Category: Acceptance

Hope is the feeling of expectation and a strong desire for a certain thing to happen. It is a belief that a positive thing will happen out of the harsh situations and circumstances in someone’s life. Hope to me is looking for the light in amongst the darkness it is our ability to accept where we are and what led to this. Hope is finding acceptance within ourselves and within others as hope is necessary for change to occur.

As children we are taught by our parents that life will be exciting, something we can to look forward too, that life itself is like a Disney movie, never would you think that life could be so punishing. Life is full of loss, pain and so much more. Who would’ve thought it would be so much more complex than just a Disney movie? Even in the face of despair, when you think all is lost. Hope. It’s a simple word and yet can mean so much to anyone going through a difficult time. It can mean the difference between hanging on and giving up. It can mean a tiny smile in the face of a devastating diagnosis. It’s one word with no true definition.

Regardless of whether you’re a diehard cop fanatic or just enjoy modern day literature depictions of Shakespeare, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the Australian play “Away” represent realistic examples of everyday people overcoming bad situations in search for brighter future. Just like them we all go through this. In order to be truly hopeful for the future, you must first find acceptance within yourself and your current situation. As acceptance is vital for transformation to occur. In Dan Goor’s “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” episode “Moo-Moo” and Michael Gow’s “Away” this is all to prevalent.

In 1986, Michael Gow released a book to make a case for hope as a bridge to finding acceptance. Away was in many ways, of its moment – it was written against the tremendous despair after the Vietnam war and during the height of the aid’s epidemic in Australia. Although that moment passed long ago the concepts and the depictions of hope are still reflective in today’s society. Away is a great depiction of making the most out of a bad situation. Throughout the novel themes of death, loss and family play an important role when considering the characters views and values, all in connection to show the underlying theme of hope as a bridge to acceptance.

Throughout Away Michael Gow has implicitly made reference to Shakespeare in many instances. Including such plays as A Midsummer Night’s Dream and King Lear. The significance of Shakespeare’s King Lear is it has symbolic reference to “The storm” which is also evident in Away. A similar depiction of this event happens in Away. A great storm occurs during the play that causes the three families to come together on the campground. The storm created by Gow in the play creates imagery that shows us that each of the families is going through their own version of a storm. It also reveals that through the storms we are able to find one another and hold onto life together. The play is an allusion to the storms of life that we all face, and the necessity of community through the storms in order to continue to stand up to them. The ideas suggested by these quotations are at work in Gow’s play Away

“There’s an end to every storm, once all the trees have been uprooted, once all the houses have been ripped apart, the wind will hush, the clouds will part, the rain will stop. The sky will clear in an instant and only then, in those quiet moments after the storm, do we learn who was strong enough to survive it.”

As I was researching the thing that caught my attention the most was Gow’s representation of characters throughout the piece how they play a vital role in the development of key themes, the storyline and the overarching message from Gow’s play Away. When taking into consideration of character views and values. Context helps us as the reader/ listener to gain a greater understanding into the insights of the characters, in order to develop a greater relationship.

The play demonstrates the way these characters extend themselves physically, intellectually and emotionally. The storm is the physical change-agent. It destroys all of Gwen’s representations of self-worth (her possessions). It acts as the catalyst for her emotional reconciliation with herself and her family. By the play’s end she has extended herself way beyond the stereotyped parody of a suburban housewife. Logically, the play-within-the-play acts as an intellectual symbolic metaphor, Tom is able to demonstrate to his parents Vic and Harry that he knows about his imminent death and that he accepts his fate. That tom has found his hope through acceptance. His view of hope is different compared to other characters as Tom is hopeful for his family and the people around him. Tom has accepted his fate and now is trying to teach his family to cope after their storms finally comes. Coral’s journey is about emotional recovery. She learns to symbolically ‘walk again’. This enables her to reconnect with the living world and with Roy. She too accepts that there is life in death and hence is able to find her hope. She is able to find acceptance within herself through others in order to transform both physically and emotionally towards the ending of the play. Thus, it is clear that in order to be truly hopeful for a brighter future, we must first find acceptance with ourselves and within others in order for any transformation to occur.

To me and many others Maggie Carey’s Episode Moo-Moo is significant as it allows us to gain a better understanding of the events that were happening during the time of its release back in May 2nd, 2017. The tv series is a rather comical and entertaining series that at times like to poke fun at societal issues or events. But in this instance Dan Goor wanted to take it in a more serious tone for the episode. So, we as the audience can really understand how serious this issue is. Brooklyn Nine-Nine digs deep into the controversial issue of racial profiling via stop-and-frisk. While Terry Jeffords is out looking for his daughters’ blanket, he is stopped because of the colour of his skin. Irony is used as while he is suspected to be a dangerous Black Male, he is actually looking for his daughters’ blanket which is harmless as shown in the image above.

Throughout the episode the characterisation plays a significant role as each character symbolises different ideas and representations of hope based off their own past experiences and cultural background. The precinct in which they are based is very culturally diverse in the sense that Captain Holt identifies as a Gay Black male, Rosa is Mexican American, and Terry Jeffords is an American black male. Captain holt represents hope through change by rising through the ranks to a position of power where he can make a difference this is based off of his passed experiences with racial profiling and dealing with discrimination and criminalisation. As mentioned by Holt “when I was a young officer I wanted to report every…” His views are based off his experiences and wanting to make a difference from a place of power. Whereas in the case of Terry Jeffords within the Brooklyn Nine-Nine precinct he has little experience with this form of discrimination. Terry represents hope through action and wanting to make change in order for a brighter safer future for his daughters.

Throughout the episode we get to see the development and growth within the characters and what each of them symbolise. In the beginning of the episode Holt is very hesitant in wanting to help Terry based on what he supports and his views and values. By the end Holt comes to the realisation that he has the power to make change to make a difference. The final scene is symbolic as Terry and Holt come together to discuss what has happened. This scene leaves us guessing because although the complaint was submitted Terry was denied the role and as the audience, we are left to think whether or not terry was denied to role based off of systemic racism that exists within the system. It symbolises the bigger image that is in play as like racism nothing is tied into a neat little bow. Thus, it is clear that in order to be truly hopeful for a brighter future, we must first find acceptance within our own lives and within others in order for any transformation to occur.

Fully automated driving can potentially provide enormous benefits to society. However, it has been unclear whether people will appreciate such far-reaching technology. As such, several studies have been carried out to investigate the public opinion about automated vehicles, in particular the user acceptance of fully automated vehicles. For example, (Bazilinskyy, Kyriakidis, & Winter, 2015) investigated anonymous textual comments regarding fully automated driving. They found that the public opinion appears to be split, with many respondents being positive and many respondents being negative towards fully automated driving. It is likely that early adopters of new technology belong to the group that responds positively to fully automated driving, although this was not explicitly addressed in this study. In another study on public opinion on automated driving (Kyriakidis, Happee, & Winter, 2015) found that one third (of the 5,000 respondents from 109 countries, 40 of which had at least 25 respondents) indicated that they considered automated driving highly enjoyable. On average, however, respondents considered manual driving the most enjoyable mode of driving. Also, they discovered that respondents were most concerned about software hacking, legal issues and safety on the adoption of Autonomous vehicles.

More so, According to the 2015 international survey conducted by the institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE) (Vissers et al., 2016) found that safety and faith in technology were priorities as the main barriers to users acceptance of AVs. They further indicated that participants of this study express uncomfortable attitude towards they use of AVs for children transportation. Similarly, (Schoettle & Sivak, 2014) survey studies conducted in the United states, the United Kingdom and Australia showed that 90% of the respondents had concerns that AVS would, in general, not drive and respond to dynamic situations as well as human drivers. They were particularly concerned about the possibility that automated vehicles could get confused in unexpected traffic situations. This concern about safety issues and automated vehicles not performing as well as manually driven vehicles was also found in another study of (Schoettle & Sivak 2014b), which included respondents from China, India and Japan. In their survey studies, Schoettle & Sivak also explicitly asked whether respondents were concerned about the interaction between pedestrians and cyclists with automated vehicles. In the English-speaking countries, many respondents indicated to be ‘very concerned’: 42.1% in the United States, 35.6% in Australia, and 33.4% in the United Kingdom. In the Asian countries, the Chinese appeared to be the most concerned (42.6% ‘very concerned’), followed by the Indian people (40.4%) and the Japanese (22.2%).

From the various studies above, it is seen that not all people consider the development and transition of AVs into the present mobility system desirable as many show concerns about their safety consequences. Moreover, it has been shown that peoples behaviour are influence by their attitude, and beliefs (Ajzen, 2011) as such lack of confidence in AVs will influence the behaviour of pedestrians and cyclist when they meet and may results to traffic crashes. So, if AVs need to be incorporated within the present mobility system, apart from technical feasibility, public acceptance needs to be taking into considerations as well.

Cyclists and pedestrians are classified as vulnerable or unprotected road users. Contrary to car occupants, pedestrians and cyclists do not have a protective ‘shell’ that reduces the impact in case of a collision or a fall. As a consequence, they have a high risk of getting seriously injured, in particular when colliding with much heavier vehicles, even at relatively low speeds(World Heath Organisation (WHO), 2018)

According to report (World Heath Organisation (WHO), 2018) shows that more than half of global road traffic deaths are amongst pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclist. Figure 3 shows that there are substantial differences between different regions in the world. In the European region, for example, the share of pedestrian and cyclist road fatalities is somewhat higher. According to the WHO figures, these averages are circa 27% for pedestrians and circa 5% for cyclists

Private and Public organisation invested (inject) a considerable amount of money on capital and resources in Information Systems (IS), hoping to have an instant results and improvement on business processes and performance . However, the findings of some studies seems not to agree with this expectation. Further, they point out that an inadequate system usability was the main key to the above shortcomings (Jasperson et al., 2005). This conduct (behaviour) was mostly observed in ERP implemented (adopted) organisation. The majority of organisation (companies) failed to realise the expected (instant) benefits. In other organisation ERP implementation was successful but actual return on investment and benefits realization of the returns of ERP was very poor after (post) the system go-live.

One of the main reasons for failures during the post adaptation stage was the poor utilization of the system due to the ERP systems not being accepted completely by the end-users. This research helped to identify several key factors affecting to acceptance of ERP system at the user level. Thus, study contributed to the research community and ERP management practices.

The first objective of the research was to investigate the level of ERP acceptance within ERP implemented public organisation in KwaZulu-Nata. Findings suggested that level of end-users’ adoption of ERP system was in a fairly satisfactory level; but not in a high level. Therefore, organisation needed to put more effort to increase the adoption of ERP systems by focusing on influencing factors.

The second objective was to identify the factors influencing acceptance of ERP systems. In addition, analysis showed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and attitude towards use of system were positively correlated with symbolic adoption of ERP. Regression analysis confirmed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and attitude towards use of are enough to describe the behaviour of symbolic adoption of ERP by the end users. Majority of the respondents who participated in this survey had minimum of three years of experience in using ERP. Therefore, these findings could be directly used to manage the user expectations of organisation in synthesizing stage (assimilation) ERP life cycle where organisation actually started benefiting from use of ERP. This could be a reason for showing a low influence of social factors and facilitating conditions in determining the acceptance ERP by the end-users. According to the finding of previous researches, effect of social influence and facilitating conditions were high during the early stage of the ERP implementations, but not during later stages of ERP life cycle. Most of the times after go-live; managers’ concerned on user expectations diminishes with the time. As a result, the majority of the post-adoptive life cycle was without management attention and direction. Therefore, organisation should strongly consider reconvening the principals associated with such implementation efforts, after installation, to plan for and to provide the resources for the post-adoptive life cycle. Managing user expectations was one aspect that managers fail to fulfil. They need to get the user involvement in deciding training requirements, customization to ERP system, performance improvements, upgrades, etc. Organisation always should highlight the usefulness of ERP to enhance the performance of their jobs and ease of using the system. Workshops, trainings giving hands on experience would be beneficial to popularize the system among users. Creating a shared belief on the benefits of ERP was essential to create positive attitudes towards ERP systems. According to Venkatesh et al. attitudes was not significant in accepting ERP systems by the end users. But this research found that attitudes play a big role as similar to performance expectancy. Therefore, as argued by some other researchers (Nah et al., 2004), eliminating attitudes towards use of system was needed to be re-examined. According to this research, majority of users’ attitude on implementing ERP is positive. User perception on trainings was neutral; this is an indication to the low level of satisfaction on ERP trainings. Therefore, organisation had to consider on revising their training methodologies based on the requirements of users. This research studied about the moderating effect by

Deep down even the most hardened criminal is starving for the same thing that motivates the innocent baby: Love and acceptance. — Lily Fairchilde

Most people share a similar craving for social acceptance. The need to belong is defined as the desire to form and maintain close, lasting relationships with some other individuals (Baumeister & Leary, 1995) .The extent to which their peers accept individuals is considered an important indicator of social and emotional well-being across the lifespan. Social acceptance is pleasant, rewarding, and, in moderate amounts, associated with various indicators of wellbeing (Bushman, 2015). Social acceptance means that other people signal that they wish to include you in their groups and relationships (Leary, 2010).

Over the past 15 years, there has been an interest within the social psychological literature on the other side of social acceptance—namely, social rejection. Social rejection means that others have little desire to include you in their groups and relationships (Leary, 2010). Social rejection also is a complex construct, consisting of behaviors that can range from ignoring another person’s presence to actively expelling him or her from a group or existing relationship. People can experience acceptance and rejection chronically or acutely. People experience social acceptance and rejection in numerous ways. Social rejections prevent the fundamental need for positive and lasting relationships, which strikes at the core of well-being. Thus, the human need for social connection can be both a sweet blessing when others accept a bitter curse and us when others reject us (Bushman, 2015).

Peer relationships play an important role in adolescent social development.

Adolescence is the transitional period from childhood to adulthood and is an important time for social development. It is the time associated with enhanced sensitivity to social evaluation and enhanced desire for social affiliation (Brown, 2004). Social comparison becomes entrenched in daily life (Brown and Lohr, 1987), potentially making adolescents reactive to cues of social acceptance and rejection.

As adolescence progresses, the importance of peer relationships increases dramatically. Teens spend proportionately less time with family and more time with friends, and these peer relationships become more intimate (Larson & Richards, 1991). For example, parent–child conflict increases during early adolescence (Steinberg and Silk, 2002) and social affiliation with peers and romantic interests becomes increasingly important (Furman, 2002; Brown, 2004). Adolescent peer and romantic relationships are often intense, volatile, unstable and involve increasingly complex and salient social hierarchies such as in-groups and crowds (Connolly et al., 2000; Brown, 2004).

As such, being accepted by one’s peer group during early adolescence seems likely to pave the way for successful social functioning throughout the course of adolescence and into adulthood. However, the relatively limited literature examining social acceptance with peers during adolescence indicates that popular status does not uniformly predict positive outcomes for teens, nor does rejection automatically lead to negative outcomes (Prinstein & Aikins, 2004).

How do adolescents respond to social acceptance?

Many adolescents suffer extensively over how well they are liked and accepted by their peers—a fact that is both well known and at times bemoaned by the adults who live and work with them. During adolescence, teens’ perceptions of their own social success may be a crucial predictor of long-term social functioning, such that even teens who are not broadly popular may demonstrate positive adjustment over time if they maintain a positive internal sense of their social acceptance.. Further, there is some indication that self-views become more stable and enduring by adolescence, suggesting that they may take on more importance in how individuals approach their social worlds at this age (Trzesniewski, Donnellan, & Robins, 2003).

Perceptions of belonging have been determined to have important effects on adolescent development, influencing both social and academic outcomes (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Walton & Cohen, 2007). Some research found that sense of belonging in school was correlated with higher grades at the end of the year, as well as students’ expectations for success and value of the work they did in school (Anderman, 2002).

Positive attributes towards social acceptance

Adolescents show increased recognition skills for faces of peers (Picci and Scherf, 2016) .As early as childhood children may also gain acceptance from others because they possess personal attributes or competences that are valued by peers or society in general (Langlois & Downs, 1979). Social psychologists have published widely on the stereotypic biases associated with physical attractiveness, and speculated on the ways in which appearance elicits preferential treatment from others and shapes the social context in which individuals conduct their interpersonal relations (Langlois et al., 2000; Ramsey & Langlois, 2002).

In other words, links between perceptions of attractiveness and other desirable traits or behavioral characteristics are more than phenomena that shape first impressions or judgments between strangers. It has been suggested that the stereotypes linking attractiveness and personal worth may be internalized and have enduring effects on self-esteem. Positive attributes are more frequently ascribed to attractive children and negative characteristics attributed to children perceived as unattractive (Bordieri, Solodky, & Mikos, 1985; Dion, 1972; Dion & Bersheid, 1974).

Some bodies of evidence from both childhood and adolescence —in areas ranging from attachment expectations, to attributional biases, to rejection sensitivity—suggest that internal assessments of one’s relations with others and expectations about how one will be treated by others are critical in shaping emotional and behavioral outcomes (e.g., Dodge & Price, 1994; Downey & Feldman, 1996; Sroufe, 2005).

Low Social Acceptance

People state emphatically that it is “what’s inside” that counts and encourage their children not to judge others based on appearances .Yet they look up to attractive people to an astonishing degree. They say they value common qualities, such as kindness and understanding, the most important but seem to be exceptionally interested in achieving good looks and popularity (Anthony, Holmes & Wood, 2007).

Low social acceptance has been identified as negative social behavior. A wealth of studies has shown that children and young adolescents’ negative social behavior (i.e., aggressive, disruptive, and shy behavior) is associated with the extent to which their peers (Halcrow, 2007). Some studies of young adolescents also have accept them indicated that individuals who act aggressively and disruptively towards their peers are less likely to be accepted by their peers compared to children who do not display the same behavior.

For example, compared to their accepted counterparts, low accepted adolescents often show poorer social competence and greater antisocial behavior , experience more loneliness and depression ,and exhibit later chronic conduct disorders in adolescence . Low social acceptance is linked consistently to a variety of social and emotional problems during childhood and early. Beginning in early childhood, persons who gain their peers’ acceptance often show signs of positive well-being, whereas persons who do not gain their peers’ acceptance typically exhibit a variety of social and emotional difficulties (Halcrow, 2007). For example, compared to their accepted counterparts, low accepted children and young adolescents often exhibit poorer social competence and greater delinquent behavior (Deckard, 2001).

Conclusion

It is concluded that during the transitional age of development between childhood to adulthood being accepted from the people around your environment is very important during this age. During this age the transition of making strong relationship from parents to peers are more significant to adolescents.Adolescents spend increasingly more time with peers (Larson et al., 2002) and feelings of belonging and acceptance within the peer group are very important for adolescents (Brown et al., 1986). Therefore, it is concluded that for many adolescents, positive peer relations provide opportunities in the development of social functioning, academic achievement, and self-esteem (Malti et al., 2012; Valkenburg et al., 2006; Wentzel, 2005).

On the one hand, children and adolescents who are highly liked among peers have higher levels of empathy and prosocial motivation and display more cooperative, helping and sharing behaviors (Cillessen and Rose, 2005; De Bruyn and Cillessen, 2006; Meuwese et al., 2016). On the other hand, rejected adolescents tend to show more antisocial behavior than adolescents that are accepted among their peers (Wolters et al., 2013), and they display deficits in social cognition (e.g. lower levels of perspective-taking skills) and executive control (e.g. limited impulse control and emotion regulation) (Dodge et al., 2003; Eisenberg et al., 1997; Fink et al., 2014).

Bibliography

1. Baumeister, R.F., & Leary, M.R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.
2. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529.

Introduction

In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of open members of the LGBTQ+ community throughout the United States. Through news broadcasting, social media, and public displays, we can see how large and proud this community is. However, it has not always been this way. Throughout history, the LGBTQ+ community has been silenced and mistreated. This led them to be quiet about their lifestyles and hideaway up until present day. Although the change is inspiring and uplifting, it leaves people like me to wonder: what has changed that allow members of this community feel comfortable to be open about their lifestyles? I believe the answer to this question can be found in application with historical refinement in culture, applicable concepts and theories derived from sociology, and in relation to my interpretations of norms concerning sexuality; also known as socialization.

History

The refined culture around the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community has been a great step forward for our country! However, the overall opinion about the LGBTQ+ community was not always as positive. Throughout history, you can see how mistreated this community was. Going all the way back to 1624, we look at the hanging of Richard Cornish. Cornish was an English sea captain that lived in the Virginia Colony of the original 13 colonies. In 1624, Cornish was accused and trialed against sodomy. Sodomy is sexual misconduct involving anal or oral intercourse. Sodomy laws originated in England and were intended to discriminate against homosexuals. This case was the first case in which an individual was hung in the United States for sodomy. The controversy behind this case came from how little evidence appeared in the trial. Cornish was hung because of unproven sodomy allegations and because of his allegeded homeosexuality. In 1779, one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jeffereson, made it so women and men could be mutilated if found guilty of sodomy charges. This meant that instead of being hung, guilty parties could be tortured before being killed. Not only was this horrifying for members of the homosexual community, but also helped contribute to the silencing of the community all together. Laws like Thomas Jefferson’s were eventually reformed; however, LGBTQ+ groups were still shut down and unjustifiable crimes and arrests were still happening to the members of the community (LGBTQ History). It wasn’t until 1925 that the thought of the LGBTQ+ community became public talk. It was from here and on that great strides and cultural change started to appear in the United States (Hudson, D. L., 2009). In 1950, the first lasting gay organization was formed in Los Angelas. Known as the Mattachine Society, they fought for gay rights and protected homosexuals (Watson, S, 2014). In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association voted to remove homosexaulity off of official list of phyciatric disorders (LGBTQ History). This resolution aided in widespread acceptance of homosexuals that we see today. More recently, we see the legality of same sex marriage enforced by the Supreme Court and we also see cites allowing gender neutral bathrooms. Even though both events happened back in 2015, one can only see how far we have come as a society. Overall, the culture surrounding LGBTQ+ acceptance in the United States has been refined in major ways from the 1600’s and up to the present day.

Concepts and Theories

Sociology allows us to explain why society has cultural changes such as the opinion towards LGBTQ+ acceptance. One explanation for this cultural change comes from a rise in internet interaction. The rise in internet usage has tremendously helped the LGBTQ efforts. Social media has allowed members of this community to express their beliefs more effectively by reaching a larger audience. In the education world, it is a popular misconception that the internet is a bad place to be different; however, I do not agree entirely. In fact, there has been a rise in support from friends and family due to the fact that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender isn’t as uncommon as previously thought. In addition, members of this community find comfort in knowing that they are not alone due to online applications that allow them to know other people’s stories (Kapp, J. (2013, May 1). A second reason why this community is more open to society is because of less shackling conformity. Conformity is the compliance with cultural values and “rules” set by society. (Giddens, Anthony, Mitchell, Duneier, Appelbaum, and Carr. 2013, pg. 137). Before recently, it was a popular for older generations to believe that being any part of the LGBTQ+ community meant you were breaking the beliefs of Christianity (Gay Marriage). It was easy for these older generations to discriminate against what they were taught; however, revolutionized cultural standards now make these types of diversities a celebratable aspect of one’s personality. Conformity has a way of leaving individuals out and makes discrination easy. It wasn’t until the 21st Century that we see society’s values change and comformity with it (Homosexuality in the 21st Century). Another aspect can be applied with symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism focuses on the relationships individuals have with society (Giddens, Anthony, Mitchell, Duneier, Appelbaum, and Carr. 2013, pg. 19 and 559-561). Symbolic interactionism deals with communication and symbols that help people associate their own interpretations of society. In the 1990’s, it was easy for people to associate symbols such as the pride flag and the pink triangle as something to be afraid of. People in the early eras lacked understanding and inspiration for acceptance. Therefore, symbols like those angered and drove wedges in between society and true equality. It wasn’t until recent years that society celebrated these symbols for what they were intended to be; symbols of pride and equality (Watson, S. (2014). Gay Rights Movement). A final and most recognizable aspect to acceptance came from the development of tolerance toward different sexualities in Western culture. As mentioned before, older generations demonstrated great amounts of discrimination toward memebers of the LGBTQ+ community because they thought it risked ruining the Christian beliefs. At this point in time, people had very little tolerance for individuals of this community because they believed it was not natural or not morally right. Today, you can see far this has changed because of different values and perspectives on tolerance. For tolerance to be effective, it needs to be a universal tolerance that a society follows (What You Should Know About ‘LGBTQ’). With that being said, it is almost seen as wrong to discriminate against anyone in the LGBTQ+ community. This is due to a change in society’s shared tolerance. In summary, concepts like internet interaction, changed conformity, symbolic interactionism, and revolutionized tolerance have all led to the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in the United States.

Socialization

Socialization is the process that an individual goes through to help develop their understanding of social norms, their behavior, and their own sense of self. Socialization occurs through experience that is observed (Giddens, Anthony, Mitchell, Duneier, Appelbaum, and Carr. 2013, pg. 85). I developed my understanding of social norms through how I was taught by my parents and other adults in my community. From my experience in my family, I learned that diversity is something to be celebrated. I live in a Christian household, but our family doesn’t hold the same old-fashioned Christian values that my grandparents have. As a member of this religion, we are taught to treat everyone the way we want to be treated. With that concept in mind, I find myself practicing that in everything I do: including in LGBTQ+ acceptance. From members in my community, I learned tolerance. Being tolerant is an important aspect of life that everyone needs to have skills for. You may not agree with everyone’s beliefs or lifestyles; however, people can live their life as they want to. Therefore, tolerance allows people to keep to themselves, and allows people to live their lives as they want to. Tolerance is important to me because I’m not a member of the LGBTQ+ community; however, I keep an open mind and enjoy when people can live their lives without scrutiny. In brief, I developed values such as treating others how I want to be treated and the importance of tolerance through socialization with my family and members of my community.

Conclusion

The United States of America has come a long way in the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. Historically, this community was widely mistreated by our citizens and our government. However, recent changes in the 20th and 21st century has led us to the closest we’ve been to true equality and for LGBTQ+ acceptance. In part, these changes derived from applicable concepts and theories of sociology. Concepts around internet interaction helped spread awareness and allowed members of this community to interact with one another, society’s change in conformity values allowed members to feel safe and welcome in the present day, new understandings of symbols have helped individuals understand and develop new values toward the LGBTQ+ movements, and new perspectives of tolerance have allowed members to feel less scrutiny. On a personal level, I own revolutionized values that I follow based on the concept of socialization. Through socialization, I have learned that being diverse is a great thing and is nothing to be ashamed of. In conclusion, society in the United States is far more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community because of changes in history from applicable sociological concepts and through socialization.

Bibliography

1. Friedman, L. S. (2010). Gay Marriage. Greenhaven Press, Incorporated. (BOOK)
2. Giddens, Anthony, Mitchell, Duneier, Appelbaum, and Carr. 2013. Introduction to Sociology. W W Norton & Company Incorporated. (BOOK)
3. Homosexuality in the 21st Century. Retrieved September 23, 2019, from Psychology Today website:
4. Hudson, D. L. (2009). Gay Rights. Infobase Publishing. (BOOK)
5. Kapp, J. (2013, May 1). Technology: The LGBT Community’s Unsung Hero. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from www.huffpost.com/entry/technology-the-lgbt-communitys-unsung-hero_b_3179844
6. LGBTQ History. Retrieved from www.glsen.org/lgbtq-history
7. Watson, S. (2014). Gay Rights Movement. ABDO (BOOK)
8. What You Should Know About ‘LGBTQ.’ Retrieved September 24, 2019, from https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-you-should-know-about-lgbtq/

Abstract

The User Acceptance in Autonomous Vehicle is a main subject that has received the attention of researcher and professional in all around the world. The present research reviews literature which demonstrates the nature of technological acceptance is mediated by distinct factor groups related to the psychology of the users, the design process of information technology, and the quality of the technology in user terms.

All benefit, after technological difficulties, do not come without a certain amount of challenges. The present challenges of Autonomous Vehicle are Assurance of system and Software, Sensing and Connectivity, Judgment, and Verification and Validation.

In autonomous vehicle there are problem and issue that many of the people have not yet encountered or even witnessed. To better predict, explain and increase User acceptance, we need to better understand why people accept or reject Autonomous Vehicle. This research address the ability to predict peoples, User acceptance from a measure of their intention, and the ability to explain their intension in term of their attitude, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use. A survey was conducted to know the intension of User towards this technology and in what extend people are aware and have knowledge about the Autonomous Vehicle. In a Study few questions were asked to know user view towards this technology and then, we try to understand what they think of Autonomous Vehicle and their willingness to User acceptance on Autonomous Vehicle. By doing so we can determine what exactly the user expects from this technology and where government and car manufacture are lacking behind to promote the Acceptance in Autonomous Vehicle. Implementation and measure are taken according to the evaluation of the survey.

Keywords

User Acceptance, Autonomous Technology, User behavior, perceived usefulness, Ease of technology, Road safety

1. Introduction

Autonomous vehicles are “such vehicles that are able to perceive their environment and to move on without any intervention of a human driver’. These vehicles are also known as driverless, self driving, unmanned or robotic vehicles. Autonomous Vehicles are currently being developed in a number of commercial and research projects worldwide. While millions of dollars are already invested on this technology Car manufacturers are always looking to stay one step ahead of automobile trends so they can develop products that consumers and commercial fleet purchasers will buy in the future. The main objective of this paper is to promote User Acceptance on Autonomous Vehicle. In doing so there are many questioning asked by every individual which has to be answered. Among those question there is a common questions asked by every user “HOW SAFE YOU ARE IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE”?

To answer this question it’s better to providing more information about Autonomous Driving to the users to give more clarity and distinguish between User Driving and Autonomous Driving.

And there are many other issues are available in Autonomous Vehicle such as Ethics, Acceptance, Rights & Liability, Security, and Environment etc… Among this the main issue is the user acceptance that needs to be dealt with in order for autonomous vehicles to be successfully introduced to the market. The survey is conducted to know the views on User acceptance on Autonomous Vehicle which would help the Government as well as the automotive industry who might benefit from the introduction of autonomous vehicles. This research looks into the factors that influence the user acceptance of self-driving cars through a series of interviews, after which the implications of these factors the government and the automotive industry are considered.

2. Literature

This section of the report aims to deepen the understanding of previously done research in the field of autonomous vehicles and the user acceptance of the technology, as well as to define the gaps in the literature. To do so, it first provides a background on both the autonomous vehicles and technology acceptance on a more general level, after which factors that are found to impact user acceptance of self-driving cars in existing literature are listed. These factors will help in answering the research question.

First of all, the methods of searching for existing literature are mentioned, after which the relevant topics and definitions are explained. Then, an overview of Autonomous driving cars and their levels of automation is given, as well as the benefits that Autonomous driving cars offer.

2.1 Definition

In this section, definitions are given for the term User Acceptance and factors that influence it, as well as the term Autonomous Vehicles. The way levels of automation are defined according to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is clarified as well.

2.1.1 User Acceptance

User acceptance is a complex construct that consists of many factors that play a role in it. Dillon and Morris (1996) define user acceptance in the context of information technology as the demonstrable willingness within a user group to employ a technology for the tasks it is designed to support. Davis (1985) states that two other constructs, namely perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, affect user acceptance of technologies. This research will try to identify similar constructs, which will be referred to as factors that influence the user acceptance of self-driving cars defined according to the definition of Dillon and Morris (1996).

It is also important to make a distinction between two types of acceptance, referred to as consumer acceptance and citizen acceptance by Huijts et al. (2012). The first refers to the willingness to use the technology itself, while the latter refers to the placement of the technology in one’s environment. Since these two forms of acceptance influence each other and cannot completely be seen as separate issues, both are seen as part of the term user acceptance used in this research. Since this paper will mostly address people with a driver’s license however, and since it is assumed that it will play a larger role in the success of the technology, a larger emphasis is placed on consumer acceptance.

2.1.3 Autonomous Vehicle

Autonomous vehicles are “such vehicles that are able to perceive their environment and to move on without any intervention of a human driver’.

Wood, Chang, Healy, and Wood (2012) mention that although their article generally uses the term “autonomous” instead of “automated”, despite the fact that the latter term is perhaps more accurate. The reason for this is that the term “autonomous” is currently in more widespread use and therefore also more familiar to the general public. The authors argue that the term “automated” refers to control by a machine, while “autonomous” refers to acting alone or independently. In this article, the term “autonomous” will also be used despite its inaccuracy, for reasons of familiarity with the term. The SAE refers to “automated” vehicles and has identified several levels of automation, which will be discussed in the next subsection.

2.1.4 Level of Automation

The Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) defined five levels of autonomous driving. Each level is described by a set of minimal capabilities of the vehicle and a certain vehicle can operate at different levels, depending on their activated automation.

The most important distinction between the levels of automation is the step from SAE Level 2 to 3, which separates Human Driver Systems from Automated Driving Systems, as can be seen in Figure 2-1. This paper focuses only on the type of cars that are labeled by the SAE as Automated Driving Systems (Level 4&5), as user acceptance is expected to be a significantly larger barrier for these vehicles

Figure 2.2 Summary table of levels of driving automation

3. Working of Autonomous Vehicle

Autonomous vehicle is a combination of different sensor which is used to understand the world around them to get you where you needed to go.

There is sensor such as

3.1 Global Position System (GPS)

3.2 Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR)

3.3 Camera (videos)

3.4 Ultrasonic Sensor

3.5 Central Computer

3.6 Radar Sensor

3.7 Dedicated Short-Range Communications-Based Receiver

GPS: Triangulates position of car using satellites. Current GPS technology is limited to a certain distance. Advanced GPS is in development.

LIDAR: Measures distance by illuminating target with pulsed laser light and measuring reflected pulses with sensors to create 3-D map of area.

Cameras: Provide real-time obstacle detection to facilitate lane departure and track roadway information (like road signs).

Ultrasonic Sensors: Uses high-frequency sound waves and bounce-back to calculate distance. Good in close range.

Central Computer: “Brain” of the vehicle. Receives information from various components and helps direct vehicle overall.

Radar: Radio waves detect short & long-range depth

DRSC – Based Receiver: Communications device permitting vehicle to communicate with other vehicles (V2V) using DSRC, a wireless communication standard that enables reliable data transmission in active safety applications.

Figure 3 How Autonomous Work

With these sensors it combines the information and it identify everything around it in fully 360 degree then predict the things might do next. With the knowledge of traffic it can plan and safe path ahead. It also helps to you and people around you to feel secure and ease with this technology.

4. Road Safety (WHO)

According to World Health Organization (WHO), globally every year road accidents claim the lives of 1.3 million people in the worldwide. This continues to be a life-threatening issue to individuals and their families, not just in Europe, but across the world in both developing and developed Countries. The number of road deaths is on the rise again even in some countries with impressive road safety improvements. The increasing share of vulnerable road users such as seniors, pedestrian, cyclists and motorcyclists that become victims of road traffic raises particular concerns. Fatalities and injuries resulting from road traffic accidents are a major and growing public health problem in World. Traffic accidents in many developing countries have become one of the leading causes of deaths. It also listed the current national road safety strategies and legislation in place regarding speed limits, drinking and driving and the use of seat belt and helmet. Reliable data on traffic crashes is crucial for effective action on road safety. Without hard facts about the scale of the problem, the exposure to crash risks and the effectiveness of policies the problems cannot be addressed at the core. The aim is to provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety. Today, most countries have national road safety strategies in place, often with ambitious targets.

4.1 Main Factors

In all around the world the road accident factors are mainly related to driver faults. According WHO, majority of vulnerable road user are pedestrian, cyclist and motorcycle are victim of road accident.

In the below table it shown that, according to WHO and Pines Salomon Injury Lawyers (USA) a private firm in USA the reason of the major road accident occur due to. Pines Salomon Injury Lawyers (USA) is a private insurance firm according to them the factor for the road accident in US

Reliable data on traffic crashes is crucial for effective action on road safety. Without hard facts about the scale of the problem, the exposure to crash risks and the effectiveness of policies the problems cannot be addressed at the core.

In US 80% of accident occur due to distract driving and in whole world it’s due to speeding.

By given factor due to which road accident takes place maximum of factors can be eliminated by Autonomous Vehicle.

Table: List of accident in world and U.S.A

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5. Road Safety Data (Germany)

In 2015, Germany recorded an increase in road deaths to 3 459, a 2.5% increase over 2014. This is equivalent to a mortality rate of 4.3 per 100 000 inhabitants. Pedestrians, car occupants and in particular motorcyclists were most affected by this increase. However, provisional data from 2016 shows a 7% decrease in fatalities to 3 214. Since 2000, fatalities on the roads have been reduced by 54%, although injury crashes have not benefitted from the same level of improvement.

5.1 Road Accidental fatalities and Injuries

Between 1991 and 2015, the number of fatalities decreased by 70%, whereas the number of injury crashes fell by only 20.6%. In recent years (2000-15), the number of fatalities decreased by 54%. While the number of seriously injured decreased only by 34%. The decreased in the number of crashes and fatalities is due to various changes in all fields of road safety traffic safety-related behavior and education as well as infrastructure and vehicle safety. The improvement in road safety are due to several measures taken and regulations introduced in the past 10 years like road safety education in school, accompanied driving proramme and alcohol prohibition for novice drivers, road safety audits and treatment of accident black spots.

Since 1991, the death rate per 100.000 inhabitants has decreased by 70%, while the number of vehicles registered per 1000 inhabitants has increased by 22%.

Figure 5.1 Road Accidents in Germany

5.2 Road fatalities by road user group

Germany is one the world’s most highly motorized countries. Fatalities among motor vehicle occupants and pedestrians have gradually decreased since 1991, with the reduction being strongest for passenger car occupants (-76%).

In 2015, an increase in the number of fatalities was observed among pedestrians (+2.7%), car occupants (+2.9%) and motorcyclists (+8.9%).

The strong reduction in fatalities was observed for moped riders (-28.7%), with a more moderate improvement for cyclist (-3.3%)

5.3 Economic Costs of Traffic Crashes

Traffic crashes represent a significant cost for society, estimated in 2015 at around EUR 34.4 billion, or 1.1% of Germany’s GDP. It is estimated that since 2005 crash costs have increased by 9%. These figures do not include an estimation of costs of non-reported crashes.

5.4 Road User Behavior

Speed: Inappropriate speed was a factor in nearly 34% of fatal crashes and about 15% of injury crashes in 2015. Speed is often cited as a factor in combination with other high-risk behavior, such as drink driving.

Drink and Driving: Driving with blood alcohol content (BAC) over 0.5 g/l is punishable by a fine, license suspension and possibly jail. In addition, drivers with a BAC between 0.3 g/l and 0.5 g/l can have their license suspended if their driving ability is impaired. In 2015, alcohol use was cited as a contributing factor in 7.2% of all fatal crashes. The number of alcohol related crashes and fatalities have decreased continuously over recent years by 12% and 25% respectively since 2010.

Drug and Driving: In 2015, there were 1 679 drug-related crashes in Germany causing 43 fatalities and 2 304 injuries. The figures have risen from the 2000 level of 1 015, both from possible increased drug use as well as better education within the police agencies on detecting the influence of drugs.

Distraction: Estimation of fatalities due to the use of mobile phones, based on the official accident statistics, is not possible, since mobile phone use is not assessed in the course of the collection of crash data by the police agencies.

6. Methodology

In this section of the report, the research design and methodology used will be elaborated upon. First, section 6.1 will discuss the way in which data is collected, after which section 6.2 will discuss how the collected data will be analyzed in order to come to results. Afterwards, the chapter implications will be discussed.

6.1 Data Collection

Data was collected over a time period of approximately one month during this research project. In survey were used to collect the data, but different target audiences were addressed. The data collected in survey was required for answering the User views towards Autonomous Vehicle.

6.2 Survey or interview

In the first part of this research, 12 question interviews, lasting approximately 7-8 minutes, will be conducted. Since getting a representative sample of the entire population would require a much larger sample size, which is impractical mainly due to time constraints, this thesis research focuses specifically on a younger audience. This group of people is deemed to be more interesting, as they are more likely to have an interest in Autonomous cars and to have developed a mental model of the technology for themselves. Another reason why this target group is selected is the fact that younger people are more likely to come in contact with Autonomous cars in the future, as the technology might still take some time to mature.

A survey was conducted in which 13 candidates took part in it. The questions during this survey were open in nature, 12 questions were asked in the survey. Among that the question asked in end of this survey, the candidates were presented with a table of previously identified factors, and asked to rank the 5 most important factors influencing their personal acceptance of self-driving cars.

In order to answer the second research question, the findings and conclusions of the first research question were used in combination with questions asked during the survey about the role of the government and the manufacturers, leading to a number of implications for these parties.

References

1. Davis, F. D. (1985). A Technology Acceptance Model for Empirically Testing New End-User Information Systems: Theory and Results. (Ph.d), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
2. Dillon, A., & Morris, M. G. (1996). User Acceptance of Information Technology: Theories and Models. Annuel Review of Information Science and Technology, 31, 3-32.
3. Autonomous Vehicle Implementation Predictions Implications for Transport Planning By Todd Litman Victoria Transport Policy Institute
4. USER ACCEPTANCE OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES: FACTORS AND IMPLICATIONS by J. KAAN
5. THEORIES ABOUT TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE: WHY THE USERS ACCEPT OR REJECT THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY- Brazilian Journal Information Science
6. User Acceptance Of Computer Technology: A Comparison Of Two Davis, Fred D.; Bagozzi, Richard P.; Warshaw, Paul R.Management Science; Aug 1989; 35, 8; ABI/INFORM Global pg. 982
7. USER ACCEPTANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: TOWARD A UNIFIED VIEW- By: Viswanath Venkatesh
8. Current challenges in autonomous driving I Barabás1*, A Todoruț1, N Cordoș1, A Molea1 1Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Mechanics, Department of Automotive Engineering and Transports, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.Istvan.barabas@auto.utcluj.ro
9. Autonomous Driving Technical, legal and Social Aspects-Markus Maurer, J.Christian Gerdes, Barbara Lenz, Hermann Winner
10. Autonomous Vehicles: Navigating the legal and regulatory issues of a driver less world- MCCA GLOBAL TEC FORAM
11. User Acceptance of Information Technology: Theories and Models Andrew Dillon and Michael G. Morris https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~adillon/BookChapters/User%20acceptance.htm
12. Prediction of User Acceptance and Adoption of Smart Phone for Learning with Technology Acceptance Model -Yong-Wee Sek, Siong-Hoe Lau, Kung-Keat Teoh, Check-Yee Law and Shahril Bin Parumo https://scialert.net/fulltextmobile/?doi=jas.2010.2395.2402
13. Acceptance of Driverless Vehicles: Results from a Large Cross-National Questionnaire Study= : Emanuele Crisostomi https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jat/2018/5382192/
14. The impact of Autonomous Vehicles on marketers and the environment- Trinity Global Marketing Management consultant https://www.trinityp3.com/2017/02/autonomous-vehicles-marketers-environment/
15. How the self-driving car might make our cities better and greener https://www.treehugger.com/urban-design/how-self-driving-car-might-make-our-cities-better-and-greener.html
16. On the future of transportation in an era of automated and autonomous vehicles P. A. Hancock, Illah Nourbakhsh, and Jack Stewart https://www.pnas.org/content/116/16/7684
17. USER ACCEPTANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: THEORIES AND MODELS by Andrew Dillon1, Michael G. Morris2 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277983543_User_Acceptance_of_Information_Technology_Theories_and_Models
18. This paper has been published as: Huijts, N.M.A., Molin, E.J.E. & Steg, L. (2012). Psychological factors influencing sustainable energy technology acceptance: A review-based comprehensive framework. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251670444_Psychological_factors_influencing_sustainable_energy_technology_acceptance_A_review-based_comprehensive_framework
19. Consumer Acceptance of Autonomous Vehicle
20. Road Safety Annual Report 2017 OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/irtad-2017-en

Emotional Development

Emotional development is a process that a child develops from dependence to a fully functioning adult and applies to most life forms. The study of emotional development has made great strides since the 1970s. Prior to this period, emotions in infancy were viewed as diffuse responses of physiological arousal to changes in stimulation. Emotions were not necessarily linked to specific psychological states in the infant, but rather viewed for the effects they had on caregiver behavior. Theories regarding the development of emotions were linked to traditional psychoanalytical approaches. For example, infant wary responses to unfamiliar adults around 9 months of age were called “stranger anxiety”, and these “anxious” responses were viewed as a function of potential object loss (e.g., loss of a love object such as the mother) (Hopkin 2005).

Alternative models of the development of emotion behavior approached the subject from an operand learning perspective suggesting that crying and smiling responses were a function of conditioning and reinforcement. There were exceptions to these two views, of course. Bronson (1972) wrote on the origins of fear in the young infant, carefully describing the stimulus conditions that could elicit fear, the behaviors that reflected this emotion, and its developmental course. During the first three years, there is rapid development of complex emotional states. These states may involve the expression of discrete facial expressions, or they may involve more prolonged mood states (e.g.empathy or sympathy). Development of emotional life in the first years appears to involve three motivating forces.

Firstly, discrete emotions emerge along basic motivational continua of approach and withdrawal to novelty and uncertainty. Disgust, fear, interest, and joy all appear early in life, and are the result of the infant’s fundamental hedonic responses to stimulus intensity and novelty. Fear or wariness is a response to novelty of perceived threat. That is, with development, infants may appraise certain situations as threatening and hence respond with wariness or fear.

Secondly, emotions emerge as a function of social interaction. Social smiling and anger are two discreet and distinct emotions surfacing early in the first year of life that are a result of social interaction. Sadness, as well, is a result of the loss of positive social interaction.

The third force is the emerging ability to monitor behavior and particularly to self-monitor responses. The development of self-control is paralleled by an increasing appreciation of the self. Self-conscious emotions that involve threats to the self emerge with that increasing self-appreciation. Emotional development involves not only the emergence of specific emotions, but also the development of abilities to understand and appropriately communicate emotions. By the end of the first two years, infants display a rich array of emotions that guide their own behavior, as well as that of those in their social sphere (Hopkin, 2005).

As this social context expands, the toddler participates fully in emotional communication, and through these interactions obtains a rudimentary understanding of emotion labels and the situations that generate these emotions. During the preschool years, their knowledge of the causes and consequences of emotion expand along with their understanding of the rules that govern their expression. Each of these interrelated emotion abilities is a component of emotional competence, a developmental goal that is vital in understanding one’s own experiences and negotiating successful interactions with others. The study of the development of emotion will benefit from future research in three areas of work.

Firstly, developmental psychologists recognize the need for specificity in describing both the stimulus and the context in which the stimulus is presented when eliciting emotion responses. Secondly, multiple levels of measurement will enhance the study of emotion. In particular, use of physiological responses provides a means for examining reactions to stimulus events in the absence of self or verbal report. Physiological changes coupled with overt behavioral signs of emotion are solid indicators, which together may be used to study emotional development in pre-verbal infants and young children. Thirdly, research in affective neuroscience with adults will lead the way in identifying brain areas underlying different emotions and mood states. Such data may serve as clues for examining the underlying developing brain structures responsible for normative emotional behavior (Hopkin, 2005).

Developmental work will provide important information on the effects of early experience on the development of these brain regions and the emotional behaviors they support. Finally, a hallmark in the development of emotions is the emergence of control or regulation of emotions over the course of childhood. The study of emotional regulation will benefit from all of the areas mentioned above: greater specificity of definition and context, use of multiple measures including psycho physiological assessment, and evidence from adult research on emotion control and the underlying brain structures supporting such control. Together, they will provide the means for the scientific study of emotion and the development of its regulation.

The Four Stages of Emotional Development

1. Co-dependence (0-2 years old): When children are first born they are defenseless and totally dependent on their parents for survival as their mind is almost empty with only enough capacity to just survive, with assistance.
2. Counter-dependence (2-4 years old): This stage is known in the Western World as the “terrible twos”. This is the stage of development where the child wants and needs to assert its ability to interact with its environment.
3. Independence (4-7 years old): By the time a child completes this stage they can fully function on their own. They do not need anyone else and in fact they prefer and defend this position. “Go away”, “let me do it”, “I do not need help” are common themes of children at this stage.
4. Inter-dependence (7+ years old): The final stage a child needs to master happens effectively after the three previous development stages and now they can be independent but choose when they want to interact and socialize with others for work, personal or entertainment reasons.

Types of Emotions

The eight basic emotions are:

• Fear – feeling of being afraid, frightened, scared.
• Anger – feeling angry or rage
• Sadness – feeling sad. ( sorrow and grief)
• Joy -feeling happy or gladness
• Disgust – feeling something is wrong or nasty.
• Surprise – being unprepared for something.
• Trust – a positive emotion; admiration is stronger; acceptance is weaker.
• Anticipation – looking forward positively to something which is going to happen.

Social and emotional intelligence can be defined by the following criteria:

• Accurate conscious perception and monitoring of one’s emotions.
• Modification of emotions so that their expression is appropriate. This involves the capacity to self-soothe personal anxiety and to shake off hopelessness and gloom.
• Accurate recognition of and response to emotions in others.
• Skill in negotiating close relationships with others.
• Capacity for focusing emotions (motivation) toward a desired goal. This involves delayed gratification and adaptive displacing and channeling impulse.

Children have some of their first experiences with internal affective states, including anger, fear, anxiety, and happiness, in the context of their relationships with their parents. Moreover, the quality and intensity of children’s emotional experiences are affected by the quality of their relationships with their parents. Parents may be highly influential in children’s regulation of their affect (Kopp, 1982; 1989). Chronic experience with enduring and intense negative emotions can be excessively challenging to the capacities of young children to regulate their emotions, and children with less than secure relationships with parents may have more frequent and difficult experiences with fluctuating and unpredictable affective states. Emotionality is also a significant dimension of parent-child interactions and relationships.

Children care givers are the children first teachers as far as emotional intelligence is concerned. They are in the best position to help the little ones develop these essential skills. A well developed emotional intelligence can be the deciding factor for success in adulthood. There’s a strong connection between emotional intelligence and the ability to form and maintain relationships, so besides teaching them to read, write and count, developing and enhancing their emotional intelligence is one of the most valuable gifts you can give them. Some children are born with a high emotional intelligence, while others are not in tune with their emotions. These qualities can be taught and they include the following; self-awareness, empathy, trust, mindfulness, curiosity, acceptance, and listening and they all start at home. How a parent models these qualities has a direct impact on a child’s emotional intelligence development.

Self-awareness

Self-awareness is the first and most important skill to master as it incorporates and supports all other emotional intelligence skills. For toddlers, learning through constructive play is effective. Self-acceptance and self-love are taught by doing activities that draw awareness to the child’s body parts and height. Emphasis needs to be on noticing body parts and their amazing uses. Activities that encourage children to express how they feel about a variety of scenarios are also helpful in teaching self-awareness skills. When chatting to your little one about how she feels, create a fun environment and ask open-ended questions. Find out what makes her happy, angry or sad.

Role play is also a great idea − use puppets, dolls or stuffed toys to play out scenes and feelings. Toddlers who learn to recognize, understand and manage their emotions are able to enjoy happier, more constructive friendships as well as concentrate and learn more effectively. An improvement in self-awareness within a loving and age-appropriate environment should lead to improved self-esteem. The more comfortable a child is with himself/herself, the more comfortable he/ she will be integrating and connecting socially with other children.

Empathy

The benefits of emotional intelligence include the ability to empathize with the feelings of others, understanding how to respond and having the emotional skills to deal with life’s challenges. Toddlers generally believe that the world revolves around them, so learning to empathize will help them see beyond their self centered bubble.

Trust

When children feels secure, it will be easier for them to trust their environment. This sense of security, or lack thereof, is based on the relationship they have with parents and caregivers. When you create a safe space for a child to express himself/herself, he/she will feel more confident and trust will grow. Trust is learned from birth and starts with the baby’s needs being me.

Acceptance

Acceptance begins with you accepting all your child’s emotions, and reflecting them. it’s normal for a child to feel angry or frustrated, but this does not mean they can behave how they please. This is where they learn to understand, but also control, their emotions and body. A conscious approach to parenting, allows space for the realm of emotions that can be experienced by your child. When a child tries something new, he /she will look to the parent for support. As a parent, it’s normal to want to jump in when your child is experiencing discomfort, but this won’t help him learn independence. It’s OK to take a step back and let him figure it out on his own. Allowing him to experience discomfort will teach him to work through his emotions, and if you focus on his effort rather than the outcome, he will feel accepted.

Curiosity

Children are naturally curious, so pay attention to your little one’s interests and get involved. Children are likely to do what their parents do, so leading by example is the best way to encourage a sense of adventure in your kid. When you explain new things and point out interesting situations, you teach your child about his world and stimulate an interest in learning and understanding new things, which will stay with him later on.

Mindfulness

Training our minds to be still and in the moment allows us to be present. Children aren’t generally worried about the past or future, so this is easy for them to do. Teach your little one to be more mindful by bringing your attention back to your immediate surroundings whenever your thoughts drift. This will teach her to adopt a mindful approach to life.

Listening

The best way to teach your child this skill is by applying it yourself. When your child has something to say, give her your undivided attention. Listening to your little one is also a gift to you, as you gain more insight into who your child is and this lets her know that she matters. Listening to what your child is saying and making eye contact, without interrupting, will also make him/her learn to listen and wait patiently while others are talking. If she interrupts, gently remind her to listen when others are talking.

References

1. Brian H.,Ronald G.,George F. & Philippe R. (2005): The Cambridge Encyclopedia of child Development.Cambridge University Press
2. James S., Menas S.,Virginia S. & Pedro R. ( 2015): Kaplan & Sadock’s;Behavioral Sciences/Clinical Psychiatry (11th ed.).New York

The need for acceptance is a deep, human condition that affects individuals regardless of their ethnic, cultural, or religious backgrounds. This human need begins throughout infancy and birth because infants depend on love, empathy, and acceptance provided by parents. If that infant is not accepted throughout their childhood, they will then become vulnerable and will constantly crave acceptance from anyone. This powerful influence often comes to a point of crisis around the age of sixteen, due to the numerous changes within society. This essay will explore the issue in more thorough depth and detail.

“You accept that, as a fallible human being, you are less than perfect. You will often perform well, but you will also err at times… You always and unconditionally accept yourself without judgment” (Grieger, 2013).

Self-acceptance is understood to be an individual’s acceptance of one’s personal attributes, both positive and negative. Self-acceptance affects teenagers of the 21st century because, according to the Harvard Health Publishing Blog (2016), “We develop our self-esteem, in part, from others appreciating us, people with low self-acceptance may have had parents who lacked in empathy during their childhood”. Numerous teens deal with the difficulty of accepting themselves, as a result, teens are utilizing various texts, including blogs, novels, TV series, and poems, to help deal with this current struggle. Self-acceptance is important for authors to convey realistically throughout their texts. The texts ‘What Is Self-Acceptance’, ‘My Strengths and Weaknesses’, and ‘The Gifts of Imperfection’ all portray why accepting one’s self is vital. This essay will analyze and evaluate how self-acceptance is portrayed throughout these texts, as well as evaluate how the authors have employed literary devices to position the audience.

The ability to fully accept one’s self is to not only embrace the positives but also embrace the negatives, as they both make up the foundation of an individual. True self-acceptance is when an individual embraces their true and authentic self without any conditions, exceptions, or qualifications. Accepting the negatives is not simple, it is not easy to accept the aspects that individuals desperately try to change. However, until these features are accepted, the process of meaningful self-improvement cannot begin. For instance, ‘What Is Self-Acceptance’, provided by Positive Psychology Program, utilizes concise language to get the true meaning of self-acceptance through to readers, “an individual’s acceptance of all of his/her attributes, positive or negative” (Positive Psychology Program, 2018). This definition emphasizes the significance of accepting all assets of one’s self, as it is not enough to simply embrace the good, valuable, and positive, but the bad, less desirable and negatives must also be embodied. Throughout the blog, Positive Psychology Program utilized rhetorical questions to position the audience. Rhetorical questions that were used included: “Do you accept yourself?” and “Don’t we all accept ourselves as a regular part of living our day-to-day lives?” (Positive Psychology Program, 2018). From the inclusion of rhetorical questions, the overall point of accepting one’s self was further emphasized as it caught the audience’s attention and got them thinking. In contrast, self-acceptance isn’t only about accepting all attributes, but also finding that true inner strength inside.

All teenagers of the 21st century have an inner strength, which then leads to self-acceptance. Finding self-acceptance requires embracing the present self and letting go of the past self to step out of comfort zones and overcome hardships. It is vital to separate an individual from who they are from what they have done, as it is about understanding that everyone makes mistakes, but that is how learning and growing occur. For instance, ‘My Strengths and Weaknesses’ by Dr. Ram Mehta is a poem about his personal self-acceptance journey. Mehta utilizes point of view to position readers to understand how true self-acceptance can be found. The verse, “I accepted all challenges to my large family life, self-acceptance came from meeting challenges. As a result of that, I went beyond all of them. Learnt, the greatest success is successful acceptance” (Mehta, 2018). This verse is an example of the literary technique, point of view, as it emphasizes that all challenges must be accepted for that is where self-acceptance arises from. In contrast, self-acceptance is about accepting one’s self regardless of past decisions but letting their true self be seen.

If anything, true self-acceptance is about displaying one’s raw and authentic self to others without feeling ashamed or embarrassed. Within today’s society courage is required to speak about insecurities, as a result, bravery is then necessary to live authentically with one’s imperfections. Teenagers strive to appear perfect, however, the truth is no one will ever be perfect. Everyone is different and unique, meaning these differences should be accepted within society. ‘The Gifts of Imperfections’ by Brene Brown is a book based on accepting one’s imperfections. There is a quote in the novel: “Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen” (Brown, 2018). This quote emphasizes the true significance of accepting one’s self, as it is important to not live in the shadow of others but in the sunshine of one’s own authentic self. Brown utilizes the literary technique of repetition within this quote, to further emphasize that it is the individual’s own choice to accept their flaws. It positions the audience to understand that every day is a choice, that teenagers can choose to be real and authentic or they can simply hide their true selves.

In conclusion, the authors’ attempts at emphasizing the importance of embracing all attributes, finding that inner strength, and living authentically were all effective. All three texts represented key components of self-acceptance while providing further insight into why it’s so vital for teenagers to truly accept themselves. Always remember, “You really have to look inside yourself and find your own inner strength, and say, ‘I’m proud of what I am and who I am, and I’m just going to be myself’” (Carey, 2018).

Many today enter into relationships and insist over and over again that their partners are perfect, but soon the intimacy of marriage starts to reveal faults and habits that irritates them. They begin to say marriage life would be more enjoyable if their partners would conform to their ideas of how a perfect mate should order their lives.

Accepting your mate means you view your partner as a person of worth, and that you like him/her as he/she is and can respect his/her right to be dissimilar from you. Allow him/her to posses his/her feelings about matters, thus accepting his/her attitudes of the moment no matter how they may differ from yours.

It is highly rewarding to accept someone just as he/she is even though it is not easy to do. Before we take our relationship to another level, we are to ask ourselves some questions like: “Can we accept them when they look at life’s problems differently than we do? Can we permit to have separate likes and dislikes than us? Can we accept them when they feel angry towards us? Can we respect their right to choose their beliefs and develop their own values?”

In life accepting others doesn’t come that easy because of the common resistance to allow our loved ones to feel differently about particular issues than we do. Yet the right of an individual to use his experience in his own way and to discover his own meanings, is one of the most priceless possibilities in life. One may ask at this point if one should pretend that his/her mate is perfect? I would say a big no to that. This is because acceptance is recognizing the imperfections of your partner and yet you don’t concern yourself with them but accepts him/her as he/she is.

Most people feel that they have been practicing acceptance of their partners when all they have done is tolerating them instead. They keep on mastering the strength to restrain criticism of their partners and continue their grimaces in a long painful silence. Every human can sense when he/she is merely being tolerated rather than being accepted. If we can start from this day to control critical remarks about our partners before we freely state them, then we may take the very first step towards accepting them.

It is important for one in his quest to accepting others, have the ability to accept himself first, because self-acceptance helps one to become more aware of others’ needs and feelings. This will help us to become more content to ourselves and to let others to be themselves.

Acceptance

Social acceptance means that other people signal that they willing to include you in their groups and relationships (Leary, 2010). Social acceptance takes place on a continuum that ranges from simply tolerating another person’s presence to actively pursuing someone as a relationship partner.

Learning acceptance is a lifelong process, and we are guaranteed to be given plenty of opportunities to practice. With clarity about what it means to accept and what effect it has on our wellbeing, we can approach our experiences differently, possibly experiencing different results. Failing to accept reality creates suffering where there’s already a pain. It creates confusion where there can be clarity, grief where there can be peace. We don’t accept things to change what’s happening, nor do we do it to feel better about it. We accept because it’s the only logical thing to do. (DeWall, 2010).

Being not accepted is associated with poor mental health, exclusion and mental health problems can join together in a negative loop. Lack of acceptance can make people have depression and they may face exclusion more often because of the symptoms of their disorder and being rejected makes them more depressed, DeWall (2011). People with social anxiety navigate their world constantly worried about being socially rejected. A feeling of exclusion can also contribute to suicide and the feeling of not being valued.

Deafness

Deaf identity is also often tied to sign languages and the social connections built on the shared experience with the use of sign language. For example, deaf people habitually come together in deaf spaces, sporting events, and gatherings to rejoice their cultural identity and the experience is often grounded in the shared use of sign language. Identification with the Deaf Community that uses sign language creates a broader community of language users. Its membership is not often defined by hearing loss, although deaf people may also have a range of hearing losses and other impairments as in the wider community, but rather by identity with language. This is a personal choice and yet this opportunity is not continuously available for young deaf people and adults. Members encompass all people who are committed to the use and fluency of sign languages, such as parents and family members of deaf people, sign language interpreters, sign language learners, and teachers. (Silva, 2004).

Background of the study

According to Horejes (2007) In the 1860s, Alexander Graham Bell was a prominent oralist, and to some, a significant figure in the spreading of audism the belief that it is inherently better to be able to speak and hear. Although he confidently thought otherwise, he had an ugly relationship with the Deaf community.

Also in 1880, pressed by talks between Bell and other prominent figures in deaf education, 164 representatives met for the Another International Congress on Education of the Deaf and only one of the delegates was deaf. At the conference, a resolution was passed that excluded sign language in schools, with the aim to encourage spoken language skills, and thus restore the deaf-mute to society. Other ways in the resolution desire us to consider the superiority of speech over signs and argue that teaching deaf people to speak English will give them a more perfect knowledge of language. After its passage, schools in Europe and the United States stopped all use of sign language. This shows that there is an undermining of sign language across the globe. (Horejes, 2007).

According to America (1998), in other countries, deaf people face discrimination and are not able to marry, inherit property, vote, or become elected, become a jury member or reproduce children. Deaf people are often underprivileged from participation in political life due to poor accessibility, and lack of information in sign language on political affairs debates and questions. Because they are unequally treated in this respect they are unable to make informed choices and many become politically inactive.

Also, there are still some countries that do not allow deaf people to obtain a driver’s license. By so doing, it limits their employment opportunities, freedom of movement and right of entry to various social grounds and life in general. Although these countries do not have legislation that openly prohibits and prejudices, a common practice by the traffic authorities or other institutions handling driver’s licenses and driver training seems to be the major obstacle against deaf people obtaining a driver’s license. It is important to note that there are no known reports that deaf drivers are a threat to other road users in the countries where deaf people are allowed to obtain a driver’s license, or that they are involved in more traffic accidents or injuries than the general population. ( America, L., Caribbean, T., & Africa, S. (1998).

Theoretical framework

Social justice theory

The study will be directed by the social justice theory which was formulated by John Rawls. The theory states that there should be equality and equity among all people. The social justice theory puts it forward that society should value diversity and eliminate injustice and bigotry in society. The theory drives forward the argument that there should be equality and equity among all people. Also, Social justice is concerned with the behaviors in which benefits and burdens are distributed among the members of society equally. This includes the fairness in which society provides, protects and recognizes the means and qualities individuals require to both determine a conception of and live, a good life (Walker, 2003). Eggen and Kauchak, (2014) repeated this stating that, people should not be categorized against based on any disability they may have, cultural background or social class.

The points Rawls considers important are: All people have the right to formal equality of opportunity. This requires all people to have the same legal rights and have equivalent access to greater social positions. According to formal equality of opportunity, the applicant who is most qualified according to the appropriate criteria is offered the position and people cannot be discriminated against for subjective qualities like race, gender, or sexual orientation. All people have unalienable ‘basic rights’ such as freedom of speech, religion, and association. The right to association refers to the right to freely join or leave groups of a person’s choosing.

How the theory is relevant to the study

This theory is relevant to the study because it emphasizes more on equality which is the basic thing needed to facilitate the communities. The theory reminds us that disability does not mean inability, therefore, deaf people also can do other things better than gearing people, therefore, there should be given equal opportunities like hearing people. Deaf people should be given equal access to job opportunities and be treated equally like every person in the community.

Theoretical model

Bio ecological system theory

The study will also be informed by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory which defines multifaceted ‘layers’ of environment, each affecting a child’s development. According to Addison (1992) the interaction between factors in the child’s maturing biology, his immediate family/community environment, and the societal landscape fuels and steers his development. Changes or conflict in any one layer will ripple throughout other layers. To study a child’s development then, we must look not only at the child and her immediate environment but also at the interaction of the larger environment as well.

The child development may be influenced by 4 systems being the micro, meso, Exo and macro systems. The microsystem is the layer closest to the child and contains the structures with which the child has direct contact. The microsystem includes the relationships and interactions a child has with her immediate surroundings Structures in the microsystem consist of family, school, neighborhood, or childcare environments. (Berk, 2000).

The mesosystem level provides the interaction between the structures of the child’s microsystem for example, the connection between the child’s teacher and his parents and neighborhood. The exosystem labels the greater social system in which the child does is not involved directly. The structures in this layer impact the child’s development by interacting with some structure in their microsystem. Examples include Parent workplace schedules or community-based family resources. The child may not be directly involved at this level, but he does feel the positive or negative force involved with the interaction with his system. (Berk, 2000).

Exo system defines the larger social system in which the child does not function directly. The

Structures in this layer impact the child’s development by interacting with some structure in their microsystem. Examples may be Parent workplace schedules or community-based family resources. The child may not be directly involved at this level, but he does feel the positive or negative force involved with the interaction with their system, (Bronfenbrenner 2005).

According to Bronfenbrenner (2005), Macrosystem is the furthest layer in the child’s environment.it comprises of cultural values, customs, and laws. The implications of superior principles defined by the macrosystem have a flowing influence throughout the interactions of other layers. For example, if it is the belief of the culture that parents should be responsible for raising their children, that culture is less likely to provide resources to help parents.

How the theory is relevant to the study

The theory is relevant to the study because it shows the various levels at which the child has interactions to grow well. This theory applies to all children including those who are deaf and hard of hearing. For them to function fully they have to be involved in all levels of social interaction mentioned in the theory. Deaf children need to be accepted in all areas of interaction so that they grow well and have access to a wide range of opportunities at a younger age even when they are mature.

Theoretical model

Statement of the problem

It seems to be a lack of acceptance of deaf and hard of hearing people by hearing individuals in most communities. The factors leading to this lack of acceptance may include misconceptions about Deafness and people’s attitudes towards deaf people. Hearing people do not consider sign language as a type of language and they take hearing impairment as a disability but not as a language difference. They also feel that deaf and hard of hearing people cannot do anything like hearing people. Again hearing people feel that Deaf people cannot be independent and contribute to society and those misconceptions and negative attitudes towards Deafness lead to a lack of acceptance of deaf people. As a result, deaf people are not receiving appropriate help in different institutions and most of them are unemployed because hearing people are not willing to work with them. These misconceptions need to be removed and people should be made aware of deafness so that they can accept deaf people.

Purpose of the study

The purpose of the study is to investigate how deaf people are treated in different communities and the effects of how they are treated. Also, the purpose of the study is to find ways in which the awareness about deafness can be raised in different communities so that deaf people may be accepted.

Research objectives

• to find out how hearing people interact and feel about deaf people
• to find out how deaf people feel about not being accepted in different communities
• to find out ways of raising awareness about deafness so that deaf people may be accepted

Research question

• What hearing people know and understand about deafness?
• How deaf people feel about spending time in the community mostly occupied by hearing people?
• Are hearing people willing to work with deaf people?
• What can be done to raise awareness about deafness?
• How do deaf people receive help in different institutions?

Research hypothesis

Null hypothesis: there will be no significant difference between the deaf and hard of hearing people.

Alternative hypothesis: some deaf people can do better than hearing people if they are fairly treated in the communities.

Significance of the study

This study is significant because the findings from the study can be used to determine the level of acceptance of deaf people by hearing people in different communities. This will also help to raise awareness about deafness and to wipe out the misconceptions after the findings of the level of acceptance are set up. Deaf people will benefit from the study because after the awareness they may be recognized in most societies hence receiving appropriate help and treatment like every individual. People will know more about deafness and recognize that deaf people also have different talents and abilities like any other human being.

Assumptions

Hearing people are too ignorant, they are not willing to learn ways of dealing with deaf people.

Limitations

Limited time: time is a limitation that is uncontrollable, the semester is not enough to do the whole chapter of the research because the focus is not only on the research, and other courses are also demanding, therefore, there is no enough time to do the research. We also have to ask permission from the University of Botswana and the relevant stakeholder who we are working with and this is a process because sometimes they take time to respond.

Lack of funding: funds are also important when researching traveling to the areas we are working at. Due to a lack of funds, it was difficult to visit many social institutions for my research.

Deliminations

The study population is very limited because it will be done in Gaborone but there are many different deaf people around the country, therefore, the study is not general due to a narrowed to a small population of deaf people.

References

1. Addison, J. T. (1992). Urie Bronfenbrenner. Human Ecology, 20(2), 16-20.
2. America, L., Caribbean, T., & Africa, S. (1998). Government Implementation of the Standard Rules As Seen By Member Organizations of World Federation of the Deaf-WFD
3. Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). On the nature of bioecological theory and research, Handbook of child psychology 6 (1) 793–828
4. DeWall. C.N, Bushman. B.J (2011) Social Acceptance and Rejection: the Sweet and the Bitter, Social Acceptance and Rejection
5. DeWall, C.N., Twenge, J.M., Bushman, B.J., C., & Williams, K.D. (2010). Acceptance by one differs from acceptance by none: Applying social impact theory to the rejection–aggression link. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 1, 168–174
6. Eggen, P., & Kauchak, D. (2014). Educational Psychology Windows on classrooms. England:
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8. Horejes, T., & O’Brien, C. (2016). Language attitudes: Oralism vs. manualism, the deaf studies encyclopedia 3(3), 13-23
9. Leary, M.R., Kowalski, R.M., Smith, L., & Phillips, S. (2003). Teasing, rejection, and violence: Case studies of the school shootings. Aggressive Behavior, 29, 202–21
10. Silva. U. M, Daugherty. M, MacDonald. M, (2004) Deaf is Dandy: Contrasting the Deaf and Hearing Cultures, Intercultural Communication Studies
11. Walker, P. (2003). Social justice campaigns. Journal for Multicultural Education, 5.