Zugl.: Mannheim, Univ., Diss., 2007

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

A study on the effects of increased ignition energy on cold start hydrocarbon emissions was conducted. The tests were conducted on a single cylinder ASTM-CFR engine. The engine was outfitted with EFI, exhaust analyzers, and temperature probes. The engine was also modified to produce cold start conditions rapidly after each run. For the experiment the engine was started from 18° C using three increasing ignition energy levels. The first level of ignition energy was the ignition energy produced by the stock CFR engine's ignition system. The second and third increased ignition energy levels were obtained by adding 0.387 joules and 1.187 joules to the stock output through a supplementary ignition system. Startup emissions and the number of cycles until the first successful fire were measured. The results of the tests show a 14% decrease in the average peak hydrocarbon (HC) concentration levels at the highest ignition energy. Overall reduction in HC was less. The variance in the peak HC levels was reduced at the highest ignition energy setting. CO production was increased in response to the increase in HC consumption. The spread in measured number of cycles until first fire was decreased at the highest ignition energy level. Although positive results were obtained, the test apparatus had some problem areas that may have reduced the effectiveness of the high energy ignition system. Based on what was learned recommendations on apparatus refinements and further tests were included. / Master of Science

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Title: Starts of sprint disciplines performed by spastic athlete and particularities of the training process Aim of work: The aim of this work was analyzing of the specifics of athletic training determined for spastic sprinter class T38 and observation of the long term effect. Methods: This work presents an empiric-theoretical study. Due to the uniqueness of the theme, method of case study has been chosen (intra-individual observation). This method was applied on the particular spastic sprinter by using longitudinal quantitative observation during her top sport career and applying one-off analysis focused on evaluation of different types of starts. This observation had qualitative and quantitative part. The quantitative part was based on the interpretation of 2D video comparing three types of start (low start, mid-low start and low start with a diagonal arm position) with the optimal start position described in the books. Comparison of average time for 10 metre distance was determined as quantitative element. . The observational group consists of the sprinter with Cerebral Palsy at Czech representative level. Results: Our research resulted as follows: The mid-low start was assessed as the best one for the examined sprinter from the quality of start position point of view including the three...

Title: Starts of sprint disciplines performed by spastic athlete and particularities of the training process Aim of work: The aim of this work was analyzing of the specifics of athletic training determined for spastic sprinter class T38 and observation of the long term effect. Methods: This work presents an empiric-theoretical study. Due to the uniqueness of the theme, method of case study has been chosen (intra-individual observation). This method was applied on the particular spastic sprinter by using longitudinal quantitative observation during her top sport career and applying one-off analysis focused on evaluation of different types of starts. This observation had qualitative and quantitative part. The quantitative part was based on the interpretation of 2D video comparing three types of start (low start, mid-low start and low start with a diagonal arm position) with the optimal start position described in the books. Comparison of average time for 10 metre distance was determined as quantitative element. . The observational group consists of the sprinter with Cerebral Palsy at Czech representative level. Results: Our research resulted as follows: The mid-low start was assessed as the best one for the examined sprinter from the quality of start position point of view including the three...

The problem of this study was to compare the written language development of two groups of disadvantaged children at the end of their fourth year of school.

Start-ups face several issues and challenges in the course of their development as a compa-ny. Open innovation has been discussed in research for more than a decade as a concept, which can bring benefits to a company. Even though most of the research has been focus-ing on large enterprises, some researchers discuss also benefits for small companies like start-ups. Nevertheless, it can be observed that some start-ups decide to adopt the opposite of open innovation, namely closed innovation, through not sharing internal knowledge to the outside world. Hence, start-ups perceive the benefits of open innovation differently and decide accordingly whether to adopt open innovation or not. The purpose of this study is to explore if start-ups decide to actually do the former and what reasons they have to do so. Therefore, this study will further discover at what point in the development of their start-up and with whom they adopt open innovation. As an attractive industry for start-ups, the mobile services industry is selected as a scope for this study. Furthermore, Sweden is selected as the country of study, due to its reputation as one of the most innova-tive countries in the world. A qualitative study has been conducted using in-depth interviews with founders and co-founders of start-ups to retrieve narrative stories about their start-up’s development from the first day of an idea to a scalable business, and their experiences and motivations in re-gards to the application of open innovation practices. The analysis of this study detects pat-terns among the interviewed start-ups and concludes that start-ups in the mobile services industry in Sweden adopt open innovation in each phase of their development process. Furthermore, these patterns include several reasons why the start-ups applied open innova-tion practices and with whom, which are changing over the course of their development.

Doctor Educationis / Background: In swimming, a swimmer’s performance is mostly determined by the time spent on starts, stroking and turning. The start of a swimming races, especially sprint races, can account for almost a quarter of race time. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse the biomechanics and performance of three start techniques off the OSB11 starting platform over 15-meters to determine which of the three is most effective when looking at the three parts that constitute the start: block time, flight time and underwater time. Methods: A Quasi-experimental cross over trial-based study design was used to determine which of three starting techniques (Grab, Track & Kick) was the most effective off the OSB11 starting block. Ten Swimmers who qualified for junior nationals from Vineyard Swimming Club participated in the study. Each participant acted as their own control and were required to perform each start once. All trials were filmed and analysed on Dartfish pro suite 10. The following variables were analysed: shoulder angle, hip angle, knee angle, reaction time, movement time, total block time, flight distance, flight time, flight velocity, entry angle, underwater time, underwater distance, time to 15-meters.

Social and emotional development is a crucial domain of development that influences child outcomes. Apart from a child’s family, early care and education (ECE) programs offer opportunities to develop critical skills that promote academic achievement, emotion regulation, cognition, and literacy. There are achievement gaps in these areas when comparing children from low and high socioeconomic backgrounds, lending to the federal legislation to form Head Start and Early Head Start programs nationwide. While these programs have attendance mandates, the national attendance average is below the requirements, which may hinder the full benefits of Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Using attendance rates and scores from the Ages and Stages Questionnaire – Third Edition (ASQ-3), we examined the differences between Head Start and Early Head Start groups, gender, and high and low attendance groups. The researcher conducted regression analyses to determine if attendance rates predict ASQ-3 scores. Analysis revealed a positive relation among these variables, with significant differences between Head Start and Early Head Start groups and low and high-attendance groups.