Public anthropology, according to Robert Borofsky, a professor at Hawaii Pacific University, "demonstrates the ability of anthropology and anthropologists to effectively address problems beyond the discipline—illuminating larger social issues of our times as well as encouraging broad, public conversations about them with the explicit goal of fostering social change" (Borofsky 2004).
The work of Partners In Health is one illustration of using anthropological methods to solve big or complicated problems.
Challenging Sharp's assertion that Polynesia was settled accidentally by unskilled navigators, Finney became a leading advocate that Polynesia was intentionally settled by Polynesians highly skilled in the art of open-ocean navigation, able to travel across thousands of miles guided by the stars and waves.
Moving beyond the currently espoused “do no harm” ethos to striving to benefit others, especially the broader society that supports anthropological research.
Moving beyond judging faculty primarily by the number of academic publications produced to emphasizing the social impact of their work.
Justice Louis Brandeis famously states: “Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases.