Community-Based Operations Research : Decision Modeling for Local Impact and Diverse Populations

Michael P. Johnson

ISBN 10: 1461408059 / ISBN 13: 9781461408055

Editore: Springer New York, Springer US, 2011

Riguardo questo articolo

Druck auf Anfrage Neuware - Printed after ordering - Community-based operations research (CBOR) is defined as the collection of analytical methods applied to problem domains in which interests of underrepresented, underserved, or vulnerable populations in localized jurisdictions, formal or informal, receive special emphasis, and for which solutions to problems of core concern for daily living must be identified and implemented so as to jointly optimize economic efficiency, social equity, and administrative burdens. This domain was first discussed in a chapter in Tutorials in Operations Research 2007 - OR Tools and Applications: Glimpses of Future Technologies (INFORMS 2007) by Johnson and Smilowitz and subsequently in an article that appeared in the February 2008 issue of OR/MS Today.Community-based operations research is not primarily a new methodology, or theory, but a framework for applications of models and methods to address problems with common characteristics, as listed above. The relevant analytical tools for CBOR come primarily from the decision sciences management science, operations research, industrial engineering, and the like: they are intended to help individuals and organizations make better choices regarding strategies to design, services to deliver, facilities to locate, infrastructure to design, and so on. CBOR applications are expected to draw upon methods and tools of academic disciplines that comprise public sector-focused domains: public policy, public administration, public management, urban and regional planning, urban affairs, human services, public health, gerontology, and others.The research in this book is intended to be normative (defined by stylized models of the real world) and prescriptive (what ought to be done) in nature. However, other research perspectives, defined by descriptive and positive approaches traditionally used in observation-based social sciences, are appropriate as well. For example, an analysis of administrative data and field observations regarding how certain important problems are actually addressed by practitioners may yield novel insights regarding the likely benefits of alternative problem-solving methods derived from the decision sciences. This book collects treatments of important social problems that are localized in nature (i.e. characteristics of which vary according to defined areal units such as Census tracts, neighborhoods or municipalities), for which demographic and social characteristics of affected populations are salient (e.g. disparities in usage of services, or outcome measures is associated with individual and community characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, social class, economic strata), and for which discussing problems and proposing and implementing solutions is difficult and/or controversial due to conflicting notions of fairness, social impacts and social norms. Examples of such problems include: Defining rules for by which registered sex offenders can find living quarters so as to lead productive lives while protecting populations at risk for criminal victimization; Allocations of primary-care physicians across diverse regions of a state to ensure access health coverage for those populations least likely to have health insurance or to use health services while maintaining acceptable levels of service for other populations/regions; Design of strategies for provision of affordable and subsidized housing in urban communities that balance the preferences of residents to have access to communities with high levels of amenities with the need of planners to stabilize neighborhoods at high risk of blight.

Codice articolo 9781461408055

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Community-Based Operations Research : Decision Modeling for Local Impact and Diverse Populations
• Editore: Springer New York, Springer US
• Data di pubblicazione: 2011
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1461408059
• ISBN 13: 9781461408055
• Rilegatura: Buch
• Condizione: Neu
• Dimensioni: 241 L x 160 A x 25 P (millimetri) 241 millimetri di larghezza per 160 millimetri di altezza per 25 millimetri di profondità
• Peso: 711 grammi

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

This edited volume is an introduction to diverse methods and applications in operations research focused on local populations and community-based organizations that have the potential to improve the lives of individuals and communities in tangible ways. The book's themes include: space, place and community; disadvantaged, underrepresented or underserved populations; international and transnational applications; multimethod, cross-disciplinary and comparative approaches and appropriate technology; and analytics. The book is comprised of eleven original submissions, a re-print of a 2007 article by Johnson and Smilowitz that introduces CBOR, and an introductory chapter that provides policy motivation, antecedents to CBOR in OR/MS, a theory of CBOR and a comprehensive review of the chapters. It is hoped that this book will provide a resource to academics and practitioners who seek to develop methods and applications that bridge the divide between traditional OR/MS rooted in mathematical models and newer streams in 'soft OR' that emphasize problem structuring methods, critical approaches to OR/MS and community engagement and capacity-building.

Informazioni sull?autore

Professor Michael Johnson currently serves as Graduate Program Director of the PhD Program in Public Policy and Chair of the Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs. Dr. Johnson received his Ph.D. in operations research from Northwestern University, M.S. in operations research from University of California, Berkeley, M.S. in electrical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1987 and B.S. from Morehouse College. Dr. Johnson s research interests lie primarily in operations research/management science planning models for public-sector facility location and service delivery, with applications to subsidized/affordable housing, senior services and community corrections. Dr. Johnson also uses cost-benefit analysis to estimate impacts of public policies and information technology to design decision support systems. His primary mission is to develop quantitative methods that enable public organizations serving disadvantaged and vulnerable populations to jointly optimize economic efficiency, beneficial population outcomes and social equity. His work has appeared in a variety of journals, including Annals of Operations Research, Decision Support Systems, Environment and Planning A, Environment and Planning B, Housing Studies, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Geographic Systems, Journal of Housing Research, Location Science, Management Science, Papers of the Regional Science Association, and Socioeconomic Planning Sciences. Dr. Johnson has served as a National Science Foundation CAREER Postdoctoral fellow, and has previously received postdoctoral fellowships from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Urban Scholars program and the National Consortium on Violence Research. He is currently principal investigator on a Joseph P. Healey grant to develop decision models for foreclosed housing acquisition and redevelopment, and is investigator on a Centers for Disease Control grant to investigate neighborhood crime impacts of subsidized housing redevelopment.