Anthropology and the Public Interest

Anthropology and the Public Interest: Field work and Theory provides an understanding of how culture affects human lives, and uses this understanding in formulating and implementing domestic social policy. This book defines basic research as contributing to theory, knowledge, and method that contributes to the advancement of social science.

Organized into four parts encompassing 19 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the greatest potential payoff for the advancement of social science and for enlightened social programming. This text then presents an insightful discussion of why cultural differences among people have gone so largely unrecognized. Other chapters consider the cultural or language processes of contemporary U.S. populations. This book discusses as well the changing environment that gave rise to the tremendous growth in academic anthropology. The final chapter deals with social indicators research and discusses the potential role of anthropology in such work.

This book is a valuable resource for anthropologists.

Contenu

List of Contributors
Acknowledgments
Introduction
I Anthropologists' Role
1 Some Reflections on the Contributions of Anthropologists to Public Policy
Introduction
Policy-Related Research in Our Past
Types of Policy-Related Professional Activity
Problems and Frustrations
Opportunities for Clarification
2 Intercultural Expertise and Public Policy
3 The Past, the Present, the Future: Public Policy as a Dynamic Interface
4 Training Anthropologists for Effective Roles in Public Policy
II The U. S. Public Culture: Attitudes, Themes, and Behavior
5 A Sense of Success: Heredity, Intelligence, and Race in American History and Culture
Hereditarian Thought and European Expansion
English Assessments of Africans
Anglo-American Assessments of Afro-Americans
Change and Permanence in American Culture
References
6 Cultural and Structural Pluralism in the United States
Can the Schools Make a Difference?
Impact of Social Science Knowledge on School Legislation
Meaning and Use of the Concepts Cultural and Structural Pluralism in the Social Sciences
Cultural Pluralism in the United States
Structural Pluralism in the United States
Strategies for Change
Conclusion
References
7 The Cultural Context of American Education
The Cultural Context of American Education
Discussion: A Simultaneous Equations Approach to the Analysis of the Educational Process
Conclusion
Appendix: Brief Description of Variables Used in Table 7.1
References
8 Dropping Out: A Strategy for Coping with Cultural Pluralism
Some Behavioral Consequences of Cultural Pluralism
The Effects of Cultural Pluralism on the School Behavior of Puerto Rican Children
Procedure
Results
Discussion
References
9 Gatekeeping Encounters: A Social Selection Process
Introduction
The Fieldwork Experience: Discovering the Gatekeeping Encounter
Collecting Evidence on Gatekeeping Encounters
Converting Raw Data into Evidence
Asymmetry Segments Code
Implications for Policy and for the Cumulation of Larger Samples
References
10 Two Theories of Discrimination
Introduction
Definitions
Employer Discrimination: A Traditional View
Interpersonal Comparisons of Utility
Employer Discrimination: Interdependent Utilities
Discrimination Models
Employee Discrimination
Conclusions
References
11 The Plight of the Ethnic Candidate: A Spatial Analysis
Introduction
Theoretical Foundations
A Model of Ethnic Politics
Implications and Conclusions
Appendix
References
12 The ERA: Law, Custom, and Change
The Arguments
Assumptions Underlying Anti-ERA Arguments
Conclusions
References
13 Economically Cooperating Units in an Urban Black Community
Introduction
Setting
The Structure of Economically Cooperating Units
The Functions of Reciprocity
Conclusions: The Functions of Poverty in a Complex Society
References
14 Policy Planning and Poverty: Notes on a Mexican Case
Introduction
The Mexican Research
Conclusion
References
III The Issues of Language
15 The Language Debate: Education in First or Second Language?
Introduction
A Review of the Major Issues
Empirical Comparisons of the Two Approaches
Summary and Conclusions
References
16 Language, Communication, and Public Negotiation
17 National Policy Programming: A Prototype Model from Language Planning
Introduction and Historical Background
An Optimization Model: The Case Study
A Prototype Model
Postoptimality Analysis
References
IV Government and Policy
18 Behavioral Simulation as a Tool for the Analysis of Policy Problems
Introduction
Simulation of the Budgetary Process
A Behavioral Simulation of Changes in a Zoning Ordinance
Introduction to the Simulation of the Granting of Broadcast Licenses
A Sketch of the Behavioral Simulation
Simulation Parameters and Weights
Simulation Performance: Preferences and Decisions
Concluding Remarks on the FCC Simulation
Concluding Remarks on Behavioral Simulation
References
19 Social Indicators: A Focus for the Social Sciences
Social Indicators: A Focus on Measurement
Social Indicators and the Social Sciences
References
Author Index
Subject Index