The construction industry as a workplace is commonly seen as problematic for a number of reasons, including its worrying health and safety record, the instability of its workforce, and the poorly regulated nature of the sector. Ethnographic Research in the Construction Industry draws together in one volume a set of expert contributions which demonstrate how social science perspectives, rooted in ethnographic research on construction sites and with construction workers themselves, can generate fresh insights into the social, cultural and material ways that the industry and conditions of work in it are experienced and played out.
This book calls for those interested in robust construction research to embrace ethnography – in all its forms, including rapid ethnographies, ethnographic-action research, autoethnography, as well as longer-term ethnographies. The diversification of ethnographic approaches, as well as ethnographers, will lead to rich insights that can advance the industry theoretically and practically. We share experiences, key considerations and recommendations from leading construction ethnographic researchers from around the world to provide discussion, reflection and understanding into doing ethnography in the construction industry. This book is aimed at academics, students, consultants, editors, reviewers, policymakers, funders and others interested in robust research in the construction industry and built environment but will also be useful for those undertaking research within organisations in other industries.
Valuing People in Construction provides contemporary perspectives on the ‘glue’ that binds the construction process together; people. The book addresses people issues in the construction industry where behavioural outcomes impact upon business and project performance. The main proposition of the book is that as people continue to lead the completion of construction activities, their health, safety, and well-being should be seen as a priority, and valued by stakeholders. As employers and employees, the role of people in construction must be to strive for the improvement of individual lives and society. This edited collection, which is the first book to focus specifically on placing value on people in construction, focuses on people at work, gender at work, conditions at work, and respect at work. In addition to an editorial overview, the book presents tested and refined empirical work and case studies by leading construction researchers from Africa, Australia, and Europe. Essential reading for researchers, students and professionals interested in construction management, the sociology of construction, HRM in construction, gender, work and health studies.
Building workers constitute between five and ten per cent of the total labour market in almost every country of the world. They construct, repair and maintain the vital physical infrastructure of our societies, and we rely upon and trust their achievements every day. Yet we know surprisingly little about builders, their cultures, the organization of their work or the business relations that constitute their industry. This book, based on one-year’s participant observation on a London construction site, redresses this gap in our knowledge by taking a close-up look at a section of building workers and businessmen. By examining the organizational features of the building project and describing the skill, sweat, malingering, humour and humanity of the building workers, Thiel illustrates how the builders were mostly autonomous from formal managerial control, regulating their own outputs and labour markets. This meant that the men’s ethnic, class and gender-bound cultural activities fundamentally underpinned the organization of their work and the broader construction economy, and thereby highlights the continuing centrality of class-bound culture and social stratification in a post-industrial, late modern world. Thiel outlines the on-going connections and intersections between economy, state, class and culture, ultimately showing how these factors interrelated to produce the building industry, its builders, and its buildings. Based predominately on cultural and economic sociology, this book will also be of interest to those working in the fields of gender and organizational studies; social class and inequality; migration and ethnicity; urban studies; and social identities.
Leadership, Ethics, and Project Execution provides a masterclass in the project and people management skills that set apart the most accomplished design and construction professionals. This textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate students distils the insights gleaned over the authors’ decades of experience in academia and industry into actionable principles for success in a notoriously demanding field. Combining real life case studies with original research, Leadership, Ethics, and Project Execution points the way from the classroom to the jobsite. Interactive exercises allow readers to take the role of junior project managers and other emerging professionals and reason through the ethical dilemmas surrounding building projects from the initial bid to completion. Chapters on stakeholder alignment, productivity, and project success ensure that aspiring leaders’ business decisions are as economically sound as they are ethically correct. From its accessible, conversational tone to the lifetime’s worth of construction wisdom it shares, Leadership, Ethics, and Project Execution offers an extended mentoring session with three giants of the building industry.
Research Methods for Construction will help you instil rigour into your problem-solving, and into your reports and publications. It will be of value to construction, surveying, architecture and civil engineering students undertaking research, whether for bachelors and masters degree dissertations, or for masters and doctoral research degree theses. Now in its Fourth Edition, this remains one of the few books to provide guidance on research formulation, methodologies, and methods specifically for construction students. Three main sections – Producing a Proposal, Executing the Research and Reporting the Results discuss the key issues in research and examine the primary approaches, both qualitative and quantitative. The methods adopted for scientific and engineering experiments, model building and simulations are discussed, as well as those employed for research into management, social and economic issues. The authors examine the requirements for data and analysis, including the important statistical considerations and a range of qualitative techniques that enable construction researchers to appreciate what needs to be evaluated in devising how research may be carried out effectively and efficiently. This new edition has been updated to reflect current debates and concerns, including ethical issues, legislation and codes of practice concerning the collection, processing, storage, use and disposal of data. Pressures of time and funding to carry out the empirical work all too often lead to a lack of attention to how the study should be done and why. The authors address the importance of explaining the philosophical approach adopted (ontology, epistemology) and the consequent methodology. They advocate close scrutiny of the methods available for appropriateness, both academically and practically. The fundamental theme of the book remains to facilitate a researcher’s informed and justified selection of a philosophical paradigm and of appropriate methods to execute the research.
This book prompts architects and anthropologists to think and act together. In order to fully grasp the relationship between human beings and their built environments and design more livable and sustainable buildings and cities in the future, we need new cross-disciplinary approaches combining anthropology and architecture. This is neither anthropology of architecture, nor ethnography for architects, but a new approach beyond these positions: Architectural Anthropology. The anthology gathers contributions from leading researchers from various Nordic universities, architectural schools, and architectural firms as well as prominent international scholars like Tim Ingold, Albena Yaneva, and Sarah Pink – all exploring, developing, and innovating the cross-disciplinary field between anthropology and architecture. Several contributions are co-written by architects and anthropologists, merging approaches from the two disciplines in order to fully explore the dynamics of lived space. Through a broad range of empirical examples, methodological approaches, and theoretical reflections, the anthology provides inspiration and tools for scholars, students, and practitioners working with lived space. The first part focusses on homes, walls, and boundaries, the second on urban space and public life, and the third on processes of creativity, participation, and design.
This is Book 1 of 7 in the Ethnographer's Toolkit, Second Edition. The Ethnographer's Toolkit series begins with this primer, which introduces novice and expert practitioners alike to the process of ethnographic research, including answers to questions such as who should and can do ethnography, when it is used most fruitfully, and how research projects are carried out from conceptualization to the uses of research results. Written in practical, straightforward language, this new edition defines the qualitative research enterprise, links research strategies to theoretical paradigms, and outlines the ways in which an ethnographic study can be designed. Use Designing and Conducting Ethnographic Research as a guide to the entire Toolkit or as a stand-alone introduction to ethnographic research. Other books in the set: Book 2: Initiating Ethnographic Research: A Mixed Methods Approach by Stephen L. Schensul, Jean J. Schensul, and Margaret D. LeCompte 9780759122017 Book 3: Essential Ethnographic Methods: A Mixed Methods Approach, Second Edition by Jean J. Schensul and Margaret D. LeCompte 9780759122031 Book 4: Specialized Ethnographic Methods: A Mixed Methods Approach edited by Jean J. Schensul and Margaret D. LeCompte 9780759122055 Book 5: Analysis and Interpretation of Ethnographic Data: A Mixed Methods Approach, Second Edition by Margaret D. LeCompte and Jean J. Schensul 9780759122079 Book 6: Ethics in Ethnography: A Mixed Methods Approach by Margaret D. LeCompte and Jean J. Schensul 9780759122093 Book 7: Ethnography in Action: A Mixed Methods Approach by Jean J. Schensul and Margaret D. LeCompte 9780759122116
This book is the definitive guide to understanding and doing visual ethnography. Sarah Pink’s landmark text provides you with both the critical theoretical foundations and the creative tools and techniques you need to conduct your own visual ethnography. Covering the material and the digital, and tying key concepts and ideas to real world contexts throughout, this fully updated fourth edition: Provides clear and critical guidance on research planning and ethics Discusses new and emerging technologies, including digitally connected devices and wearable cameras. Introduces contemporary methods such as futures ethnography, distance ethnography, team ethnography, and the use of documentary. Explores the latest theory and practice in photographic and video ethnography. Shows you how visual ethnography can be applied, participatory, and even interventional. A milestone in visual and ethnographic research, this book is a must-have for students and researchers across the social sciences. It is an essential invitation, and companion, to doing impactful, creative, and critical visual research.
The new and enhanced edition of the popular textbook on research methods in construction and related disciplines Research Methods for Construction is designed to help construction students develop the research skills needed to achieve success in their research projects. Providing clear guidance on research formulation, methodologies, and methods, this comprehensive textbook addresses the theoretical, philosophical, and practical aspects of research in many areas of construction. The authors explain the requirements for data and analysis and describe the methods used for scientific and engineering experiments, modelling and simulations, research on management and socio-economic issues, and more. Now in its fifth edition, Research Methods for Construction is fully revised to reflect contemporary developments and emerging areas of construction research. New and expanded chapters cover topics including data protection and ethics, theory borrowing, sensemaking, and directionally motivated reasoning. This edition includes additional models and details relating to translation, and offers fresh discussion of axiology, determinism, and stochasticism. Providing students with coherent, well-structured account of construction research, this market-leading textbook: Emphasizes and instils rigor into construction students' problem-solving, reports, and publications Assists researchers in selecting appropriate methods to execute research Articulates the stages of construction research processes: producing a proposal, executing the research, and reporting the results Examines qualitative and quantitative approaches and statistical considerations for a wide range of construction research Discusses current ethical, legal, and regulatory issues pertaining to research in construction The fifth edition of Research Methods for Construction is the ideal textbook for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students embarking on a research project, at bachelors, masters or doctoral level, in construction, surveying, architecture, civil engineering, and other built environment disciplines.
