Publication: Business Day
Issued:
Date: 2007-05-22
Reporter: Third Umpire
A
doctoral thesis should be the candidate’s own work in its entirety. It is
neither here nor there whether Shaik intentionally plagiarised or not.
With acknowledgement to Business Day.
This thesis is clearly in the main the regurgitated
content of no less than seven journal papers.
Of these only two have the
candidate cited as an author, one as first of four authors and another as third
of four authors.
The former paper is in any case a rehash of a previous
paper where the candidate was fifth of five authors. Additionally this same
paper is cited in three different instances with a different first author. One
of these authors is on the record as saying that possibly the reason that the
candidate was in one instance cited as first author was because he delivered
this paper at a locally-held conference. In any case this is not a refereed
paper and is only eleven pages in length.
The latter paper has been
confirmed by the second author as being primarily the work of the first author,
Prof. V.E. Verijekno and secondarily of the second author, Prof. T.R. Tauchert
(i.e. himself), two of the most renowned researchers in the field of strength of
composite materials. The fourth author is also a professor in the same
field.
The question can be asked, just what can the contribution be of
the candidate as third author of a journal paper and which entitles him simply
to reproduce almost the entire content thereof in his thesis and at the same
time assert in the signed Declaration of the thesis that it is his owned unaided
work.
In any case, the content of another five journal papers (so far
obtained), where the candidate is not an author, makes up the content of another
100 or so pages of the thesis.
Mysteriously, some of this content is from
journal papers published after the thesis was submitted for examination. Less
surprisingly are things when it is noted that these latter authors consist of
the candidate's own supervisor, the latter's wife and the latter's Ukrainian
friend.
No wonder the candidate's brother says "Ouch!".