Recently,
while searching some content on the net, I came to know about a book ‘Handbook of science communication’ written
by Mr. Vijay Kumar Singh and published by ADB Publishers. The author blurb on the book cover says that the author
has an M.A. in Journalism and an M.Sc. in Science Communication from the
Imperial College, London. I was intrigued by reading the blurb to buy a
personal copy. The book is available on many websites including amazon.com,
flipkart.com,
etc. I ordered a copy from flipkart.com for INR 1135. Two days back, I received
the copy. The book contains twelve chapters and comprises of 304 pages. After just
glancingly going through the pages, I smelled something fishy in it. The chapter
headings and the contents of some chapters were known to me previously.
Then,
I searched the “chapter headings in double quotes” one-by-one in google.com and
found that all the twelve chapters were taken (STOLEN) from other sources available
on the internet. The author gives no reference or credit to none of the
original authors/sources. All the 12 chapters have been lifted ‘ditto’ – a simple
case of copy-paste!
The
STOLEN texts included are from known names in science communication like David
Dickson (SciDev.net), Manoj Patairiya (NCSTC, India), Robert A. Logan (University
of Missouri) and Marzia Mazzonetto.
Straight
way, it is a severe case of copyright violation and plagiarism, where entire
chapters/papers have been lifted without any acknowledgement to the original
sources.
The
book contains a three-page bibliography, but interestingly, none of the
original texts lifted “ditto” is given there.
I myself
feel cheated to find the content of others (that I have already read) in this
book under the authorship of this fellow.
What
do you think about this fraud in science communication? Do communicate your
views.
About the book
Title: ‘Handbook of science communication’
Author:
Vijay
Kumar Singh
Edition:
2011
Publisher:
ADB Publishers,
Regd.
Office: Bony Residency, Gate No.2,
Opp.
Tilak Public School, Vishveshria Nagar,
Gopalpura
Road, Jaipur – 302018 (Rajasthan) India
Ph.
0141-2761280, Telefax: 0141-2761381
Email:
abdpublishersjpr@yahoo.in
ISBN-13: 9788183763493
ISBN-10: 8183763499
Language: English
Binding: Hardcover
About the Author (blurb on the cover says)
Vijay Kumar Singh did
M.A in Journalism and then did M.Sc in Science Communication from Imperial
College, London. He taught students of journalism and communication for nearly
ten years. However, during his tenure as Lecturer, he continued his field
activities in journalism. Presently, he is Editor at Prachya Prabha.
Under his able guidance many students made excellent contributions to journalism and brought many hidden news stories to the limelight. His contributions in the field of active journalism and mass communication were well received and awarded amply.
Under his able guidance many students made excellent contributions to journalism and brought many hidden news stories to the limelight. His contributions in the field of active journalism and mass communication were well received and awarded amply.
Contents
1.
Communication
as Integral Part of Technology
Original
text available at: http://www.archontology.org/alexandra/thesis/part03.01.php
2.
SCIENCE
COMMUNICATION : A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Original
text by DR. MANOJ PATAIRIYA available
at: http://www.learningace.com/doc/487940/ebfd57b01c74e55282be44a81a75e583/conceptual
3.
Science
communication in India: current situation, history and future developments
Original
text available at: http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/04/01/F040101/jcom0401(2005)F01.pdf
4.
Science
Mass Communication
Original text by
ROBERT A. LOGAN, University of Missouri–Columbia available at: http://sass.caltech.edu/events/Logan2001.pdf
5.
Metaphor
in Scientific Communication
Original text by
ROBERT ANUSKA ŠSTAMBUK
available at: http://www.erudit.org/revue/meta/1998/v43/n3/004292ar.pdf
6.
Civil
journalism & scientific citizenship
Original text by
Wolfgang C. Goede, Munich / Germany available at: http://www.pantaneto.co.uk/issue10/goede.htm
7.
The
case for a 'deficit model' of science communication
Book pages 155-160: Original text by
David Dickson available at:
8.
Instruments
and Potential of Effective Communication
9.
The Essence of Science Communication
10.
Science in Society: Re-evaluating the
Deficit Model of Public Attitudes
11.
How scientists view their public
communication
12.
Communicating through images
