Abstracts – Browse Results

Search or browse again.

Click on the titles below to expand the information about each abstract.
Viewing 34 results ...

Al-Aubaidy, N A (2015) Factors affecting underreporting of construction safety incidents on capital projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Beg, M A (1999) An economic based decision support system for project level pavement type selection, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Brandenburg, S G (2004) The Tier I workforce management strategy: Concept and application, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Castaneda-Maza, J A (2002) Workers' skills and receptiveness to operate under the Tier II construction management strategy, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Chang, S-W (2002) Development and assessment of the Tier II work force strategy implementation index, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Cho, Y-K (2000) Human-assisted rapid workspace modeling for construction equipment operations, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Dharwadkar, P V (1994) A prototype object-oriented system for three-dimensional CAD and schedule integration, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

France-Mensah, J (2019) Integrated planning and budget allocation for highway maintenance, rehabilitation, and capital construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Gebken, R J, II (2006) Quantification of transactional dispute resolution costs for the United States construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Glover, R W (1972) Developing and upgrading minority construction contractors: The Houston and Atlanta experiences, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

  • Type: Thesis
  • Keywords: competition; education; market; population; residential; skills; construction project; compliance; employment; financing; government; training; construction contractor; interview
  • ISBN/ISSN:
  • URL: https://www.proquest.com/docview/302683028
  • Abstract:
    An empirical study of minority business enterprise in construction, this paper is based on interviews with 119 minority general and specialty contractors in Houston and Atlanta as well as 112 other individuals, including civil rights leaders, union administrators, government officials, and other knowledgeable persons. The study includes consideration of the characteristics of existing contractors and their firms, the aspirations of the contractors, analysis of the problems they face in upgrading their businesses, and an examination of alternative approaches to improving and expanding minority business enterprise in construction. The contractors surveyed operate small firms which are predominantly proprietorships and usually employ three or fewer workers. Seven out of 10 contractors in Atlanta and nine out of 10 in Houston are specialty contractors. Virtually all but a handful work primarily in the residential sector. Although minority contractors tend to have more formal education than their counterpart groups in the population, their current capabilities as contractors are limited due to their lack of business experience and training. Three-fourths of the contractors interviewed expressed a desire to expand their businesses. However, only a fourth of these are aiming at the market for the larger commercial construction projects. Problems the contractors face in upgrading their businesses vary according to the type of contracting firm, the age and size of the firm, the volume of work, and the size of projects undertaken. However, financial problems -- especially locating interim financing -- were of foremost concern to the contractors surveyed. Other problems of major concern to the contractors were inability to find and keep qualified workers, inability to obtain bonding, lack of management skills, debt collection, cheap competition, and (in Houston) scarcity of jobs. Three approaches to upgrading minority contractors are examined: (I) government assistance, (2) joint venturing, and (3) the minority contractors association. With respect to government assistance, it was found that although several government programs aimed specifically at assisting the minority contractor exist, these programs have resulted in more promise than fulfillment. Furthermore, minority contractors appear not to be well served by any government programs, including the employment service efforts, vocational education programs, and contract compliance endeavors such as the "Atlanta Plan." With regard to joint venturing, it was found that although this technique offers upgrading potential for minority contractors, it is a complicated matter and should only be undertaken with certain precautions. Finally, the minority contractors association can assist its member contractors by helping to bring them into contact with the mainstream construction industry, to educate and train them to better operate their businesses, and to focus community resources upon them. Recommendations are offered for public and private organizations wishing to assist the future development of minority firms in construction.

Goodrum, P M (2001) The impact of equipment technology on productivity in the United States construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Griffith, A F (1997) Team alignment during pre-project planning of capital facilities, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Hamilton, M R (1994) The relationship between pre-project planning effort and success for capital construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Jung, Y (1997) Information systems planning methodology for the construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Kim, D (2002) Exploratory study of lean construction: Assessment of lean implementation, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Kim, D Y (2011) Construction planning and execution strategies for enhancing project success on electrical construction subcontracts, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Kim, S B (2002) Assessment of CII knowledge implementation at the organizational level, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Laufer, A (1980) Assessment of financial incentive programs for the construction labor force: A Delphi analysis, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Lopez de Ortigosa, D A (1993) Forecasting construction costs in hyper-inflated economies, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

McNerney, M T (1994) The use of geographical information systems for airport engineering and management, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Pantelias, A (2009) A methodological framework for probabilistic evaluation of financial viability of transportation infrastructure under public private partnerships, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Panthaworn, P (2005) An exploratory study of motivation of management personnel in the heavy construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Phaobunjong, K (2002) Parametric cost estimating model for conceptual cost estimating of building construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Popescu-Kohler, A I (1998) Improvements to construction delay analysis techniques, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Seo, J (1998) Graphical interface design for equipment control in unstructured environments, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Shaw, D T (1989) SITE CODE: A knowledge-based model of municipal site development regulations for computer-aided design, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Song, J (2005) Tracking the location of materials on construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Sylvie, J R (2005) Developing best practices for industrial project life cycle security and a methodology for measuring implementation, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Toews, C D (1981) The regional economic and labor market impact of large-scale, rural, public works construction: A case study of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Wilde, W J (1998) Life cycle cost analysis of portland cement concrete pavements, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Wilson, M C (2000) Public infrastructure investment and structural economic change: The spatial dynamics of public works in the United States, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Won, S (2002) A model for work function characteristics-based prioritization of technologies for capital projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Woo, S (1999) Monte Carlo simulation of labor performance during overtime and its impact on project duration, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.

Zhang, Z (1996) A gis-based and multimedia integrated infrastructure management system, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , The University of Texas at Austin.