'Temporal Diversity'

Participants gathered at a conference run under the auspices of the Tutzing Time Ecology Project to explore the issue of temporal diversity. One result was a categorization of the fundamental elements of time that constitute the social timescapes. In everyday life these different times often overlap, merging into each other until they can no longer be distinguished. Historically, as temporal diversity increases so also do the opportunities available for shaping our use of time. It was one of the conclusions of the conference, however, that the full benefit of these opportunities can only be obtained once the function and significance of different varieties of time have been understood and the necessary social conditions have been created in which this benefit can be reaped.