Intensity Dimensions Research Articles

The Emergence of a Modern Youth Culture: The Swedish 1930s

This study traces the emergence of a modern youth culture in the 1930s in Sweden, thus challenging the view that it was born in the 1950s. Sweden, at that time, was a society at the crossroads; all over culture and society, modernity opposed what was given. The new youth culture is traced through a study offive popular cultural forms-boys' literature, particularly aviation books, girls' literature, sport, and national and US film, with a special focus on music-looking particularly for its patterning in what is called the boundary and intensity dimensions. Thus, it is possible to demonstrate rich cultural resources for a modern youth culture. However, balancing this against still existing socioeconomic restrictions makes the picture more ambiguous. What is found is not a generalized modern youth culture, but its emergence, resonating in interesting ways with the new Folkhem (the People's Home).

The Role of Moral Intensity in Ethical Decision Making

An empirical investigation found that the dimensions of moral intensity were related to the recognition of moral issues, moral evaluations (i.e., utilitarian, deontological, procedural, and distributive justice), and moral intentions. Consistent with the ethical decision-making framework presented, findings also revealed that (a) the moral intensity–moral evaluation relation was partially mediated by moral recognition for distributive justice and utilitarian evaluations, (b) the moral recognition–moral intention relationwas fully mediated by distributive justice and utilitarian evaluations, and (c) the moral intensity–moral intention relation was partially mediated by the combination of moral recognition and each ofthe moral evaluation processes.

Assessment of Sickle Cell Pain in Children and Young Adults Using the Adolescent Pediatric Pain Tool

The objectives of this study were to describe and compare the characteristics of pain experienced by children and young adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) in inpatient and outpatient settings. The Adolescent Pediatric Pain Tool (APPT), a multidimensional self-report pain assessment, was completed by African American children and young adults (mean age 15.39 ± 4.32) with SCD during a clinic visit (n = 52), day hospital visit (n = 29), or during the first 24 hours of an inpatient stay (n = 72). Multiple linear regression revealed that pain intensity, number of body areas with pain, and the quality of pain were related to age, sex, and care setting. Pain intensity, location, and quality were of greater magnitude than previous reports of early postoperative pain in children. Examining the specific dimensions of pain intensity, location, and quality and the influencing factors of age, sex, and care setting may lead to more effective treatments for SCD pain.

Consensus report

Consensus report

Dimensions of Moral Intensity and Ethical Decision Making: An Empirical Study

Moral intensity is a construct that relates to issues in terms of their perceived moral significance. Individuals' perceptions of moral intensity should impact their recognition of issues as posing moral dilemmas and should also affect ethical judgments and behavioral intentions regarding issues. This study examined the relationship between 4 dimensions of moral intensity and the ethical decision‐making process. Two work‐related actions were presented to respondents, who then completed measures of the 4 dimensions of moral intensity, whether the actions posed an ethical issue, ethical judgments regarding the actions, and the likelihood that they would engage in the actions. Results indicate that moral intensity dimensions were associated with individuals' ethical decisions. Social consensus and seriousness of consequences were particularly important influences on the ethical decision‐making process.

Preattentive extraction of abstract feature conjunctions from auditory stimulation as reflected by the mismatch negativity (MMN)

Brain mechanisms extracting invariant information from varying auditory inputs were studied using the mismatch-negativity (MMN) brain response. We wished to determine whether the preattentive sound-analysis mechanisms, reflected by MMN, are capable of extracting invariant relationships based on abstract conjunctions between two sound features. The standard stimuli varied over a large range in frequency and intensity dimensions following the rule that the higher the frequency, the louder the intensity. The occasional deviant stimuli violated this frequency-intensity relationship and elicited an MMN. The results demonstrate that preattentive processing of auditory stimuli extends to unexpectedly complex relationships between the stimulus features.

Level of care determination for individuals with co-occurring psychiatric and substance disorders

Abstract Individuals with co-occumng psychiatric and substance disorder (ICOPSD) have been recognized as a population associated with poorer treatment outcomes and higher service utilization. While consensus is growing on basic principles of integrated treatment, little technology has been developed that assists in implementation of level of case or service intensity determination for this population. One such bit of technology is a manual for utilization management for dual disorders. This paper describes the development of just such a manual which outlines an array of program models and settings of varying intensities, and describes specific utilization management criteria for each model and setting. The manual describes a horizontally and vertically integrated continuum of care for individuals with dual disorders that incorporates the principles of: a) independent dimensions of service intensity, b) multi-dimensional service intensity assessment, and c) individualized treatment matching based on integr...

Experimental investigation of longitudinal-wave pulses generated by a thermoacoustic emitter

Experimental investigations of pulses of longitudinal acoustic waves generated in a metal by short laser pulses are presented. The beam pattern of acoustic radiation, the amplitudes and shapes of acoustic pulses as functions of the laser radiation intensity and laser spot dimension are discussed. The results are analyzed in terms of the model of a thermoacoustic emitter in the form of a heated disk generating a pulse of axial and radial stress through the thermoelastic and hydrodynamic mechanisms.

Environmental Ethical Decision Making in the U.S. Metal-Finishing Industry

We investigated the individual and contextual influences shaping the environmental ethical decision intentions of a sample of managers in the U.S. metal-finishing industry in this study. Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behavior and Jones's (1991) moral intensity construct grounded our theoretical framework. Findings revealed that the magnitude of consequences, a dimension of moral intensity, moderated the relationships between each of five antecedents—attitudes, subjective norms, and three perceived behavioral control factors (self-efficacy, financial cost, and ethical climate)—and managers' environmental ethical decision intentions. We then developed implications for theory and practice in environmental ethical decision making.

ERPs and PET analysis of time perception: spatial and temporal brain mapping during visual discrimination tasks.

ERPs were recorded from 12 subjects performing duration and intensity visual discrimination tasks which have been previously used in a PET study. PET data showed that the same network was activated in both tasks [P. Maquet et al., NeuroImage 3:119-126, 1996]. Different ERP waveforms were observed for the late latency components depending on the dimension of the stimulus to be processed: frontal negativity (CNV) for the duration task and parieto-occipital positivity (P300) for the intensity task. Using BESA software, the sources were first modelled with a "PET dipolar model" (right prefrontal, right parietal, anterior cingulate, left and right fusiforms). To obtain a better fit for ERPs recorded in each task, two sources (cuneus, left prefrontal area) had to be added. Consistently with PET findings, dipole modelling indicates that duration and intensity dimensions of a visual stimulus are processed in the same areas. However, ERPs also reveal prominent differences between the time course of the dipole activations for each task, particularly for sources contributing to the late latency ERP components. In the intensity task, dipoles located in the cuneus, the anterior cingulate, and the left prefrontal area yield largest activity within the P300 interval, then activity diminishes rapidly as the stimulus ends, whereas in the duration task, the cuneus and anterior cingulate are still active several hundred milliseconds following stimulus offset. Moreover, in the duration task, the activity of the right frontal dipole parallels the CNV waveform, whereas in the intensity task, this dipole is largely inactive. We assume that the right frontal area plays a specific role in the formation of temporal judgments.

The language of felt experience: emotional, evaluative and intuitive

The problem analysed is how the phenomenology of feelings is linguistically expressed as opposed to simply reported. Three kinds of felt experience are distinguished: emotion and evaluation, which are classed as affect, and intuition, which is the compulsive sense of a non-propositional ‘meaning’. It is argued that these are extra-linguistic semiotic or cognitive systems. Emotions are construals of bodily arousal; evaluations are construals of experiences on scales from positive to negative; and intuitions are construals of properties of language itself. These are said to be sociohistorical. Higher level discourse and lexical resources for expressing affect are presented. Then, drawing from Halliday, Labov, Martin and Lemke, it is suggested that felt experiences are expressed iconically, but either concretely or abstractly. The iconicity is on the dimensions of intensity and prosody, and also intertwines different types of experience. Any linguistic feature that can express this iconicity can be deployed; for example, gradability. Five classes of linguistic realization are discussed. These are exemplified through the analysis of a passage of religious writing, Julian of Norwich’s Showings. The importance of analysing texts as linguistic expressions of complex felt experiences is suggested.

Factor structure and validity of the affect intensity measure in a Swedish sample

Abstract Despite the fact that Larsen’s [Larsen, R.J. (1984). Theory and measurement of affect intensity as an individual difference characteristic. Dissertation Abstracts International. 85, 2297B (University Microfilms No. 84-22112.)] Affect Intensity Measure (AIM) is a widely used measure of affect intensity, there is an ongoing debate concerning certain of its presumed theoretical and statistical qualities and its basic, underlying assumptions. The debate has most often centered around the inventory’s dimensionality; i.e., is the AIM tapping one or more dimensions of intensity? The purpose of the present study was to investigate the dimensional structure of the Swedish translation of the AIM, to find the best structural model for the Swedish AIM data, and to study its validity. Data from 409 subjects (153 males, 256 females) were subjected to maximum-likelihood confirmatory factor analysis to assess how well different structural models fit the AIM data. The results showed that all of the multidimensional AIM models were superior to Larsen’s original 40-item uni-dimensional model, on all the fit indices. The best-fitting model was a newly derived three-factor model, based on 27 items resulting in the factors Positive Affectivity, Negative Intensity, and Negative reactivity. Validation of this model in a community sample of 208 adults clearly showed different correlational patterns between negative intensity and negative reactivity, on the one hand, and positive affectivity, on the other, which demonstrates the value of treating affect intensity as a multidimensional construct.

The effects of issue characteristics on the recognition of moral issues

The construct of moral intensity, proposed by Jones (1991), was used to predict the extent to which individuals were able to recognize moral issues. We tested for the effects of the six dimensions of moral intensity: social consensus, proximity, concentration of effect, probability of effect, temporal immediacy and magnitude of consequences. A scenario-based study, conducted among business individuals in Singapore, revealed that social consensus and magnitude of consequences influenced the recognition of moral issues. The study provided evidence for the effects of temporal immediacy. There was marginal support for the impact of proximity and probability of effect but no evidence that concentration of effect influenced recognition of moral issues. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these results for researchers and organisational practitioners.

There are two types of psychometric function: A theory of cue combination in the processing of complex stimuli with implications for categorical perception.

Psychometric functions are customarily fitted using normal distribution functions. However, categorical perception identification tasks give functions that are more sigmoid than the normal distribution (M. Treisman, A. Faulkner, P. L. N. Naish, & B. S. Rosner, 1995). This can be explained by a theory of discrimination, cue combination theory (CCT), presented here. This theory assumes that complex stimuli (e.g., speech sounds) are composed of components or cues that vary in informativene ss. The decision mechanisms sample individual cue dimensions and combine the information from each. The model generates a normal psychometric function if all cues sampled are informative. If not, the function becomes more sigmoid. CCT offers accounts of discriminatio n (categorical and continuous) and sensory reaction times, adaptation, sequential effects, contextual effects, trading relations, speed and accuracy, perceptual learning, and the separable-integral distinction. It has been accepted for more than a century that psychometric functions are generally described to a good approximation by normal distribution functions (Guilford, 1954; Thurstone, 1927). This result can be derived from the central limit theorem, on the assumption that the noise that limits discrimination comes from a large number of independent, random sources. Here we show that there is a category of psychometric functions that are not normal in shape, present a processing theory that accounts for both types of psychometric function, and consider some implications for the understanding of sensation and perception. Modern psychophysical theory is based on the assumption that noise limits sensory discrimination, in the same way that the variability of data limits statistical decisions (D. M. Green & Swets, 1966; Tanner & Swets, 1954; Treisman & Watts, 1966). It is useful to consider briefly how this assumption is applied to the method of constant stimuli (MCS) or the method of single stimuli (MSS). (In the MCS a standard or background stimulus is presented on each trial. In the MSS this is omitted.) As illustrated in Figure 1, repeated presentations of the same stimulus value generate a corresponding distribution of sensory effects on a central dimension or decision axis E. Such distributions are usually assumed to be normal probability density functions, and that will also be assumed here. Three stimulus values are shown on the physical stimulus intensity dimension /. They project onto a central decision

The Role of Concern for Others and Moral Intensity in Adolescents' Ethicality Judgments

This study addressed 2 aspects of adolescents' morality: (a) the effect of concern for the moral agent (scope of justice) on adolescents' moral judgments and (b) the identification of the underlying determinants of their moral judgments within the framework of the moral intensity model (T. M. Jones, 1991). Participants were requested to make ethicality judgments in scenarios involving 2 types of morally questionable decisions: one resulting in beneficial consequences and the other in harmful consequences. Results indicated that adolescent boys' moral judgments were unaffected by their concern for the moral agent, whereas adolescent girls' judgments of beneficial decisions were significantly affected by such a personal concern. The adolescents took into account different intensity dimensions in making judgments of the 2 different types of moral issues. Implications for the justice versus care focus of morality are discussed, as well as the decision processes underlying adolescents' moral considerations.

Assessing Interparental Conflict: Reports of Parents and Adolescents in European American and Mexican American Families

This article reports on the development of the Multidimensional Assessment of Interparental Conflict Scale (MAIC), with parallel forms for parents and adolescents. Dimensions include frequency, intensity, child-related conflict, conflict behavior, child involvement, and resolution. Altogether 304 adolescents and their parents completed the scale. Adolescents were aged 12-15 years, and families were either European American or Mexican American. The MAIC is the first instrument to obtain both parent and adolescent reports of multiple dimensions of interparental conflict, to include adolescent reports of parental conflict behavior and to be validated in two ethnic groups. Interparental conflict is an important predictor of children's behavioral and emotional adjustment problems (Buehler et al., 1997; Grych & Fincham, 1990). Indeed, interparental conflict appears to have stronger and longer-lasting deleterious effects on child and adolescent functioning than parental divorce (Block, Block, & Gjerde, 1986; Forehand, McCombs, Long, Brody, & Fauber, 1988; Peterson & Zill, 1986). Interparental conflict is associated with externalizing problems such as conduct disorders and aggression among children (e.g., Johnson & O'Leary, 1987; Johnston, Gonzalez, & Campbell, 1987), as well as with internalizing problems such as depression and anxiety among children and adolescents (e.g., Davies & Cummings, 1998; Long, Slater, Forehand, & Fauber, 1988). Numerous investigators have stressed the multidimensional nature of interparental conflict (Cummings, Vogel, Cummings, & El-Sheikh, 1989; Davies & Cummings, 1994; Gottman & Krokoff, 1989; Grych & Fincham, 1990). Some researchers have argued that certain aspects of interparental conflict may be more detrimental to children's adjustment than others and that some dimensions could actually be constructive, fostering the development of conflict-management skills (e.g., Grych & Fincham, 1990). However, most studies examining the effects of parental conflict on child adjustment have measured interparental conflict as a single dimension. Recently, two groups of investigators have developed multidimensional measures of interparental conflict: the Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale (CPIC; Grych, Seid, & Fincham, 1992), which is designed to be completed by the child, and the Conflicts and Problem-Solving Scales (CPS; Kerig, 1996), designed to be completed by the parent. The CPIC contains five conflict dimensions: frequency, intensity (verbal and physical aggression), resolution, content, and triangulation (child involvement), as well as four appraisal dimensions (e.g., perceived threat). The CPS contains five conflict dimensions that somewhat overlap with the CPIC: frequency, severity, resolution, efficacy, and conflict strategies (conflict behavior). Conflict strategies include six sub-dimensions: verbal aggression, physical aggression, collaboration, stalemate, avoidancecapitulation, and child involvement. The CPIC and the CPS represent major advances in the attempt to measure interparental conflict multidimensionally. The next step was to create a measure of interparental conflict with parallel forms that can be completed by parents and children. Because each family member has a somewhat different perception of interparental conflict, multiple raters provide a more complete picture of interparental conflict than a single family member. Moreover, it is not yet known if parent or child reports of interparental conflict are more important predictors of child adjustment. Although the CPS for parents and the CPIC for children share the dimensions of frequency, intensity (verbal and physical aggression), resolution, and child involvement (triangulation), the two scales measure these dimensions with different items. Therefore, any findings appearing to suggest that the perceptions of one family member are most useful in predicting child adjustment could actually be due to differences between parent and child scales. …

Finger and penile tactile sensitivity in sexually functional and dysfunctional diabetic men.

Tactile sensitivity of the penis is related to sexual functioning, however its role in diabetic erectile problems is unclear. We evaluated penile sensitivity in 10 diabetic men with erectile dysfunction, 17 sexually functional diabetic men and 14 control subjects. Finger and penile thresholds and ratings of intensity and pleasantness for finger and penis were assessed using vibrotactile stimulation. Glycosylated haemoglobin and total and bioavailable testosterone measurements were determined and subjects completed self-reports on sexual function. Diabetic men with erectile problems had higher values of glycosylated haemoglobin than sexually functional diabetic men (p = 0.02) and both groups had lower bioavailable testosterone than control subjects (p< or =0.05). Sexually dysfunctional diabetic men had a higher finger threshold than the other two groups (p<0.01). Penile threshold for the sexually dysfunctional group was also marginally higher compared with the functional diabetic group (p<0.052) but did not differ from control subjects (p = 0.09). Diabetic men with erectile dysfunction exhibited different response patterns than sexually functional men on dimensions of intensity and pleasantness to penile stimulation. Although these data do not directly implicate subjective response to penile stimulation in diabetic erectile problems, they suggest such anomalous response could be one contributing factor.

Role of organizational commitment in advanced manufacturing technology and performance relationship

This study, utilizing an advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) intensity index, first, examines the variations in a company’s performance as a function of the simultaneous effect of organizational commitment and the dimensions of manufacturing technology intensity and, second, using the moderator hypothesis, examines a proposal that the greater the organizational commitment complemented AMT’s competences, the greater would be the performance impact of AMT. Results from the study indicate that elements described as complementary to AMT strengths (i.e. desire to keep membership and willingness to exert effort on behalf of the organization) interact negatively with AMT.

The Relationship Between Depression and Pain Language in Cancer and Chronic Non-Cancer Pain Patients

The present study investigated the relationship between depression and pain description among cancer and chronic non-cancer pain patients in a large outpatient sample. Participants consisted of 312 patients (158 men and 154 women) attending a pain management clinic at a comprehensive cancer institute. Sixty-one percent of the patients (190/312) were experiencing pain related to cancer and 39% (122/312) were experiencing chronic nonmalignant pain. Multivariate analyses of covariance were used to assess differences in the sensory and affective indices of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) associated with depression and type of pain. Current pain intensity was the covariate. The results indicated that the MPQ affective and sensory intensity scales did not significantly differ among patients with cancer and chronic non-cancer pain. There were also no significant differences in the percentage of affective and sensory pain descriptors chosen by these patients. However, depression significantly influenced MPQ pain description. Depressed patients with pain scored higher on the affective pain intensity dimension of the MPQ than non-depressed patients with pain (P < 0.001). Depressed patients also chose more affective pain descriptors than non-depressed patients (P < 0.001). Chi-square analyses revealed that depressed and non-depressed pain patients made significantly different choices on four of the five MPQ affective adjective lists. There were no differences in the sensory pain index or the percentage of sensory pain descriptors based on depression. These findings are discussed in terms of their clinical implications and their relationship to the existing literature.

A ridge-following algorithm for finding the skeleton of a fuzzy image

A typical method for finding the skeleton of a grayscale image is to threshold the image, then thin the result with one of several binary thinning algorithms. This process loses information in the intensity dimension by reducing all intensities to either one of two values. The loss of intensity information causes the skeleton of non-uniform grayscale images to be centrally located within the thresholded image, but may not lie along the maximum intensity ridge-line. In this paper we propose a method that avoids thresholding; instead we transform the grayscale image into a fuzzy set and use the degree of membership in the underlying object to find the skeleton along the maximum intensity ridge-line. Topographical labeling methods find a ridge-line by topographically labeling pixels; the ride-line is the union of peak, ridge and saddle-point pixels. These methods require preprocessing, or postprocessing, to find connected single pixel skeletons. We show the results of our algorithm on images varying in uniformity from a Gaussian-smoothed binary rectangle to a scanned image of a grayscale object. We compare results with the threshold-and-thin, and topographical labeling methods.