O assentamento passivo tem sido considerado um dos mais importantes requisitos para o sucesso de próteses implanto-suportada. Este estudo in vitro investigou a deformação do intermediário de prótese implantosuportada após o aperto do parafuso tanto do cilindro de Paládio-Prata como de Cobalto-Cromo. Um modelo mestre foi usado para simular uma mandíbula humana com cinco implantes. Extensômetros foram colados nas faces mesial e distal de cada intermediário para registrar as deformações causadas pelos cilindros após o aperto dos parafusos. Os intermediários foram montados sobre as réplicas dos implantes e os parafusos foram apertados com um torque de 20 Ncm e as leituras foram gravadas. Após este passo, os parafusos tanto dos cilindros de Paládio-Prata como de Cobalto-Cromo foram apertados com um torque de 10 Ncm e as leituras também foram gravadas. Estas medições foram repetidas por cinco vezes. O teste estatístico de Mann-Whitney foi aplicado aos resultados. Nenhuma diferença estatística foi encontrada entre as tensões geradas tanto pelos cilindros de Paládio-Prata como os de Cobalto-Cromo. No entanto, existiram diferenças com relação à qualidade da tensão. A deformação gerada pelo aperto dos parafusos dos cilindros de Cobalto-Cromo foi de compressão e o aperto dos parafusos dos cilindros de Paládio-Prata gerou forças de compressão e tração. / Passive fit has been considered one of the most important requirements for the success of implant supported prostheses. This in vitro study investigated the abutment deformation of an implant-supported prosthesis after screw tightening of palladium-silver and cobalt-chromium prosthetic cylinder. A master model was used to simulate a human mandible with five implants. The Strain gauges were attached on the sides of each abutment to capture deformations because of the cylinders screws after was tightened. The abutments were mounted onto implant replicas and the screws were tightened to a 20 Ncm torque, and the readings were recorded. After this step, palladiumsilver and cobalt-chromium prosthetic cylinders were tightened to a 10 Ncm torque and the readings were recorded. The measurements were repeated five times. Mann-Whitney statistical test was applied to the results. No statistical differences were found between the deformation generated by palladium-silver and cobalt-chromium prosthetic cylinders. However, there were differences relative to the quality of the strain. The deformation generated by screw tightness of the cobalt-chromium prosthetic cylinders was compressive while palladium-silver prosthetic cylinders generated compressive and tensile strain.

Judging goodness of fit in multidimensional scaling requires a comprehensive set of diagnostic tools instead of relying on stress rules of thumb. This article elaborates on corresponding strategies and gives practical guidelines for researchers to obtain a clear picture of the goodness of fit of a solution. Special emphasis will be placed on the use of permutation tests. The second part of the article focuses on goodness-of-fit assessment of an important variant of multidimensional scaling called unfolding, which can be applied to a broad range of psychological data settings. Two real-life data sets are presented in order to walk the reader through the entire set of diagnostic measures, tests, and plots. R code is provided as supplementary information that makes the whole goodness-of-fit assessment workflow, as presented in this article, fully reproducible.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Statistics / Shie-Shien Yang / Logistic regression model is a branch of the generalized linear models and is widely used in many areas of scientific research. The logit link function and the binary dependent variable of interest make the logistic regression model distinct from linear regression model. The conclusion drawn from a fitted logistic regression model could be incorrect or misleading when the covariates can not explain and /or predict the response variable accurately based on the fitted model- that is, lack-of-fit is present in the fitted logistic regression model. The current goodness-of-fit tests can be roughly categorized into four types. (1) The tests are based on covariate patterns, e.g., Pearson's Chi-square test, Deviance D test, and Osius and Rojek's normal approximation test. (2) Hosmer-Lemeshow's C and Hosmer-Lemeshow's H tests are based on the estimated probabilities. (3) Score tests are based on the comparison of two models, where the assumed logistic regression model is embedded into a more general parametric family of models, e.g., Stukel's Score test and Tsiatis's test. (4) Smoothed residual tests include le Cessie and van Howelingen's test and Hosmer and Lemeshow's test. All of them have advantages and disadvantages. In this dissertation, we proposed a partition logistic regression model which can be viewed as a generalized logistic regression model, since it includes the logistic regression model as a special case. This partition model is used to construct goodness-of- fit test for a logistic regression model which can also identify the nature of lack-of-fit is due to the tail or middle part of the probabilities of success. Several simulation results showed that the proposed test performs as well as or better than many of the known tests.

Teams have become the strategy of choice when the volume of work or task complexity exceeds the capacity of an individual. Therefore the ability for individuals to work in teams is vital in the modern workplace. Consequently a critical lever in facilitating performance of teams is the selection process used to set up teams or bring on board new team members. Teamwork and employee selection have been separately researched. No studies have examined why selection processes have not adapted to include a more formal approach to selection for teams. The information obtained from the literature served as the basis for construction of an a priori model for this study. This model shows the general approach used when selecting individuals through assessing alignment of skills and values, and it was used as a discussion framework during twenty expert interviews. The evaluation of the primary data allowed for validation and extension, for the creation of a more robust a posteriori model. The strategies and practices highlighted by this evaluation have been integrated into a model which can be used for assessing whether organisation specific selection processes are adequate for constructing teams that assist in building competitive advantage. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This study applies a configuration theoretic approach to understand the interplay between business strategy and relationship strategy. It is hypothesised that business relationships make their greatest contributions to both relationship performance and firm performance when the structure of a relationship is accurately aligned with the business strategy (i.e. configuration model 1) and the relationship strategy (i.e. configuration model 2) of a focal firm. The hypotheses are tested using four seemingly complementary approaches to fit consisting of profile deviation, moderation, mediation, and covariation. This study adopts both qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey to address the research questions. First, a total of 30 interviews with CEOs and other senior marketing managers in the UK and the USA were conducted to develop a new typology for relationship strategies (termed resource acquisition strategies). The five resource acquisition strategies consist of Money Bonds, New Market Bonds, Utilisation Bonds, Intellectual Bonds, and Credibility Bonds. A further quantitative pretest, with 311 full time MBA and international executive MBA students at Manchester Business School, supported the validity and reliability of this typology. To examine the two configuration models, a sample of 658 usable responses from the US service industries was collected through a web-based survey. In the first configuration model, the results of a profile deviation analysis confirmed the existence of an ideal relational configuration for each business strategy so that the degree of adherence to this ideal profile is significantly and positively related to performance variables. Several robustness tests gave further confidence to these findings. In addition, while the two neo-classical approaches to fit, profile deviation and covariation, were strongly supported, the results only loosely supported the operationalisation of fit from the two classical approaches, fit as moderation and mediation. In the second configuration model, the results of the profile deviation analyses indicated that strategic coalignment between the business relationship characteristics and the relationship strategy is a desirable property for performance enhancement. Several robustness tests supported this finding. Moreover, the results of examining the interplay between business strategy and relationship strategy, and linking it to performance, rejected the association between the two strategy types, implying that there are several alternative, equally effective, routes to success in building relationships. This study adds to the body of knowledge via providing sufficient evidence for the appropriateness of using configuration theory in the study of relationship marketing based phenomena, thus widening the scope of this theory. It also sheds new light on our understanding of relationship strategies which is further development of the resource-based view and Industrial Marketing and Purchasing approach. It contributes to the extant literature by investigating the degree and patterns of coalignment between relationship structure and both business strategy and relationship strategy. Moreover, juxtaposing alternative forms of fit added new insight into the fit methodology literature. From a managerial perspective, this study provides specific guidelines to help managers design their relationships in ways that are aligned with their strategic intent. It also suggests that marketing managers can usefully draw on configuration theory and profile deviation approach to optimise their benchmarking decisions.

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