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The purpose of this paper is to determine the nano‐sized characteristics of SU‐8 polymer micro‐electromechanical systems airflow metrology turbines samples. These microturbines were made to be the first using axial airflow for low air pressure response. This polymer may be affected during curing by UV and heat baking, as well as confined heat from laser ablation. Defects in the resin matrix may influence the material quality and hence the final turbine performance.

Small angle neutron scattering investigations were performed using the instrumentation of the Budapest Research Reactor.

The average sizes of the voids/cracks in the resin matrix of the turbines were determined and allowed the viability of making smaller even thinner rotor blades for higher spin and electrical output capability to be considered.

The obtained results have advanced the industrial applicability of the adopted technique in the considered sector of polymer analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to predict a global quality index of a ring spun yarn whose count Ne is ranging between 7.8 (76.92 tex) and 22.2 (27 tex). To fulfill this goal, a hybrid model based on artificial neural network (ANN) and fuzzy logic has been established. Fiber properties, yarn count and twist level are used as inputs to train the hybrid model and the output would be a quality index which includes the major physical properties of ring spun yarn.

The hybrid model has been developed by means of the application of two soft computing approaches. These techniques are ANN which allows the authors to predict four important yarn properties, namely: tenacity, breaking elongation, unevenness and hairiness and fuzzy expert system which investigates spinner experience to give each combination of the four yarn properties an index ranging from 0 to 1. The prediction of the model accuracy was estimated using statistical performance criteria. These criteria are correlation coefficient, root mean square error, mean absolute error and mean relative percent error.

The obtained results show that the constructed hybrid model is able to predict yarn quality from the chosen input variables with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

Until now, there is no sufficiently information to evaluate and predict the global yarn quality from raw materials characteristics and process parameters. Therefore, this present paper’s aim is to investigate spinner experience and their understanding about both the impact of various parameters on yarn properties and the relationship between these properties and the global yarn quality to predict a quality index.

This article attempts to synthesize the contributions of Jagdish Sheth to the discipline. This is done by following the development of the field in various subdisciplines such that one can observe the impact Sheth's thinking has had on the field. This is the career of an “accidental marketer” who started as a social scientist, got interested in buyer behavior, and made his mark in that field. Noticing similarities between organizational buyer behavior and individual buyer behavior, he ventured into that field too. As a visionary, he started developing theories in international marketing in the seventies, which was a popular area that time. Similarly, he published a handbook on Customer Relationship Marketing and worked in the area before it became a major area of emphasis. As a multifaceted person, he has contributed to the practitioners through books and consulting projects. However, this article focuses mainly on his academic contributions including his research, teaching/mentoring, and his philanthropic activities.

Arguing that increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICT) is shifting market power from suppliers to consumers, the ensuing consumer empowerment is presented as an unintended consequence of marketing. Marketing implications arising from this consumer empowerment are examined in terms of a process where control and management by suppliers over consumer access and enablement are increasingly difficult.

Consumer empowerment is examined historically, using quality gap analysis to capture an ongoing power struggle between consumers and suppliers. This draws out the limitations of current marketing and management strategies. The different forms of marketing challenges in this new environment are discussed.

The role of marketing strategies in fostering controlled consumer empowerment is reflected in the development of information‐based consumer‐centric marketing strategies that seek to enable and control delegation. In designing such strategies, consumers' familiarity with and use of ICT are both strengthened and widened, emphasising the uncontrolled nature of the consumer empowerment process.

The approach is literature‐based, focussing on the ICT enabled process. It does not address the psychology of empowerment. Since, consumer empowerment may imply switching suppliers in search of better value propositions, business cannot afford to ignore it, justifying the need for further research of both elements.

Marketing strategy rests on a control premise and the analysis of the consumer empowerment process implies that current customer‐centric strategies are operating under a false premise. There is a need to regain control over the marketing process, that is, to either manage the technological empowerment of consumers, or to devise new strategies cognisant of the possibility that such technological empowerment cannot be managed. The valuation of consumer loyalty in this environment rises significantly.

An historical perspective to consumer empowerment exposes the tensions between suppliers and consumers arising from ICT usage. A separation of consumer access and enablement from control and management by suppliers is shown to have important marketing strategy design implications.