Clark, Penney. "‘A Precarious Enterprise’: A Case Study of Western Canadian Regional Educational Publishing, 1980-1989.” Historical Studies in Education 25, no. 1 (Spring 2013): 1-29.
This study explores the dramatic rise and demise of Douglas & McIntyre (Educational) as a case study of western regional publishing in Canada. During its nine years of life, and before its sale to the multinational firm, International Thomson, this small regional publisher produced a ground breaking social studies series, as well as a health series, and other books. Factors in favour of regional educational publishing were: a rise in Canadian nationalism, which often manifested itself regionally, political lobbying, the right employees, and Ministry of Education textbook policies. Factors which mitigated against success were: pedagogical change, competition from American subsidiaries, limitations on access to capital funding, provincial autonomy with regard to education, the ascendance of multinational firms, a change in Ministry of Education textbook policies, and company allegiances.