published_or_final_version / abstract / Architecture / Master / Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Design and Management

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-60)

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 1970. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-86). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. School ofTechnology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-91).

Thesis (M.Mus. 1972) - Dept. of Music, University of Adelaide.

The lack of attention to quality control by house builders in the Australian State of Victoria has been a contentious issue for more than two decades. Ina an attempt to improve the quality of housing, various mechanisms such as voluntary and compulsory registration schemes have been adopted and discarded by industry-based organisations and government. While builders are encouraged to improve construction quality, little is known and published about the quality of housing produced by owner builders specifically during the seven year warranty period after construction is completed. With this in mind, this thesis presents research findings that compare the latent defects in houses built by owner builders with those of registered builders. Using inspection reports provided by Archicentre <a subsidiary of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects> a sample of 1772 houses, of which 1002 were owner builders <HO> and 770 were registered builders <HR> was used to determine the severity, the incidence, and location of defects within each house type. Houses less than a year old were found to contain a siginificant proportion of defects for both types of builder. In addition, it was found that HO builders had a mean of 2.74 defects per house and HR builders mean of 2.30 defects per house for the seven-year warranty period. To determine whether there was a significant difference between the quality of housing produced by HO and HR the statistical technique of Chi-squared analysis was undertaken at a 5% level of significance. The analysis revealed that there was a significant difference between the quality of housing procured by owner <HO> and registered <HR> builders. In particular, it was found that the important category of workmanship for HO builders had significantly less defects that HR builders, which suggests that HR builders need to improve their managerial practices and the quality of on-site supervision. In essence, this thesis has provided a series of benchmark metrics for latent defects against which current and future legislative programs con be compared for new housing in the State of Victoria. It is recommended that future research focus on the methods for improving the role of the on-site supervisor as they are considered to be the important link in the quality chain.

Thesis (M.S.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2009. / Directed by Patrick Lucas; submitted to the Dept. of Interior Architecture. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jun. 7, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 135-139).

Inaug.-Diss.--Berlin. / "Sonderabdruck aus 'Archiv für Musikforschung, ' Jahrg. 2, Heft 2."

Thesis (M.I.R. (Hons.))--School of Industrial Relations, Faculty of Economics,University of Sydney, 1995. / Title from title screen (viewed 19th December, 2007). Includes tables. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School [i.e. Dept.] of Industrial Relations, Faculty of Economics, University of Sydney. Degree awarded 1995; thesis submitted 1994. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.

Australia is one of the driest continents in the world with changing climatic conditions continuing to put a strain on potable water sources. The use of water saving technologies such as greywater systems in residential properties is an important water conservation tool in order to reduce the consumption of the finite potable water resources in Australia. To this end, Master Builders Association Victoria with the assistance of RMIT University investigated the current barriers that builders face with regard to the installation of greywater systems in residential properties. Builders like other property and construction professionals have a part to play in promoting the use of sustainable technologies. The main aims of the project were to firstly find out or identify barriers that are inhibiting builders from installing greywater systems and secondly to identify and formulate strategies to reduce or eliminate the barriers identified. The main barriers for builders are; high cost, government regulations, lack of builder awareness or knowledge, and low client demand. The potential solutions for the reduction or elimination of the barriers identified as part of the research include; economic and reliable greywater systems, creation of a website with link on greywater systems and educating the general public.