Reductionist approaches to the issue of technology's spread define resistance to new technology as "technophobia" (Brosnan 1998), thus strengthening the ideo logy of progress, a certain normative postulate about the necessity to adapt to new technological innovations. Those who stray from the path of progress suffer from a "pho bia" -a disorder, a disease. The use of words such as "technophobia" indicates that the dominant narrative of the need for development and progress can be oppressive. Sally Wyatt begins her article on this subject with the confession that she has never owned a car (2007, p. 67). At the same time, she emphasizes that she has passed the driving test (twice), and in extremely difficult weather conditions (a snowstorm), thus her reason for not using a car is not lack of competence. Wyatt completes her autobiographical statement with a confession that her social circles could not understand her decision not to have a car and described the choice as "weird, " "abnormal, " or even a manifestation of immaturity (a "real" adult drives a car). This experience caused Wyatt to reflect on whether people who do not use technology are considered disadvantaged and in need of help or recovery, education, or admonition, as her friends had thought in regard to her. Wyatt emphasizes her own skill -she could drive a car even in a snowstorm -and gives several arguments justifying the rationality of her choice (economics, the environment, concern for her own and others' health and life). Wyatt's arguments are intended to convince the reader that her decision not to drive is as valid, rational, and commendable as her friends' decision to drive. In other words, Wyatt argues that non-use does not have to be defined as inferior to use; it does not have to stem from a lack of competence/skill or from economic deprivation. Wyatt, however, does not explain from whence non-use derives, except in her own example, in which she points to a deliberate and rational argument -the balance of advantages and disadvantages. She also shows only two possibilities: being an active user or a non-user.In this article 1 , I will look at the reasons for people's reluctance, resistance, or reserve in regard to certain home appliances (devices for cleaning, washing, and cooking),

This article examines the differentiation and change in the shared eating practices of parents and their adult children, linking theories of sacrifice with empirical research. Drawing on 26 qualitative, in-depth dyadic interviews, the authors analyse the transformation of expectations sensed by the parents before and after their adult children leave home. While the article confirms the significance of meals for family relationships, it further develops the findings in transition to the empty nest phase of family life. First, it examines the understanding of different aspects and distribution of everyday sacrificing in an intergenerational family, as well as the dynamics introduced by the life course transition connected with adult children moving out. Second, it analyses how this transition carries in consequence a transformation in the food-related practices of the parents of adult children, who tend to pay less attention to the quality, variety, and regularity of their dinners once their children have moved out. Third, it explores children’s visits to their family home that can trigger or modify old self-sacrifice patterns. Finally, it demonstrates the perceived gains or losses resulting from parents’ long-term sacrifices connected with feeding their children.

The paper discusses design thinking methodology, arguing that this perspective may be useful for sociology, particularly urban sociology. The author demonstrates that design thinking tools are similar to some sociological research tools. Marta Skowrońska, Miasto i myślenie projektowe. Design thinking jako skrzynka narzędziowa [Design thinking as a tool box] edited by M. Nowak, „Człowiek i Społeczeństwo” vol. XLVIII: Kuchnia badań miejskich. Studia na temat praktyki empirycznej badaczy miasta [A backstage of urban research. Studies on the empirical practices of city research scientists], Poznań 2019, pp. 75–90, Adam Mickiewicz University. ISSN 0239-3271. Marta Skowrońska, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, Wydział Socjologii, ul. Szamarzewskiego 89, 60-568 Poznań, skowronska.marta@gmail.com

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This article looks at hospitality practices in the process of recreating and modifying social structure. The author seeks the general regularities and behavioral patterns that appear when people visit others and are visited, as well as how they speak of these visits, or, in Pierre Bourdieu’s language, the principles that organize practices that are part of the class habitus. For the purposes of the analysis, two comparative groups were selected: people with the highest and lowest levels of economic, social, and cultural capital. The analysis allowed several conclusions to be drawn. First, in addition to the class factor, the age or generational factor should be taken into account as it has proven to be relevant in terms of the diversity of practices. Second, the research showed that several of the practices studied were not differentiated between the groups; they turned out to be intense in the case of people with high and low levels of capital. Such patterns involved informality and freedom, the striving for agreement and group solidarity, and an aversion to aesthetics and decoration. Third, there were sometimes differentiating nuances – the general principle could be the same, but the justification or motivation behind it was different. For people with a high level of both types of capital, naturalness/honesty was an important justification and was contrasted to  falsehood, artificiality, and pretentiousness. This justification seemed to be a meta-principle that permeated many other patterns of behavior.