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This paper describes a network crossover operator based on knowledge gathered from either prior problem-specific knowledge or linkage learning methods such as estimation of distribution algorithms (EDAs). This operator can be used in a genetic algorithm (GA) to incorporate linkage in recombination. The performance of GA with network crossover is compared to that of GA with uniform crossover and the hierarchical Bayesian optimization algorithm (hBOA) on 2D Ising spin glasses, NK landscapes, and SK spin glasses. The results are analyzed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A computer code known as AASIFIT is developed to unfold complex alpha spectra. Peak shapes used in the fitting are obtained from the simulations. In addition to activities of the nuclides present in the sample, the code can provide source characterization. AASIFIT is applied for a nuclear bomb particle collected in Thule, Greenland. It is shown that direct alpha spectrometry provides more accurate activity estimate for 239+240Pu than gamma-ray spectrometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a local search method for the Bayesian optimization algorithm (BOA) based on the concepts of substructural neighborhoods and loopy belief propagation. The probabilistic model of BOA, which automatically identifies important problem substructures, is used to define the topology of the neighborhoods explored in local search. On the other hand, belief propagation in graphical models is employed to find the most suitable configuration of conflicting substructures. The results show that performing loopy substructural local search (SLS) in BOA can dramatically reduce the number of generations necessary to converge to optimal solutions and thus provides substantial speedups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the effects of restricting probabilistic models in the hierarchical Bayesian optimization algorithm (hBOA) by defining a distance metric over variables and disallowing dependencies between variables at distances greater than a given threshold. We argue that by using prior problem-specific knowledge, it is often possible to develop a distance metric that closely corresponds to the strength of interactions between variables. This distance metric can then be used to speed up model building in hBOA. Three test problems are considered: 3D Ising spin glasses, random additively decomposable problems, and the minimum vertex cover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bayesian optimization algorithm (BOA) uses Bayesian networks to learn linkages between the decision variables of an optimization problem. This chapter studies the influence of different selection and replacement methods on the accuracy of linkage learning in BOA. Results on concatenated m-k deceptive trap functions show that the model accuracy depends on a large extent on the choice of selection method and to a lesser extent on the replacement strategy used. Specifically, it is shown that linkage learning in BOA is more accurate with truncation selection than with tournament selection. The choice of replacement strategy is important when tournament selection is used, but it is not relevant when using truncation selection. On the other hand, if performance is our main concern, tournament selection and restricted tournament replacement should be preferred. Additionally, the learning procedure of Bayesian networks in BOA is investigated to clarify the difference observed between tournament and truncation selection in terms of model quality. It is shown that if the metric that scores candidate networks is changed to take into account the nature of tournament selection, the linkage learning accuracy with tournament selection improves dramatically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health and disease have physical realities, but they are also social constructs that are continuously redefined and lead to changing forms of health governance. The changing nature of health is related to and builds upon other contemporary societal trends of modernity such as individualization, differentiation, and globalization; it also contributes significantly to the concrete manifestation of these critical components of modern life. This means that health, as we understand it and live it today, is not only an outcome of other social and economic developments but a significant defining factor. The most obvious example is the increased health and life expectancy in modern societies which is redefining nearly every arena of social life and policy. Due to a lack of theory in health promotion we have not yet analyzed sufficiently how integral health is to Western modernity and who we are today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processes of social change in both the scientific domain and in society -hence, also in people's everyday practices—are in many ways interrelated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation enjoys a very special status in health promotion discourse. Conceptualised both as a process and a valued outcome, it is often viewed as a defining feature and a key principle of health promotion (Robertson & Minkler, 1994; Rootman, Goodstadt, Potvin & Springett, 2001). Taking advantage of an undisputable position as a cardinal value, the role of participation has rarely been critically examined in relation to health promotion practice and its contribution to public health. The questions regarding the role of participation and how, in practice, practitioners can facilitate and support its emergence, have not been given satisfactory answers. Answers to these crucial questions can only result from a theoretical understanding of what participation entails in terms of action in the social situations of health promotion interventions. Theorizing on the role of participation in health promotion and on the social processes at play when it occurs is a prerequisite to reframing participation as a professional practice rather than as an ideology (see Pelikan, Chapter 6), and to develop appropriate procedures that can foster the conditions for effective participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand health as a social phenomenon in history, especially in modernity or in present late modernity, a refined conceptual framework of human health is needed. Such a framework, or even better, a model or a theory identifies defining and differentiating states, conditions and determinants of health as well as provides a foundation for practical applications to intervene into the production of health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social inequality remains a key issue in health promotion to date. Empirical evidence on the role of material and non-material determinants of health and illness is mounting (Marmot & Wilkinson, 1999; Berkmann & Kawachi, 2000; Siegrist & Marmot, 2004). Under modern conditions of diversification and economisation in the health sectors findings from social epidemiology are essential to public health in general and health policy in particular. However, when examining social conditions relevant to the unequal distribution of health and illness, social epidemiology has traditionally focused upon either material conditions such as income, housing among others, or on social and psycho-social determinants such as education, social support, and psycho-social stress. Most often missing in public health research however, are cultural factors that link material and social resources, social structure and health. As health promotion focuses upon the development and maintenance of health in everyday life by the people themselves (rather than by medical experts), cultural factors become of central importance for theory development and practical interventions. For instance, health relevant behaviours are closely linked to broader value systems, behavioural norms, body perceptions among others, that may be typical for certain (sub-) cultures. They are adopted according to the environments in which people live, work and recreate and they are socially learned throughout the life course. However, from a sociological perspective the meaning of cultural factors is not limited to health relevant consumer choices for goods and services or explicit health and illness behaviours. Beyond such behavioural aspects, sociology has illustrated the crucial role that cultural factors play in the fundamental structuring processes of society (MaxWeber, 1978; Durkheim, 1997; Giddens, 1991; Archer, 1996). Rooted in social science theory, more recent studies from medical sociology have linked health relevant values, norms and attitudes to social class; applying sociological theories to understand the emergence and consequences of health related lifestyles (e.g. Abel, 1991; Blaxter, 1990; Cockerham, Rütten & Abel, 1997; Frohlich, Corin & Potvin, 2001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are, of course, in the pursuit of science, all the classical reasons that stress the importance of theory. These will not be elaborated here because many do not apply to a field of work such as health promotion. Theory is probably most needed in order to help set the parameters for a scientific discipline, rather than a field of activity such as health promotion. Nonetheless theory serves a critical role in the conduct of most any activity and health promotion is no exception. Most critically, theory helps one avoid two types of error, one a narrow empiricism that concerns itself only with observation and the undirected collection of data and two an outlandish unanchored abstract thought that tries to address the entire range of understanding of the meaning of life. Health promotion practice is full of interventions, particularly at the community level, that are not anchored in any systematic theoretical approach. At the same time large conceptual ideas that are discussed in health promotion are equally found wanting an underlying theory. Finally theory anchors explanations in a field in the rich contextual efforts of many others who have thought long and hard about why social life is the way it is. A prime example is the discipline of sociology where a theoretical tradition has provided a rich source of explanation for phenomena ranging from socioeconomic status to globalization. To date there is no equivalent to this rich tradition in the field of health promotion. We have to create it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflecting on the nature of evidence produced with regards to health promotion, one of us (McQueen, 2001) recently argued that health promotion could not yet claim the status of a scientific discipline. One symptom for this, McQueen noted, was the absence of a largely agreed upon corpus of theoretical concepts and propositions that would rally those who are engaged in the discourse or in the practice of health promotion. In established science, such a corpus makes the content of introductory textbooks and as a consequence of the large consensus about the objects and methods that constitute a discipline, the table of contents of most contemporaneous introductory textbooks are very similar. Such consensus and the accompanying uniform content are still lacking in health promotion, and it is certainly not our intention that this book should become one. Quite the contrary, our aim with this book is to offer for discussion a theoretical perspective for health promotion. Such a theoretical perspective, we argue, is necessary to support exploring the role of health promotion in contemporary society and to inform our response to the challenges facing the development of the health promotion knowledge base and practice. These are necessary conditions if health promotion is to evolve into a profession (see Pelikan, Chapter 6). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The writing of this book started as a project McQueen and Kickbusch had contemplated for a long period before bringing it into reality. As key players for the elaboration of the Ottawa Charter and for the integration of health promotion into major public health institutions (respectively, the US Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organisation) they were both acutely aware of the need for health promotion to go back to its original theoretical underpinnings rooted in the social sciences for it to fully play its role as a driving force behind a third revolution of public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health promotion has long sought to define itself, and this has been an admirable, if futile, pursuit. It is not that there have been unsatisfactory definitions put forward over the years; it is, rather, that on careful scrutiny most fall short of describing the essence of health promotion as a field of study and practice. Most people in the field recognize the comprehensive nature of health promotion and the broad base of it practice. This, in turn, makes any short or simple definition seemingly impossible. Perhaps the field cannot be defined but left open to extensive explanations of its practice. Nonetheless, the seeming inability to clearly define the dimensions of such a major endeavor leaves many, and particularly the authors of this book, with a sense of frustration. As with most frustrations, one seeks to get to the underlying reasons for the difficulties and that is when one asks "deeper" questions about the origins and meaning of the field. That is why the two chief protagonists of this book (Kickbusch & McQueen) searched for solace in theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Chancen Mit Geschlossenen Fonds is the property of Springer Nature / Books and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Chancen Mit Geschlossenen Fonds is the property of Springer Nature / Books and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Chancen Mit Geschlossenen Fonds is the property of Springer Nature / Books and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Chancen Mit Geschlossenen Fonds is the property of Springer Nature / Books and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Chancen Mit Geschlossenen Fonds is the property of Springer Nature / Books and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Chancen Mit Geschlossenen Fonds is the property of Springer Nature / Books and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Chancen Mit Geschlossenen Fonds is the property of Springer Nature / Books and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)