Time use research
Encyclopedia
Time use research is a developing interdisciplinary field
of study dedicated to knowing how people allocate their time
during an average day. Work Intensity
is the umbrella topic that incorporates Time Use, specifically time poverty.
The comprehensive approach to time use research addresses a wide array of political, economic, social, and cultural issues through the use of time use surveys
. Surveys provide geographic data and time diaries that volunteers record using GPS
technology and time diaries. Time use research investigates human activity inside and outside the paid economy. It also looks at how these activities change over time.
Time use research is not to be confused with time management
. Time use research is a social science interested in human behaviour
al patterns and seeks to build a body of knowledge to benefit a wide array of disciplines interested in how people use their time. Time management is an approach to time allocation with a specific managerial purpose aimed at increasing the efficiency or effectiveness of a given process.
Questions relating to time use research arise in most professional and academic disciplines, notably:
study. When a person is using contracted time to commute this person understands that
this travel time is directly related to paid work or study and any break in this commute
time directly affects job or school-related performance.
it is viewed as productive work. It refers to the time allocated to maintain a home and
family. When a person is commuting using committed time this person may feel that the
commute is a duty to family such as walking children to school or driving a spouse to
work. Contracted and committed time users may feel that their commute is more important than
the commute of necessary or free time users because their commute is productive work.
Therefore, they may be more inclined to choose a motorized mode of travel.
such as eating, sleeping, and cleansing and to a large extent exercising. People who
commute using necessary time may feel that the commute is an important activity for
personal well-being and may also take into account the well-being of the natural and
social environment. The person commuting in necessary time may be more inclined to
choose an active mode of transportation for personal reasons that include exercise on top
of transportation.
In general, necessary time usually constitutes the majority of people’s time since sleeping
is factored into this category.
subtracted from the 24 hour day. This type of time is not necessarily discretionary time
as the term “free” time may imply because people tend to plan activities in advance and
creating committed free time in lieu of discretionary time. People who commute using
free time are more apt to view the commute as a recreational activity. Commuting in free
time provides the greatest gains for social capital because the person commuting in free
time is more likely to slow down or stop the commute at his discretion to undertake
another activity or engage in social interaction. He may also view the commute as part of
his destination activity to which he has gladly committed his free time.
Interdisciplinarity
Interdisciplinarity involves the combining of two or more academic fields into one single discipline. An interdisciplinary field crosses traditional boundaries between academic disciplines or schools of thought, as new needs and professions have emerged....
of study dedicated to knowing how people allocate their time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
during an average day. Work Intensity
Work Intensity
Work Intensity is defined as activity in relation to the capacity for that work. It is a topic that affects developed and developing countries in different ways. There are many aspects to work intensity including multitasking, time poverty, health implications, and policy considerations...
is the umbrella topic that incorporates Time Use, specifically time poverty.
The comprehensive approach to time use research addresses a wide array of political, economic, social, and cultural issues through the use of time use surveys
Time use survey
A Time Use Survey is a statistical survey which aims to report data on how, on average, people spend their time.- Objectives :The objective is to identify, classify and quantify the main types of activity that people engage in during a definitive time period, e.g...
. Surveys provide geographic data and time diaries that volunteers record using GPS
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
technology and time diaries. Time use research investigates human activity inside and outside the paid economy. It also looks at how these activities change over time.
Time use research is not to be confused with time management
Time management
Time management is the act or process of exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase efficiency or productivity. Time management may be aided by a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time when accomplishing specific...
. Time use research is a social science interested in human behaviour
Human Behaviour
"Human Behaviour" is Icelandic singer Björk's first solo single, taken from the album Debut. It contains a sample of "Go Down Dying" by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The lyrics reflect on human nature and emotion from a non-human animal's point of view. The song is the first part of a series of songs that...
al patterns and seeks to build a body of knowledge to benefit a wide array of disciplines interested in how people use their time. Time management is an approach to time allocation with a specific managerial purpose aimed at increasing the efficiency or effectiveness of a given process.
Questions relating to time use research arise in most professional and academic disciplines, notably:
- urban planningUrban planningUrban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
and urban designUrban designUrban design concerns the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has...
(how does community design impact peoples’ use of time?) - transportation planningTransportation planningTransportation planning is a field involved with the evaluation, assessment, design and siting of transportation facilities .-Models and Sustainability :...
(what groups use active transportation and public transit?) - social workSocial workSocial Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
(how do people maintain social relationships and who is more likely to spend time alone?) - recreationRecreationRecreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
and active livingActive LivingActive Living is a way of life that integrates physical activity into daily routines, like walking to the store or biking to work.Active Living brings together urban planners, architects, transportation engineers, public health professionals and others to build places that encourage routine activity...
(which groups are more physically active?) - information technologyInformation technologyInformation technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
(what role does information technology play in peoples’ daily lives?) - feminist economicsFeminist economicsFeminist economics broadly refers to a developing branch of economics that applies feminist lenses to economics. Research under this heading is often interdisciplinary or heterodox...
(how does non-market work affect gender inequality and economic well-beings in our society?)
Categories of time
Time-use researcher Dagfinn Aas classifies time into four meaningful categories: contracted time, committed time, necessary time, and free time.Contracted time
Contracted time refers to the time a person allocates toward an agreement to work orstudy. When a person is using contracted time to commute this person understands that
this travel time is directly related to paid work or study and any break in this commute
time directly affects job or school-related performance.
Committed time
Committed time, like contracted time, takes priority over necessary and free time becauseit is viewed as productive work. It refers to the time allocated to maintain a home and
family. When a person is commuting using committed time this person may feel that the
commute is a duty to family such as walking children to school or driving a spouse to
work. Contracted and committed time users may feel that their commute is more important than
the commute of necessary or free time users because their commute is productive work.
Therefore, they may be more inclined to choose a motorized mode of travel.
Necessary time
Necessary time refers to the time required to maintain one’s self as it applies to activitiessuch as eating, sleeping, and cleansing and to a large extent exercising. People who
commute using necessary time may feel that the commute is an important activity for
personal well-being and may also take into account the well-being of the natural and
social environment. The person commuting in necessary time may be more inclined to
choose an active mode of transportation for personal reasons that include exercise on top
of transportation.
In general, necessary time usually constitutes the majority of people’s time since sleeping
is factored into this category.
Free time
Free time refers to the remains of the day after the three other types of time have beensubtracted from the 24 hour day. This type of time is not necessarily discretionary time
as the term “free” time may imply because people tend to plan activities in advance and
creating committed free time in lieu of discretionary time. People who commute using
free time are more apt to view the commute as a recreational activity. Commuting in free
time provides the greatest gains for social capital because the person commuting in free
time is more likely to slow down or stop the commute at his discretion to undertake
another activity or engage in social interaction. He may also view the commute as part of
his destination activity to which he has gladly committed his free time.