David Crotty

New York

Editor in Chief at The Scholarly Kitchen

What's hot and cooking in Scholarly Publishing. Blog from the Society for Scholarly Publishing-account run by Editor David Crotty. Retweets are not endorsements

Articles

An Elaborate, But Highly Accurate, 11 Second Microsoft Office Gag

1 week ago | scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org | David Crotty

There are pieces of software that we each use every single day, and each seems to have some inexplicable and maddening behavior that one has to put up with. The video below acts out one of my greatest pet peeves, moving an image in Microsoft Word with the analogy of moving a piece of furniture in a room. The effort that went into what is essentially an 11-second gag is impressive, as is the result of giving an image the tiniest scooch.
The Scholarly Kitchen

3 weeks ago | scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org | David Crotty

There’s so little one can count on being consistent these days, so perhaps it’s time to take solace in the essential physical laws of the universe. And what better combination to help with that than Adam Savage and the Muppets? Here, they attempt to interrogate gravity, but perhaps do a better job demonstrating the always reliable joy of dropping objects from a great height and watching them smash.
A Tradition Like No Other: The Minnesota State High School All Hockey Hair Team

1 month ago | scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org | David Crotty

David Crotty David Crotty is a Senior Consultant at Clarke & Esposito, a boutique management consulting firm focused on strategic issues related to professional and academic publishing and information services. Previously, David was the Editorial Director, Journals Policy for Oxford University Press. He oversaw journal policy across OUP’s journals program, drove technological innovation, and served as an information officer.
The Rules No Longer Apply: Octopus Edition

1 month ago | scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org | David Crotty

Does it feel like our previously ordered universe has taken a dramatic shift to a situation where rules no longer apply? Given that so much of the research world seems to be living in a state of constant confusion and contradiction, it’s no wonder that it seems like all bets are off and anything goes. The animal kingdom offers no respite as far as I’m concerned, because apparently everything I knew about octopi is wrong — at least according to the video below and the Argonaut.
Indirect Costs (Facilities and Administration Cost) Explainer

2 months ago | scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org | David Crotty

Usually we run a video on Friday, but as I’m waiting on a few posts for later this week, I’m going to mix things up a little bit and run one earlier in the week. As Lisa Hinchliffe wrote about last week, in the US, the federal government announced a drastic cut to the amounts the NIH would pay for grant indirect costs (also called F&A, or “facilities and administration” costs).
What We Can Learn About Languages from the Words for Parts of the Body

2 months ago | scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org | David Crotty

The words used for objects in different languages can tell us a great deal about conditions in ancient civilizations. For example, because so many disparate languages like Greek, Sanskrit, and Dutch all have similar words for “wheel”, it’s reasonable to assume that the Proto Indo European civilization, which was at the root of all those languages, had wheeled vehicles. But the reasoning goes the other way as well.
Revisiting: Measuring Societal Impact or, Meet the New Metric, Same as the Old Metric

2 months ago | scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org | David Crotty

Editor’s Note: Every five or so years, I feel an urgent need to rewrite the same post explaining the fallacy behind a piece of research solely by its “societal impact”. The first was in 2014, followed by the piece below from 2018. It’s come back onto my radar after attending several science policy meetings where some speakers were emphasizing it, and from recent posts such as Mark Huskisson’s report from the Munin Conference.
Design Matters: Why Ireland Has The Best Postal Codes

2 months ago | scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org | David Crotty

Some week, huh? If you’re like me, you’ll welcome a little order amidst all the chaos. And this craving led me to watching a seven and a half minute video on how postal codes (“zip codes” in the US and the Philippines) are organized. What might surprise you is that they’re generally not based on geography, but rather on the location of the nearest postal sorting center. Each digit moves the mailed item further along by one sorting center down to the local post office and then out for delivery.
Grammarian vs. Errorist

Jan 24, 2025 | scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org | David Crotty

Uch, this week. The incoming US administration is embarking on a path that looks increasingly ominous for the next four years of academic research (and universities in general). While I’m sure this will become an ongoing focus here in The Scholarly Kitchen, our Friday posts are, ideally, a way to end the week with a bit of entertaining distraction.
Good Good Boy Alert: The Dogs of 2024

Jan 10, 2025 | scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org | David Crotty

I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely not ready for 2025. And so I figured I’d start the year of our less-than-serious Friday posts with some pure pandering. The folks at We Rate Dogs compiled their favorite clips of the year, featuring a plethora of good good boys and girls for your viewing pleasure. Please enjoy 10 or so minutes of perfection before all the 2025 weirdness really kicks into gear.