Kris Paap worked for nearly three years as a carpenter's apprentice on a variety of jobsites, closely observing her colleagues' habits, expressions, and attitudes. As a woman in an overwhelmingly male—and stereotypically "macho"—profession, Paap uses her experiences to reveal the ways that gender, class, and race interact in the construction industry. She shows how the stereotypes of construction workers and their overt displays of sexism, racism, physical strength, and homophobia are not "just how they are," but rather culturally and structurally mandated enactments of what it means to be a man—and a worker—in America.The significance of these worker performances is particularly clear in relation to occupational safety: when the pressures for demonstrating physical masculinity are combined with a lack of protection from firing, workers are forced to ignore safety procedures in order to prove—whether male or female—that they are "man enough" to do the job. Thus these mandated performances have real, and sometimes deadly, consequences for individuals, the entire working class, and the strength of the union movement.Paap concludes that machismo separates the white male construction workers from their natural political allies, increases their risks on the job, plays to management's interests, lowers their overall social status, and undercuts the effectiveness of their union.

A reissue of the 1998 ILR Press edition, with a new preface by the author.

&Quot;This construction sourcebook from Sidney M. "Fully covering both commercial and residential construction,this source gives designers, managers, and hands-on construction pros leverage to bring every project in on time and under budget."--BOOK JACKET. Construction Site Work, Site Utilities, and Substructures Databook brings managers, designers, and hands-on construction pros exactly what's needed to pull a project together.". Levy brings you the informmation you need to locate specs and data for all kinds of underground construction equipment and systems - without poring through manuals, rooting for data, or, later, tearing out you hair over bad decisions.

The need for a skilled, motivated and effective workforce is fundamental to the creation of the built environment across the world. Known in so many places for a tendency to informal and casual working practices, for the sometimes abusive use of migrant labor, for gendered male employment and for a neglect of the essentials of health and safety, the industry, its managers and its workforce face multiple challenges. This book brings an international lens to address those challenges, looking particularly at the diverse ways in which answers have been found to manage safe and productive employment practices and effective employment relations within the framework of client demands for timely and cost-effective project completions. Whilst context, history and contractual frameworks may all militate against a careful attention to human resource issues this makes them even more deserving of attention. Work and Labor Relations in Construction aims to share understanding of best practice in the industries associated with construction and related activities, recognizing that effective work organization and good standards of employee relations will vary from one location to another. It acknowledges the real difficulties encountered by workers in parts of the developing world and the quest for improvement and awareness of some of the worst hazards and current practices. This book is both critical and analytical in approach and seeks to alert readers to the need for change. Aimed at addressing practical issues within the construction industry from a theoretical and empirical standpoint, it will be of value to those interested in the built environment, employment relations and human resource management.

Social construction addresses the cultural factors and social dynamics that give rise to and maintain values and beliefs. Drawing on postmodern philosophies and critical, social, and literary theories, social construction has become an important and influential framework for practice and research within social work and related fields. Embracing inclusivity and multiplicity, social construction provides a framework for knowledge and practice that is particularly congruent with social work values and aims. In this accessible collection, Stanley L Witkin showcases the innovative ways in which social construction may be understood and expressed in practice. He calls on experienced practitioner-scholars to share their personal accounts of interpreting and applying social constructionist ideas in different settings (such as child welfare agencies, schools, and the courts) and with diverse clientele (such as "resistant" adolescents, disadvantaged families, indigenous populations, teachers, children in protective custody, refugee youth, and adult perpetrators of sexual crimes against children). Eschewing the prescriptive stance of most theoretical frameworks, social construction can seem challenging for students and practitioners. This book responds with rich, illustrative descriptions of how social constructionist thinking has inspired practice approaches, illuminating the diversity and creative potential of practices that draw on social constructionist ideas. Writing in a direct, accessible style, contributors translate complex concepts into the language of daily encounter and care, and through a committed transnational focus they demonstrate the global reach and utility of their work. Chapters are provocative and thoughtful, reveal great suffering and courage, share inspiring stories of strength and renewal, and acknowledge the challenges of an approach that complicates evidence-based evaluations and requirements.

A BUILDER'S GUIDE to Construction graphics What do drawings mean to you as a builder? When you're in the midst of a construction project, you have to be able to bridge the gap between the outcome described by the design professional in the construction drawings and the myriad materials and processes required to build the structure. With hundreds of illustrations and photographs from actual working drawings, Construction Graphics: A Practical Guide to Interpreting Working Drawings, Second Edition demonstrates what construction graphics mean to managers of the construction process and how you can make the best use of them. From site excavation to forming, roof, and electrical systems, Construction Graphics provides up-to-date material and helpful exercises on the critical tasks involved in constructing a project from graphic depictions of it. This updated new edition gives you an overview of graphic communication, the construction business environment, the design professional's work product, and construction drawing fundamentals, and adds valuable new commentary on important topics, including: Building Information Modeling (BIM) Project delivery systems Interpreting working drawings The similarities between residential and commercial building construction drawings Executing a site section in preparation for an earth quantity take-off Additional commentary on welding and welding symbology Adhering to the Construction Specifications Institute's UniFormat classification system, Construction Graphics, Second Edition will be a valuable aid to any building professional.

Construction projects are usually completed through the efforts of several specialty contractors that enter into performance agreements with the prime contractor. Mistakes, whether made while bidding or when executing a construction project, can be costly for the facility owner, general contractor, or subcontractor. Focused on helping the project team avoid these mistakes and run their projects more efficiently, this book describes how a prime contractor can coordinate the efforts of subcontractors and address common problems that can occur during various stages. Greater understanding of problematic aspects can assure that the full scope of the project is covered without redundancy.