Interactional perspective on environmental communication in construction projects

Drawing on theories of social interaction, a critical discourse analysis approach is used to examine the resources and constraints on environmental-communication practices in four construction projects in Sweden. The assumption is that talk and action work together to construct, maintain and change organizational structure, social practices, and contractual arrangements. The empirical data were collected through in-depth interviews and field observations where photo documentation was extensively used. The study showed mismatches between information and action, both within the project and between the project and its stakeholders. The mismatches were not caused by a lack of information, but rather by inconsistencies between the communication cultures, the status of the communicator, and the tools used to mediate the information, e.g. the media, discourses and genres used. These discrepancies resulted in a lack of engagement in environmental work in the projects. If environmental and other performances in construction projects are to be improved, more effort needs to be exerted on understanding the dynamics of the social context, human interaction, and the mediating tools used to communicate. This paper suggests an approach that can enhance such an understanding

What tensions obstruct an alignment between project and environmental management practices?

Using an activity theory lens, this paper aims to examine the interrelationships between project practice and environmental management. It also aims to focus on tensions that occur between human agents and material objects within a motivedirected, historicallysituated activity system, namely that of managing environmental issues in projects. Case studies of two large infrastructure projects were conducted 20032004 and 2008. The studies comprised onsite observations, text analyses, 20 semistructured interviews and one group interview. Time was spent on the construction site to become familiarized with the context and the practices of the project community. A total of 15 weekly environmental site inspections were monitored and photodocumented. The findings show how new and emergent environmental management practices and routines were inherently contradictory to the situated and established culture within the projects. In fact project practices seemed to amplify the contradictions between environmental management and project management rather than mitigating them. As a result project members and organization members strove toward different goals and foci. It is argued that management needs to create arenas where members from the two units can align practices and merge routines. Aligning the permanent structures of the organization with the temporary organizing of practices and operational activities in projects is a challenge for the construction industry. A prevalent lack of fit between the organization and its projects causes contradictions which negatively affect the way in which longterm environmental strategies and goals are understood and implemented in the project settings. The system theoretical lens adopted in this study enables a holistic interpretation of complex and dynamic activities and the linking of the micro, the individual, to the macro, the organizational structure. By indicating some inherent and emergent contradictions between project practice and corporate environmental management, this paper contributes to an emergent field of research that focuses on social practice in construction. \ua9 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limite

Stakes and struggles in liminal spaces: construction practitioners interacting with management-consultants

Although external consultant interventions are usual in construction organizations to mediate strategic change, micro-level analyses of these interactions remain scarce. We draw on rich data from a qualitative case study and focus on observations of a set of three management-consultant strategy workshop interventions, aka away-days, with top, middle and project managers, respectively, in a large construction company in Sweden. Our analysis uses the conceptual construct ‘liminality’ to frame the intervention practice and elements of Bourdieu’s theory of practice to examine the unfolding of the interaction at the boundary interface. The consultants failed to achieve take-up of their novel ideas, and the workshops became sites of contention in which power struggles were played out between two very different fields of expertise. Using an integrated framework provides better understanding of power struggles at intra- and inter-organizational boundary interfaces

Invisible Social Infrastructures to Facilitate Time-pressed Distributed Organizing

How do complex societal demands and time constraints posed by distributed temporary organizing affect organizational communication? Extending Bowker and Star’s (2002) work on infrastructures, we introduce two context-specific ‘invisible’, social infrastructures: organizational and relational. We empirically assess their role in an international, multi-site ERP-software implementation. We investigated how these infrastructures shaped organizational activities, aligned discourses, created order, and prevented divergent behaviours. We found that mutually interdependent organizational and relational infrastructures strengthened social relationships and saved time by facilitating non-routine collaboration and organizational communication under geographic and temporal constraints. We argue that the conceptualization of (infra)structural and process dynamics will help researchers and practitioners understand and handle organizational communication in distributed temporary organizations

Behavioural ambidexterity: effects on individual well-being and high performance work in academia

Academic work demands behavioural ambidexterity: the ability to simultaneously demonstrate exploration (creativity in research and/or in innovative teaching and learning practice) and exploitation (compliance with quality assurance). However, little is known about the effects of behavioural ambidexterity on the well-being of individual employees. We explore the experiences of men working in academic roles at universities in Sweden and the UK. More specifically, we examine the relations between behavioural ambidexterity and perceptions of well-being using an interpretative approach based on narrative analysis. Despite societal differences between Sweden and the UK, academics in both countries felt ill-equipped to fulfil the demands for ambidexterity. This resulted in mixed performance outcomes with serious implications for well-being. We identify and discuss the influence of personal circumstances and the role of agency in work design as two key antecedents of positive well-being outcomes

Obstetric anal sphincter injury rates among primiparous women with different modes of vaginal delivery

Objective: To determine whether OASI rates are increasing at equal rates among different vaginal birth modes. Methods: Using New South Wales (NSW) linked population data, the overall yearly OASI rates were determined among the 261,008 primiparous vertex singleton term births which occurred from 2001-2011. OASI rates among non-instrumental, forceps and vacuum births with and without episiotomy were also determined. Multivariable logistic regression was used to ascertain the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for each birth category by year. The trends of the aORs over time for each birth category were compared. Results: The overall OASI rate was 4.1% in 2001 and 5.9% in 2011. The highest OASI rates were among forceps births without episiotomy (12.2% in 2001, 14.8% in 2011), and lowest for non-instrumental births without episiotomy (2.6% in 2001, 4.4% in 2011). After adjustment for known risk factors, the only birth categories to show significant increases with OASI over the study period were non-instrumental without episiotomy and forceps with episiotomy (linear trend p<0.01). Conclusion: Overall OASI rates have continued to increase. Known risk factors do not fully explain the increase for non-instrumental births without episiotomy and forceps with episiotomy. Changes in clinical management and/or reporting may be contributing.Australian National Health and Medical Research Council; Australian Research Council; Dr Albert S McKern Research Scholarshi