Family, Food, Nation, and Economy: Attachment to China and the Return (or Not) of Chinese Graduate Students in the Sciences and Engineering

For our project we sought to identify the meanings that male graduate students in the sciences and engineering mobilize when making plans for after they graduate. We conducted eight interviews and found that these students considered aspects such as family, food, nation, and economy when formulating their future plans. In particular, it appears that, now that China's economy is more similar to that of the United States, these students are allowed to reconsider values they have long held but were unable to make their priority. Furthermore, it also appears that there may be two groups among male graduate students in the sciences and engineering, if not graduate students in general -- those who return to China because they are attached to it and those who stay in the United States because they are not.unpublishe

A study of the influence of physical parameters on the drying of porous media

An experimental setup is developed to observe the mass transfer that occurs in the drying of saturated porous media due to bulk flow of gas. The analysis and equations are developed in a one-dimensional perspective, and focus on the convection and evaporation that results. Humidity readings are monitored at various locations and used in the analysis of the results. These procedures are used in test cases for Steel spheres and Ceramic beads both 4.5 mm in diameter at.25 L/min,.5 L/min,.75 L/min and 1 L/min flow rates; Drying times and humidity plots versus time for both steel and ceramic are witnessed to be similar in nature. A correlation for the drying time is developed through use of Sherwood number, Reynolds number, and Schmidt number. This is achieved by using the non-dimensional quantities and acquiring a linear regression and equation. The coefficients and exponent values of the general equation for the Sherwood number are then solved

A grounded theory of football fan community identity and co-production: Consumer roles in brand culture, meaning, and value co-creation in virtual communities

This study theorizes why and how consumers consume. Using a combined methodology, drawing upon Netnography and Grounded Theory, to study an online fan forum called RedAndWhiteKop, this thesis considers brand culture/meaning and value co-creation. The research site is a VC containing football fans who are views as stakeholders of the organisation Liverpool Football Club. Following emergent fit with woven in literature streams found in managerial marketing as Service-Dominant Logic and the consumer research field known as Consumer Culture Theory (CCT), analysis is conducted on fan consumer behaviours leading to submission of a Typology of Seven Consumer Community Cultural Co-creative Roles. The author reflects on existing theoretical consumer responses to market offerings of exit, voice, loyalty, and twist, found in literature; adopting these as four co-creative roles. This study contributes three new consumer co-creative roles of entry, re-entry, and non-entry. This study's findings are intended to follow an interpretive cultural anthropological axiology, attempting to provide context and time bounded interpretations of this setting rather than immutable laws or truths. Managerial implications of the typology are discussed. A key challenge for managers and marketers is awareness of these roles. This is potentially achievable through listening to online VCs, seeking ways to enhance brand value and service provision. This study finds that fans are continuously co-creating/co-producing Liverpool FC brand community culture together on places like the VC RedAndWhiteKop (RAWK). This appears to be occurring largely in separation from the brand company itself and is referred to in this study as 'Coincidental Co-creation'. However, this study finds agreement with much CCT and SDL which encourages greater interaction and dialogical relations between suppliers and consumers. This is possible through better online engagement or virtual engagement, with stakeholders such as consumers, pursuing the management-role of 'Collaborative Co-creation.