To overcome a construction labor shortage, the Singapore construction industry employs migrant workers from other countries. The cultural differences between local project managers and foreign workers may give rise to communication problems and mismanagement, leading to low productivity. This study identified the similarities and differences in cultural traits among migrant workers from China, India, and Thailand and recommended strategies to manage diversity among migrant construction workers. The research method was a survey, and data were collected from project managers who had experience in managing migrant construction workers in Singapore. In-depth interviews were also conducted to gain insights into how diversity among migrant workers could be managed. The results show that workers from Thailand tend to exhibit the least negative traits. Workers from China have traits that are significantly different from Indian and Thai workers. The recommended management strategies to deal with cultural diversity are: engage highly skilled migrant workers; administer employment contracts closely; supervise strictly to lessen poor and passive-aggressive attitudes; reward workers who take initiative; and train workers to work safely and produce high quality workmanship. In addition to work-related strategies, project managers should also form concrete personal relationships with workers to create trust and organize social activities to engender interteam spirit.

This paper describes a study of the effects of guided inquiry module instruction on undergraduate construction engineering students’ understanding of course concepts and attitudes toward module instruction. Eighty-one students from two sections of the same Construction Materials engineering course participated in the study. Both sections received guided inquiry module instruction (treatment) for three of the six course topics. Participants completed pre- and posttests for each topic, exams (midterm and final), and a questionnaire to assess attitudes and perceptions. Results of the study show students perceived module instruction to be more effective than the traditional lecture. Students across both sections indicated that they participated more during module instruction and that this approach was more effective in encouraging participation and providing opportunities for discussion, activities, and teamwork. Additionally, students performed better on certain topic posttests under the treatment condition. This study contributes to the growing research on the effectiveness of active instructional approaches in engineering education to improve student learning gains. Future research should consider instructor teaching style and class composition in the design of experimental comparisons.

University programs in Western countries must be accredited, and although several detailed conceptual methods have aimed to design new programs, no specific quantitative tools are currently available. The purpose of this paper is to describe a method to plan, design, or improve graduate degree programs based on selected requirements and market demands. This method involves two metrics, which are later combined into a final index. The first metric is the completeness index that evaluates the extent to which certain programs cover a discipline, in this case, construction management, according to a model using two variables: infrastructure life cycle and organizational breakdown. The second metric is the adequacy index, which measures how a program addresses the previously identified market demands. The final indicator (summary index) relates both indexes in a plot chart. In this study, the applicability of the method is illustrated by a sample of 21 construction management programs from prestigious universities and a survey of the Spanish construction industry. It can be applied in practice, not only in the construction management field, but also in other fields with an appropriate theoretical model that maps each field of knowledge and exploratory data that highlight the demands of each specific market.

The rapid growth of mainland China’s construction market has spurred the increase of projects, but at the same time also attracted competition from local and foreign architectural, engineering, and construction (A/E/C) firms. For these A/E/C firms to survive and expand, appropriate and effective strategies and practices need to be adopted to improve competitiveness. The aim of this research is to identify relevant military like strategies that A/E/C firms adopt to improve their competitiveness in China, with a focus on the practices that Chinese firms adopt that lead to higher competitiveness. Metrics of competitiveness are winning large numbers of projects, winning large value projects, achieving client satisfaction, having a good public image, delivering product/service speedily, and a high level of quality and profitability. Data were collected from foreign and Chinese A/E/C firms operating in China using a structured questionnaire. The results show that many practices Chinese firms adopt that lead to competitiveness do not reap the same benefits for foreign firms. It is recommended that foreign firms adopt to a greater extent the practices identified in this study that enable Chinese firms to achieve higher competitiveness so that foreign firms may compete more effectively in China.

Substantial research in a diversity of fields suggests that being successful in a skilled profession requires ways of thinking that are unique to the context of that profession and present in practitioners of that field. The purpose of this study is to characterize embedded knowledge of sight distance and stopping sight distance in instructors and engineers and similarly examine course materials. Individual interviews were conducted with 29 transportation engineers and 19 transportation instructors. Course notes from a selection of instructors and three commonly used textbooks were also analyzed. Although instructors and practitioners expressed similar content knowledge, there were significant differences in the context in which it was embedded. Engineering practitioners used and referred to software, manuals, and specific experiences, while instructors primarily spoke in a more abstract context or referred to textbooks. Also, engineers discussed methods of mitigating for the inability to meet minimum design criteria; this was not found in course notes or textbooks. This research strongly suggests that context-dependent embedded knowledge exists in transportation engineering and efforts are necessary to integrate this knowledge in the curriculum.

Skill shortages exist in the construction industry in Australia, as they do in most industrialized countries around the world. These shortages are predicted to worsen with an aging population, and with concerns that young people are not attracted to construction. Initial career choices are made during secondary school, after exploring a broad range of options. Career counselors facilitate resource gathering about areas of interest and need to provide accurate information about the many opportunities available. Therefore, perceptions of the working conditions and individual characteristics suitable for blue collar and white collar construction roles were gathered from 202 career counselors. Overall, their knowledge of the industry was reasonably accurate and realistic. However, there were some inconsistencies in responses about work conditions, safety, job security, work hours, and having a good work ethic. Construction was also considered a better career option for males than females. Reasons why young people may not be pursuing construction careers are discussed, including the industry’s traditional career path being out of step with current expectations of flexible work arrangements, portable skill sets, work-life balance, and a male dominated work culture.

This article presents a plan of action composed of various initiatives for including sustainable development education (SDE) transversally within university degree programs. The most important initiative is that of introducing sustainable development as a basic transversal skill for each thematic unit of the class, thereby completely modifying the content. To achieve this adaptation, a methodology is developed that can be systematically followed in any class. This article includes an example of how this methodology was implemented in an “Industrial Construction and Industrial Services” class, which is part of the industrial engineering major at a Spanish university. The objectives and results achieved in the class demonstrate the benefits of using the proposed method to incorporate an adequate amount of SDE into university degree programs.