Alain Chenu

Time Use Surveys: a Review of their Aims, Methods, and Results

Time use surveys are distinguished by their use of a specific type of questionnaire, the daily activity diary, first developed in the Soviet Union in the 1920s, standardized in the framework of a multinational survey headed by Alexander Szalai in 1965-66, then generalized for use in a great number of countries. The diary allows for quantifying the duration of relatively non-institutionalized activities such as household work and leisure activities. The main research results obtained with time use studies are presented as they relate to three main themes: debates on the leisure civilization, changes in work rhythms, and gender roles and the synchronizing of social time within the family.

Adolescent Time Use Trends: France 1986 to 1998

Abstract This paper examines changing patterns of adolescent time use in France from 1986 to 1998. It focuses on adolescents’ aged 15 to 19, living at home with their parents, and attending school. It analyzes how the allocation of adolescent daily time is affected by respondents’ gender, age, and by their parents’ educational background and income. Data are taken from two national time use surveys conducted by INSEE (Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques, Paris) in 1985–1986 (n = 16,046, including 559 adolescents) and in 1998–1999 (n = 15,435, including 1,193 adolescents). One of the main trends in the observed period is the shift in gender roles. In 1986, girls and boys spent the same amount of time in school-related activities, in 1998, this length was higher for girls. The gender gap in domestic work has slightly narrowed. All in all, girls’ total work overload has increased. The allocation of time to work, personal needs and leisure remained similar, regardless of the educational level of parents. The allocation of free time to its various subcomponents is, however, affected by parents’ education: children born in highly educated families spend more time reading, going to the movies, to the theatre or to shows, less time watching TV, walking, or socializing. Parents’ income level is less influential. Adolescents with middle-income parents work harder at school than those from lower or upper income families.

Sexe et mortalité en France, 1906-1980

Alain Chenu : Geschlecht und Sterblichkeit in Frankreich, 1906-1980. ; ; Nach Ansteigen und Stabilisierung seit 1976 betragt der Lebenserwartungsunterschied zwischen Mannern und Frauen heute acht Jahre. Die Variationen der Sterblichkeit entstehen aus den Berufsrisiken, der Kompetenz der Medizin, der Kaufkraft in Bezug auf Hygiene und Pflege und dem selbstzerstorerischen Konsum (Alkohol, Tabak). Bei den Mannern verstarken sich diese Ungleichheiten wechselseitig, von den Fuhrungskraften bis zu den Hilfsarbeitern. Im Gegensatz dazu verzeichnen bei den Frauen die Fuhrungskrafte, die ziemlich grosse Verbraucherinen stimulierender und euphorisierender Produkte sind, eine Sterblichkeitsrate, die hoher liegt, als bei den Angestellten. Der Status der Hausfrauen wird jedoch offenbar immer mehr als eine soziale Unterintegration betrachtet, die von einer kurzeren Lebenserwartung begleitet wird.