The challenge in striking the right balance with contact tracing apps

Analysis: When society begins to open up and the virus is less pervasive, a more nuanced approach towards contact tracing apps may be appropriate, but even that approach brings challenges. First published on RTÉ Brainstorm, on Thursday, 08 April, 2021. Contact tracing – where close contacts of known, positive, Covid-19 cases are identified, contacted and...

CSIS and Lero at UL receive Athena SWAN Bronze Award

The Department of Computer Science and Information Systems and Lero at University of Limerick have achieved an Athena SWAN Bronze award, it has been announced. This is the first Athena SWAN award for a University department that includes an SFI Centre. University of Limerick and Trinity College Dublin also gained the first departmental Athena SWAN...

Video gamers skills enhanced by training 10 minutes a day

Researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software and University of Limerick (UL), have found video gamers can significantly improve their esport skills by training for just 10 minutes a day. The research team at Lero’s Esports Science Research Lab (ESRL) at UL also found novice gamers benefited most when they wore...

Lero part of SFI STEAM Art Collaboration where artists and scientists join forces to inspire students

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) have launched the STEAM Art Collaboration . This initiative aims to inspire and engage primary school students, and the public, with research through the commission of five artworks which unite the disciplines of art and science. Artists Shevaun Doherty, Ed Devane, 1iing Heaney, Peter Nash and David Beattie were chosen following...

PhD student launches “Music, Technology and Dementia” documentary

Online music therapy, as an effective intervention for people living with dementia, is explored in a student-documentary funded by Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software. The documentary, “Music, Technology & Dementia,” released today to coincide with World Music Therapy Day, provides a snapshot into how people living with dementia are using music...

IT companies should recruit more women for better team performance

Mixed-gender software development teams perform better than male-only teams, with female developers helping offset psychopathic traits of some male developers, according to researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software. The researchers, who surveyed 483 software engineers pre-screened for competency, also found women improved team performance and reduced workplace delinquency, such as...

Novice Drivers talking on hand-held smartphones are more likely to run red-lights

Young novice drivers who speak into hand-held smartphones while driving are also likely to drive while under the influence of drink or drugs, according to researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software. The study “Smartphone Use While Driving: An Investigation of Young Novice Driver (YND) Behaviour,” also found that speaking on...

Improved use of databases could save billions of euro in osteoporosis-related health care costs

Years of suffering and billions of euro in global health care costs, arising fromosteoporosis-related bone fractures, could be eliminated using big data to target vulnerable patients, according to researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software and National University of Ireland Galway. A study of 36,590 patients who underwent bone mineral density...

All views needed to get a full picture of digital contact tracing

An ongoing international survey on the impact of COVID-19 contact tracing apps wants to hear from individuals and communities whose views are not always heard and those who disagree with various aspects of digital contact tracing. Researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, are conducting the survey which aims to explore...

Huge increase in those willing to share their personal data to combat COVID-19

A new Lero-led study shows an increase of 47% in those willing to share their personal data since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study, Irish attitudes to privacy in COVID-19 times, found that there has been a huge increase in respondents, from 14% pre-pandemic to 61%, willing to share personal data including location,...