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1722full Download PDF of Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach 13th Edition (Ebook PDF) All Chapter
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Contents vii
The Dynamics of Poverty versus the Culture of Poverty 257 African Americans 290
RISING EXPECTATIONS AND CIVIL STRIFE 291 •
Why Are People Poor? 257
CONTINUED GAINS 291 • CURRENT LOSSES 292 •
Deferred Gratification 257 RACE OR SOCIAL CLASS? A SOCIOLOGICAL DEBATE 292
Where Is Horatio Alger? The Social Functions • RACISM AS AN EVERYDAY BURDEN 293
of a Myth 259 Asian Americans 293
Peering into the Future: Will We Live in a Three-Tier A BACKGROUND OF DISCRIMINATION 293 •
Society? 260 DIVERSITY 294 • REASONS FOR FINANCIAL
SUCCESS 294 • POLITICS 294
Summary and Review 261
Native Americans 295
Thinking Critically about Chapter 8 262
DIVERSITY OF GROUPS 295 • FROM TREATIES TO
GENOCIDE AND POPULATION TRANSFER 295 • THE
INVISIBLE MINORITY AND SELF-DETERMINATION 296 •
9 Race and Ethnicity 263 THE CASINOS 296 • DETERMINING IDENTITY AND GOALS 297
Looking toward the Future 297
Laying the Sociological Foundation 265
The Immigration Controversy 297
Race: Reality and Myth 265
The Affirmative Action Controversy 299
THE REALITY OF HUMAN VARIETY 265 • THE MYTH OF
A BRIEF HISTORY 299 • SUPREME COURT
PURE RACES 265 • THE MYTH OF A FIXED NUMBER OF
RULINGS 299 • THE BAMBOO CURTAIN 299 •
RACES 266 • THE MYTH OF RACIAL SUPERIORITY 267 •
THE POTENTIAL SOLUTION 299
THE MYTH CONTINUES 268
Less Racism 300
Ethnic Groups 269
Toward a True Multicultural Society 300
Minority Groups and Dominant Groups 269
NOT SIZE, BUT DOMINANCE AND DISCRIMINATION 269 • Summary and Review 300
EMERGENCE OF MINORITY GROUPS 269 Thinking Critically about Chapter 9 302
Ethnic Work: Constructing Our Racial–Ethnic Identity 270
Prejudice and Discrimination 270 10 Gender and Age 303
Learning Prejudice 270
Inequalities of Gender 305
DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN PREJUDICE AND
DISCRIMINATION 272 • LEARNING PREJUDICE FROM Issues of Sex and Gender 305
ASSOCIATING WITH OTHERS 272 • THE FAR-REACHING The Sociological Significance of Gender 305
NATURE OF PREJUDICE 273 • INTERNALIZING DOMINANT
Gender Differences in Behavior: Biology or Culture? 307
NORMS 275
The Dominant Position in Sociology 307
Individual and Institutional Discrimination 275
Opening the Door to Biology 307
HOME MORTGAGES 275 • HEALTH CARE 276
A MEDICAL ACCIDENT 307 • THE VIETNAM VETERANS
Theories of Prejudice 276 STUDY 308 • MORE RESEARCH ON HUMANS 308 •
Psychological Perspectives 277 IN SUM 309
FRUSTRATION AND SCAPEGOATS 277 • THE Gender Inequality in Global Perspective 312
AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY 277 How Did Females Become a Minority Group? 312
Sociological Perspectives 278 GLOBAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 313 • IN SUM 315
FUNCTIONALISM 278 • CONFLICT THEORY 278 •
Gender Inequality in the United States 315
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM 279 • HOW LABELS
CREATE PREJUDICE 279 • LABELS AND SELF-FULFILLING Fighting Back: The Rise of Feminism 315
STEREOTYPES 279 Gender Inequality in Health Care 318
x Contents
Aging in Global Perspective 331 The Conflict Perspective: The Power Elite 360
Extremes of Attitudes and Practices 331 IN SUM 360
INEVITABLE CONFLICT 387 • CHANGING POWER The Bright Side of Family Life: Successful Marriages 411
RELATIONS 387 SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGES 412
The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: Gender, The Future of Marriage and Family 412
Housework, and Child Care 388 Summary and Review 413
CHANGES IN TRADITIONAL GENDER ORIENTATIONS 388 •
Thinking Critically about Chapter 12 414
PAID WORK AND HOUSEWORK 388 • MORE CHILD
CARE 389 • TOTAL HOURS 389 • A GENDER DIVISION
13
OF LABOR 389
The Family Life Cycle 389
Education and Religion 415
Love and Courtship in Global Perspective 389 Education: Transferring Knowledge and Skills 417
Marriage 391 Education in Global Perspective 417
THE SOCIAL CHANNELS OF LOVE AND MARRIAGE 391 Education and Industrialization 418
Childbirth 392 INDUSTRIALIZATION AND MANDATORY EDUCATION 418 •
IDEAL FAMILY SIZE 392 • MARITAL SATISFACTION THE EXPANSION OF EDUCATION 418
AFTER CHILDBIRTH 394 Education in the Most Industrialized Nations:
Child Rearing 394 Japan 419
MARRIED COUPLES AND SINGLE MOTHERS 394 • Education in the Industrializing Nations: Russia 421
SINGLE FATHERS 394 • DAY CARE 394 • NANNIES 395 Education in the Least Industrialized Nations: Egypt 421
• SOCIAL CLASS 395 • HELICOPTER PARENTING 396 •
THE RIGHT WAY TO REAR CHILDREN 396 The Functionalist Perspective: Providing Social Benefits 422
Family transitions 397 Teaching Knowledge and Skills 422
TRANSITIONAL ADULTHOOD 397 • WIDOWHOOD 397 Cultural Transmission of Values 422
Diversity in U.S. Families 398 Social Integration 423
INTEGRATING IMMIGRANTS 423 • STABILIZING SOCIETY:
African American Families 398
MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO 423 • INTEGRATING PEOPLE
Latino Families 399 WITH DISABILITIES 423
Asian American Families 400 Gatekeeping (Social Placement) 423
Native American Families 400 Replacing Family Functions 424
IN SUM 400 IN SUM 424
One-Parent Families 401 The Conflict Perspective: Perpetuating Social Inequality 424
Couples without Children 401 The Hidden Curriculum: Reproducing the Social
Blended Families 402 Class Structure 424
Gay and Lesbian Families 402 Tilting the Tests: Discrimination by IQ 425
CHILDREN REARED BY GAY AND LESBIAN Stacking the Deck: Unequal Funding 425
COUPLES 403
The Bottom Line: Family Background 426
Trends in U.S. Families 403 REPRODUCING THE SOCIAL CLASS STRUCTURE 426 •
The Changing Timetable of Family Life: Marriage REPRODUCING THE RACIAL–ETHNIC STRUCTURE 426 •
and Childbirth 403 IN SUM 426
xii Contents
14 Population and Urbanization 451 15 Social Change and the Environment 488
Population in Global Perspective 453 How Social Change Transforms Social Life 490
A Planet with No Space for Enjoying Life? 453 The Four Social Revolutions 490
The New Malthusians 453 From Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft 490
Contents xiii
The Industrial Revolution and Capitalism 491 The New Technology: The Microchip and Social Life 502
Social Movements 492 COMPUTERS IN EDUCATION 502 • COMPUTERS IN
BUSINESS AND FINANCE 502 • COMPUTERS IN
Conflict, Power, and Global Politics 492
INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT 503
A BRIEF HISTORY OF GEOPOLITICS 492 • G7 PLUS 492 •
DIVIDING UP THE WORLD 492 • FOUR THREATS TO THIS Cyberspace and Social Inequality 505
COALITION OF POWERS 493 • THE GROWING RELEVANCE IN SUM 505
OF AFRICA 494 The Growth Machine versus the Earth 506
Theories and Processes of Social Change 494 The Globalization of Capitalism and the Race
Evolution from Lower to Higher 495 for Economic Growth 506
Natural Cycles 495 A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT 506
Conflict over Power and Resources 495 Environmental Problems and Industrialization 507
Ogburn’s Theory 496 TOXIC WASTES 507 • FOSSIL FUELS AND CLIMATE
CHANGE 508 • THE ENERGY SHORTAGE AND INTERNAL
INVENTION 496 • DISCOVERY 497 • DIFFUSION 497 •
COMBUSTION ENGINES 509 • THE RAIN FORESTS 510
CULTURAL LAG 497 • EVALUATION OF OGBURN’S
THEORY 497 The Environmental Movement 511
How Technology Is Changing Our Lives 498 Environmental Sociology 512
Extending Human Abilities 498 Technology and the Environment: The Goal
The Sociological Significance of Technology: How of Harmony 513
Technology Changes Social Life 499 Summary and Review 514
CHANGES IN PRODUCTION 499 • CHANGES IN Thinking Critically about Chapter 15 515
WORKER–OWNER RELATIONS 499 • CHANGES
IN IDEOLOGY 499 • CHANGES IN CONSPICUOUS
Epilogue: Why Major in Sociology? 516
CONSUMPTION 500 • CHANGES IN FAMILY
RELATIONSHIPS 500 Glossary G-1
When Old Technology Was New: The Impact References R-1
of the Automobile 500
DISPLACEMENT OF EXISTING TECHNOLOGY 500 •
Name Index N-1
EFFECTS ON CITIES 501 • CHANGES IN ARCHITEC- Subject Index S-1
TURE 501 • CHANGED COURTSHIP CUSTOMS AND SEXUAL
NORMS 501 • EFFECTS ON WOMEN’S ROLES 501 •
Credits C-1
IN SUM 502
Special Features
Down-to-Earth Sociology Cultural Diversity in the
W. E. B. Du Bois: The Souls of Black Folk 10 United States
Enjoying a Sociology Quiz: Testing Your Common Sense 21
Unanticipated Public Sociology: Studying Job
Testing Your Common Sense: Answers to the Sociology Discrimination 13
Quiz 23
Miami—Continuing Controversy over
Loading the Dice: How Not to Do Research 26 Language 49
Gang Leader for a Day: Adventures of a Rogue Race and Language: Searching for Self-Labels 50
Sociologist 28
Immigrants and Their Children: Caught between
Heredity or Environment? The Case of Jack and Oskar, Two Worlds 89
Identical Twins 70
The Amish: Gemeinschaft Community in a Gesellschaft
Gossip and Ridicule to Enforce Adolescent Norms 91 Society 113
Boot Camp as a Total Institution 93 Social Class and the Upward Social Mobility of African
College Football as Social Structure 105 Americans 250
Beauty May Be Only Skin Deep, But Its Effects Go On Tiger Woods: Mapping the Changing Ethnic
Forever: Stereotypes in Everyday Life 117 Terrain 265
The McDonaldization of Society 145 The Illegal Travel Guide 287
Shaming: Making a Comeback? 170 Glimpsing the Future: The Shifting U.S. Racial–Ethnic
Islands in the Street: Urban Gangs in the United States 177 Mix 298
The Killer Next Door: Serial Murderers in Our Midst 187 Human Heads and Animal Blood: Testing the
Rape: Blaming the Victim and Protecting the Caste Limits of Tolerance 442
System 202
Inequality? What Inequality? 213
How the Super-Rich Live 233
The Big Win: Life after the Lottery 237
Cultural Diversity around
What Do You Know about Poverty? A Reality Check 252 the World
Poverty: A Personal Journey 258
Why the Dead Need Money 42
Can a Plane Ride Change Your Race? 267
You Are What You Eat? An Exploration in Cultural
College Dorms and Contact Theory 272
Relativity 43
The Racist Mind 274
When Women Become Men: The Sworn Virgins 83
The Man in the Zoo 280
Human Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspectives 165
Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack: Exploring Cultural
Female Circumcision (Genital Cutting) 314
Privilege 286
A Fierce Competitor: The Chinese Capitalists 371
Surgical Sexism: Cold-Hearted Surgeons and Their
Women Victims 318 Arranged Marriage in India: Probing Beneath the
Surface 390
Affirmative Action for Men? 320
Killing Little Girls: An Ancient and Thriving
Who Are the Suicide Terrorists? Testing Your Stereotypes 362
Practice 466
Community Colleges: Facing Old and New
Why City Slums Are Better Than the Country:
Challenges 418
Urbanization in the Least Industrialized
BioFoods: What’s in Your Future? Threats to Scientific
Nations 479
Research 458
The Rain Forests: Lost Tribes, Lost Knowledge 510
Reclaiming Harlem: A Twist in the Invasion–Succession
Cycle 475
xiv
Special Features xv
xvii
To the Student ... from the Author
W
ELCOME TO SOCIOLOGY! I’ve loved soci- We aren’t born with instincts. Nor do we come into
ology since I was in my teens, and I hope you this world with preconceived notions of what life should
enjoy it, too. Sociology is fascinating because it is be like. At birth, we have no concepts of race–ethnicity,
about human behavior, and many of us find that it holds the gender, age, or social class. We have no idea, for example,
key to understanding social life. that people “ought” to act in certain ways because they are
If you like to watch people and try to figure out why they male or female. Yet we all learn such things as we grow
do what they do, you will like sociology. Sociology pries open up in our society. Uncovering the “hows” and the “whys”
the doors of society so you can see what goes on behind them. of this process is also part of what makes sociology so
Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach stresses how fascinating.
profoundly our society and the groups to which we belong One of sociology’s many pleasures is that as we study
influence us. Social class, for example, sets us on a particular life in groups (which can be taken as a definition of sociol-
path in life. For some, the path leads to more education, more ogy), whether those groups are in some far-off part of the
interesting jobs, higher income, and better health, but for oth- world or in some nearby corner of our own society, we gain
ers it leads to dropping out of school, dead-end jobs, poverty, new insights into who we are and how we got that way. As
and even a higher risk of illness and disease. These paths are we see how their customs affect them, the effects of our own
so significant that they affect our chances of making it to our society on us become more visible.
first birthday, as well as of getting in trouble with the police. This book, then, can be part of an intellectual adven-
They even influence our satisfaction in marriage, the number ture, for it can lead you to a new way of looking at your
of children we will have—and whether or not we will read social world—and in the process, help you to better under-
this book in the first place. stand both society and yourself.
When I took my first course in sociology, I was I wish you the very best in college—and in your career
“hooked.” Seeing how marvelously my life had been afterward. It is my sincere desire that Essentials of Sociology:
affected by these larger social influences opened my eyes A Down-to-Earth Approach will contribute to that success.
to a new world, one that has been fascinating to explore.
I hope that you will have this experience, too.
From how people become homeless to how they become
presidents, from why people commit suicide to why women
are discriminated against in every society around the world—
all are part of sociology. This breadth, in fact, is what makes James M. Henslin
sociology so intriguing. We can place the sociological lens on Department of Sociology
broad features of society, such as social class, gender, and race–
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
ethnicity, and then immediately turn our focus on the smaller,
more intimate level. If we look at two people interacting— P.S. I enjoy communicating with students, so feel free to
whether quarreling or kissing—we see how these broad comment on your experiences with this text. You can write
features of society are being played out in their lives. me at henslin@aol.com
xviii
To the Instructor ... from the Author
R
EMEMBER WHEN YOU FIRST GOT “HOOKED” In short, this text is designed to make your teaching
on sociology, how the windows of perception easier. There simply is no justification for students to have
opened as you began to see life-in-society through to wade through cumbersome approaches to sociology. I am
the sociological perspective? For most of us, this was an firmly convinced that the introduction to sociology should
eye-opening experience. This text is designed to open those be enjoyable and that the introductory textbook can be an
windows onto social life, so students can see clearly the vital essential tool in sharing the discovery of sociology with
effects of group membership on their lives. Although few students.
students will get into what Peter Berger calls “the passion
of sociology,” we at least can provide them the opportunity.
To study sociology is to embark on a fascinating process What’s New in This 13th
of discovery. We can compare sociology to a huge jigsaw
puzzle. Only gradually do we see how the smaller pieces fit
Edition?
together. As we begin to see the interconnections, our per- Because sociology is about social life and we live in a
spective changes as we shift our eyes from the many small, changing global society, this new edition of Essentials of
disjointed pieces to the whole that is being formed. Of all Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach reflects the national
the endeavors we could have entered, we chose sociology and global changes that engulf us, as well as presents new
because of the ways in which it joins the “pieces” of society sociological research. An indication of the thoroughness of
together and the challenges it poses to “ordinary” think- the preparation that went into this 13th edition is the text’s
ing. It is our privilege to share with students this process of hundreds of new citations. This edition also has more than
awareness and discovery called the sociological perspective. 435 instructional photos. I have either selected or taken
As instructors of sociology, we have set ambitious goals each of the photos. By tying the photos and their captions
for ourselves: to teach both social structure and social interac- directly into the text, they become part of the students’
tion and to introduce students to the sociological literature— learning experience.
both the classic theorists and contemporary research. As we I am especially pleased with Applying Sociology
accomplish this, we would also like to enliven the classroom, to Your Life, a new feature introduced in this edition.
encourage critical thinking, and stimulate our students’ so- Although Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach
ciological imagination. Although formidable, these goals are is well-known for how it shows students the relevance of
attainable. This book is designed to help you reach them. sociology to their lives, this emphasis has been amplified in
Based on many years of frontline (classroom) experience, its this 13th edition. This new feature focuses explicitly on how
subtitle, A Down-to-Earth Approach, was not proposed lightly. sociology applies to the student’s life. It is one thing to say
My goal is to share the fascination of sociology with students to students that sociological research on bureaucracy is rel-
and in doing so to make your teaching more rewarding. evant because they might work in a bureaucracy, but quite
Over the years, I have found the introductory course es- another to show students how they can use impression
pecially enjoyable. It is singularly satisfying to see students’ management to get ahead in a bureaucracy. It is also one
faces light up as they begin to see how separate pieces of thing to review with students the average salaries according
their world fit together. It is a pleasure to watch them gain to college major, but quite another to show students how
insight into how their social experiences give shape to even they can use sociology to increase their own salaries. We can
their innermost desires. This is precisely what this text is de- point out what sociologists have found when they studied
signed to do—to stimulate your students’ sociological imag- the glass ceiling, but sociology is much more relevant for
ination so they can better perceive how the “pieces” of so- our students if we can show them how they can use sociol-
ciety fit together—and what this means for their own lives. ogy to break through the glass ceiling. These three examples
Filled with examples from around the world as well as are part of the fourteen items that make up this new feature,
from our own society, this text helps to make today’s multi- Applying Sociology to Your Life.
cultural, global society come alive for students. From learn- And updates? As with previous editions, you can ex-
ing how the international elite carve up global markets to pect that they run throughout this new edition. The updates
studying the intimacy of friendship and marriage, students are too numerous to mention, but to give you an indication
can see how sociology is the key to explaining contempo- of how extensively this edition is revised, following is a list
rary life—and their own place in it. of the new topics, boxed features, tables, and figures.
xix
xx To the Instructor … from the Author
Chapter 1 Chapter 7
Figure 1.1 Suicide of Americans ages 18 to 24 Topic: Face-recognition software can turn the police’s body
Figure 1.6 Western Marriage: Husband–Wife Relationship cameras into surveillance machines, able to identify
everyone an officer passes on the sidewalk
Chapter 2
Sociology and Technology: The Shifting Landscape: Chapter 8
The End of Human Culture? Artificial Intelligence and Figure 8.7 Physical Health, by Income: People Who Have
Super-Smart Computers Difficulty with Everyday Physical Activities
Topic: In the 1600s, killing cats was part of festive celebrations Figure 8.8 Mental Health, by Income: Feelings of Sadness,
Hopelessness, or Worthlessness
Figure 8.10 An Overview of Poverty in the United States
Chapter 3 Figure 8.13 Poverty and Family Structure
Topic: Ekman’s conclusions on the universality of the ex- Figure 8.14 Poverty and Race-Ethnicity
pression of human emotions is challenged by research Figure 8.15 Poverty and Age
among the Trobianders of Papua New Guinea. Topic: The 20 richest Americans have more wealth than the
Topic: Negative effects of nurseries depend on the age at bottom half of the U.S. population combined
which children are placed in day care Topic: Before they turn 65, about 60 percent of the U.S. pop-
ulation will experience a year of poverty
Topic: The Jardin in Las Vegas sells a $10,000 cocktail and a
Chapter 4 weekend Valentine package for $100,000
Applying Sociology to Your Life: Getting Promoted: Making
Impression Management Work for You Chapter 9
Topic: Transgender as a master status
Table 9.3 Race–Ethnicity and Income Extremes
Topic: Students learn more from attractive teachers
Topic: Arizona has agreed that the police will not stop peo-
ple solely to determine if they are in the country illegally.
Chapter 5 Topic: Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada became the first
Latina senator.
Applying Sociology to Your Life: The New World of Work:
Topic: Native Americans operate their own embassy in
How to Keep a Paycheck Coming in the New Global
Washington, D.C.
Marketplace
Topic: The bamboo curtain: Asian Americans claiming they
Applying Sociology to Your Life: Do Your Social Networks
are discriminated against in college admissions
Perpetuate Social Inequality?
Sociology and Technology: The Shifting Landscape: Virtual
Reality and Diversity Training Chapter 10
Topic: Investigation of JonBenet Ramsey as an example of Figure 10.7 Master’s degree was added to this figure
groupthink Applying Sociology to Your Life: How to Get a Higher Salary
Topic: The experience and perspective of white males are Applying Sociology to Your Life: Breaking through the
being added to diversity training Glass Ceiling
Topic: The effects of testosterone differ with the situation:
Women given testosterone in a competitive situation be-
Chapter 6 came suspicious and less trusting, but given testosterone
Applying Sociology to Your Life: How Does Social Control in a situation where they were being trusted, they be-
Theory Apply to You? came more responsible and generous.
Applying Sociology to Your Life: How Do You Use Tech- Topic: Many minority women feel that the feminist move-
niques of Neutralization to Protect Your Self Concept? ment represents “white” experiences. Their attempt to
Topic: In murder trials, if the victim is white and the ac- change emphases has led to a clash of perspectives.
cused is black, juries are more likely to impose the death Topic: Among the CEOs of the largest U.S. companies, a
penalty than if the accused is white and the victim is reverse pay gap has emerged, with women outearning
black men by several million dollars a year.
To the Instructor … from the Author xxi
Topic: The rate of sexual assault on boys and men is about Sociology and Technology: The Shifting Landscape:
one-tenth that of girls and women. Changing Religious Practices in the Digital Age
Topic: In Japan, more adult diapers are sold than baby diapers Topic: To increase graduation rates, community colleges are
Topic: The Social Security dependency ratio has dropped to developing guided pathways.
3.6 (current workers to one beneficiary) Topic: A major change is occurring in Japan’s higher
education—a shift to job training in its lower tier
universities and more research in its top tier.
Chapter 11 Topic: University salaries in Russia are so low that tens of
Sociology and Technology: The Shifting Landscape: How thousands of academics have left Russia.
Could the Polls Get It So Wrong? Topic: Tucson, Arizona, runs a “Teenage Parent High School,”
Topic: From President Obama to President Trump used as where pregnant girls and those who have already given
an example of the transition of authority in a rational– birth learn parenting skills as well as traditional subjects
legal structure even when a newly elected leader repre- Topic: High school teachers give twenty times more A’s
sents ideas extremely different from the predecessor than C’s.
Topic: Kim Jong-un of North Korea had his vice premier for Topic: Roman Catholics use Confessor Go to locate priests
education shot for slouching during a meeting of parliament to hear confessions, and WhatsApp to discuss moral
dilemmas with priests.
Chapter 12
Figure 12.5 The Remarkable Change in Two- and Four- Chapter 14
Children Families Topic: The United States has 40 million immigrants.
Figure 12:16 Today’s Newlyweds: Their Marital History Topic: The world now has thirty-one megacities.
Applying Sociology to Your Life: What Are Your Chances Topic: Japan’s population is shrinking by a million people
of Getting Divorced? The Misuse of Statistics a year.
Applying Sociology to Your Life: What Kind of Parent Will Topic: Update on Monsanto subverting GMO research.
You Be? Topic: Tomorrow’s suburb: Attempts of suburbs to trans-
Applying Sociology to Your Life: Finding Quality Daycare form themselves into cities.
Cultural Diversity around the World: Arranged Marriage
in India: Probing beneath the Surface
Topic: One-third of Americans who marry met online.
Chapter 15
Topic: The latest research on children reared by same-sex Topic: The United States has withdrawn from G7’s Paris
parents Accord on climate change.
Topic: For the first time since 1880, the percentage of young Topic: Global warming threatens the Earth’s coral reefs,
adults who live with their parents is larger than those who which hold chemicals to cure diseases. Venom from the
live with a spouse or partner in a separate household. cone snail, fifty times more potent than morphine, is be-
Topic: “Adultolescence” is also known as “waithood.” ing used as a painkiller.
Topic: The average age of those who are cohabiting is 39. Topic: In coming distance learning classes, the simultane-
Topic: Helicoptering, parents’ hovering over their children ous translation of speech will allow students from differ-
to be certain they make the right decisions and have the ent cultures to talk and to understand one another.
right experiences, increasingly common in the upper- Topic: In coming distance learning classes, artificial intelli-
middle class gence will enable students to go on virtual field trips in
Topic: Implications for human evolution of CRISPR (Clus- other cultures that immerse them in different realities.
tered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) Topic: The Pentagon operates a Cyber Command with
nine “National Mission Teams” of sixty military person-
nel each
Chapter 13 Topic: An Italian company sells “off-the-shelf” programs
Applying Sociology to Your Life: You Want to Get Through that allow someone to insert malicious code in comput-
College? Let’s Apply Sociology ers and mobile devices
xxii To the Instructor … from the Author
The Organization of This Text boxed features. These boxed features are one of my favorite
components of the book. They are especially useful for in-
The text is laid out in five parts. Part I focuses on the socio- troducing the controversial topics that make sociology such
logical perspective, which is introduced in the first chapter. a lively activity.
We then look at how culture influences us (Chapter 2), ex- Let’s look at these six themes.
amine socialization (Chapter 3), and compare macrosociol-
ogy and microsociology (Chapter 4). Down-to-Earth Sociology
Part II, which focuses on groups and social control,
As many years of teaching have shown me, all too often
adds to the students’ understanding of how far-reaching
textbooks are written to appeal to the adopters of texts
society’s influence is—how group membership penetrates
rather than to the students who will learn from them. In
even our thinking, attitudes, and orientations to life. We first
writing this book, my central concern has been to present
examine the different types of groups that have such pro-
sociology in a way that not only facilitates understanding
found influences on us and then look at the fascinating area
but also shares its excitement. During the course of writing
of group dynamics (Chapter 5). After this, we focus on how
other texts, I often have been told that my explanations and
groups “keep us in line” and sanction those who violate
writing style are “down-to-earth,” or accessible and invit-
their norms (Chapter 6).
ing to students—so much so that I chose this phrase as the
In Part III, we turn our focus on social inequality, exam-
book’s subtitle.
ining how it pervades society and how it has an impact on
This Down-to-Earth Sociology theme explores sociologi-
our own lives. Because social stratification is so significant, I
cal processes that underlie everyday life. The topics that
have written two chapters on this topic. The first (Chapter 7),
we review in this feature are highly diverse. Here are some
with its global focus, presents an overview of the principles
of them:
of stratification. The second (Chapter 8), with its emphasis
on social class, focuses on stratification in the United States. • how a sociologist became a gang leader—for a day
After establishing this broader context of social stratifica- (Chapter 1)
tion, we examine inequalities of race-ethnicity (Chapter 9) • the experiences of W. E. B. Du Bois in studying U.S. race
and then those of gender and age (Chapter 10). relations (Chapter 1)
Part IV helps students to become more aware of how
• how gossip and ridicule enforce adolescent norms
social institutions encompass their lives. We first look at
(Chapter 3)
politics and the economy, our overarching social institu-
tions (Chapter 11). After examining marriage and family • how football can help us understand social structure
(Chapter 12), we then turn our focus on education and re- (Chapter 4)
ligion (Chapter 13). One of the emphases in this part of the • beauty and success (Chapter 4)
book is how our social institutions are changing and how • serial killers (Chapter 6)
their changes, in turn, have an impact on our own lives.
• sexting (Chapter 6)
With its focus on broad social change, Part V provides
an appropriate conclusion for the book. Here we examine • the lifestyles of the super-rich (Chapter 8)
why our world is changing so rapidly, as well as catch a • the American dream and social mobility (Chapter 8)
glimpse of what is yet to come. We first analyze trends in • college dorms and contact theory (Chapter 9)
population and urbanization, those sweeping forces that
• women navigating male-dominated corporations
affect our lives so significantly but that ordinarily remain
(Chapter 10)
below our level of awareness (Chapter 14). We conclude the
• the coming Star Wars (Chapter 15)
book with an analysis of technology, social movements, and
the environment (Chapter 15), which takes us to the “cut- This first theme is actually a hallmark of the text, as my
ting edge” of the vital changes that engulf us all. goal is to make sociology “down to earth.” To help students
grasp the fascination of sociology, I continuously stress so-
Themes and Features ciology’s relevance to their lives. To reinforce this theme, I
avoid unnecessary jargon and use concise explanations and
Six central themes run throughout this text: down-to-earth clear and simple (but not reductive) language. I also use
sociology, applying sociology to your students’ life, glo- student-relevant examples to illustrate key concepts, and I
balization, cultural diversity, critical thinking about social base several of the chapters’ opening vignettes on my own
life, and the new technology. The theme of how sociology experiences in exploring social life. That this goal of shar-
applies to the lives of your students is new to this edition. ing sociology’s fascination is being reached is evident from
For each of these themes, except globalization, which is in- the many comments I receive from instructors and students
corporated throughout the text, I have written a series of alike that the text helps make sociology “come alive.”
To the Instructor … from the Author xxiii
students to see connections among key sociological concepts tools and the ease and efficiency they bring to our lives.
such as culture, socialization, norms, race–ethnicity, gender, We can more accurately envision our new technology as
and social class. As your students’ sociological imagination a social revolution that will leave few aspects of our lives
grows, they can attain a new perspective on their experiences untouched. Its effects are so profound that it even changes
in their own corners of life—and a better understanding of the ways we view life.
the social structure of U.S. society. Sociology and technology is introduced in Chapter 2,
where technology is defined and presented as a major as-
Critical Thinking pect of culture. The impact of technology is then discussed
In our fifth theme, critical thinking, we focus on controver- throughout the text. Examples include how technology
sial social issues, inviting students to examine various sides is related to cultural change (Chapter 2), diversity train-
of those issues. In these sections, titled Thinking Critically ing (Chapter 5), the maintenance of global stratification
about Social Life, I present objective, fair portrayals of posi- (Chapter 7), and social class (Chapter 8). We also look at
tions and do not take a side—although occasionally I do the impact of technology on dating (Chapter 12), family
play the “devil’s advocate” in the questions that close each life (Chapter 12), religion (Chapter 13), and war (Chapter
of the topics. Like the boxed features, these sections can 15). The final chapter (Chapter 15) on social change and
enliven your classroom with a vibrant exchange of ideas. the environment concludes the book with a focus on the
Among the social issues we tackle are effects of technology.
To highlight this theme, I have written a series called
• our tendency to conform to evil authority, as uncovered Sociology and Technology: The Shifting Landscape. In this
by the Milgram experiments (Chapter 5) feature, we explore how technology affects our lives as it
• how labeling keeps some people down and helps others changes society. Among the topics we examine are how
move up (Chapter 6) technology
• how vigilantes fill in when the state breaks down • artificial intelligence and super-smart computers may
(Chapter 6) bring the end of human culture (Chapter 2)
• the three-strikes-and-you’re-out laws (Chapter 6) • affects our body images (Chapter 4)
• bounties paid to kill homeless children in Brazil • through virtual reality can be applied to diversity train-
(Chapter 7) ing (Chapter 5)
• children in poverty (Chapter 8) • is allowing the creation of an overwhelming security
• emerging masculinities and femininities (Chapter 10) state (Chapter 5)
• cyberwar and cyber defense (Chapter 15) • could allow us to get the presidential polls so wrong
(Chapter 11)
These Thinking Critically about Social Life sections are
based on controversial social issues that either affect the stu- • is changing the way people find mates (Chapter 12)
dent’s own life or focus on topics that have intrinsic inter- • is leading to a future where we order babies with spe-
est for students. Because of their controversial nature, these cific characteristics (Chapter 12)
sections stimulate both critical thinking and lively class • is having an impact on religion (Chapter 13)
discussions. These sections also provide provocative topics
for in-class debates and small discussion groups, effective
ways to enliven a class and present sociological ideas. In the
Instructor’s Manual, I describe the nuts and bolts of using Visual Presentations of Sociology
small groups in the classroom, a highly effective way of en- SHOWING CHANGES OVER TIME In presenting so-
gaging students in sociological topics. cial data, many of the figures and tables show how data
change over time. This feature allows students to see
Sociology and Technology: The Shifting trends in social life and to make predictions on how these
Landscape trends might continue—and even affect their own lives.
Examples include
In the sixth theme, sociology and technology, we explore
an aspect of social life that has come to be central in our
• Figure 1.5 U.S. Marriage, U.S. Divorce
lives. We welcome our technological tools, for they help
us to be more efficient at performing our daily tasks, from • Figure 3.2 Transitional Adulthood: A New Stage in the Life
making a living to communicating with others—whether Course
those people are nearby or on the other side of the globe. • Figure 6.2 How Much Is Enough? The Explosion in the
The significance of technology extends far beyond the Number of Prisoners
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Trouble
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.
Title: Trouble
Illustrator: Swenson
Language: English
CHECK!
"Let him try that one, will he?" laughed Tom. The move was basic; in
checking the king and menacing the queen simultaneously, Tom had
—or would upon the next move—collect himself his opponent's queen
with no great loss.
At the shirt and necktie stage, Tom Lionel stood teetering on his heels
before the bookcase on the right of the fireplace. He took from the
case a slim volume and read the title with considerable distaste:
"Theory of Monomolecular Films in Fission-Reaction"
By A. G. Rodan, Ph.D., M.M., LL.D.
"Yipe!" exploded Tom as he opened the book and glanced at the
price: $9.50. With ease he prorated the price against the thickness of
the volume and came to the estimate that the book had cost
approximately nineteen dollars per inch excluding covers. He riffled
through the pages and paused here and there to read, but the pages
themselves were a good average of four lines of text to the rest of the
page full of nuclear equations.
Tom Lionel snorted. He ran down through one of the arguments and
followed it to conclusion.
"Why can't he get something worth reading?" he yawned, putting the
book back in its place. "Darned impractical stuff." As usual with a man
who spends much time in his own company, Tom Lionel talked aloud
to himself—and occasionally was known to answer himself back.
"The whole trouble with the entire tribe of physicists per se is the fact
that once, someone told one of them that he was a theorist, an
idealist, and a dealer in the abstract. Now the bunch of them are
afraid to do anything practical because they're afraid if they do,
people won't know they're physicists. Physicists are a sort of
necessary, end-product evil."
During the breakfast section of Tom's morning duties, Tom read the
latest copy of the "Proceedings of the I.R.E." with some relish. A
paper on the "Crystallographic Generation of Microwaves" complete
with plainly manipulated differential calculus and engineering data
occupied most of his time. The rest of the time through coffee he was
making marks on the tablecloth with the egg-laden end of his fork and
trying to fit the crystallographic generation of microwaves into a
problem that made the article most timely; the solution for which he
had been seeking for a week.
The mail arrived. Three household bills were filed in the desk to await
the first of the month. Two advertisements were filed into the
wastebasket. One thick letter addressed to Thomas Lionel, Ph.D.,
M.M., was taken carefully between thumb and forefinger and
deposited in a letter file.
Tom then inspected the other letter file and found two letters
addressed to Tom Lionel, Consulting Engineer, which he opened and
read. One was from a concern in Cedar Rapids that wanted some
information on a method of induction heating glued joints selectively
without waiting for the normal drying time. The other was a letter from
a medium-sized town in Illinois pertaining to some difficulty they were
having with police-radio coverage of that area.
Both letters meant money, and Tom Lionel set the first aside while he
started to work on the second. From the engineering data supplied by
the local engineer, Tom decided that a change in antenna height and
a conversion from quarter-wave current fed to a one and one quarter-
wave current fed antenna would give the desired coverage. He
concluded his letter with four pages of calc, seven diagrams, and as a
last measure dropped a photograph of a similar installation in the
envelope.
He gloated. That would net him a pretty penny. The guy who hung
that antenna on top of the water tank thought he was smart, getting
all that height. But the roof was metal, and therefore the radiation
angle took off from the rooftop as a basis rather than the true ground
a hundred feet below.
The tank top was greater than three wave lengths in diameter, and
conical to boot. Tom grinned at the maze of mathematics that solved
it—and as far as he was concerned it was solved, for Tom Lionel was
a top-flight engineer.
He checked on his calendar. Metal for the sonic job was not due for a
week yet; a minute casting was still being held up for the foundry's
pleasure; and the life-test of the bearing-jewel for the Watson
Instrument Corporation was still on. Good jewel that. No sign of
freeze-up or wear-out after twenty-seven million cycles.
"Theory of Monomolecular Films be hanged," he snorted. "He's the
kind of a guy that would try to analyze the brew that MacBeth's three
witches were cooking up. And don't ask why!"
What he objected to most was the other's unconcern at spending
money. Nine bucks and fifty cents for a book of the most questionable
theory—and nine fifty that the other didn't really earn. It was getting
worse. The other was really beginning to obtrude. He hadn't minded,
particularly, except for the mental anguish. He'd become reconciled to
it by sheer rationalization. Way, way down deep in his heart he knew
that he'd have enjoyed being a physicist himself. But physicists were
not particularly practical, and money was made with practical things.
He knew, and recognized, that his retreat from being a physicist
himself had given him a dislike for the breed, especially when he
knew that solution of a problem was theirs, but reduction to practice
was his. He was continuously being forced to take some physicist's
wild-haired scheme and making it cook meat, open cans, or dig post
holes. The physicist had all the fun of standing on the threshold and
delving into phenomena that abounded just over the line. And then
instead of working on the suggestion that the physicist had located in
the wilderness, the physicist just tossed it over his shoulder into
Lionel's lap and went on digging.
Obviously it must be fun to dig in the unknown, but why in the name
of sense—
"Theory of Monomolecular Films in Fission-Reaction," scowled Tom
Lionel. "A hypothesis on a theory for an idea, based upon a practical
impossibility, and directed at a problem solvable only by concentrated
masses. He should be working in a negative universe where
nonmatter repels nonmatter disproportionately to the nonmass and
inversely disproportional to the not-square of the not-distance
between. Holy Entropy."
Tom Lionel went out of the house, mentally tinkering with the glue-
joint heating problem. That shouldn't be hard, he thought, high-
frequency heating was no trick, though the furniture company
probably had no one in the place that knew what high frequency
really meant.
He'd take a chair, rip it apart at the joints, and start tinkering with the
big radio-frequency heater in the lab. Another fat consulting fee—
eminently practical and satisfying—from the simple engineering of a
means to accelerate the drying of glue by electronics.
Eminently practi—hell!
Lionel stared. The door closed slowly behind him as he walked ever
so slowly across the floor of the lab. There was his radio-frequency
heater, all right. But it was not in its usual place. It was across the
room nuzzling up against another piece of equipment—the latter new,
shining, and absolutely alien to the lab.
Tom went over to the set-up and inspected it with critical derision.
The alien piece of equipment had been a standard model of mass
spectrograph. Its sleek sides were gaping open, and the high-
frequency heater was permanently wired—piped—into the very heart
of the spectrograph. Peering into the maze of one-inch copper tubing
that led from the output of the high-frequency heater to the insides of
the spectrograph, Lionel saw at once what the reason was.
The spectrograph had been overhauled by the physicist. It now
contained a pair of "D" chambers.
Operating on the cyclotron principle, the spectrograph was using the
output of the high-frequency heater to energize the D chambers.
Lionel nodded. The frequency was about right; could be adjusted to
the proper value without any trouble at all. He felt an infinitesimally
short twitch of admiration for the idea before he started to roar in
anguish.
His first impulse was to rip the gadget apart so that he could go to
work on something practical. But the engineer's admiration for the
idea stopped him.
But this was getting thick.
It had been getting thicker for a long time. It was getting intolerable.
He didn't mind too much having volumes of utterly cock-eyed theory
about the place, but when the physicist starts to appropriate
equipment for his screwball ideas, it was time to call a halt.
Lionel left the laboratory, returned to his house, and called a
psychiatrist.
An hour later he was in Dr. Hamilton's office.
"Why are you here?" asked Hamilton pleasantly.
"I want to get rid of a physicist."
"Tell him to go away."
"Can't. Impossible."
"Nothing is impossible."
"Look, doctor, have you ever tried to light a safety match on a wet bar
of soap?"
"Suppose you tell me about it, then."
CHECK!
and dropped it into the drawer again. He moved his king aside with a
contemplative smile. His queen was gone on the next move, he knew.
So he had lost a major piece. So that other bird thought that losing a
major piece was bad, huh? Well, winning battles does not count—it is
a matter of who wins the last one.
He found the volume on the theory of monomolecular films and
started to read with relish. Over coffee, at breakfast, Thomas made
notations on the margin of the book with a pencil; checked some of
the equations and though he found them balanced properly, the
author was amiss in not considering the lattice-effect in his
presumptions. No monomolecular film could follow that type of
reaction simply because—well, it could follow it, but since the thing
was to take place in a monomolecular film, the fission-reaction and
the radiation byproducts that cause the self-sustaining nature could
only be effective in a plane of molecular thickness. That meant a
.999999% loss, since the radiation went off spherically. Fission-
reaction might take place, but it would be most ineffective. Besides,
the equations should have taken that into account.
He stopped by the desk and wrote for a half hour, filling seventeen
pages full of text and mathematics, explaining the error in the author's
presumption.
He sealed it up and mailed it with some relish. No doubt that letter
would start a fight.
He found his letter in the letter file and read it. It was a request to
indulge in some basic research at a fancy figure, but Thomas was not
particularly interested. He was thinking of another particular line of
endeavor. He dropped the letter into the wastebasket.
He went into the lab and took a look at his cyclotronic spectrograph.
There was a letter hung on the front. Thomas opened it and read:
Dear Isaac Newton:
I don't particularly mind your laying out thirty-five hundred bucks for a
mass spectrograph.
Appropriating my high-frequency generator didn't bother me too
much.
Nor did your unsymmetrical wiring and haywire peregrinations in and
about the two of them annoy (too acutely) my sense of mechanical
and electrical precision.
But the idea of your using the ##&&%!! spectrograph only once—just
for pre-change calibration—makes me madder than mad!
Sincerely,
Tom Lionel,
Consulting Engineer
Thomas grinned boyishly and picked up the notebook on top of the
high-frequency heater. It was Tom's, and the physicist riffled through it
to the last-used pages. He found considerable in the way of notes
and sketches on the cyclotronic spectrograph. Cut in size by about
one quarter, the thing would be not only a research instrument of
value, but would be of a price low enough to make it available to
schools, small laboratories, and perhaps production-lines—if Tom
Lionel could find a use for a mass spectrograph on a production line.
Thomas grinned again. If it were possible, Tom would certainly have it
included on some production line, somewhere.
He looked the spectrograph over and decided that it was a fine piece
of apparatus. So it wasn't the shining piece of commercial panel and
gleaming meters. The high-frequency plumbing in it had the touch of
a one-thumbed plumber's apprentice after ten days' drinking and the
D plates were soldered together with a heavy hand. But it did work—
and that's all he cared. The knobs and dials he had added were
sticking out at all angles, but they functioned.
And the line-voltage ripple present in the high-frequency generator
made a particular mess out of the spectrograph separation. But
electronic heaters do not normally come luxuriously equipped with
rectifiers and filters so that the generator tubes were served with pure
direct current—the circuit was self-rectified which would give a
raucous signal if used as a radio transmitter. That generated a ripple-
varied signal for the D plates and it screwed up the dispersion. The
omission of refinement satisfied Thomas. So it wasn't perfect. It would
be by the time Tom Lionel got through with it.
And for the time being, Thomas would leave it alone. No use trying to
make it work until Tom made an engineering model out of the
physicist's experiment.
Smiling to himself, Thomas went to work in the laboratory. He ignored
Tom's experiments and started a few of his own accord.
Some hours later, the doorbell rang and Thomas went to the door to
find a letter, addressed to Thomas Lionel, Ph.D. It was from an Arthur
Hamilton, M.D.
"Hm-m-m," said Thomas. "Is there something the matter with me?"
He slit the envelope and removed a bill for consultation.
"Consultation? Consultation? What in the name of all that's unholy is
he consulting a doctor about? Or is the doctor consulting—no, the bill
is rendered in the wrong direction. I know my consulting engineer."
The physicist put on his hat and headed forth. It was not much later
that he was sitting again in the same chair, facing Hamilton.
"You're back."
"Nope," smiled Thomas. "I'm here, not back."
"But you were here last week."
"That was another fellow. Look, Hamilton, I think I require your
assistance. I have an engineer that is no end of bother."
"Want to get rid of him, huh?" answered Hamilton. The suppressed
smile fought valiantly and won, and the doctor's face beamed and
then he broke into laughter. "What am I, anyway? Man, I can't take
money from both sides. That's ... that's ... barratry, or something."
"I'm the same man."
"Nope. You are not."
"Well, by and large, I thought it might be of interest to you to hear
both sides. It might be that I am a useful citizen in spite of what the
engineer says."
"The engineer's opinion is that no physicist is worth an unprintable."
"The physicist's opinion is that all engineers are frustrated physicists."
"Might challenge him to a fight."
"Have. But chess isn't too satisfying. I want blood."
"It's your blood."
"That's the annoying part of it all. He seems entirely a different
fellow."
"The cleavage is perfect. You would think him a separate entity."
Hamilton paused, "But neither of you refer to the other by name. That
indicates a psychological block that may be important evidence."
"O.K., what do we do?"
"I must discover the reason for the split personality."
"I can give you that reason. The engineer was forced into being a
practical man because money lies in that direction. Upon getting out
of college, there was a heavy debt. It was paid off by hard work—a
habit formed and never broken. Bad habits, you know, are hard to
break."
"Interesting."
"Well, the desire to delve into the physicist's realm stayed with the
engineer, but people who had heavy purses were not interested in
new ways to measure the ether-drift or the effect of cosmic radiation
on the physical properties of carbon. Money wants more perfect
pencil sharpeners, ways of automatically shelling peas, and efficient
methods of de-gassing oil. All these things are merely applications in
practice of phenomena that some physicist has uncovered and
revealed and put on record so that some engineer can use the effect
to serve his ends.
"At any rate, the desire to be a physicist is strong, strong enough to
cause schizophrenia. I, Dr. Hamilton, am a living, breathing, talking
example that an engineer is but a frustrated physicist. He is the
troubled one—I am the stable personality. I am happy, well-adjusted,
and healthy."
"I see. Yet he has his point. You, like other physicists, are not
interested in making money. How, then, do you propose to live?"
"A physicist—or an engineer—can always make out well. The bank
account at the last sitting was something like ninety-four thousand,
six hundred seventeen dollars and thirty-four cents."
"That's quite a lot of money."
"The engineer considers it a business backlog," said Thomas.
"Equipment is costly. Ergo—see?"
"I see. Seems you laid out a large sum of money for a mass
spectrograph."
"I did."
"And what did he do?"
"He made notes on it and is going to peddle it as a commercial
product. He'll probably make fifty thousand dollars out of it."
"I suggested that," admitted the psychiatrist.
"That's all right. I don't mind. It sort of tickles me, basically. I do things
constantly that make him roar with anguish. And then his only rebuttal
is to take it and make something practical out of it."
"I see."
"That, you understand, is the game that has been going on for some
time between all physicists and engineers."
"If you'd leave one another alone, you'd all be better off," said
Hamilton. "From what I've heard, the trouble lies in the fact that
physicists are not too interested in the practical details, whilst the
engineer resents the physicist's insistance upon getting that last point
zero two percent of performance."
"Are you willing to give me my answer?"
"What answer?"
"How do I get rid of the engineer? One of us has got to go, and being
the stable, happy one, I feel that all in all I am the best adjusted and
therefore the most likely to succeed. After all, I am the ideal
personality according to the other one. He'd like to be me. That's why
he is, from time to time."
"Sort of a figment of your own imagination."
"That's me."
"Then I wonder—Yet, I did accept his case, not yours."