This paper extends recent research studying biases in venture capitalist's decision-making. We contribute to this literature by analyzing biases arising due to similarity between a venture capitalist and members of a venture team. We summarize the psychological foundations of such similarity effects and derive a set of hypotheses regarding the impact of similarity on the assessement of team quality. Using data from a conjoint experiment with 51 respondents, we find that venture capitalists tend to favor teams that are similar to themselves w.r.t. the type of training and professional experience. Our results have important implications for academics and practitioners alike. (authors' abstract)

The aim of this study is to examine incubators which were formed by Innovation Center Iceland right after the financial crisis hit in 2008. The question is whether a new concept can be defined, or a new phenomenon, called “crisis incubation”. This is a concept that has not been studied before. This research is carried out by comparing the incubators formed in Iceland with incubators in six other European countries before the crisis hit, and see if there are any differences between the entrepreneurial processes. According to the study, the main differences between traditional incubators and crisis incubators are the following: Access to crisis incubators is much easier, incubatees within crisis incubators are much less likely to experience problems after they have entered the incubators, and they are much more likely to solve problems they experience. The only problem that incubatees in a crisis incubator are more likely to experience is obtaining finance. The study also finds some similarities between traditional incubators and crisis incubators. Overall, the main results strongly indicate that the differences between the two concepts are so great, that a new phenomenon can be defined, although further research is needed.

The aim of this project was to investigate the mechanics of the sprint start through the use of computer simulation. Experimental data was collected on one male athlete in accordance with a procedure agreed by Loughborough University Ethical Advisory Committee. The data provided subject specific data for the creation of a four and fourteen segment, angle and torque driven models of the sprint start. The models simulated the start from the moment of onset of force production until takeoff from the starting block. The four segment model comprised a head and trunk, thigh, shank and foot whilst the fourteen segment model also included a lower spine and pelvis, upper arms, forearms and hands, as well as the other leg including two segment feet. Subject specific torque data was combined with EMG data to provide input to the torque models Results from the four segment angle driven model demonstrated that the participant will benefit from using smaller joint angles than usual in the set position as this resulted in increased velocity on takeoff with minimal increase in movement time. The model also showed large joint torques during such starts and so suggested that this is likely to limit start performance. The four segment torque driven model also revealed that optimal joint angles exist for the hip and knee but such a result was not clear for the ankle. For this model the optimum angle at the hip was 73 (the smallest tested) and 108 at the knee which was the athlete's usual angle. Increasing the athlete's strength parameters resulted in a small increase in horizontal velocity on takeoff for some simulations and all simulations had enhanced acceleration. Increasing initial muscle activations didn't increase horizontal takeoff velocity but did also increase horizontal acceleration. The fourteen segment angle driven model was used to optimise spring parameters for input into a torque driven model. The fourteen segment torque driven model simulated movements and forces realistically but an adequate match was not found to the sprint start performance of the participant due to long simulation times and lack of computing power.

This thesis explores the “project” in the entrepreneurial context, specifically the project- based view of start-ups. Start-ups are defined as entrepreneurial new ventures which have unstable business models, an open and simple organisational structure and which utilize innovative strategies for their development. The concept of temporary organisation is placed within the entrepreneurial context to define possible scenarios for the project-based view. The study is guided by the following research questions: How does a project-based view unfold in the start-up context? What is the impact of embracing a project-based view for a start-up? There is a limited number of studies elaborating on the link between project management and entrepreneurship. This study aims at contributing to an evolving body of knowledge integrating project management and entrepreneurship by building new theory regarding the application of the project metaphor by start-ups. Based on the existing research linking project management and entrepreneurship through the concept of the temporary organisation, this study explains the process of embracing a project- based view of start-ups as well as its implications on start-ups. These findings will be supported by the development of a visual model and propositions for further research. The study is using grounded theory as a research methodology which is considered to be appropriate given the nascent state of the previous research as well as the underlying research questions. In total eleven unstructured and semi-structured interviews were conducted with start-ups which comply with the synthesized start-up characteristics. The data analysis benefited from using open, axial and finally, selective coding as suggested by the grounded theory approach. Answering the first research question, the study’s findings are reflected in a model which explains how the project-based view unfolds. Overall, the process of a project- based view takes two directions: the external and the internal project-based view. The external project-based view - meaning that the whole start-up is seen as a temporary organisation - starts once the start-up team members decide to commit themselves to the project when the entrepreneurial opportunity is constructed. The start-up is then seen as being temporary due to external pressure and a bounded time period. However, although being temporary, the start-up still aims to transit to a permanent state. The internal project-based view suggests that the start-up’s strategy making process is followed by the strategy realization which is performed either by a sequence or by a multi-project approach, or a combination of both. Regarding the second research question, a project- based view enhances the start-ups’ operational and dynamic capabilities.

Social media – over the last decade with the development of technology, this new worldwide phenomenon occurred on the horizon and changed the traditional marketing ways forever. Many companies therefore seek these new platforms in order to come closer to potential customers. One of the most important social media platforms for this is Instagram, where companies can approach their target groups by visual storytelling. Start-up companies have often limited marketing budgets, which makes Instagram a perfect marketing channel because it is cost effective. This thesis is a case study of how pictures on Instagram can be used to spread the brand and how different activities affect traffic to the website/webshop. This case study is based on a marketing model that has been created and tested on an interior company’s, Tegelbruketdesign, Instagram account. The marketing model is analysed and compared to collected data from semi-structured interviews with two popular private Instagram accounts and a semi-structured interview with a Digital PR & Social Media strategist. The findings suggest that some picture types and styles are better then others regarding the spreading of the brand. The findings also suggest that Instagram activities have a positive affect on the traffic to the company’s website/webshop.

In today’s dynamic business environment, stakeholders are seen as essential and companies are expected to engage stakeholders in mutually productive areas such as innovation and product development, market and sales development, sustainability, etc. However, prior literature of stakeholder engagement has mainly focused on large companies and the benefits of stakeholder engagement are usually narrowed to one specific area of growth. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the micro level of start-up companies and examines benefits of stakeholder engagement in terms of different aspects of company growth (namely financial performance, product development and innovation, marketing/sales development, reputation, sustainability and CSR, knowledge learning and information.).   Literature review of concepts of stakeholder engagement, start-ups and company growth has led to the theoretical framework of the thesis. It serves as guidance for the overall methodology. In order to meet the research objectives, we conduct a qualitative exploratory study on eight Swedish start-ups from different industries and with different characteristics. The data collection technique we use is semi-structured interviews with the eight owners (CEOs) of the start-ups. Through the interviews we examined the stakeholders that start-up companies are engaging, the benefits of engaging different stakeholders, the costs which may prevent them from engagement and the relationships between stakeholder engagement and their company growth.   The thesis has found that start-ups do engage different stakeholders for various growth aspects, and identified major focus areas and main stakeholders that start-ups attach more importance to than others. Customers and suppliers are frequently mentioned for driving product, market and sales development, which leads to direct financial growth. Owner-managers, employees and investors are in the second group of growth drivers, while the third group includes personal network, government organizations and communities. Meanwhile, the thesis has also categorized the benefits of stakeholder engagement into two groups according to the relative importance found out. Market and sales development, innovation and product development and financial performance are the primary, more frequently mentioned benefits than sustainability/CSR, Knowledge Learning/Information and reputation. Thus, the thesis has extended the theoretical framework by fitting it to the start-up context. The thesis has contributed to prior literature by reinforcing the prior research on stakeholder engagement and also filling the research gap in micro start-up company context. The thesis can give practical implications to start-up companies in terms of how to engagement stakeholders to drive company growth. We could conclude that start-up company context carries certain difference from large companies in stakeholder engagement, and start-ups should be encouraged to engage stakeholders more to drive company growth.

This exploratory study examined the effectiveness of child teacher relationship training (CTRT) with at-risk preschool children exhibiting disruptive behavior. The participants included a total of 23 Head Start teachers and their aides, and children identified by their teachers as exhibiting clinical or borderline levels of externalizing behavior problems. Teacher participants included 22 females and 1 male; demographics were reported as 56% Hispanic ethnicity, 17% Black American, and 22% European American. Child participants included 15 males and 5 females; demographics were reported as 60% Hispanic, 30% Black American, and 10% European American. A 2 by 3 (Group x Repeated Measures) split plot ANOVA was used to analyze the data. According to teacher reports using the Teacher Report Form (C-TRF) and blinded raters’ reports using the Direct Observation Form (DOF) to assess disruptive behaviors, children whose teachers received the CTRT intervention demonstrated statistically significant decreases (p < .05) in externalizing behaviors on the C-TRF and total problems on the DOF from pre- to mid- to post-test, compared to children whose teachers participated in the active control group. The CTRT intervention demonstrated large treatment effects on both measures (C-TRF: ?p2 =.173; DOF: ?p2=.164) when compared to CD, revealing the practical significance of the findings on reducing disruptive behaviors. According to independent raters on the DOF, 90% of children receiving the CTRT intervention moved from clinical levels of behavioral concern to more normative levels of functioning following treatment, establishing the clinical significance of CTRT as an early mental health intervention for preschool children in Head start exhibiting disruptive behavior.

This study investigated the impact of child teacher relationship training (CTRT) on teachers’ ability to provide emotional support in the classroom, teachers’ use of relationship-building skills, and teachers’ level of stress related to the student-child relationship. Teachers and aides from one Head Start school were randomly assigned to the experimental group CTRT (n = 11) or an active control Conscious Discipline group (CD; n = 12). Overall, 21 females, 11 (CTRT) and 11 (CD), and one male (CD) participated in the study. Participating teachers and aides identified themselves as the following: 13 Hispanic/Latino, 5 Black American, and 5 European American. Teachers and aides identified children with clinical levels of disruptive behavior problems for the purpose of selecting children of focus for the study. The children’s mean age was 3.63 for CTRT group and 3.36 for CD group. Overall, 9 females, 2 (CTRT) and 7 (CD), and 10 males, 6 (CTRT) and 4 (CD) participated in the study. Teachers reported children’s ethnicity: 13 Hispanic/Latino, 5 African American, and 1 other. A two-factor (Treatment x Group) repeated measures split plot ANOVA was utilized to analyze the data with an alpha level of .05. According to objective raters blinded to the study using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) and the Child Teacher Relationship Skills Checklist (CTRT-SC) and teacher reports using Index of Teaching Stress (ITS), results revealed a statistically significant interaction effect for the experimental teachers’ use of child-teacher relationship skills (CTRT-SC: p = .036), a non-statistically significant interaction effect for the experimental teachers’ ability to provide emotional support (CLASS: p = .50), and a non-statistically significant interaction effect on teacher stress (ITS: p = .997). Partial eta squared effect sizes were calculated to determine the practical significance of the findings. Compared to the active control, CTRT demonstrated large treatment effects over time on the CTRT-SC (?p2 = .19) and the CLASS (?p2 = .16). Study findings provide support for CTRT as an effective intervention for increasing Head Start teachers’ ability to provide emotional and relational support to at-risk students.

The problem of this study was to determine the difference in academic achievement between disadvantaged pupils who attended a Head Start program and those who did not when that difference was measured by a selected instrument. The groups used for the comparison were (1) Head Start, disadvantaged; (2) non-Head Start, disadvantaged without kindergarten experiences; (3) non-Head Start, advantaged with kindergarten experiences; and (4) non-Head Start, advantaged without kindergarten experiences.

After reaching its light-off temperature, the catalytic aftertreatment system plays a major part in maintaining emissions at low levels for vehicles equipped with combustion engines. In this thesis, modelling of the exhaust gas temperature is investigated along with optimal control strategy for variable ignition and exhaust valve opening angles for optimal catalytic converter heating. Models for exhaust gas temperature and mass flow are presented and validated against measurement data. According to the model validation, the proposed models capture variations in ignition and exhaust valve opening angles well. Optimal control strategy for the ignition and exhaust valve opening angles to heat the catalytic converter to a predetermined temperature in the most fuel and time optimal ways are investigated by implementation of the validated models. Optimal control analysis indicates that with open wastegate, the heating time for the catalytic converter can be reduced by up to 16.4 % and the accumulated fuel to reach the desired temperature can be reduced by up to 4.6 %, compared to the case with ignition and exhaust valve opening angles fixed at nominal values. With closed wastegate the corresponding figures are 16.4 % and 4.7 %. By also including control of the variable λ-value, the heating time can be further reduced by up to 19.8 %, and the accumulated fuel consumption by up to 9.5 % with open wastegate. With closed wastegate the corresponding figures are 20.1 % decrease in heating time, and 9.8 % decrease in accumulated fuel consumption.