ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes the problem-solving process and the role of the anthropologist as a key player in the process. It highlights the area of practice in which real-world rewards are allocated: the use of knowledge, rather than solely the production of knowledge. The book provides new body of anthropological knowledge with tested problem-solving utility and a level of confidence necessary to motivate anthropologists to market their discipline’s problem-solving powers to government and industry. It addresses two related aspects of the anthropological difference: it specifies the anthropological knowledge used and it identifies the anthropological difference or the unique contribution the discipline’s knowledge made to the success of the project. The book also describes the development of an innovative method to extrapolate such information in his consulting work for the Board of Supervisors of San Diego County.
