Nonlinearity in Social Service Evaluation: A Primer on Agent-based Modeling

Israel, Nathaniel; Wolf-Branigin, Michael

doi:10.1093/swr/35.1.20

Cited by 17 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…These computational advances facilitate the use of complexity theory (Wolf-Branigin, 2012). One such computational advance is ABM (Israel & Wolf-Branigin, 2011). ABM is an approach that involves creating an environment (social and/or physical) and populating that environment with autonomous agents who are endowed with properties and take actions based on simple rules.…”

Section: Agent-based Modeling (Abm)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovations in Modeling Social Good: A Demonstration With Juvenile Justice Intervention

Lee

Wolf-Branigin

2019

Research on Social Work Practice

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Objectives: Using agent-based modeling (ABM) within a complexity theory framework provides an alternative and promising method for significantly advancing the study of social good. Complexity theory is a systems approach based on the idea that aggregate patterns arise from the interactions of agents and their environments. Such systems operate according to a set of simple rules, and patterns emerge from these simple interactions that sometimes cannot be predicted by examining those interactions alone. ABM is a computational approach that simulates the interactions of autonomous agents with each other and their environments (social and/or physical). Methods: We adapted the Rebellion model from the NetLogo software library to demonstrate the potential of this approach to measure social good. Specifically, we examine the impact of variables related to juvenile justice involvement on the converse of social good, social exclusion, which in this model was conceptualized as the lack of educational attainment among youth at risk of juvenile justice involvement. After designing our ABM, we ran a total of 2400 simulations where we systematically varied key variables, including arrest risk and maximum sentence. Results: We report the descriptive statistics from our simulations for key output variables in the ABM, including percent socially excluded and average accumulated jail time, and demonstrate the usefulness of this method by identifying nonlinear, bivariate associations across the simulations. Conclusion: Our model demonstrates the usefulness of an innovative methodological approach, complexity theory, coupled with an innovative technology, ABM, in developing policies and programs that will maximize social good.

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Section: Agent-based Modeling (Abm)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovations in Modeling Social Good: A Demonstration With Juvenile Justice Intervention

Lee

Wolf-Branigin

2019

Research on Social Work Practice

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“…Devaney and Spratt, 2009;Jenkins et al, 2017) to family-based social work more generally (Walsh et al, 2018). In recent years, complexity theory has been used to explicate the intricacies of social work practice (Payne, 2008;Adams et al, 2009;Ewijk, 2018), its management and organisation (Lawler and Bilson, 2010) as well as offering a new approach to the evaluation of social services (Israel and Wolf-Branigin, 2011) and understanding client perspectives of organisational complexity (cf. McArthur et al, 2010;Butler et al, 2012;Grell et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Needs to Relationships to Organisations: Transactional Complexity in Social Work in the Swedish Social Services

Khoo

Nygren

Gümüscü

2019

The British Journal of Social Work

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This article explores how Swedish social workers in different sectors of the social services understand complexity in relation to the needs found in 'family' and in social work practice. This study is based on interviews with sixty social workers in five service sectors: child welfare, elderly care, disability care, substance abuse and social assistance. The social workers' reports of understanding and dealing with families with complex needs reveal distinctions between deeply rooted and broadly based needs. Complex family needs are transformed into complex cases based on family composition, relationships between clients and social workers and organisational context. Complexity theory, and in particular the term transactional complexity, is applied to describe the interactive relationship in and between complex needs, relational complexity and organisational complexity. The boundaries between these three domains are not distinct, and the interconnectivity and complexities occurring in and between them contribute to the production of much of the 'wickedness' that exists in social work practice. Social workers may gain from this knowledge in order to unravel the often intangible complexity that commonly appears in social work with families.

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“…The systems evolving from these interactions are continuously in dynamic equilibrium, navigating between rigid order and chaos. Such complex systems typically operate according to a set of simple rules whereby patterns emerge from these simple interactions without a predetermined blueprint (Israel & Wolf-Branigin, 2011). Contemporary social service practice shares several attributes found in complexity theory.…”

Section: Introduction To the Mini Special Issue On Complexity Theory:mentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to the Mini Special Issue on Complexity Theory: A New Research Paradigm in Social Work

Wolf-Branigin

2012

Journal of Social Service Research

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Nonlinearity in Social Service Evaluation: A Primer on Agent-based Modeling

Cited by 17 publications

References 19 publications

Innovations in Modeling Social Good: A Demonstration With Juvenile Justice Intervention

Innovations in Modeling Social Good: A Demonstration With Juvenile Justice Intervention

From Needs to Relationships to Organisations: Transactional Complexity in Social Work in the Swedish Social Services

Introduction to the Mini Special Issue on Complexity Theory: A New Research Paradigm in Social Work

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