Constant development of new technologies in a rapidly changing and globalized world decreases product life cycles. Time-to-market is crucial for commercial success. This development requires resources to create new knowledge and skills within organizations and together in networks with other firms. Open innovation is an alternative for developing innovative products and services that takes advantage of external knowledge and give access to new market channels. Even though services is vital for economic growth and fits well with the open innovation model, there is little research on open service innovation. The purpose of the thesis is to extend knowledge on how service innovations emerge and evolve in open innovation nets in industrial networks. It also aims to follow the development from idea to a commercial service. The thesis describes organization for service innovations to emerge and develop in open service innovation nets. It also explains the actors involved and their different innovator roles in the development from idea to commercial services. The present research provide insights how the organization of the development work might differ between incremental and radical service innovation. there is a range of organizing templates (archetypes) that fit different types of development work. Where previous research on open service innovation has focused on radical service innovation present research suggests that open service innovation also can be a strategy for incremental service innovation. Present research shows how actors take on multiple innovator roles in the innovation process of open service innovation. The more radical changes, the more roles each actor takes on. Present research add a new innovator role to previous research, The Constitutional Monarch. The Constitutional Monarch has a central position in all archetypes, but as the name implies, has no decision power. The research also sheds light on how the hub firm deploys not one but a portfolio of network orchestration processes dependent on the archetype used for open service innovation. / The development of new technologies in a rapidly changing and globalized world decreases product life cycles, time to market is crucial. Firms can no longer rely solely on internal knowledge in new product-/service development. They require external resources to create new knowledge and skills within their organizations. Developing innovative products and services that takes advantage of external knowledge and give access to new market channels is labeled open innovation. Even though the open innovation model is well known and widely spread, there is little research on open service innovation. The aim of the thesis is to understand and describe how service innovations emerge and evolve in open innovation nets (groups) in industrial networks, and to follow the development from idea to a commercial service. The thesis describes organization for service innovations to emerge and develop in open service innovation nets. It also explains the actors involved and their different innovation roles in the development of service innovations in open service innovation nets. The present research provide insights how the organization of the development work might differ between incremental and radical service innovation. It suggests that open service innovation can be a strategy not only for radical but also for incremental service innovation. The thesis also present a new innovator role to add to existing research, The Constitutional Monarch. The Constitutional Monarch has a central position as third-party facilitator catalyzing the innovation process but has no decision power.

Thesis (M.Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))---North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))---North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

"Diabetes mellitus" refers to a spectrum of conditions, which all present with hyperglycaemia as a common medical finding. Diabetes was once thought of as a single disease, but according to Setter et a/. (2000:378), it includes a heterogeneous group of disorders that are secondary to various genetic predispositions and precipitating factors. Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) accounts for 10 to 15% of all cases of diabetes mellitus and is clinically characterised by hyperglycaemia and a propensity to diabetic keto-acidosis. Its control requires chronic insulin treatment. Although it may occur at any age, it most commonly develops in childhood or adolescence and is the predominant type of diabetes mellitus diagnosed before age 30 (Beers & Berkow, 2004). Type 2 DM is usually the type diagnosed in patients older than 30 years of age. It is also commonly associated with obesity (Berkow, 1992:1108). The objective of this study was to review the usage and cost of antidiabetic drugs and to determine the influence of the pricing regulations on the cost of these drugs. This research can be classified as retrospective and quantitative. Data were obtained from a prescription claims database, and the study population consisted of all the antidiabetic prescriptions for the year 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004. The one-year period was divided into three study periods, namely January to April, May to August and September to December. Firstly diabetes mellitus was investigated in order to understand the disease and to determine the prevalence and treatment thereof. It was found that diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous disorder acquired from both genetic and environmental factors and that education for the general population, and in particular for the patients, is the key to preventing and controlling diabetes and reducing the complications arising from it. Secondly managed health care, pharmaco-economics and a drug utilisation review were investigated in order to understand these concepts. The influence of the South African Government on health care was discussed, including the new pricing regulations of medicine in South Africa. Thirdly, the utilisation patterns of antidiabetic drugs were reviewed, analysed and interpreted. It was determined that the oral antidiabetic agents are relatively less expensive than the insulins and that they are prescribed more frequently, and secondly that the biguanides presented almost half (49.4%, n = 116 138) of all the oral antidiabetic agents. It was also determined that the average cost of the oral antidiabetic drugs was between 21 .O% and 28.0% lower in 2004 than in 1996 - an indication that, despite inflation, the antidiabetic drugs were less expensive in 2004 than eight years ago in 1996. It was also calculated that the total cost savings in antidiabetic medication could have been R1 448 682.26 if the lower price of antidiabetic agents had been implemented during the period January to April. And finally it was also determined that further substantial "cost savings" could have been possible if all the innovator antidiabetic products had been substituted for less expensive generic antidiabetic products. Abstract / Thesis (M.Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

"Diabetes mellitus" refers to a spectrum of conditions, which all present with hyperglycaemia as a common medical finding. Diabetes was once thought of as a single disease, but according to Setter et a/. (2000:378), it includes a heterogeneous group of disorders that are secondary to various genetic predispositions and precipitating factors. Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) accounts for 10 to 15% of all cases of diabetes mellitus and is clinically characterised by hyperglycaemia and a propensity to diabetic keto-acidosis. Its control requires chronic insulin treatment. Although it may occur at any age, it most commonly develops in childhood or adolescence and is the predominant type of diabetes mellitus diagnosed before age 30 (Beers & Berkow, 2004). Type 2 DM is usually the type diagnosed in patients older than 30 years of age. It is also commonly associated with obesity (Berkow, 1992:1108). The objective of this study was to review the usage and cost of antidiabetic drugs and to determine the influence of the pricing regulations on the cost of these drugs. This research can be classified as retrospective and quantitative. Data were obtained from a prescription claims database, and the study population consisted of all the antidiabetic prescriptions for the year 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004. The one-year period was divided into three study periods, namely January to April, May to August and September to December. Firstly diabetes mellitus was investigated in order to understand the disease and to determine the prevalence and treatment thereof. It was found that diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous disorder acquired from both genetic and environmental factors and that education for the general population, and in particular for the patients, is the key to preventing and controlling diabetes and reducing the complications arising from it. Secondly managed health care, pharmaco-economics and a drug utilisation review were investigated in order to understand these concepts. The influence of the South African Government on health care was discussed, including the new pricing regulations of medicine in South Africa. Thirdly, the utilisation patterns of antidiabetic drugs were reviewed, analysed and interpreted. It was determined that the oral antidiabetic agents are relatively less expensive than the insulins and that they are prescribed more frequently, and secondly that the biguanides presented almost half (49.4%, n = 116 138) of all the oral antidiabetic agents. It was also determined that the average cost of the oral antidiabetic drugs was between 21 .O% and 28.0% lower in 2004 than in 1996 - an indication that, despite inflation, the antidiabetic drugs were less expensive in 2004 than eight years ago in 1996. It was also calculated that the total cost savings in antidiabetic medication could have been R1 448 682.26 if the lower price of antidiabetic agents had been implemented during the period January to April. And finally it was also determined that further substantial "cost savings" could have been possible if all the innovator antidiabetic products had been substituted for less expensive generic antidiabetic products. Abstract / Thesis (M.Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

The potato is a basic and rich food in carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins. It is worldwide consumed in a multiplicity of dish preparations. The Brazilian potato production is usually for the domestic market. Tubers are harvested year around, which is favorable to the industrialization process. Processing is a possibility to add value to potato tubers, to increase the availability and the consumption of innovative products. The objective of this work was to develop processing technologies for non-commercial tubers, aiming to add value to the products. The results of this work indicated that the application of minimum processing, dehydration and pickle technologies make possible to use non-commercial potato tubers to generate innovative products. Minimum processing products have good acceptance until the fifth day of storage. The dehydration makes possible to increase the shelf life, to reduce the food-preparation time, and to add value to the tubers. Small potato tubers can be used for pickle preparations to increase acceptability and quality, mainly in flavor, aroma and texture. / A batata é um alimento básico, rico em carboidratos, proteínas e vitaminas, e é mundialmente consumida numa multiplicidade de preparações culinárias. A produção brasileira de batata atende ao mercado interno, havendo disponibilidade de tubérculos durante todo o ano, favorecendo o processo de industrialização. Ao mesmo tempo em que o processamento é uma possibilidade de agregar valor aos tubérculos de batata, pode aumentar a oferta e o consumo de produtos inovadores. O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver tecnologias para o processamento de tubérculos não comercializáveis de batata, visando agregar valor aos produtos. Os resultados deste trabalho indicam que a aplicação das tecnologias processamento mínimo, de desidratados e conservas possibilita a utilização de tubérculos não comercializáveis de batata, para gerar produtos inovadores. Produtos minimamente processados têm boa aceitação até o quinto dia de armazenamento. A desidratação possibilita aumentar a vida de prateleira e a praticidade de preparação de vários produtos e agregar valor aos tubérculos. Tubérculos pequenos de batata podem ser utilizados para a produção de conservas, de elevada aceitabilidade e qualidade, principalmente em relação ao sabor, ao aroma e a textura.

An innovation is the process of making improvements by introducing new idea in the form of product or service. In recent years, successful societies are shifting their focus towards the realization and acceptance of these new ideas. Plug and Play business software platform is the first step to transform these ideas into reality. The study presented in this thesis introduced that a new business idea contains specific business role and consists of a set of capabilities or needs and any one of them. Plug and play business software platform mainly consists of three major business processes that are required to run this platform those are; business match making process, negotiating process and collaboration process. This study analyzes the process of business match making in detail and introduce an ontology based business match making process which will find new businesses in a hierarchical fashion based on their specific business roles. Match making ontology consists of three processes i.e. information collection process which is used to collect and register information, extraction process which is an optional process to extract set of capabilities and needs if actor/innovator is unable to define its business capabilities and needs in information collection process and finally finding and ranking process which will find a set of potential collaborators and then will rank that set based on ranking parameters collected in information collection process from actor/innovator. This study also presents a technological model which will provide foundation to develop plug and play business software platform. This model identifies business processes of the platform and presents each business process as a separate loosely coupled software module. This model divides the platform into two layers; the upper layer is called PnP layer and consists of PnP Client Service, PnP Community Service, Finding and Ranking Service, Negotiating Service and Collaboration Service; lower layer is called kernel layer and consists of Security management Service, Operational management Services and Communication Service. Finally partially implemented prototype, test data and results will be used to visualize the presented concept.

Text in English / Little is known about the current practice of the nurse practising as an independent private practitioner in South Africa. There is also limited information available about his/her needs for establishing and maintaining a private practice. In this exploratory, descriptive study the AFFIRM model was applied and specific data regarding the practice and needs of the nurse in private practice was collected through a questionnaire. Based on the analysed data, it would appear that the majority of private nurse practitioners are married females and fall into the age group below 44 years. Although a variety of nursing services are offered, quality control appears to be minimal. It was found that private nurse practitioners have specific learning needs particularly regarding business management skills, quality control and current nursing practices. Recommendations were made for the maintenance of standards in private practices and the introduction of short courses for nurses in private practice. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

Text in English / Little is known about the current practice of the nurse practising as an independent private practitioner in South Africa. There is also limited information available about his/her needs for establishing and maintaining a private practice. In this exploratory, descriptive study the AFFIRM model was applied and specific data regarding the practice and needs of the nurse in private practice was collected through a questionnaire. Based on the analysed data, it would appear that the majority of private nurse practitioners are married females and fall into the age group below 44 years. Although a variety of nursing services are offered, quality control appears to be minimal. It was found that private nurse practitioners have specific learning needs particularly regarding business management skills, quality control and current nursing practices. Recommendations were made for the maintenance of standards in private practices and the introduction of short courses for nurses in private practice. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

Thesis (M.Pharm. (Pharmacy Practice))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.