[Mihalic] RE: Approach by Oxford University Press

[Ray O'Farrell]

Dear John et al

Thank you for this email. It represents Oxford's position quite well and I'd 
like to add the following points:

First: I want to underscore that fact that Oxford University Press is not in 
the business of plagiarism. We do not publish someone's work without their 
agreement and anyone whose work is reproduced by the Press will be credited 
and acknowledged in a proper manner.

Second: Oxford has a long histroy of publishing for PNG, and we have long 
felt that it is time for the Press to publish an Oxford Dictionary of Tok 
Pisin, and indeed, time for Tok Pisin to have a modern Dictionary as a 
standard reference for the language.

Third: it is unusual for a compiler of manuscript not to want that 
intellectual property made available to a wide audience through the 
publication of a book. Whatever concerns you have, may I please ask that you 
air them fully and frankly with  me.

Fourth: my next visit to PNG is planned for March. Irene Sawczak  from 
Oxford, will join me on that trip. We fly to Moresby on Sunday 21 March, and 
the draft itinerary is to spend the nights of Sun, Mon and Tues in Moresby, 
Wed night in Goroka, Thurs night in Lae, Fri night in Madang, Sat night in 
Moresby, and fly back to Australia on Sunday 28 March. We would be very 
pleased to meet whoever may be in Moresby, Goroka, Lae or Madang while we 
are there,

My best wishes to everyone for a safe and peaceful Christmas and New Year.

Ray O'Farrell
Oxford University Press
Representative agent: PNG and The Pacific


>From: "John Burton" <JohnEllissenBurton at hotmail.om>
>To: <Mihalic at anu.edu.au>
>CC: "'Ray O'Farrell'" 
><rayofarrell at hotmail.com>,<ndegroot at online.net.pg>,<Irene.Sawczak at oup.com>,<pmuhlhau at hotmail.com>,<pgesch at dwu.ac.pg>
>Subject: Approach by Oxford University Press
>Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2003 09:56:46 +1000
>
>Folks
>
>Don Niles of the Institute of PNG Studies recently met the regional
>representative for Oxford University Press, Ray Farrell, in Port
>Moresby, and has put him in touch with me. The substance of (brief)
>discussions so far is that Oxford is interested in publishing two Tok
>Pisin dictionaries in the near future.
>
>* a Tok Pisin Study Dictionary - a 'learner's style work matching other
>dictionaries in Oxford's Study Dictionary series
>* the Revised Mihalic - our project, a longer and more comprehensive
>work
>
>I will forward future correspondence to the list. My concerns so far are
>that the efforts of all contributors are protected and acknowledged.
>This particularly applies to the suppliers of specialised lists,
>concordances and the like, and the previous collaborator with Mihalic,
>Peter Mühlhäusler, who was very anxious at the outset that we did not
>plagiarise his marked-up manuscript dating to c1979.
>
>I have given an assurance to Mühlhäusler that we would protect his and
>his wife's work and one means of doing so has been to advise him that
>his publications are comprehensive enough that we have our work cut out
>consulting them and that only when we have exhausted them, and of course
>given source attibution in the usual way, will we turn to the
>manuscript.
>
>Although there are issues to resolve, I am very pleased that Oxford has
>made this approach. I have advised that we are plodding rather than
>rushing along, but that we conceive of trying to organise a conference
>at Divine Word University, Mihalic last home in PNG, as the next step
>after completing a first pass of the (old) headwords.
>
>What does everybody think?
>
>Pat Gesch - any comments?
>Peter Mühlhäusler - any comments?
>
>All the best for the festive season
>John Burton
>
>

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