However, among foragers, the transmission of new avoidances from horticulturalists overwhelms any disparagement of traditional beliefs associated with schooling and Christianity. This leads acculturated foragers to increased observance of food avoidances. The biocultural evolutionary approach thus provides quantitative estimates of the relative strength of various acculturating forces so that predictions about the future course of cultural change can be made, even though data was collected at a single point in time. Particularly vilified is traditional herd maximizing behavior, by which pastoralists allegedly overstock rangelands to buffer against drought-induced livestock loss. This study analyses household herd data for Rendille pastoralists of northern Kenya to evaluate the effectiveness of herd maximizing behavior and consider its socio-ecological concomitants.
Results indicate that maximization remains an effective buffering strategy.
However, in the present situation it combines with decreased herd mobility, increased commercial exchange and herd diversification to place additional stress on the modern, sedentary Rendille pastoral economy. Despite this last finding maximizing behavior may aid the future viability of East African pastoralism by providing a reservoir of highly adapted, surplus animals for restocking programs. The informal economy is a growing phenomenon in cities of developing countries, a fact which has aroused the attention of many development planners who view it as the key to solving urban poverty. This article presents new research on the cross-class dimensions of informal economic activity in Martinique, French West Indies. Research result about the cross-class linkages of informal exchanges suggest obstacles for planners who consider poor informal economic actors to be ripe targets for development.