How many days? A comparison of the quality of time-use data from 2-day and 7-day diaries

Time budget studies differ in the number of diary days. The ‘Guidelines on Harmonized European Time-Use Surveys (HETUS)’ issued by EUROSTAT recommend a two-day diary with both one weekday and one weekend day. In this contribution we examine whether the number of diary days has an effect on the quality of timeuse indicators. A lot of time-use researchers plead for a longer period of observation; some of them even argue that one- or two-day diaries are not very valuable since the high demands of scientific research cannot be accomplished unless multi-day cycles are captured. Longer periods of observation offer better prospects for analyses, especially for the study of rhythms and activity patterns which typically follow cycles of multi-day duration, and which are part of daily life. Other authors however point out that longer periods of observation cause fatigue or diminished motivation and thus will lead to more inaccuracies. In this contribution we use the pooled Flemish time budget data from 1999 and 2004 to compare 7-day diaries with the 2-day diaries as recommended by the EUROSTAT-guidelines. The respondents of the Flemish time use surveys all filled in diaries for 7 consecutive days. To simulate the 2-day registration, we randomly selected one weekday and one weekend day for each respondent. The 2-day selection was compared with the original 7-day registration. The aim of this comparison is to inventory the advantages and disadvantages of the 2-day and 7-day registration method. To do that, we compare different indicators, such as the averages and the standard deviations of the duration of several activities. We further examine whether certain types of activities are more affected by the method of registration than others. Finally we examine whether a longer period of registration negatively affects the quality of the data (less detail and less accurate).Time-budget studies, time-use indicators, methodology

The Coming of the 24-hour Economy?

This study mapped the changes in the timing of working hours in Belgium as reported in workers' daily work schedules, obtained from the Belgian Time-Use Surveys of 1966 and 1999. A typology of working schedules was drawn up by means of a sequence analysis. This approach showed that work performed beyond the standard times, that is, in the evening, at night, or on weekends, did not grow in importance in the intervening years. In 1999, standard working hours clearly accounted for a larger share of the work schedules of the active population. Although the analyses did certainly not corroborate the often alleged trend towards a 24-hour society in Belgium, it could be shown that certain categories of the working population are more susceptible to flexible working hours than others

Evolution in Time-Use and Division of Labour of Men and Women

La façon dont nous utilisons notre temps en général, et dont nous séparons travail rémunéré et non rémunéré est largement affectée par des influences culturelles et sociales. Cette utilisation est également supposée se modifier en fonction de changements sociaux et culturels, comme l’évolution vers des attitudes plus égalitaires. Ainsi, beaucoup d’études montrent, d’une part  une diminution du temps accordé au travail rémunéré par les hommes et une augmentation de leur implication dans le soin des enfants et, d’autre part, une augmentation de la participation des femmes au marché du travail ainsi qu’une diminution de leur charge de travail non rémunéré. Cependant, les mêmes études mettent également en évidence la lenteur de cette convergence dans la division du travail entre hommes et femmes. En comparant la base de données flamande « emploi du temps – 7 jours » de 2013 (n=2,894) à celles de 1999 (n=1,234) et de 2004 (n=1,643) qui présentent des données comparables sur l’emploi du temps, cette contribution analyse les évolutions antérieures et la situation actuelle de la division du travail entre les hommes et les femmes en Flandre, Belgique. Cette contribution montre notamment que les hommes commencent à plus prendre en charge le soin des enfants, et que les femmes accomplissent de plus en plus de travail rémunéré, mais que les corvées domestiques demeurent, tout comme en 2004, principalement à charge des femmes. De plus, bien que la charge de travail ne diffère désormais plus de manière significative entre hommes et femmes, les divergences dans sa composition perdurent néanmoins. La convergence vers une division égalitaire du travail avance doucement, très doucement.The way we use our time in general and how we divide paid and unpaid work is affected to a great extend by social and cultural influences. It is also assumed to change in function of social and cultural changes, like more egalitarian attitudes. Many studies, thus, report a decline in paid work and increase in childcare for men and an increase in paid work and labour market participation of women and a decrease in unpaid work. However, the same studies also report a slow convergence in the division of labour between men and women. By using the Flemish 7-day time-use data form 2013 (n=2,894) and by comparing them with the 1999 (n=1,234) and 2004 (n=1,643) comparable time-use data this contribution analyses the evolutions in and current situation of the division of labour between men and women in Flanders, Belgium.  It shows amongst other things that men take up more childcare and women perform more paid work, but that domestic chores remain an equally typical women’s job as in 2004. Additionally, even though the total workload no longer differs significantly between men and women, its composition still does. The convergence to an equal division of labour goes slow, very slow

Límites sociales a la eficacia de la biblioteca pública

Este artículo analiza la eficacia de las bibliotecas públicas flamencas belgas para llegar a un gran número de usuarios de diversas clases sociales. Para ello, se desarrolla un modelo estadístico que utiliza los datos recogidos mediante un cuestionario amplio dirigido a los usuarios, otro dirigido a los bibliotecarios y datos demográficos. Si tenemos en cuenta tanto las características de la biblioteca pública como su entorno social, se puede evaluar claramente el impacto que la biblioteca pública en sí tiene sobre el total de usuarios que la visitan y sus peculiaridades sociales. Factores tales como el número de CDs, vídeos y DVDs de la colección, además de las horas de apertura, están relacionados positivamente con el número de usuarios y con el porcentaje masculino que la visita. No obstante, el modelo nos revela que la biblioteca tiene un impacto muy limitado sobre el porcentaje de visitantes con menor nivel cultural, aunque esta cifra parece estar determinada en gran medida por las características del municipio. Se espera que los resultados contribuyan a debatir sobre la eficacia de la biblioteca y los objetivos que se esperan que la biblioteca y su personal cumplan. | This article focuses on the effectiveness of Flemish (Belgian) public libraries in reaching a large and socially diverse public. A statistical model is developed which incorporates unique data gathered through a large-scale visitor survey, a survey of librarians and municipal demographic information. By taking into account both characteristics of the public library and its surrounding community, the impact public libraries themselves have on the number and composition of their visitors can be clearly assessed. Factors such is the Porcentaje de CDs, videos, and DVDs in the collection, and the opening hours are positively associated with the overall number of visitors and also the amount of male visitors. However, the model reveals a rather limited impact of the library on the Porcentaje de lower-educated visitors; this percentage seems to be largely determined by municipality characteristics. The results hope to contribute to a discussion on library effectiveness and the current demands being placed on libraries and their staff

Mind the gap:Societal limits to public library effectiveness

This article focuses on the effectiveness of Flemish (Belgian) public libraries in reaching a large and socially diverse public. A statistical model is developed which incorporates unique data gathered through a large-scale visitor survey, a survey of librarians and municipal demographic information. By taking into account both characteristics of the public library and its surrounding community, the impact public libraries themselves have on the number and composition of their visitors can be clearly assessed. Factors such as the percentage of CDs, videos, and DVDs in the collection, and the opening hours are positively associated with the overall number of visitors and also the amount of male visitors. However, the model reveals a rather limited impact of the library on the percentage of lower-educated visitors; this percentage seems to be largely determined by municipality characteristics. The results hope to contribute to a discussion on library effectiveness and the current demands being placed on libraries and their staff