Experimental validation of a landing-dynamics computer program for legged spacecraft landers

Validation of a landing-dynamics computer program has been accomplished by comparing analytical data with data from a limited experimental program. Agreement obtained established the subject landing-dynamics computer program as a reliable design tool for legged spacecraft landers

Frangible tube energy dissipation Patent

Energy dissipating shock absorbing system for land payload recovery or vehicle brakin

Evaluating The Impact of Esport Brand Extensions on Brand Equity and Behavioral Intentions

Esport, which consists of video game competitions that fans can watch remotely or attend, is a rapidly growing industry. Although there is trepidation among traditional sport organizations about embracing esport, the popularity of esport with young consumers makes it attractive to sport practitioners. Some traditional sport entities have started to embrace esport. Specifically, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has made a concerted effort to incorporate esport into its brand. Certain NBA franchises (e.g., the Philadelphia 76ers) manage esport teams (e.g., 76ers GC) that compete in the NBA 2K League. The NBA esport teams consist of athletes/gamers who play NBA2K, a sport video game, and compete against other teams in the NBA 2K League. The NBA esport teams therefore act as brand extensions of each NBA franchise (the parent brand). Brand extensions are a common brand management strategy in sport; however, esport brand extensions of a traditional sport parent brand have yet to be studied. The purpose of this research was to test a brand extension model to examine (1) factors that may determine consumers’ esport brand extension evaluations, (2) the relationship between evaluations and extension brand equity, and (3) the impact of identification on extension brand equity. As esport is likely to continue to grow in size and popularity, there is a practical need for sport practitioners to understand esport as a brand extension strategy to attract esport fans and consumers to the parent brand. Furthermore, despite an abundance of brand extension research there are inconsistencies in the theoretical explanations and dimensions that determine how consumers evaluate brand extensions. To assess the practicality of an esport brand extension strategy in traditional sport, and to assess differing theoretical explanations of the factors that influence consumer evaluations of brand extensions, this study examined how potential consumers responded to an esport brand extension of an individual NBA franchise that joined the NBA 2K League in 2019. Surveys were electronically distributed to potential respondents who are representative of the parent brand’s target market and of the overall esport market. A conceptual model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) to determine the relationships between these factors

The Effects of Interactive Shared Book Reading RECALL Procedures on Preschoolers\u27 Friendship Development

Developing friendships is an important aspect in the lives of children. Children begin developing friendship related skills in toddlerhood and can begin maintaining these friendships by preschool-age. Few Tier 1 interventions exist to support children in preschool classrooms to develop these critical friendships. Interactive shared book reading is a common practice in early childhood classrooms that involves an adult reading a book to one or more students with embedded questions about the book to increase engagement and understanding with book themes. Reading to Engage Children with Autism in Language and Learning (RECALL) is an adaptation of interactive shared book reading which embeds distancing questions which allows students to connect the book themes to their own lives. This study sought to see if interactive shared book reading RECALL procedures with books with friendship themes increased friendship behaviors and perceptions between preschool dyads during play in centers within a single-case design

Experimental and analytical determination of characteristics affecting light aircraft landing-gear dynamics

An experimental and analytical investigation was conducted to determine which characteristics of a light aircraft landing gear influence gear dynamic behavior significantly. The investigation focused particularly on possible modification for load control. Pseudostatic tests were conducted to determine the gear fore-and-aft spring constant, axial friction as a function of drag load, brake pressure-torque characteristics, and tire force-deflection characteristics. To study dynamic tire response, vertical drops were conducted at impact velocities of 1.2, 1.5, and 1.8 m/s onto a level surface; to determine axial-friction effects, a second series of vertical drops were made at 1.5 m/s onto surfaces inclined 5 deg and 10 deg to the horizontal. An average dynamic axial-friction coefficient of 0.15 was obtained by comparing analytical data with inclined surface drop test data. Dynamic strut bending and associated axial friction were found to be severe for the drop tests on the 10 deg surface

Phytoplankton pigment specific growth and losses due to microzooplankton grazing in a northern Gulf of Mexico estuary during winter/fall

Microzooplankton dilution grazing experiments were carried out on 6 dates, over a 3 month period at 2 locations in the Bay of St. Louis, MS (BSL) to determine phytoplankton pigment specific growth rates under natural (µ0) and replete (µn) nutrient conditions and microzooplankton grazing. We hypothesized that diatoms would be the largest portion of the phytoplankton composition due to the winter/fall season and that these organisms would have the highest growth/grazing rates. We suspected that river flow from the Jourdan River would adversely affect growth and grazing rates of all phytoplankton classes. Growth rates of 5 phytoplankton accessory pigments (peridinin, fucoxanthin, alloxanthin, zeaxanthin, chlorophyll b) were identified. Intrinsic growth rates (µ0) were often zero or negative (range: -0.46–0.56/d) at the location nearest the Jourdan River, particularly for alloxanthin (e.g. cryptophytes) and peridinin (e.g. dinoflagellates). Significant grazing of chlorophyll a was observed on 3 of 6 dates while grazing on marker pigments was variable. The phytoplankton community appeared nutrient limited during all but one experiment (µ0\u3cµn). Intrinsic growth and grazing rates were correlated (p \u3c 0.05, Spearman Rank Order correlation). Peridinin- and alloxanthin-based growth and grazing rates were correlated positively with salinity suggesting a river influence on these 2 phytoplankton pigment classes. We conclude that in the BSL microzooplankton preferentially grazed on the phytoplankton class which had the highest intrinsic growth rate. We show that this is greatly affected by riverine input into the estuary and nutrient limitation