By Kathy Cunningham and Anne-Julie Houle

Numerous media and official reports, including the reports by the Canadian Institute for Health Information and the Canadian Armed Forces on Ontario nursing homes, have highlighted gaps in community and long-term care and emphasized that caring for seniors is very challenging in our current health care system. Insufficient resources and funding, limited capacity and inadequate reinforcement of national regulations have exacerbated the situation over time. This applies particularly to seniors living in the community with dementia.

According to the Canadian Institute of Health Information report on dementia in Canada, 61% of seniors with dementia live at home. Family members become their primary caregivers, and this can take an emotional, physical and financial toll on them. Patients living with dementia require constant mental, social and physical stimulation to help curb the progression of symptoms. To support caregivers and seniors with dementia, some propose adult day programs as an opportunity to help address the needs of seniors and their caregivers.

Professor Mirou Jaana, full professor at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, studied a new and innovative adult day program model developed at Ottawa’s Algonquin College in collaboration with a local community resource centre. A partnership between the community and the college, this program addresses the need for affordable, accessible services for seniors and respite for caregivers, while enabling the college to provide training to students enrolled in health care-related programs.

In this preliminary study, Professor Jaana explored the benefits of this unique program, and the overall satisfaction of caregivers and seniors with it. She shared the results of her study in a paper entitled “Adult Day Program services for seniors with dementia: An innovative model of community-college partnership,” published in the journal Dementia.

After the program’s first year, the caregivers deemed it an overwhelming success. Professor Jaana found that caregivers were highly satisfied with it and 100% of them indicated they would recommend it to friends and family. “The program allowed seniors and their caregivers to have timely access to needed services,” adding that these needs would otherwise have remained unmet.

“Research shows that it is important to keep seniors living with conditions like dementia engaged to slow down the progression of their condition,” says Professor Jaana. She adds that the adult day program studied provides an “opportunity for seniors to socialize and participate in physically and cognitively stimulating activities.”

Set on campus in a simulation apartment originally funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, this program offers students’ knowledge, experience and the opportunity to connect with seniors and to assist them.

Adult day programs represent a win-win approach that could be expanded province wide. Not only do they provide affordable services in the community to both seniors and their caregivers, but they also include training opportunities for new health care workers.

Mirou Jaana is a Full Professor at the Telfer School of Management in the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on health informatics and health care management. Learn more about her research.

By Rania Nasrallah-Massaad

How do cryptocurrencies emerge, evolve, and impact consumer behavior?

With the changing landscape of trust and our dependence on digital networks in this age, the role of cryptocurrencies in our future is certain. It is not inconceivable that digital cash will soon replace the Canadian dollar that has been central to our economy since the mid-19^th century. Different cryptocurrencies are emerging all over the globe mostly ushered by Bitcoin and its key innovation: the blockchain.

Bitcoin has challenged many of our ideas about who can create money, and brought into focus issues of privacy, transparency, and traceability of all transaction information. While this resulted in growing trust in cryptocurrencies, it remains unclear which cryptocurrencies will persist and evolve into widespread use. It is crucial to study how these digital currencies emerge, evolve, and persist; and how consumer behavior drives this evolution, since they are interlinked with other societal and economic transformations inherent to the digital age.

What is this research about?

Professor Mariam Humayun received a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Grant to study how different cryptocurrencies emerge and evolve, how these communities shift and how consumers are navigating the new frontiers of crypto-assets.

Project title: Consuming Cryptocurrencies: The Consumer Journey Blockchain

Who will benefit from this research?

The knowledge gained from this work will shed light on how various cryptocurrencies and their respective communities are evolving, the consequences of transitioning from paper money to more widespread use of digital cash. This will help governments, banks, and other organizations determine whether digital money can be trusted, and whether the transition is beneficial. Will Canada have its own national cryptocurrency to replace the Canadian dollar? Perhaps. In that sense, this work could have important repercussions for the Canadian economy and all Canadians.

Learn more about the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grants.

By Rania Nasrallah-Massaad

The capacity to innovate has positive outcomes for most industries, with marked contributions to economic growth. However, innovation is not without risk for a firm: it can  involve unforeseeable processes and outcomes that can lead to the firm’s failure. Many factors can influence the innovation potential of a firm, and much work is needed to fully understand the dynamics of a firm’s innovation process and why some firms are more successful than others.

Two important yet understudied contributors that may greatly influence the innovation practices of firms are 1) the gender diversity of corporate boards, and 2) the ownership structure, that is the firm’s connections to the state or government influence on corporate decisions. It is also unclear how innovation practices differ from one country to the next, and what international settings promote innovation success. Many variables need consideration, including: the types of institutions and the legal regime of the country; shareholder protection strength across nations; gender parity, including masculinity of cultures; and attitudes and policies towards gender diversity on corporate boards. A better understanding of these factors can help firms better develop their innovation strategies to ensure a firm’s growth and survival.

What is this research about?

Professors Imed Chkir, Walid Ben Amar, and Samir Saadi received a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight grant to examine the determinants and outcomes of innovation. Their approach focusses on whether board gender diversity and political connections promote innovation. It also considers various international settings that may drive innovation.

Project title: The effect of formal and informal institutions on corporate innovation: The case of gender diversity, state ownership and political connection

Who will benefit from this research?

This work will expand knowledge on the importance of innovation for economic growth, clarifying the contribution of board gender diversity and government involvement to the innovative process. The work should also shed light on the international settings that favour innovation and firm survival. The insights gained from this work can help

1. investors understand the role of innovation in a firm’s growth,
2. managers recognize the contribution of ownership structure on innovation efforts, and
3. policymakers better regulate information disclosures and corporate governance to reduce the risk of failure.

Learn more about the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grants.

By Lidiane Cunha

Workplace accommodations

Workers with disabilities continue to be the most under-represented equity-seeking group in Canadian organizations according to the Conference Board of Canada. A Statistics Canada survey showed that close to 650,000 Canadians living with disabilities with the potential to work are currently unemployed. Once people living with disabilities have opportunities in the workplace, they often also face many challenges to succeed in the workplace. One of the main obstacles is the lack of real access to accommodations.

Workplace accommodations for people who need them are mandated by Canadian law. Unfortunately, many employees are reluctant to invoke their legal rights. When workers require accommodations such as flexible scheduling or modified tasks, they might try to negotiate these accommodations informally with their managers. These work adjustments are routinely requested by—and provided to—workers without disabilities. Giving managers discretion to make those decisions can help overcome vague or non-existent organizational policies, but it can lead to biased decisions.

Project title: Informal Accommodations as Social Exchange: Canadian Managers' Reactions to Employees with and without Disabilities

What is this research about?

When and why are Canadian managers willing to provide discretionary accommodations to workers with disabilities? These questions drive a new research project led by Silvia Bonaccio, Full Professor at the Telfer School of Management, and Ian Telfer Professor of Workplace Psychology. She has been awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant. By uncovering the factors that influence discretionary accommodations in the workplace, her research will provide insights into, and help correct, continued pessimism that managers express about workers with disabilities. Professor Bonaccio’s research findings will be translated into guidelines to help organizations foster a more equitable work environment.

Who will benefit from this research?

 “Our work has the potential to enhance workplaces by improving the working lives of the 20% of working-age Canadians living with disabilities. We also hope our findings can empower managers and HR personnel to better accommodate the needs of workers with disabilities. Members of community organizations that support the employment needs of people with disabilities will also benefit given their role in providing evidence-based information about disabilities to managers.”

 Professor Bonaccio

Learn more about the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grants.