Evaluation of everyday life: Time-space allocation and physical activity

Abstract

　It can be said that observing, measuring, and evaluating human behavior is the most fundamental and important theme in understanding the daily life and lifestyle of individuals or groups. However, it is not easy to observe, measure, and record people’s activities （behaviors）. For example, it can be the case that subjects are influenced to adopt different behaviors than usual because of the observer’s presence. Even if subjects do behave as usual after they fully understand the research purpose, researchers can observe only very few people per day if they want to observe the activities of the subject in detail. Therefore, it takes a great amount of time and effort to understand an activity pattern in the target population as a whole.

　With regard to human behavior, a number of studies have been carried out in various disciplines including anthropology, psychology, behavioral science, public health, ecology, geography, and physiology over many years. In each academic field, various approaches have been established to assess time allocation （time-use）, and valuable findings have accumulated.

　In this paper, we outline the methodology of time allocation studies conducted in field research for local populations in developing countries. We further approach the assessment of physical activity by utilizing time allocation data.