Table of contents (13 chapters)

Introduction
Time Use Research
Andrew S. Harvey, Wendy E. Pentland
Pages 3-18
Guidelines for Time Use Data Collection and Analysis
Andrew S. Harvey
Pages 19-46
The Time-Diary Method
John P. Robinson
Pages 47-89
Analysis and Exploration of Meaning and Outcomes in Connection with Time Use Data
William Michelson
Pages 91-104
Using Time Use Research to Examine Lifestyle Variables
Methods and Concepts for Time-Budget Research on Elders
M. Powell Lawton
Pages 107-125
Life-Cycle and Across-the-Week Allocation of Time to Daily Activities
Jiri Zuzanek, Brian J. A. Smale
Pages 127-153
Variance in the Meaning of Time by Family Cycle, Period, Social Context, and Ethnicity
Joseph A. Tindale
Pages 155-168
Application of Time Use Research to the Study of Life with a Disability
Wendy E. Pentland, Mary Ann McColl
Pages 169-188
Biological and Sociocultural Perspectives on Time Use Studies
Ann Wilcock
Pages 189-210
Te Ao Hurihuri
Gail Whiteford, Mike Barns
Pages 211-230
Time Budget Methodology in Social Science Research
K. Victor Ujimoto
Pages 231-242
Conclusion
Lessons from Leisure-Time Budget Research
Jerome F. Singleton
Pages 245-258

Despite the fact that, for most of us, time is a central focus of our lives, the examination of what we do with our time and why has received limited attention as a method for understanding human behavior in the social sciences. Humans' view and use of time shows tremendous variation, including across cultures and with age, lifestyle, and gender. For many of us, a sense of time is ever-present. We speak of time as a commodity, a resource, an ally, an enemy, and a gift. It maybe on our side, on our hands, with us, or against us. We perceive it to change speeds (dragging vs. flying vs. standing still) and lest it get away on us, we attempt to harness and control it with clocks, schedules, and deadlines. We describe our use of time in a myriad ofways: we spend it, save it, waste it, kill it, give it, take it, and grab it. The impetus for this book grew from a three-day research symposium where established time use researchers from a variety of disciplines from Canada, the United States, Finland, Australia, and New Zealand gathered together to merge their knowledge and resources to collaborate in exam- ing the relationship between human time utilization and health and we- being. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support for the sym- sium received from the Government of Canada's Program for Inter- tional Research Linkages and M. Powell Lawton, without whose support and encouragement this book would likely not exist.