The Importance of Context in Understanding Homelessness and Mental Illness: Lessons Learned From a Research Demonstration Project

Research reports on the housing outcomes for persons who are homeless and mentally ill have focused on client characteristics, program type, and services as independent variables, with mixed results. From social work practice, evaluation theory, and public policy perspectives, context is an important variable. Yet, it has received scant research attention in studies of the outcomes of persons who are mentally ill and homeless. This article summarizes research results from a demonstration project providing outreach or linkage services to this target population, illustrating the significant impact of context variables (site and recruitment source) on client characteristics, implementation, qualitative and quantitative service assessments, and housing outcomes. The discussion suggests how these contextual factors may operate, and it goes on to make recommendations to improve social work research and practice concerning the important dimensions of context that should be assessed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69136/2/10.1177_104973159800800203.pd

A Hard Constraint Algorithm to Model Particle Interactions in DNA-laden Micro Flows

We present a new method for particle interactions in polymer models of DNA. The DNA is represented by a bead-rod polymer model. The main objective in this work is to implement short range forces to properly model polymer-polymer and polymer-surface interactions. We will discuss two methods for these interactions: (1) a new rigid constraint algorithm whereby rods elastically bounce off one another, and (2) a classical (smooth) potential acting between rods. In addition, a smooth potential for the polymer-surface interactions is also implemented for comparison to the same interactions currently modeled by elastic collision