Simple systems; hire on quals, not endorsement; science communicators; Aust Policy Observatory

Published: Thu, 12/14/23

RSA Daily

For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia

Friday, December 15, 2023

Rationale, the magazine of the Rationalist Society of Australia

Good morning ,

Sometimes it's the little things that surprise.

Driving through Maine, it occured to me there were no post boxes. So I asked, "When people want to send letters, do they have to drive to the post office?" Answer: No. Each home's own letter box has a little red metal flag attached; when the home owner has letters to send, they leave them in the letterbox and turn the flag 90 degrees so that the postie knows to stop and pick up their letters.

Simple as the Japanese kanban ('just-in-time' system) and nary a computer in sight.

New item by Meredith Doig

Lead stories

Survey says chaplains should be hired based on qualification

An Australia Institute and Rationalist Society of Australia survey found 71 per cent of Australians…

Sure, federal Labor has 'opened up' the National Schools Chaplaincy Program to the non-religious by re-introducing the policy that 'wellbeing' officers (dreadful name) can be religious or not. But the fact is the selection and management of these people is still outsourced to third party providers and nearly all of these are run by Christian organisations. So while the feds might be able to claim there is no direct discrimination, it seems to me there remains indirect discrimination - ie, a system whereby a disproportionately higher number of one particular group can benefit from the system compared with other groups.

Other stories of interest

International Secularism Conference in Paris

Fermenting revolution

Something different - a fascinating history of bread-making. Strong stomach needed.

The real work of science communicators - Rationale Magazine

"We see science as part of humanity’s grand project to solve many challenges. We are not ignorant of the broader social context. Most of us do not believe science is everything, and we talk about its limitations."

We found a new home! 🥳

Some of you may not know of the very useful Swinburne University site called APO - Australian Policy Observatory. It is a treasure trove of public policy reports ranging from social science and politics to science and the environment. And it includes all of RSA's landmark Religiosity series. A must for policy nerds.

Got a comment on any of these stories?

Write to me at president@rationalist.com.au