Three Selected Publications
Concrete cracks, wood burns: Competing narratives in the construction sector
International Wood Products Journal 2024
Innate to the human condition are rules of thumb, or heuristics, important for our survival. It is widely understood that wood is combustible, and concrete is prone to cracking. These factors significantly drive our perceptions concerning the selection of materials used in construction. The present study aimed to better understand the competing narratives employed by supporters on both sides of this construction ‘material warfare’ and specifically investigate their advantage and disadvantage arguments. To meet our research objective, we looked at news media articles through Google search tool using keywords ‘wood vs concrete building construction’. The articles are published as early as 2006, and along the years, the competing conversations are more prominent with the ‘birth’ of mass timber in North America. The topic is also becoming an interest for specific audiences, such as architects, engineers, and insurance companies. Through inductive thematic analysis of 100 articles, we find that cost and sustainability are two dominant factors in the narratives. Each industry claims to be more cost effective and sustainable than the other, typically sniping at each other. This rhetoric, we argue, will not be beneficial for society and environmental justice. A sustainable built environment requires cross-sector collaboration between wood and concrete companies to handle difficulties that they cannot address successfully within their own sector.
“From nude calendars to tractor calendars”: The perspectives of female executives on gender aspects in the North American and Nordic forest industries
Canadian Journal of Forest Research 2019
Increasing gender diversity is no longer just the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do. Although there is general literature about gender diversity and the perspectives of females in top management and leadership, there are, however, very few forest sector specific studies. This exploratory study utilizes interviews to better understand how female executives in North America and the Nordic countries of Finland and Sweden perceive the impact of the situation of gender diversity in the forest industry. Respondents also provide career advice for young females entering or considering entry into the industry. Female executives in both regions agree that although the forest sector is still seen as a male-oriented industry, there are signs of increasingly positive attitudes regarding industry and company culture towards the benefits of greater gender diversity; however, the described changes represent an evolution, not revolution. Interestingly, despite the status of Nordic countries as leaders in bridging the gender gap, respondents from this region believe that there is significant progress yet to be made in the forest industry, especially at the entry level. With respect to career development, North American respondents suggested that young females should consider sacrificing their social life and leisure time activities, whereas Nordic respondents instead emphasized personal supports or using exit strategy from an unsupportive company or boss.
What does the public believe about tall wood buildings? An exploratory study in the US Pacific Northwest
Journal of Forestry 2018
Little is known about what the public thinks of tall wood buildings (TWBs), which are structures made primarily from wood that are at least five stories tall. Understanding end-user beliefs can help the industry address public preferences and concerns. An online panel of 502 residents in the Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, metropolitan areas showed that only 19 percent were familiar with TWBs. The largest percentages of respondents believed that, compared with concrete and steel buildings, TWBs are more aesthetically pleasing, create a positive living environment, and use materials that regrow. However, they also believed that TWBs have greater fire risk and need more maintenance. Sizable percentages of respondents said they did not know about various durability, performance, aesthetic, and environmental attributes of TWBs. There were few meaningful differences between respondents who reported being familiar and unfamiliar with TWBs, but those who were familiar evaluated TWBs slightly more positively.