Ett stort antal nya företag startas varje år och bara under första kvartalet 2015 startades 18 618 stycken. Vid start av nya företag krävs, av entreprenörer som startar det, en idé och en plan för hur detta ska genomföras. Idag utgör nystartade företags entreprenörer en central del i samhällsekonomin, vilket gör dem intressanta att studera. För att entreprenörerna ska lyckas med sitt företag är det viktigt att redovisningen fungerar. Flera tidigare studier diskuterar att entreprenörer inte har den kunskap om redovisning som krävs i nystartade företag och anledningen till varför flertalet entreprenörer inte lyckas med sitt företag är just avsaknaden av kunskap om redovisning. Syftet med studien har varit att öka förståelsen för externredovisningens roll i nystartade företag, vilket har gjorts genom att beskriva entreprenörers delaktighet i bokslutsprocessen. Vi har valt att dela in bokslutsprocessen i fyra faser, avstämnings- och periodiseringsfas, värderingsfas, bokslutsdispositionsfas samt årsredovisningsfas. En kvalitativ undersökning har använts under studien för att besvara syftet, där vi intervjuade tio entreprenörer från nio olika nystartade företag avseende deras delaktighet i bokslutsprocessen. Studiens resultat visar att samtliga entreprenörer är delaktiga i bokslutsprocessen, där de deltar i avstämnings- och periodiseringsfasen, värderingsfasen samt årsredovisningsfasen. Ingen av entreprenörerna deltog i bokslutsdispositionsfasen. I studien påvisas även att entreprenörer i nystartade företag tar hjälp av externa aktörer för att få ihop alla delar i bokslutsprocessen. Vi har använt oss av sense-making teorin för att få en förståelse om varför och på vilket sätt entreprenörer deltar i bokslutsprocessen, genom vilken vi fick fram flera värdeskapande anledningar till deltagandet. Det är svårt att dra en generell slutsats av vad som är en värdeskapande handling till följd av deltagande i de olika faserna för samtliga entreprenörer. Däremot går det att urskilja olika anledningar för de olika entreprenörerna som kan ses som värdeskapande. / A large number of new businesses are started every year and only in the first quarter of 2015, 18 618 businesses started up. Starting up a new business requires, by the entrepreneur that is starting it, an idea and a plan for how it should be implemented. Today entrepreneurs in start-ups are a central part of the economy, which makes them an interesting topic to study. For the entrepreneurs to succeed in their business, it is of importance that the accounting functions. Several previous studies discuss the fact that entrepreneurs do not have the knowledge about accounting that is required in start-ups. The reason why several entrepreneurs do not succeed in their business is in fact the lack of knowledge about accounting, as showed in previous studies. The main purpose of this paper was to increase the understanding of the importance of external accounting in start-ups, which have been done by describing the entrepreneur´s participation in the year-end procedure in start-ups. A qualitative approach was used during the study to answer the purpose, where we interviewed ten entrepreneurs from nine different start-ups regarding their participation in the year-end procedure. Empirical results conclude that all entrepreneurs are involved in the year-end procedure. The study also demonstrated that entrepreneurs in start-ups are taking help from external parties to put together the year-end procedure. We have used the sense-making theory to gain an understanding of why and how the entrepreneurs participate in the year-end procedure, by which we could obtain several value creating reasons for participation. It is difficult to draw a general conclusion of what a value-creating action is as a result of participation in the various phases for all entrepreneurs. However it is possible to distinguish various reasons for the different entrepreneurs that can be seen as value creating.

This thesis focuses on the use of surface modifiers to tune the properties of both metals and metal oxides. Particular attention is given to examine the modification of transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) including indium tin oxide and zinc oxide both through the use of phosphonic acids as well as organic and metal-organic dopants. In this thesis a variety of known and new phosphonic acids are synthesized. A subset of these molecules are then used to probe the relationship between the ability of a phosphonic acid to tune the work function of ITO and how that interrelates with the coverage and molecular orientation of the modifier on the surface. Experimental techniques including XPS, UPS, and NEXAFS are coupled with theoretical DFT calculations in order to more closely examine this relationship. Literature surrounding the modification of zinc oxide with phosphonic acids is not as prevalent as that found for the modification of ITO. Thus, effort is placed on attempting to determine optimal modification conditions for phosphonic acids on zinc oxide. As zinc oxide is already a low work function metal oxide, modifiers were synthesized in an attempt to further decrease the work function of this substrate in an effort to minimize the barrier to carrier collection/injection. Etching of the substrate by phosphonic acids is also examined. In a related technique, n- and p-dopants are used to modify the surfaces of ITO, zinc oxide, and gold and it was found that the work function can be drastically altered, to approximately 3.3 – 3.6 eV for all three of the substrates examined. Surface reactions are straightforward to conduct typically taking only 60 s to achieve this change in work function.

No description available.

This study explains the rise and fall of the Innovations Foundation, the University of Toronto's first office dedicated to the transfer of university-developed technologies to industry. Drawing on extensive archival research, ten interviews with key informants, and other sources, the case study traces the evolution of the Foundation from its launch in 1980 to its closure in 2006. The study delineates three distinct business models under which the Foundation operated from 1980 to 1990, 1990 to 1999, and 1999 to 2006. The reasons for the adoption and failure of each model are explored and a historically grounded, context-sensitive explanation of the university's decision to dismantle the Foundation in 2006 is provided. This explanation emphasizes the importance of managing unrealistic expectations for Canadian university technology transfer, and adds weight to a growing consensus on the importance of historical path-dependence as a conceptual tool for understanding the persistence of differentials in technology transfer performance among universities.

This study explains the rise and fall of the Innovations Foundation, the University of Toronto's first office dedicated to the transfer of university-developed technologies to industry. Drawing on extensive archival research, ten interviews with key informants, and other sources, the case study traces the evolution of the Foundation from its launch in 1980 to its closure in 2006. The study delineates three distinct business models under which the Foundation operated from 1980 to 1990, 1990 to 1999, and 1999 to 2006. The reasons for the adoption and failure of each model are explored and a historically grounded, context-sensitive explanation of the university's decision to dismantle the Foundation in 2006 is provided. This explanation emphasizes the importance of managing unrealistic expectations for Canadian university technology transfer, and adds weight to a growing consensus on the importance of historical path-dependence as a conceptual tool for understanding the persistence of differentials in technology transfer performance among universities.

Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin film solar cells contain a thin layer of CdS. To avoid toxic heavy-metal-containing waste in the module production the development of a cadmium-free buffer layer is desirable. This thesis considers alternative Cd-free buffer materials deposited by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). Conditions of the CIGS surface necessary for ALD growth are investigated and the heterojunction interface is characterized by band alignment studies of ZnO/CIGS and In2S3/CIGS interfaces. The thesis also includes investigations on the surface modification of the CIGS absorber by sulfurization. According to ALD theory the growth process is limited by surface saturated reactions. The ALD growth on CIGS substrates shows nucleation failure and generally suffers from surface contaminations of the CIGS layer. The grade of growth disturbance varies for different ALD precursors. The presence of surface contaminants is related to the substrate age and sodium content. Improved growth behavior is demonstrated by different pretreatment procedures. The alignment of the energy bands in the buffer/absorber interface is an important parameter for minimization of the losses in a solar cell. The valence band and conduction band offsets was determined by in situ X-ray and UV photoelectron spectroscopy during layer by layer formation of buffer material. The conduction band offset (ΔEc) should be small but positive for optimal solar cell electrical performance according to theory. The conduction band offset was determined for the ALD ZnO/CIGS interface (ΔEc = -0.2 eV) and the ALD In2S3/CIGS interface (ΔEc = -0.25 eV). A high temperature process for bandgap grading and a low temperature process for surface passivation by post deposition sulfurization in H2S were investigated. It is concluded that the high temperature sulfurization of CuIn(1-x)GaxSe2 leads to phase separation when x>0. The low temperature process did not result in enhanced device performance.

“Hardware in the Loop” (HIL) testing is widely used in the automotive industry. The sophisticated electronic control units used for vehicle control are usually tested and evaluated using HIL-simulations. The HIL increases the degree of realistic testing of any system. Moreover, it helps in designing the structure and control of the system under test so that it works effectively in the situations that will be encountered in the system. Due to the size and the complexity of interaction within a power network, most research is based on pure simulation. To validate the performance of physical generator or protection system, most testing is constrained to very simple power network. This research, however, examines a method to test power system hardware within a complex virtual environment using the concept of the HIL. The HIL testing for electronic control units and power systems protection device can be easily performed at signal level. But performance of power systems equipments, such as distributed generation systems can not be evaluated at signal level using HIL testing. The HIL testing for power systems equipments is termed here as ‘Power Network in the Loop’ (PNIL). PNIL testing can only be performed at power level and requires a power amplifier that can amplify the simulation signal to the power level. A power network is divided in two parts. One part represents the Power Network Under Test (PNUT) and the other part represents the rest of the complex network. The complex network is simulated in real time simulator (RTS) while the PNUT is connected to the Voltage Source Converter (VSC) based power amplifier. Two way interaction between the simulator and amplifier is performed using analog to digital (A/D) and digital to analog (D/A) converters. The power amplifier amplifies the current or voltage signal of simulator to the power level and establishes the power level interaction between RTS and PNUT. In the first part of this thesis, design and control of a VSC based power amplifier that can amplify a broadband voltage signal is presented. A new Hybrid Discontinuous Control method is proposed for the amplifier. This amplifier can be used for several power systems applications. In the first part of the thesis, use of this amplifier in DSTATCOM and UPS applications are presented. In the later part of this thesis the solution of network in the loop testing with the help of this amplifier is reported. The experimental setup for PNIL testing is built in the laboratory of Queensland University of Technology and the feasibility of PNIL testing has been evaluated using the experimental studies. In the last section of this thesis a universal load with power regenerative capability is designed. This universal load is used to test the DG system using PNIL concepts. This thesis is composed of published/submitted papers that form the chapters in this dissertation. Each paper has been published or submitted during the period of candidature. Chapter 1 integrates all the papers to provide a coherent view of wide bandwidth switching amplifier and its used in different power systems applications specially for the solution of power systems testing using PNIL.

The critical component of this thesis, “Hitler Comedy”, is a dissertation on the intersection between comedy theory in general, and the specific practice of Hitler comedy. Focusing on Bertolt Brecht’s play The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (1941; directed by Heiner Müller in 1995), and Dani Levy’s film Mein Führer: the Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler (2007), my argument critiques existing “instrumentalist” theories of comedy as didactic and morally reductive. Moving beyond prevailing conceptualisations of comedy as corrective and/or forgiving, my dissertation emphasises the centrality of pleasure, displeasure and disruption for audience members in the process of their experiencing Hitler comedies. / The creative component of this thesis is a script and a DVD recording of Hitlerhoff, a theatre and multimedia work that combines the characters of Adolf Hitler and David Hasselhoff into a single hybrid figure. Hitlerhoff is a spectacular black comedy that uses comedy to entertain and unsettle, and to disrupt audience members’ expectations. Hitlerhoff is a practical demonstration of the ability of “irresponsible” comedy to act as a potent catalyst for “responsible”, ethically engaged discussions.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The digital control of UPS systems has been difficult in the past due to a lack of DSP technology. It was for this reason not possible to establishing the necessary control to regulate the voltages and currents of the UPS systems. Recent advances in DSP technology have however provided the means of establishing central control of the UPS system as well as incorporating more complex closed-loop control algorithms by utilising a single floating-point DSP. Closed-loop control strategies are investigated and the central control of a line-interactive UPS is established in this study. Both the status of the physical system as well as various system parameters are controlled. The system both regulates and charges the storage batteries when the main utility supply is maintained. In the event that the utility fails, the converter instantaneously changes power flow towards the load with the aim of maintaining an uninterrupted voltage supply. Several closed-loop deadbeat based control strategies are investigated for the regulation of the inductor current. A solution for the regulation of the DC-link is also developed and implemented. Furthermore, an intensive study is done on the regulation of the voltage supplied to the load in the event that the utility supply fails. The investigation is initially approached by considering classical control theory. Although these control strategies provided sufficient results, a predictive strategy that is based on the physical conditions of the switching converter is finally investigated to establish closed loop control of the output voltage. This resulted in a high-bandwidth voltage controller capable of maintaining control under a wide-array of load conditions. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die digitale beheer van UPS stelsels was moeilik in the verlede as gevolg van 'n gebrek aan DSP tegnologie. Dit was vir hierdie rede nie moontlik om beheer te kon bewerkstelling ten einde die spannings and strome in the UPS stelsels te kon reguleer nie. Onlangse vordering in DSP tegnologie het egter dit moontlik gemaak om sentrale beheer van die UPS stelsel te bewerkstellig sowel as om meer komplekse geslote lus beheer algoritmes te inkorporeer met behulp van 'n enkele DSP. Geslote lus beheer strategiëe word ondersoek en die sentrale beheer van die line-interaktiewe UPS word bewerkstellig in hierdie studie. Beide die huidige toestand van die fisiese stelsel sowel as die verskeie parameters word beheer. Die stelsel beide laai en reguleer die batterye terwyl die hooftoevoer onderhou word. In die geval dat die hooftoevoer faal, word die omsetter se rigting van drywingsvloei verander om die las te voorsien van 'n ononderbroke spannings toevoer. Verskeie geslote-lus “deadbeat” beheer strategiëe word ondersoek vir die regulasie van die induktor stroom. 'n Oplossing vir die regulasie van die GS-koppervlak word ook ontwikkel en geïmplementeer. Verder word 'n intensiewe studie gedoen op regulasie van die spanning wat aan die las gevoer word in die geval dat die hooftoevoer faal. Hierdie ondersoek word aanvanklik benader deur klassieke beheer teorie te bestudeer. Alhoewel hierdie beheer strategiëe voldoene resultate gebied het, was 'n voorspel beheerstrategie gebaseer op die fisiese toestand van die omsetter finaal ondersoek. Die resultaat is 'n hoë-bandwydte spannings beheerder wat daartoe instaat is om beheer te handhaaf onder 'n verskeidenheid van lastoestande.

O objetivo principal deste trabalho é o desenvolvimento de controladores robustos baseados no princípio do modelo interno, em referenciais síncrono e estacionário, para aplicação ao estágio de saída de uma fonte ininterrupta de energia (UPS) a fim de minimizar a distorção na tensão de saída causada pela conexão de cargas não lineares balanceadas e desbalanceadas. A formulação em referencial estacionário (abc) é realizada através da aplicação de controladores com múltiplos modos ressonantes, a fim de se estabelecer erro nulo ao seguimento de referência senoidal e rejeição de distúrbios na tensão de saída devido às correntes com elevado conteúdo harmônico drenadas pelas cargas. Além disso, o controle é formulado em referencial síncrono (dq0) utilizando controladores Proporcional-Integral (PI) convencionais muito difundidos na maioria das aplicações comerciais de UPS. O projeto de ambos controladores é realizado utilizando uma metodologia de controle robusto com realimentação de estados, onde os parâmetros dos controladores são determinados através da resolução de um problema de otimização convexa sujeito a um conjunto de restrições na forma de desigualdades matriciais lineares (LMI). Uma análise comparativa de desempenho é realizada entre controladores com um modo ressonante (sintonizado na fundamental) e o PI em dq0, pois apresentam estruturas funcionalmente equivalentes sob a ótica do princípio do modelo interno aplicada a seus respectivos referenciais. Além do mais, demonstra-se a melhoria no desempenho com o uso dos controladores múltiplo ressonantes em referencial estacionário onde escolhe-se as frequências de ressonância de cada modo de maneira a suprimir os efeitos de harmônicas específicas na tensão de saída da UPS. A análise comparativa entre os controladores propostos é realizada através de simulações numéricas, utilizando os procedimentos de ensaio dinâmico e estático e as exigências estabelecidas pela norma internacional IEC 62040-3. / The main objective of this work is the development of robust controllers based on the internalmodel principle, in synchronous and stationary frames, applied to the output stage of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), in order to minimize the output voltage distortion caused by the connection of balanced and unbalanced nonlinear loads. The formulation in stationary abc-frame is accomplished through the aplication of a multiple resonant controller, so that, it is possible to achieve zero-error tracking of the sinusoidal reference and disturbances rejection on the output voltage due to the high amount of harmonic currents drained by the loads. Moreover, a controller in synchronous reference frame (dq0 axis) is formulated through the application of conventional Proportional-Integral (PI) controllers which are widely used in comercial UPS applications. The design of both controllers is formulated using a state-feedback robust controlmethod, in which the controller parameters are determined by solving a convex optimization problem subject to a set of LMI constraints. A comparative analysis on the performance of the single-mode resonant controller (tuned at the fundamental frequency) and the PI controller is performed, because these controllers are functionally equivalent in the sense of the internal model principle applied to their respective frames. Furthermore, the improvement in performance is demostrated with the use of multiple resonant controllers in stationary abc-frame where the resonance frequencies are chosen to suppress the effects of a specific harmonic in the UPS output voltage. The comparative analysis of the proposed controllers is performed through numerical simulations, making use of the dynamical and steady-state test methods and performance requirements defined by the IEC 62040-3 international stardard.