Anthropology at the bottom of the pyramid

This article explores what anthropology has to say about contemporary business strategies for market expansion among poor consumers in Africa and Asia. Focusing on the activities of global consumer goods company Unilever in India, we show how anthropology can provide valuable insights into the hidden work and power relations involved in transforming an everyday commodity like soap into a composite object, what we call a 'social good', that is capable of simultaneously combating disease, tackling poverty and realizing value for shareholders.     

Community and the Creation of Provincial Identities: A Re-interpretation of the Romano-British Aisled Building at North Warnborough

The aisled hall at North Warnborough has attracted attention as one of a handful of examples frequently included in surveys and analyses of this common architectural type as well as for arguments related to the gendered use of space. This article presents a new architectural analysis of this building and attempts to set it within its immediate and wider archaeological and geological landscape context. A theoretically informed interpretation of the social significance of this site is offered, which has broader implications for the studies of Romano-British architecture, rural settlement, and landscape.     

Statistical analysis of a geography examination

The development of North Sea oil and gas resources is related to technological problems, cost and government involvement. Most activity has centred on Norway and Scotland; nevertheless, countries such as France and West Germany, with a lack of indigenous offshore resources, have broken into the offshore supplies market in other sectors.     

Went the Day Well: Scripts,Glamour and Performance in War‐weekends

The recent growth of interest in heritage events has relied implicitly upon a modernist ontology in the way assumptions are made about the distinctiveness between visitor and performer identities. This article questions these assumptions through an analysis of the different groups of social actors attracted to war‐weekends organised through preserved steam railways. War‐weekends bring together in the same locality visitors, volunteers, performers, dressers‐up and re‐enactors sharing stories, enjoying the present and reflecting on the past—experiences in which each individual’s participation is enhanced. Although these and other ‘events’ are crucial to the continued existence of preserved railways in the UK they provide the participants with more than just a nostalgic trip back to the community spirit articulated through the so‐called ‘blitz mentality’ of the 1940s. They provide the opportunity for participants to engage both in the theatrical act of ‘being on’; of being observed by the ‘audience’ whilst at the same time acting as audience in the way they observe the other participants in the spectacle. The participants’ need to be observed is accomplished without the necessity of engaging in the rigorous training and audition processes associated with formal theatrical environments, whilst audience participation and interaction is not constrained by the usual formalities of traditional theatre.     

Ulinzi Shirikishi: Popular Experiences of Hybrid Security Governance in Tanzania

In the context of increasing academic and policy‐related attention to hybrid forms of security provision which combine state and non‐state institutions, in Africa and elsewhere, this article explores the implementation of community‐based or participatory policing (ulinzi shirikishi) in Tanzania. Through ulinzi shirikishi citizens are encouraged to form local security committees, organize neighbourhood patrols and investigate reported crime. In contrast to earlier forms of state‐sponsored sungusungu vigilantism in Tanzania, community police are expected to cooperate with the Tanzania Police Force and to adhere to state law. Based on 11 months’ fieldwork in three sub‐wards of the city of Mwanza, this article argues that community policing has been fairly effective in improving residents’ perceptions of local safety. However, two important concerns emerge that may compromise the sustainability and legitimacy of community policing in the future. Firstly, organizing local policing entails considerable costs for communities, which disproportionately disadvantage the relatively poor. Secondly, controlling local service provision can enable individuals to pursue private gains, at the expense of the production of public goods. It is thus important to consider the development of hybridity over time towards models that may look less like community‐based policing and more like commercial security provision.