjects of inquiry directly in the center of the research process and making human communities collaborators in both the acquisition of knowledge and its utilization, this strategy provides an in- tellectual framework for agreement around the moral and epistemological status of action (issues that long have divided basic and applied anthro- pologists).Anthropology of institutions and organizations. Competence in any institutional anthropology requires a basic under- standing of institutional and organizational cultures within complex socie- ties. These structural phenomena are rapidly becoming the most powerful forces shaping the human condition now and in the future. Anthropology could readily project (indeed, is doing so already) its own theory of institu- tions and organizations, which would unite all of the institutional anthro- pologies and provide a common literature to which both theorists and practitioners could contribute. Significantly, the institutional anthropolo- gies encourage a style that is at once theoretical and problem-oriented, and already these fields have proven themselves capable of generating excellent scholarship (see Bennett 1996).

Applied Methodologies

participant-observation, interviews, surveys, instrumented group interviews (like focus groups), mapping, and site visits. The research findings are presented in a variety of ways and settings, including oral presentations, written reports, data summaries, and monographs.

Positivist Perspective in Applied Anth

practice is dependent on the theory of "pure science." The epistemology of praxis, however, gives independent authority to action, apart from the- ory. While practice always is influenced by theory in some way, practice is able to gain knowledge in ways that are not dependent on theory.

Stages of Social Impact assessment

problem identification and scoping. In the I970s the problem was identified as a shortage of oil and gas resources for increasing needs in heating, transportation, and industrial development. Public demands for energy are almost insatiable, and sources neare_r larger population centers have been dwindling. To meet a crisis in energy costs, national policy makers might examine several solutions-alternative energy sources, conservation, and finding ways to reduce demand. One favored approach has been to increase domestic petroleum production through increased exploration and the tapping of resources in more distant hinterlands-such as the Beaufort Sea in Alaska and Arctic Canada. formulation of alternatives. This could include scenarios from one extreme-not proceeding with the project at all-to the other-maximizing the project regarding money, labor, complexity, and scale of the technology involved. The development of alternative scenarios would involve considerations of the sources of funding--private, or public, or mixtures of both, degrees of involvement of labor forces from outside the area, and the involvement of large numbers of local people in the labor force. 'The formulation of alternatives would consider and specify as many of the technical details as could be anticipated. Profiling is the stage that is most crucial for estimating social costs. Anthropologists, human geographers, or sociologists would be most involved at this point. For our northern pipeline, the populations and communities might include a string of existing settlements along the proposed route that might serve as staging points for the construction. projection. Predictions can draw upon substantive research on similar topics in other communities. The social scientist would usually make use of the findings of general social science as well as literature specific to the area and the topics examined. Certain theoretical orientations from sociocultural change studies in anthropology could be of some guidance. These include cultural ecology, cultural change theories, political economy, and much of the important literature and controversies associated with development and modernization. For example, the projections might identify trends toward modernization or increasing reliance on wage labor or transfer payments. assessment. We return to each of the alternative scenarios for development, looking at each and then assessing its likely impact on the cqmmunities. Suppose, for example, that the various pipeline alternatives would or would not involve bringing in a certain number of outside workers. We could then ask what would be the effects of bringing in l 0,000 unattached male workers into an isolated northern region upon family life, community cohesion, and conflict resolution. mitigation, requiring calculation of 120 PA RT T W O / Policy Analysis and Practice compensations to those peoples who will be most seriously and negatively affected by the project. Most of them usually live in the vicinity of the construction sites. The final two stages of the process of social impact assessment are management and monitoring. Management is usually perfonned by the government of the jurisdiction most affected by the project, perhaps in partnership with the companies engaged in the development along with representatives of local communities. It focuses on the goals and regulations established by the previous stages, including the actual construction. Usually a great deal of scrutiny is required to see that the social, human, and environmental considerations are nurtured rather than just the technological and economically oriented ones. Monitoring involves careful examination of the actual outcomes of the project according to the criteria originally established. This is essential for any considerations of possible expansions of the project. This has been the case in northern Quebec, where a number of anthropologists from McGill and McMaster Universities have been studying the consequences of the first phase of the massive James Bay Hydro Agreement that affected the Cree and Inuit in northern Quebec

Applied Anthropology

refer(s) mainly to the employment of anthropologists by organizations involved in inducing change or enhancing human welfare. . . . The goal is not to produce general theory but to solve problems.

Systems Approach

systems approach (Chambers 1985: 163, 164), would seem to be even more compatible with the expectations of anthropologists. Systems modeling seeks cause-and effect relationships of an organization's activities within a larger framework of the community and sometimes the natural environment. All of the components and contexts seen as related to the programs and services would be ''mapped." This calls for the holistic, lateral, or web-like thinking that has been the hallmark of most good anthropological analysis.

theoria (theory of theory)

this is a set of ideas that explains how we get the knowledge base that is the core of a discipline (see for discussion Par- tridge 1986). In the Aristotelian sense, theoria is knowledge of the objec- tive universe; for example, in anthropology it includes knowledge pertain- ing to the unity and diversity of humanity. The philosophy underlying theoria holds that knowledge should be sought for its own sake: it is good in and of itself (Cohen 1954). Any utility beyond fulfillment of the human thirst for truth and uunderstanding, or curiosity, is not required as justification.In theoria, the universe is viewed as an object that may be manipu- lated intellectually. The best way to know this world, according to Aristotle, is contemplation through rigorous intellectual discipline: empirical obser- vation and inquiry, quiet reflection, and hard thinking and writing.5 The necessary action of application and intervention distracts from and crowds out the intellectual discipline needed for theoria. Action should be left to others. Even though postmodern critiques of positivist science have done much to weaken our commitment to the existence of an objective universe, they have, if anything, strengthened the notion that contemplation remote from action is a sound pathway to knowledge

participatory action research

this values-oriented method involves members of communities (i.e., formerly "subjects") in discussions of theory underpinning research designs, cen- trally values indigenous knowledge at all stages in the research process, and returns knowledge for use to its point of origin (see Warry 1992; Whyte 1991; see also Kozaitis, this volume). The involvement of the community in the research process resolves in part a fundamental ethical problem that is created when an anthropologist simultaneously must rely on community members for knowledge, while also serving as an agent of noncommunity interests (e.g., science or scholarship, government, corporations). With members of the community centrally involved in the research process, the community's perspectives and interests can be better represented, protected, and advanced, thus balancing to a certain extent the power of ex- ternal elites (Deetz 1985).15 community-centered praxis (CCP) in applied anthropology, one that is "nonimperialist" in that the issues, methods, and theories focus on the needs of communities rather than academic agendas. The approach has its roots in action or advocacy anthropology and in collaborative research or participatory action that ... involves practical research that is carried out in and through indigenous community based organizations (as contrasted with non-indigenous and externally controlled com munity-placed organizations) or other autochthonous movements of superordinated peoples