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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/500190
34 MacDirectory CONTENTS DEPARTMENT 34 MacDirectory iPhone Separation Ups the Risk of Psychological Problem COLUMN + iHealth VISHAKHA SONAWANE Can't stay away from your iPhone? You might be prone to various psychological harm, a new research states. Researchers at the University of Missouri found that say iPhone separation can have "serious psychological and physiological effects." They found that respondents of the study showed lack in performance on cognitive tests when they were away from their Apple devices like their iPhone and their iPad. The team explained that it might not be the separation from the iPhone, but the incapability to answer calls is the real culprit. They also said that the separation from the phone causes 'lessening of the self' - making you unable to focus. "Our findings suggest that iPhone separation can negatively impact performance on mental tasks," says Russell Clayton, a doctoral candidate at the MU School of Journalism and lead author of the study. "Additionally, the results from our study suggest that iPhones are capable of becoming an extension of our selves such that when separated, we experience a lessening of 'self' and a negative physiological state." Furthermore, the study also showed that iPhone users were unable to solve simple word search puzzles when unable to answer their ringing iPhones. It further leads to increased heart rates and blood pressure levels, the researchers explained. Latest Technology Gives Doctors Chance to Glimpse in Patients' Problems Analogue, a theatre company, set up by the alumni of the Royal Holloway University of London designed a technology that can allow doctors to step into patients' shoes giving them chance to feel the problem personally. The technology is named 'Transports,' and is based on the low-cost Raspberry Pi computer system. It also has a piece of wearable tech that causes a 6 Hz tremor in the user's right hand. The simulator was designed in collaboration with Professor Narender Ramnani from the Royal Holloway department of psychology. Moreover, caregivers, researchers, and patients were involved to ensure the system was matching the disease as closely as possible. "Our principal interest is to work out how we can improve and facilitate communication and empathy by using simple technologies to immerse participants in the remote embodied experiences of others," said Liam Jarvis, the co- director of Analogue and a drama Ph.D. student at Royal Holloway, in a recent press release. "Using inexpensive Raspberry Pi technology, we hope to expand the project to place participants inside different virtual subjects as an aid to better understand the experience of others." The researchers said they will test the system further with the help of psychology undergraduates and planned at least one public showing. Patient simulators have also been used to help student surgeons become more familiar with complications after surgery.