For older adults wishing to age in their own homes and communities, voice-activated tools such as Google’s virtual assistant or a smart speaker could make engaging in leisure activities or performing a range of tasks much easier.

Yet very little research has been done on how older adults might adapt to using assistive technologies over time or how these tools can impact their well-being and quality of life, says Alisa Grigorovich.

The Brock University Assistant Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies will be able to pursue this line of research thanks to an Insight Grant from the federal government’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Grigorovich is among five Brock University researchers recently awarded a SSHRC Insight Grant or Insight Development Grant. In total, Brock researchers received $634,753.

The grants are part of a funding announcement made Friday, Sept. 13 by the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of National Revenue, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.

“We’re very grateful for SSHRC’s long-running, unwavering support of Brock University’s innovative and impactful scholarship,” says Michelle McGinn, Acting Brock Vice-President, Research. “This round has an eclectic mix of fascinating topics, including increasing migrants’ political participation in Niagara, deepening our understanding of global mutual fund markets and even a peek into the lives of women in ancient Greece.”

In the early stages of her project, Grigorovich and her team aim to understand how older adults interact with, and adapt to, using a smart speaker with a built-in voice-activated Google Assistant. They will also explore how this technology adjusts to user behaviours and preferences in real time.

In doing so, the team will assess if and how this dynamic process of “co-adaptation” contributes to enhancing the capabilities of older adults’ to “successfully age in place,” she says.

As the work progresses, the team will analyze the impact of older adults’ use of different voice-activated virtual assistants on their well-being over time.

This lays the groundwork for the project’s final phase, which is to co-design ways of promoting the use of voice-activated virtual assistants with older adults to help those living at home have a higher quality of life, says Grigorovich.

“We’re excited by how these tools can enrich older adults’ well-being and empower them to successfully age in place by supporting their social participation and engagement in activities and enabling their access to new kinds of digital experiences which have psychological, physical, creative and social benefits,” she says.

Recipients of SSHRC’s latest round of Insight Grants are:

• Mohamed Ayadi, Professor of Finance in the Goodman School of Business: “Mutual fund performance, economic policy uncertainty, and investor learning: International evidence”
• Allison Glazebrook, Professor of Classics and Archaeology in the Faculty of Humanities: “The Cycle of Slavery and the Athenian Brothel”
• Alisa Grigorovich, Assistant Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences: “SOARWell-AiP: Sociotechnical observation and assessment research into well-being and aging in place”
• Pascal Lupien, Associate Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Social Sciences: “Political Participation and Migrants: A Comparative Study of Mechanisms and Strategies For Making Migrants’ Voices Heard”

The recipient of SSHRC’s Insight Development Grant is:

• Ashley Thompson, Assistant Professor of Sport Management in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences: “Beyond the strategic plan: strategy and strategic management in Canadian non-profit sport organizations.”

“Today’s federal government investment is a testament to the depth and breadth of Brock University research and its impact locally and internationally,” says Chris Bittle, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines. “The wide array of topics being funded by these awards is impressive and will contribute much to the vibrancy of communities here in Niagara and worldwide.”

Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, says “this cutting-edge research from Brock University directly addresses the diverse needs of our many vibrant communities across the Niagara region.”

“These research projects will provide critical insights that will enhance the lives and well-being of our residents and enable them to provide meaningful contributions to our local region and around the world,” he says.