Time-use Diaries Research Articles

Empirical validation of the spatial-choice modelling approach to user simulation

ABSTRACTThis empirical study sought to validate the spatial-choice modelling approach to user simulation. This validation is challenging, because spatial-choice behaviour is difficult to observe in real-life settings. To overcome this challenge, the study assembled 1137 activity cases from time-use diaries kept by university students and then extracted 74 space-rejection cases (i.e. events when students were unable to take up a particular space-option and so moved to another one). We assessed the attributes of the space-options in the rejection cases by means of a site investigation, predicted space-use probabilities using spatial-choice models, and assessed forecasting accuracy by a Brier score. The spatial-choice models scored 0.35, demonstrating higher forecasting accuracy than two alternative methods, namely space-use analysis (0.50) and the closest distance method (0.84). This study contributes to user simulation by validating the accuracy of the spatial-choice models based on revealed spatial-choice data in real-life settings and comparing it with other methods.

A validation study of the Eurostat harmonised European time use study (HETUS) diary using wearable technology

BackgroundThe central aim was to examine the accuracy of the full range of daily activities recorded in self-report time-use diaries against data from two objective passive data collection devices (wearable camera and accelerometer) serving as criterion reference instruments. This enabled systematic checks and comparisons on the timing, sequence and duration of activities recorded from the three data sources.MethodsParticipants (n = 148) were asked to complete a single-day self-report paper time-use diary designed for use in the Harmonised European Time Use Study (HETUS), while simultaneously wearing a camera that continuously recorded images of their activities, and an accelerometer tracking physical movement. In a reconstruction interview shortly after the data collection period, participants viewed the camera images to help researchers interpret the image sequences. Of the initial 148 recruits (multi-seed snowball sample, 59% women, aged 18–91, 43% > 40) 131 returned usable diary and camera records (of whom 124 also provided a usable whole-day accelerometer record. We compare time allocation estimates from the diary and camera records, and also match the diary and camera records to the simultaneously recorded accelerometer vector magnitudes.ResultsThe data were examined at three analytic levels: aggregate, individual diarist and timeslot. The most important finding is that the estimates of mean daily time devoted to 8 of the 10 main activities differ by < 10% in the camera and diary records. The single case of major divergence (eating) can be explained by a systematic difference between the procedures followed by the self-reporting diarist and the observer coding the camera records. There are more substantial differences at the respondent level, paired t-tests showing significant differences in time spent in the 4/10 categories. 45% of all variation in the accelerometer vector magnitudes in the timeslots is explained by camera and diary records. Detailed activity classifications perform much better than METs as predictors of actigraphy.ConclusionsThe comparison of the diary with the camera and accelerometer records strongly supports using diary methodology for studying the full range of daily activity, particularly at aggregate levels. Accelerometer data could be combined with diary measures to improve estimation of METs equivalents for various types of active and sedentary behaviour.

농촌노인의 생활시간 유형에 따른 생활만족도 차이

The purpose of this study was to explore a typology of time use and analyze differences in life satisfaction according to the types of time use in the rural elderly. The research subjects were 1,000 people aged 65 years and over living in the rural areas of Korea. The data were collected through structured questionnaires and a time-use diary. The statistical methods used in the analysis included calculation of the mean and the standard deviation, ANOVA, Duncan’s multiple range test, cluster analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The time use practices of the rural elderly were classified into three types: work-leisure balance, work-oriented, and leisure-oriented type. Life satisfaction of the rural elderly differed according to the type of time use. The work-oriented types showed the highest scores of life satisfaction, and leisure-oriented types showed the lowest.

Testing compliance to WHO guidelines for physical activity in Flanders: insights from time-use diaries

BackgroundRegular physical activity decreases the risk for numerous non-communicable diseases. The World Health Organization has suggested physical activity (PA) guidelines that, based on previous research, would provide health benefits to those who comply. The first guideline for health benefits suggests 150 min of moderate PA or equivalent per week. The guideline for additional health benefits suggests 300 min of PA or equivalent per week. The objective of this paper is to analyze to what extent these two WHO PA guidelines for adults are met in the Belgian region of Flanders. Furthermore, we are interested to see which groups are more or less likely to meet the PA guidelines.MethodsCrosstables and logistic regressions are used on a sample of 3028 adults in the Belgian region of Flanders. All respondents filled in a 7-day time-diary in which they continuously recorded all their activities.ResultsFirstly, men are more likely than women to comply to both PA guidelines. Secondly, living with a partner increases the odds to comply to the guidelines. For men, this is the case for both guidelines, while for women, this only applies to the first guideline. Thirdly, women with a young child have lower odds to comply to the guidelines, while having a young child doesn’t have an effect for men.ConclusionPrevious research on meeting PA guidelines in Flanders shows diverging results. Time-diary data allows researchers to strictly follow the WHO definition when operationalizing compliance to PA guidelines. There is a need for future research that combines time-diaries with a PA questionnaire and accelerometer data to gain more insights on the benefits and pitfalls of both methodologies.

Why Don't We Sleep Enough? A Field Experiment Among College Students

Sleep deprivation is a risky behavior prevalent in modern societies, leading to negative health and economic consequences. However, we know little about why people decide to sleep less than the recommended number of hours. This study investigates the mechanisms affecting sleep choice and explores whether commitment devices and monetary incentives can be used to promote healthier sleep habits. Toward this end, we conducted a field experiment with college students, providing them incentives to sleep, and collected data from wearable activity trackers, surveys, and time-use diaries. Our results are consistent with sophisticated time-inconsistent preferences and overconfidence. The subjects in the treatment group responded to the monetary incentives by significantly increasing the likelihood of sleeping between 7 and 9 hours (+19%). We uncover evidence of demand for commitment. Overall, 63% of our subjects were sophisticated enough to take up commitment, and commitment improved sleep for the less overconfident among them. Using time-use diaries, we show that during the intervention, there was a reduction in screen time near bedtime (-48%). Subjects in the treatment group were less likely to report insufficient sleep than at baseline even after removal of the incentive (-16%), which is consistent with habit formation. Finally, our treatment also had positive (albeit small) effects on health and academic outcomes.

Activity-travel participation, multitasking in travel and daily well-being

Using hierarchical liniear regression and multi-dimensional three-week household time-use and activity diary, this study investigated the interaction among spatiotemporal variables on percentage time of engaging multitasking in travel, and how endogenous of percentage time of engaging multitasking in travel interact with other spatiotemporal variables on individuals’ daily subjective well-being. Different from descriptive analysis result, the result in using hierarchical linear regression shows that having tighter time-space constraints tend to positively correlate with performing multitasking activities within travel more often. Moreover, the ones who peform more trips such as the youngest travellers and someone from middle income tend to perform multitasking activities in travel more often. Endogenous of percentage time of engaging multitasking in travel shows positive correlation on improving someone’s daily well-being, as expected. In term of policy implication, undertaking passive leisure within travel can be suggested to improve someone’s daily well-being. The opportunity to undertake passive leisure within travel can be an advantage of using public transport.

Patient work from a context and time use perspective: a mixed-methods study protocol

IntroductionSelf-management is widely promoted but less attention is focused on the work required from patients. To date, many individuals struggle to practise self-management. ‘Patient work’, a concept that examines the...

Detailed comparison of energy-related time-use diaries and monitored residential electricity demand

Understanding demand flexibility in the residential sector depends on understanding the causal link between household occupants’ activities and resulting electricity demand. Self-reported electricity use via time-use diaries is often used as a direct descriptor of occupants’ activities and has been integrated into residential electricity demand simulation models. Conversely, smart meter electricity demand data is increasingly used to infer occupants’ activities. Underlying both these approaches are a number of unverified assumptions about people’s perceptions of their energy use, the accuracy with which they report these activities and the physical operation of electrical devices. This paper carries out a comparison between self-reported energy-related activities and monitored electricity demand in 15 households over a week-long time period, with focus on electric hot water cylinders and heat pumps as appliances with large potential for demand flexibility. This comparison quantifies the extent to which self-reported activity is a predictor of electricity demand and conversely, whether electricity demand can accurately identify occupant activity. Results show that, although there is significant variation across households, self-reported activity tends to be a reasonably good predictor of electricity demand. However, due to the intervention of thermostat-controlled devices, electricity demand is not a good indicator of occupant activity.

Housework division and gender ideology: When do attitudes really matter?

Background: Attitudes toward gender roles are one of the factors that have received most attention in the literature on housework division. Nevertheless, egalitarian attitudes often do not match egalitarian domestic behaviors. Objective: The paper’s central hypothesis is that women’s ability to assert their egalitarian beliefs is linked to having sufficient personal resources in economic and cultural terms. Methods: We use the 2013–2014 Italian time-use survey (N = 7,707 couples) and analyze how relative resources and women’s education moderate the relationship between gender ideology and housework division. Results: Consistent with our hypothesis, for a woman, the effect of gender ideology is strongest when she earns roughly as much or more than her partner and when she holds a college degree. When the woman’s income is lower than the man’s, the effect of women’s gender ideology is quite small. If the woman does not have a degree, her egalitarian attitudes will not translate into her doing less housework. Conclusions: Gender ideology matters, but a solid bargaining position is needed in order to put it into practice. Social policies promoting gender equality in education and the labor market can increase women’s capacity for translating egalitarian attitudes into actual behavior. Contribution: This paper’s original contribution is in analyzing whether and how relative resources and education influence the effect of gender ideology on the division of housework. Moreover, our analysis goes beyond most existing studies in its rare combination of behavior measures collected through a reliable time-use diary procedure and information regarding partners’ gender ideology.

The Associations Between Screen Time, Sleep Duration, and Body Mass Index (BMI) in Under Five-Year-Old Children

BackgroundToday, due to recent developments in technology, children devote plenty of time to screen viewing. However, its harmful effects are not yet clear.ObjectivesThe purpose of the present study was to examine the associations between screen viewing, sleep duration, and body mass index (BMI) in under-five-year-old children.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted on 322 under-five healthy children that were selected using a multistage stratified cluster sampling method in 2017. The data gathered by the time-use diary method were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Spearman Correlation test, Multiple Linear Regression Analysis, one-way ANCOVA, and two-way ANCOVA.ResultsThere was a negative correlation between screen time and sleep duration (P < 0.001), a positive correlation between screen time and BMI (P < 0.001), and a negative correlation between sleep duration and BMI (P < 0.001). Screen viewing was a predictive factor for both sleep duration (P < 0.001) and BMI (P < 0.001). Screen viewing had a significant impact on sleep duration (P = 0.001) and BMI (P = 0.298).ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate that screen viewing is related to sleep duration and BMI in under-five-year-old children. Furthermore, screen time has an impact on sleep duration and BMI of children.

Supporting Parent Engagement in Children’s Learning through Neighborhood Development and Improvements to Accessibility

External influences explain two-thirds of the income-based student “achievement gap” with parent engagement being especially important. Yet, public school improvements focus on within-school reforms, downplaying community conditions that challenge engagement. This study of seventy diverse parents in Oakland, California, utilized interviews, time-use diaries, neighborhood data, and participant observation to understand how a combination of personal characteristics, household resources, community amenities, housing stability, and accessibility affected parents’ abilities to engage in their children’s learning. Findings suggest planning can contribute to student achievement through investments and coordination that bolster parents’ time, energy, and resources for educational engagement in their homes, schools, and communities.

Combining diaries and interviews in time-use studies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the combined use of time-use diaries and interviews to get a fuller understanding of how people use their time, the factors that influence their time use, and their subjective perceptions of their time pressures. This paper focuses on how the methodology influenced the findings.Design/methodology/approachParticipants kept a diary of their time use for one week and then participated in interviews to discuss their time use.FindingsWhile the diaries yielded numerical data about participants’ time use, the interviews revealed the reasons behind their time choices. The complexity of Pakistani food preparation and the presence of in-laws in the home emerged as major factors. All participants expressed frustration with their time poverty.Research limitations/implicationsThis was a small pilot study limited to eight participants.Practical implicationsThis method gives researchers a more powerful tool for understanding not only how people use their time, but the social, cultural and economic forces behind their choices.Social implicationsTime poverty creates social inequities, especially among women and marginalized people. The methodology presented allows participants to have a voice in time-use studies and can help policy makers create policies that correct time poverty for disadvantaged groups.Originality/valueThis paper illustrates the usefulness of combining two existing methods for time-use studies in a new way for more powerful results.

Health-related quality of life as a longitudinal mediator of the relationship between participation in organised sports and adiposity among young people

The objective of this study was to investigate potential mediating effects of health-related quality of life between children's participation in organised sports and measures of adiposity. The sample consisted of 4116 children derived from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Participants were aged 10.32 (SD = 0.47) years at baseline (2010), and followed up 24 and 48 months later. Participation in organised sports was assessed using child-completed time-use diary. Health-related quality of life and demographic data were reported by each child's primary parent. Measures of body mass index, body fat, and waist circumference were also taken at each Wave. Sport was indirectly associated with measures of body fat (β = −0.002, 95%CI −0.004, 0.000, p = .039) and waist circumference (β = −0.001, 95%CI −0.003, 0.000, p = .039) through the mediating effects of social functioning. Sport was also associated with body fat via physical functioning (β = −0.01, 95%CI −0.02, −0.003, p = .038), however, this was not replicated with other measures of adiposity. No other mediating effects were evident. Sport participation may enable children and adolescents to function well in groups and access social support which in turn promote health behaviours and influence adiposity. This may be one of multiple pathways through which sports participation is associated with adiposity. Replication and extension of these novel findings is warranted, as is a focus on the design and implementation of sports programs to maximise health benefits.

EHV-1 Infection of the Equine Male Genital Tract

Using a panel regression model and a multidimensional three-week household time-use and activity diary, this study analyses the complexity of the day-to-day variability in individuals' activity-travel patterns by applying a multidimensional sequence alignment model. It is found that the variability between weekend and weekday pairs is much greater than between weekday-weekday pairs or weekend-weekend pairs. The variability of other household members' activity-travel patterns is found to significantly influence an individual's activity-travel patterns. The results also show that the variability in the activity-travel patterns of workers and students is greater when conducting a particular discretionary activity on weekdays. Due to performing discretionary activities more often and for longer, non-workers tend to have more predictable activity-travel patterns. Undertaking multitasking activities within different activities on weekdays significantly impacted the different degrees of variability in an individual's activity-travel patterns. Having different health and built environment characteristics also corresponds with different degrees of predictability of the activity-travel patterns, particularly in the worker/student case.

Trajectories and predictors of risk for mental health problems throughout childhood.

Children fluctuate in their risk for mental health-related problems. While children have demonstrated consistent trajectories for various types of mental health problems, the existence of developmental trajectories of overall risk of mental health problems has not been explored. This study aimed to identify distinct trajectories of overall mental health risk among children from ages 4-12years. A secondary objective was to identify predictors of the mental health risk trajectories. Data from the first five waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) were used to assess mental health risk and potential predictors. The primary parent (n=3717) completed questionnaires, time-use diaries, and face-to-face interviews over the five waves. Growth mixture modeling was used to identify distinct latent trajectories of mental health risk. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify predictors of the trajectories. Six distinct trajectories of mental health risk were identified: Low Difficulty (72.9%), Improvers (9.7%), Decliners (7.9%), Early Decliners/Late Improvers (4.7%), Early Improvers/Late Decliners (2.7%), and High Difficulty (2.2%). Child sex, sociability, parental warmth, sports participation, and household income were identified as significant predictors of mental health trajectories. There are distinct trajectories of overall risk for mental health problems during childhood. Research should focus on the High Difficulties group and the Early Improvers/Late Decliners group to address the predictors and improve access to early mental health services.

Accelerometer Bluetooth proximity validation in parents and early years children

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to examine the validity of a novel technique determining parent–child proximity using Bluetooth-enabled accelerometers. Nineteen parents and children (18–60 months; 38.4 ± 13.2 months) wore an ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometer for 7 days. Parental accelerometers continuously emitted a Bluetooth signal, while children’s accelerometers recorded signal detection once per minute. Parents reported whether they were “AWAY”/“WITH” their child using time-use diaries in 5-minute intervals for 2 days. Presence (1) or absence (0) of a Bluetooth signal was averaged over the 5-minute time frame. Accelerometer and time-use diary variables produced 8,331 comparative observations. Area under the curve (AUC) via receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.84 (95% confidence intervals: 0.84, 0.85), and the optimal cut-point was 0.0. Specifically, sensitivity (0.82) and specificity (0.81) were maximized when classifying all positive proximity tags (0.20–1.00) as “WITH” and all negative proximity tags (0.0) as “AWAY”. Accelerometer-derived parent–child proximity demonstrated good concurrent validity.

Activity-Travel Behaviour, and Daily and Global Well-Being

Using a hierarchical SEM and multidimensional 3-week household time-use and activity diary, this study investigated how interaction of individuals’ daily travel parameters, time-use and activity participation and percentage of undertaking passive leisure within various activity participation, life circumstances, and geographical conditions shape individuals’ daily and global subjective well-being. This study confirms that life circumstances insignificantly shape people’s well-being as argued as well in previous studies. Moreover, daily subjective well-being or people daily context in which contains how people organizes their daily activity-travel behaviour positively shape people life satisfaction as hypothesised. This study also confirms that different daily activity participation tends to shape different level of people’s daily subjective well-being. Spending more time-use for leisure, sport and grocery shopping tends to positively correlate with having better daily subjective well-being. Having better mental and social health are found to positively shape people’s daily and global well-being, respectively. For policy implementations, this study can say that providing more opportunities for undertaking out-of-home activities such as out-of-home leisure, sport and grocery shopping with time-use policy and denser land use planning.

Using time-use data to analyse travel behaviour: Findings from the UK

Abstract Time-use diary surveys (TUS) gather detailed information on daily activities and travel undertaken by individuals and households. Many transport researchers have overlooked these data, which is the motivation for and purpose of this paper. A number of considerations need to be taken into account when using TUS data, particularly in relation to analysis, which is rather specialised. We compare TUS and activity-travel diaries from transport and report on travel behaviour using data from the 2014-2015 UK Time Use Survey (UK TUS) and highlight additional data that are available, such as secondary activities and levels of enjoyment associated with travel. The results show that one in four travel episodes included secondary and tertiary activities, the most common being listening to music and radio, socialising with family and others, telephone conversations and reading. Using ICT (smartphone, tablet, computer, etc.) was reported in 11.3% of travel episodes and 26.9% of the time respondents felt rushed while travelling. In terms of enjoyment, longer travel episodes were associated with lower levels of enjoyment, active travel was the most enjoyable and commuting the least. Commuting episodes were the longest, followed by social and personal business, at least 1-2 min longer than travel episodes for escorting children and others, or for shopping.

Participation in physical activities for children with cerebral palsy: feasibility and effectiveness of physical activity on prescription

BackgroundChildren with cerebral palsy (CP) are less physically active and more sedentary than other children which implies risk factors for their physical and mental health. Physical activity on prescription (PAP) is an effective intervention to promote a lifestyle change towards increased physical activity in adults in general. Knowledge is lacking about the use of PAP in children with CP. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of PAP for children with CP and its effectiveness on participation in physical activity and sedentary behaviour.MethodsEleven children with CP, aged 7-11 years, participated in PAP, consisting of a written agreement between each child, their parents and the physiotherapist and based on Motivational Interviewing (MI), Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS). Individual goals, gross motor function and physical activity were assessed at baseline, at 8 and/or 11 months using COPM, GAS, logbooks, Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66), physical activity questionnaires, physical activity and heart rate monitors and time-use diaries. At 8 and 11 months the feasibility of the intervention and costs and time spent for the families and the physiotherapist were evaluated by questionnaires.ResultsThe intervention was feasible according to the feasibility questionnaire. Each child participated in 1-3 self-selected physical activities during 3-6 months with support from the physiotherapist, and clinically meaningful increases from baseline of COPM and GAS scores were recorded. Being physically active at moderate-vigorous levels varied between less than 30 and more than 240 minutes/day, and the median for the whole group was 84 minutes/day at baseline and 106 minutes/day at 8 months.ConclusionsThe intervention PAP seems to be feasible and effective for children with CP, involving both every day and organised physical activities to promote an active lifestyle through increased participation, motivation, and engagement in physical activities. Further research of PAP is needed, preferably in a long term randomised controlled trial and including health economic analysis to show costs and benefits.Trial RegistrationISRCTN76366356, retrospectively registered.

Economic efficiency and gender equity: a heuristic rationale

ABSTRACT Focusing on the case of UNDP’s gender and economic policy training programme (2008–2015), this article examines efficiency arguments from a pedagogical perspective. It argues that efficiency, a concept with which policymakers are familiar, serves a useful heuristic purpose. Iterative, experience-based learning techniques (such as keeping time-use diaries) allow programme participants to examine the sources of gender inequalities in the labour market, identify unequal unpaid care work as a source of inefficiency and conclude that policies addressing women’s disproportionate care burden can promote both gender equity and efficiency.