William Michelson

Handbook of environmental sociology

Environmental Sociology: An Introduction by Riley E. Dunlap, William Michelson, and Glenn Stalker Sociological Theory and the Natural Environment by Frederick H. Buttel and Craig R. Humphrey Theory and the Sociological Study of the Built Environment by William Michelson and Willem van Vliet-- Socio-Behavioral Qualities of the Built Environment by Sherry Ahrentzen Macro-Environments and People: Cities, Suburbs, and Metropolitan Areas by David Popenoe and William Michelson Designing the Built Environment by Leslie Kilmartin Rural Environments and Agriculture by Don E. Albrecht and Steve H. Murdock Energy, Society, and Environment by Loren Lutzenhiser, Craig K. Harris, and Marvin E. Olsen Natural Hazards and Disasters by Joanne M. Nigg and Dennis Mileti Technological Hazards and Disasters by Steve Kroll-Smith, Stephen R. Couch, and Adeline G. Levine Risk, Technology, and Society by Thomas Dietz, R. Scott Frey, and Eugene A. Rosa Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change by Thomas Dietz and Eugene A. Rosa Social Impact Assessment and Technology Assessment by Kurt Finsterbusch and William R. Freudenburg The Environmental Movement in the United States by Angela G. Mertig, Riley E. Dunlap and Denton R. Morrison Environmental Concern: Conceptual and Measurement Issues by Riley E. Dunlap and Robert Emmet Jones Environmental Sociology in Nonacademic Settings by Barbara A. Payne and Christopher Cluett

Time use and leisure: Subjective and objective aspects

This paper utilizes data from the 1981 Canadian Time Use Pilot Study and from a small Halifax time-budget study to look at subjective and contextual dimensions of leisure for women and men. The Canadian study (n=2685) had information on the time spent in daily activities as well as on the settings and social contexts of those activities. The Halifax study included similar time-budget information on 60 married couples, but also incorporated subjective ratings of all diary events in terms of perceived work or leisure. Using subjective weightings from the Halifax study, estimates of subjective leisure were made for different categories of daily activity and for different Canadian population subgroups. Hypercodes were used to look at the effect of social roles on leisure time, and the AID procedure was used to analyze the contextual dimensions of leisure for men and women. The results show that objective activity and well as subjective leisure vary by population subgroup. Constraints to leisure include being female, being employed, having children, and, to some degree, being married. Of the contextual dimensions, subjective leisure was shown to be influenced primarily by type of objective activity. Location, time of day and day of the week also influenced leisure designations, but to a lesser extent. This study suggests the potential usefulness of subjective weightings of activities in order to gain a greater understanding of leisure patterns and participation.

Space, time, and activity in the home: A gender analysis

Abstract This study examines the variability within and between gender in the use of space in the home. Secondary data analysis is undertaken of a time-budget survey of 538 family households in Toronto. Among fully-employed, married men and women, gender reflects different use of the home. Fully-employed mothers compared to fathers spend more time in rooms with other family members; they are also more involved in housekeeping and child-care activities in those rooms. Co-occupancy of the room and how space in the home is used also varies among women of different employment and marital status. Further work is advocated which incorporates finer-grained analyses of the use and meaning of home along physical, temporal, and activity dimensions, as well as analyses based on actual roles and social relations people assume rather than those which are simply ascribed.

Childcare and the daily routine

This paper assesses the daily routines of 538 mothers in Metropolitan Toronto, Canada, who vary by degree of paid, outside employment. Attention is given not only to trade-offs among activities but to subjective feelings about time-use. Childcare, one major response to the demands on employed mothers, is examined to assess the extent that different options contribute to amelioration. While some forms of childcare are found helpful, the data make clear the need for more comprehensive policy adaptation to changing family conditions.

Time Pressure and Human Agency in Home-based Employment

AbstractThis paper is a logical and empirical extension of recent research on behavioural outcomes of home-based work (Michelson, 1996, 1997, 1998; Michelson, Palm Linden & Wikstrom, 1998). Issues of time pressure and human agency arose with respect to home-based work previously but were not examined in any detail. This article examines how human agency (as measured by the enjoyment of different types and contexts of daily activities) contributes to the understanding of the interface among home-based work, everyday use of time, and subjective sense of time pressure. The article describes an empirical approach which facilitates analysis of these phenomena, and presents some pertinent findings based on the analysis of data from the 1992 Canadian General Social (Time Use) Survey. Time budget respondents in paid employment were divided into conventional and home-based workers, the latter being divided into intensive and extensive categories, depending on the number of hours of home-based work. The attitudes o...

Private pleasure, public plight : American metropolitan community life in comparative perspective

This is a social and cultural analysis of community life in metropolitan areas of three nations -- the United States, Sweden, and England. The author focuses on how environment and culture interact to shape human behavior. Despite their many similarities, the three societies offer remarkably contrasting urban forms, and thus provide a unique opportunity for comparative research. The findings suggest goals for urban community development in America that can help regain a sense of human scale and establish more meaningful face-to-face contact among urban dwellers.

Housing and neighborhoods : theoretical and empirical contributions

Foreword by Elizabeth Huttman Introduction by Willem van Vliet-- Part I: Theoretical and Conceptual Perspectives Congruence: The Evolution of a Contextual Concept by William Michelson Prospects for Realizing Congruent Housing Environments by Raymod G. Studer Residential Satisfaction: Its Uses and Limitations in Housing Research by Guido Francescato, Sue Weidemann, and James R. Anderson Part II: Revitalization in the Inner City The Multiformity of neighborhood Revitalization in the Netherlands by E.C.M. Machielse Changing Patterns in Inner City Housing: A Canadian Example by Trudi E. Bunting Ethnic Minorities, Scarce Housing Resources, and Urban Renewal in Britainby Taner Oc Participation by Ethnic Minorities in Urban Renewal in the Netherlands by Karen Wuertz and To van der Pennen Part III: Suburbs and Planned Communities Suburbanization, Privatization, and Juvenile Delinquency: Some Possible Relationships by David Popenoe Diversity in New Communities: A Cast Study of Reston, Virginia, at Age 20 by Sylvia F. Fava Part IV: Aspects of Planning and Design Shared Spaces, Small Spaces, and Spaces That Change: Examples of Housing Innovation in the United States by Karen A. Franck Planning with Scarce Resources: The Miniaturizatio of an Urban Neighborhood by Joan C. Simon and Gerda R. Wekerle High-Rise Estates and the Concentration of Poverty by Eva van Kempen Part V: Aspects of Management and Ownership Public Housing Communes: A Swedish Response to Postmaterial Demand by Alison E. Woodward Coping with Condominiums in the Netherlands by Jan van Weesup Peacetime Municipal Rent Control Lawsin the United States: Local Design Issues and Ideological Policy Debates byKenneth K. Baar Part VI: Special Population Groups Restricted Housing Markets for Female-Headed Housholds in U.S. Metropolitan Areas by Rebecca L. Smith and C. Lee Thomson The Elderly in Central Tel Aviv by Yona Ginsburg Indexes

Analysis and Exploration of Meaning and Outcomes in Connection with Time Use Data

There are undoubtedly many more ways to facilitate the exploration of meaning and outcomes in connection with time use data. I have presented just a few that have recurred in my own research. But beyond the literal examples of such techniques is the message that this pursuit is certainly possible but requires a different outlook on potential objectives for the collection of time use data. These techniques may take different directions than the conventional approaches of the past. But as the potential gains to be made with time use data become more understood, these directions may point to the paths we might wish to take more frequently.

Grounding time-use in microspace: Empirical results

The analysis of time-use typically shows major effects as a function of macroscopic structural conditions in society. In contrast, this paper examines the extent it is possible to utilize time-use measures to document the extent of differences in everyday behavior which are attributable to the presence of specific arrangements of residential space, a relatively microscopic set of behavioral conditions. This is assessed with reference to self-administered, pre-coded time-budgets, from 338 Swedish adults and children, which incorporate specific codes pertaining to the kinds of locations actually found in eight housing areas studied. These data are validated and supplemented by the results of simultaneous systematic observation in the common spaces of the eight areas, as well as by conventional survey data. The results indicate how various kinds of data bear on four design hypotheses underlying experimentation in housing. Time-use data were able to provide much more specific information and explanation than were the other two methods. But to do this, measures which varied by the hypotheses pursued and which differ from conventional time-use analyses had to be employed. In some instances, analyses utilizing informational components at the episode level were crucial. Moreover, the disaggregation of time-use results to population subgroups was shown central to explanation.

Everyday Life in Contextual Perspective

During roughly the past 15 years, a variety of issues dealing with women’s environmental interests, uses, and concerns has been elaborated, conceptualized, and studied empirically, with sensitive and comprehensive reviews integrating this substance at regular intervals (cf. Hapgood & Gedzels, 1974; Palm & Pred, 1974; Hayden, 1980; Saegert, 1980; Wekerle, 1980; Zelinsky, Monk, & Hanson, 1982; McClain, 1984; Wekerle, 1984; Peterson, 1986; Moser, 1987; Peterson, 1987; Andrew & Milroy, 1988; Franck, 1988; Franck & Paxson, 1989). Although reviews are essential to communicate an important set of considerations and their knowledge base to a public that has not as yet fully understood and incorporated them, I shall not attempt one here, at least directly.