Exploring the factors affecting employee motivation to be innovative on product development: A case study for Woolworths South Africa

The global business industry is greatly affected by revolutionised human knowledge that requires a continued understanding of human preferences, needs and wants. Motivation to innovate must be understood when marketers aim for business success. Business success is seen in customer satisfaction and employee performance. The starting point for success is the miraculous ideas of employees. These ideas can be anything from the creation of a product or service to the execution of that product or service. Exploring the factors affecting the motivation to innovate on product development may lead marketers to business success by increased profitability, a bigger customer base, and retaining motivated skilled employees with the ability to innovate. This research is based on the South African multinational retailer Woolworths, with the focus on food and design packaging. A qualitative research approach was followed where data was collected from 11 participants using semi-structured individual face-to-face in-depth interviews and structured questionnaires. This study followed a manual thematic approach in an inductive manner. The needs of the participants in this study were categorised into three sections: Need for power, need for achievement and need for affiliation. This study also introduced McClelland's extended needs, and the motive for self-expression stood out among the cohort, confirming their creative skills. With the aid of individual components, domain-relevant skills, intrinsic task motivation and creativity stimulants, the study was able to link the presence of creativity to motivation and innovation. It confirmed that once the creativity intersection combines with organisational components there is a motivational synergy that produces innovation. The results of the study further indicated that internal motivation factors had a greater impact than external factors. As per organisational components, business values were shown to have an influence on the development of a product design. Legislation policies were deemed beneficial to forced creative thinking, yet it was also regarded as a limitation that can be improved through creative flexibility. Other factors that emerged were organisational socialisation, aligned stakeholder communication, sufficient market research, and respecting the emergence of seasonal trends. Future research should explore ways of improving organisational components that act as external influences on individual creative thinking. Moreover, future research should explore how effective training can help stakeholders learn and acquire the rights needs together with the continuous support from the business

Disability: the quest for reform

No Abstrac

A technological systems approach to the sick building syndrome

M.Tech. (Building Science)A cross sectional survey was conducted in an air-conditioned building and a naturally ventilated building to establish the prevalence of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) in these Johannesburg buildings. Numerous studies conducted in other countries have found that the prevalence of SBS symptoms are usually higher in sealed airconditioned buildings than naturally ventilated buildings. The study was conducted in two stages namely a questionnaire and indoor environmental survey which was conducted in both buildings. The results of the questionnaire survey showed that: ' All symptom prevalences in both building populations were very closely related, however the SBS symptoms in building B were more common than air-conditioned building. The indoor environmental survey measured the following parameters: carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, total nitrogen oxides, total non methane hydrocarbons, respirable dust, asbestos, sound levels. No measurements were above any threshold limit values or relevant scientifically acceptable standards, however in the air-conditioned building levels of some pollutants were higher than the naturally ventilated building. The study found that the prevailences of SBS type symptoms in the naturally ventilated building were higher than those in the air-conditioned building. The type of building population could also affect the outcome as has been found by researchers in the United Kingdom. The predominant population in the naturally ventilated building consisted of government employees which could have affected symptom prevalence

The Phelophepa Health Care Train: a pharmacoepidemiological overview of the Western Cape in 2009

Background: The Phelophepa Health Care Train is the only primary healthcare train in the world. Phelophepa is an innovative initiative that attempts to make a positive difference to primary healthcare in rural South Africa. The primary aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological and prescribing statistics for Phelophepa during the period that the train was stationed in the Western Cape in 2009.Methods: Phelophepa visited seven stations during the eight weeks that it was stationed in the Western Cape (between 6 April and 5 June 2009). Data were collected by workers and students on the train.Results: A total of 4 026 prescriptions were dispensed by the pharmacy on Phelophepa during the eight weeks. The average number of items per prescription was 3.51. The average cost per prescription was R65,48 (average cost of R18,64 per item). Patients only paid R5,00 per prescription. There was an increase in the number of pulmonary diseases/infections as well as ophthalmic conditions (especially dry eyes). Common problems experienced during the outreach to schools were ear infections and chest infections. Common conditions identified in Caledon, for example, were musculoskeletal problems, genitourinary conditions, fungal infections and eye disorders. Medication is prescribed mainly by nurses and includes those listed in the Primary Healthcare Essential Drug List.Conclusions: The statistics compiled by Phelophepa are a useful source of pharmacoepidemiological data about rural South Africa. It is recommended that more studies be conducted to detect especially epidemiological differences between regions visited, as well as changes over time.Keywords: Phelophepa; primary healthcare; epidemiology; Western Cape; prescription

Dispensing patterns of prescription-only antiobesity preparations in South Africa

Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the dispensing patterns of prescription-only antiobesity preparations in South Africa (classified as Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) group A08).Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional drug utilisation study using electronic dispensing records.Setting: Private sector community or retail pharmacies in South Africa.Subjects: Patients who received one or more antiobesity medications in ATC group A08 in 2013.Outcome measures: Number of patients by age and gender, prescribing frequency and cost of antiobesity prescriptions, and trends observed.Results: A total of 27 703 patients were prescribed 52 555 products for antiobesity medication during 2013. The average age of patients was 41.71 (SD = 11.37) years, with male patients older than female patients (46.09 and 40.02 years, respectively). More females (72.19%) were dispensed antiobesity products, and females received their prescriptions at a younger average age than male patients. Five active ingredients were dispensed. Phentermine was prescribed the most, accounting for 92.44% of all the antiobesity prescriptions, followed by orlistat (6.08%), phendimetrazine (1.36%), D-norpseudoephedrine (0.06%) and diethylpropion (0.05%). Most patients (79.44%) received only short-term therapy (one or two prescriptions for an antiobesity product during the year). A small percentage (0.30%) of young patients (18 years and younger) received antiobesity products, despite the fact that the safety of these products in children has not been proven.Conclusions: Most antiobesity preparations were prescribed to females. Phentermine was the most commonly dispensed active ingredient, followed by orlistat. Further studies on patient outcomes and the cost-effectiveness of these products should be conducted.Keywords: antiobesity medicine, dispensing patterns, drug utilisation review, DUR, pharmac

’n Ontleding van die reaksies in die media op die taalbesluite van die SAUK, 1994-1996

This article aims to interpret the responses of mother-tongue speakers of Afrikaans to the language policy changes instituted by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) from the first democratic election in 1994 to 1996, when the Final Constitution came into effect. To this end, and in order to establish an analytical framework for the future, the interpretation of media correspondence is made in terms of Schermerhorn’s minority theory (1970). In line with Schermerhorn’s theory, the conclusion is that the dominant group wished to converge but the minority group was averse to this, and a tendency towards resistance and conflict arose

Prescribing of meprobamate-containing combination analgesics in South Africa

Background: Meprobamate is a constituent of various combination analgesics in South Africa. Due to the lack of recent literature on the prescribing patterns of combination analgesics containing meprobamate and in the light of its possible higher re-scheduling, this study was conducted. The primary aim was to establish the extent of meprobamate-containing combination analgesic prescribing using a prescription claims database.Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional drug utilisation study was conducted on prescription data of a medical insurance scheme administrator in South Africa for 2011.Results: A total of 31,854 patients received 97,491 analgesics during 2011. Within ATC category N02B, 62.10% of prescriptions were for analgesic combinations, of which 20,326 prescriptions were for meprobamate-containing analgesics. A total of 10,404 patients (53.00% males) were prescribed meprobamate-containing analgesics. Overall, 20.85% of all analgesics prescribed were therefore meprobamate-containing analgesics. Patients who received meprobamate-containing analgesics were slightly older (39.52 years) compared with patients who received analgesics in general (33.61 years). Twenty-two trade names of meprobamatecontaining analgesics were prescribed. Seventeen of these products contained exactly the same strengths of active ingredients, namely 320 mg paracetamol, 8 mg codeine phosphate, 32 mg caffeine and 150 mg meprobamate. The originator product constituted 3.72% of prescribing frequency (average cost: R30.42) compared with 70.63% for the most popular generic (average cost: R11.65).Conclusions: Prescribers should be conscious of the benefits and risks of the active ingredient combinations. Further studies including patient and prescriber perceptions of different combinations are recommended.Keywords: combination analgesics, drug utilisation, meprobamate, polycomponent analgesics, prescribing pattern

Development of a zeolite washcoating technique for microchannel reactors

Microreactor technology is becoming an increasingly active research field in terms of chemical reaction engineering and process intensification. An important feature of microreactor technology is the requirement of a catalyst layer

Prescribing of methylphenidate to children and adolescents in South Africa: A pharmacoepidemiological investigation

Background: Pharmacoepidemiological studies on ADHD are limited in South Africa. The primary aim was to analyse the prescribing of methylphenidate to patients aged 18 years and younger in the private health care sector. Methods: Data for a one-month period in 2004 were obtained from a large medical aid administrator. Data were retrospectively analysed. The total database contained medicine records for 355 998 patients. Results: A total of 66 450 medicine items were prescribed to 34 733 patients aged 18 years and younger. A total of 1 028 patients received prescriptions for methylphenidate. Nearly 3% of children and adolescents therefore received prescriptions for methylphenidate. The average age of these patients was 10.87 (SD = 2.79) years. Most of these prescriptions (63.14%) were for children between seven and twelve years of age. Most prescriptions were for long-acting methylphenidate in 20 mg, 30 mg and 40 mg capsules (48.87%). The average prescribed daily dose (PDD) for methylphenidate was 19.27 (SD = 11.87) mg. The most popular average PDD was 20 mg (42.63% of all methylphenidate prescriptions). The highest average percentage of methylphenidate prescriptions was in the Western Cape (2.58%), and the lowest in the Northern Cape (0.63%). Conclusions: Numerous claims are being made that methylphenidate is overused or even abused, especially in children of school-going age. Mostprescriptions were issued in metropolitan areas in this study, but overuse could not be established. This study was a preliminary study that can lead to more comprehensive studies in future