Publications, College of Public Health
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Browsing Publications, College of Public Health by Subject "Complexity"
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Item Challenges to the Systematic Adoption of Person-Centered Planning(2007) Wolf-Branigin, Michael; LeRoy, Barbara; Wolf-Branigin, Karen; Israel, Nathaniel; Kulik, NoelPrevious reviews of person-centered planning indicate a need for more comprehensive training to promote skill generalization. A three-phase training intervention was implemented with 22 planning teams for people with a disability in the Detroit metropolitan area. Independent observers rated team meetings posttraining on consumer orientation regarding three components of person-centered planning: meeting structure, interpersonal skills, and planning strategies. Analyses of ratings indicated that structural skills were significantly more readily incorporated than either interpersonal or strategic skills. Exploratory analyses indicated that the number of family members, friends, and advocates at the planning meetings was positively correlated with planning strategies, while living arrangements were negatively correlated with planning strategies. Implications for the acquisition and generalization of more complex planning skills are discussed.Item Preparing for the Emerging Issue of Human Trafficking(2008) Wolf-Branigin, Michael; Jensen, Kristin; Smith, Michael AllenThe United Nations defines human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation” (United Nations, 2006). Affecting hundreds of thousands of victims in the US, it emerged as a federal priority, with the Department of Justice (DOJ). We defined capacity building as establishing understanding and enabling skills to assist excluded individuals participate more effectively in their communities (Henderson & Thomas, 2004; Payne, 2005).We adopted the five-component definition of capacity building developed by Glickman and Servon (1998) that analyzes the organization’s resource, internal, programmatic, network and political capacities. Using a qualitative approach, we determined whether enhanced organizational capacity in addressing this vulnerable population occurred.Item Spiritual Involvement as a Predictor to Completing a Salvation Army Substance Abuse Treatment Program(2007) Wolf-Branigin, Michael; Duke, JerryThis study investigates successful completion at a faith-based organization providing residential substance abuse treatment services. Method: The authors apply a complex systems paradigm using a single moderator variable. The participants are primarily African Americans and most have current criminal justice involvement. Probabilities of treatment program completion for participants active in spiritual activities versus similar participants not involved in these activities are calculated. Results: Participation in the spirituality component appears to provide a valuable attractor to treatment completion. Conclusions: In the past decade, evaluation methods have included the greater use of probabilistic approaches, most notably Bayesian inference. Findings suggest that this model, as applied to the complexities of a faith-based organization, is useful for understanding treatment completion.Item Supporting and Preparing Future Decision-makers with the Needed Tools(2006) Wolf-Branigin, MichaelEducational and social service researchers and evaluators continue to develop advanced statistical methods. To ensure that our students have the essential skills as they enter direct service, the focus must be on assuring that they learn readily understandable methods that are appropriate for small samples and use repeated measures.