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ERIC Number: EJ928812
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Aug
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0303-8300
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
What Makes an Activity Most Enjoyable? Alternative Ways of Measuring Subjective Aspects of Time-Use
Michelson, William
Social Indicators Research, v103 n1 p77-91 Aug 2011
Time-use analyses typically report the duration and frequency of pursuing specific types of activity. But how people evaluate what they report doing is not necessarily evident without additional, complementary forms of data. There are many alternative approaches to the measurement of subjective aspects of daily time-use, ranging from short term and activity-specific to long term and general. How is the extent of enjoyment operationalized, and what aspects of activity are then shown as germane? A special analytic focus in this paper is on a question pursued in the past by Statistics Canada--on the most enjoyable activity reported on a respondent's time diary. Data show that the activity most frequently chosen as most enjoyable is not the same as activities less frequently pursued but of greater salience for enjoyability if done. Watching television is a nearly ubiquitous activity, hence gathering a high "frequency" of "votes" as most enjoyable activity. In contrast, a significantly higher "percentage" of those pursuing activities with active social participation or a live venue choose these as the affective highlights of their day. This paper explores what these constructs make possible with time-use data for understanding what makes an activity most enjoyable.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A