Apple: Foxconn "Saved Lives"

Apple said that its contractor Foxconn - Taiwan high tech firm has taken suitable suicide measures and has saved lives. Suicide prevention programme was established after a large number of people killed themselves at plants in China.

In the 2011 Progress Report, Apple said it had sent a team of experts to Foxconn's plant in Shenzhen, southern China, last year to investigate the suicides and evaluate the company's response.

Overview Suicide
Suicide is an act of ending one's own life and it usually results from emotional isolations and inability to adjust and cope with one's environment.

"The team commended Foxconn for taking quick action on several fronts simultaneously... the investigation found that Foxconn's response had definitely saved lives," said the report which was released this week.

Foxconn adopted a number of preventative measures, including hiring a large number of psychological counselors, establishing a 24-hour care center, and attaching large nets to its factory buildings to prevent impulsive suicides, it said.

Foxconn is also implementing an employee assistance programme that focuses on maintaining employee mental health and expanding social support networks, according to the report.

Medical Image Software for Apple Mobile Devices Approved by FDA
The food and drug administration (FDA) has ushered in the era of mobile diagnostic radiology by approving a medical-image software for Apple mobile devices- iphone, ipad and itouch.

"Apple will continue to work with Foxconn through the implementation of these programs, and we plan to take key learnings from this engagement to other facilities in our supply base," it said.

At least 13 employees at Foxconn -- the world's largest maker of computer components which produces goods for Apple, Sony and Nokia -- died in apparent suicides last year, China's official Global Times reported.

Suicide Caused by Judicial System
British researchers have discovered in a study that criminal proceedings, even when not ending in a jail sentence, leads to a high risk of suicide.

Labor rights activists have blamed the string of deaths on tough working conditions, highlighting the difficulties millions of factory workers face across China.

Source-AFP

Oz Expert Says IPads and IPhones at Apple Stores Teeming With Germs
An Australian expert has said that people who use display iPads and iPhones at Apple stores are likely to get serious infections and the company should do more to maintain hygiene.