Syfte Syftet är att undersöka de brister entreprenörer upplevt efter att ha använt sig av Crowdfunding och om Internetbaserade plattformar underlättar informationsasymmetrin mellan finansiär och entreprenör. Samt om entrprenörer anser att Crowdfunding har potential att fungera som självstående finansieringskälla. Teori Tidigare studier visar att finansieringsformen Crowdfunding ofta är bristfällig. Få entreprenörer får tillräckligt kapital och finansieringsformen saknar kompetens och resurser. Metod Kvantitativ enkätundersökning under perioden 11 november 2015 till och med 25 november 2015. Resultat Resultatet från enkätundersökningen bestående av 40 deltagare presenteras i diagram. Analys I analysen jämförs tidigare studier och teorier med resultat och letar samband och kopplingar som förklarar resultatet. Respondenterna ser potential i Crowdfunding. De flesta upplever att de fått tillräckligt kapital och är positivt inställda till skillnad mot tidigare teorier. Slutsats Slutsatsen i undersökningen blir att en del Crowdfuninganvändare använder en annan finansieringskälla också där eget kapital och banklån är vanligast. Tekniken och dålig exponering var de problem entreprenörer ansåg Crowdfundingplattformarna ha, dock har de flesta tro på att Crowdfunding har potential att fungera som en själv-stående finansieringsform.

This thesis focuses on understanding the chemistry involved in a variety of surface modification reactions, both on metal oxides and graphene. In this work, the rates of chemisorption of a prototypical phosphonic acid on ITO under several processing protocols are measured using XPS to determine the optimal procedure. UPS is used to track the dependence of the electronic structure of the system, specifically of the work function and position of the valence band maximum on coverage. Phosphonic acid monolayers with appropriate tail groups can also be used to initiate chemistry from surfaces, which has potential for building layers of organic-electronic devices, including organic solar cells and capacitors. The growth of non-conjugated polymers from BaTiO₃ nanoparticles using a facile ATRP technique is studied via solution-phase and solid-state techniques to determine its applicability to make matrix-free composites for hybrid dielectrics. In addition, the surface chemistry involved in Kumada Catalyst-Transfer to grow polythiophene derivatives from ITO is examined via XPS. Finally, the newly emerged alternative for replacement of ITO as transparent electrode, graphene, is n- and p-doped using redox-active, solution-processable metal-organics, which increased its conductivity and allowed the work function to be tuned over a range of 1.8 eV. The systems are characterized in a systematic study, and the results are promising for future applications of graphene.

This thesis consists of two parts. The first part explores a 2-d edge dislocation model to demonstrate characteristics of Field Dislocation Mechanics (FDM) in modeling single and collective behavior of individual dislocations. The second work explores the possibility of modelling adiabatic shear bands propagation within the timespace averaged framework of Mesoscopic Field Dislocation Mechanics (MFDM). It is demonstrated that FDM reduces the study of a significant class of problems of discrete dislocation dynamics to questions of the modern theory of continuum plasticity. The explored questions include the existence of a Peierls stress in translationally-invariant media, dislocation annihilation, dislocation dissociation, finite-speed-of-propagation effects of elastic waves vis-a-vis dynamic dislocation fields, supersonic dislocation motion, and short-slip duration in rupture dynamics. A variety of dislocation pile-up problems are studied, primarily complementary to what can be dealt by existing classical pile-up models. In addition, the model suggests the possibility that the tip of a shear band can be modelled as a localized spatial gradient of elastic distortion with the dislocation density tensor in continuum dislocation mechanics; It is demonstrated that the localization can be moved by its theoretical driving force and forms a diffuse traveling band tip, thereby extending the thin layer of the deformation band. A 3-d, parallel finite element framework of MFDM is developed in a geometrically nonlinear context for the purpose of modelling shear bands. The numerical formulations and algorithm are presented in detail. Constitutive models appropriate for single crystal plasticity response and J2 plasticity with thermal softening are implemented.

Τα οργανικά φωτοβολταϊκά (OPV) είναι συσκευές που παρουσιάζουν μια ελκυστική λύση για εφαρμογές ηλιακής ενέργειας λόγω του χαμηλού κόστους παραγωγής τους, της μηχανικής ευκαμψίας και τη δυνατότητα παραγωγής συσκευών μεγάλης έκτασης και μικρού βάρους. Οι πιο αποδοτικοί δέκτες ηλεκτρονίων μέχρι σήμερα στα OPVs βασίζονται σε τροποποιημένα φουλερένια. Ωστόσο, χρειάζονται περαιτέρω βελτιώσεις προκειμένου να επιτευχθεί πιο αποτελεσματική μεταφορά των διαχωρισμένων φορέων στα αντίστοιχα ηλεκτρόδια. Προσπάθειες προς αυτή την κατεύθυνση έχουν γίνει, είτε επηρεάζοντας την αναμειξιμότητα μεταξύ του δότη και δέκτη είτε με την ανάπτυξη πιο αποτελεσματικών δοτών ή δεκτών ηλεκτρονίων. Νέα υβριδικά υλικά με βάση το φουλλερένιο έχουν χρησιμοποιηθεί για να επηρεάσουν τις ημιαγώγιμες ιδιότητες των πολυμερών. Δεδομένου ότι οι πολυκινολίνες αποτελούν μια από τις πλέον υποσχόμενες κατηγορίες πολυμερών μεταφοράς φορτίου (οπής ή ηλεκτρονίου) για εφαρμογή σε διάφορες οπτοηλεκτρονικές εφαρμογές, ο συνδυασμός τους με C60 αναμένεται να παράσχει μια λύση για την ενίσχυση των οπτικών, μορφολογικών και ηλεκτρονικών τους ιδιοτήτων. Πρόσφατη έρευνα έχει δείξει ότι η τροποποίηση των πολυκινολινών ώστε να έχουν χαμηλότρες τιμές LUMO θα ενισχύσει τις ιδιότητες τους ως δέκτες ηλεκτρονίων. Στην εργασία αυτή μελετήθηκαν οι ηλεκτρονικές ιδιότητες διαφόρων υλικών που αντιστοιχούν στα διαδοχικά στάδια σύνθεση ενός νέου υβριδικού συμπολυμερικού δέκτη μέσω των φασματοσκοπιών φωτοηλεκτρονίων από ακτίνες-Χ και ακτινοβολία UV (XPS/UPS). Το τελικό υβριδικό πολυμερές που μελετήθηκε είναι η πολυ-πενταφθόροφενυλοκινολίνη η οποία υβριδίστηκε με C60 (P5FQ-C60). Το μονομερές πενταφθόροφενυλοκινολίνη (Ph5FQ), το καθαρό C60 και το υβριδικό μονομερές Ph5FQ-C60 έχουν επίσης μελετηθεί. Επίσης μελετήθηκαν τα υβριδικά συμπολυμερή P3OT-co-P5FQ και P3OT-co-(P5FQ-Ν-C60) με αναλογία 1:10 για χρήση ως δέκτες ηλεκτρονίων με καλύτερη αναμειξιμότητα με τον δότη. Για την φασματοσκοπική έρευνα τα δείγματα αποτέθηκαν σε υποστρώματα Si με χρήση spin coating από διαλύματα τολουολίου, THF ή χλωροφορμίου. Οι μετρήσεις πραγματοποιήθηκαν σε θάλαμο ανάλυσης υπερυψηλού κενού (βασική πίεση 5x10-9 mbar). Από τις μετρήσεις XPS η κορυφή F1s των μη υβριδικών μορίων εμφανίστηκε σε ενέργεια σύνδεσης (BE) 688.3 eV, μια τιμή που αντιστοιχεί σε άτομα φθορίου με δεσμούς C-F. Η ίδια κορυφή μετατοπίζεται σε χαμηλότερες ενέργειες σύνδεσης σε όλα τα υβριδικά υλικά, υποδεικνύοντας την επίδραση των μορίων C60 στο ηλεκτρονιακό νέφος των φθορίων της κινολίνης. Από τα φάσματα UPS μετρήθηκε το υψηλότερο κατειλημμένο μοριακό τροχιακό (HOMO) σε σχέση με το επίπεδο Fermi καθώς και το κατώφλι υψηλών ενεργειών σύνδεσης (HBE) για κάθε υλικό. Από αυτά, υπολογίστηκε το έργο εξόδου τους, ενώ από το άθροισμα του έργου εξόδου και της ενέργειας σύνδεσης του ΗΟΜΟ υπολογίστηκαν οι Ενέργειες Ιονισμού (ΙΡ). Αυτή είναι μια χρήσιμη παράμετρος για τον χαρακτηρισμό των ημιαγώγιμων πολυμερών επειδή αντιστοιχεί στην απόσταση μεταξύ του ΗΟΜΟ και του επιπέδου κενού και σε συνδυασμό με το ενεργειακό χάσμα (Eg) μπορεί να υπολογιστεί η χαμηλότερο μη κατειλημμένο μοριακό τροχιακό (LUMO). Τα αποτελέσματα δείχνουν ότι οι ιδιότητες των ημιαγώγιμων πολυμερών ή μονομερών μπορούν αποτελεσματικά να επηρεαστούν με υβριδοποίηση με χρήση νανοδομών του άνθρακα, που σε αυτή την περίπτωση είναι το C60. / Organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices present an attractive solution for solar energy applications due to their inherently low material costs, mechanical flexibility, and the potential of scalability to large area, light weight, devices. The most efficient electron accepting materials used so far in OPVs are based on modified fullerenes. However, further improvement is needed in order to achieve more efficient transport of the separated charges to the respective electrodes. Attempts to this direction have been made either by influencing the miscibility between the donor and acceptor phases or by the development of more efficient electron donor or electron acceptor materials. New hybrid materials comprising of fullerene can been used to tune the semiconducting properties of polymers. Since polyquinolines are one of the most promising classes of electron-transporting and electron-accepting polymers for use in various optoelectronic applications their combination with C60 is expected to provide a route for the modulation of their optical, morphological as well as their electronic properties. Previous work has shown that the modification of polyquinolines towards lower LUMO values will increase their electron accepting properties. In this work the electronic properties of various materials that correspond to the sequential synthesis steps of a novel hybrid copolymeric acceptor are investigated by x-ray and UV photoelectron spectroscopies (XPS/UPS). The hybrid material under investigation is the newly synthesised poly-perfluorophenylquinoline(P5FQ-C60) hybridised with C60. The perfluorophenylquinoline monomer (P5FQ, Fig1a), C60 on its own and the hybrid P5FQ-C60 are also studied. The hybrid copolymers P3OT-co-P5FQ and P3OT-co- (P5FQ-N-C60) with a ratio of 1:10 are also studied for use as electron acceptors to confer better miscibility with the donor. For the spectroscopic investigation the samples were deposited on Si substrates by spin coating from toluene,THF or chloroform solutions. The measurements were carried out in an ultrahigh vacuum analysis chamber (base pressure 5x10-9 mbar) equipped with a hemispherical electron energy analyzer, a twin anode X-ray source for XPS and a discharge UV lamp for UPS. The XPS F1s photo-peak from the non hybrid samples appeared at binding energy (BE) 688.3 eV, a value that corresponds to fluorine atoms in C-F bonds. The same peak was shifted to lower binding energy in the case of all hybrid materials. Despite the fact that the F1s peak has a measurable signal, the C1s component corresponding to C-F bonds (BE=289.4 eV) appeared to be at noise level for all the materials under investigation. This is attributed to the fact that the photoionization cross section of C1s is about four times lower than that for F1s. From the UP spectra the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) with respect to the Fermi Level and the high binding energy (HBE) cut off can be measured. From the latter the work function of the material is calculated, while the sum of the work function and the binding energy of HOMO correspond to the Ionization Potential (IP). This is a useful parameter for the characterization of semiconducting polymers because it corresponds to the distance between the HOMO and the vacuum level and in combination with band gap (Eg) values can be used for the calculation of the Electron Affinity or in other words the Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO) position. The results demonstrate that the semiconducting properties of polymeric or monomeric materials can be effectively tuned by hybridization with carbon based nanostructures, in this case C60.

This thesis aims to better understand the process of the funding of young innovative ventures, and how a deeper understanding of this process can help public policy to better stimulate entrepreneurial firms—especially in high-technology industries. I interpret entrepreneurial finance broadly to mean financing issues facing young innovative ventures. It includes three essays which deal with a set of economic, institutional, and public policy issues to examine entrepreneurial finance.

Förekomsten av ohälsa är mer vanligt i byggarbetabranschen än i andra branscher, p.g.a. arbetsolyckor och övriga förhållanden i arbetet. En av de viktiga resurserna till att förebygga skada och upprätthålla hälsa i arbetslivet, är företagshälsovård. Syftet med denna kvalitativa intervjustudie var att beskriva byggarbetares upplevelser om deras arbetshälsa/arbetsmiljö och om vad företagshälsovårdens hälsokontroller har haft för betydelse för deras beteendeförändring.   Fem byggarbetare som genomgått en hälsokontroll via företagshälsovård och åstadkommit en potentiell beteendeförändring som förbättrat hälsan, intervjuades. Den tematiska analysen av intervjuerna resulterade i fyra huvudteman: ”möjliggörande faktorer till en god arbetshälsa i byggarbetarens yrke”, ”begränsade faktorer till god arbetshälsa i byggarbetarens yrke”, ”konkreta resultat av företagshälsovårdens hälsokontroller” och ”fördelarna med företagshälsovårdens hälsofrämjande arbete”. Studiens resultat visar att byggarbetare upplevde sin arbetshälsa/arbetsmiljö som både positivt och negativt. Det positiva med arbetet var den sociala kontakten med kollegor och arbetsgivare och det negativt var arbetsmiljön som bidragit till sämre hälsa p.g.a. av muskuloskeletala skador och stress. Hälsokontroller bidrog till beteendeförändring som kan förebygga sjukdomar bland byggarbetarna.   Hälsokontrollen upplevdes som meningsfull då ett gott bemötande möjliggjorde en beteendeförändring samtidigt som en ökad insikt av att förbättra sin egen hälsa skett, efter negativa provsvar. Vidare forskning behövs om hur byggarbetares arbetshälsa kan förbättras genom företagshälsovårdens insatser. / The incidence of illness among construction workers is higher than average in other industries, because of accidents and other conditions at work. One of the most important resources to prevent injury and maintain health in the workplace, is the occupational health care. The aim of this qualitative study was to describe the construction workers experiences of their occupational health and work environment and about whether occupational health check-ups have had any significance for their behavior change. Five male construction workers who had underwent a health check and after that performed a behavior change, was recruited via an occupational care center. Data was collected by face to face and telefon interviews, that were subsequently transcribed and analysed by thematic analyse. The tematic analyse resulted in four main themes: "enabling factors for good health of the construction workers professional”, ”restricted factors to the good health of the construction worker's occupation", "benefits of occupational health promotion" and "concrete results of occupational health check-ups".   The construction workers experienced their occupational health and work environment as both positive and negative. The positive about work was the social contact with colleagues and employers, the negative was that the work environment contributed to poor health due musculoskeletal of injury and stress. Health check-ups contributed to behavior change and pontential prevention of diseases among construction workers.   The health check-ups was considered as being meaningful and enabled a change in behavior after understanding that they must change their lifestyle to avoid disease. Further research is needed on how to improve construction workers occupational health through occupational health services.

Aspergillus fumigatus ist die häufigste Ursache für Lungeninfektionen in immunsuppri-mierten Patienten. Virulenzfaktoren sind häufig an Kontrollmechanismen für Entwick-lung gekoppelt, welche im verwandten Modellorganismus Aspergillus nidulans entdeckt wurden. Diese Arbeit präsentiert die Charakterisierung des F-box Proteins Fbx15 in A. fumigatus, welches einen starken Einfluss auf die Entwicklung in A. nidulans hat. Die Deletion von fbx15 resultierte in starken Wachstumsdefekten unter vielen Stress induzie-renden Bedingungen, welche klassische Virulenz Faktoren beinhalten, wie erhöhte Tem-peratur, oxidativer Stress und Aminosäuremangel, während das Wachstum unter Stan-dardbedingungen nicht beeinflusst war. Oxidativer Stress induziert eine transiente Erhöhung der fbx15 Expression, welche nach 40 Minuten zu einer dreifach erhöhten Pro-teinmenge führte. Fbx15 ist ein stabiles F-box Protein mit einer Halbwertszeit von 90 Minuten. Generell funktionieren F-box Proteine als Substratadapter für SCF-E3-Ubiquitin-Ligasen. Fbx15 liegt unter normalen Bedingungen phosphoryliert vor und in-teragiert mit der Skp1/A Untereinheit des SCF-Komplexes, vorzugsweise in kleineren Subpopulationen im Zytoplasma. Phosphoryliertes Fbx15 wird bevorzugt in SCF-Komplexe eingebaut. Oxidativer Stress führt zu einer schnellen Dephosphorylierung von Fbx15. Fbx15 Varianten, welche nicht phosphoryliert werden können, interagieren mit Skp1/A primär im Kern. Fbx15 rekrutiert drei Untereinheiten des COP9-Signalosoms und Proteine welche in Transkription, Translation, Signalübertragung, Morphologie oder Stoffwechsel involviert sind. Fbx15 bindet die Ssn6/F Untereinheit des konservierten Ssn6/SsnF-Tup1/RcoA Co-Repressors und wird für dessen Kernlokalisation benötigt. Dephosphoryliertes Fbx15 interagiert mit Ssn6/F im Kern und eine Fbx15-Ssn6/F be-dingte Genrepression wird für die Reduzierung der Gliotoxin-Biosynthese benötigt. fbx15 Deletionsstämme sind nicht in der Lage immunsupprimierte Mäuse in einem Model für invasive Aspergillose zu infizieren, was eine essentielle Funktion von Fbx15 für die Viru-lenz bestätigt. Diese Arbeit zeigt, dass Fbx15 nicht nur Teil von SCF-E3-Ubiquitin-Ligasen sein kann, sondern eine zweite neue molekulare Funktion aufweist, welche die physische Interaktion mit der Co-Repressor Untereinheit Ssn6/F und dessen Lokalisa-tionskontrolle beinhaltet. Diese duale Funktion resultiert in einer essentiellen Funktion von Fbx15 für die Kontrolle der oxidativen Stressantwort, des Sekundärmetabolismus und der Virulenz im opportunistischen Humanpathogen A. fumigatus.

The aim of this thesis is to explore employment relations in young, growth-oriented, technology-driven (high-tech) start-ups. It takes a closer look at the exchange relationship between founders and their first employees in this specific context. At its core, the research is interested in employees motivation to work for a growth-oriented start-up and their understanding of the employment deal. The study uses the psychological contract as an analytical framework to gain deeper insights into individuals perceptions of this deal. The research is embedded within an interpretivist paradigm and includes eight case studies involving growth-oriented high-tech start-ups in Berlin and London. For each case, in-depth interviews with three full-time employees as well as the founder(s) were conducted. The findings of this thesis demonstrate that the employment deal in growth-oriented start-ups is a short-term, faith-driven contract, which differs substantially from the current understanding of the psychological contract. In contrast to the long-term or open-ended contract often offered by larger, more established organisations, this deal has a defined expiration date . Moreover, the findings challenge the current understandings on remuneration, relationship building and power dynamics within growth-oriented start-ups and add to the literature by offering a re-conceptualisation of the psychological contract. This thesis helps to inform prospective employees about the advantages and challenges of joining a start-up and encourages entrepreneurs to further tailor their management and compensation strategies.

The arrival of E-commerce systems have contributed greatly to the economy and have played a vital role in collecting a huge amount of transactional data. It is becoming difficult day by day to analyse business and consumer behaviour with the production of such a colossal volume of data. Enterprise 2.0 has the ability to store and create an enormous amount of transactional data; the purpose for which data was collected could quite easily be disassociated as the essential information goes unnoticed in large and complex data sets. The information overflow is a major contributor to the dilemma. In the current environment, where hardware systems have the ability to store such large volumes of data and the software systems have the capability of substantial data production, data exploration problems are on the rise. The problem is not with the production or storage of data but with the effectiveness of the systems and techniques where essential information could be retrieved from complex data sets in a comprehensive and logical approach as the data questions are asked. Using the existing information retrieval systems and visualisation tools, the more specific questions are asked, the more definitive and unambiguous are the visualised results that could be attained, but when it comes to complex and large data sets there are no elementary or simple questions. Therefore a profound information visualisation model and system is required to analyse complex data sets through data analysis and information visualisation, to make it possible for the decision makers to identify the expected and discover the unexpected. In order to address complex data problems, a comprehensive and robust visualisation model and system is introduced. The visualisation model consists of four major layers, (i) acquisition and data analysis, (ii) data representation, (iii) user and computer interaction and (iv) results repositories. There are major contributions in all four layers but particularly in data acquisition and data representation. Multiple attribute and dimensional data visualisation techniques are identified in Enterprise 2.0 and Web 2.0 environment. Transactional tagging and linked data are unearthed which is a novel contribution in information visualisation. The visualisation model and system is first realised as a tangible software system, which is then validated through different and large types of data sets in three experiments. The first experiment is based on the large Royal Mail postcode data set. The second experiment is based on a large transactional data set in an enterprise environment while the same data set is processed in a non-enterprise environment. The system interaction facilitated through new mashup techniques enables users to interact more fluently with data and the representation layer. The results are exported into various reusable formats and retrieved for further comparison and analysis purposes. The information visualisation model introduced in this research is a compact process for any size and type of data set which is a major contribution in information visualisation and data analysis. Advanced data representation techniques are employed using various web mashup technologies. New visualisation techniques have emerged from the research such as transactional tagging visualisation and linked data visualisation. The information visualisation model and system is extremely useful in addressing complex data problems with strategies that are easy to interact with and integrate.

Firm internationalisation has been a broadly examined subject, which has generated various established theories. Previous business activities are described as structured, incremental and predictable, which has enabled the development of frameworks that describe how the business internationalisation is conducted. Today’s technological advances, globalisation and changes in demographics are contemporary environmental forces of change, and the Swedish tech industry is growing in a steady phase. The tech start-ups internationalise rapidly and from an early age but in various ways, and therefore, reflecting diverse internationalisation theories to different extents. The wave of tech start-up is increasing and are seemingly operating in an unconventional manner and contradicts well-known theories, leaving scholars in the search for profound understanding about this phenomenon. Consequently, lack of previous research based on tech start-ups internationalisation processes has provided motivation for this study, with the intention to provide knowledge to companies and contribute with new theory angles to the existing literature. The purpose with this study was to fill the research gap on tech start-up internationalisation by investigating and analyse how the Stockholm-based tech start-ups internationalise, what barriers and drivers they have encountered while pursuing the expansion as well as, how these have affected the internationalisation. The literature review emphasises on internationalisation theories as well as, barriers and drivers of the internationalisation process and is summarised with a conceptual framework. The study was conducted through a qualitative case study including four companies of, which all four had established international operations and therefore, generated insightful information about the subject. Moreover, interviews with founders and CEOs of the companies were conducted through semi-structured approach, which including questions related to their internationalisation process and the barriers and drivers. The empirical data was thereafter organised and paralleled with previous theories as well as, with the authors' considerations. Finally, the conclusion highlight answers to the research questions and provide theoretical and practical implications, as well as suggestions for further research.