Corporate Reputation Management of Swedish Universities in Marketing Perspective - An Example of Lund University

Sweden was one of the most popular countries where many non-European students chose as the destination to study. However, since the introduction of tuition fees in the autumn of 2011, there has been a major reduction of enrolment in the total number of non-European students. Approximately all Swedish universities had a 33% decrease in the number of foreign students in 2011. However, Lund University had the smallest decrease of foreign students; only 18% compared with the other Swedish universities. Therefore, This thesis aims to explore the marketing promotion tactics model used by Lund University in order to generate potential non-European applicants and minimize the negative impact of the tuition fee policy. By categorizing and analyzing the marketing promotion strategies that help Lund University to maintain and improve its corporate reputation after the introduction of tuition fees, there are suggestions of different marketing promotion strategies for three major types of Swedish universities, comprehensive universities, specialized universities and university colleges, in order to minimize the negative impact of charging tuition fee policy.Furthermore, these marketing promotion strategies can also be adapted by universities in other countries to better manage their corporate reputation in order to attract more perspective applicants

High-Frequency Variabilityin Neutron-Star Low-Mass X-rayBinaries

Binary systems with a neutron-star primary accreting from a companion star display variability in the X-ray band on time scales ranging from years to milliseconds. With frequencies of up to ∼1300 Hz, the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) represent the fastest variability observed from any astronomical object. The sub-millisecond time scale of this variability implies that the kHz QPOs are produced in the accretion flow very close to the surface of the neutron star, providing a unique view of the dynamics of matter under the influence of some of the strongest gravitational fields in the Universe. This offers the possibility to probe some of the most extreme predictions of General Relativity, such as dragging of inertial frames and periastron precession at rates that are 16 orders of magnitude faster than those observed in the solar system and, ultimately, the existence of a minimum distance at which a stable orbit around a compact object is possible. Here we review the last 20 years of research on kHz QPOs, and we discuss the prospects for future developments in this field.<br/

Distribution of fast radio burst dispersion measures in CHIME/FRB Catalog 1: implications on the origin of FRBs

Recently, CHIME/FRB project published its first fast radio burst (FRB) catalog (hereafter, Catalog 1), which totally contains 536 unique bursts. With the help of the latest set of FRBs in this large-size catalog, we aim to investigate the dispersion measure (DM) or redshift ($z$) distribution of the FRB population, and solution of this problem could be used to clarify the question of FRB origin. In this study, we adopted the M\&E 2018 model, to fit the observed $z$ distribution of FRBs in Catalog 1. In the M\&E 2018 model, we are mostly interested in the $\Phi(z)$ function, i.e., number of bursts per proper time per comoving volume, which is represented by the star formation rate (SFR) with a power-law index $n$. Our estimated value of $n$ is $0.0_{-0.0}^{+0.6}$ ($0.0_{-0.0}^{+2.1}$) at the 68 (95) per cent confidence level, implying that the FRB population evolves with redshift consistent with, or faster than, the SFR. Specially, the consistency of the $n$ values estimated by this study and the SFR provides a potential support for the hypothesis of FRBs originating from young magnetars.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy Report

Can NbO Keep nbo Topology under Electrons? –Unveiling Novel Aspects of Niobium Monoxide at the Atomic Scale

A precise investigation of NbO has been carried out by advanced electron microscopy combined with powder and single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD). The structure of pristine NbO has been determined as Pm-3 m space group (SG) with a = 4.211 Å and the positions of Nb and O at the 3c and 3d Wyckoff positions, respectively, which is consistent with previous report based on powder XRD data. Electron beams induced a structural transition, which was investigated and explained by combining electron diffraction and atomic-resolution imaging. The results revealed that the electron beam stimulated both Nb and O atom-migrations within each fcc sublattice, and that the final structure was SG Fm-3 m with a = 4.29 Å, Nb and O at the 4a and 4b with 75 % occupancy and same chemical composition. Antiphase planar defects were discovered in the pristine NbO and related to the structural transformation. Theoretical calculations performed by density functional theory (DFT) supported the experimental conclusions