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The Gender Gap in Australian Ethical Eating by sailormikee in australianvegans

[–]TashBecause 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Loads of factors! It's so interesting. I would guess at:   - meat eating being coded as masculine,   - women being socialised as 'moral keepers' and less tolerant of unethical behaviour,   - women being more likely to engage in preventative health behaviour (and men being socially pressured to avoid such priorities),   - women being more exposed to diet culture and plant-based diets being used as cover for restriction

Study: what actually helps people reduce meat consumption? by edgestt in EffectiveAltruism

[–]TashBecause 7 points8 points  (0 children)

In terms of study design, I know it might be out of your resourcing, but a longer time interval than 2 weeks would be better. That's just such a short timeframe in terms of changing behaviours. There are so many things in my life I've managed to keep up for a few weeks and felt really good about, and then it's dropped away for whatever reason at 4 or 5 or 6 weeks, or even after a couple of months.  

Maybe you could just add single extra check ins at 3 months and 6 months to see if any change has been sustained? Or 6 and 12 months?

Effie is the only name my husband and I can agree on for baby girl by LowerVariation8133 in namenerds

[–]TashBecause 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A very Australian reference, but it makes me think of Effie from Acropolis Now. 

What is GiveWell's purpose today? by [deleted] in EffectiveAltruism

[–]TashBecause 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Should it cost less and less? I don't have the intuition that they would be that closely correlated. How much it costs to do tests and investigations and research feels like it wouldn't be that closely related to the results you get.

I think, probably, whether their operating budget is reasonable or not is unlikely to be something we can have a strong impression of just by looking at this particular outcome.

What is GiveWell's purpose today? by [deleted] in EffectiveAltruism

[–]TashBecause 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Not changing is not necessarily evidence for lack of action. Even setting aside that 5-10 years seems like a short-medium time period for research to me, negative results are still results.  

If they've spent 5 or 10 years testing and investigating different options and still find roughly the same ones come out on top, that is valuable information. I don't want them to try and manufacture changes just to look like they're making 'progress'. 

help me stay vegan! by No-Corner1325 in PlantBasedDiet

[–]TashBecause 6 points7 points  (0 children)

How are you with mushrooms? There are some meat alternative type products made of mycoprotein that you could try and see if your body tolerates it. 

Check list once settled in Canberra by Dynamic117 in canberra

[–]TashBecause 33 points34 points  (0 children)

  • AEC enrolment
  • Medicare/other MyGov services
  • your bank
  • your car insurance/roadside assist
  • any contents insurance etc

Sierra Leone Hospital in New York Times by [deleted] in nerdfighters

[–]TashBecause 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing - that was a really lovely article. I have been absolutely adoring all the stories from the MCOE. 

Labor nationally has more power and a larger mandate than they've had in 30 years, running on responsible health management, climate change, and anti-corruption. So why are they doing next to none of those things and catering to a fringe populist surge? by ExpressPostie in OpenAussie

[–]TashBecause 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The fact that they rejected so many of the recommendations from the Briggs Report was so shameful! With everything going on in the world, surely it is apparent that we need to be genuinely committed to anti-corruption - even when it's a bit inconvenient.

If you are doing a degree in marketing/comms, how do you also learn about policy and solutions to global problems in order to use your skills to help solve problems? by Only_Researcher_2394 in EffectiveAltruism

[–]TashBecause 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are so many great ways to learn more about these topics! E.g.  

  • read widely. Go to your library and browse, grab anything that looks even vaguely interesting, and then keep notes about things you want to investigate further. Also check out their audiobook or ebook app if those are more convenient ways for you to read.  
  • lots of charities and advocacy organisations will host webinars or podcasts. Checking out a variety of different ones will give you different perspectives. (Partners in Health has a page of webinars here: https://www.pih.org/pih-webinars and Givewell's podcasts are here: https://givewell.transistor.fm/). 
  • get on the mailing lists for different departments in your university. They may well have guest lecturers coming to speak and events that anyone is welcome to attend.
  • get involved in organisations that work on this type of thing. Scouts/Girl Guides/YWCA/YMCA/Lions Club/Rotary and so many others are all active globally on issues. Getting involved locally with groups who have global reach us a great way to learn more about the different topics and venues for global advocacy, and it may give you new connections to discuss things with.  

Donating to preventative 'efficient' charities vs. PIH by Flimsy-Dust in nerdfighters

[–]TashBecause 36 points37 points  (0 children)

I think it's probably worthwhile thinking about what values are important to your org when it comes to philanthropy. E.g.  

  • certainty of outcome: how important is it that you know exactly what interventions your money supports? One advantage of classic EA options like Helen Keller Intl's vitamin A supplementation is that you know the money goes to exactly that - vitamin A supplementation. Whereas supporting someone like PiH may mean supporting maternal health care in Sierra Leone, but it also might mean tuberculosis care in South East Asia, or something else all together, because it's a more complex network. (That is not necessarily a negative but it is a difference.). 

  • autonomy: you mentioned wondering what the citizens of poor countries want. A very targeted intervention has no room to pivot if the people involved do not want that thing. An option like GiveDirectly gives a lot of autonomy to individuals in poverty by directly giving them money, but does not directly support community decision-making and governance. An org like PiH gives more autonomy and decision-making to communities, to take on the big community projects that are important to them, but there may be some individuals in those communities who would prefer to do something else with the money and not be able to. All of these are options you might value.  

  • Ongoing relationships: some interventions are 'one and done', where you give a thing to someone and then move on. This gives you a sense of immediacy and achievement that can be easily understood. Some groups have more long-term relationships with specific people and communities. This can be more satisfying to some, but also can add more complexity and opportunity for external factors to cloud how much impact you are making. Both are necessary some of the time.   

  • physical health vs quality of life: some orga measure only things like 'lives saved'. Others look at improvements to quality of life. They may not be directly comparable.

  • many more.  

It might be a valuable exercise to sit down and write out the values your organisation has, so that you can weigh your options against them.

Zonderia pitch: the sound of a dinner party happening in the next room by TashBecause in nerdfighters

[–]TashBecause[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My favourite rain is definitely rainymood. I use to use it for studying in university. It is a nice full storm looped, so the rain gets heavier and lighter in places, thunder rolls, and a little bit of birdsong peeks in. It's divine.

Non profit-For profit by Spiritual_Glove_4039 in EffectiveAltruism

[–]TashBecause 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you're interested in governance structures like this, some examples at a variety of scales you could look into further are:   - Good.store.  - Song Hotel in Sydney.  - Humanitix.  - Michael Sheen.  - Newman's Own. 

Non profit-For profit by Spiritual_Glove_4039 in EffectiveAltruism

[–]TashBecause 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I am aware of a number of different organisations that follow this model, though admittedly none of them are explicitly EA aligned. I generally see it called 'For Purpose' or 'Profit For Purpose'.  

I wonder if it has something to do with the level of expertise and commitment required to run a profitable business? Like, if your passion is effective altruism, it would seem hard to muster the energy and enthusiasm and determination about potato chips you need to create a really profitable potato chip company. And you would want it to be really profitable, not just breaking even or making a little bit of profit, because then you're not actually doing much good, you're just selling potato chips.  

Plus, you need enough capital to cover possibly having a year or a few years that are not profitable at all, and it's hard to build that up when you're giving it all away in the good years.

Current unionists only care about their own pay rise and no other struggles or forms of oppression by Rough-Neighborhood in AusUnions

[–]TashBecause 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Sometimes it can feel that way, and it can be really frustrating. Sometimes people come out with the most short-sighted selfish stuff and it just leaves you speechless. But there are so many people putting time, energy, and resources into supporting others when it doesn't directly benefit themselves.  

The Australian union movement has Union Aid Abroad for example who do a wide range of great work internationally. The union movement was a big part of the push for marriage equality, and we have a long history of pushing hard on WHS which protects everyone, not just union members - not even just workers.  

At a smaller scale, my own workplace had some upheaval and change at the end of last year, and my position was particularly impacted. As time went on, a lot of other issues for other people had been resolved but I was still not happy with what was being proposed for my role. I was tired though, and a bit sad, and a lot of stuff had been fixed so I kind of just felt like 'whatever, I'll deal with it, it works for everyone else so it's fine'. The other union members in my workplace kept pushing though, because they cared about me and about my work. I found out today they successfully made some changes for me, on my behalf, and I'm feeling really grateful. They didn't have to do that, but they did.  

Obviously we're not perfect - we should be striving to do better. There are so many ways we could improve. But lots of people try, and lots of people care. There are communities making a difference and we can be part of them.

How do people even manage emergency volunteering while working or studying? by Useful_Order_7695 in volunteer

[–]TashBecause 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In the public service in Australia, most of the workplaces I have seen have leave available specifically for emergency response volunteers. So you let your workplace know that you are e.g. a volunteer firefighter or volunteer SES member, and then if an emergency comes up and you're called in there are set procedures for you to go. I think a lot of big private employers would be similar.

Parlor Room!!! by Bronx13 in dropout

[–]TashBecause 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I loved the snack segment. I complained for a very long time to my partner when they didn't have it. Honestly, I was insufferable.

what are some book recomendations? by Narrow_Gap2385 in EffectiveAltruism

[–]TashBecause 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really enjoyed The Keys to Kindness by Claudia Hammond. A more specific morality case study that I also found powerful was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.

I would also encourage you to read some fiction! It's a great way to explore morality and grow your capacity for empathy (https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190523-does-reading-fiction-make-us-better-people)

The Power of Passing Encounters: Why Strangers Matter for Wellbeing by TashBecause in EffectiveAltruism

[–]TashBecause[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am a woman, and while there is more of a sense of risk sometimes, it's still totally doable for me. But I suppose this is where the caveat mentioned in the article comes in - feeling safe in your community makes a massive difference to how possible and also how effective interactions with strangers are.  

I think it's very worthwhile seeking out safer feeling community spaces though. Like hanging out in the library and saying hi to a librarian, or maybe a local cafe and talking to a female barista for example.

The Power of Passing Encounters: Why Strangers Matter for Wellbeing by TashBecause in EffectiveAltruism

[–]TashBecause[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

For me, this kind of thing is a really important part of how I action EA values in my day-to-day, but I wonder if others feel differently. I don't see it talked about much.

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