"Dartmouth Ropeworks, 1869-1958", in James Candow, ed., Nova Scotia Industry: Historical Essays, Fernwood Press, forthcoming 2001
In 1868, the Stairs family of Halifax established a subsidiary to their Halifax-based chandlery and hardware business in north Dartmouth. Dartmouth Ropeworks was one of the largest industrial complexes in the Maritimes, including a company town which provided lost cost housing to its workers. Within 15 years it became clear that the factory's tradition markets outfitting sailing ships was beginning to decline, and the company diversified into making binder twine to supply farms in Western Canada, which was beginning to be settled as the CPR was completed. Within 5 years the company could boast that it supplied 1/3 of the Canadian market. This is a fascinating story of change and adaptation.

Angus Walters Museum Interpretive Plan, Town of Lunenburg, (through Communication Design Group), 2001.
MariNova was contracted to provide background historical research with which to develop appropriate themes for a new museum dedicated to the original captain of the schooner Bluenose.

"Max Aitken and Maritime Finance, 1902-1910",Acadiensis, The Journal of the History of Atlantic Canada, XXX Spring 2001.
One of the great characters in Canadian corporate life at the turn of the last century was Max Aitken (Lord Beaverbrook) who began his career in finance as John F. Stairs's executive assistant in 1902. After making a fortune in Canada by orchestrating three of the biggest and most significant mergers in Canadian history by age of 30, he left for the greener pastures of Great Britain where he was elected to the House of Commons within 6 months of his arrival. This article examines Aitken's relationship to his mentor's family and business associates and concludes that Stairs created a "monster".

The Post Container Age in the Port of Halifax, 1970-2000, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, 2000
As follow up to its previous research regarding the Age of Steam Gallery, MariNova was asked to specifically examine the container age in Halifax, and its impact on the city and province.

La Bonne Renommée Business Plan, South Shore 2004 [through Ati Consulting Corporation], 1999-2000
MariNova provided background historical research for the committee studying the potential to re-construct the vessel supposedly used by Samuel de Champlain in his voyages to Acadia in 1603-07.

"The Aborted British Invasion, The Case of Swan Hunter Shipbuilders, 1899-1914", Journal of the Nova Scotia Historical Society, 1999.
One of the great mysteries of the history of the Maritime Provinces is why a region which built thousands of wooden sailing vessels, and smelted the first steel in Canada, failed to make the transition from sail to steam, and from wood to steel. This article examines an attempt by John F. Stairs, who was president of Nova Scotia Steel and Coal Company, and several partners, including the president of a rival steel company, to bring the second largest shipbuilders in the world, Swan Hunter, Wigham & Richardson of Newcastle-upon-Tyne to establish a shipyard in either Halifax or Sydney. The article makes use of sources found in Newcastle-upon-Tyne using the internet.

"Thomas Fyshe", biography for Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol XIV, University of Toronto Press, 1997.
Thomas Fyshe, who was general Manager of the Bank of Nova Scotia from 1875 was one of the truly great characters in Canadian banking history. He rescued the Bank of Nova Scotia from a defalcation by its previous 'cashier' , and guided it through tumultuous times during the latter part of the 19th century. It was his decision to invest the bank's 'surplus' funds in U.S. railway bonds, and western expansion, rather than keeping the money in the Maritimes. His papers offer a rather pithy summary of the business cycle "Good Times, Bad Times, Bully Times, Bust".

Age of Steam Gallery Research, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, 1996
MariNova carried out research about the Age of Steam in Nova Scotia, with a view to providing background knowledge for the redevelopment of the Museum's Age of Steam Gallery. We suggested many different themes and approaches, and produced a very comprehensive report on the subject. The Gallery will be redeveloped during the course of the next two years, and MariNova is providing ongoing consultation to this process.

"The 'Nationalization' of the Bank of Nova Scotia, 1880-1910" originally published in Acadiensis, the Journal of the History of the Atlantic Provinces, Spring 1982.
This article, which was based on the author's M.A. thesis, examines the relationship between the Bank of Nova Scotia and Maritime industry after the National Policy was instituted in 1879. After an initial flurry of investment activity in the early 1880s, resulting in severe overcapacity in several key industries, the Bank of Nova Scotia began to use surplus savings accumulated in the Maritimes to support the development of industry and investment in the West.