Apples Financial Statement Analysis Essay Example

Apples Financial Statement Analysis Essay It also sells a variety of third-party Macintosh (Mac), iPhone and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and various other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores, and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. It sells its products worldwide through its online stores, its retail stores, its direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. The Group operates in the United States, Europe and Japan. Key Factors Influencing the Current Financial Condition From the Thomson Financial Annual Financial Summary, we can get that total assets, total liabilities, net income, net cash flow operating/investing/financing and dividends per share are the key factors influencing the current financial condition and results of operations. Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) has decided to postpone the launch of its iPad in international markets to the end of May 2010 (initially expected to be launched by the end of April). We will write a custom essay sample on Apples Financial Statement Analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Apples Financial Statement Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Apples Financial Statement Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The company cited strong U. S. demand, which exceeded supply, as the reason for the postponement. The company is expected to announce international pricing and begin taking online pre-orders on May 10. International markets have become an important driver of growth for AAPL as it has increased its presence in international markets via iPhones and iPods. International sales accounted for 58% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2010 (most recent quarter) compared to 46% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2009. Apples shares are now trading at an all-time high, as investors are more focused on the rising demand for the iPad, accepting the near-term delay in shipments. According to sources, Vodafone (Nasdaq: VOD) will be the carrier for iPad in Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Telefonicas (NYSE: TEF) O2 will offer the iPad in the UK only while France Telecoms (NYSE: FTE) Orange will offer the iPad in France, UK, Spain and Switzerland. All the three carriers will offer their pricing plans by the end of May. We believe that the international rollout will help it grow higher revenues in 2010 and higher margins from additional sales. The iPad is available only in the U. S. for now and is priced at just $499 for the 16GB model, going up to $599 for the 32GB model and $699 for 64GB (only for the Wi-Fi model). The 3G version of the same device will sell for $629 and will not include monthly fees to ATT (NYSE: T) for wireless service. Recently, market research firm iSuppli estimated that the raw materials used for the 16 GB WiFi iPad will cost $260, compared to its earlier estimate of $230. This implies that overall gross margins for the iPad may be lower than previously expected. Part II. Competitors Asustek Computer Inc and Cisco Systems Inc are the two companies in the peer set. Asustek Computer Inc operates in Semiconductors industry. The Groups principal activities are designing, manufacturing and selling computer products and other electronic products. Products include computer motherboards, computer software, supplemental and upgrading cards, optical instruments, wired and wireless telecommunication apparatus. Operations are carried out in Taiwan, Asia Pacific and other countries. The Group exports its products to Canada, Asia Pacific, the United States of America, Europe and South Africa. Cisco Systems Inc operates in Telecommunications Equipment industry. The Groups principal activities are to design, manufacture and sell Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology (IT) industry and provide services associated with these products and their use. The Groups products are installed at enterprise businesses, public institutions, telecommunications companies, commercial businesses and personal residences. The Group offers its products in five categories: Switches, Advanced Technologies, Routers, Service, and Other. Its service offerings include technical support services and advanced services. It operates in the United States, Canada, European Markets, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, Russia, Asia Pacific and Japan. During Fiscal 2009, the Group acquired PostPath, Inc. , Pure Digital Technologies, Inc. , Pure Networks, Inc. and Tidel Software, Inc. Part III. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Net sales consist primarily of revenue from the sale of hardware, software, digital content and applications, peripherals, and service and support contracts. The Company recognizes revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred, the sales price is fixed or determinable, and collection is probable. Product is considered delivered to the customer once it has been shipped and title and risk of loss have been transferred. For most of the Company’s product sales, these criteria are met at the time the product is shipped. For online sales to individuals, for some sales to education customers in the U. S. , and for certain other sales, the Company defers recognition of revenue until the customer receives the product because the Company retains a portion of the risk of loss on these sales during transit. The Company recognizes revenue from the sale of hardware products (e. g. Mac computers, iPhones, iPods and peripherals), software bundled with hardware that is essential to the functionality of the hardware, and third-party digital content sold on the iTunes Store in accordance with general revenue recognition accounting guidance. The Company recognizes revenue in accordance with industry specific software accounting guidance for the following types of sales transactions: (i)  standalone sales of software products, (ii)  sales of software upgrades and (iii)  sales of software bundled with hardware not essential to the functionality of the hardware. Part IV. Corporate Financial Filings The 8-K appears to be extremely useful to understand the current condition of AAPL. California—April 20, 2010—Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2010 second quarter ended March  27, 2010. The Company posted revenue of $13. 50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3. 07 billion, or $3. 33 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $9. 08 billion and net quarterly profit of $1. 62 billion, or $1. 79 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 41. 7 percent, up from 39. 9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 58 percent of the quarter’s revenue. Apple sold 2. 94  million Macintosh computers during the quarter, representing a 33 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 8. 75  million iPhones in the quarter, representing 131 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 10. 89  million iPods during the quarter, representing a one percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. We’re thrilled to report our best non-holiday quarter ever, with revenues up 49 percent and profits up 90 percent,† said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. â€Å"We’ve launched our revolutionary new iPad and users are loving it, and we have several more extraordinary products in the pipeline for this year. † â€Å"Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2010, we expect revenue in the range of about $13. 0 billion to $13. 4 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $2. 28 to $2. 39,† said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. Part V. Quality of Earnings AAPL | |Earnings Quality Assessment (EQA) | |Criteria |Score | |Revenue recognition issues |5 | |Gross margin/sales ratio |4 | |Operating earnings/sales |5 | |Earnings variability |4 | |CF from operations exceeds NI |3 | |Expense recognition issues |4 | |Operating leases |3 | |RD |4 | |Pension expenses and gains |4 | |Employee stock option expense |3 | |Gain (loss) from asset sales |3 | |Acquisitions/dispositions |4 | |Discontinued operations |4 | |Ongoing restructuring changes 4 | |One-time items |5 | |Extraordinary items |4 | |Accounting changes |5 | |Reverses prior charges/provisions |4 | |Tax-rate percentage |4 | |Share buyback/issuance |2 | |Total Rating |78 | |Total Possible Rating |100 | |Qu ality |Good AB | According to the score, it is believed that AAPL is classed as a good company. Part VI. Financial Health The analysis of financial data employs various techniques to emphasize the comparative and relative importance of the data presented and to evaluate the position of the firm. These techniques include ratio analysis, common-size analysis, study of differences in components of financial statements among industries, review of descriptive material, and comparisons of results with other types of data. As to the AAPL, current ratio determines short-term debt-paying ability. The traditional benchmark is 2. 00. The trend of this ratio becomes better from 2007 to 2009. It indicates that AAPL has a good short-term debt-paying ability in year 2009. Receivables turnover indicates the liquidity of receivables. From year 2007 to 2009, it presents a positive trend of receivables turnover, and it shows that AAPL becomes better in it. Estimate the operating cycle: The time period between acquisition of goods and the final cash realization from sales. Operating Cycle= Accounts Receivable Turnover in Days + Inventory Turnover in Days. From year 2007 to 2009, the ratios are 65. 61, 57. 78 and 54. 31. In year 2009, the company is in a good condition. The competitor Cisco Systems Inc also has a good financial condition. From 2007 to 2009, the trend of current ratio becomes better, from 2. 36 to 3. 24. Moreover, the receivables turnover has a large improvement from year 2007 to 2009. And it seems that company is in a stable condition from the three years data. Part VII. Overall Assessment AAPL is in a good financial condition and in a stable condition. From the common-size financial statements, we know that the three companies are all in a good condition. Appendices

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of Majorana Hortensis Grown in Uttaranchal Essays

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of Majorana Hortensis Grown in Uttaranchal Essays Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of Majorana Hortensis Grown in Uttaranchal Paper Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of Majorana Hortensis Grown in Uttaranchal Paper Chemical composition of the essential oil of Majorana hortensis grown in Uttaranchal Shishir Kumar Singh Abstract GLC and GC-MS Analysis was done to analyse the hydrodistilled essential oil of Majorana hortensis grown in Uttranchal state of India. The 36 compounds could be identified out of 50 by their mass spectra accounting for 93% of the oil. The major ones are trans-sabinene hydrate (41. 2%), terpinen-4-ol (18. 5%), cis-sabinene hydrate (9. 3%), a-terpineol (3. 8%), p-cymene (3. 6%) and sabinene (3. 0%) 1. Introduction Majorana hortensis syn. O. ajorana is a perennial herb and native of Egypt and eastern Mediterranean countries. The aerial parts of the plants are used for oil, which has a lot of uses in flavour perfumery and pharmaceutical industry. It is also used as a spice and condiment as well as a flavouring agent in food industry. The plant has been used for centuries in the Mediterranean to help people maintain good health. As with many folk remedies, modern science has be en late to the table starting research on this incredible plant. Recent laboratory studies have confirmed the powerful antibiotic, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties of the essential oil. The composition of oil from various related plant species have been investigated by number of workers (Lawrence, 1989;Nykanen, 1986; Komaitis, Infanti-Papatragianni, and Melissari-Panagiotou, 1992; Baser et al. , 1993, Ravid and Putievsky, 1986; Vera and Chan Ming, 1999; Pande and Mathela, 2000). The composition varies from country to country and generally two types of oil forms exist. In one category the major components are terpinen-4-ol and sabinene hydrate whereas another form contains thymol and/or carvacrol as major constituent. Sarer et al. , 1982; Baser et al. , 1993). In the present report GLC and GC-MS analysis was done of the oil obtained from freshly harvested aerial parts of Majorana hortensis grown at CRC Purara, Bageshwar-Uttranchal. 2. Materials and Methods The aerial part of flowering plant grown at CIMAP, Resource Centre, Bageshwar situated in Uttaranchal state of India was harvested in bright sunlight and hydro-distilled in Clevenger type apparatus for 4 hrs. The e ssential oil was analysed on Perkin Elmer auto XL GC using a PE-5 column (50m x 0. 32mm x 0. 5m film) with temperature programme from 100 °C to 280 °[emailprotected] °C/ min, initial hold 2min, hydrogen at 10psi inlet pressure; injector 220 °C, detector FID 300 °C. Data was processed on turbochrome navigator software. GC-MS analysis was performed on Perkin Elmer turbomass system using identical column and temperature programme, He as a carrier at 10 Psi. Compound identification is based on Wiley and NIST libraries search. 3. Results and discussion The hydro-distillation of aerial parts of Majorana hortensis produced a colorless essential oil with a yield of 0. 4% on fresh weight basis. In a related species O. vulgare grown in India the oil yield was 0. 1% (Kaul et al. 1996; Pande Mathela, 2000). However, the Origanum majorana from Reunion Island reported to have  »1% of oil (Vera Chane-Ming. 1999). The compounds identified are given in the table –1 along with their elution time on PE-5 column used in the analysis. The 36 compounds could be identified out of 50 by their mass spectra accounting for 93% of the oil. The major ones are trans-sabinene hydrate (41. 2%), terpinen-4-ol (18. 5%), cis-sabinene hydrate (9. 3%), a-terpineol (3. %), p-cymene (3. 6%) and sabinene (3. 0%). The oil reported from Reunion Island contains low concentration of sabinene hydrate and nearly two times higher terpinen-4-ol than the oil reported in present study. The Majorana oil reported to exist in two chemotypes. The first one is rich in monoterpene alcohol (terpinen-4-ol, sabinene hydrates) and the other rich in phenols. The present study has shown that the oil obtained from U ttaranchal belongs to monoterpene alcohol chemotype. Similar type of oil has also been reported from Moroccan and European material. The oil composition of Origanum majorana from Turkey has high carvacrol/thymol content (Baser et al. , 1993) and very low concentrate of sabinene hydrate terpinen-4-ol. Further work of improvement of this crop is in progress. Acknowledgements The authors are thankful to the DBT CSIR for providing the financial support. References Lawrence, B. M. (1989). Progress in essential oils. Perf. Flav. , 14, 29-41. Nykanen, I (1986). High-resolution gas chromatography- mass spectrometric determination of the flavour composition of wild marjoram (Origanum vulgare L. ) cultivated in Finland. Z. Lebensm. Unters. Forch. , 183, 267-272. Komaitis M. E. , Infanti- Papatragianni, N. , Melissari-Panagiotou, E. (1992). Composition of essential oil of Marjorana L. Food Chemistry, 45, 117-118 Baser,K. H. C. , Kirimer, N. , and Tumen, G. (1993). Composition of essential oil of Origanum majorana L. from Turkey. J. Essent. Oil Res. , 5, 577-579. Ravid, U. , and Putievsky, E. (1986). Carvacrol and thymol chemotypes of East Mediterranean wild labiatae herbs. Progress in Essential Oil Research, E. J. Brunke, Walter de Gruyter Edit. , Berlin. Vera R. R. , and Chan Ming, J. (1999). Chemical composition of the essential oil of marjoram (Origanum majorana L. ) from reunion island. Food Chemistry, 66, 143-145. Pande, C. , and Mathela, C. S. , (2000). Essential oil composition of Origanum vulgare L. ssp. vulgare from the Kumaon Himalayas. J. Essent. Oil Res. , 12, 441-442. Sarer,E. , Scheffer, J. J. C. , Svedsen, A. B. (1982). Monoterpenes in the essential oil of Origanum majorana. J. Med. Plant. Res. Planta Medica, 46, 236-239 Kaul K. V, Singh V and Sood P. R. (1996). Essential oil of Origanum vulgare L. from North India. J. Essent. Oil Res. , 8, 101-103 Table-1 Essential oil composition and (%) of Majorana hortensis S/N Compound RT (min) Area% 1. a-Thujene 6. 53 0. 1 2. a-Pinene 6. 77 0. 2 3. Sabinene 7. 69 3. 0 4. b-Myrcene 7. 82 0. 5 5. b-Pinene 7. 90 tr 6. a-Phellandrene 8. 51 0. 2 7. a-Terpinene 8. 84 0. 8 8. p-Cymene 9. 06 3. 6 9. Limonene 9. 22 0. 4 10. b-Phellandrene 9. 31 0. 3 11. 1,8-Cineol 9. 41 tr 12. g-Terpinene 10. 12 1. 0 13. cis-Sabinene hydrate 10. 48 9. 3 14. a-Terpinolene 11. 17 0. 4 15. Linalool 11. 28 0. 7 16. trans-Sabinene hydrate 11. 64 41. 2 17. 2,4-Hexadiene-1-ol 12. 31 0. 5 18. cis-Sabinene hydrate acetate 2. 43 1. 4 19. trans-Sabinene hydrate acetate 13. 08 0. 6 20. 7-Methyl-3, 4-Octadiene 13. 87 0. 1 21. Borneol 14. 41 0. 1 22. Terpinen-4-ol 14. 69 18. 5 23. a-Terpineol 15. 10 3. 8 24. Nerol 16. 48 0. 3 25. Cuminaldehyde 17. 28 tr 26. Geraniol 17. 31 0. 1 27. Linalyl acetate 17. 50 0. 9 28. Piperitone 17. 88 1. 2 29. Sabinyl acetate 19. 12 1. 0 30. Carvacrol 19. 54 0. 2 31. Neryl acetate 21. 43 tr 32. Ger anyl acetate 22. 74 0. 2 33. b-Caryophyllene 25. 28 0. 3 34. a-Humulene 26. 71 0. 1 35. Spathulenol 32. 20 0. 2 36. Caryophyllene oxide 32. 33 1. 1 tr = 0. 1%

Les Miserables By Victor Hugo -Social Injustice Essay

Les Miserables By Victor Hugo -Social Injustice - Essay Example These themes are stressed by Hugo’s thoughts and views on politics, religion and justice; this forms a major part of the discourse. Though each of the mentioned themes are evident throughout the novel, they become more clearer on following certain characters who form the spine of the novel. These are, Jean Valjean and Javert, it is through these characters that we witness the extent of social injustice in early France. Social Injustice in Early France Social justice takes many forms; however, this study restricts its analysis to the three forms of social injustice highlighted by Hugo. Hugo in his book Les Miserables brings into focus three areas that require urgent attention, education, criminal justice and the welfare of women. These also happen to constitute a major part of social injustice not only as discussed by Hugo but also as highlighted by different social definitions. A look at France at the time of Hugo’s writing reveals a largely stratified society which was yet to receive the promises and aspirations of those who participated in the French revolution of 1789. It is understood that proper governance which would inevitably translate to social justice was one of the major driving force prior to the French Revolution. Therefore, it was hoped that with the revolution social justice would be achieved. Social justice in this regard referred to equitable distribution of resources, observance of equity in terms of gender and equal employment opportunities. However, close to a century after the revolution this still remained a pipe dream as highlighted in Hugo’s book. French socialists largely blamed capitalism; they argued that capitalism was an immoral system. They looked at capitalism as the reason behind the long working hours, child labor, poverty of working people, unemployment, income inequalities, social injustice and multiple other problems (Pejovich 18). It is these very concerns that form the backdrop of Hugo’s Les Mise rables, he is concerned of the rampant inequality and disregard of human equity. This particular concern is highlighted in the case of Fantine a young energetic woman. She is left to care for her child after the child’s father deserts them; she undergoes immeasurable suffering including a six month jail term for defending her dignity. This is just one instance of injustice against women in the novel; other injustices identified by the French sociologists are rife in Hugo’s book. Child labour is seen in the case of Cosette, Fantine’s daughter who is forced to work by her custodians who still go ahead to demand money for her upkeep. In short, early France was driven by struggles between two main stratifications, the rich and the poor. The rich decided how the poor would lead their lives and provided for systems which completely ignored the rights and privileges of the poor. Most notably, they used law enforcers to continually suppress the poor in a bid to ensure s ubordination. The face of such force in Hugo’s Les Miserables is Javert, Javer was born of a convict father but later denounced both his parents. He chose to work in prison as a guard; at one point he was mandated to guard against a chain gang whose one of the members happened to be Jean Valjean. Javert later on joins the police force, through his new position he is mandated to rid the city off offenders. One of the offenders is Jean Valjean who is apparently a repeat

Fabric Dye Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fabric Dye - Assignment Example Apart from these materials, a host of other process chemicals are included. These are; acids such as formic and acetic, alkalis such as sodium carbonate, NaOH and potassium hydroxide, bleaches such as sodium chlorite, sodium hypo chlorite and hydrogen peroxide, dyes such as pigment, disperse and vat, salts such as sodium chloride, stabilizers from sodium nitrate, sodium silicate and organic stabilizers, auxiliary finishes such as softener and fire retardant. There are various methods that are used for textile dyeing. First there is application of color by use of various techniques of dyeing for various kinds of fiber and at various phases of the textile production procedure. These techniques include; stock dyeing, direct dyeing, yarn dyeing, top dyeing, piece dyeing, dope dyeing, piece dyeing, garment dyeing and solution pigmenting (Smith, McClure, 2003). There following are processes that are generally used when dyeing textile materials; batch and continuous, semi-continuous, and pigment dyeing process. Batch dyeing process is also known as exhaust dyeing and is the most common and popular technique for dyeing textile materials. The word exhaust is used to refer to this technique since this process allows dye to be transferred gradually from a moderately huge volume dye bath to the material being dyed. It also takes a longer time. Thus the dye is intended to ‘exhaust’ starting from the dye bath to the material. In this technique, textile materials can be readily dyed at any phase during their assembling into the preferred textile product which comprises of yarn, fiber, garment or fabric. Some of the machines used in batch dyeing process can perform at temperatures of 1000 0 C. Batch dyeing technique can be optimized by; first replacing conservative overflow-flood rinsing techniques with processes like drain and fill or use of other techniques such as smart rinsing (especially for fabrics), suitable recycling of rinsed water fo the subsequent

Old Man Coyote Makes the World- Crow Story -American Indian Myths and Essay

Old Man Coyote Makes the World- Crow Story -American Indian Myths and Legends - Essay Example This channel of communication and mutual understanding was evident from the very beginning of the story where Old Man Coyote wanted someone to talk to rather than someone to rule over. In his discourse with the ducks, He sought their advice rather than impose his own will upon them. Additionally, Old Man Coyote is not the all knowing creator which is commonly presented in western mythos since he does not know if there is anything in the world other than water, he does not even know that ducks can stay underwater for a long period of time. The image of the creator matches the idea of a very powerful being, but the being is not all knowing. Moreover, Old Man Coyote is not very well acquainted with many different ideas of society and social existence which were taught to him by other creatures. For instance, he does not understand war or the need for was as a social conflict that allows certain problems to be settled once and for all or as a means to improve a person’s social standing. Cirape is the character which comes across as the individual which has the wisdom of a god but does not have the strength to put his thoughts into action. Finally, the relationship which the creator animal has with other animals brings about an image of a united family since the characters address each other as younger and elder brothers. The image of family is essential to the progress of the storyline since even characters that are not cooperative and act in hostility are not killed off or banished. The case of the Bear is a predominant one since his rebellion does not take him to hell; rather he is supposed to hibernate for the winter months while the other animals can stay awake. In conclusion, the creation story of the native American mythology is an interesting work since it does give significant insights into native American culture as well as the relationships that a society should have as a result of following that particular culture. Of course

Violence Women Pakistan

Violence Women Pakistan Media briefing: Violence against women in Pakistan Subject: [women-rights] Media briefing: Violence against women in Pakistan Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 18:18:11 +0100 * News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International * 16 April 2002 ASA 33/010/2002 62/02 The government of Pakistan vigorously condemns the practice of so-called honour killings. Such acts do not find a place in our religion or law. Killing in the name of honour is murder and will be treated as such. General Pervez Musharraf, April 2000 Introduction Women in Pakistan are severely disadvantaged and discriminated against. Violence against women in the home and community as well as in the custody of law enforcement officials is on the rise. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) found that in 2000 a woman was raped every two hours, and that hundreds were victims of honour killings, domestic violence, burnings and murder. While a few positive changes have taken place over the last couple of years, the government is still failing to protect women from these abuses. Many cases receive media attention and the involvement of human rights organizations, but they are quickly forgotten. Other women suffer abuses in silence for years, die violent deaths and get buried in unmarked graves. Womens awareness of their rights has increased thanks to the work of Pakistani womens rights groups. However most women remain ignorant of even their most basic rights. A newspaper survey in 2000 reported that almost 90% of women did not realise that they had any rights at all. In its fifth report on women in Pakistan, Amnesty International summarizes the current governments commitments to uphold womens rights, describes cases of abuses in the community, in the home and in custody and the failure of the criminal justice system. The report also sets out recommendations. Family and community Domestic violence, which includes physical abuse, rape, acid throwing, burning and killing, is widespread in Pakistan. Few women would complain under legal provisions relating to physical injury. For those who do take the step, police and the judiciary usually dismiss their complaints and send them back to their abusive husbands. Very poor women, women from religious minorities and women bonded labourers are particularly vulnerable to violence in the community and home. According to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, over 90% of married women report being kicked, slapped, beaten or sexually abused when husbands were dissatisfied by their cooking or cleaning, or when the women had failed to bear a child or had given birth to a girl instead of a boy. Another organization stated that one woman is murdered and one woman is kidnapped in Pakistan every day. ? The case of Shukria On 22 October 2001, Sharif in village Goharpur, Sheikhupura district, Punjab province, tied his wife Shukrias wrists and ankles with rope, poured kerosene over her and with the help of his mother and sister set her on fire. The couple had been married for ten years. As they remained childless, Sharif wanted to marry another woman but Shukria did not agree to this. Neighbours tried to rescue Shukria but she died shortly afterwards in hospital. Women continue to die painful deaths in so-called stove burn accidents in the kitchen. The HRCP estimates that less that 20% of deaths lead to arrests and most suspects are released within days. Acid-throwing is on the increase. Acid burns do not usually kill but result in hideous disfiguration and suffering, destruction of self-esteem, and confine women to the home. The government has done little to restrict the sale of acid or to punish those who use it to injure women. Forced marriage of young girls continues to be reported despite a legal minimum age of 16. While slavery is illegal in Pakistan, girls and women continue to be traded to settle debts or conflicts. In Sukkur in 2000, a six-year-old girl was married to a 60-year-old man when her family was unable to repay a debt. According to newspaper reports the marriage was consummated and the little girl screamed loudly for hours after the rape. A form of forced marriage specific to the interior of Sindh province is the marriage of girls and women to the Quran. This keeps the womans share of property in the family as she will have no children to pass it on to. Human rights organizations report that there are currently over 5000 women married to the Quran in Sindh. Pakistan is both a country of origin and a transit country for the trafficking of women for domestic labour, forced marriage and prostitution. This form of slavery is organized by crime networks that span South Asia. The open sale of girls and women in markets is reported in underdeveloped areas such as parts of Balochistan. Some women, both local and trafficked, are killed if they refuse to earn money in prostitution. Some are forced into prostitution by their husbands. Journalist Sufi Mohammad Khan from Badin, Sindh, was killed on 2 May 2001 after reporting extensively about trafficking in drugs and women in the Tharparkar area of Sindh which happened with the connivance of apathetic authorities. He reported that some 70 women have been kidnapped in Sindh and Punjab, detained by the Arbab feudal family and forced into prostitution. The journalist was bribed and threatened by members of the family. Honour killings Honour killings are carried out by men who assume that their wives, daughters or sisters have in some way contravened norms relating to the behaviour of women which reflect on and damage a mans honour. Often the grounds for such assumptions can be very flimsy and amount to nothing more than a suspicion about a womans fidelity. Men are also known to have felt shamed if their women seek divorce or become the victims of rape. The exact number of honour killings is impossible to ascertain as many go unreported. Media and human rights organizations estimate that three women are murdered each day. In 2000, the HRCP recorded over 1000 honour killings in Punjab alone. Prosecution of honour killings is lax and only a few men have been convicted. In the higher levels of government and the judiciary, honour killings are recognised as a serious problem. The government of Pakistan has condemned honour killings as murder and a seminar in Karachi in April 2001 looked at problems of redress in honour crime cases. However no action has followed and honour killings continue to be reported daily. In December 2000, three brothers overpowered their sister-in-law, Anila, sprinkled kerosene on her clothes and set her on fire in a village near Sukkur when they suspected her of infidelity. Her father rescued her and took her to hospital where, with 85% burns, she died. In early 2001, Mir Afzal cut off the nose of his wife Amroz Khatoon in Karachi as he suspected her of infidelity. He then attempted to kill her but neighbours alerted by the noise interceded. Police arrested the man and his accomplices but Amroz Khatoon has received threats to her life if she pursues her complaint. In March 2001, a 60-year-old widow, Hidayat Khatoon, and 55-year-old Baksh Ali were killed by the widows son in Chandan village, district Sukkur. When the son surrendered to police, he said that he had been teased by villagers over his mothers alleged affair and had therefore killed both. In July 2001, 16-year-old Shoukat Labano in Sukkur district, shot dead his mother Rahima (33) when he suspected her of an affair. Increasingly honour killings involve not only the woman but several other family members. In November 2000, Mohammed Umar Magsi killed his 11-year-old daughter with an axe because he suspected her of having an affair. When his wife and younger daughter tried to intervene, he killed them as well. On 8 January 2001, Riaz Ahmed axed to death his wife, three daughters and two sons, because he suspected his wife of adultery. On 16 January 2002, Jamal threw hand grenades into his father-in-laws house when his wife refused to return to him, killing five of her relatives and injuring eight. The HRCP has observed that increasingly young boys are forced to attack or kill sisters who are opposed to a forced marriage. Afterwards the boys are formally pardoned by their fathers which allows them to go free. The emergence of fake honour killings is a worrying new trend. There is a pattern of men accusing their wives of being dishonourable with wealthy men purely for financial gain. The wife is declared kari (black woman, one who brings shame) and is killed. The suspected man is made to pay off the husband and he is pardoned. In a few cases, women have begun to resist violence in the name of honour. A young woman escaped death when she fought her husband. The local landlord held a jirga (tribal council) which established her innocence and asked the husband to apologise and take her back. Women who marry men of their own choice are often seen to damage their familys honour; they are frequently detained by their parents, forcibly married to someone else, threatened, humiliated, assaulted or killed. If a couple marry in court against the will of their parents, and the parents challenge the union, they can be charged with illicit sexual relations under the Zina Ordinance (which prohibits sex outside marriage). Newly-weds are advised to have their marriage confirmed by a magistrate and seek shelter with friends for some time. In many cases families accept the fact of marriage but sometimes their sense of shame is not appeased. Robina and Khushi Mohammad were killed in May 2000 by Robinas uncle and two brothers over two years after their wedding they had been in hiding but had finally returned to the husbands home. Custodial violence Physical abuse of women in custody continues to be rife in Pakistan. Despite promises of police reform, police continue to use torture to intimidate, harass and humiliate detainees to extract money or information. Women are subjected to gender-specific abuses including sexual harassment, public undressing and parading, and rape. Conditions of detention for women are also of grave concern. State inaction In April 2000, President Musharraf made a range of commitments to protect womens rights. Since then, there have been many positive signals and pronouncements but little effective change. The authorities are often aware of a series of abuses and do not intervene. Some officials prevent women from accessing the criminal justice system and seeking redress. Some court judgments over the past year-and-a-half have adequately protected womens rights while others have treated women as a mans property. This inconsistency indicates that the law is not being equally applied and the gender bias of individual judges is determining whether a woman is protected or not. Police confronted with complaints of domestic violence are known to refuse to register the complaint, to humiliate the victim or to have advised the battered woman to return home. Even the staff of state womens shelters frequently advise women to accept reconciliation and return home. Conviction rates for rape are very low. Police rarely respond adequately as they side with local people with influence who are involved in the crime. Women frequently dont seek redress out of shame but also because of the possibility of being accused of Zina if they cannot establish absence of consent. Recommendations Amnesty Internationals report makes recommendations which are well within the powers of the Government of Pakistan to implement and do not require a huge investment of resources. They do require political will and the determination that violence against women is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue. However, underlying the abuses suffered by women is a discrimination perpetuated by society as a whole. In this regard, everyone has a role to play ?government, political parties, religious groups, all elements of civil society and individuals. Everyone has a responsibility to commit themselves to the equality of all human beings, irrespective of gender. The recommendations include: The government should clearly and publicly condemn all acts of violence against women. It should develop policies and disseminate materials to promote womens safety in the home and community and in detention. The government should prohibit all acts of violence against women and establish legal protection. It should review existing laws, including the Zina law and the qisas and diyat law. Investigate all allegations of violence against women and prosecute and punish those found to be responsible. For a copy of the report please visit Report: www.web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/index/asa330062002

Is Caffeine Addictive? Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Is Caffeine Addictive? As exams approach, students everywhere reach for their coffee mugs, their Vivarine and No-Doz. Legions of wide-eyed and shaky young people stay up late into the night, printing out final papers and cramming a year worth of information into their over-burned minds. Falling asleep over books is not acceptable at this time of year. But this is not a new thing; many students have a late-night lifestyle supported by caffeine, getting an average of 5 hours of sleep a night. These young people are a part of the nearly 80% of Americans who depend on caffeine (1). They use it to stay awake when their bodies tell them they need to sleep. Many people use it simply to feel more awake or simply because they like the taste of coffee, sodas or teas which contain the drug. For those who love coffee, the taste is often cited as the reason for the "addiction" and the use of that word does not imply anything like a drug addiction. However, try to take away someone's coffee abruptly and chances are they will experience withdrawal symptoms (2). The body develops a dependence on caffeine which is very obvious; stop drinking coffee for a day after being a regular drinker and get a headache, then drink coffee and it goes away. Some call this an addiction, coining terms such as "caffeinisme" and "caffeine withdrawal syndrome" (4), and classify caffeine as a mind-altering drug (3) (5) (6) (7). Many others protect caffeine, saying it does not compare to a true drug addiction and some even claim it has benefits-that it not only increases alertness but has other healthful properties (2) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13). It is very difficult to find an objective article on the effects of caffeine, for while the information is often c... ...xhaustion. There is great need for more research regarding the properties of caffeine. There is too much contradictory information and studies are not conclusive. A huge number of people around the world consume enough caffeine to be diagnosed as dependent who have not been reassured that it is safe. Nor have they been given a good enough reason to stop their consumption or cut down to safer levels of caffeine intake. It would take a lot of negative findings to dissuade people from using the drug, but a better understanding on all properties could also find more uses for caffeine and could reassure those who are doubtful of the safety of caffeine consumption. Internet Sources: http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/publications/usa-gymnastics/1996/4/body-balance.html http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?ID=800 http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?ID=2046