Conference Papers by Martine Buser
The minorities are still underrepresented in the Swedish construction sector despite initiatives ... more The minorities are still underrepresented in the Swedish construction sector despite initiatives launched to answer a growing demand for workforce. Whereas many studies have focused on the minorities, we propose here to look at how the majorities maintain their dominance in the case of a civil engineering education. To do so, we build on the concept of privilege accounting for the dynamics which marginalize some while benefitting others. Drawing on a mixed method approach, the empirical material of this qualitative research includes the reviewing of 120 individual assignments of MSc students in construction management, 16 interviews of these students, and the authors' teaching experience. The preliminary results show a blindness towards one's own privilege, and an overfocus on the differences attributed to the minorities. The paper contributes to a wider understanding of the social dynamic of discrimination within sector.
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Papers by Martine Buser
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The relationship between technology and society may be conceptualized as a seamless web in a form... more The relationship between technology and society may be conceptualized as a seamless web in a form of coevolution. In modern societies, this coevolution, which includes engineering design and related ethical issues, is largely a kind of social experiment. To prevent unnecessary problems, Martin and Schinzinger suggest that engineers should seek to act ethically. This chapter examines how engineering students develop, or not, ethical concerns and practices in their everyday work. It is based on a case study using mixed methods and focusing on students in mentor companies during their Master’s degree program. The educational context is understood as a Mode 2 knowledge production representing a triangular relationship between the student, the university supervisor, and the mentor company where power and authority are distributed and shaped over time. Moreover, the student’s role is conceptualized as being a legitimate peripheral participant in engineering practices and consequently in the enactment of practical morality. The students work on problem-oriented projects and deal with complex decision-making processes. Having to face the constraints and limits of real-life project development in an organization, they struggle within a web of technical knowledge; loyalty relationships to various actors, norms, and regulations; as well as market demands. These tensions and their related trade-offs inherent to quick decision-making leave little space and time to reflect on ethical questions. Nevertheless, one can trace moral concerns in the students’ processes during their studies.
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Springer proceedings in business and economics, 2023
Increasing minorities' participation in high-tier and managerial positions in the constru... more Increasing minorities' participation in high-tier and managerial positions in the construction sector can compensate for the shortage of skilled workers faced by the industry even in Sweden. However, relevant initiatives seem to not have achieved substantial results yet. This is also evident in construction management education, which then creates implications for the industry. In this paper, we attest to shortcomings in tackling the aforementioned issues, as well as present possible solutions. Theoretically, we adopt diversity management and critical diversity theory and then conduct a literature review followed by an empirical focus on a master's education program for construction management in a Swedish university. Our findings show that while methods and policies may exist, they are generally implemented inefficiently. Even more alarmingly, there can be a "diversity washing" through relevant low-budgeted programs, which may serve more as an extraction for underperforming managers rather than serious initiatives. As such, universityproposed solutions may fail, as the organizational structure does not support them, and the responsibility of implementation lies primarily with the teachers. We therefore propose broader initiatives with a strong reflection in praxis-such as following up on students' behavior in the classroom and examining not only the way foreigners can be integrated but also the way the majority is blindly maintaining and reproducing its privilege. Those could allow construction management education to contribute toward a diverse and equitable development of the Swedish construction sector. In that vein, this paper aims to contribute to SDGs 4, 5, 8, and 10.
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Rapporten ar resultatet av en forstudie som syftar till att belysa svenska teknikkonsulters aktue... more Rapporten ar resultatet av en forstudie som syftar till att belysa svenska teknikkonsulters aktuella erfarenheter av globala samarbeten. Rapporten inleds med en oversikt av forskningslitteratur och presenterar tva olika exempel pa foretagens metoder. Rapporten fokuserar pa strategiska overvaganden, samt pa mojligheter och hinder i samband med dessa.
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Springer Proceedings in Energy, 2018
The recent Norwegian passive house legislation has raised concerns as to whether the building ind... more The recent Norwegian passive house legislation has raised concerns as to whether the building industry was able to build cost-efficient buildings, without overspending tax payers’ money and having negative consequences for peripheral areas in particular in the very north part of the country. This paper aims at exploring and analyzing how these challenges created by the new legislation has been met during building of a new hospital block in Tromso, the A-wing. Building on sustainable transition theory which identifies several recombinant dynamics, both public and private, we define the building of passive houses as a societal development encompassing dynamics like company development, personnel competences, as well as architectural, engineering and production methods. The empirical material draws on interviews, analysis of documents relative to the project and public media material. The case study revealed a mixture of recurrent, and specific cold climate challenges: some are directl...
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Sustainability, 2014
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International Journal of Project Management, 2006
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Conference Papers by Martine Buser
Papers by Martine Buser