Talion: A tragedy

Talion is a work of fiction which follows four characters - Freya, whose brother Ben has recently been killed; Slick, a young drug dealer; Abraham, a school teacher; and Nolwazi, a Pretoria police detective - as they deal with the aftermath of a shooting in which they are all involved. Told is short, punchy chapters, the novel follows Freya as she begins to stalk Abraham, who she identifies as her brother's killer, Nolwazi as she tries to solve Ben's murder, a case she cannot give her full attention to, Slick as he tries to maintain his criminality in an increasingly uncontrollable world and Abraham, who must deal with the trauma of his lost family and the desire to protect his only daughter, Sophie. Not a crime novel - Nolwazi will never know the full truth of the case she's been working - but a novel about those who commit crimes and solve them, Talion attempts to capture the dark and messy consequences of grief and revenge, while examining the isolating nature of anger. It is a novel about connections and disconnections, justice and injustice. The novel uses the city as its narrator, hopefully rendering a version of Pretoria not often seen in South African fiction. Written within the spirit of classic tragedy, the tightly controlled plot and heightened tension, as well as the brutal violence, strives to create something more than your average detective novel. A literary and genre hybrid that is both entertaining and unusual, suspenseful and complex

A cost benefit analysis in chronic medicine courier pharmacies : a case study

MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014The South African pharmaceutical market is seen as part of the so called "pharmerging" markets, together with countries like India, China and Brazil. These "pharmerging" markets are the fastest growing markets within the global pharmaceutical industry. The distribution of chronic medicine in South Africa is a growing market, as the disease burden in South Africa continues to escalate, with the incidence of chronic conditions growing at a rapid rate. The study will focus on one of South Africa’s pioneer courier medication service providers, with more than twenty years’ experience in the healthcare industry. The company will be referred to as Pharmacy X. The mission of Pharmacy X is to provide the right chronic medication, to the right patient, at the right place, at the right time. It is imperative to ensure that a patient receives his/her chronic medication on the scheduled date of delivery to ensure compliance and customer satisfaction. To achieve a competitive advantage, companies increasingly depend on their supply chain partners to minimize cost and improve business processes. The core value chain activity of outbound logistics has been outsourced by Pharmacy X to several courier companies. This study will aim to understand the importance of the outbound logistics function within the value chain of the company and the costs involved with the outsourcing of the function. The primary objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of an in-house courier operation in the Bloemfontein area versus the current outsourced courier model. In order to achieve the primary objective of the study, several secondary objectives were set and reached throughout the four chapters of this study. The study applied cost benefit analysis techniques to determine the feasibility of the Bloemfontein courier investment project. All the cost benefit analysis techniques concluded that the Bloemfontein courier investment will be a financial viable operation. The Bloemfontein courier investment will increase shareholder value over the period of the project compared to the current outsourced model. The contribution of this case study to determine the feasibility of a courier operation investment can be of value to Pharmacy X. The current projected total courier cost of Pharmacy X for the 2013 financial year amounts to more than a third of the total operational cost. The findings within the case study can lead to a greater national roll out of courier operations in order to reduce costs and increase profit margins for Pharmacy X.Master