-5 4. mm Aifi‘z‘afi‘fi' mmmqs m pEAsAm mmmmsas 'fhaesis far The Degas of M. D. MQCHEGAN STATE UNWERSWY Linda Jean Nelson 1953 This is to certify that the thesis entitled Daily Activity Patterns of Peasant Homemakers presented by Linda Jean Nelson has been acceptedfiowards fulfillment of the requirements for JUL—degree intement _ 1/! /V; (71,—/ ,. “42; 5/ L- , //2ng_’ Major professor / Date Maggh 2Q. 1953 0-169 LIBRARY Michigan State University “I / Page 1 of 3 ABSTRACT DAILY ACTIVITY PATTERNS OF PEASANT HOMEMAKERS by Linda Jean Nelson This study explored the concept of an activity pattern as an approach to understanding how time functions in home management. An activity pattern was defined as the ordering of tasks which is characteristic of a person or group of persons during some specified time span. Time span was defined as the period of time between two specific events which may be selected by the researcher. Two types of activity patterns were suggested as meaningful. Be- havioristic activity patterns were defined as those derived from what people do. Ideational activity patterns were de- fined as those derived from what peOple say they or others have done, do, or will do. Within the selected time span, the indices of presence, repetition, and sequence of activ- ities were proposed as specific indicators of an activity pattern. Field work was carried out in a rural Costa Rican community. Data were gathered from nineteen randomly- selected homemakers during daylong observations and inter- views on the days preceding and following each observation. The one—day time span studied was bounded by the events of A Page 4 of 3 Linda Jean Nelson the .rising of the homemaker and the putting to bed at night of the youngest family members. The researcher delineated fifteen activity cate- gories and isolated four independent variables. The inde- pendent variables corresponded to the first preparation of five minutes or more for each of the four meals which were served in the homes: morning coffee, lunch, midday coffee, and supper. Five time spans were formed within the day; the spans were bounded by the independent variables. A behavioristic activity pattern was determined by ‘ applying the three indices of presence, repetition, and O (I) of activities within the five time spans to the (If requen O (D Q. bserv data. Additional insigits into behavioristic activity patterns were obtained by examining observations of the procedures for carrying out specific activities. Ideational activity patterns were derived by apply- ing the three indices of presenc-, repetition, and sequence within the five time spans to the predictions and recollec- tions of activities which the homemakers verbalized with reference to a specific day. Additional insights into the homemakers' image of their activities were derived from their Opinions about repetitiveness in their activities as well as from their expressed attitudes about certain activities. Page 3 of 3 Linda Jean Nelson . The behavioristic and the ideational activity pat— terns of these homemakers were compared. An illustration was given to show how time use goals and attainment of such goals can be inferred from these two types of activity patterns. I The most important finding of this study was that it demonstrated the applicability of the concept of activity pattern in a specific cultural setting. Therefore, the concept of activity pattern was shown to be operational and to contribute to understanding of how time functions in home management. The activity pattern concept unites time with the people who live within it by indicating activities in the order in which they are performed rather than by aggregate clock time allocated to activities out of the context of performance. The activity pattern concept indi- cates some of the dynamic quality of time passage within the time Span studied. It also offers a possibility of examining cultural variations in time use without imposing one cultural view as a base. Some implications of the pro- cedure and the findings for theory, research, and develop- ment of educational programs in Latin America were indicated. DAILY ACTIVITY PATTERNS OF PEASANT HOMEMAKERS By Linda Jean Nelson A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Home Management and Child Development 1963 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer wishes to express appreciation to the administrators of the Inter-American Institute of Agricul~ tural Sciences, Turrialba, Costa Rica, for making the study possible. The helpfulness of Dr. Manuel Alers-Montalvo and Dr. Antonio M. Area in the planning of the field work and the development of the schedule deserves special recog- xfition. Gratitude is expressed to the school directress, Olga de Jimenez, for her assistance in entering the com- munity, and to Zoila de Morales for her hospitality during the field work. For their cooperation and interest the writer thanks the people of the village. The members of the committee: Dr. Alice Thorpe, Dr. Beatrice Paolucci, Miss Esther Everett, and Dr. Iwao Ishino, merit special appreciation for their guidance and patience throughout the time needed to complete the work. To all of her other friends and colleagues in Latin American and the United States, without whose help and encouragement this study would not have been completed, the writer expresses gratitude. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii LIST OF TABLES O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 0 Vi LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii LISTOFAPPENDICES0.000000000000000 ix Chapter I 0 INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 1 Concept Of ACtiVity Pattern o o o o o e o o 3 Definitionooooeooococo...e 3 Identification of activity patterns . . . 4 Importance of the concept . . . . . . . . 5 Limitations of the Study . . . . . . . . . . 7 Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . 8 II. INTELLECTUAL HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Quantitative Approach to Time Study . . . . 9 Qualitative Approach to Time Study . . . . . l3 Timetheories00000000000000 13 FieldStUdieS0000000000.... 15 Summary of the qualitative approach . . . 18 Selection of the Daily Activity Pattern Ap- proach.................. 19 III. PROCEDURE 0 O O O 20 Locational History . . O O O O O I O O O O O 20 Site selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Sample seleCtion o o o o o o e o o o o 22 Development of Research Techniques . . . . . 22 Selection of the basic method . . . . . . 23 Original plan for the visits . . . . . . . 2 SCthUle I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 2 Field work 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 29 Entry into the community . . . . . . . . . 29 Actual visits and alterations in procedure 31 Coding, Tabulation and Analysis . . . . . . 3h iii Chapter Page IV. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SAMPLE . . . . . . . . . 36 FamilyComposition o co 0 o o o o o o o o o 36 Educationcoooooooooooeocoo.38 Occupation and Land Tenancy . . . . . . . . . 40 Facilities, Equipment, and Procedures for Homemaking ACtiVitieS o e o o o o c o o o 0 1‘2 Housing and house care . . . . . . . . . . A2 FOOd preparation 000 00.00.0000 1&5 Clothing and clothing care . . . . . . . . t6 sumaPYOQQQQOQQoooooeeoooo[+8 V. HOMEMAKERS' BEHAVIORISTIC ACTIVITY PATTERNS . . A9 Coding, Tabulation and Analysis . . . . . . . SO COdingoooooooooooooooooo50 Tabulation and analysis . . . . . . . . . . 53 Observed Daily Activity Patterns . . . . . . 56 Index I: Presence of activities . . . . . 57 Index II: Repetition of activities . . . . 61 Index III: Sequence of activities . . . . 63 Patternooooeooooooooooooo68 Aspects of Patterning within Activities . . . 70 VI. HOMEMAKERS' IDEATIONAL ACTIVITY PATTERNS . . . 76 Opinions Related to Repetitiveness or Vari- ationOOOOOOOOCOOOOQOOOOO77 IdealnayOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0..82 PrediCted aCt1Vities o o o o o o o o o o o 8 Recalled activities . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Attitudes toward Activities . . . . . . . . . 86 smaryOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO92 VII. INTERPRETATION OF HOMEMAKERS' DAILY ACTIVITY PATTERNS OOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOO 91+ Comparison of Behavioristic and Ideational Activity Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9A Time Use Goals Inferred from Daily Activity Patterns..-..............100 VIII. SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS O O O O 0 O O O O O 0 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . Implications . . . . O O O O O C O O 0 iv 10h 0.0.0.1011. 000105 Chapter VIII. Theoretical implications 0 o o e o o o 0 Research implications . . . . . . . . . Implications for educational programs in Latin America . . . . . . . . . . . . COHCIUding Statement 0 o o o o o o o o o o SELECTED REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Studies of Homemakers' Time Use Patterns Time Studies in the Social Sciences . . Human Energy StUdies o o o o o o o o e 0 Miscellaneous 0 e o o o o o o o o o o o APPENDICES O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Page 105 106 110 111 113 113 116 118 119 120 ’- -w H—~— _A [M Table 1. 2. 3. h. 5. 6. 7. 9. 10. ll. 12. 13. LIST OF TABLES Page Distribution of children in the sample accord- ing to age and family composition . . . . . . 37 Number of adults who terminated formal education at SPGCified levels 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o 39 Distribution of family heads according to occupa- tion and land ownership . . . . . . . . . . . bl Number of homemakers who performed activities WithineaChtimespanooooooococo. 58 Number of homemakers who performed activities once or more within each time span . . . . . 62 Number of homemakers who performed activities in dominant sequence within each time span . . . 65 Number of homemakers who repormaispecific vari- ations in Sunday activities . . . . . . . . . 79 Number of homemakers according to frequency and average of estimated weekly performance of selected activities (sixteen homemakers) . . 81 Number of homemakers according to their choices of activities to be assigned to a hypothetical Servant o o o o o o o o o o o e o o o o o o o 89 Number of homemakers according to their choices of activities for a woman when a hypothetical servant does all housework . . . . . . . . . 89 Number of homemakers according to activities which they desired to complete more easily or faSter o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 90 Number of homemakers according to activities in which they desired to spend more time . . . . 91 Number of homemakers according to expressed likes and dislikes in household activities . . . . 91 vi ' \‘fi‘m Table 1h. 15. 16. 17. 18. fl -_ ”3-. Page Number of homemakers who predicted activities WithineaChtimespano00000000.o. 152 Number of homemakers who predicted activities by sequence within each time span . . . . . . 153 Number of homemakers who recalled activities WithineaChtimespanooeoooococoo 15‘.- Number of homemakers who recalled participating in activities once or more within each time span 0 o o o e e e o o o o o 0‘. o o o o o o 155 Number of homemakers who recalled activities by sequence within each time span . . . . . . . 156 vii “wit"m —— — . .h_.«_4—_——— Figure l. 2. 3. h. LIST OF FIGURES Page Observed Daily Activity Pattern . . . . . . . . 69 Predicted Daily Activity Pattern . . . . . . . 85 Recalled Daily Activity Pattern . . . . . . . . 87 Comparison of Behavioristic and Ideational Ac- 95 tiVitypattemSooooooooooooooo viii LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page A. SpaniSh SCthUle o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 12]. 131+ B. English Translation of the Schedule . . . . . C. Detailed Coding Key of Homemakers' Activities 147 D. Supplementary Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Time is an invisible factor which consciously or un- consciously influences the activities of man. It is a con- cept familiar to every person, but it is interpreted in various ways. Time is viewed differently by professionals such as philosophers, geologists, linquists, astronomers, physicists, historians, psychologists, or anthropologists. This leads to variety as well as vagueness when time is considered. A specific point of view with respect to time must be defined if this elusive factor is to be research- able. Time, according to traditional home management theory, fits into a conceptual framework developed in a technological society. In this framework time is viewed as a resource with economic characteristics of scarcity and alternative uses. It has traditionally been considered as one of many resources which may be utilized to help families attain desired goals. It is probably true that there are many cases in which time has the characteristics of a re- source and is considered as such in making decisions. How- ever, such a concept does not seem sufficiently comprehensive to explain the manner in which time permeates the managerial situation. 2 This economic perception of time as a resource is limiting for at least three reasons. First, it isolates time from the people who perform within it by considering time as a separate manipulable resource rather than as an integrated factor in the culture. A second limitation is that it minimizes the dynamic quality of the passage of time during which management takes place. Although time can be viewed at any one static point, movement must be recognized as one of its ever present characteristics. Any treatment of time which does not sufficiently concede this characteristic is limiting for the study of time as it re- lates to home management. The third limitation posed by the perception of time as a resource is that it may restrict opportunities to under- stand the meaning of time in a variety of cultures. When the time view of any one cultural group is considered to be the base, cross-cultural comparisons tend to be discrim- inatory. All cultural views which differ from those of the base group are prone to be considered unacceptable or even inferior. If universal principles of management are to be discovered or if members of each culture are to achieve effective home management within their own cultural frame- work, a way must be found to free theories from the re- strictions of cultural determinism. The question arises: can time be viewed in a way which overcomes these three limitations? Can the functions 3 of time in home management be examined in a way which re- ,lates people to time, preserves some of the dynamism of time, and eliminates some of the boundaries caused by cul- tural variation in its meaning? This thesis explores the concept of activity pattern as one approach to the solution of this question. Concept of Activity Pattern Definition In order to define the concept of activity pattern as usedin this study, one must first understand the sub- sidiary concept of time span. A time span is the period of time between two specific events. The two events which bound the time span may be selected by the researcher.1 An activity pattern is that ordering of tasks which is char- acteristic of a person or group of persons during the spec- ified time Span. An activity pattern shows the predominant arrangement of tasks in sequence within the selected time span and may suggest alternative structures. 1In this study three different types of time spans were selected by the researcher to be explored: a one-day time span bounded by the events of the arising of the home- maker and the putting to bed at night of young children; spans within a day bounded by meal preparations; spans bounded by the beginning and ending of an activity or a part of an activity such as cleaning the kitchen or sweeping the floor. Each of these types of time spans will be delineated specifically when first presented in the study. A It should be pointed out that since the events which bound any time span may be marked by the clock time at which they occur, the duration or length of time allocated to an activity pattern, or any breakdown within it, could be indicated. This, however, is not essential to the con- cept o Idgntification of activity patterns An activity pattern can be viewed from two basic positions: the behavioristic and the ideational. What people actually do reveals a behavioristic activity pat- tern. What people say they or others have done, do, or will do reveals an ideational activity pattern. The basic data from which a behavioristic pattern might be derived are observations of what people do within a specified time span. Three indices could be applied to 5 activity data to determine patterning. Within any.selectedf time Span, the first index is the presence of activities. ' The second index is their repetition within a time span. The third index is the sequence in which the activities occur. ‘ F The basic data from which ideational activity pat- A . I . l iterns might be derived are people's verbalizations of what they have done, are doing, or will do within some specified: time span. Given a set of verbalized activity data for a specified time span, the ideational activity pattern could 5 be obtained by utilization of the three indices of presence,i repetition, and sequence of activity performance within the ; time span. Additional information which would help to in— terpret the ideational activity patterns could be obtained from people's expressions of opinions and attitudes with respect to activities. Importance of the concept The concept of an activity pattern seems relevant to the understanding of time because it attempts to resolve the three limitations which the traditional resource con- cept of time imposes. .To date, studies of time use have reported total clock-measured time spent in selected activities for a day or a week without consideration of the order in which these activities were performed. Thus the use of time was determined by an aggregate figure which did not indicate the relationship of the activities to one another. A primary advantage of the activity pattern con- cept is that it unites people with the time they use be- cause it views people's performance in the order in which it is enacted rather than by total amount of time spent in each activity. The emphasis is upon the organization of human activity rather than upon an activity isolated from the performers. 6 A second advantage of the concept is that it covers a selected span of time rather than any single point in time. Within the selected time span the activity pattern illustrates the dynamic quality of the passage of time. A third advantage of the concept is that it is not limited to measures of clock duration, but rather emphasizes the content and arrangement of activities. A cultural per- ception of the importance of clock measures may hinder the recognition of time views in other cultures where such measures are not particularly meaningful. The activity pattern concept is important in home management because of the possibility of utilizing both _ rF—JL—fl—‘flm behavioristic and ideational activity patterns to gain “-mfi1_ understanding of time use goals. \Rirst, let us assume that within their ability people behave in a way which leads §9wa¢hifivfimentof their goals. Therefore, from behavior we can infer goals as well as some indication of goal attainment. Second, let us assume that people' s verbali— zations about activities represent their model, or ideal, INF—s'x'hfi-‘fi—M of activities. Wraww—u-J Therefore, from the ideational activity pattern we can infer time use goals which may or may not be attained. The determination of time use goals as well as some measure of their attainment should be possible upon comparative analysis of behavioristic and ideational activity patterns in any cultural setting. Since one objective of management is to help people attain their 7 goals, the activity pattern concept will provide information for the guidance of the managerial process. Limitations of the Study ‘ Several limitations of the study are recognized: 1. Only the activities of a one-day time span bounded by the events of the arising of the homemakers and the putting to bed at night of young children were studied. 2. Interactions of family members were not a focus of the study; only the activities of the homemakers were systematically investigated. 3. Data were collected comprehensively with refer- ence to only two weekdays: Tuesdays and Fridays. A. Data collection was limited to parts of the school year. 5. Findings were not reported for activities of less than five minutes duration. 6. Ranges and averages of clock-time duration for the activities were not reported. 7. No attempt was made to analyze the content ex- haustively or to evaluate the activity performance of the homemakers. 8. Emphasis was placed upon the search for a group activity pattern rather than a study of the patterns of the individual homemakers. 8 Many of the alternatives considered before deciding to limit the study in these ways are discussed at appro- priate points within the succeeding chapters. Statement of the Problem Within the confines of the sample chosen for this exploratory study, the research was designed to answer three basic questions: Do the homemakers exhibit an identifiable behavior- istic activity pattern? Do the homemakers exhibit an identifiable ideational activity pattern? If they do exhibit these activity patterns, in what ways do the behavioristic and the ideational activity patterns coincide or differ? This thesis reports the develOpment and application of techniques for discovery of the daily activity patterns of a selected group of homemakers as well as certain impli- cations of these patterns for home management. CHAPTER II INTELLECTUAL HISTORY Time studies within home management have tended to be quantitative, that is, they have emphasized amounts of time spent. In the social sciences, time theories and some exploratory studies have tended toward the qualitative in that they have attempted to indicate that time has vary— ing meanings which.shou1d be considered in gathering and interpreting time use data. Both approaches to investi- gating time contributed to the development of the activity pattern concept. Quantitative Approach to Time Study Studies of homemakers' time use have usually been made using chronological records of activities for one or more days. The method of gathering the time records prob- ably affects the validity of the data. Generally, the earliest studies of homemakers' time use were made by means of personal diaries. Since diary studies are time con- suming and require cooperative and intelligent subjects, it was discovered that participating homemakers did not represent adequately those homemakers with little education, low income, or with young children. 10 In the 1930's Warren1 deve10ped a method of time study designed to eliminate the limited representation which occurred in diary studies. Selected homemakers were asked to recall their activities for some days prior to the interview. This method was based on the assumption that the homemakers' recall was accurate enough so that results were a valid representation of time use in the time which was recalled. It seems that recall might be a vari- able factor; therefore, the validity of such data might be questioned. The homemakers' variation in ability to re- member, the time between the occurrence of the event and the recall, and the relative importance to the homemaker of the events themselves might have operated to make recall data quite different from the actual time use which the method aimed to reveal. In addition to the method selected for obtaining the data, the method used for reporting the findings in time studies has introduced distortion. Although usually gathered chronologically, the data have been grouped for reporting. Results have not been given in chronological order; rather all events related to some major activity have been reported in one total time unit. Therefore, only an abstraction of the time use pattern has been made. 1Jean warren. Use of time in its relation to home ggzggement.. N. Y. (Ithaca) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. 734. 11 Warren1 presented a probable weekly schedule of activities which were not carried out daily. Wiegand re- ported a similar type of information, accompanied by the conclusion that "there was no evidence of a universal work pattern for a week."2 Daily patterns have been presented only in terms of aggregate clock time rather than by utilizing the data related to chronological order of activ- ity performance. Upon inspection of many questionnaires it appeared that food preparation and dishwashing were the only activities assumed to be done more than once daily in North American homes. Kundak3 in her report of Turkish homemakers' time use presented many data in graphic rather than tabular form. She attempted to combine chronological and clock time in a figure showing percentages of forty-four home- makers who used the hours between h:30 A.M. and 11 P.M. for any one of ten major activity classifications.4 This 11bid., p. 55. 2Elizabeth Wiegand. Use of time by full-time and art-time homemakers in relation to home management. N. Y. Ithaca) Agr. Exp. Sta. Memoir 330. 1954. p. 14. 3Suat Saadet Kundak. Factors related to use of time in homemaking activities by selected Turkish housewives. Unpublished M. S. Thesis. Lafayette, Indiana, Purdue Uni- versity Library. 1958. thido , p0 1020 12 presentation approached the study of the activity pattern; however, Kundak's emphasis was upon aggregate time use and the incipient activity pattern was not emphasized. It appears that time use studies in home management have been based on data which may not reflect actual time allocation and that the reporting of aggregate data by activity classifications obscures the chronological order which should be an important factor in the study of time. Recently the recall method has been employed for the study of homemakers' time use in cultures other than the North American culture in which the method originated.1 In order to facilitate comparison, various researchers have tried to use the North American categories in analyzing their findings. The recall method and the aggregate classifica- tory system of reporting are viewed in this study as limit- ing to the understanding of home management as it occurs in various cultural settings. The concern with these as- pects of previous research is compounded when the problems Larising from the different cultural interpretations of .n... JA. .4-a.-._ time are considered. This uneasiness about the suitability of certain quantitative methods for the study of home management, especially cross-culturally, led to a search for time study approaches used in other disciplines. lSee Crespo, The housewife's day, Kundak Rodrffiaez and Gonzalez, Tarrant, Warren (1957) in the bibliograp c section entitled Studies of Homemakers' Time Use Patterns. 13 Qualitative Approach to Time Study Some sources from sociology and anthropology were examined to determine whether or not they contributed con- cepts which would help to focus the study, or provided methodological suggestions which would help to overcome some of the difficulties sensed in the quantitative approach. Time theories Sorokin and Merton1 pointed out the practical dis- tinctions between concepts of social and public time. Basically this is a distinction between subjective and ob- Jective measurements. Social time is time experienced by human beings in relation to events which have meaning for them. Public time is measured independently using means such as clocks and calendars to synchronize time for pur- poses of social action and communication. Sorokin and Merton discussed qualities of time as follows: Summing up, we may say that thus far our investiga- tion has disclosed the facts that social time, in contrast to the time of astronomy, is qualitative and not purely quantitative; that these qualities derive from the beliefs and customs common to the group and that they serve further to reveal the rhythms, pulsations, and beats of the societies in which they are found.2 lPitirim A. Sorokin and Robert K. Merton. Social time: a methodological and functional analysis. The American Journal of Sociology. 42: 615-629. 1937. 21bid., p. 623. 1h Sorokin and Merton closed with the suggestion that the concept of social time must accompany, or perhaps super- sede, the concept of astronomical time in research in social dynamics.l Hall2 provided a stimulus for further consideration of time as a cultural variation. He conceived of tem- porality as one primary factor in cultural communication. Temporality included many elements and levels of Operation. often time is taken for granted; therefore, people are unable to volunteer the rules by which this "silent lan- guage" communicates. Hall did not attempt to exhaust the possibilities of his classifications although time was frequently used toiillustrate variations. He also did not suggest concrete methods for investigating ways of handling time in different cultures, but said "there can be no doubt that if you know the temporal relationships between events you know a tremendous amount."3 Hall suggested that persons who wish to accelerate culture change should identify informal adaptations and bring them to conscious awareness.“ Included in his A 1Ibid., p. 628. 2Edward T. Hall. The silent language. New York, Doubleday and Company, Inc. 1959. 31b1do , p. 690 thid., p. 118. 15 definition of "informal" are patterns of activity learned by imitation, a category which probably covers most home- making activities. Later he indicated that in addition to the study of informal patterns, a promising lead to understanding culture should be the development of the knowledge of congruence and how it functions.1 By con- gruence was meant a sense of appropriateness of combina- tions which might include temporal combination or sequences. Field studies Sorokin and Berger2 pioneered in the study of diary time records kept for continuous periods of at least four weeks. Of particular interest is the comparison of activ- ities predicted for certain future days with the subsequent diary records for those days. There was some indication that household activities were among those less accurately predicted and that such activities tended to be under- predicted.3 The Sorokin-Berger study suggested that one means of investigating the dynamics of change through time and for obtaining evidences of planning, a crucial North American managerial concept, would be to compare predictions lIbid., p. 163. 2Pitirim A. Sorokin and Clarence A. Berger. Time- budgets of human behavior. Cambridge, Harvard University Press. 1939. 31bid., p. 166-167. 16 ‘with actual activities occurring in the time predicted. Since the diary and recall methods were found to have limitations as means for gathering time data,1 the only additional method which seemed available was observa- tion. Observation is a basic method in anthropology. Firth provided the rationale for observational studies of work patterns: But as a note for the field worker, it may here. be remarked that a most valuable ethnographic docu- ment would be a diary of native work from day to day, extending over a long period of time--say a complete year. This would provide most useful data in regard to the organization of activity and the seasonal distribution of occupation.2 Following this, some studies provided ordered activity data by half—days with emphasis on economically productive tasks.3 Provinse recorded the major daily activities of several Borean tribal members during a four week span. He evaluated the procedure as follows: An hourly unit would furnish a much more exact picture, but the returns from each minute tabula- tion are probably incommensurate with the added effort required. 1See discussion of quantitative approach to time study.. 2Raymond Firth. Primitive economics of the New Zealand Maori. New York, E. P. Button and Co. 1929. p. 56. 3See papers by Foster and Provinse in the b16116- graphic section entitled Time Studies in the Social Sciences. “John H. Provinse. Cooperative ricefield cultiva- tion among the Siang Dyaks of Central Borneo. American AchI‘OpOlogi St» 0 39: 77’102. 19370 p. 950 17 Although anthropologists have presented detailed descrip- tions of single days, they do not seem to have published techniques for documenting detailed work patterns based on a compilation of observed days for many workers. Anthropologists who have used observation as a method for gathering time use data have been conscious of the possible alteration of activities which may have occurred because of the presence of an observer. Two means of minimizing this bias have been tried in Mexican settings. Erasmus1 and his wife studied the work patterns of an entire village by noting the activity of each person at the moment of contact. This was done to avoid recording activities which might have been changed because of their presence. A thirteen hour day was observed over a three month period. The authors stated that the same household followed no identical routine from day to day. One may well question if their spot-check method could indicate thiS‘Witb certainty. The amount of time spent in each activity was not determined directly by observation. The duration of each activity was calculated proportionally by relating the number of observations of each activity to the total number of hours observed; therefore, these duration data are open to question. 1Charles J. Erasmus. Wbrk patterns in a Mayo vil- lage. American Anthropologist. 57: 322-333. 1955. 18 Lewis1 in his study of five urban Mexican families made the unique contribution of constant observation for a one-day span. The days were randomly chosen and records of all activities, especially interpersonal relationships, were recorded stenographically. The problem of possible alteration of activities in the presence of the observer was avoided as much as possible by studying families with whom Lewis had had contact over a period of at least nine years, and, in the majority of cases, using observers who were relatives or in some way connected with the observed family. The case studies, written in novel style, provide entertaining reading, but only a partial order of activ- ities can be determined from.the report. Lewis deleted some data "to avoid repetition and insignificant events."2 He did not specify his exact criteria for excising an event. Summary of the qualitative approach Social time and temporality are concepts which attempt to place time in relation to broad concerns deal- ing with the understanding of human behavior. Each concept suggests some personal and cultural variations in the treat- ment of time. Generally they are overviews intended to 1Oscar Lewis. Five families. New York, Basic Books, Inc. 1959. 2Ibid., p. 6. l9 stimulate the detailed research needed to support the idea being expounded. Duration, order, and importance of events as aspects worthy of study in relation to time seemed to be suggested repeatedly in the various papers cited above. Duration and order of events can be measured objectively using a consistent, clock-time measure. The importance of events, however, is a variable which cannot be calculated directly by clock time, since it cannot be assumed that amount of time spent in activities is synonymous with importance. Selection of the Daily Activity Pattern Approach In order to gain new insight into time as related to home management, it was decided to explore the possi- bility of an activity pattern based on ordering of tasks rather than on duration or aggregate clock times devoted to specific activities. The day was selected as a re- searchable natural time unit which usually had been sub— ordinated to the week in the few studies which mentioned homemakers' work patterns. Perhaps the idea of a possible pattern within the day had been overlooked due to assumed familiarity with the content of a day in North American homes. Any such familiarity, real or imagined, could not be assumed in a culture different from the investigator's own. In the following chapter the procedure adopted for carrying out the exploratory study of daily activity pat- terns is presented. CHAPTER III PROCEDURE The procedure followed in exploring daily activ- ity patterns as related to home management is described in four major divisions of this chapter. The choice of location and subjects, the development of research tech— niques, the field work, and a brief statement of the methods of coding and tabulation will be presented. Locational History In order to investigate the possible existence of daily activity patterns the author might have studied homemakers representing her own culture, another culture, or more than one culture. The idea of cross-cultural comparison was discarded because it was too complicated for an exploratory study. Although it seemed probable that daily activity patterns would vary among sub-cultures in her own country, the researcher had had previous over- seas research experience and was aware of the advantages of developing insights by studying a culture different from one's own. Therefore, she arranged to return to Costa Rica where she had had previous research opportunities. Since March 1960 the author has been connected with the Department of Economics and Extension of the Tropical 20 21 Center for Research and Graduate Study of the Inter- American Institute of Agricultural Sciences of the Organi- zation of American States. The Institute is located in Turrialba, Costa Rica. Its function is to develop and support agriculture and related programs in Latin America. The author's particular responsibilities have been in the area of home economics. Accurate information concerning what happens in rural Latin American homes is needed to provide a foundation for expanding programs of university and extension education in home economics. It was recog- nized that knowledge of the daily activity patterns of whOle families would be valuable in fulfilling the purposes of the Institute and increasing understanding of home man- agement. However, because this was an exploratory study, the sample was confined to homemakers. Site selection The exploration of daily activity patterns was . limited to homemakers in one rural community in Costa Rica. This was deemed necessary in order to minimize the time and effort needed to develop rapport. The major features desired in the community were as follows: the farms should be small or medium sized, rather than large commercial farms; the community should be relatively ac- cessible under all weatheP conditions; the houses should not be too scattered nor too numerous; and, if possible, 22 the researcher should have had previous contact in the com- munity. Although none of the three communities which were considered actually fulfilled all of the requirements, the one chosen was a community of small farms in which the re- searcher had had previous contacts. These two features outweighed the problems of scattered locations of dwellings and the relatively large number of families it contained as compared to the communities which were not chosen. Sample selection All homemakers who lived with their husbands in the community and who were not gainfully employed on a full- time basis outside their homes were considered eligible to be included in the study. ‘Homemakers specifically excluded were those who were widowed, those whose husbands lived elsewhere because of employment, and those who were regu- larly employed as storekeepers, telegraphers, or teachers. Homemakers who worked in the market on Sundays, in seasonal agricultural pursuits such as coffee harvest, or in home industry such as sewing, were considered eligible. A list of names of family heads whose wives were eligible was prepared by the school directress; there were eighty-four eligible persons. The names were numbered and a sample of nineteen was selected with the aid of a random number table. Development of Research Techniques Since a Latin American community had been selected 23 as the setting for the study, the author reviewed her pre- vious personal experiences in Costa Rica as well as liter- ature referring to Latin American time concepts before choosing research techniques appropriate to the exploration of daily activity patterns. A brief review of the basic methods and instruments used will be given in this section. Selection of the basic method In order to explore daily activity patterns it seemed essential to utilize both quantitative and qualitative measures of time use. The basic quantitative data were to be observations of what the homemakers did minute-by- minute. Observation was chosen as the most valid and de- tailed method to obtain the data. It was assumed that sufficient rapport could be developed so that the observer's presence would not cause excessive alteration of the activ- ity pattern. The interval of one minute was selected rather than the five, fifteen, or thirty minute minimum unit re- ported in many time use studies because it was believed that brief activity changes were important. It was planned to gather estimated time use data by prediction and recall on the days immediately preceding and following the observa- tions. In addition, questions were formulated to tap as- pects of activity patterns which were not deemed observable or which were not confined to a one-day span. For the purpose of this study, a time span was defined as the period of time between two specific events. 24 A one-day or daily time span was utilized. This time span could be delineated in three ways. First, it might be measured on a twenty—four hour clock basis, for example, from 7 A.Ms on one date until 7 A.M. on the following date. In areas in which a clock is not a cultural artifact, the time span of one twenty-four hour day could be measured from one sunset to the next sunset, or one sunrise to the next sunrise. Second, one day might be interpreted to mean the waking day, that is, the time span from arising until going to bed on the same calendar date. Third, a one-day time Span might be limited to the concept of a work day. A work day would be bounded by activities which conceivably could be observed by an outsider. The bound- aries of the one-day time span chosen for this study were the events of the homemakers' arising and the putting to bed at night of the youngest members of the family. These events were assumed to bound the span of the homemakers' work day. Original plan for the visits The original plan for the visits was based on what was thought to be the ideal situation for obtaining the necessary data. This original plan will be presented here in order to point out the alterations that were forced in the actual situation. As a minimum, five visits were to be made to each family; of these only three were to be 25 formal visits connected with the collection of activity data. The first visit was introductory in nature and was to be made when both spouses were at home if possible. The contact was to be used to explain the project and ask per- mission to include the family in the study. At this time the women were to be told that they would be visited on three consecutive days. On the first day they would be questioned about members of the family, the house, and other general matters. On the second day they would be ob- served at their work and the observer would write down the time whenever the homemaker changed activities and would note what she was doing. They would also be told that the researcher planned to carry her lunch and that they would not have to supply food for her on the day she was observ- ing them. On the third day they would be questioned con- cerning their ideas about homemaking, for example, which household activities they liked most and least and why. Never were they to be advised that they would be asked to -predict and recall their activities. The first of the three data collection visits was to be made in the early afternoon hours when, according to the opinions of various informants, the homemaker was likely to have a little time to devote to answering ques- tions. After a general conversation, the woman was to be asked if the following day would be satisfactory for the all-day visit. If given permission to visit the following 26 day, the interviewer would proceed with the questioning using the first four sections of the schedule and termi- nating with the homemaker's time and activity predictions for the following day. The interviewer would then depart saying that she would arrive about five o'clock the follow- ing morning and would remain until the younger children were put to bed. The observation was to constitute the second in the three day sequence. The homemaker's activities were to be the focal point of the observations. The time of day when- ever she changed her activity was to be noted. What she was doing, the equipment she used, and her procedure for work, including sequence and body positions, were to be noted in as much detail as possible. In addition, the ob- server planned to note the activities of other family mem- bers in the same manner as often as possible without losing pertinent information concerning the homemaker. The third of the data collection visits was designed to cover the remaining four sections of the schedule which related to recall data and attitudes. Whenever possible a family photograph was to be taken on this occasion. A final visit was to be made to deliver a gift copy of the photograph. Schedule The schedule was originally written in English, then translated into Spanish with the help 0f technicians at 27 the Institute.1 The major sections of the schedule were designed to obtain general information about family members, housing and household equipment, and selected practices; homemakers' plans for the following day; homemakers' recol— lections of the previous day; homemakers' responses to questions related to the introduction of change and aware- ness of change through time; and responses to hypothetical situations involving time. The schedule sections of particular import for the study of activity patterns were those related to predictions and recollections. The women were to be asked to tell what they were thinking of doing on the following day in chrono- logical order from the time of arising to the end of the day, and, if possible to tell the hour in which each dif- ferent activity would be begun. As it was thought that the concept of planning would be so foreign that the women might refuse to answer a direct question about the follow- ing day, an alternative was provided. In case the subject failed to reply to the first series of questions, she was to be asked to tell what she did "regularly."2 On the day following the observation this same procedure was utilized 1See Appendices A and B for Spanish and English versions of the schedule. 2When the alternate form proved to be unnecessary, it was omitted from the schedule. 28 to determine the homemakers' recollections of their activ- ities on the previous day. Generalizations about the repetitiveness of daily life in Latin America are common in North American inter- pretations of Latin American activities. Foster charac- terized the daily activities in one Mexican village as follows: By and large, however, except as modified by child care, the work habits of adults are fairly constant from the time they are married until near the time of their death. . . . The daily round of life in a family depends to a considerab e extent on the occu- pation of the father, and on what he may be doing on any particular day.1 Jones, in providing background data for a study in a Costa Rican village, stated that "the daily schedule varies little for the people."2 If these views actually do operate in the daily life of the Latin American homemakers, it seemed logical that the Costa Rican homemakers to be studied would evidence a definite repetitious pattern of daily activity.\ Several questions were included in the schedule to probe the presence of an image of repetition in the minds of these women. 1George M. Foster. Empire's children: the peeple of Tzintzuntzan. Smithsonian Institution. Institute of Social AnthrOpology Publication No. 6. 1948. p. 151. ZEarl Jones. A study of a Costa Rican rural educa- tion center. M. A. Thesis. Turrialba, Costa Rica, Inter- American Institute of Agr. Sci. LMimeo.) 1959. p. 19. 29 Field Work This section will describe briefly the 1960 entry into the community and the procedure actually followed in making the visits. Entgz into thg community The researcher was well-remembered in the community. Many people recalled her visits in 1952 and 1953 as a guest in the priestfs home. Several also recalled humorous in- cidents from the early visits when she was learning Spanish. Some women and children displayed black and white photo- graphs she had taken of them during the first visits. Dur- ing informal talks with both men and women, they showed favorable interest in the topic to be investigated. In an effort to advise formal and informal leaders of the general plans to carry out a study of the use of homemakers' time, the school directress, the owners of a large general store, the police agent, and some family heads were contacted. The priest was not visited at that time because he had just received notice that he was to be trans» ferred. The new priest was appraised of the plans at the earliest possible data. Two different priests who resided in the community during the field work reviewed the sched- ule and both gave support to the study from the pulpit. A house was rented from friends who had moved to the capital and plans were made to spend three weeks in residence 30 to try out the living arrangements. Lunches and suppers were usually eaten with the owners of a large general store. Since they would not accept payment, the researcher gradu- ally began to spend free hours helping in the store. This served to improve her Spanish vocabulary, offered contacts with many people who otherwise would not have been met, gave an opportunity to explain the purpose of the project, and gave her a certain prestige since she had been taken into the confidence of an influential and respected family. The school was visited frequently. The teachers were good informants and patient with the researcher's efforts to learn more Spanish.i During recess the children formed a willing audience for NOrth American folksongs with motions. They were eager imitators of "Jingle Bells" and other jolly rhythms. A new generation was taught a Spanish version of "Farmer in the Dell" which the researcher had introduced in 1953 to some of their older brothers and sisters. "Lion Hunt" was also translated into Spanish and frequently played, especially by the boys. A pre-test of the three-day visiting procedure was made during the three week residence in August 1960. In- itial visits were made to many of the homes in the sample to explain the project, and, if interest was demonstrated, to request permission to visit the family later as part of the study. At this stage the researcher was overeager and frequently set a goal of too many visits per day. This 31 necessitated rushing from house to house when the families would have liked her to stay longer to entertain them with folksongs and explanations of life in the United States. When one desires to find out about family life in Costa Rica, one needs infinite patience and must make repeated explanations of one's own life. Personal photographs from home were soon smudged from much passing among the villagers. At first some women were visited when the husband was not present. This often resulted in refusal to participate in the study, since the Latin American husband traditionally controls the activities of family members. When the re- searcher finally realized the reason for some refusals, care was taken to seek the husband's permission in each case. As a result, in almost all cases in which the spouses were consulted together there was enthusiastic acceptance; in at least one case the husband actually convinced his reluctant wife to participate. Actual visits and alterations in procedure The project was explained to the people as an in- terest in learning how much time was spent by homemakers in household activities each day. However, some residents of the community said that Sunday would be a poor observa~ tion day, since they used that day for going to Mass and visiting, and avoided doing laundry as much as possible. They resisted the use of Sunday as a day to study time use 32 in household activities. When the researcher realized that she might have broadened her explanation to include all the activities of the women, she also realized that the use of Sundays as work days for herself would be contrary to local custom. The original plan was then revised so that all ob- servations would be made on a Tuesday or a Friday; there- fore, two three-day series could be completed each week, avoiding Sunday, provided that holidays or refusals did not interrupt the work. The three-day sequence using Tues- day and Friday observation days would provide a certain physical ease, but perhaps would bias the content of time use, unless the stereotype of repetition of daily activities was the real case. The first six families in the sample were visited during September and October 1960. Then severe rains halted the field work. When school closed for the three- month vacation at the end of November, the work had to wait for school to reopen in March in order to control the possibility of time use difference by school season. Since children were in school the majority of the year, school season data were thought to be most suited for study. The remaining thirteen families were visited during March, April, and May 1961. Several comments about the actual observation days will illustrate changes which had to be made from the ideal 33 plan, and will indicate some changes which may have been due to the presence of an observer. The homemakers, their husbands, or their children frequently asked the observer the time of day or how many pages of activities she had noted. When husbands arrived home about noon, some seemed pleased that their wives had done enough work to fill several pages of notebook paper, while others were incredulous that the women could have done so much. The homemakers were concerned about the physical ‘comfort of the observer. Usually when they changed work locations they carried a chair or stool to the new loca- tion for the observer or they told a child to do so. Several expressed surprise that the observer was willing to go along when they went to rinse clothes or carry water. When some of the children realized that the observer would make these trips, they asked why she would not help carry water. Many times the function of observing had to be reexplained. Although the observer had explained carefully that she would carry her lunch, many people worried about the fact that she ate little and ate at hours quite different from the customary rural Costa Rican mealtimes. The ob- server commented that she was accustomed to different times, that she did not do hard physical work while observing and therefore did not require much food, that she could not eat when they did because mealtime was a time of much activity which she wished to note, and that if she ate part 3A of the family's food the woman would be serving more food and washing more dishes, thereby changing the time patterns of the activities under observation. In spite of all the explanations and the supply of sandwiches, bread, bananas, and candy with which the observer arrived, she was forced to eat something with many of the families. Since she was accustomed to eat lunch about noon when the families usually drank coffee, she soon abandoned the practice of carrying a thermos and shared the family coffee. In some homes she.accepted other food, usually a sample of soup, some seasonal fruit or vegetable, or a hot tortilla. Often she was able to satisfy the families' desires to be hos- pitable by eating with them on some day other than the ob- servation day. Coding, Tabulation and Analysis To facilitate tabulation and analysis of the de- tailed observation data, some means of classification of activities had to be develOped. Pre-coded categorization was not used because not enough was known about the home- makers' activities prior to carrying out the research to justify utilization of the groupings reported in previous studies. Since the system of classification finally de- veloped as a concomitant part of the extraction of re- sults, it will be presented as a part of Chapter V, along 35 with an explanation of the techniques of tabulation and analysis which were employed.1 1See Appendix C for a detailed listing of events according to the coding system devised for this study. CHAPTER IV CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SAMPLE A general description of the families which com-’ prised the sample is presented in this chapter. This will provide a setting for the daily activity data which will be presented in Chapters V and VI, and will indicate the general homogeneity of the sample with respect to certain factors which may affect, or be associated with, activity patterns. Selected aspects of family composition, educa- tion, occupation, land tenancy, as well as facilities, equipment, and procedures related to housing, food, and clothing are discussed. Family Composition Most of the families in the sample were in the expanding stage of the family life cycle. The couples had been married from six to thirty-one years, with a median of ten years married. The median age of the husbands was thirty-eight, while the median age of the wives was thirty, with a range of twenty-three to forty-seven years. The families varied in size from four to eleven persons, with a median of eight. The number of children per family ranged from two to nine, with a median of six. Only two households included persons outside the nuclear family. 36 37 The majority of the families (fifteen) included both preschool and school children (Table 1). Nearly half of the families (nine) had children under one year of age. Costa Rican children normally do not enter school until age seven; this meant that all the women had at least one preschool child. Table 1. Distribution of children in the sample according to age and family composition W Ages of children (years) Family compo- nder Over _f Total sition 1 1-6 7-13 13 Children Families Parents plus: Preschool chil- dren only 3 12 15 h Preschool and school children A 31 24 59 10 Preschool, school, and out- of-school chil- dren 2 7 l7 9 35 5 Total 9 5O 41 9 109 19 __—._ —— Since all the families had young children, it seems pertinent to note the potential help which the mothers might receive from their children. The median age of the youngest child per family was one year. The age of the oldest child living at home ranged from four to twenty-four years, with a median of nine. Since most of the help for 38 the mother was likely to come from daughters, the age of the oldest daughter was noted. Two mothers had only male children. For the remainder, the age of the oldest daugh- ter ranged from three to sixteen years, with a median of eight. Only three families included out-of-school daughters who were free to contribute help without interfering with studies. The oldest daughters in six families were of preschool age; therefore, they could assume little responsi- bility. Eight families had oldest daughters of school age. Some of the mothers indicated that their own work varied according to whether the daughter attended the morning or afternoon school session. Even though all the homemakers did not verbalize this problem, it was evident that an oldest daughter who was in school three to four hours per day could neither help a great deal at home nor pay much . attention to school assignments when she returned from L school. Education Although the three-year median for education com- pleted was equal for husbands and wives, the range of edu- cation of husbands was greater (Table 2). The one husband with more than six years of education was employed as a grade school teacher. The one homemaker who had completed sixth grade also reported taking a correspondence course in child care before her marriage. In the one case in 39 which the homemaker said she did not know her husband's education, it was probably limited. He was a day laborer and the wife was one of the women whose education terminated in the second grade. General knowledge of the educational system in the community is pertinent to this study because field work was carried out only during the school year. It was evident that the split school shifts caused some homemaking prob- lems which may have affected activities. Table 2. Number of adults who terminated formal education at specified levels Highest grade completed Husbands Wives O 2 l l l 0 2 2 3 3 ' 4 7 4 h h 5 2 3 6 2 1 More than 6 l 0 Unknown 1 0 Total 19 19 School was in session from March through November, with a two week vacation in July. The three month vacation from November through February coincided with the end of the coffee harvest and the period of the tobacco harvest. The school day was divided into two sessions: one from to seven to ten in the morning, and the other from eleven to two in the afternoon. The sixth grade met Monday through Saturday for a half-day session of four hours. The other classes met Nonday through Friday and every other Saturday for half-day sessions. A child might attend two afternoons and three mornings or some other combination to receive his half-days of schooling. As often as possible, the children were assigned in consideration of the distance they lived from school and the possibility of heavy after- noon rains, but many went to school whenever they chose regardless of the assigned hour. There were several short recesses and one longer recess during the school hours. Some of the children who lived near the school dashed home at recess to eat lunch or drink coffee. When children in the same family had different school schedules, the mother had a lengthy lunch serving period. Some children would eat before going to the eleven o'clock session and others would eat when they came home after ten. The children liked to leave home early to play in the school yard and often stayed late to play when school had ended. Mothers seemed to have difficulty keeping track of which children attended which shift. Occupation and Land Tenancy Farming, either as owners or day laborers, was the occupation of the majority of the family heads (Table 3). Al The farms were small in view of the fact that the average size of the family was eight. The major cash crops in the community were coffee and tobacco, although some sugar cane, corn, and beans were also grown. Table 3. Distribution of family heads according to occupa- tion and land ownership Manzapasa owned Less Occupation 0 than 1 l-6 10.5 Unknown Total Farmer 2 l A l 2 10 Day laborer A 2 6 Teacher 1 1 2 Small busi- ness owner 1 1 Total 7 5 h l 2 l9 __ aOne manzana equals 1.727 acres. Since the seasonal farm rhythms and consequent in- come patterns probably affected activities, it seems rele- vant to note these briefly. Coffee was picked as it ripened between August and December. After drying, it was sold immediately or held for a time when prices might be more favorable. Laborers who picked coffee for someone else were paid daily or weekly. Tobacco was harvested, dried and sold in large lots between February and April. La- borers who picked coffee for someone else were paid daily or weekly. Tobacco was harvested, dried and sold in large #2 lots between February and April. Laborers were paid daily or weekly, while owners received a large lump sum payment when they turned in the tobacco which was contracted by one of two local cigarette companies. Day laborers had to work from 6 AfM. to noon daily to earn approximately four colones, about sixty cents in United States money, to pay for daily needs. Land owners usually charged many of their purchases throughout the year and paid their debts when they were paid for their tobacco. The families were considered eligible for the study only if the wife was not regularly employed on a full-time basis. Five of the homemakers indicated that they had worked for pay sometime during the six months preceding the interview. Two of them worked in the market on Sun- days selling coffee, ice cream, and other foods. One ironed and another sewed for persons outside the family. One homemaker sold meals to one of the day laborers who was engaged in the construction of a new water system for the community. Facilities, Equipment, and Procedures for Homemaking Activities Housing and house care Approximately four-fifths of the families (sixteen) owned their own homes. Of the three families who did not own their own homes, two lived in houses owned by parents #3 of the husband or wife, and one family lived in a house owned by the husband's employer. Eleven of the women had lived their entire lives in the community. The women had lived for six months to twenty-five years in their present house, with a median of six years of occupancy. The houses ranged in size from two to six rooms, with a median of four rooms. One house had a tile roof; two houses had tile roofing in the kitchen only; the remaining roofing was all corrugated metal. Eleven houses had dirt floors throughout; one house had wooden floors throughout; one house had wooden or concrete floors throughout; six houses had some floors of wood and others of earth. In about three-fifths of the houses (twelve) arti- ficial lighting was provided by a wick soaked in kerosene; four houses had electricity generated by a motor which usually ran from 5:30 P.M. to 10 P.M. and provided a weak current suitable for radios and low wattage light bulbs; two families used candles and kerosene wicks for lighting; one family used only candles. About half of the homemakers (ten) had running water available in their house or yard; five had the water con- nected in the kitchen and five had the water coming only to the yard. During the dry season, especially February to April, the village pump operated only a few hours each morning. By about 10 A.M. there was no longer any running water and all available containers had been filled'in each 44 home to provide a supply for the remainder of the day. Nearly half of the homemakers (nine) had no running water available in the house or yard. One homemaker drew water from a well about eighty feet downhill from her house. The homemakers who did not have a source of water available on their property had to carry water from the nearest dwelling with running water or from one of the few small streams which flowed through the village. In rainy season these families placed all kinds of containers to catch the rain in order to avoid trips to outside water sources. A new water system which was under construction should eventually extend the convenience of cold running water to all the houses in the village. The cleaning procedure in these homes included al- most daily washing with cold water and steel wool of such wooden furniture as benches, tables, and kitchen counters. Some homemakers used lemon rind to help whiten these un- finished wooden surfaces. The earthen floors were swept an average of twice daily with a broom made of leaves. These brooms were usually fitted with new leaves every second day. In the houses with wooden floors, the floors were washed, waxed, and polished by hand with rag mops. Bedding was scarce; often only a straw mat and a few pieces of blanketing or burlap sacking were spread on the wooden plank beds each night. During the day the bedding was usually aired and sunned. 45 Food prepggation The customary diet which the families were observed to eat consisted of rice, beans, tortillas, a a dulce,1 coffee, bread, and some variations such as potatoes, maca- roni, and squash. Only a few homemakers served any meat or eggs on the days when observations were made. Milk was served, but not in quantities sufficient to provide minimum nutritive value per family member. Five families owned cows. Nine homemakers reported that they bought milk with differing degrees of regularity. One woman reported buying milk only when someone was sick. One homemaker said she rarely bought milk and another said she never bought milk. All but two homemakers reported buying bread fairly regu- larly. All except three women reported that they bought canned goods, although usually only for special occasions. One of the first activities each morning was to make the daily supply of tortillas, the thin round corn cakes which served as bread. The cooked corn had to be ground, than water was added, and the dough was patted into thin round cakes on a piece of banana leaf. The dough was then cooked in a handleless frying pan over a wood fire. Nearly four-fifths of the homemakers (fifteen) used a meat grinder to grind their corn. Four homemakers ground their corn lAgga dulce is a beverage made of crude sugar dis- solved in e t er hot or cold water. #6 once with a grinder and a second time with a stone mortar and pestle in the ancient Indian manner. Nearly nine-tenths of the homemakers (seventeen) did their cooking on a fo 6n, an earth-filled box on legs on which an open wood fire was built. Stones or a metal grill supported the pots above the fire. One woman had an enclosed fggég with a chimney and another cooked on a two- burner kerosene stove. Clothing and clothing care The customary clothing for men included work pants shirts of denim or khaki, and straw hats. WOmen usually wore cotton work dresses and aprons. The children wore beige shirts or blouses and navy pants or skirts if their families could provide this school uniform. At other times the children dressed as miniature adults. Underwear was seldom used. The majority of husbands wore shoes daily. Mothers were about equally divided among those who wore shoes daily and those who never wore shoes. The use of shoes by adults often originated with a doctor's prescrip- tion. It was difficult for these families to afford shoes for their many growing children. One mother did see the relationship between shoes, health, and economic resources. She said, "We spend less money on shoes for our children than our neighbors spend on medical bills for their bare- foot children." Three homemakers indicated that no member A7 of the family owned any special clothing for Sunday. 'Approx- imately four-fifths of the women (sixteen) said that they saved the best, that is, the least mended and stained, cloth- ing for Sunday even if they did not possess something es- pecially good. Clothing was cared for by washing in cold water with either bar or powdered soap. Some homemakers used bluing, bleaches, and starch. The customary procedure was to soap clothes and leave them in the yard overnight. The second day they were rinsed and put in the sun to dry. The women who did not have running water available in the house or yard often soaped clothes in the yard and rinsed them at the water source to save hauling water. Nearly one-third of the women (six) washed in their concrete sinks, five of which were in kitchens and one in the yard. About two- fifths of the women (eight) washed in wooden, platter-like scrubbing boards supported at waist height in the yard. Four of these women had running water available in the yard. Four women did their laundry at the brook and another did her laundry at the well. Almost three-fifths of the women (eleven) ironed their clothes with charcoal irons. ~Six women used hand irons which had to be heated over the open fire of the cooking stove. One homemaker possessed both hand irons and a charcoal iron. Another woman owned both hand irons and a kerosene iron; she said she used the kerosene iron for 55:: : _'_‘ _ #8 large ironings, and heated the hand iron when she wanted to press one article. Slightly more than one-third of the homemakers (seven) had sewing machines. Two women mentioned that they could visit their mothers' homes when they wanted to use a sewing machine. Two said they paid to have most clothing made. More may have done so; however, this question was not spe- cifically asked. Six reported that they never sewed, but only one homemaker said she never mended. Summary The nineteen homemakers in the sample all had pre- school children. The family members had limited formal education. The men were mainly small farm owners with an average of less than two acres of land to provide income for an average family of eight persons. The homes were usually small with a median size of four rooms. Facilities and equipment which might shorten the time used for house- hold activities were scarce; therefore, most household work had to be done by human effort. It was assumed that the homemakers altered their activities very little on the observation day. The ob- server was well-known to the family members and facilities which might have permitted variation were not available to the women; therefore there was little reason or Opportunity to alter their activities. CHAPTER V HOMEMAKERS' BEHAVIORISTIC ACTIVITY PATTERNS An exploration of possible patterning of homemakers' daily activities was undertaken to augment understanding of time as it functions in home management. (The pattern of homemakers' activities as determined by observation was designated in this study as the behavioristic activity pattern. The information reported in this chapter is based upon a compilation of actual observations for an average of thirteen and one-half hours in each of nineteen randomly- selected rural Costa Rican homes. Only the activities of the homemakers were systematically recorded. The observa- tion data do not include any activities which might have taken place prior to the observer's early morning arrival; when the observer arrived, three—fourths of the women were already engaged in food preparation activities. Likewise it was not possible to observe the later evening activities since the arrangement had been that the observer would leave when the younger children were put to bed, this activity being considered an appropriate indicator of the termination of the homemakers' work day. #9 50 This chapter is presented in three major divisions related to the activities carried out by the homemakers. The coding, tabulation and analysis systems developed for this study are presented in the first section. The ob- served daily activity pattern is presented in the second part. The third portion includes observed cases selected to illustrate some aspects of patterning within the activi- ties which comprise the pattern. Coding, Tabulation and Analysis Coding An attempt was made to group observed events accord— ing to the principal activities carried out by the home- makers. The classification represented the coder's view of the operational units which were utilized. A skeletal class» ification was first made using the activities named by the homemakers when they were asked what household tasks they had to perform daily, what they were thinking of doing on the following day, and what they recalled of the previous day's activities. To this preliminary classification were added other activities and events which were observed. Eight categories were judged by the researcher to include all of the varied activities of the homemakers.1 lSee Appendix c for detailed coding guide. 51 Within some of these eight categories certain activities appeared to be of sufficient importance and independence to merit highlighting. The classification was expanded to include fifteen groups of activities. The eight categories and their fifteen subordinate activities are presented in the following outline with explanatory notes included as a basis for understanding the reported data and as a guide for other researchers with cultural classification problems. I. Food preparation and service A. Grinding corn - counted separately because it was often done by persons other than the homemaker B. Making tortillas - counted separately because it was always named as a distinct activity by the women C. Preparing other food, serving, and eating - since the women often ate while cooking, and frequently continued food preparation while serving some members of the family, it was impossible to classify these activities separately II. House care A. Cleaning kitchen - included dishwashing as this was seldom separated from other kitchen cleaning tasks B. Cleaning and arranging house other than kitchen C. Hauling water - separated because often done by other family members; also water might be used 52 for food preparation or laundry in addition to house care III. Clothing care A. Laundering1 B. Ironing 0. Sewing2 IV. Child care A. Routine or ”expected" - this included any ironing, mending, and special food preparation involved in getting children ready for school, as well as bathing, dressing, nursing, and putting chil- dren to bed i V. Recreation A. Chosen or "expected" - mainly conversation in the afternoon or evening VI. Personal care A. Physical VII. Animal care A. Cows - clock time devoted to other animals was too brief to be considered and was coded under VIII B. 1The usual procedure was to wash some clothes and rinse other clothes on the same day. The daily activity was investigated rather than the complete laundry procedure for any given item of clothing. 2Whenever a woman was observed to sew she completed a garment within the same one-day time span. 53 VIII. Interruptions; forced or "unexpected" circumstances A. Caused by children - care due to illness, special activity, or guidance B. Other causes - included a variety of miscellaneous activities usually of short duration, as well as work stoppage to converse with the observer Tabulation and analysis After the coding system was considered adequate for the purpose of determining the homemakers' daily activity patterns, each of the fifteen activities was assigned a separate color. The information abstracted from the ob- servations was color-coded on graph paper.1 Each horizontal row of squares showed the sequential activities for a particular homemaker. Each square represented one minute. The actual clock time was indicated. The clock times were aligned for each homemaker. Thus it was possible to see simultaneously what each woman had done at 7 A.M. or 11:22 A.Mt or 3:A6 P.M. or any other specified clock time during the observations. No pattern of activities was obvious when the clock times were aligned. That is, the —— ~— _———— 1The colored square technique was adapted from one devised by researchers concerned with self-recording of activities at one minute intervals as a basis for calcu- 1ating daily energy needs. See Garry, Passmore et a1. and Passmore, Thomson et.al. in the bibliographic section an- titled Human Energy Studies. 5# colors did not consistently repeat in any vertical column. Such repetition would have been an immediate indicator of a pattern of activities according to clock time. Since no activity pattern was clearly revealed by the alignment of clock time, it became apparent that the quantity of data available from the observations needed to be condensed in order to facilitate further examination. A minimum of five consecutive minutes was selected as the criterion for including an activity in the tabulation. The activities of each homemaker were coded on graph paper in the order in which they had occurred with each square repre- senting one activity of five or more consecutive minutes. Again no pattern was evident from this ordering; that is, no color was consistently repeated in any vertical column of squares when the first activity of each homemaker was aligned. However, the data did reveal that the sequence of meals observed was identical for all families, although the meals did not occur at the same clock hour, nor for the same duration of time. Thus, the mealtimes of morning coffee, lunch, midday coffee, and supper appeared to be usable as independent variables. Since occasionally some homemakers prepared and served a meal without any inter- vening activities while others began a preparation and later returned to it, the independent variables selected were actually the first or beginning preparation of five 55 or more consecutive minutes for each of these four meals.1 In this study a time span was defined as the period of time between two specific events. The daily time span of the woman's work day was bounded by the events of her arising and the putting to bed at night of young children. ‘Within this one-day time span, five distinct time spans were delineated by the use of the four meals as independent variables. The first, Time Span I, occurred before the beginning of morning coffee preparations. The second, Time Span II, comprised the time between the beginning of morn- ing coffee preparations and the beginning of lunch prepara- tions. The third, Time Span III, took place between be- ginning lunch preparations and beginning midday coffee preparations. The fourth, Time Span IV, was between be- ginning midday coffee and beginning supper preparations. The last period, Time Span V, included the time following the beginning of supper preparations to the end of the observation.v _ 1In addition to preparing the four meals, several of the homemakers were observed to have one other food preparation activity. In the evening nearly three-fourths of them either prepared a beverage before bedtime, or cooked corn or beans for use at uns cified future meals. The observer had been present in al but one of the homes during the four meals; in one case she arrived after morn- ing coffee had been served. It was decided not to consider this evening food preparation period as an independent variable, since it was not a universal happening as were the other four meals. It is possible that if the observa- tions had continued later in the evening, this bedtime beverage preparation might have appeared as a universal event. 56 To simplify the identification of the independent variables, they will be called coffee, lunch, coffee, and supper when they appear in chronological order. Morning coffee and midday coffee will be specifically identified only when the distinction would not otherwise be clear. To simplify the identification of the spans of time between the meals, they will be identified in the following dis- cussion by the time span number alone whenever possible. When specific designation is needed, the time spans will be identified by naming the meals which form their bound- aries.1 The observed activities which occurred within each time span were examined to see if they revealed patterns or groupings common to the homemakers. The principal findings of this analysis are presented in the following section. Observed Daily Activity Patterns Three general indicators of the homemakers' activity patterns were used. The first index was the presence of the activities within any of the five time spans. The second index was the repetition of activities within a time span. The third was the sequence followed within each of the five spans of time. 1Always keep in mind that the independent variable is the first preparation of five minutes or more devoted to the meal named. 57 Index I: Presence of activities -In order to determine the time span distribution of all activities which occurred, each activity was tabulated within each time span according to the number of homemakers who participated in it (Table A). In addition to deter- mining the presence or absence of activities in each time span, it was possible to determine the most common time span for each activity. Seven activities: cleaning the kitchen, child care, preparing food, personal care, cleaning the house, launder- ing, and interruptions by adults of five minutes or more duration were observed to occur in all the time spans. The child care activities in Time Spans II and III frequently were related to bathing and dressing, while those in Span 'V were concerned with putting the children to bed. Those in Span IV had no consistent content. Apparently many homemakers did not wash dishes fol- lowing midday coffee. The usual procedure was to clean them in less than five minutes, delegate the task, or leave the dishes until supper dishes were washed. Cleaning other than in the kitchen was slightly more common during Time Span III; however, it was nearly as likely to be done in Span II. Although the conventional period for doing laundry was during Span III, it is of interest to note that nearly 58 Table A. Number of homemakers who performed activities within each time span W Time Spanl__ ‘_ Activity Ia 11b 111° Ivd v9 Grinding corn 5 6 . . . .Making tortillas 8 l3 1 . 1 Cleaning kitchen 3 l6 17 A 15 Child care 2 13 15 13 16 Preparing food 2 5 17 12 18 Personal care 2 2 8 3 3 Cleaning house 1 ll 13 2 2 Laundering 1 h 13 9 7 Interruptions 1 3 7 A 8 Recreation . l 3 16 17 Sewing . 1 A 7 7 Interrupt: child . 1 3 1 A Ironing . 1 l 2 5 Animal care . A l l . Hauling water . l 2 . 1 aTime Span I: before beginning morning coffee bTime Sfian II: between beginning morning coffee and beginning lunc . cTime Span III: between beginning lunch and begin- ning midday coffee ' dTime Span IV: between beginning midday coffee and beginning supper eTime Span V: after beginning supper to the end of the observation 59 half of the women laundered during Span IV, and about one- third laundered during Span V. Net all the homemakers were observed to have five consecutive minutes of personal care; however, the usual time for personal care appeared to be during Span III when some of the women combed and braided their hair and bathed themselves. Interruptions caused by persons other than children occurred with nearly equal frequency during Spans III and V. No homemaker was observed to participate in recre- ational activities, sewing, ironing, animal care, or water hauling for as much as five minutes before making morning coffee (Span I). Also, since many of the children remained in bed until morning coffee Was prepared, the mothers were not interrupted by their children during this period. The most popular time for grinding corn and making tortillas was after serving morning coffee. This explains the fact noted by the observer that in many homes morning coffee was served without any solid food to accompany it. While making the tortillas some homemakers served them hot to family members, but in most cases tortillas were not available to everyone in the family before the day's work began. Only one homemaker was observed to make fresh tortillas for the family's supper; the other homemakers either served reheated tortillas or omitted them entirely. Animal care, for those homemakers with cows, most commonly occurred during Span II, when all except one 60 homemaker completed her milking chore. The hauling of water was usually done during Span III. Since water was regularly carried to the house by persons other than the homemaker, this activity was done by the homemaker only when_the daily supply had been exhausted, or was low, or in cases in which no other family member could be delegated this responsibility. Interruptions by children occurred most often in Time Spans III and V when the mothers were probably engaged in lunch or supper preparations. Most of the homemakers participated in some recreational activities after midday coffee, during Spans IV and V. Although not all the homemakers sewed or mended during the observation time, the usual periods utilized by those who did sew or mend were after midday coffee, during Spans IV and V. The customary time for ironing was after the beginning of supper preparation during Span V. In view of the fact that light was provided in three-fourths of the houses by kerosene wicks, one might question the reason for such a late ironing time. However, supper was often served about 3 P.M.; thus the ironing time may have occurred before the end of the daylight hours. Some home- makers said that they preferred to iron in the evening after the children were in bed because there was less danger from children playing near the hot iron. Also the likelihood of interruption by the children was minimized 61 at that time. Although some homemakers were observed to iron and mend earlier in the day, these activities always were in conjunction with getting children ready for school and so were classified as child care. Index II: Repetition of activities The data were examined in further detail to deter- mine whether any homemakers had participated in any activity more than once within each time span (Table 5). Repeti- tion seemed most likely to occur during Time Span III. During this time span, kitchen cleaning, child care, and food preparation activities were participated in at least twice by more than half of the women, and laundry was done at least twice by about two-fifths of them. No activities were carried out more than once by at least half of the women during Spans I, II, and IV. Food preparation activities were carried out twice by approxi- mately four-fifths and child care activities by about two- fifths of the women during Span V. Even though some activities were repeated by only a few homemakers, it was possible to denote the time span during which such repetitions were most likely to occur and to distinguish these from activities which appeared to be completed in one continuous Operation.' For example, within the same time span the grinding of corn and the hauling of water were never repeated; tortilla making, 62 G mquESZm .mmocmsnomnom mo hopes: cassava“ 30h Hoodom«hon name a f)\\.\\\.\\ hopm3 wGHHfimm memo HmeHn< H o o o o o e o o o N e o H o o o o o o o o o e o e o e o o m o o o m H H H o maflnOQH o N o o o N o o o o H o o .H o O . s . . . . m a . . . H . . . . a N . . a . . eNNeo .pdeuuop H o o o o N m m m H o e wagmm H H N o . . .H . . o m a . a N N Ha . a m oa . . . . a N . . a . . soapmeuo m . . . . a N . . a m . . . . N m . . m . a meoaeasenopeH . . . . a e . N a o . . . N o m . . e . a meanoeeseg . . o o o N o o o N e . H H N a o N m o H mmdofi wndnmmfiu . . . . . m . . . m . . . . a N . . N . N memo assented . . m m oa N . . e m H . a m m n . N m . N econ meanmmenm a N H . m m . m e s . . N m s s a N OH . N ones eases O O 0 O O H O O O o o 0 O H O O O H NH O m m¢aHHptH°p mgfixmz o o o o o o o o o o o o e e o o o o o o m 600 mafiflnfloflo mlllllll: e m .l.._H a m m H m m e m m H m N H w eH >35»: > >H. HHH HH H . :mmm mafia . MM] It It tuna“... seam asap some canoe: once so mono moaow>wpom emsnommom on: mwoxmaoson mo woossz .m edema 63 personal care activities, ironing, animal care, and inter- ruptions by children and others were seldom repeated. Food preparation, kitchen cleaning, and other house care activ- ities were repeated most frequently during Time Span III. Laundry was repeated as frequently during Span III as Span IV. Sewing was repeated most frequently during Span IV. During Span V recreation and child care were the activities most often repeated. Indeg III: Sgguence of activities The calculation of presence and repetition of ac- tivities within time periods had not indicated the chrono- logical order in which the activities were performed. Se- quence of performance within time spans had been selected as an indicator of activity patterns; therefore, the ac- tivities of the homemakers were tabulated next in the order of occurrence within each time span. The number of women performing each activity first, second, third, and so forth, within each time span was determined. The activity first participated in by the largest number of women was chosen as the first activity in the sequence pattern. The second activity selected was that participated in second by the largest number of homemakers. The selection of activities continued in this way provided that a minimum of three women had performed the activity. When at least three women had not performed the same activity, no further ac- tivities were included in that particular time span. 64 Using these criteria, only nine of the fifteen ac- tivities appeared in the sequence pattern (Table 6). The grinding of corn and the making of tortillas appeared as sequential activities before morning coffee (Time Span I). The prevalent sequence of activities between beginning morn- ing coffee and beginning lunch (Time Span II) was as follows: 'clean the kitchen, make tortillas or clean the kitchen, take care of children or clean the kitchen, clean other areas of the house, care for children. \ The predominant sequence of activities between be- ginning lunch preparations and beginning midday coffee (Time Span III) was as follows: clean the kitchen, continue lunch preparation, clean the kitchen, take care of chil- dren, clean the kitchen, clean other areas of the house, do - laundry, prepare and serve lunch, care for children or do laundry. The women apparently did not normally care for children until the kitchen was cleaned, nor begin laundry until they had completed both kitchen cleaning and other types of house care. Those women who engaged in both child care and laundry late in Time Span III were those who bathed children at the stream while laundering. The common sequence of activities between midday coffee and beginning supper preparations (Time Span IV) was as follows: recreation, food preparation, laundry or food preparation, child care, laundry or sewing. The food pre- paration in this period was often the starting of corn 65 Table 6. Number of hon-aka“ who performed activities in do-inant sequence within each tine span ’ Tina Span I II In Activitz 152 ngas 123656189 Grinding corn I. inking tortillas 3 4 Cleaning kitchen 6 lo 5 9 7 A 6 Child cars 5 4 6 Cleaning house to 7 Preparing food 9 6 Laundering Iacraation Sawing ‘l'ha largest umber of ho-a-akars performing an activity in chronological order always indicated do-inant sequence. A linin- of three hols-tars had to participate for an activity to be included in tha sequence. wars in this horizontal row indicata saqnanca under. 66 Table 6--Qaa£iasad Tina Span IV 1 1011 12345 1.2310756789101112 4 54 1047 534 67 or beans to cook, rather than the continuation of midday coffee. The usual sequence of activities following the be- ginning of supper preparations (Time Span V) was as follows: recreation or sewing, food preparation, recreation or food preparation, food preparation, kitchen cleaning, food pre- paration, child care or food preparation, recreation or food preparation, child care, recreation, child care. For three-fourths of the homemakers, at least one of the food preparation times involved the preparation of a bedtime beverage or the starting of corn or beans to cook. Child care usually was the putting of children to bed. Although the women carried out varying numbers of activities in Time Span V, it was assumed that they might reveal a pattern for terminating the day. To examine this possibility the activities were aligned beginning with the last activity observed. When viewed in this manner, the last activity for three-fifths of the homemakers was recreation. This may have resulted from a tendency to converse with the observer toward the close of the day. The next to the last activity for about one~third of the women was either food preparation or child care. This was consistent with the observation that the mothers tended to serve a beverage immediately prior to putting the children to bed. 68 Pattern The data from the three indices were combined to construct the observed daily activity pattern (Figure 1). Since Index:III, the sequence of activities within time spans, provided the most detailed listing of activities, this index formed the basis for the pattern. Index III was an indicator of tendency in sequence; however, a high prOportion of homemakers did not participate in the activ~ ities in identical order. Since the number of subjects was relatively small, it was decided that the predominant activity pattern would include only those activities par- ticipated in by at least half of the women. This informa- tion was derived from Index I and Index II. The presence of activities within time spans (Index I) grouped all the homemakers and did not show repetitions nor clearly indicate sequence.1 However, when the most common time spans for participating in activities were considered, seven variations, which did not appear as a result of employing Index III, became evident. 1There was a tendency for the frequency distribution to coincide with the sequence of performance. The activity participated in by the largest number of women during a time span was usually the first activity carried on during that span. Although the frequency distribution cannot re- veal sequence when identical numbers of women participate in two activities during a time span, it is possible that fre- quency distribution can be a predictor of sequence. In this case, only for Time Span V was the frequency distribution not a likely predictor of sequence. 69 Figure 1. Observed Daily Activity Pattern1 Time Span I grinding corn making tortillas -------------- COFFEE -------------------------------------- (anaimal care) Time Span II CLEANING KITCHEN (grinding corn) . MAKING TORTILLAS or cleaning kitchen CHILD CARE or cleaning kitchen CLEANINGIHOUSE child care ------------------ LUNCH ---------_--------_---------------- CLEANING'KITCHEN Time Span III PREPARING FOOD CLEANING KITCHEN CHILD CARE cleaning kitchen CLEANING HOUSE LAUNDERING (personal care) (hauling water) PREPARING FOOD CHILD CARE or laundering ---------------------- COFFEE ------------------------------ RECREATION Time Span IV PREPARING FOOD preparing food or laundering CHILD CARE laundering or sewing -------------------------- SUPPER -—--------—-------------~- RECREATION or sewing Time Span V PREPARING FOOD reparin food or recreation ironing? preparing food CLEANING KITCHEN PREPARING FOOD CHILD CARE or preparing food recreation or preparing food child care recreation child care 1Capital letters indicate activities participated in by at least half of the homemakers; they mark the predomi- nant activity pattern. Small letters indicate activities participated in by fewer than half of the homemakers; they mark possible variatiohs. Parentheses indicate insertions based on probable sequence within the time span in which these activities most commonly were performed. 70 Animal care was customarily done during Time Span II, immediately after morning coffee. Corn grinding also appeared most commonly during Span II and would logically take place before making tortillas. Personal care and hauling of water occurred most frequently during Span III. It would be reasonable to expect these activities to come after the cleaning of the kitchen and in conjunction with doing the laundry while the women were at the water source. Many women washed their hands, face, and feet, and some brushed their teeth, at that time. Then they carried water back to the house or made a special trip if the household supplies were low and no one else was available to do this chore. I The usual time for ironing was during Time Span V. Many homemakers were observed to iron following some of the food preparation and while waiting for family members to arrive for their supper. Interruptions by children and other persons most commonly occurred during Span V. Since it is impossible to predict interruptions at any fixed sequence in the activity pattern, the location of the interruptions in relation to other activities within the time span must remain unknown. Aspects of Patterning within Activities A time span has been defined as the period of time between two specific events. Data were gathered for a one-day time span bounded by the events of the homemaker's 71 arising and the putting to bed at night of the youngest family members. To derive activity patterns, the time span concept was further broken down into those five periods of time within the day bounded by the beginning preparations for each of the four meals served in all the homes. It should be pointed out that it is also possible to define a time span as bounded by the beginning and ending of any one specific activity. For example, the beginning to the end of kitchen cleaning, as marked by the appearance of another activity classification, could be a time span. The pro- cedure within such a specific activity time span could be analyzed according to the indices of presence, repetition, and sequence of elements. However, to provide insights for the recognition and understanding of behavioristic activity patterns, it seemed more suitable to view specific pro- cedures as an integrated whole prior to suggesting some common aspects of the pattern within an activity. The following notes made during the observations illustrate some of the observed patterns of organization within units of activity. A homemaker comments that she is going outside to sweep. After going out~of—doors, she sends her daughter to the house to hunt for the broom. A homemaker announces that it is time to make lunch. She sends her daughter to the store to buy rice. While the rice cooks, the mother sends the daughter to the store to buy a squash-like vege- table to cook with the rice. iMeanwhile the home- maker waits for the purchases. 72 A homemaker bathes her one-year-old daughter.« . While she holds the naked, squirming, wet baby under one arm, she begins to search through a pile of clean clothes for something to put on the child. IMany tasks appeared to be carried out only when the finished products were needed immediately. Six women were observed to do ironing which they might have done at an earlier time, but were finally forced to do when someone in the family needed clothes in order to.leave the house. Two women were observed to begin looking for clothes for their babies while the babies were wet and slithering in their arms after bathing. Five women were observed to mend at the moment when the clothes needed to be worn; one woman basted her daughter's blouse shut just before the daughter dashed off to school. The primary example of carrying out tasks at the specific moment when the product was needed was the shOp- ping pattern. Because the homes did not have refrigeration nor much storage space, and because many of the earners were paid daily, the customary procedure was to shop every day. Eleven homemakers reported that they had help from family members in running errands. On observation day, every family except one made purchases. In two cases no separate shopping trip was made, but the husbands brought purchases when they came home from work. In the remaining sixteen homes an average of 2.9 trips by family members was observed. The number of trips ranged from one to 73 eight; the average time per trip was thirty-six minutes. Two factors often appeared to be associated with whether or not supplies were gathered at the exact time needed and whether or not trips were repeated. One of these factors was whether the homemaker had to leave the house or immediate surroundings to carry out the task. The other factor was whether or not the task could be shared or delegated. Laundry was often done away from home and seldom delegated. In only one case was laundry delegated to a daughter of school age, while in three cases it was dele- gated to adult relatives. The remaining three-fourths of the women did their own laundry; some remarked that the task was too heavy to be given to young children. In no case in which the homemaker herself did the laundry was she observed to retrace steps to bring additional clothing or laundry supplies if she had to leave her own yard to launder. O Organizing the procedure to avoid repeating trips was not the prevailing pattern when the task was done in the house or immediate surroundings. For example, one homemaker made six trips to gather materials and equipment after she had seated herself to sew. Another homemaker sat down to sew, got up to look for the trousers which needed mending, called her daughter in from play to look for patch material, got up again to look for scissors, and then got 7A up to search for thread. Some homemakers stored potatoes and other vege- tables in the bedroom rather than in the kitchen although the kitchen might appear to be a more logical place for such storage since this was where vegetable preparation began.1 At least two homemakers made more than one trip to the bedroom to bring vegetables for one meal. An ap- parently accepted part of the meal preparation pattern was throwing waste on the floor. Eight women were observed to dispose of egg shells and potato peelings in this manner even though this would cause more sweeping later on. Only three homemakers were seen to put such waste directly into a basket or other container. One facet of kitchen clean- ing which the women were observed to do more than once daily was sweeping the floor. In addition to their own cleaning activities, the mothers sometimes delegated additional sweeping to their children. The following notes made during the observations illustrate some of the procedures within activities which were shared or delegated. The homemaker has her charcoal iron hanging in the kitchen. She cleans the sole plate with wire. She dumps out the old coals. She dries the iron and fills it with hot coals from her cooking fire. She clears the kitchen table and 1It is probable that vegetables were stored in bed- rooms where they would be less susceptible to robbery than in kitchens which were usually open to passing children. 75 moves it under her single electric light bulb since the motor will begin to function soon. She goes to the bedroom for the blanket and sheet which are used to pad the table for iron- ing. She covers the table and turns it so the light will come over her left shoulder. She calls her daughter. When there is no answer from the daughter, the mother‘goes to the bedroom to bring a large pile of clothing to be ironed. She brings the iron from the wood stove. When the daughter appears, the mother tells her to moisten her school uniform so the mother can iron it now and have it ready for school tomorrow. A mother of ten children is cleaning the kitchen with the help of her daughter of school age. The daughter washes while the mother brings dishes from the dining room as she passes through from the bedroom where she went to see if the baby was awake. The mother dries spoons while the daughter goes to finish clearing the table. The mother te ls her to bring all the dishes to wash at one time. The family finishes lunch. One son returns from school and the mother serves his plate. She pours hot water from the coffee pot on the dishes so the grease will not stick; she scrapes and washes the dishes. She puts corn on to cook. She picks up a pair of pants to be mended, plucks a threaded needle from its spot on the wooden wall, and sits on the bed in the next room to sew. When her son finishes eating she tells him to put water in his plate while she continues mending. He rinses his plate. These examples support the value of observation to supplement knowledge of work procedures and to develop awareness of patterning of elements which were seldom recounted by homemakers as they discussed their activities. CHAPTER VI HOMEMAKERS' IDEATIONAL ACTIVITY PATTERNS An exploration of possible patterning of homemakers' images of their activities was undertaken to increase under- standing of time as it functions in home management. Such patterns, designated in this study as ideational activity patterns, were thought to complement the behavioristic activity patterns in the quest for understanding the func- tions of time. This chapter reports data related to the image, or mental picture, of their activities held by nine- teen randomly-selected rural Costa Rican homemakers. Three general types of evidence were considered to contribute to a formulation of the homemakers' image of their activity patterns. The first kind of data were opinions related to the repetitiveness or variation of activities. The possibility that the women had an image of an ideal day was next explored by asking them to predict and recall activities for a specific day in the chronolog- ical order in which these events were to or had occurred. Homemakers' responses to direct questions and indirect probes concerning attitudes toward activities were the third class of data used to help construct the homemakers' image of their activities. 76 77 Opinions Related to Repetitiveness or Variation Throughout the interviews the homemakers were asked directly about repetition and variation in their activities in order to examine the stereotype often expressed in liter- ature that the daily life in rural Latin America has little variety and is characterized by routine repetition. The women were asked if their days were almost all alike, what they did on Sundays, and what activities they had to do every day. They were also asked about the frequency of doing some non-daily tasks. In response to the question "Do you think your days are almost all alike in terms of the activities?,” three— fourths of the women (fifteen) said, "Yes." One of the remaining four women said that she had more time on days when she did not cook corn or beans. Another woman, who worked in the market on Sundays, said her days were dis- tinguished according to whether the major activities were for the household or the business; she named the days usually devoted to each type of work. Still another home- maker said that Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday were days of'more work than the remaining days of the week. The fourth woman said that she did not wash or iron on Sundays. Based on the assumption that Sunday activities would be different from other days in order to allow time to attend Mass, the women were asked, "What do you do on Sun- days?" All the homemakers were able to distinguish Sunday 78 from other days when Sunday was specifically mentioned. Al- though they were not asked to name their Sunday activities, slightly more than half of the women (eleven) responded with a list of activities more or less in chronological order. About one-third of the women (seven) indicated one or two Specific alterations on Sundays which, other than that, were said to be about the same as other days. The remaining two homemakers responded with a statement of activities which they did not do on Sundays. The major differences between Sundays and other days were attendance at Mass and deletion of clothing care activities (Table 7). Four of the five women who indicated only one specific change on Sunday reported that they added attendance at Mass to the activities of the other days. Another homemaker made this addition, as well as stating that she did not launder on Sundays. Although two women reported that for health reasons they were not attending Mass currently, and four failed to mention going to church on Sunday, all of the homemakers were observed to attend Mass at some time during the course of the study. Outside of adding church attendance, the major activ- ity change on Sunday was an apparent effort to delete laundry and ironing from the agenda. The two women who reported doing laundry on Sunday specified that they only washed diapers. One of the five women who mentioned only one variation on Sunday said that she did not do laundry on r—.——-—.—.. 79 Table 7. Number of homemakers who reported specific vari- ations in Sunday activities W Visit away Get Werk Attend from up in Response Mass Launder Iron home ear y market "Do" 13 2 A 3 2 "Do not do" 2 5 3 Not men- tioned A 12 16 l5 16 178 Total l9 l9 19 19 l9 l9 aDid not participate in this activity on any day, that day. The women who said they attended Sunday Mass in addition to all their other regular daily activities may actually have done laundry and ironing on Sunday. However, three-fifths of the homemakers apparently did not follow this practice, since they either said they did not launder on Sunday or did not include laundry in a list of their a; Sunday activities which included such daily tasks as food preparation and house care. Another question employed to detect a possible image of repetitiveness was "What household tasks gpgg you do every day?" At least three-fourths of the homemakers men- tioned activities classified as food preparation, tortilla making, house care, and laundry as essential daily tasks. Only one-third of the women named any routine child care 80 activities as tasks which must be done daily. This may have reflected an image that child care is not a household task rather than a failure to consider child care as a daily requirement in their lives. . The more perfect the homemakers' image of repetitive- ness of days, the more nearly the average times per week for performing specific activities should approach seven or a multiple of seven. Each homemaker was asked to estimate the number of times she did certain tasks during a week (Table 8). Since this question was inserted for clarifi- cation purposes after the first few interviews, data are available for only sixteen of the nineteen homemakers. Of the activities listed, tortilla making averaged slightly more than once daily, since two women reported making tortillas more than once a day in order to have them fresh for each major meal. Of the three food prepara- tion tasks which were usually not repeated daily, the cook- ing of beans was most frequently done every other day, corn was cooked two or three times per week, and coffee toasting averaged almost twice a week.1 In addition to the average estimate that they washed clothes about once a day, the mothers who washed diapers 1Some homemakers volunteered the information that they sometimes purchased powdered coffee to avoid the chores of toasting and grinding coffee beans. 81 .m.m haopmsaxonmnm wswmmno>m mono .xmos use mesa» noon pm was: one mouse on was: noomasoamo one: commonest omega :.hme tempo kno>os eofiamon mono: on» moapw>wpom neon some )I' eoMHOO weapnmoa wdwxmm empeaaeu mcaepem weapon: chQoNH a a wOJMN NNNNH tnNNr-I N HHOM JFJHM shoe wswxooo H mason wcaxooo nonpoao m.soneawno wsawnmno mnahonssmq a mmaaapuop menses «um-wow) «24005 H d'N N v-Ia-l M‘O NNNHM HMNTD {\I-hOr-flo .n- I. till! (I amassed Hm . . . .moao«>apo< eased: if: a msonSoson somewanv newpapwuom eooomaom Ho mmosmsnomno . hands: empmaapmo moaemmno>m can honesvonm op mnaenooom mnoxmsmao: mo nonasz m magma 82 reported doing this task an average of 8.4 times per week, or slightly more than once daily. Although children's clothing was changed an average of four times weekly, this figure does not convey the reported information that younger children's clothing was usually changed daily, while chil- dren of school age changed clothes less frequently. The school children who had uniforms usually wore these all week during the half-day school sessions. When not in school they changed their clothes about twice weekly in addition to Sunday. Although the mothers said they bathed their children an average of twice weekly, in many homes the mothers were observed to wash hands, faces, and feet of their children more than once daily.1 All except one homemaker reported mending at some time during a week, although nearly one—third said they never sewed new gar- ments.2 The average weekly participation in both of these activities as well as in ironing was twice. Ideal Day In order to examine the possibility that these 1The term used in the schedule to mean "wash" chil- dren was actually one meaning "bathe." A complete bath requires a great deal of water. Frequency of both "wash- ing" and "bathing" might be inquired about in another study. 2Mending and sewing were asked about separately in this question since some women had been heard to restrict the term "sewing" to construction of a new garment. 83 peasant homemakers might have a mental picture of an ideal or acceptable day which would influence their responses about their activities, each homemaker was asked to pre- dict her activities in chronological order for the follow- ing day. The next day she was actually observed.1 On the day following the observation, she was asked to recall what she had done the previous day in the order of per- 1, formance. The assumption was that these predictions and‘ recollections represented an ideal rather than actuality since these women were not accustomed to reflecting about their daily activities. The analysis of the data reported in this section utilized the same methods as were used with the observa- tion data. The criterion of a five minute minimum for inclusion of an activity was automatically enforced because no homemaker predicted any activity as taking less than ten minutes at a time, nor recalled any as taking less than five consecutive minutes. The activities were viewed as they occurred within the five spans of the time which fell between the independent variables of beginning pre- parations for morning coffee, lunch, midday coffee, and supper.2 —— w—v— —— ##— 1See Chapter V for the report of observed activities. 23cc Chapter V for details of the coding and analysis procedure. 8A Predicted agtivities When the homemakers were asked to indicate the activities in which they would participate on the follow- ing day, many evidenced discomfort. Some said they always did the same thing, some said they did not know, some used terms which indicated that they were thinking of what they usually or sometimes did; however, all did respond in some manner. Only about one-third of the homemakers (six) verbalized any thinking as to whether or not they would have to perform special tasks which did not occur daily, such as cooking corn or beans. Two of these six women concluded that they would not have to do any special tasks, two concluded that they would, and two were undecided. The three indices of presence, repetition, and se- quence of activities within time spans were applied to the predicted data following the same procedure used with the observed data.1 The data were then combined to construct a predicted daily activity pattern (Figure 2). The only activities which were predicted to be repeated by a high proportion of the women were the food preparation activ- ities which had been selected as independent variables. Within a time span, the only repetition predicted was that made by one homemaker that she would do laundry twice during Span III. 1See Appendix D, Tables 1A and 15. 85 Figure 2. Predicted Daily Activity Patternl Time Span I (personal care) ---------------- COFFEE ----------------------------------- (animal care) -Time Span II grinding corn MAKING TORTILLAS -------------------- LUNCH ---------—-—---------~--—-----~- CLEANING KITCHEN Time Span III CLEANING HOUSE child care LAUNDRY ------------------------ COFFEE -------—------------------- Time Span IV ironing ---------------- ---------—-- SUPPER ------------------—---- (recreation) . Time Span V CLEANING KITCHEN CHILD CARE preparing food lCapital letters indicate activities predicted by at least half of the homemakers; they mark the predominant ac- tivity pattern. Small letters indicate activities predicted by fewer than half of the homemakers. Parentheses indicate insertions based on probable sequence within the time span in which these activities were most frequently predicted. 86 Recalled activities On the day following the observation, when the women were asked to review the events of the previous day, they registered some surprise. Some said they did not remember, but with a few encouraging probes they recounted their day. One queried, "Hay que dar todas las vueltas otra vez?" which means, "Do I have to describe all that running around again?” The three indices of presence, repetition, and se- quence within time spans were applied to the recall data in the same manner as with the observation and prediction data.1 The data were then combined to construct a re- called daily activity pattern (Figure 3). The only activ- ities recalled by at least half of the women as having been repeated during the day were the food preparation activities which had been selected as independent variables. Attitudes toward Activities The homemakers were asked a series of questions about their attitudes toward household activities as well as being asked to respond toia group of hypothetical situ- ations which concerned possible utilization of time. It was thougm;that the replies would reflect ways in which the homemakers desired to use their time. For example, it .4 1See Appendix D, Tables 16, 17, and 18. -‘ '1.“ EVI—J 87 Figure 3. Recalled Daily Activity Pattern1 Time Span I personal care --------------- COFFEE ------------------------------------ grinding corn or making tortillas Time Span II animal care, child care, or cleaning kitchen MAKING TORTILLAS ------------------- LUNCH -------—--------------—------—--- CLEANING KITCHEN Time Span III LAUNDERING laundering or cleaning house (personal care) ----------------------- COFFEE --------—------------------- Time Span IV recreation or sewing ------------------------- SUPPER -----------—----—--------- CLEANING KITCHEN Time Span V PREPARING FOOD or recreation ' (ironing) CHILD CARE preparing food or child care child care ‘7 ‘— 1Capital letters indicate activities recalled by at least half of the homemakers; they mark the predominant activit pattern. Small letters indicate activities re- called y fewer than half of the homemakers. Parentheses indicate insertions based on probable sequence within the time span in which these activities were most frequently recalled. ' 88 was assumed that homemakers would prefer to be engaged in activities they liked rather than those they disliked. It was also assumed that they themselves would like to participate in the activities which they suggested that a homemaker who had the help of a servant would do herself. In general, it was believed that the homemakers' replies as reported here were indicative of desired uses of time and therefore could be utilized to infer time use goals. These could then serve as motivators in planned action programs. In a pair of hypothetical situations the homemakers were asked what tasks they would suggest that a homemaker assign to a servant if she had the money to hire one. They were then asked what they thought the homemaker would do if she could hire servants to do all the housework. Laundry and ironing were the tasks these women would most frequently assign to a servant (Table 9). The women had relatively few ideas of activities which they could do if they were ' relieved of certain daily chores (Table 10). Two women who said they would sit and rest also added that this would not be nice because they were accustomed to working. The nineteen homemakers were asked if there were tasks they would like to do more easily or faster if they had the opportunity to learn another way of doing them. Each homemaker named a task she would like to do faster; every homemaker except one named a task she would like to 89 Table 9. Number of homemakers according to their choices of activities to be assigned to a hypothetical servant ; .7 39110106 1 Activity First Second Third Total Laundering 14 3 O 17 Ironing l 10 1 12 Cleaning house 0 l 6 7 Preparing food 3 l l 5 Child care 0 3 O 3 Making tortillas l O l 2 Table 10. Number of homemakers according to their choices of activities for a woman when a hypothetical servant does all housework Choice ____ Activity First Second Thirda Total Sit and rest 7 l O 8 Child care A 1 1 6 Supervise A l O 5 Visit 3 O 2 5 Read, knit, garden, attend movies 1 2 l a Care or construction of special clothing 0 3 0 3 aOnly one homemaker mentioned more than three choices. 90 complete more easily. Laundry was the most frequently named task in each category (Table 11). The women were asked which tasks they would like to do more often and to which they would like to allocate more time. Their replies were assumed to indicate desires related to other possible uses of time. All except two women named a task they would like to do more often; all except one woman indicated a task to which they would like to devote more time. Sew- ing was apparently the activity which they most desired to do for which there was not sufficient time in the day (Table 12). Table 11. Number of homemakers according to activities which they desired to complete more easily or faster Desired to complete Activity More easi y Faster Total Laundering 10 6 l6 Preparing food 3 A 7 Sewing 3 3 6 Making tortillas 2 2 A Ironing O 2 2 Cleaning house 0 2 2 No choice 1 O 1 Total 19 19 33 Even though the homemakers said they would like to do laundry faster and more easily, and would frequently assign it to a servant, they expressed liking to do laundry better than most other household tasks (Table 13). Cooking 91 Table 12. Number of homemakers according to activities in which they desired to spend more time Desired to Activity Do more often Devote'more time Total Sewing 6 A 10 Laundering l 5 6 Child care A 2 6 Preparing food 4 l 5 Ironing l 2 3 Cleaning house 1 2 3 Making tortillas O 2 2 None 2 l 3 Total 19 19 38 Table 13. Number of homemakers according to expressed likes and dislikes in household activities . W Activity Most liked Least liked Total Laundering 12 l 13, Ironing 11 ll Preparing food 1 6 Holding children 2 2 Making tortillas l l 2 Sewing 1 ' l Grinding corn 1 1 All activities 1 1 None 1 1 Total 19 19 38 92 was the next most frequently liked homemaking task. Many women said they preferred doing laundry rather than cooking because cooking was monotonous while laundry provided a chance to work outside the kitchen, often for an uninter- rupted span of time. The least liked task was ironing which also would often be assigned to a hypothetical serv- ant. This dislike for ironing was perhaps because it was a hot task; also fuel was often hard to procure in the village. Summary The homemakers' image of activities was analyzed in three ways: their opinions related to repetitiveness in daily activities, ideal activity patterns derived from their predictions and recollections of activities during a specific day, and their attitudes toward particular activities. Generally the women revealed a prevailing image of repetitiveness, that is, sameness of activities unchanged by the days of the week. It was possible to derive idea- tional activity patterns by applying the indices of presence, repetition, and sequence of activities within time spans to the homemakers' predictions and recollections. Attitudinal probes frequently elicited a mention of laundry activities rather than the meal preparation activities which were so often repeated. Therefore, the repetitiveness 93 within a day may not have been a factor exerting great influence upon the homemakers' attitudes. The character— istics of the homemakers' ideational activity patterns in relation to their behavioristic activity patterns will be discussed in the next chapter. CHAPTER VII INTERPRETATION OF HOMEMAKERS' DAILY ACTIVITY PATTERNS Daily activity patterns were proposed in this study as one approach to understanding how time functions in home management. A daily activity pattern was defined as that ordering of tasks which is characteristic of a person or group of persons during a one-day time span. The two pre- vious chapters have presented empirical data related to the behavioristic and ideational activity patterns of a selected group of rural Costa Rican homemakers. In this chapter these two types of data will be interpreted. How do they coincide? How do they differ? What meaning does this comparison have for understanding home management? Comparison of Behavioristic and Ideational Activity Patterns The homemakers' images of their daily activity patterns as predicted and recalled were very similar in content and sequence, while the activity pattern in which they actually participated was considerably more detailed and varied (Figure A). The similarity of the two ideational activity patterns suggests that these verbalized patterns represented an ideal day. If the recollections had repre- sented reflective thought about the previous day's activities, 9A 95 Figure A. Comparison of Behavioristic and Ideational Activity Patternsl Behavioristic Ideational bservations ‘PFedictIons RecolIections Time (personal care) personal care Span grinding corn I making tortillas ---- COFFEE ------------ COFFEE -------------- COFFEE ----- (animal care) (animal care) Time CLEANING KITCHEN Span (grinding corn) grinding corn grinding corn II or making tortillas animal care, child care, or cleaning . kitchen MAKING TORTILLAS or MAKING TORTILLAS MAKING TORTILLAS cleaning kitchen CHILD CARE or cleaning kitchen CLEANING HOUSE child care ---- LUNCH ------------- LUNCH ------------- LUNCH ------- CLEANING KITCHEN CLEANING KITCHEN CLEANING KITCHEN Time PREPARING FOOD Span CLEANING-KITCHEN III CHILD CARE cleaning kitchen CLEANING HOUSE LAUNDERING personal care) hauling water) PREPARING FOOD CHILD CARE or laundering CLEANING HOUSE child care LAUNDERING LAUNDERING laundering or cleaning house (personal care) COFFEE ------------- COFFEE ------------- COFFEE ...... 96 Figure A--Continued Behavioristic _;_ ___Ideational Observations Predictions Recollections Time RECREATION recreation or Span A sewing IV PREPARING FOOD preparing food or laundering CHILD CARE ironing laundering or sewing ----- SUPPER ------------- SUPPER ----------— SUPPER ------ mark the predominant activity patterns. RECREATION or sewing (recreation) PREPARING FOOD preparing food or recreation (ironing) preparing food CLEANING KITCHEN PREPARING FOOD CHILD CARE or preparing food recreation or preparing food child care recreation child care CLEANING KITCHEN CHILD CARE preparing food CLEANING KITCHEN PREPARING FOOD or recreation (ironing) CHILD CARE preparing food or child care child care lCapital letters indicate activities performed, pre- dicted, or recalled by at least half the homemakers; they Small letters indicate activities performed, predicted, or recalled by fewer than half of the homemakers. Parentheses indicate insertions based on probable sequence within the time span in which these activities most commonly were performed, predicted, or recalled. 97 the recalled pattern should have been more nearly like the observed pattern than was actually the case. Because the activity patterns derived from the activities predicted and recalled by the homemakers are so similar, the terms idea- tional activity pattern or image will henceforth refer to the combined data. Whenever it is necessary to highlight differences between the predicted and recalled activity patterns, they will be specifically named. The behavioristic and ideational activity patterns were examined by time spans within the day in order to highlight pertinent relationships of the two patterns. According to the homemakers' image, the time before begin- ning morning coffee (Time Span I) was considered to include only personal care. However, so few women actually partici- pated in personal care activities during Span I that these did not appear in the behavioristic activity pattern. Al- though it is possible that the arrival time of the observer precluded the notation of such activities, it is more prob- able that personal care occupied fewer than five consecu- tive minutes, since most of the women slept in their clothes and only went to the privy and washed their hands in the early morning. The time between beginning morning coffee and be- ginning lunch preparations (Time Span II) was when the women ideationally and actually did make tortillas and care for animals. During Span II some homemakers recalled 98 cleaning the kitchen and caring for children, but not in relation to the proportion of women who actually partici- pated in these activities during that time. Although at least half of the homemakers actually did clean other than in the kitchen during Span II, this activity was not a part of their image for that time span. The simplicity of the ideational activity pattern between beginning lunch and midday coffee (Time.Span III) indicates that the women thought they completed a group of related activities in a continuous time unit rather than in broken participations scattered throughout the time Span. The ideational pattern did not reveal the repe- titions which were observed within Span III. Between the making of midday coffee and the be- ginning of supper preparations (Time Span IV) the women had an image of few activities. Some reported being "unoccu- pied" during this time span. Although more than half of the homemakers were observed to participate in some recre- ational activities during Span IV, less than half of the women recalled such participation, and recreational activ- ities did not appear in the predicted activity pattern during this time span. It might be possible that activities classified as recreational were not considered desirable or acceptable during this time span; therefore the women did not verbalize that they participated in such activities. Or perhaps they did not consider recreational activities to 99 be household activities and thus did not mention them. Some women were still engaged in laundry activities during Span IV although their image included completion of laundry during Span III. Following the beginning of supper preparations (Time Span V) the omission of repetitions from the image is again evident. During Span V participation in recreational activ- ities was apparently acceptable although not verbalized with the frequency in which such activities were observed. Ironing was most commonly done and recalled during Span V, although the homemakers tended to predict ironing as a Span IV activity. Child care activities were actually participated in by more than half of the mothers during all the time spans except Span I; however, these activities only appeared in the image of at least half of them during Span V. Smaller numbers of mothers included child care as part of their image of Span II and Span III activities. There are a number of possible explanations for this discrepancy. Per- haps child care was not thought of as a household activity. Perhaps the mothers thought most child care activities ex- cept those connected with putting children to bed during Span V were delegated to other family members. Perhaps the mothers did not think that their child care activities occupied continuous periods of time. They may have viewed the child care activities as interruptions in household 100 activities or accepted them as integrated with household tasks. For example, a woman may have assumed that part of her activity while at the water source was bathing chil- dren. Thus she might have predicted and recalled laundry activities without specifying that "laundry" included bath- ing children. Whatever the reasons, child care activities only appeared as a dominant part of the ideational activity pattern during Span V. Time Use Goals Inferred from Daily Activity Patterns Both behavioristic and ideational activity patterns were studied to provide insights concerning the functioning of time in home management. Within the conceptual frame- work of activity patterns, it was suggested that time use goals as well as some indication of goal attainment might be inferred from behavioristic activity patterns. Like- wise it was proposed that time use goals, whether attained or not, might be inferred from ideational activity patterns. It has been demonstrated in the cultural setting of this study that activity patterns are present and derivable from indices of presence, repetition, and sequence of activities within time spans. Since one objective of man- agement is to help people attain their goals, an illustra- tion of how time use goals can be inferred from a comparison of behavioristic and ideational activity patterns seems appropriate. 101 The most pervasive time use goal of these homemakers appeared to be working in relatively long, continuous, un- interrupted time periods. The absence of an image of re- peated participation in the same activity within any time span is the strongest support for this inference. The small number of homemakers who were observed to repeat any activities within any time span indicates that the women generally were able to attain this goal except during Span III. Food preparation activities were those in which the women were least able to accomplish the apparent goal of continued participation until termination. It should be recalled that food preparation and food service activities were classified in a single group because the women seldom ate with their families, but continued to prepare food while serving some family members. They seldom verbalized preparation and service as distinct activities, and often were observed to prepare and serve some meals without any visible separation. In no case were the mothers observed to make any effort to collect all their children to eat at the same time. Possibly the repetition of food preparation can be attributed to the need to serve family members who arrived to eat at widely separated clock hours. The major means of achieving the time use goal of continued participation in one activity until completed appeared to be the delegation of interrupting activities 102 to other family members. The women apparently left home only when absolutely necessary, that is, when no one else could be delegated to make the trip. They seemed to prefer sending children on repeated errands rather than to inter- rupt their own flow of work. They seldom paused in their own productive activities to give directions to their chil- dren for errands. Although many contacts between mothers and children seemed to the researcher to involve educational and supervisory elements, the mothers apparently did not consider their supervisory capacity, but rather thought in terms of completing their own activity without interrup- tion during the favored long working period. Observations indicated that the activities of the children did not seem to be as important as the work ac- tivities in which the mothers were engaged. Regardless of what the children were doing, the mothers called them when- ever they needed help. Even though the children were carrying out another assigned task, going to school, eating, playing, or studying, they were called. Obedience was ex- pected; however, no consistent type of discipline was ob- served when the children did not respond. Since all the mothers had preschool children and almost half of them had a child under one year of age, one might expect a relatively high incidence of routine and unexpected child care activities which would disrupt long, continuous work periods. Interruptions were not a part of 103 the predominant behavioristic activity pattern; only about one-third of the mothers (seven) were interrupted by chil- dren for periods of at least five consecutive minutes dur- ing any time span. Moreover, interruptions never appeared in the homemakers' image of their days. Throughout the day, whenever demands of children threatened to interrupt an ongoing activity, the women usually were observed to tell one child to care for another one. One mother who only had sons mentioned that she would welcome a daughter to whom tasks could be delegated. Another woman whose children were all preschoolers commented during the observed day that she had to leave some activities before finishing them because she did not have any helper who could begin meal preparations when necessary. 'Her statement implied that she had a time use goal of working in continuous periods until completing an activity, but that she was unable to attain this goal. Additional time use goals could be inferred. Man- agement could then be applied to help women attain the goals which they reveal in their behavioristic and ideational activity patterns. This discussion has served as an illus- tration of an application of the activity pattern concept. Some general implications of the concept for theory, re- search, and educational program planning will be discussed in the final chapter. CHAPTER VIII SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS Summary This study was designed to explore the concept of activity pattern. An activity pattern was defined as that ordering of tasks which is characteristic of a person or group of persons during some specified time span, with time span defined as the period between two specific events. Two types of activity patterns were suggested as meaningful for gaining understanding of how time functions in home management. Behavioristic activity patterns were defined as those based upon observations of actual behavior, while ideational activity patterns were defined as those based upon the subjects' verbalized image of activities. Pres- ence, repetition, and sequence of activities within time spans were proposed as three indices which could be used to derive activity patterns. Techniques for identifying activity patterns were developed and applied to observational and interview data gathered from nineteen randomly-selected rural Costa Rican homemakers. Behavioristic and ideational patterns appeared when the indices were applied to the data. Findings which 104 105 illustrated the derivation of the homemakers' daily activ- ity patterns were presented and discussed. Implications This exploratory study has implications for home management at three levels: theory, research, and educa- tional programs. Comparison of the behavioristic with the ideational activity patterns of the peasant homemakers in this study reveals features to be considered in the refine- ment of theoretical conceptualization in home management with regard to time. It also gives insight into the plan- ning of future research, and suggests guides to be used in the formulation of educational programs in Latin America. In this chapter some managerial implications of the peasant homemakers' daily activity patterns will be presented. Theoretical implications This study provided stimulation for two considera- tions of possible import to conceptualization of time in home management. First, time functions in management in more than one way.' The circumstances under which it functions must be discovered and defined so that a more inclusive concept can be developed. This study has shown that time permeates management in a distributional and sequential sense rather than being limited to clock-measured units, fixed static points, and aggregates of clock time allocated to activities. 106 The relation of time to the theoretical frameworks of the basic sciences should be reexamined to try to discover a largerdimension of time in which activity patterns would be only one of many elements. Second, this study highlights the fact that there is more than one way to organize among and within activities. Home management theory needs to reflect a sensitivity to variations outside the middle-class, western, industrialized patterns of organization. Perhaps other factors which have traditionally been termed "resources” in the conceptual framework of home management have appropriate patterns of relationship within each culture. Attention might profit- ably be turned toward the discovery of combinations of facts which are termed knowledge, or skills, or attitudes in various cultures. The examination of combinations which are congruent in various time spans and under shifting as well as stable conditions may reveal patterns useful to the refinement of home management theory. Rgsearch implications Since it appears that an activity pattern is a re- searchable concept which helps to demonstrate how time relates to home management, further study of the concept is recommended. This exploratory investigation aroused speculation concerning methodology in such research. Four general points can be made which should expedite activity pattern research. 107 First, it is clear that time use data gathered by observation and estimation are not equivalent data. Esti- mations, or ideational activity patterns, are not auto- matically valid representations of behavioristic activity patterns and cannot be accepted as such. If understanding of how time operates in home management is to be gained, it is suggested that behavioristic and ideational data continue to be collected and compared. Study of both be- havioristic and ideational activity patterns provides a stronger framework for the inference of time use goals and goal attainment than does the study of either pattern separately. Second, it seems probable that neither the duration of activities nor the aggregate clock time devoted to activities within a daily time span is the most meaningful way to study managerial problems in which time plays a part. To avoid the cultural restriction of equating the allocated clock time with the value of activities, it seems necessary to study their ordering within a time span. Meal- times may be a universal independent variable which can be used to mark the boundaries of time spans within a one-day time dimension. The determination of behavioristic activ- ity patterns could then be simplified by more extensive sampling from each major time span rather than by day-long continuous observations in relatively few homes. 108 Third, classification or coding is a far more serious problem than has been indicated in many published time use studies. Especially when studies are made within cultures -. '--, ‘ ‘—-—~A.-_-r” unfamiliar to the researcher, it cannot be assumed that 3 I I what the researcher views as congruent activities or single , units of activity will be so identified by the people under f study.) Some attention needs to be paid to the determination; 1 of activities which the subjects consider to be related. g The technique of asking people what they are doing while ) they are working should provide the necessary clues for 2 formation of meaningful categories prior to formal research. Adequate categorization of events into groups of activities appropriate in a given culture can then be followed by the development of a shorthand code for recording household activities and interactions. This would increase the ability of a single observer to record pertinent information related to activity patterns in the home. Such a shorthand system might also enable the collection of more variables simultaneously. Who is participating, where the activity is being done, what is being done, and the duration of the participations in addition to chronological order would more easily be recorded. Fourth, there are three types of activity pattern research which would seem valuable for examining the func- tion of time in home management: longitudinal, cross- cultural, and simultaneous studies of non-homogeneous 109 families. A series of studies needs to be made to deter- mine activity patterns for time spans longer than one day. It seems apparent that longitudinal studies would reveal more of the dynamism or fluidity of time than studies lim- ited to a one-day time span. The application of the indices of presence, repetition, and sequence to activity data within time spans of varying lengths should reveal a rhythm of activity. Thus the relationships of various time spans would be revealed. It is possible that alterations in activity patterns for any one family will be associated with days of the week, seasons of the year, crisis periods, ages of the family members, family standards, or other variables. Simul- taneous study of the activity patterns of families of different sizes, of different age and sex composition, of different occupations and social class, and possessing different facilities may reveal variations in activity patterns. Formal education, amount of discretionary income, caloric intake, and intervals between pay periods likewise may be associated with activity pattern variations. In addition, the study of the activity patterns of all family members during the same time span, rather than only those of the homemaker, should provide insights into problems and possible goals with respect to the inter- meshing of time patterns of family members. Studies of the duration, order, and content of family interactions may 110 also contribute to the study of this basic time management problem. Implications for educational programs in Latin America } Currently in Latin America there is rapid growth / of interest in management on farms, in industries, and in ; homes. Latin American leaders recognize that the concept r of management is in some way important in the development of their area of the world. The findings reported here indicate directions which might be pursued in planning educational programs in home management in Costa Rica and those parts of Latin America with similar conditions. The major activities which would appear to be most fruitful for teaching and encouraging effective home man- agement in relation to daily activity patterns are the following: 1. Helping the women to recognize the characteris- tics of their behavioristic and ideational activity patterns. 2. Discussing with the women their apparent goals for time use. 3. Discussing the possible consequences of their observed practices, for example, the perpetuation of the present daily activity patterns in the habits of their children. A. Helping the homemakers to adjust to variations in circumstances which may force them to alter their activity patterns 0 111 5. Teaching techniques of work simplification which may help to achieve some of the inferred time use goals. 6. Showing the women that gains made by utilizing simplified methods of work may permit them to participate in activities for which they do not now have time. This might enable them to complete activities which are a part of their activity image, although they seldom appear in the behavioristic activity pattern. 7. Using expressed attitudes as a base for initiating programs of interest to homemakers. For example, these homemakers would probably be receptive to an educational program aimed at developing knowledge and skill in faster and easier methods of washing and ironing clothing. 8. Helping the women to gain understanding and skill in supervising and stimulating cOOperative participation of family members. Concluding Statement Time has a multi-dimensional influence upon people's activities and their ideas about these activities. This study prOposed that the concept of activity patterns could be utilized to increase understanding of how time functions in home managerial situations. Techniques for the dis- covery of behavioristic and ideational activity patterns were developed and applied to the daily activities of a selected group of rural Costa Rican homemakers. 112 The abstraction of activity patterns from observa- tions and verbal responses was possible; therefore, the concept has been demonstrated to be operational. The in- ference of time use goals from a comparison of behavior- istic and ideational activity patterns was illustrated. Implications for consideration in the refinement of theory, the planning of research, and the development of educational programs in Latin America were highlighted. The seriousness of the cultural relevance of time as an integrated factor in home management cannot remain underestimated. We need to seek appropriate answers to cultural conditions, and to increase our awareness of the functioning of time as a dynamic factor in human activities, if problems are to be solved realistically and decisions are to be made intelligently. 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Factors related to use of time in homemaking activities by selected Turkish house- wives. Unpublished M.S. Thesis. Lafayette, Indiana, Purdue University Library. 1958. Leeds, John B. The household budget with a special inquiry into the amountaufl.value of household work. Phila., J. B. Leeds. 1917. Maceda, Delfina Salvador. Use of time by married homemakers in the teaching force, Manila, Philippines. Un- published Ph. D. Thesis. Ithaca, Cornell University Library. 1958. Moser, Ada M. Use of time for food activities. Part II of FoOd consumption and use of time for food work among farm families in the South Carolina Piedmont. SC. Car. Agr. Exp. 31330 81110 3000 1935. Muse, Marianne. Time expenditures on homemaking activities in 183 Vermont farm homes. Vermont Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. 530. 19A6. O'Brien, Ocie Jones. A study of time use in relation to selected homemaking activities carried on by full- time and employed rural homemakers in Sevier County, Tennessee. Unpublished M.S. Thesis. Knoxville, T3nge33ee, The University of Tennessee Library. 5 . Rainwater, Lee, Coleman, Richard P. and Handel, Gerald. WOrkingman's wife. N. Y., MacFadden-Bartell Cor- poration. 1962. Rankin, J. 0. The use of time in farm homes. The Univers- ity of Nebraska Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. 230. 1928. Richardson, Jessie E. The use of time by rural homemakers in Montana. Montana State College Agr. Exp. Sta. 8‘31. 271. 1933 9 115 Rodriguez Terrell, Ines and Gonzalez Inzunza, Ana. Co 0 distribuye 1a duena de casa las 24 horas del d a. Tésis de prueba para optar a1 titulo de profesora ggégstado. Santiago de Chile, Universidad de Chile. Rowe, Mary. The time necessary to do the work in a seven room house for a family of three. The Journal of Home Economics. 9:569-573. 1917. Stoetzel, Jean. Une étude du budget-temps de la femme dans 1es agglomerations urbaines. Population. lzh7'620 19h80 Tarrant, Molly, ed. The housewife's day (2). London. - Mass-Observation Bulletin No. 5A. 1957. Thorpe, Alice C. 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Whittemore, Margaret and Neil, Berniece. Time factors in the business of homemaking in rural Rhode Island. Rhode Island State College Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. 221. 1929. 116 Wiegand, Elizabeth. Use of time by full-time and part-time homemakers in relation to home management. Ithaca, Cornell University Agr. Exp. Sta. Memoir 330. 1954. Wilson, Maude Mathes. Time spent in meal preparation in private households. Unpublished M. A. Dissertation. Chicago, The University of Chicago Library. 1931. . Use of time by Oregon farm homemakers. Oregon State Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. 256. 1929. WOodbury, Marion. 'Time required for housework in a family of five with small children. The Journal of Home Economics. 10:226-230. 1918. Time Studies in the Social Sciences Cleugh, M; F. Time and its importance in modern thought. London,.Methuen and Co. Ltd. 1937. Dell, W. H. Social life among our aborigines. The Ameri- can naturalist. 12:lr10. 1878. Dore, R. P. City life in Japan, a study of a Tokyo ward. Berkeley, University of California Press. 1958. Erasmus, Charles J. Work patterns in a Mayo village. American Anthropologist. 57:322-333. 1955. Firth, Raymond. Primitive economics of the New Zealand ‘ morio No Yo, E0 Po DUtton and CO. 1929. Foster, George M. Empire's children: the people of Tzintzuntzan. Smithsonian Institution. Institute of Social Anthropology. Publ. No. 6. 1948. Frank, Lawrence K. Society as the patient. p. 339-358. New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press. 1948. Reprinted from Journal of Social Philosophy. 4: 293 -3 12 o 193 9 o Frazer, J. G. Questions on the manners, customs, religion, ' superstitions, etc. of uncivilized or semi-civilized peoples. The Journal of the Anthropological In- igfigute of Great Britain and Ireland. 18:431-439. Hall, Edward T. The silent language. N. Y., Doubleday and Company, Inc. 1959. 117 Kluckhohn, Florence Rockwood and Strodtbeck, Fred L. Variations in value orientations.. Evanston, Row, Peterson, and Company. 1961. Lewis, Oscar. Five families. New York, Basic Books, Inc. 1959. McCone, R. Clyde. Time and tide: a study of the conflict- ing conce ts of time of the Dakota Indian and western civilizat on. Unpublished.M.S. Thesis. South Dakota, South Dakota State College Library. 1956. Meerloo, Joost A. M. The two faces of man. Part I. Father time, the psychology of time sense. N. Y., Inter- national Universities Press, Inc. 1954. Nilsson, Martin P. Primitive time-reckoning. Lund, C. W. K. Gleerup. 1920. . Provinse, John H. Cooperative ricefield cultivation among the Siang Dyaks of central Borneo. American Anthro- pologist. 39:77-102. 1937. Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo and Alicia. The people of Aritama. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press. 19 1. Slotkin, J. S. Social anthropology. N. Y., The Macmillan Company. 1950. Sorokin, Pitirim A. and Berger, Clarence A.’ Time budgets of human behavior. Cambridge, Harvard University Press. 1939. and Merton, Robert K. Social time: a methodolog- cal and functional analysis. The American Journal of Sociology. 42:615—629. 1937. Sturt, Mary. The psychology of time. N. Y., Harcourt, Brace & Company, Inc. 1925. Thorndike, Edward L. How we spend our time and what we 1 3nd it for. The Scientific Monthly. 44:464-469. 7. wallace, Melvin. An investigation of the concept of future time perspective in schizophrenia. Unpublished {3. D. Thesis. East Lansing,.Michigan State College. 54. 118 Human Energy Studies Bedale, E. M. Energy expenditure and food requirements of children at school. Royal Society of London Pro- ceedings Series B. 94:368-404. 1922-1923. Bransby, E. R. The nutrition of male industrial workers ‘with particular reference to intake and expenditure of calories. British Journal of Nutrition. 8: 100-111. 1954. Durnin, J. V. G. A., Blake, Elaine C., and Brockway, J. M. The energy expenditure and food intake of middle- aged Glasgow housewives and their adult daughters. British Journal of Nutrition. 11:85-94. 1957. Edholm, O. C. Energy expenditure in relation to nutrition. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 15:80-83. 1956. , and Fletcher, J. G., et al. The energy expendi- ture and food intake of individual men. British Journal of Nutrition. 9:286-300. 1955. Garry, R. C., Passmore, R., et a1. Studies on expenditure and consumption of food by miners and clerks, Fife, Scotland, 1952. Medical Research Council Special Report Series No. 289. London, Her Majesty's Sta- tionery Office. 1955. Passmore R. Daily energy expenditure by man. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 15:83-89. 1956. , and Durnin, J. V. G. A. Human energy expenditure. Physiological Reviews. 35:801-840. 1955. , Thomson, J. G., and Warnock, Grace M. et al. A ‘balance sheet of energy intake and energy expenditure as measured by indirect calorimetry, using the Kofranyi-Michaelis calorimeter. British Journal of Nutrition. 6:253-264. 1952. Widdowson, Elsie M5, Edholm, O. G., and McCance, R. A. The food intake and energy expenditure of cadets in training. British Journal of Nutrition. 8:147-155. 195A. 119 .Miscellaneous Gross, Irma H. and Crandall Elizabeth Walbert. Manage- ment for modern families. N. Y., Appleton-Century- Crofts, Inc. 195A. Jones, Earl. A study of a Costa Rican rural education center. JM. A. Thesis. Turrialba, Costa Rica, Inter-American Institute of Agr. Sci. CMimeo.) 1959. iMead, Margaret, ed. Cultural patterns and technical change. No Yo, Mentor BOOK. 1955c Myrdal, Alva and Klein, Viola. Women's two roles. London, Routledge, and Kegan Paul Ltd. 1956. Nickell, Paulena and Dorsey, Jean Muir. .Management in family living. 2nd. ed. N. Y., John Wiley & Sons, Inc. c. 1950. Reid, Margaret G. Economics of household production. N. Y., John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 1934. Roberts, Lydia J. and Stefani, Rosa. Patterns of living in Puerto Rican families. Rio Piedras, P. R., The University of Puerto Rico. 1949. Steward, Julian Haynes and others. The people of Puerto Rico; a study in social anthropllogy. Urbana, University of Illinois Press. 195 . APPENDICES APPENDIX A Instituto Interamericano de Ciencias Agricolas Departamento de Economia y Ciencias Sociales Turrialba, Costa Rica Y Departamento de Administracidn del Hogar y Desarrollo de los Ninos Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan PERSPECTIVA DE TIEHPO DE LAS AMAS DE CASA No. Enumerador Partes I-IV Fecha Editado por Fecha Codificado por Fecha Observacidn Fecha Dia Partes V-VIII Fecha Editado por Fecha Cinta escrito por Fecha Codificado por Fecha Nombre del jefe de la familia Nombre del ama de casa 121 122 ANoUD md fiom “day aOhPO "thowda o mhpEonv mowfim dvmo dmfl OUCWSO amonma omonmm Amoemflnmw meme wawuevmae poms memo «one» "moons-z amnmmHEow mOH Hm IEoo mOnwn mam wpmo Imamaoo “mundane “mama wee .eD mowmmfldw oempm oemow ulllll . woa mouovuev moemnm mopcwdo adv om oewvab deem «ammo demo whopwmnn moa oz: mofiomodvm so opsoahdasmon cmapmfie % soEoo mmcompom mmpowsu .4 mHHflsdb ma we mohpSofiz oppom Hmhonou :oHOdEhoqu .H A.,: .v..- (Q 123 Cudnto tiempo tiene Ud. de casada? l. Cuanto tiempo hace que vive Ud. en Barbacoas? 2. Cuanto tiempo hace que vive Ud. en esta case? Esta case as propia? Sf No Piensan Uds. irse de este lugar? Sf No Si es sf), Indique sus razones En qué trabaja e1 jefe de la familia? (Si es agricultor), Cutil cultivo les da mas entradas? Tienen Uds. terreno propio? Sf No Si es Si), Cudntas manzana: tienen Uds.? Trabaja su esposo horas fijas? Sf No 1. A qué horas sale para trabajar? 2. A qué horas regresa? ande almuean su esposo en dfas de trabajo? en case le lleva e1 almuerzo otro, especifique Le pagan a su esposo cada din , cada semana , cada mes , otro, eSPGlelque Ha recibido Ud. pagO‘gor algun trabajo que ha realizado en los ultimos seis meses? i No Si es sf , En qué trabaja Ud.? Quiere Ud. leer estss tres frases? Sf No Con cual de estzs fires frases estd Ud. de acuerdo? II._Igformacidn Sobre la Vivienda y Comodidades del Hogar Cuintas habitaciones, incluyendo la cocina, hay en su casa? Cufles tfipos de luz artificial tienen Uds. en la casa? candelas canfinera electricidnd otro, esp. E1 techo es d( Fuji zinc tejas E11 and habitnciones tiene la casa piso de suelo maderi otros, esp. Algunas comodidides con que cuenta la familia. Comodidnd Desde cuando Cdmo 0 par qu‘ila’ ohtgyieron Uds.? l. Tienen Uds. electricidad? Si No .-- . ..- c- ~o~_ I -...... o..- 124. E. Comodidad Desde cuando? Cémo o por qué 1a obtuvieron Uds.? 2. Qué fuente de agua tienen Uds.? caHerfa - cocina bafio otro, esp. otro, esp. 3. Que tipo de cocina tienen Uds.? fogdn fogdn sin humo de canffn de hierro otro, esp. H. Que tipo de equipo tienen Uds. para moler? ninguno piedra mAquina 5. Tienen Uds. mdquina de coser? Sf No 6. ande lavan Uds. 1a ropa? pila cudntos huecos tiene esta pile? batea en el patio tiene techo o sombre? tiene cafierfa7 rio o quebrada otro, esp. 7. 9~‘ué tipo de planchs tienen Uds.? ninguna de mano de carbdn de canffn otro, esp. 125 IIIIIII:_~moeoudn new mom moawso «moHpooan newsman oumwao Hm «moaaumqous 0 weapons new so ownseo nomad soon: 1" accessec mcaeso .Aum me Hmv oz .nep_aeoccam .n 11‘ woapaeo ovum house when monouep mam nouosm moawao «owpamo H650 .Il [llwmowafimeovs o madness man so ofipEeo sumac once: one .mcD mew mob msfipdv ma can oonmso .H «meauomoh memo pooch when mosoumh man now moaufiu «nuanced: newsman oeeuno 4|: endanomoh meawso «Ann no “my 02 um wnmno so do meanomou measmae seven .moD unnamed .m «mahomon moo poems chem monouew mam nonmsm monso «nanomoh deo «ammo an no manomon enemam cocoa den .mv: 056 amp dswvao ea cam oeewso .u oz um «cecaecaucm .m 02 um wodwdqnaad .: 02 mm A woaawmaon me o doomasm ow modem cm Hume mewsw may 02 Hm «mmos me o umnmm ow modem .N 32 am cofleem .H amam we .mhmaoo um wfiepQSOO «dosowbspno mamas oH «meson .va noeofia onwopv monowbdvno oH oBoD 0H ovnwso ovnwdo .m mewEem ma encode msw moo man He 0 who: ma havoc when mmumuwuoaoo 126 III. Prdcticns Escogidas A. Cuiles oficios domésticos tiene que hacer todos los dies? B. Podria Ud. decirme las horns de comida en esta casa? C. Si no comcn todo on and sole comida, qué hacen Uds. con lo que (pledzf?___ 1_ D. ‘——- 1...-- - . 4.... .—.. X 51 Cudntas Lompran 70-15.: es sf voces 3, Por (11167 __H 13 semuna? 0 Tortilla» ) Pan ' Lechc Alimentos en lates: Leche Sardines , otr01(":SII. ' E. (Si Uds. no comprnn tortillas), flan pensado alguna vez en comprar tortillas? Sr No {Si es Si), por que dociiicron Uds. no comprar tortillas? F. Tienen Uds. negocio en el banco? Sf No (Si es sf), ande queda ese banco? Con qué frecuencia visitan e1 banco? Por qué visita cl banco? pare pedir préstamos para ahorrar otro,e3p. I ~ G. Quién cuida a los nlnos 51 so despierten durnnto la noche? H. N ieron lgunos de sus hijos en un hospital? SI No es sf): Cudles? Por que? vim H-O 1. Tiene algfin miembro de mi familia rope que use sdlo los domingos o dies feriados? Sf NC (Si es sf), Especifique quiénes. 127 J. Do 105 Iiguientes articulos,tienen Uds. algunos que seen 5610 para user an casos especieles como visitas, fiestas y bodes: Artfculo X 51 Especifique es sf _ . °l Vestidos Zapatos Trastos Rona de came Otro, esp. K. Cudndo fun In ultima vez que Ud. fue a Santiago? Cdmo fue? a pie a cabnllo en cazadora otro,esp. Por cudnto tiempo estuvo allf? A qué fue a Santiago? L. Piensa Ud ir a Santiago en el futuro cercano? Sf No (31 es sf), Cuindo piensa ir? A qué picnsa ir? M. Cuando fue la filtima vez que Ud. fue a San José? Cdmo fue? en cazadora otro, esp. Por cudnto tiempo estuvo allI? A qué fue a San Jose? N. Piensa Ud ir a San José en el futuro cercano? S! No 5i es sf), Cufindo piensa ir? A que piensa ir? 0. Con qué frecuencin compran loterfn? nunca cada semana cada mes otro, esp. . Con qué frecuencin se apunta Ud. en rifas? 9. Cudntas veces a la semani hace Ud. los Siguientes oficios: cocinar mniz cocinar frijolcs moler tostnr cafe lavar ropa lavar mantillas planchar mudnr los chiquitos bafiar los chiquitos remendar coser 128 R. Recibe Ud. ayuda do micmbros de la familia on algunas de las siguientes actividades? Cuthas Por qua hace Actividad Quién? veces a1 csta persona dia o a esta tarea? 1a semana? hacer mandados Chinear ‘clcr m J... 26 “’1‘ 1.. barrer moler llevar almuerzo planchar aporrear ropa Hay algunos otros oficios que ellos hacen? Sf No (Si es sf), especifique Cuinto tiempo en un dfa pass an cada una de estas tarcas? Que hora es? Hora en mi reloj (Si no tiene reloj), Cdmo sabe Ud.? (Observacién) 129 9 IV. Planes para el Dfa Siguiento A. Por favor dfgame que cosas piensa acer Ud. mafiana. ngamelas en ordon, empezando con la hora de levantarse. Si cs posiblc, dfgame mas o menos la hora en que Ud. piensa empeZar cada una de las actividades que acaba dc mencionar. (Si eso no as posible), ngame cudnto ticmpo piensa Ud. 1e tomard ada una de las actividades que acaba de mencionar. A. 130 10 V. Recuerdos dc Ayer Tenfa Ud. planeado para ayer algo que no pudo realizar? $1 No (Si es sf), Que pensaba hacer? Por qué no lo hizo? Hizo Ud. ayer algo que no habfa planeado? Sf No (Si es sf), Qué hizo que no ha planeado? Por qué lo hizo? Por favor dfgame lo que Ud. recuerde de sus actividades de ayer. ngamelas en ordon empozando con la hora de levantarse. Si es posible, dfgame mes o menos la hora en que Ud. empezd cada una de las actividades que acaba de mencionar. (Si no es posihle), ngame cudnto tiempo piensa Ud. que gastd en cada una de las actividados que acaba de mencionar. M . 131 11 VI. Preguntas en Relacidn con la Introduccidn de Cambio Cudl oficio doméstico lo gusta mds? Indique sus razones. Cudl oficio doméstico lo gusta menos? Indique sus razones. Cualcs oficios domésticos hace Ud. liger02 Indiquo sus razones. Cuales oficios dom6sticos hace Ud. dcspacio? Indique sus razones. Cuales oficios dom6sticos hace Ud. cuidadosamente? Indique sus razones. Cudles oficios domésticos hace Ud. a la carrera? Indique sus razones. Cuil oficio dom6stico piensa Ud. que es m6s ficil? Indique sus razones. Cudl oficio doméstico piensa Ud. que es mfls diffcil? Indique sus FGZOHGSO Cufil oficio doméstico piensa Ud. que es el mds pesado? Indique sus razonos. hacer algunos oficios dom6sticos, cuilcs oficios domésticos quisiera Ud. aprender a he cor mis rap nida? Indique sus razones. Si U tuviera 1a oportunid ad do aprcnder un método mas rapido de Si Ud. LUVIL a la oportunidad de aprender un m6todo mas facil de hacer algunos oficios domesticos, cudles oficios domésticos quisiera Ud. aprendcr a hacer mfis facilmente? Indique sus razones. Ha algun oficio doméstico a1 cual Ud. quisiera dedicarle mas tiempo? Indizpre sus razcnlcs. Hay alsfin oficio doméstico que le gustarfa hacer mas a menudo? Indique sus razones. Con Re specto a Cambios Efectuados p Tpavés del Tiempo Hay: tlzunos oficios dom6sticos que le toman a Ud. mas tiempo este afio que 61 pass tdo? Cuiles? Por qu6? Hay algunos oficios domésticos que le toman a Ud. menos tiempo este afio que el pasado? Cufiles? Por qué? 132 12 Cree Ud. que sus dias son easi todos parecidos en términos de las actividadcs que Ud. tienc? (Si es no), 9.116 los diferencia? En cufllcs horas del dfa se encucntra Ud. mas ocupada? Por qué? En cuiles hor 3 del dfa so encuontra Ud. menos ocupada? Por qué? Crop Ud. que el clima tiene algo que ver con los oficios que Ud. desempufia en el dia? Explique por qué? CrQQ‘Ud, quu 1: estacién del afio ticne algo que ver con 10$ OfiCiOS que Ud. desempsfia an 61 dfa? Explique por qué? A que edad de ullOS deja Ud. de chinear a sus hijos? Qué edad tionen los nifios Guando empiezan a ayudar en los oficios domésticos? A qu6 edad dirfa Ud. que una persona es vieja? Cudl ha sido cl dfa his recordado de su Vida? Por que? Qué hace Ud. los domingos? Cree Ud. que los oficios dom6sticos son ahora m65 pcsados o menos pesados que en el tiempo de su mama o que no han cambiado mucho? Si han cambiado, indique en qué forma: Cree Ud. que los oficios domésticos scran mas pesados o menos pesados o que no cambiarin mucho en el ticmpo en que los nihos de boy so casan? D6 sus razones. C6mo cambi6 Ud. sus actividades durante el temporal a1 fin do octubre do 1960? Prefiere Ud. hacor sus oficios dom6sticos en verano 0 en invierno? D6 sus razones. VIII. Situaciones Hipotéticas L1 Suponga que una familia rural tenga oportunidad de hacer un cuarto nuevo en su casa ahora mismo 0 de hacer una casa nueva, de aquf a un afio. Cual de las dos cosas cree Ud. que la familia deberfa escoger? D6 sus razones. 133 13 B. El marido de una sefiora tuvo un accidente serio en el campo. No puede trabajar por lo menos durante un afio. C6mo cree Ud. que esa sehora puede obtener la comida y otras cosas que en familia necosita para vivir? C, Una familia rural se gand cinco mil colones en la lotcrfa. Cdmo cree Ud. que podrfan usar e1 dinoro? Do El marido dc una sefiora 10 did plata para que consiguiera una em- pleada. Esta sefiora no puede docidir cuéles oficios domésticos debe hacer la empleada. Qué oficios 1e darfa Ud. a haccr a la emplcada? Indique sus razones. E. Suponga que hubiera suficicnte plats para pager emplcada para que haga todos los oficios domésticos. Qué harfa e1 ama de casa en todo el dfa? F. Cdmo cree Ud. que se sicnte una ama de casa al final do un dfa muy ocupado cuando todavfa 1e queda trabajo por hacer? G. Una familia rural so gand cinco mil colones en la loterfa. Si descan hacer que la Vida en la casa sea mis c6moda, c6mo cree Ud. que podrfan user 01 dinero para lograr esto? H. Una madro rural tiene un nifio onfermo. Qué cosas dejaria ella de hacer para podcr atenderlo? I. Una ama de casa hacfa tortillas todos los dfas. Hace poco comenzd a comprar tortillas. C6mo cree Ud. que piensan los otros micmbros de la familia do esto? Por qu6 cree Ud. que piensan asf? J. Una sefiora sirve las mismas comidas todos los dfas. Por qué cree Ud. que ella no varfa sus comidas? December 1960 AERL/ugo/so (AERL/Hl9/6O-revised) Appendix_p Inter-Anerican Inatitute of Agricultural Sciencea Depart-cut of Econo-ica and Social Sciencea Turrialba, Costa Rica and Depart-ant of none Management and Child Dunlap-cut Michigan State Univeraity, Beat Lanaing, Michigan BOHBflflKBIS' TIMI PERSPECTIVES lo. Interviewer Parts I-IV Date Edited by ‘ Date Coded by Date Obeervation Date DI! Parts V-VIII Date Edited by Date Tape transcribed by Date Coded by Date Rhee of fa-ily bead Nine of hone-aker 13h 135 Aanunacuuaaauv 3230 3:3 .3 £an .5320 an; cause-fl ahecflwon "acid” can .5853 «euannlcu cu and am 3.25: nan—:30 use» eon-v.83: $33.73 “new began. as: no» 3:2. ocean ocauu peaaca 05 «neon. coach» has to: ace-cum and.— 3 manzana... nee: scene.— acqueoacu so: :3. :25 hag-ah any uc angle: 25..- acne-hows Hauaaao noon. vac uao c.302— hcal 30: .< .H D. 1'. G. I. C. 136 how long have you been larried? 1. flow long have you lived in thia co-anity? 2. How long have you lived in thia houae? Do you own the houae? Yea No Are you thinking of leaving thia place? Yea No (If yea) Tell your reaaona VII-t ia the occupation of the family head? (If far-er) flhat crop providea the moat intone? Do you own your own land? Yea No (If yea) now many unaanaa do you have? Doea your huaband work regular houra? Yea No 1. what time doea he leave for work? 2. “hat tile doea he cone hole? were doea your huaband eat lunch on work daya? at hone carried to bin in the field other, apecify Doea your huaband get paid daily, weekly, Ionthly, other . . . Have you worked for pay at any tile during the put aix nontha? Yea No (If yea) what did you do? (leading teat which waa abandoned) II. Informtion About llouaing and Bouaehold Pacilitiea now many roona, including the kitchen, are there in the house? What kind of artificial light do you have in the houae? candlea, keroaene wick, electricity, other The roof ia thatch, natal, tile What roo-a have floora of earth __ wood __ other Pacilitiea Re. When did you get it? flow or why did you get it? 1. Do you have electricity? Yea Ho 137' a 8. Item. when did you get it? flow or why did you get it? 2. What water aource do you have? running: kitchen bath other other 3. Hhat type of atove do you have? 3.9.36.2 fogén with chimey kerosene iron other 4. what equip-ant do you have for corn grinding? none atone Inchine 5. Do you have a sewing machine? Yea no 6. where do you waah clothes? concrete aink wooden platter river or brook other 7. “hat type of iron do you have? none aad irona charcoal keroeene other 13¢? ~onoooon noon one an...» paoau undo—o.- uo 9.355 ooh one no.5 woomnono no.5 Aeoh «C on no» «canons: no enauunnau nook on onaono hue manual no 9513.5 no» on< pout-£0 0.3 now onoeoon noon onoa no.5 «cage no.5 «1333.. no enaunnnou noon on owned“. oloe oval ooh oluu no: o5 eea no.5 «3»..er on» one... on one: no» on 5.5 «no.5 ~5er no moan—nun» no» one do...» peonneno no.5 Anon «5 oz no» woe—5.» noon n.— eouoono hue 95er no moan—3.3 no» end a». no son e.e nan. eouaaao one: Noose..— naoh nu omnono oloe oval no» oluu no: as» no: no.5 .H .H .0 enononotos .n 88a... .e as... .n 3250 .N 0.238 2— .23:: e5 .3 so.— .. 3.3.9:... :53 S. a... $.— uou no» 3.. to: pun no» no» v.2. no.5 no» on no.5 song: will 25.. no» on 8.. $.23 you 83...»... .h A. D. F. G. I. 139 111. Selected Practices What household tasks cost you do every day? Can you tell no the seal tines in this house? If you do not eat everything at one Ieal, what do you do with what is left? Do you buy ? x if yes How Ian: tiles per week? 331? Tortillas Bread ‘Hilk Canned goods: Milk Sardines Other (If you do not buy tortillas) Have you ever thought of buying tortillas? Yea No \If yea) Why did you decide not to buy tortillas? Do you do any banking? Yea No (If you do) Where is the bank? How often do you use the bank? “by do you go to the bank? loans __ savings __ other __ who takes care of the children if they awaken at night? ‘Here any of your children born in a hospital? Yes No (If yes) ‘Hhich ones? why? Does any neeber of the faaily have clothes which are for use only on Sundays and holidays? (If yes) who? J. L. H. 14!) 0f the following articles, do you have any which are only for use in special cases such as visits, festivals, and weddings: Article X if yes Spec £22 Dresses, suits Shoes Dishes Bed clothes Other, specify When was the last tine you went to the county seat? How did you go? on foot __ on horseback __ by bus __ other __ liow long were you there? Why did you go there? Are you thinking of going to the county seat in the near future? Yes No (If yes) When? Why are you thinking of going? When was the last tile you went to the capital? How did you go? by bus other __ How long were you there? Why did you go there? Are you thinking of going to the capital in the near future? Yes No. (If yes) men are you thinking of going? _ Why are you thinking of going? 0. P. Q. How often do you buy lottery tickets? never __ every week __ every Ionth Other __ now often do you buy raffle tickets? How nany tines a week do you do the following: p cook corn cook beans asks tortillas __ toast coffee __ wash clothes _ wash diapers _ 1'0“ _ change children's clothes bathe children __ lend saw 7 S. 11.1 8 Do you receive help fron any family members in any of the following activities? Activity Who? How*-any tines Why does that How such per day or week? person do it? tine per dayiuaed? run errands baby sit haul water sweep Iake tortillas deliver lunch iron rinse clothes Are there any other tasks that any of the: do? Yes No (If yes) Specify What time is it? Tina on aywatch (If the*wanan does not have clock or watch) How do you know? (Observation of anything she did to verify tine) 11.2 IV. Plans for the Following Day A. Please tell no the things you are thinking of doing toaorrow. Tell us than in order, beginning with the hour of getting'up. If possible, tell as approaiaately the tine in which you are thinking of beginning each one of the activities you just mentioned? (If this is not possible) Tell us how much tine you think each one of the activities will take. 11.3 1° V. Recollections of Yesterday A. Had you planned anything for yesterday that you could not do? C. Yes No (If yes) What were you thinking of doing? Why didn't you do it? Did you do anything yesterday that you had not planned? Yes No (If yes) What did you do that you had not planned? May did you do it? Please tell as what you recall of your activities of yesterday. Tell me the. in order beginning with the hour of getting up. If possible, tell ae approxinstely the tine in which you began each one of the activities you just mentioned. (If this is not possible) ‘i‘ell ne how Inch tine you think you spent in each one of the activities you just mentioned. 144 11 VI. Questions Related to the Introduction of Change A. What household task do you like nest? Give your reasons. 3. What household task do you like least? Give your reasons. C. What household tasks do you do quickly? Give your reasons. D. What household tasks do you do slowly? Give your reasons. 8. Which household tasks do you do carefully? Give your reasons. I. What household tasks do you do on the run? Give your reasons. G. What household task do you think is easiest? Give your reasons. B. What household task do you think lost difficult? Give your reasons. I. What household task do you think the heaviest? Give your reasons. J. If you had the opportunity to learn a faster method of doing soae household tasks, which household tasks would you like to learn to do lore rapidly? Give your reasons. X. If you had the opportunity to learn an easier nethod of doing sole household taska,'which household tasks would you like to learn to do acre easily? Give your reasons. L. Is there any household task to which you would like to dedicate lore tine? Give your reasons. N. Is there any household task which you would like to do lore often? Give your reasons. VIII. Questions Related to Doeeeaker's Awareness of Changes Through Thee A. Are there any household activities which take you lore tine this year than last? Which ones? Why? 3. Are there any household activities which take you less tine this year than last? Which ones? Why? 145 12 C. Do you think your days are allost all alike in terms of the activities? (If no) How are they different? D. In what hours of the day are you lost occupied? Why? 3. In what hours of the day are you least occupied? Why? P. Do you think the weather has anything to do with the tasks you carry out in a day? Explain. G. Do you think the season of the year has anything to do with the tasks you carry out in a day? Explain. B. At what age are your children‘when you stop giving the. a great deal of attention? ' I. How old are children when they begin to help in household tasks? J. At what age would you say a person is old? X. What has been the most neaorable day in your life? ‘Why? L. What do you do on Sundays? H. Do you think that household activities are more or less difficult now than in your mother's tine, or that they have not changed much? If they have changed, indicate in what way: Do you think that household tasks will be more or less difficult or that they will not change much in the tine when the children of today get aerried. Give your reasons. R. How did you change your activities during the two weeks of rain at the end of October 1960? 0. Do you prefer to do household tasks in sue-er or in winter? Give your reasons. VIII. Hypothetical Situations A. Suppose that a rural family has an opportunity to have a new bedroon now or to have a new house a year from now. ‘Which of the two things do you think the family ought to choose? Give your reasons. C. D. F. G. J. 11.6 .13 A wo-an's husband had a serious acCident in the country. He cannot work for at least a year. How do you think the woman can obtain food and other things which her family needs in order to live? A rural family won SOOO colones (about $750) in the lottery. How do you think they would use the money? A woman's husband gave her aoney to get a servant. The woman cannot decide which household tasks the servant ought to do. What household tasks would you give to the servant? Give your [688008 . Suppose there was enough aoney to hire servants to do all the household tasks. What would the homemaker do all day? Bow do you think a woun feels at the and of a very busy day when she still has work to do? A rural fa-ily won 5000 colones (about $750) in the lottery. If they want to lake the life in the house sore coafortable, how do you think they could use the aoney for this? A rural nother has a sick child. What things would she leave in order to take care of hie? A hoaenaker aade tortillas every day. Recently she began to buy tortillas. What do you think the other nenbers of the faaily think of this? Why do you think they think that? A woman serves the sane neals every day. Why do you think she does not vary her aeals? APPENDIX C DETAILED CODING KEY 0F HOMEMAKERS' ACTIVITIES I. Food preparation and service A. Grind corn B..Make tortillas 1. Look for leaf and heat it (banana leaf is used as 2. 3. A. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. "waxed paper" or pastry cloth; it is heated to soften it so it will not break when used to line a bowl and cover finished tortillas) Knead dough Assemble equipment for torilla making Form tortillas Turn tortillas Attend fire while making tortillas wash hands after attending fire before forming more tortillas Store tortillas Give hot tortillas to family members during pre- paration time Regrind corn with a stone Send children on errands while making tortillas C. Other food preparation 1. 2. 3. A. Fire care 8e 11 ght fire b. fix fire (unless specifically for tortillas or ironing) c. cneck fire d. hunt and stack wood (usually done by men) Make coffee, agga dulce,or cold drink Serve coffee, a a du co, or cold drink Lunch a. pre are b. pac (children come home for lunch, but it is sent to men in the fields) c. send lunch to field (usually a child must be called to do this) d. take lunch to field (only one case) a. serve lunch I 1&7 5. II. House lh8 Dinner a. prepare b. serve Beans, corn, coffee (usually not daily tasks) a. select b. wash c. cook or toast Send children to purchase food Put away purchases and leftovers Do dishes during meal service when there are not enough to serve all members simultaneously (usually less than one minute duration) Gather fruit Boil milk Eat (the woman often eats while cooking and seldom eats with the family; this is difficult to classify separately) wash children's hands immediately preceding food service Feed the baby other than milk care A. Clean kitchen 1. 2. 3. h. 5. 6. 7. Wash dishes (except as in 9 above) Sweep Clear table Clean stove and counters Clean cooking utensils and equipment Clean sink Send children to clean B. Clean and arrange house 1. 2. 3. g. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. ll. 12. 13. Sweep Make beds Hang bedding to air wash furniture Make broom Use rag mop on wooden floor ~ Dump water on floor (done to keep dust down) Fill basket or shovel with garbage to carry out of house water plants Put away children's notebooks and school clothes Send children to clean Supervise children's cleaning Repair loose board in house wall (one case) C. Haul water 1. Bring water to house from outside source 169 III. Clothing care A. Launder l. 2. 3. A. S. 7. 8 93 10. wash diapers Soap clothing Rinse clothing Gather clothes to wash Walk to and from water source Make and use starch Mix bluing or bleach and use the product Hang clothes Take down clothes Fold clothes 11. Send children on errands while doing laundry 12. Clean shoes (includes washing off mud; two cases) B. Iron 1. Get iron 2. Fix fire for coals to heat iron 3. Fill charcoal or kerosene iron h. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Get blankets Ste cover table which is used as an ironing board Cover table Gather clothes to iron Moisten or brush clothes to be ironed Iron Put away ironed clothes Put away blankets and table Empty iron C. Sew and mend 1. IV. Child Hunt for needle and thread (needles usually are stuck in wooden wall) Cut out item to be sewn Take measurements Hunt for patch material Sew by machine or by hand Send children to bring sewing equipment or material Put away equipment care A. Routine or "expected" 1. 2. 3. Baths children (this indicates a complete bath) wash children Change clothes h. \. 5- 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 150 Fix bottle (done separately for each feeding) a. wash bottle b. prepare milk (often powdered) c. fil bottle Give baby bottle Get children up Put children to bed (includes arranging bedding and wrapping children in sacks which are used as bedclot es) Prepare special baby food or food for children when adults do not eat Hold baby Nurse baby Get child ready for school (may include ironing, mending, and preparation of a snack as well as dressing and checking appearance) Comb hair Send to pray' V. Recreation .A. Chosen or ”expected" 1. 2. 3. h. 5. Listen to radio Read Sit Talk or listen to conversation any time after midday coffee Be "unoccupied" VI. Personal care A. Physical 1. 2. 3. b. 5. 7. Bathe Wash extremities Change clothes Comb hair Fix and take medicine Brush teeth Go to privy VII. Animal care A. Cows 1. Milk 2. 3. Take cows to and from pasture Give water and food g. 6: 151 Hunt ropes and other equipment for milking swam W e t in bottles for ick-u or delive by children),u p p ry VIII. Interruptions; forced or "unexpected" circumstances A. Caused by children 1. 2. 3. A. 5. 6. 7. 8. 90' 10. Fix and give medicine to children Look at cuts and wounds Comfort crying child Encourage child to walk Cut finger and toenails (when not included in bathing activity) Look at school notebooks and report cards Talk to child other than to send him on errand when another activity is interrupted to talk Supervise or watch some activity of a child Disci line children Mop f oor where child urinated B. Other causes (one or two cases each; usually less than five minutes duration) 1. 2. 3. Talk or listen to conversation with unexpected visitor when work is stopped to do this Listen to observer's songs or games with children Warm self at fire or in sun Give injection to husband Hunt for something for husband Fix wash water for husband Pace - walk without apparent purpose or destination Peek at neighbors through slats in house wall Look at rain watch cattle or cars in road Chase chickens from house Hunt for kerosene wick to supply light Fill wick bottle with kerosene Animal care other than cows a. feed chickens b. feed pigs c. feed dogs and cats Buy eggs from itinerant vendor Put ashes on bowel movements and shovel them out (may be from chickens or children) Set tin to catch rain water APPENDIX D SUPPLEMENTARY TABLES Table 1A. Number of homemakers who predicted activities within each time span Time 8 an Activitya T‘“‘IT_’—'fi'1—LT—'—v v w *v Grinding corn 6 Making tortillas ‘ 15 Personal care 2 1 1 Animal careb 5 1 Child care 5 8 15 Cleaning house A 10 1 Preparing food 2 1 7 Cleaning kitchen 5 1a 1 1a Laundering ‘ 3 10 2 2 Ironing 2 3 3 Sewing . 2 2 Hauling water 1 Recreation 2 h 8Only thirteen classified activities appear because no homemaker predicted any interruptions by children or by other persons. bEach woman who had a cow predicted animal care at least once. 152 153 .uoness eonmsvew mowechH son Hmpmoquon man aH muoneozn .oocosvom on» :H BeuSHocH on on pH mom th>Hpom om poHcmnm on em: nuoxma noses mean» «0 aschHa « .oocosumm pnmnHBou Ho nonmochH mm» mm ompomHmm mm: mhmsz hooho HmonOHooOMno aH th>Hpom cm wsHaovana mnexmsmsos mo pmossn pmmman mnem H m N coHpmouomm H nope: onHomx N H H wcHzom H H H m N wchonH H H m m a m m a m $8.233 H H MH H H H NH N N H nonopHx wchMOHo m m H H N noon wsHpmaenm H N H o H H N H memos wchmeHu N N CH N m N m H m H ohMo UHHno H N N H mama Hman< H H N some Hmoomnmm m m m anHHpnoo waaxmz H n shoe wchcHho wllhllmrlw .LH m e m N a m N (H pH hpa>apo< mm m oaHa ““0an oer some oanHz cocosuom ho moHpH>Hpom neaovanm 0:3.muomeoeo: mo pooesz .mH erme 15h Table 16. Number of homemakers who recalled activities within each time span Time 3 an Activitya I II III IV- V Grinding corn 1 8 Animal careb' l 5 Making tortillas l 17 1 Personal care 3 2 4 Child care 7 6 1A Cleaning house 8 7 3 Hauling water 1 2 2 Preparing food 2 2 l 13 Cleaning kitchen 9 12 3 l3 Laundering 1 ll 3 2 Sewing - ‘ ' 2 z. 1+ Ironing . 2 l 6 Recreation 1 6 ‘7 aOnly thirteen classified activities appear because no homemaker recalled any interruptions by children or by other persons. bEach woman who had a cow recalled animal care at least once. 155 Table 17. Number of homemakers who recalled participating in activities once or more within each time span I Time s an __ 95 5115 W ree- Grinding corn 1 8 Animal care 1 5 Making tortillas 1 l7 1 Personal care 3 2 A Child care 7 6 13 1 Cleaning house 8 7 3 Hauling water 1 2 2 Preparing food 2 2 l 10 2 1 Cleaning kitchen 8 l 11 l 3 12 l Laundering l 7 A 3 2 Sewing ' 2 A A Ironing 2 l 5 1 Recreation 1 6 5 2 aNumbers in this horizontal row indicate number of‘ recollections. 156 deals: eases—Nee 33.35 Sou HensoNHuos 3.3 5 one} .eooesvoe emu aH vevsHusH on on 3 you 3:30. as 3.03 3 we: Cox-Idle: 095» we is...- < .0326: noes-ow mo non-outs.“ «Au .- @3250. no: chat: nevus HeoHuoHoNNouno 5 5:33 on uuHHHeoou sues—go: no meals: uoouueH 2E..— N N N e N N N e N7 83.8.: N N N e N «5.3 N N N n N N 958.: N N N N N .32.. ueNNe-NN NN Nn NNNNSN N 22.353 N N N S N N N NN N N N e 5:33 9:238 N N n n e N N N N N e8... N329“: N N N N N N N e N .32. 958.8 N anon . N NNNNNNNN 33328 H H H n H eueu H-IHNI H H H H N n ease. 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