Architecture is a representation of our society’s aspirations and of our social, economic and political paradigms. Since 1994, has the city of Pretoria been successfully represented? Does the city succeed architecturally in creating space that is democratic and that embraces our country’s diversity? The large influx of people within the city of Pretoria has created a terrain consisting of a series of contradictions and conflicts. These conflicts and contradictions within the city are a result of social, economic, spatial, physical and historical tensions that exist within society's social, economic and political paradigms. Physical and spatial reactions have occurred as a result of these tensions that exist within the city of Pretoria. This dissertation will explore these urban spaces that are in tension and investigate what opportunities and limitations such spaces offer the city of Pretoria. The objective is to consider what architectural intervention will arise from the resolution, synthesis or conflict of these tensions. Can these spaces that are in tension within the city foster a new post-apartheid way of city-making. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

The main purpose of this mini-dissertation is to understand the relationship between gender, land, culture and the tension between African culture and the constitution in the context of communities under traditional authorities in South Africa. South African has a number of communities residing in the former ‘homelands’ or Bantustan States created by the apartheid government and colonists. These communities have their own cultures and custom and their relationship is generally governed by indigenous law. However some of their cultures and customs have been adulterated by colonists who imposed Western imported laws which subjected indigenous law to a repugnancy clause, whereby sections of indigenous law that were considered to be in conflict with the Western principles of justice, equity and fairness were regarded as inferior and unenforceable. For communities under traditional authorities land is very important as it is used for building a home and for subsistence farming. However all land in these communities is held in trust by the Chief who allocates it to communities members in line with indigenous law. With the adulteration of African culture and the introduction of legislation to enforce patriarchy in South Africa by colonists, as an example, by the use of the Black Administration Act of 1927, the system currently used to allocate land in traditional communities is gender based and discriminates against women and this creates tension between the currently used custom of allocating land and the Bill of Rights. The mini-dissertation proposes that that tension between African culture and the Bill of Rights could possibly be mediated using the African philosophy of Ubuntu / Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Public Law / LLM / Unrestricted

The project analyzes the relationship and role that music plays in building tension in horror movies. To investigate the topic, three types of film music were identified: traditional, ambient, and soundtrack. Subsequently, nine horror scenes were chosen that were believed to induce tension, with three being traditional scores, three being ambient scores, and three being soundtracks. Each traditional and ambient score and soundtrack clip was from a different horror subgenre that included supernatural, body, and slasher horror. The music of these nine clips was then analyzed using spectrograms to create tension arcs that were compared to the visuals in the scene. An experiment was then conducted that took these nine scenes and separated them into three variables that included sound+video, video only, and sound only. Participants were placed into one of three groups associated with these variables at random, and were asked to rate their feelings of tension in each clip via a tension slider. Their responses were then compared to a theoretical curve that was created from the analysis of the clips. The results showed that there was a small correlation between the theoretical response and the responses between sound & video. There was another small correlation between sound+video and sound. This showed that music created tension in a similar way to the complete scene, except for in the case of soundtracks, and that music is possibly a larger contributor to tension than the visuals of a scene.

Among the basal bony fishes, the American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) has a unique respiratory strategy of ram-ventilation. However, despite the increasing problems caused by hypoxia in natural habitats occupied by this species, little information exists about their response to hypoxia. Four studies were conducted to examine the physiological and biochemical responses of juvenile paddlefish (150-181 g) to acute and chronic hypoxia. Acute hypoxia tolerance, aerobic metabolic rates and swimming capabilities of paddlefish in an intermittent respirometer or swim flume were evaluated under normoxic (partial pressures of oxygen [pO2] =140 mm Hg) and hypoxic (pO2 =62 mm Hg) conditions at 18 °C and 26 °C. Additionally, blood oxygen transport, blood acid-base balance and metabolic stress were evaluated in paddlefish independently exposed to 4 different pO2s: normoxia =148 mm Hg, mild hypoxia =89 mm Hg, moderate hypoxia =59 mm Hg and extreme hypoxia =36 mm Hg, at 21°C. Blood samples were collected from paddlefish after they had been exposed to treatment pO2’s for 0.25, 2, 6, 24 and 72 hours, and analyzed for hematocrit, pO2, total oxygen content, pCO2, pH, hemoglobin, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Cl-, glucose, lactate, etc. A third study used 1-D and 2-D J-resolved 1H NMR to analyze metabolite changes in muscle tissue of paddlefish exposed to normoxia (148 mm Hg), or acute (0.25 h) or chronic (72 h) moderate hypoxia (59 mm Hg). The last study examined the effect of moderate hypoxia (pO2: 59 mm Hg) and subsequent recovery in normoxia (pO2: 148 mm Hg) on plasma cortisol, blood oxygen transport, blood acid-base balance, metabolic, ion-osmoregulation and enzyme parameters in paddlefish. The results indicate that paddlefish have a critical pO2 of 74 mm Hg at 18 °C and 89 mm Hg at 26 °C and a lethal oxygen threshold of ~2 mg/ L. Sensitive to moderate hypoxia, death occured after 3-8 hours of extreme hypoxia. Paddlefish have reduced capacity for metabolic depression and, as a result, survival in hypoxia is limited due to a reduction in both aerobic and anaerobic (glycogen and glucose) energy stores as well as the accumulations of toxic H+ and lactate. Nonetheless recovery is possible.

A need exists for a more robust method of evaluating musculoskeletal injuries resulting from impact conditions, particularly blasts. Computational modeling is a promising method of achieving this goal. The accuracy of a model depends on high quality mechanical properties for each component. This study examined the mechanical properties of porcine muscle along with structure property relationships. Fresh muscle was tested in compression and tension at strain rates of 0.1 s-1, 0.01 s-1, and 0.001 s-1. Viscoelastic properties were observed including strain rate dependency, stress state dependency, anisotropy, relaxation, and hysteresis. Image analysis was conducted in compression on controls, 30% strain, and 50% strain, relating stress-strain data with structural changes. The effect of rigor was also seen in the tensile response of muscle. Thawed tissue was examined to investigate the effects of freezing. It was found that freezing did not significantly change the mechanical properties, but substantial microstructural changes did occur.

The earliest man-made irrigation systems in recorded history date back to the ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia era. After thousands of years of experience, exploration, and experimenting, mankind have learned how to construct canals and dams and use pipes and pumps to direct and control water flow, but till this day, there are still some behaviors of water and other simple fluids that surprise us. One such example is the lotus effect: a surface-tension effect which allows raindrops to roll freely on a lotus leaf as if they were drops of mercury. One of the key factors that determine how a fluid system behave is the size-scale. Fluids flow at small scales very differently than they do at large scales. The standard comparing to which small and large are defined is the capillary length. A number of surface-tension related phenomena are unfamiliar because they are only noticeable at length-scales of a few millimeters or below, and they look nothing like what we would expect fluids to behave when dominated by gravity. As fascinating as many of them may seem at first glance, surface-tension phenomena are actually not that far away from our daily lives. Surface tension is everywhere because it costs energy to create areas of surfaces and interfaces, just like it costs energy to deform a solid (resulting in elasticity) or to elevate a weight (resulting in gravity). To minimize energy, a surface or an interface has the tendency to contract, and this tendency generates surface tension. The size of a system significantly affects the relative strengths of surface-tension effects comparing to effects of body forces, most commonly gravity. By equating the estimated magnitudes of surface tension and gravitational forces of a system, a length scale, know as the capillary length, can be defined. The capillary length of water on earth is about 2.7 mm. At the length scale of everyday objects, which is usually above the capillary length, surface-tension effects are not always prominent, because at those scales the competing force, gravity, is often much stronger. That is why the surface of a glass of water is more or less flat. However, as the size-scale decreases, surface tension decreases a lot slower than gravity, so when the size of a fluid system gets down to below the capillary length, surface tension takes over. One of the defining characteristics of this moment in human history, is the tremendous efforts we are putting into the research and engineering of micro- and nano-scale materials and structures − systems where surface tension is often the predominant force. It is important to study surface-tension effects so that we can use them to our advantage. In this Ph.D. dissertation, we have investigated some important surface-tension phenomena including capillarity, wetting, and wicking. We mainly focus on the geometric aspects of these problems, and to learn about how structures affect properties. Understanding these phenomena can help develop fabrication methods (Chapter 2), study surface properties (Chapter 3), and design useful devices (Chapter 4) at scales below the capillary length. In the first project (Chapter 2), we used numerical simulations and experiments to study the meniscus of a fluid confined in capillaries with complicated cross-sectional geometries. In the simulations, we computed the three-dimensional shapes of the menisci formed in polygonal and star-shaped capillaries with sharp or rounded corners. Height variations across the menisci were used to quantify the effect of surface tension. Analytical solutions were derived for all the cases where the cross-sectional geometry was a regular polygon or a regular star-shape. Power indices that characterize the effects of corner rounding were extracted from simulation results. These findings can serve as guide for fabrications of unconventional three-dimensional structures in Capillary Force Lithography experiments [J. Feng (2011) (a)]. Experimental demonstrations of the working principle was also performed. Although quantitative matching between simulation and experimental results was not achieved due to the limitation of material properties, clear qualitative trends were observed and interesting three-dimensional nano-structures were produced. A second project (Chapter 3) focused on developing techniques to produce three-dimensional hierarchically structured superhydrophobic surfaces with high aspect ratios. We experimented with two different high-throughput electron-beam-lithography processes featuring single and dual electron-beam exposures. After a surface modification procedure with a hydrophobic silane, the structured surfaces exhibited two distinct superhydrophobic behaviors − high and low adhesion. While both types of superhydrophobic surfaces exhibited very high (approximately 160_) water advancing contact angles, the water receding contact angles on these two different types of surfaces differed by about 50_ _ 60_, with the low-adhesion surfaces at about 120_ _ 130_ and the high-adhesion surfaces at about 70_ _ 80_. Characterizations of both the microscopic structures and macroscopic wetting properties of these product surfaces allowed us to pinpoint the structural features responsible for specific wetting properties. It is found that the advancing contact angle was mainly determined by the primary structures while the receding contact angle is largely affected by the side-wall slope of the secondary features. This study established a platform for further exploration of the structure aspects of surface wettability [J. Feng (2011) (b)]. In the third and final project (Chapter 4), we demonstrated a new type of microfluidic channel that enable asymmetric wicking of wetting fluids based on structure-induced direction-dependent surface-tension effect. By decorating the side-walls of open microfluidic channels with tilted fins, we were able to experimentally demonstrate preferential wicking behaviors of various IPA-water mixtures with a range of contact angles in these channels. A simplified 2D model was established to explain the wicking asymmetry, and a complete 3D model was developed to provide more accurate quantitative predictions. The design principles developed in this study provide an additional scheme for controlling the spreading of fluids [J. Feng (2012)]. The research presented in this dissertation spreads out across a wide range of physical phenomena (wicking, wetting, and capillarity), and involves a number of computational and experimental techniques, yet all of these projects are intrinsically united under a common theme: we want to better understand how simple fluids respond to small-scale complex surface structures as manifestations of surface-tension effects. We hope our findings can serve as building blocks for a larger scale endeavor of scientific research and engineering development. After all, the pursue of knowledge is most meaningful if the results improve the well-being of the society and the advancement of humanity.

Cette thèse propose une méthodologie complète de conception des transformateurs utilisés dans les modulateurs servant à alimenter, par des impulsions de haute tension, des amplificateurs klystron. Cette méthodologie est appliquée au transformateur d'impulsion monolithique du modulateur qui doit fournir des impulsions de 28.9 MW pendant 140 µs, à une tension de -170 kV pour le futur accélérateur d'électrons-positrons CLIC actuellement en phase de recherche et développement à l'organisation européenne pour la recherche nucléaire (CERN). Une attention particulière est donnée au respect du temps de montée de la tension du klystron qui doit être inférieur à 3 µs, et à la tension maximale qui ne doit pas être inférieure à -175 kV. Les circuits électriques équivalents respectifs du transformateur, incluant capacités et inductances parasites, et du klystron permettent de modéliser le comportement électrique du modulateur. Un circuit équivalent défini dans le standard 390 de l'IEEE ainsi qu'un circuit équivalent d'ordre élevé sont utilisés. Il est possible par simulation des circuits équivalents de connaître le courant et la tension au secondaire du transformateur lorsque la tension au primaire est imposée. A partir des caractéristiques du transformateur et des matériaux le constituant, l'identification des éléments parasites à l'aide de calculs analytiques ou de simulations avec la méthode des éléments finis en 2D ou en 3D du transformateur est présentée. Une méthodologie d'identification expérimentale du circuit équivalent standard du transformateur est développée afin de comparer les méthodes d'identification par calcul et simulation avec des mesures réalisées sur un transformateur. Le système d'isolation est dimensionné à partir d'essais haute tension réalisés sur les matériaux solides et liquides. Les modèles de dimensionnement et d'isolation sont validés expérimentalement sur deux prototypes. Des résonances non modélisées avec le circuit équivalent standard et reproduites par le circuit équivalent d'ordre élevé sont observées expérimentalement sur les deux prototypes à échelle réduite. Le circuit équivalent standard et l'identification sont utilisés dans une procédure d'optimisation pour dimensionner un avant-projet de transformateur respectant le cahier des charges du CLIC. Un algorithme d'optimisation hybride utilisant conjointement des modèles de dimensionnement de basse et haute précision pour un résultat rapide et précis est présenté et détaillé. / In this thesis, a pulse transformer design methodology for klystron amplifiers is presented. This methodology is applied to the design of the pulse transformer for the modulator of a future electron-positron compact linear accelerator (CLIC) at CERN which has to produce -170 kV pulses of 140 µs duration with a power of 28.9 MW. A special care is given to the secondary voltage maximum value and rise time of respectively -175 kV and 3 µs. The electrical performances of the modulator are evaluated with equivalent circuits that include parasitic capacitances and inductances of the transformer, and nonlinear klystron resistance. The IEEE pulse transformer equivalent circuit and a high order generalized equivalent circuit are compared. From the transformer topology and its material characteristics, the elements of the equivalent circuits are identified with analytic computation (only for the standard equivalent circuit) or simulations of the electrical and magnetic fields of the transformer modeled in 2D or 3D using the finite elements method. Two reduced scale validation prototypes are realized. An experimental identification methodology of the standard equivalent circuit is developed to compare simulation and experimental results. The insulation structure is designed from high voltage tests on solid and liquid insulating materials and validated on prototypes. It is experimentally demonstrated that the high order generalized equivalent circuit predict the observed electrical resonances not predicted by the standard equivalent circuit. The standard equivalent circuit and its identification are used in an optimization procedure to design a pulse transformer that meets the specifications for the full scale CLIC modulators. The hybrid optimization algorithm (also called space mapping) that is associating analytic and 3D finite element simulations for a fast and precise solution is proposed and detailed.

Cette thèse vise à élargir nos connaissances sur les couches limites turbulentes (CLT) soumises à un gradient de pression adverse (CLT-GPA). Les points de mire de cette thèse sont les structures cohérentes et les mécanismes de transfert d'énergie dans les CLT-GPA avec de petits et grands déficits de vitesse. Pour faire cela, nous avons généré des bases de données de deux CLT-APG hors équilibre par simulation numérique directe. La première couche limite atteint un Re[indice θ] de 8000 et un paramètre de forme de 1.4 à 3.2. Il s'agit de la base de données principale utilisée tout au long de la thèse. La deuxième base de données a été obtenue avec le même domaine et les mêmes conditions limites que la première. La seule différence est que la turbulence est artificiellement éliminée de la région interne de la couche limite. Cette deuxième base de données est utilisée pour examiner l'effet de la région interne sur la turbulence dans la région externe. À des fins de comparaison, nous utilisons aussi des bases de données d'un écoulement de Poiseuille plan, de deux couches limites sans gradient de pression et de deux écoulements à cisaillement homogène. Les structures porteuses d'énergie et celles qui transfèrent l'énergie sont examinées à l'aide des distributions spectrales et des corrélations en deux points. L'analyse révèle que les structures porteuses d'énergie possèdent des caractéristiques spatiales et spectrales semblables dans les CLT-GPA avec de petits déficits de vitesse et les écoulements canoniques. Dans le cas à grand déficit de vitesse, contrairement aux écoulements précédents, la turbulence devient prédominante dans la région externe au lieu de la région interne. Le pic interne du spectre de (⟨u²⟩) n'existe pas dans le cas à grand déficit de vitesse. De plus, les corrélations en deux points montrent que l'organisation spatiale a aussi changé. En ce qui concerne les structures qui transfèrent l'énergie, les structures associées à la production, la pression-déformation et la dissipation se comportent comme les structures porteuses d'énergie. Les distributions spectrales de ces mécanismes sont semblables dans les CLT-GPA avec de petits déficits de vitesse et les écoulements canoniques. Dans le cas à grand déficit de vitesse, les distributions de production et pression-déformation dans la direction normale à la paroi changent parce que la région externe devient dominante. Cependant, les spectres 2D et le rapport de forme des structures sont semblables dans tous les cas. Les structures de production et de pression-déformation sont analysées plus en détail en utilisant leur taille relative et leur position dans la direction normale à la paroi, comme révélé par les distributions spectrales. Les résultats montrent que les spectres de production et pression-déformation ont des caractéristiques semblables dans chaque région (interne et externe) peu importe le déficit de vitesse. Dans la région interne, les résultats suggèrent que le cycle de régénération de la turbulence de proche paroi, ou un autre mécanisme possédant les mêmes caractéristiques spectrales, existe dans les CLT-GPA à grand déficit de vitesse. En ce qui concerne la région externe, la CLT-GPA à grand déficit de vitesse se comporte davantage comme une couche cisaillée libre que les CLT-GPA avec de petits déficits de vitesse et les écoulements canoniques. Mais aucune instabilité de type point d'inflexion n'a été détectée. L'effet de la turbulence de la région interne sur les structures de la région externe est examiné par l'intermédiaire des caractéristiques spatiales des structures porteuses de cisaillement turbulent à l'aide de données volumétriques spatio-temporelles. Les résultats montrent que la région externe n'est pas significativement affectée par la turbulence de la région interne. Les caractéristiques spatiales des structures dépendent principalement du cisaillement moyen. De plus, le rapport de forme des structures évolue de la même façon dans les deux régions externes de CLT-GPA (originale et modifiée) et dans l'écoulement à cisaillement homogène lorsque la taille des structures est normalisée avec l'échelle de longueur de Corrsin. La conclusion générale est que les mécanismes de transfert d'énergie turbulente restent les mêmes dans une région indépendamment du déficit de vitesse. La raison pour laquelle les distributions d'énergie et du transfert d'énergie varient dans la CLT-GPA à grand déficit de vitesse est probablement le changement du profil de cisaillement moyen dû au déficit de vitesse croissant. / This thesis aims to expand our knowledge about turbulent boundary layers (TBLs) developing under adverse pressure gradients (APG). The main focus of this thesis is coherent structures and energy transfer mechanisms in APG TBLs with small and large velocity defects. For this, two novel non-equilibrium APG TBL direct numerical simulation databases are generated. The first database is a non-equilibrium APG TBL with Re[subscript θ] reaching 8000 and a shape factor spanning between approximately 1.4 and 3.2. It is the main database utilized throughout the thesis. The second database has identical domain and boundary conditions to the first one. The difference between them is that turbulence in the inner layer of the second database is artificially eliminated. This second database is generated to examine the effect of the inner layer on the outer layer turbulence. For comparison purposes, a channel flow case, two zero pressure gradient (ZPG) TBLs and two homogeneous shear turbulence (HST) databases from the literature are employed. The energy-carrying and -transferring structures are examined using the spectral distributions and two-point correlations. The analysis reveals that energy-carrying structures in small defect APG TBLs and canonical flows have similar spatial and spectral features. In the large defect case, turbulence in the inner layer, which is the dominant region in canonical flows and small defect APG TBLs, loses its importance and outer-layer turbulence becomes dominant. The inner peak in the ⟨u²⟩ spectra does not exist in the large-defect case. Moreover, two-point correlations show that the spatial organization becomes different in the large-defect case as well. Regarding the energy-transferring structures, production, pressure-strain and dissipation structures behave in a similar fashion to the energy-carrying structures. The spectral distributions show that the canonical flows and small defect APG TBLs behave very similarly. The shape of the spectra is qualitatively similar in both cases. In the large defect case, the wall-normal distributions of production and pressure-strain become different since the outer layer becomes dominant. However, the shape of 2D spectra and the aspect ratio of structures are alike in all cases. The production and pressure-strain structures are analyzed in more detail using the relative size and wall-normal positions with respect to each other and energetic structures using spectral distributions. The results show that production and pressure-strain spectra have similar features in both the inner and outer layers regardless of the velocity defect, despite the differences in energetic structures. In the inner layer, the results suggest that the near-wall cycle or another mechanism with similar spectral features exists in large defect APG. As for the outer layer, an interesting result is that in large-defect APG TBLs it acts more like a free shear layer than in small-defect APG TBLs or canonical flows. Besides that, production and inter-component energy transfer mechanisms are similar in all cases regardless of velocity defect. No inflection point instability in the outer layer of the large-defect APG TBLs was detected. The effect of the near-wall region on the outer-layer layer structures is examined through Reynolds-shear-stress carrying structures' spatial features by detecting individual structures using spatio-temporal volumetric data. The results show that the outer layer is not significantly affected by the inner-layer turbulent activity. The structures' spatial features mostly depend on the mean shear. The aspect ratio of Reynolds-shear-stress carrying structures remains almost identical in the outer layer when the inner-layer turbulence is eliminated. Moreover, the aspect ratio follows a similar trend in both outer layers of APG TBLs and HSTs when the structures' size is normalized with the Corrsin length scale. The overall conclusion is that energy transfer mechanisms remain the same within one layer regardless of the velocity defect. The reason why the wall-normal distribution of energy and energy transfer dramatically changes in the large defect case is probably the change in the mean shear profile due to the increasing velocity defect.

Tensions and conflicts are a regular, but complex, part of organizational life. Triangulating multiple related theories is useful in gaining deeper insights into the complexities of tension or conflict management processes in organizations. This dissertation consists of three related essays that collectively contribute to answering a common research question: How and why tensions or conflicts are experienced and managed in different organizational contexts? The focus is on how three theoretical perspectives (contingency, paradox and dialectic) can be deployed to understand tension or conflict management in different contexts. This topic is relevant for three reasons. First, recent evidence demonstrates that both tensions and conflicts have constructive potential for individual and/or organizational change. Second, conflict studies have been shifting from short-term focused resolution to long-term-oriented transformation. This trend suggests that conflict studies might benefit from tension research, which is often long-term oriented due to the persistence of organizational tensions. Third, the advancement of tension research at the organization level calls for more tension research at the individual level. This presents a good opportunity to complement conflict studies, which mainly focus on individual and team level analyses. The dissertation uses a multi-perspective framework to analyze tension or conflict management in three organizational contexts that are rich in tensions and conflicts: family businesses, innovation in government, and the entrepreneurial university. The contingency perspective features either-or thinking that stresses the importance of making either-or choices according to contingencies. The paradox perspective features both-and thinking which favours strategies that address competing demands simultaneously. The dialectic perspective involves more-than thinking that aims to transcend tensions or conflicts through third parties, reframing, or other workarounds. The study of three different contexts (family business, government, and the university) allows for a better understanding of how different contexts shape the manifestation of tensions and conflicts and influence the choice of tension and conflict management strategies. The first essay (presented in chapter 2 and co-authored with Professor Mark Freel) is based on a literature review of family-related conflicts and how these conflicts are managed in family businesses. The review illustrates how the popularity of certain conflict management strategies is associated with some unique aspects of family businesses, such as the prevalence of relationship conflicts and the relatively high emotional bonding in families. The second essay (presented in chapter 3 and co-authored with Professor Samia Chreim) uses a longitudinal case study to examine how tension management evolves regarding two tensions observed in a government innovation diffusion process: control versus resistance and competing interests among stakeholders. The study demonstrates how tension management strategies evolve from simple to complex through a mechanism of joint learning between innovators and the government. The study also finds that tensions can be leveraged strategically to move the innovation project forward. The third essay (presented in chapter 4 and co-authored with Professor Samia Chreim and Professor Mark Freel) explores how academic and non-academic staff in two Canadian universities manage the reward and resource tensions associated with entrepreneurship-related activities. The study finds that individuals' strategies in managing the reward tension influence the type of entrepreneurship-related activities they engage in, and individuals' strategies in managing the resource tension influence the scale and scope of entrepreneurship-related activities at the university level. The study also illustrates that power relations are dynamic and that the implementation of both-and strategies can help balance power relations in a tension context. Collectively, the three essays in this dissertation shed light on how organizations, teams or individuals manage tensions or conflicts in three organizational contexts featuring hybrid logics (family and business; innovation and bureaucracy; entrepreneurship and scholarship). The multi-perspective framework has proved useful as a tool for analyzing both tension and conflict management. It also helps to frame important new research questions around topics such as how constructive potential is realized, why certain management strategies are more or less popular, and how strategies evolve with different types of tension or conflict.

The study and design of light-weight automobiles has emerged as an important area of interest in the government, academia, and the manufacturing industry. Significant advances in vehicle weight reduction technologies have taken place in almost all fields of transportation. Weight reduction is identified as a key factor to achieving fuel-economy, energy efficiency and environmental safety. The main objective of this thesis is to investigate cost effective design methodologies that enable fabrication of light weight structures, which subsequently result in a fuel saving. A few important techniques and trends of weight reduction in the automotive industry over the past few years are studied as part of the thesis. A summary from the survey of various approaches to weight reduction is presented in the literature review. This thesis is based on the theory of semi-tension fields, which was originally applied towards the design of structures in the aircraft industry. A semi-tension field is a post buckling phenomenon in which the load is continued to be carried even after the web has buckled. The advantage of semi-tension fields is twoold: first, by using this theory the structural stability of the original structure is retained; and secondly, its application replaces a comparatively heavy-weight shear resistant web with a thin web, potentially resulting in reduced weight. The semi-tension field theory is applied to the redesign of back panel of a prototype Ford F-150 pick up truck, which was modeled and analyzed using IDEAS Master Series 8 FEA software. The literature review also consists of the survey of several advances in the Semi-tension fields theory, and the corresponding trends in weight reduction. Analytical theories related to semi-tension field-based design and the respective mathematical formulations have also been described. Finite element analyses of the design that resulted from the application of the theory were carried out and results were validated using analytical theories. A technical paper demonstrating the redesign of a door beam was also studied and results are presented as an appendix.