Aldrig förr har vi konsumerat så mycket som nu och konsumenterna ställer hela tiden krav på högre kvalitet till lägre pris, samtidigt som kostnader för arbetskraft, energi och material ständigt ökar. För att bemöta kundernas behov används olika produktionssystem. Lean production är ett sådant produktionssystem och inkluderar en mängd uppsättning praktiska verktyg, men också en filosofi byggd på engagemang, kunskap, team-känsla och ledarskap. Lean är något många företag eftersträvar att införa, men studier visar att mindre än 20% lyckas att införa hela Leans koncept. Det är främst de mjuka delarna av Lean (filosofin) som företagen har svårast att implementera, vilket innebär att Lean i många fall reduceras till en verktygslåda. I denna studie har Lean-implementationen på ett fallföretag studerats. Fallföretaget införde Lean i samband med ”Produktionslyftet” år 2007 i syfte att effektivisera processer och bemöta hårdnande konkurrens. Ett antal intervjuer har genomförts med både produktions-personal och personer i ledande befattning. För att synliggöra individens roll i införandet och anammandet av Lean har en ny undersökningsmodell tagits fram för att analysera empirin och som utgår från ramverket för teknik, organisation och miljö, TOE, men där influensen av miljö har ersatts av influensen av individ, TOI. Den teoretiska undersöknings-modellen är undersökarens bidrag till forskningen. Resultatet av studien visar på att fallföretaget är ett klassiskt exempel på ett företag som lyckats väl med att införa de tekniska verktygen av Lean och att verksamheten fungerar mycket bättre idag än före införandet av Lean. Fallföretaget har ökat leveranssäkerheten och omsättningen men samtidigt minskat på produktionsytan och producerar ändå mer på samma tid. Däremot har fallföretaget inte lika tydligt implementerat de mjuka beståndsdelarna av Lean, det vill säga själva filosofin. Undersökningsmodellen TOI lyfter här fram verksamhetens karaktär, en hierarkisk och toppstyrd organisation, som en möjlig faktor till varför de mjuka beståndsdelarna inte har fått fäste. Modellen visar även att individen inte integrerar och samspelar med de influenser som borde skapa Lean. Samspelet mellan individ och ledning (organisation) ses som väsentliga för att uppnå de mjuka beståndsdelarna. För att få Leans hela koncept måste det finnas ett samspel och förbindelse mellan TOI modellens tre influenser; teknik, organisation och individ. Alla delarna är lika viktiga för att hela Lean ska få fäste. Detta är en möjlig anledning till varför det är mindre än 20% av Lean-projekteten som misslyckas med att implementera Leans hela koncept. / Never before have we consumed as much as now and customers are constantly demanding higher quality at a lower price, while at the same time costs are increasing for labour, energy and materials. Different production systems are used to meet customer needs. Lean production is such a production system and includes a variety of practical tools but also a philosophy based on commitment, knowledge, team spirit and leadership. Lean is something many companies strive to introduce, but studies shows that less than 20% succeed in introducing the entire Lean concept. It’s mainly the soft parts of Lean (the philosophy) that companies have most difficulty to implement, which means that in many cases Lean is reduced to a toolbox. This study is about the Lean implementation in a case company. The case company introduced Lean through its participation in the "Produktionslyftet" in 2007 with the aim of streamlining processes and responding to toughening competition. A number of interviews have been carried out with both production staff and senior executives. In order to highlight the individual's role in the introduction and adoption of Lean, a research model has been developed to analyse the empirical data, which is based on the framework for technology, organization and environment, TOE, but where the influence of environment has been replaced by the influence of the individual, TOI. The theoretical survey model is the investigator's contribution to the science. The result of the study shows that the case company is a classic example of a company that has succeeded well in introducing the technical tools of Lean and that the operation works much better today than before the introduction of Lean. The case company has increased the delivery reliability and sales but at the same time decreased the production area and still produces more at the same time allotted. However, the case company has not as clearly implemented the soft elements of Lean, that is, the philosophy itself. The survey model TOI highlights the nature of the business, a hierarchical and top-down organization, as a possible factor why the soft components have not been attached. The model also shows that the individual does not integrate and interact with the influences that should create Lean. The interaction between individual and management (organization) are seen as essential for achieving the soft components. In order to get the whole concept of Lean, there must be an interaction and connection between the three influences of the TOI model; technology, organization and individual. All parts are equally important for the whole of Lean to get attached. This is a possible reason why there are less than 20% of Lean projects that fail to implement the entire Lean concept.

Cloud computing provides an answer to the increasing costs of managing information technology (IT), and has become a model that aligns IT services with an organization's business strategies. However, concerns and uncertainties associated with cloud computing are deterring IT decision makers from making sound decisions regarding the adoption of the technology. The purpose of this online survey study was to examine the relationship between relative advantage, compatibility, organizational size, top management support, organizational readiness, mimetic pressure, normative pressures, coercive pressure, and the IT decision makers' intent to adopt cloud computing. The theoretical framework incorporated the diffusion of innovations theory, a technology-organization-environment framework, and institutional theory. The survey participants were 136 IT decision makers from different U.S. industries. The Pearson's coefficient analysis indicated a significant correlation between the dependent variable (intent to adopt) and all independent variables except organizational size. The regression model was a statistically significant predictor of the dependent variable and accounted for approximately 74% of the variance in the dependent variable, primarily predicted by top management support, normative pressure, relative advantage, and organization readiness. The implications for positive social change include the potential of implementing innovations that would augment technology efficiency, decrease workplace personnel issues, and create a more desirable and flexible workplace. Flexibility at work enables employees to be able to participate in other nonwork roles such as family, child, and elder care, or education.

The aim of the present thesis was to assess the occurrence of early lower extremity arterial disease (LEAD) in patients with diabetes and to assess novel potential risk markers for development or worsening of LEAD in the same patients. In parallel different measures of impaired peripheral circulation were evaluated. The measurement of ankle-to- brachial blood pressure index (ABI) to screen for asymptomatic LEAD in diabetic subjects is unreliable since a large proportion of patients have stiff ankle arteries (mediasclerosis) and thus may display a too high ABI. We studied type 1-, type 2 diabetic and non-diabetic subjects without a previous history of LEAD and a composite variable of ankle – plus toe blood pressures and indices was compared to ABI alone in detecting LEAD. Significantly more subjects with reduced peripheral circulation were detected using the composite variable compared to ABI alone. This was particularly true in diabetic subjects, about 30% of whom had signs of impaired peripheral circulation. Thus, it was found that toe blood pressure measurements, alone or in combination with ankle blood pressure measurements, increase the sensitivity for finding early asymptomatic LEAD in diabetic subjects. No significant difference in reproducibility between measurements of absolute ankle- and toe blood pressure and indices was found, but a correlation between systemic (brachial) and toe blood pressure variations over time may suggest that indices are more correct in assessing peripheral arterial circulation. Furthermore, toe blood pressure measurements can be performed using either the great toe or dig II and a strong concordance is found between these measurements. In addition, since the pole-test, another non-invasive method to measure peripheral blood pressure which is less sensitive to the presence of mediasclerosis compared to ABI, correlated significantly with toe blood pressure measurements this method may be used as an alternative screening method in subjects with previously known LEAD. Age, hypertension and glycemic control are well known risk factors and, in addition, high tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) activity turned out to be a novel early marker for asymptomatic LEAD in diabetic subjects, particularly in patients with type 2 diabetes. Age and hyperglycemia are the most important risk factors for development and progression of subclinical lower extremity arterial disease in type 2 diabetic subjects. No independent associations between markers of inflammation, such as CRP, interleukin-6 and TNF-α and early asymptomatic LEAD were seen among non-diabetic or diabetic subjects. In conclusion, impaired arterial circulation in the lower extremities is common in diabetic subjects even in the absence of symptoms. Including toe blood pressure measurement when screening for asymptomatic LEAD in diabetic subjects improves the ability to detect reduced peripheral circulation and this method avoids falsely elevated blood pressures readings due to mediasclerosis in the ankle arteries. Moreover, an altered fibrinolytic activity should be further evaluated as an early marker of atherosclerosis and LEAD.

Library media specialists (LMSs) have a unique position within a school, which is the opportunity to reach out to every student, especially to gifted and talented students who can benefit from having more advocates within their learning communities. Collaborating with other education professionals is beneficial to all students and many library media specialists already make this a normal part of their job responsibilities. The LMSs who are participants of Project CATALYST (Collaboration among Teachers and Librarians Yields Successful Teaching) are required to collaborate with classroom teachers in order to provide more enriching opportunities for students when they come to the library media center. So, the purpose of this project was to introduce gifted and talented terminology and strategies that focus on differentiated instruction for gifted and talented students to LMSs participating in Project CATALYST grant through the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative (OVEC). This will meet two specific needs: providing the LMSs opportunities to collaborate with classroom teachers while becoming another resource for gifted and talented students that can enhance their learning beyond the classroom. The LMSs who participate in Project CATALYST were introduced to specific gifted and talented terminology and strategies that focus on differentiated instruction for gifted and talented students through a three-hour professional development. The participants completed an online pre-survey that identified the specific needs of the group and the professional development was designed with these needs in mind. After participating in the professional development, the participants were asked to complete an online post-survey to determine if the professional development was effective in changing the awareness and instructional practices of the participants when working with gifted and talented students. The pre- and post-surveys were analyzed to validate the effectiveness of the project and found that there was positive response by library media specialists to professional development on using differentiated instruction with gifted and talented students in the library media center. The small changes in instructional practices by 70 percent of the participants validate the effectiveness of the project in enlightening educators in the needs of gifted and talented students and the need to collaborate with other educators to provide enriching and challenging learning activities for these unique students.

The Permian (Leonardian) aged Upper Spraberry Formation found in the Happy Field of Garza Co. TX, contains one of the best examples of a reservoir composed of resedimented carbonates in a deep-water slope-basin setting, with numerous whole core of wells with full suites of electric logs, high resolution 3D seismic coverage, and 20+ years worth of production data. Sequence stratrigraphic analysis from seismic data combined the lithologic analysis from outcrop analog, core, and well log data helps identify that the Happy Field is located within the transgressive systems tract of the fifth composite sequence in the Leonardian. The reservoir is composed of discrete allochthonous ooid and skeletal grains transported downslope via hyperconcentrated density flows sourced from a re-entrant in the shelf margin and deposited in a long-lived topographic depression at the toe-of-slope. Vertical heterogeneity due to layers of shaley silt punctuated by successive flows of oolitic and skeletal grains along with lateral heterogeneity created by younger flows of material create reservoir compartmentalization which can impede efficient development. Core-calibrated electric log correlations aids in the mapping of isolated compartments which helps with efficient development planning for the field. / text

This dissertation is devoted to a study of the homodiegetic, extradiegetic narrator (terms derived from Genette). The main premise was to study the child as narrator, to differentiate between the child as narrator and the adult narrator, to peg down specific problems but also to show the advantages of the child narrator over the adult narrator. With Genette as basis the writer has tried to clear up the widespread confusion in the literary world between the narrator who presents the narrative and the character whose consciousness orients the perspective, the who speaks and who sees of Genette. The first part of the study provides a theoretical background to the second part and is largely based on the typology of Gerard Genette. As the youthful reader is the most likely reader of the three chosen texts (Skrik kom huis toe by Dolf van Niekerk, Woorde is soos wors by Rona Rupert and Boom bomer boomste (Tree-more, tree-most - translated by Eve Merchant, 1983) by Elsabe Steenberg), a chapter in the first part is devoted to an investigation of the enforceability of the criterion used to differentiate between books meant for adults and books meant for children. Concerning these texts the writer 1 s contention is that the degree of presence of the narrator as well as die placing of emphasis, either on the narrator or on the character whose perspective orients the narrative (the one who focalizes), determine the specific perspective of the narration. Personal traits of characters are often revealed by their respective objects of focalization. The three short novels previously mentioned are thematically related, but because of the specific handling of the narrator and of focalization in each, a multiplicity of perspectives is opened. In Skrik kom huis toe, the younger, experiencing self is emphasised. Albert's vision , and not that of the narrator, orients the narrative to such an extent that the reader easily identifies with his personal existential crisis. The voice of a narrating instance is barely discernible and has, for all practical purposes, no role in the text. The protagonist focalizes intent1y upon matters of personal concern and thus reveals an egocentric personality. The thinly populated narrative space as well as the bleakness of this space suggests something of the unhappiness and utter loneliness of the boy, Albert. In Woorde is soos wors, which is thematically related to the previous work , a completely different perspective is revealed because of the accent falling on the narrating instance himself. Uncommon in Afrikaans , the use of het ge- is sustained throughout the text, thereby undeniably creating a distance between the narrator and his story. In contrast to the previous text the narrator emphasizes the fact that his experiences belong to a distant past. Direct identification with an experiencing self is ruled out because of the outspoken diegetic nature of the text. The stress fall s on the event rather than on the experience thereof. The protagonist seldom focalizes and if he does this text is obviously imbedded in the text of the narrator. His world is nevertheless populated by a variety of people with whom he, without exception, relates positively. The narrative space shows a much greater variety and is more colourful than that of Skrik kom huis toe. This is meaningful in the characterization of the protagonist, Josias. / MA, PU vir CHO, 1984

This dissertation is devoted to a study of the homodiegetic, extradiegetic narrator (terms derived from Genette). The main premise was to study the child as narrator, to differentiate between the child as narrator and the adult narrator, to peg down specific problems but also to show the advantages of the child narrator over the adult narrator. With Genette as basis the writer has tried to clear up the widespread confusion in the literary world between the narrator who presents the narrative and the character whose consciousness orients the perspective, the who speaks and who sees of Genette. The first part of the study provides a theoretical background to the second part and is largely based on the typology of Gerard Genette. As the youthful reader is the most likely reader of the three chosen texts (Skrik kom huis toe by Dolf van Niekerk, Woorde is soos wors by Rona Rupert and Boom bomer boomste (Tree-more, tree-most - translated by Eve Merchant, 1983) by Elsabe Steenberg), a chapter in the first part is devoted to an investigation of the enforceability of the criterion used to differentiate between books meant for adults and books meant for children. Concerning these texts the writer 1 s contention is that the degree of presence of the narrator as well as die placing of emphasis, either on the narrator or on the character whose perspective orients the narrative (the one who focalizes), determine the specific perspective of the narration. Personal traits of characters are often revealed by their respective objects of focalization. The three short novels previously mentioned are thematically related, but because of the specific handling of the narrator and of focalization in each, a multiplicity of perspectives is opened. In Skrik kom huis toe, the younger, experiencing self is emphasised. Albert's vision , and not that of the narrator, orients the narrative to such an extent that the reader easily identifies with his personal existential crisis. The voice of a narrating instance is barely discernible and has, for all practical purposes, no role in the text. The protagonist focalizes intent1y upon matters of personal concern and thus reveals an egocentric personality. The thinly populated narrative space as well as the bleakness of this space suggests something of the unhappiness and utter loneliness of the boy, Albert. In Woorde is soos wors, which is thematically related to the previous work , a completely different perspective is revealed because of the accent falling on the narrating instance himself. Uncommon in Afrikaans , the use of het ge- is sustained throughout the text, thereby undeniably creating a distance between the narrator and his story. In contrast to the previous text the narrator emphasizes the fact that his experiences belong to a distant past. Direct identification with an experiencing self is ruled out because of the outspoken diegetic nature of the text. The stress fall s on the event rather than on the experience thereof. The protagonist seldom focalizes and if he does this text is obviously imbedded in the text of the narrator. His world is nevertheless populated by a variety of people with whom he, without exception, relates positively. The narrative space shows a much greater variety and is more colourful than that of Skrik kom huis toe. This is meaningful in the characterization of the protagonist, Josias. / MA, PU vir CHO, 1984

This dissertation is devoted to a study of the homo diegetic, extra diegetic narrator (terms derived from Genets). The main premise was to study the child as narrator, to differentiate between the child as narrator and the adult narrator, to peg down specific problems but also to show the advantages of the child narrator over the a adult narrator. With Genette as basis the writer has tried to clear up the widespread confusion in the literary world between the narrator who presents the narrative and the character whose consciousness orients the perspective, the who speaks and who sees of Genette. The first part of the study provides a theoretical background to the second part and is largely based on the typology of Gerard Genette. As the youthful reader is the most likely reader of the three chosen texts (Skrik kom huis toe by Dolf van Niekerk, Woorde is soos wars by Rona Rupert and Boom bomer boomste (Tree-more, tree-most - translated by Eve Merchant, 1983) by Elsabe Steenberg), a chapter in the first part is devoted to an investigation of the enforceability of the criterion used to differentiate between books meant for adults and books meant for children. Concerning these texts the writer’ s contention is that the degree of presence of the narrator as well as die placing of emphasis, either on the narrator or on the character whose perspective orients the narrative (the one who focalizes), determine the specific perspective of the narration. Personal traits of characters are often revealed by their respective objects of focalization. The three short novels previously mentioned are thematically related, but because of the specific handling of the narrator and of focalization in each, a multiplicity of perspectives is opened. In Skrik kom huis toe, the younger, experiencing self is emphasised. Albert's vision , and not that of the narrator, orients the narrative to such an extent that the reader easily identifies with his personal existential crisis. The voice of a narrating instance is barely discernible and has, for all practical purposes, no role in the text. The protagonist focalizes intently upon matters of personal concern and thus reveals an egocentric personality. The thinly populated narrative space as well as the bleakness of this space suggests something of the unhappiness and utter loneliness of the boy, Albert. In Woorde is soos wors, which is thematically related to the previous work , a completely different perspective is revealed because of the accent falling on the narrating instance himself. Uncommon in Afrikaans, the use of het ge- is sustained throughout the text, thereby undeniably creating a distance between the narrator and history. In contrast to the previous text the narrator emphasizes the fact that his experiences be long t o a distant past. Direct identification with an experiencing self is ruled out because of the out spoken diegetic nature of the text. The stress falls on the event rather than on the experience there of. The protagonist seldom focalizes and if he does this text is obviously imbedded in the text of the narrator. His world is nevertheless populated by a variety of people with whom he, without except ion, relates positively. The narrative space shows a much greater variety and is more colourful than that of Skrik kom huis toe . This s is meaningful in the characterization of the protagonist, Josias / MA, PU vir CHO, 1984

Submitted by Núcleo de Pós-Graduação Administração (npgadm@ufba.br) on 2017-11-06T19:49:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 RODRIGO REIS.pdf: 3863462 bytes, checksum: 856bd02ae9340e46421d5cb64f06f7ec (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Angela Dortas (dortas@ufba.br) on 2017-11-07T18:45:01Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 RODRIGO REIS.pdf: 3863462 bytes, checksum: 856bd02ae9340e46421d5cb64f06f7ec (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-07T18:45:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RODRIGO REIS.pdf: 3863462 bytes, checksum: 856bd02ae9340e46421d5cb64f06f7ec (MD5) / Diante da essencialidade das tecnologias da informação nos ambientes organizacionais, a presente tese tem como objetivo analisar a Adoção de Tecnologias da Informação (ADTI), em micro, pequenas e médias empresas, a partir da adaptação do modelo Technology, Organization and Environment (TOE), sob influência de fatores institucionais. Para atingir tal objetivo, esta pesquisa busca, mais especificamente: identificar as características inerentes à adoção de tecnologias da informação em Micro, Pequenas e Médias Empresas (MPME); verificar os fatores que influenciam o processo de adoção de Tecnologias da Informação; verificar como os fatores tecnológicos, organizacionais e ambientais influenciam o processo decisório de adoção de tecnologias da informação; e mensurar os fatores isomórficos que influenciam a adoção de tecnologias da informação. Para tanto, a tese reconhece a relevância do modelo Technology, Organization and Environment (TOE), originalmente destinado a estudos de inovação e que, posteriormente, passa a ser usado em estudos da área de adoção de tecnologias da informação. Particularmente, nas dimensões Processo Decisório e Fatores Institucionais estão as contribuições adaptativas ao modelo, já que orginalmente é proposto para decisões de inovação e, nesta tese, é voltado para o estudo da ADTI. Para a operacionalização da pesquisa, foi realizado estudo de natureza quantitativa, com abordagem descritiva e exploratória, a partir da estratégia de pesquisa Survey, junto a uma amostra de 386 micro, pequenas e médias empresas. A análise dos dados foi realizada a partir de estatística descritiva, análise fatorial exploratória e modelagem de equações estruturais para que fosse possível atingir os objetivos propostos nesta tese. Nesse sentido, os resultados evidenciam a dimensão processo decisório como unidimensional e possibilitou, a partir dos indicadores usados na pesquisa, um entendimento mais amplo do processo decisório de adoção de tecnologias da informação, nas MPME. Com relação aos fatores institucionais, foi verificada e confirmada a hipótese de influência dos isomorfismos coercitivo, mimético e normativo sobre as decisões de adoção de TI nas micro, pequenas e médias empresas investigadas. Em resumo, as hipóteses que propuseram relação positiva das dimensões tecnologia, organização e fatores institucionais com o processo decisório de Adoção de TI foram confirmadas, sendo refutada apenas a hipótese da influência do ambiente nos processos decisórios de ADTI. Entretanto, foi possível estabelecer uma relação indireta do ambiente com as decisões de TI, já que as hipóteses de correlação entre tecnologia, organização e ambiente foram confirmadas. Adicionalmente, surgiram três novas correlações, não previstas inicialmente como hipóteses da pesquisa, que tiveram significância evidenciada nos dados que foram as correlações entre a dimensão Fatores Institucionais e as dimensões Tecnologia, Organização e Ambiente. A pesquisa teve limitação quanto à generalização, já que utilizou-se de amostragem não probabilística. Por fim, sugere-se que novos estudos sejam realizados com uso do modelo desta pesquisa e entende-se que novos indicadores podem ser incorporados, principalmente, para mensuração da dimensão Ambiente. Já a modelagem, em pesquisas futuras, pode ser feita em Smart PLS como uma alternativa interessante para a busca de mensuração de validade do modelo.

Omnipresence of heterogeneity is conspicuous in all creations of nature. Heterogeneity manifests itself in many forms at different scales, both in time and space. Engineering domain being an exotic fusion of human creativity and ever-increasing demands exemplifies the ubiquity of heterogeneity. Surprisingly, the plethora of materials we see around seem to stem from myriad combination of few base materials identified as elements in chemistry. Further, a simple rearrangement of atoms in these materials leads to allotropes with startling contrasts in properties. Similarly, micro- and meso-scales in heterogeneous materials also dis-play this phenomenon. Human requirements propelled by necessities and wants have leveraged heterogeneity deliberately or naively. In the context of engineering materials, light weight heterogeneous materials like composites and cellular solids are outstanding inventions from the last century. The present thesis highlights this phenomenon on a meso-scale to explore generalized variants of circular and elliptical honeycomb structures (HCSs) with an emphasis on their effective transverse elastic responses, a crucial pillar of engineering design and analysis. Homogenized or effective properties are an extension of continuum hypothesis, conceived for ease in analyses. E ective properties are employed in multi-scale analyses resulting in less complex models for analysis, for example, for predicting the speed of wave propogation. The thesis extends and generalizes existing close-packed circular and elliptical HCSs to more broader configurations. Simpler periodic arrangement of the unit cells from numerous exotic possibilities directly incorporates Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) philosophy and o ers a potential scope for analysis by simpler tools resulting in handy expressions which are of great utility for designer engineers. In this regard, analytical expressions for moduli having compact forms in the case of circular HCS are developed by technical theories and rigorous theory of elasticity. Regression analysis expressions for the moduli of elliptical HCS are presented, and the elasticity solutions for the same are highlighted. The thesis consists of seven chapters with Chapter 1 presenting generalized circular and elliptical HCSs as a potential avenue beyond composite materials. Following a survey of pertinent HCS literature of these HCSs, research gaps and scope are delineated. Chapter 2 briefly y summarizes the ideas, concepts and tools including analytical and numerical methods. This chapter sets the ground for the analysis of generalized circular and elliptical HCS in the following four chapters. Following the classification of the circular HCSs, Chapter 3 assesses the complete transverse elastic responses of generalized circular HCS through technical theories which are a first-order approximation. Here, thin ring theory and the more elaborate curved beam theory are employed as models to assess the moduli. Normal moduli - E and - are obtained by employing Castigliano method, while shear moduli (G ) are obtained by solving the differential equations derived in terms of displacements. Compact expressions for moduli presented wherever possible furnish the designer with a range of moduli for different configurations and modular ratios (Ey=Ex). The results show the range of applicability of technical theories within 5% of FEA. For hexagonal arrays, these results are more refined than those in literature; while the same are new for other configurations. Surprisingly, the more elaborate curved beam theory offers no better results than the thin ring theory. Chapter 4 extends the aforementioned task of assessing the complete trans-verse elastic moduli of generalized circular HCS by employing rigorous theory of elasticity (TOE) which is a second-order approximation. Utilizing Airy stress function in polar coordinates, the boundary value problems resulting from modeling of the circular HCS under different loads are solved analytically in conjunction with FEA employing contact elements. Contact elements circumvent the point loads which give finite values of displacements in technical theories and singular values in TOE. A widely used idea of employing distributed load, statically equivalent to point load, is invoked to empower TOE. The distributed load is assumed a priori and the contact length is obtained from FEA employing con-tact elements. Thus, FEA compliments the present analytical methods. Results demonstrate a very good match between analytical method in conjunction with FEA and numerical results from FEA; the error is within 5% for very thick ring (thickness-radius ratio 0.5). Further, computationally and numerically efficient expressions for displacements give better results with same computational facility. To illustrate the effect of coating on effective moduli, a limited study based on thin ring theory and elasticity theories is undertaken in Chapter 4. The study explores the effects of moduli and thickness ratios of substrate to coating on the effective normal moduli. Employing thin ring theory with only flexure as the bending mode, we get compact expressions giving good match for very thin rings in all confifigurations. The elasticity approach presented for square array demonstrates a very good match with FEA for thick rings. Coatings offer a strategy to increase the effective moduli with same dimensions. Chapter 5 broadens the scope of circular HCS by considering elliptical HCSs. While generalized circular HCS can cater to anisotropic requirement to an extent, larger spectrum is offered by considering elliptical honeycomb structures. In this regard, a generalized version of concentric thin coated elliptical HCS is investigated for transverse moduli. Thin HCSs are explored by technical theories as in circular HCS. However, a lack of exact compact-form expressions necessitates the use of regression analysis. The resulting expressions are presented in terms of ellipticity ratio describing the ovality of the ellipse and geometric parameters. Normal moduli are obtained by Castigliano method implemented in MATHE-MATICA, but shear moduli are obtained from FEA employing beam elements. The need for FEA employing beam elements stems from the subtle fact that Castigliano method implicitly assumes preclusion of rigid body motions, while shear loading for shear moduli evaluation entails rigid body motions. Interestingly, curved beam theory, as in circular HCS, offers no better refinement in assessing the moduli as compared to thin ring theory. The graphs showing the moduli with respect to thickness and modular ratios are presented as design maps to aid the designer. Chapter 6 extends the works of thin concentric coated elliptical to thicker concentric and a novel confocal elliptical HCS, a variant of elliptical HCS. In this regard, thick concentric and confocal elliptical HCS by elasticity approach are attempted for a simple case. Airy stress function in polar coordinates is tried for concentric elliptical HCS. Confocal HCS analysis employs stress function in terms of elliptical coordinate system. After proving the correctness of the stress function for both the cases by comparing the reconstructed boundary conditions with actual boundary conditions, the restrictions in solving the case of rings under load over a small region is highlighted. A parametric study for moduli is under-taken by employing FEA. These are presented as design graphs which compare and contrast the two variants of elliptical HCS on the same graphs. The modular ratio (Ey=Ex) is conspicuously more for confocal elliptical HCS than concentric elliptical HCS. Chapter 7 gives the conclusions in a nutshell, and explores the feasibility of stress evaluation of heterogeneous media on the lines of effective media theory.