Amyleigh Imthorn

5/5 (2)

Since last week, Apple approved the HKmap.live application. It crowdsources locations of police and protesters. They rejected it earlier this month and Wednesday the 9th of October they pulled it back again after being live for not more than a week (BBC News, 2019).

The removal from yesterday came after many customers contacted the app store with concerns. When researching the use of the application Apple found that the application had endangered the law enforcement and residents (BBC News, 2019). “The app displays police locations and we have verified with the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau that the app has been used to target and ambush police, threaten public safety, and criminals have used it to victimize residents in areas where they know there is no law enforcement,” the statement said (Nellis, 2019).

Apple not only removed the application HKmap.live itself but also the BackupHK which served as a mirror of the application. The police of Hong Kong has not responded to the incidents (Nellis, 2019).

The developers of the application do not agree with the accusation. “There is 0 evidence to support CSTCB’s accusation,” the HKmap developers said in response. “HKmap App never solicits, promotes, or encourages criminal activity. HKmap App consolidates information from user and public sources, e.g. live news stream, Facebook and Telegram” (Byford, 2019).

Some consumers of the application disagree with the removal. They say there is no evidence that the application had been used in ambushes. The application created content from social media post (Nellis, 2019). Consumers think that users with the intention to create agitation will not post such content online. They believe the HKmap improved public safety, not the opposite. It gave residents the chance to avoid protest and riots.

What do you think about the influence of the application in the Hong Kong protests? Did Apple open the door to violent protesters? Or did they ruin the resident’s possibility to stay safe in their city?

Nellis, S. (2019) Apple pulls police-tracking app used in Hong Kong protests after consulting authorities. [Online] Reuters. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-protests-apple/apple-pulls-police-tracking-app-used-in-hong-kong-protests-after-consulting-authorities-idUSKBN1WP09U

Byford, S. (2019) Apple removes app used in Hong Kong protests after pressure from China [Online] The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/10/20907596/apple-hong-kong-protests-app-removed-china

BBC News (2019) Apple drops Hong Kong police-tracking app used by protesters [Online] Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49995688

5/5 (3)

Dementia is a general term to describe the impairment of cognitive functions such as memory, thinking, and communication (Townley, 2019). Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2019), about 50 million people in the world have dementia. Doctors diagnose dementia in around 10 million people every year, and 60–70% of these new diagnoses detect Alzheimer’s disease. Several cognitive tests can assess dementia, but recently, researchers have been exploring the potential of new technologies to monitor the condition (Townley, 2019).

A recent study shows how VR can help even those with advanced dementia disease like Alzheimer’s disease. The research was led by Dr. Chee Siang (Jim) Ang, a senior lecturer from University of Kent, and used VR devices on eight patients who were retained in a psychiatric facility (Fischer, 2019).
Each patient used a VR headset. When using it they visited five virtual locations. The patients were able to choose their environment on their own. This could be a countryside, beach or cathedral. When monitoring the patients for 15 minutes they found some interesting results. Next to the monitoring they reviewed feedback from the patients themselves and the caregivers. Ang’s team reported that VR sessions helped the participants recall old memories. This was done by giving them stimuli which could not be achieved normally due to illness or inaccessibility (Fischer, 2019).

This picking up old memories was directly related to the mood of the patients. It had a positive impact on their mood for multiple weeks after the sessions (Fischer, 2019).
“VR can clearly have positive benefits for patients with dementia, their families, and caregivers. It provides a richer and more satisfying quality of life than is otherwise available, with many positive outcomes,” Ang said.
Because the study was small, Dr. Ang points out that larger studies are needed to validate the results, but that the early findings are promising for people with dementia.
As virtual reality videos become easier to produce, the virtual environments could be customized for individual Alzheimer’s patients, with virtual visits to places, such as their home or favorite place, added the researchers (Beingpatient, 2019).

The video below shows some heartwarming VR sessions with dementing elderly.

What do you think? Is VR going to be as a revolutionary solution for dementing symptoms? Are there other computer technologies that can contribute to this?

Fischer, K. (2019) How Virtual Reality Can Help Seniors With Dementia [Online] retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health-news/heres-how-vr-can-help-people-with-dementia
Townley, C. (2019). Is virtual reality the next frontier of Alzheimer’s diagnosis? Retrieved from: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325343.php
Being Patient (2019) Virtual Reality Helps Dementia Patients Recall Memories, Study Says. Retrieved from: https://www.beingpatient.com/virtual-reality-therapy-alzheimers-dementia/

How Virtual Reality improves lives of demented elderly

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