Boróka Bó

I focus on time — and the ways in which it is shaped by social network, neighborhood, and sociodemographic characteristics — in order to delineate  some of the mechanisms linking sociotemporal disparities and inequalities in well-being. My goal is to connect the individual-level subjective experience and social patterning of time with institutional, sociodemographic, and neighborhood-level factors, contributing to our current understanding of stratification and inequality. I do this by incorporating a mixed methods approach. I combine multiple qualitative methods (ethnography, in-depth, and life story interviews) with demographic methods (surveys and statistical estimation techniques). ​

 

One area of my research situates the temporal perspectives, experiences, and decision-making processes of communities navigating environmental hazards in space and time. By conceptualizing time as a fluid, network-based, relational process, my research extends the existing literature on time in demography via a focus on collective decision making. I am currently leading a collaborative research project studying how communities understand and navigate being out of time. This work builds on Enterprise Ireland and UK Research and Innovation grants, enabling me to form robust collaborations with local officials, elected leaders, climate activists, artists, and small business owners.​

 

A second are of my research examines how demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural characteristics affect the resource of time. Here, I trace how time scarcity emerges, along with how individuals navigate and make sense of the experience. I show that the well-being repercussions of time scarcity depend not only on individual actions, but also on differing neighborhood and institutional environments. A portion of this work has appeared in the American Journal of Sociology, SSM - Population Health , Population, Space & Place, and in Time & Society. 

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A third area of my research examines the reciprocal relationship between the social experience of time and our individual and collective emotions. My in-progress book unpacks how not having enough time matters for the well-being of both the rich and the poor. I show – from the perspectives of my participants – that the socioemotional experience of time scarcity has distinct class-based consequences.  

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I have also conducted work on: time as a resource in public schools in the United States, ethnic segregation and time availability, the temporal experiences of unaccompanied migrant children, gender inequality and the pace of life around the world, and exploring the trajectories of 'aged-out' foster youth in the United States.