I was published!

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While poking around the web the other day, I happened upon a book ("Telecommunications Technology Handbook", published in 2003) that had material which looked a lot like a paper I had written in 2001. Upon further investigation, I found it was my paper. Not only that, but the author gave me credit for the material.

Problem is, I didn't know anything about it.

Technically, the company I worked for back then owned the paper since I was working for them when I wrote it - so I hope the author got permission from the company before including it in the book. But even if true, it would have been nice to contact me, as the author, before publishing it. If nothing else, I could have provided updates and corrections to the paper. A simple search on my name would have turned up my contact information.

I contacted the publisher and they sent me a copy of the book.

I actually don't mind that the paper was used - in fact, I'm flattered it was chosen for publication. But I would have appreciated a note.

It's a dense technical publication only a geek could love, but you can see it on Google books - my work starts at page 175 (Chapter 6). Go to the table of contents and click on the page number to get there quickly. If you're having trouble getting to sleep, I guarantee reading this will cure you.

Mike
 
Congratulations. It is a good feeling. While a Teacher's Assistant at Purdue for a Small Engine's class my paper was used as a chapter without recognition because of a technicality of some sort. Oh well, I figured if I wrote that well or knew that much that the prof wanted to count it as his work, go for it!
 
:congrats: Mike!

I've checked out your website/profile before, and you have really contributed a lot to the communications world....and to all our early "internet lives" with your work on modems...



:clap::clap::clap:
 
Mike,

These things get pretty wierd, especially in academic publishing. Here's the latest imbroglio:

http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=gwW9rbkQkMhcm6hxccN6w2tsVQcHhxyn

When William E. Deal casually flipped through Theory for Performance Studies: A Student's Guide, published this year by Routledge, he noticed a few familiar sentences. After taking a closer look, Mr. Deal, a professor of religious studies at Case Western Reserve University, discovered whole paragraphs and even entire pages that had been lifted directly from a book he co-wrote, Theory for Religious Studies, published by Routledge in 2004.

"My jaw dropped," he recalls. "My stomach turned flip-flops."

Mr. Deal and his co-author, Timothy K. Beal, a professor of religion at Case Western, estimated that roughly 80 percent of their book had been copied word for word, without credit of any kind. Their names did not appear in the new book.

But this isn't your average plagiarism case. Back in 2005, Mr. Deal and Mr. Beal signed an agreement with Routledge, allowing the company to use the material in their book however it saw fit, provided they were given credit and royalties. Routledge planned a series of introductory books, dubbed Theory 4. Theory for Religious Studies was the first volume.


It gets even wierder: the copyright holder of the new book is:

the "author of the book," who didn't write it!

Philip Auslander is listed as the sole author (and sole copyright holder) of Theory for Performance Studies — even though, as he acknowledges, he wrote only a small part of it. He said he sees nothing wrong with copying most of the book and reacted strongly when a reporter asked if he had committed plagiarism. "


It all gets very wierd, very quickly! ;)

But the good news is: you got published, you got an acknowledgement, and you got a contributor's copy! ;)

Congrats! :thumb:

thanks,

Bill
 
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