A comparative study of density functional and density functional tight binding calculations of defects in graphene

The density functional tight binding approach (DFTB) is well adapted for the study of point and line defects in graphene based systems. After briefly reviewing the use of DFTB in this area, we present a comparative study of defect structures, energies and dynamics between DFTB results obtained using the dftb+ code, and density functional results using the localised Gaussian orbital code, AIMPRO. DFTB accurately reproduces structures and energies for a range of point defect structures such as vacancies and Stone-Wales defects in graphene, as well as various unfunctionalised and hydroxylated graphene sheet edges. Migration barriers for the vacancy and Stone-Wales defect formation barriers are accurately reproduced using a nudged elastic band approach. Finally we explore the potential for dynamic defect simulations using DFTB, taking as an example electron irradiation damage in graphene

Liiketoimintasuunnitelma sijoittajan näkökulmasta

Tämä opinnäytetyö käsittelee startup-yritysten rahoituksen hankkimista. Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on selvittää, mitä asioita pääomasijoittajat ottavat huomioon sijoituspäätöstä tehtäessä. Tämän lisäksi selvitetään, mitä asioita liiketoimintasuunnitelman tulisi sisältää pääomasijoituksia haettaessa. Toimeksiantajaa työlle ei ole, vaan idea syntyi kirjoittajan omista kokemuksista startup-yrityksistä. Työ sisältää teoriaosuuden sekä empiirisen osuuden, jotka käyvät vuoropuhelua keskenään. Teoria-aineisto on kerätty alan kirjallisuudesta ja elektronisista lähteistä. Se käsittelee, mitä asioita yrittäjän tulee ottaa huomioon liikeotimintasuunnitelmaa laatiessa sekä mitä asioita siihen tulee sisältää ensisijaisen tavoitteen ollessa rahoituksen hakeminen pääomasijoittajilta. Empiirinen aineisto on kerätty teemahaastatteluilla pääomasijoittajilta ja yhdeltä startup-alan asiantuntijalta. Empiirisesen aineiston avulla tutkitaan asiantuntijoiden näkemyksiä liiketoimintasuunnitelman sisällöstä tavoitteen ollessa pääomasijoituksien hakemisessa. Keskeisimpinä tuloksina havaittiin, että varsinaisen liiketoimintasuunnitelman merkitys sijoituspäätöksessä on pieni. Tärkeämmiksi asioiksi osoittautuivat yrityksen avainhenkilöt ja heidän osaamisensa ja kokemuksensa.This thesis is about seeking funding for startup companies. The goal of the thesis is to determine what angel investors are looking for in a startup company. Another goal is to define what elements are relevant when seeking funding from private capital investors. The study is not being commissioned by any institution but the suggestion is based on the writer’s experiences with a startup company. The study includes a theoretical part and an empirical section which intercourse together. The theoretical background of the study is collected from literature in the industry. The theoretical data focuses on what the entrepreneur should consider when writing a business plan when the goal is seeking capital funding from private investors. The empirical data is collected as theme interviews from private capital investors and an additional expert on the field of startups. The objective of the theme interviews is to define what should be included in a business plan when seeking capital funding. The results of the study include that the relevance of the business plan itself is modest. A more important factor is the key people of the company, together with their knowledge and experience

Social Media & Audience Participation in Regard to Television

Jean McBride Major: Communications: Radio/TV Broadcasting & Mass Media Production Project Sponsor: Dr. Sylvia White Number of Project Credits: 3 Social Media & Audience Participation in Regard to Television The purpose of my honors project was seeing if social media had an influence on television show ratings and popularity by incorporating audience participation. Especially in regards to television shows that have been around for years, I was interested to see if television ratings went up when using Twitter compared to when they did not use Twitter to increase viewers and audience participation. I surveyed forty-nine collegiate women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three years of age. The survey focused on three television shows: American Idol, Project Runway, and Glee. I asked questions starting from if they watched the show, did they use Twitter during the show, does the possibility of their tweets being on-air influence them to use Twitter during the show, and other questions along those lines. After conducting the survey and collecting the data, I found that social media is used during these television shows, but it is too early to determine if social media truly increases audience participation and television ratings. This was a very interesting topic to research and I look forward to seeing how social media affects audience participation in regard to television in years to come

How big data might induce learning with interactive visualization tools

The essay presents some results of a initial collaboration carried out between Polytechnic of Turin and CSI Piemonte (In-house ICT company of Piemonte Region). Different data visualization tools were selected and studied (Gapminder, ManyEyes, Open eXplorer and Fineo) in order to aid inductive learning about BD. The intelligent use of public sector information (PSI) becomes an important player for researches, urban studies and the governance but also for business. The doubling of digital information each two years made Data Visualization discipline crucial for accesses and understand complex info especially for business analysts. “We discover the world through our eyes says” wrote Few, one of the most important manager of visual communication. Accordingly, forms of communication such as Graph and tables boosted the visual dimension for creating relation between values, colors, shapes and most of all analyst and customers are exploring new dimension of learning (“storytelling” dimension). As planners and citizen, we rely greatly on eyes which are managing most of human sensors (nearly 70%) giving a crucial role to perception and cognitive maps, bias and new thoughts. Among the different tools and approaches, this paper highlights and applies a visualization and analytic technique for a specific case study (Unione dei Comuni NordEst Torino) where it is newly important to try synergies in decision making, planning and inductive learning processes

Water management and new clean technologies in Africa: A review of Compotherm

Challenges in water management are becoming more severe in many countries and this is exacerbated by climate change. With the increase of environmental threats, a new market for clean tech companies is emerging on the global scheme. The majority of these companies are small and medium seized companies (SME) under rapid growth. This paper is investigating the clean-tech product Compotherm. Two market overviews of the global solar thermal market as well as the portable water purification market will be shown. Which market- based factors are vital for the products potential success? What current competitors are there? This paper will also study the current needs of water clean technologies in Africa by conducting and reviewing a series of interview. Findings show that the interest for thermal water heaters is growing in both a local and international view. Compotherm could be seen as plazed in the middle of two traditional product categorise within the market. in the market of portable purification systems the potential success of new products is dicussed upon. In order to survive in the rapid emerging business companies are have shown to market there product for a specific clientele.Challenges in water management are becoming more severe in many countries and this is exacerbated by climate change. With the increase of environmental threats, a new market for clean tech companies is emerging on the global scheme. The majority of these companies are small and medium seized companies (SME) under rapid growth. This paper is investigating the clean-tech product Compotherm. Two market overviews of the global solar thermal market as well as the portable water purification market will be shown. Which market- based factors are vital for the products potential success? What current competitors are there? This paper will also study the current needs of water clean technologies in Africa by conducting and reviewing a series of interview. Findings show that the interest for thermal water heaters is growing in both a local and international view. Compotherm could be seen as plazed in the middle of two traditional product categorise within the market. in the market of portable purification systems the potential success of new products is dicussed upon. In order to survive in the rapid emerging business companies are have shown to market there product for a specific clientele