The aim of this thesis is to introduce the reader to the theory of affine monoids and, thereby, to present some results. We therefore start with some auxiliary sections, containing general introductions to convex geometry, affine monoids and their algebras, Hilbert functions and Hilbert series. One central part of the thesis then is the description of an algorithm for computing the integral closure of an affine monoid. The algorithm has been implemented, in the computer program `normaliz´; it outputs the Hilbert basis and the Hilbert function of the integral closure (if the monoid is positive). Possible applications include: finding the lattice points in a lattice polytope, computing the integral closure of a monomial ideal and solving Diophantine systems of linear inequalities. The other main part takes up the notion of multigraded Hilbert function: we investigate the effect of the growth of the Hilbert function along arithmetic progressions (within the grading set) on global growth. This study is motivated by the case of a finitely generated module over a homogeneous ring: there, the Hilbert function grows with a degree which is well determined by the degree of the Hilbert polynomial (and the Krull dimension).

This thesis concerns two topics. The first topic, that is related to the Dedekind-Mertens Lemma, the notion of the so-called content algebra, is discussed in chapter 2. Let $R$ be a commutative ring with identity and $M$ be a unitary $R$-module and $c$ the function from $M$ to the ideals of $R$ defined by $c(x) = \cap \lbrace I \colon I \text{~is an ideal of~} R \text{~and~} x \in IM \rbrace $. $M$ is said to be a \textit{content} $R$-module if $x \in c(x)M $, for all $x \in M$. The $R$-algebra $B$ is called a \textit{content} $R$-algebra, if it is a faithfully flat and content $R$-module and it satisfies the Dedekind-Mertens content formula. In chapter 2, it is proved that in content extensions, minimal primes extend to minimal primes, and zero-divisors of a content algebra over a ring which has Property (A) or whose set of zero-divisors is a finite union of prime ideals are discussed. The preservation of diameter of zero-divisor graph under content extensions is also examined. Gaussian and Armendariz algebras and localization of content algebras at the multiplicatively closed set $S^ \prime = \lbrace f \in B \colon c(f) = R \rbrace$ are considered as well. In chapter 3, the second topic of the thesis, that is about the grade of the zero-divisor modules, is discussed. Let $R$ be a commutative ring, $I$ a finitely generated ideal of $R$, and $M$ a zero-divisor $R$-module. It is shown that the $M$-grade of $I$ defined by the Koszul complex is consistent with the definition of $M$-grade of $I$ defined by the length of maximal $M$-sequences in I$. Chapter 1 is a preliminarily chapter and dedicated to the introduction of content modules and also locally Nakayama modules.