Matthew Bailey

This book introduces business historians to oral history methodologies and approaches. Using four distinct oral history case studies to explore ideas of disruption and continuity in business history over the second half of the twentieth century, Robert Crawford and Matthew Bailey demonstrate how critical engagement with oral history approaches serves to enhance and enliven business history as well as its relationship with other historical fields. The focus on disruption is used to encompass a broad set of processes such as technological change, the impact of external forces, informal business networks, social constructions of gender, knowledge transfer, firm adaptability and cultural change. The use of oral histories to interpret responses to disruption in the past, and to explore the features characterising business continuity, provides an opportunity to consider the human dimensions, subjective experiences and personal insights of workplace, firm and industry change. It also sheds light on the ways that people and firms respond to disruptive forces through innovation and adaptation – both successfully and unsuccessfully. This succinct and accessible account is essential reading for business historians with little experience in using oral history, as well as those looking to gain deeper insights from their oral history data.

Emerging from a richly diverse oral narrative tradition circa 1300, the heroic and dynamic tale of the young Cid eclipses the uninspired, matter-of-fact narration of the reign of Fernando I into which it is incorporated. In its analysis of the Mocedades de Rodrigo, the epic poem of Cid’s youth, Speaking Truth to Power identifies the narrative cohesion and the aesthetic principles that elevated the story of the young Cid to its place of prominence among the epic narratives of medieval Spain. Matthew Bailey highlights the various textual versions of the narrative that propelled the young Cid’s unparalleled popularity, tracing this vibrant narrative tradition from its earliest manifestation in the aftermath of Charlemagne’s imperial mission in Spain to the early modern drama of Guillén de Castro. The book convincingly discerns the leadership qualities and the social impact of its legendary protagonist, incorporating a wealth of previous scholarship in its innovative findings. Speaking Truth to Power provides readers with a heightened appreciation for the vibrancy of the poetic tradition that lives beyond the texts we study, the oral narratives that are continually refashioned for new audiences and contexts.

This book introduces business historians to oral history methodologies and approaches. Using four distinct oral history case studies to explore ideas of disruption and continuity in business history over the second half of the twentieth century, Robert Crawford and Matthew Bailey demonstrate how critical engagement with oral history approaches serves to enhance and enliven business history as well as its relationship with other historical fields. The focus on disruption is used to encompass a broad set of processes such as technological change, the impact of external forces, informal business networks, social constructions of gender, knowledge transfer, firm adaptability and cultural change. The use of oral histories to interpret responses to disruption in the past, and to explore the features characterising business continuity, provides an opportunity to consider the human dimensions, subjective experiences and personal insights of workplace, firm and industry change. It also sheds light on the ways that people and firms respond to disruptive forces through innovation and adaptation – both successfully and unsuccessfully. This succinct and accessible account is essential reading for business historians with little experience in using oral history, as well as those looking to gain deeper insights from their oral history data.

This book charts the history of Australian retail developments as well as examining the social and cultural dimensions of shopping in Australia. In the second half of the twentieth century, the shopping centre spread from America around the world. Australia was a very early adopter, and produced a unique shopping centre model. Situating Australian retail developments within a broader international and historical context, Managing the Marketplace demonstrates the ways that local conditions shape global retail forms. Knowledge transfer from Europe and America to Australia was a consistent feature of the Australian retail industry across the twentieth century. By critically examining the strengths and weaknesses of Australian retail firms’ strategies across time, and drawing on the voices of both business elites and ordinary people, the book not only unearths the forgotten stories of Australian retail, it offers new insights into the opportunities and challenges that confront the sector today, both nationally and internationally. This book will be of interest to all scholars and practitioners of retail, marketing, business history and economic geography, as well as social and cultural history.

This book charts the history of Australian retail developments as well as examining the social and cultural dimensions of shopping in Australia. In the second half of the twentieth century, the shopping centre spread from America around the world. Australia was a very early adopter, and produced a unique shopping centre model. Situating Australian retail developments within a broader international and historical context, Managing the Marketplace demonstrates the ways that local conditions shape global retail forms. Knowledge transfer from Europe and America to Australia was a consistent feature of the Australian retail industry across the twentieth century. By critically examining the strengths and weaknesses of Australian retail firms’ strategies across time, and drawing on the voices of both business elites and ordinary people, the book not only unearths the forgotten stories of Australian retail, it offers new insights into the opportunities and challenges that confront the sector today, both nationally and internationally. This book will be of interest to all scholars and practitioners of retail, marketing, business history and economic geography, as well as social and cultural history.

The Poetics of Speech in the Medieval Spanish Epic explores the composition of manuscript texts in thirteenth-century Spain. Of the vernacular epic poems originating with the minstrels of this era, only three full-length works remain: Cantar de Mio Cid, Poema de Fernán González, and Mocedades de Rodrigo, all preserved and recorded by members of the clergy. By analyzing expressive traits found in these three poems, Matthew Bailey links them to the cognitive processes that take place in the minds of speakers as narration unfolds. In Latin and other vernacular texts from the same period, authors identify their sources as oral, describe oral compositional techniques, and detail modes of processing texts in medieval monastic environments. Using the information provided by these details, as well as a close technical reading of the three epic poems, Bailey incorporates the methodologies and concepts of discourse analysis in an examination of expression in the Spanish epic and points convincingly to oral composition as the initial step in text creation for the period.