On ‘arriving on time’, but what is ‘on time’?

Abstract

The time-geographical concept of coupling constraints, which define when, where and for how long individuals have to join other individuals and material objects, can be useful to ‘time squeeze’ studies. Geographers have typically operationalised the ‘when’ dimension of coupling constrains through arrival times at locations in physical space or the starting time of specific activities. This paper questions this approach and posits that it may be more productive to identify time-spans of acceptable or appropriate arrival times. However, these time-spans should not be expressed solely with reference to clock time. This is because boundaries on what is acceptable or appropriate depend not only on clock time but also on the times of the body and especially the time inherent to the dynamics in the juxtapositions and presence/absence of human beings and inanimate objects within a bounded physical space. Interview excerpts are presented to reveal how clock time interacts with contextual times in the modes in which parents in two-worker families perceive and cope with coupling constraints during workdays.