Joseph Reyes - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Joseph Reyes
Pacific Affairs
Despite election violence being a commonly agreed upon phenomena in the Philippines, there has be... more Despite election violence being a commonly agreed upon phenomena in the Philippines, there has been a dearth in academic research on the topic in recent years, largely due to a lack of reliable information. To address this, our article adapts recognized methods from studies such as Lindsay Shorr Newman's 2013 paper, together with Stephen McGrath and Paul Gill's 2014 research on terrorism and elections. To expose the timing of election violence, we tracked incidents relative to election dates for the period from 2004 to 2017, with the results indicating that violence increased closer to an election date, and frequency substantially increased during the 14-year period. This is the first academic journal article since John Linantud in 1998 to focus on the issue of election violence in the Philippines but through adaptive methodologies goes further, enabling national analysis. Furthermore, our findings reveal statistically significant differences regarding the types of terrorist...
Journal of Humanities and Education Development
The pre-experimental one-grouped pretestposttest designwas the researcher's way on providing a si... more The pre-experimental one-grouped pretestposttest designwas the researcher's way on providing a single group and intervention during the experiment. This study was limited to the mathematical anxiety, self-efficacy and mathematical performance of the 19 grade seven students of Telesforo and Natividad Alfonso High School for the school year 2016-2017. The coverage of this study was the third grading period geometry lesson and its main goal was to determine the problems that contribute to the mathematical anxiety and respondents' self-efficacy and its effect on their performance. Most especially, its major aim was to increase the students' self-efficacy and decrease their anxiety using touch math and instructional games strategies. As drawn from the results of the study, touch math on instruction and instructional games on assessment positively decreased students' mathematical anxiety, negatively increased their self-efficacy, and developed their academic performance. And it was suggested that different approaches such as cooperative learning, making topics practical and workable, and students' perceptions towards Mathematics should be taken into considerations in teaching Math t o enhance their mathematical ability.
Journal of Humanities and Education Development
Three Experimental Phases of Cornstarch-Based Biodegradable Plastic is the focus of this current ... more Three Experimental Phases of Cornstarch-Based Biodegradable Plastic is the focus of this current study whose purpose was to create a bio-plastic from eco-friendly materials as a platform for an alternative commercial plastic. This study used a pre-experimental research design where three bio-plastic experiments were monitored to identify which among them was likely to produce the most efficient bio-plastic. At the end of the study, it was concluded that in terms of elasticity, tear resistance, appearance, texture, and odor, Experimental Two with four tablespoons of cornstarch, one cup of water, two tablespoons of vinegar, and two tablespoons of glycerin, is the most reliable among the three experiments. Hence, this study recommends to the biologists and scientists that may use this study to help them find ways to lessen biological problems caused by non-biodegradable plastics; to the producers that the study may help them to create and manufacture bio-plastics and to improve the study using other materials for the product to last longer indoors; to the consumers that the study may let them know the reliability and liability of the plastic they use in their everyday life; and to the future researchers who will want to conduct a further study about bioplastics, this study may serve as a related study and think of an intervention to improve the results from the problem.
The Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies
The importance of indigenous knowledge in reducing risk from disasters and natural calamities has... more The importance of indigenous knowledge in reducing risk from disasters and natural calamities has been widely discussed in the social sciences by scholars arguing for integrative frameworks and participatory processes. This type of knowledge is vital for archipelagic developing countries, such as the Philippines, situated in a geographical area exposed to natural hazards. However, despite its potential contribution to disaster prevention, mitigation, response, rehabilitation and recovery, along with possible combination strategies with western scientific knowledge towards reducing vulnerability and disaster risk management, the literature on the integration of specific communities' indigenous knowledgebased disaster preparedness and adaptation is still limited. The novel contribution of this article is in the discussion of the unique indigenous knowledgeidentified in the cases of San Miguel Island, Camotes Island and Alabat Island, which is utilized even up to the present. Parti...
Journal of Humanities and Education Development
The descriptive correlational method of research aimed to analyze the mathematical performance of... more The descriptive correlational method of research aimed to analyze the mathematical performance of high school freshmen in relation to their admission test results. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions: 1.) What is the profile of the respondents in the terms of age, gender, and types of elementary school graduated? 2.) What is the mathematical performance of the respondents? 3.) Is there a significant relationship between the mathematical performance and the profile of the respondents in terms of age, gender, and types of elementary school graduated? 4.) What are the admission test results of the respondents? 5.) Is there a significant relationship between the admission test results of the respondents and their profile in terms of age, gender, and types of elementary school graduated? 6.) Is there a significant relationship between the mathematical performance of the respondents to their admission test results? 7.) Is there a significant difference in the mathematical performance between ASC and VAC respondents? 8.) Is there a significant difference in the admission test results between ASC and VAC respondents? Findings revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 12.96 (ASC) and 12.80 (VAC). There were more female than the male students in the VAC, while of the same number among the ASC. More public elementary graduates were found in the VAC while lesser in the ASC program. Talking about the mathematical performance, the ASC obtained 29.42 (Good); the VAC was 25.15 (Good). The admission mean scores of both programs were 38.04 and 32.13 described as both Satisfactory. The relationship of the mathematical performance and the admission test results to the age, gender, and types of elementary school of the ASC and VAC respondents were not significant. Relationship between the mathematical performance and the admission test results was significant. Difference in mathematical performance and admission test results between ASC and VAC respondents was significant. In reference to the foregoing summary of findings and conclusions, the following recommendations are hereby provided: Different approaches such as cooperative learning, making topics practical and workable, and student's perceptions towards Mathematics should be taken into considerations in teaching Math to ASC and VAC students to enhance their mathematical abilities and become very satisfactory in Mathematics. Elementary teacher should provide deeper concepts to prepare grade six students for the different school admission test. A similar study should be conducted that will trail the Mathematics learning process of the students from first year to fourth year high school. Further study should be conducted to include factors, which were not considered in this study.
The Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies
Myriad debates in electoral politics have drawn attention to the importance of and risks to genui... more Myriad debates in electoral politics have drawn attention to the importance of and risks to genuine democracy brought about by factors such as campaign spending, incumbency, political party affiliation and political dynasties. However, only a few studies utilize integrative and multivariate approaches to understanding the contribution of these factors, and this is even rarer for studies on the Philippines of recent times, despite its being among the first and most vibrant democracies in Asia. Examining the relationships to senatorial candidates' total number of votes for the 2010, 2013 and 2016 elections findings reveal overall that total campaign expenditure has a very significant relationship with the number of votes, this being consistent for all of the elections covered by the study. Thus money matters a lot – even when compared with the traditionally highly regarded factors such as incumbency, political dynasty and membership to political parties. This article discusses the...
Philippine Engineering Journal, Jul 26, 2011
Clinics in orthopedic surgery, 2016
Antegrade transmalleolar drilling method is one of the options for the treatment of osteochondral... more Antegrade transmalleolar drilling method is one of the options for the treatment of osteochondral lesion of talus (OLT). We present five patients who underwent tibial drilling for treatment of OLT and later developed distal tibial cystic formation induced by cartilage opening or heat necrosis during drilling. Antegrade transmalleolar drilling can be a possible option for the treatment of OLT if the lesion is not easily reachable; however, other viable treatment should be considered due to its possibility of distal tibial pathologic change.
Terrorism and Political Violence, 2015
This paper investigates Twitter data related to the kidnapping case of two German nationals in th... more This paper investigates Twitter data related to the kidnapping case of two German nationals in the southern region of the Philippines by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). It explores perceptions of the ASG, along with associated organizations and sentiments indicated in the tweets together with statistically significant relationships. Findings revealed that: "Rebel" and "Militant" were the most frequently used labels for the ASG; Majority of the tweets contained sentiments that assess threats such as abduction and kidnapping of hostages; and almost half contained words that indicate negotiation or concession to the demands of the captors. Logistic regression analyses on "Rebel" and "Islamist" revealed positive coefficients for these sentiments used as predictors. This meant that people who assessed threats and expressed sentiments that responses should concede to the captors' demands were more likely to use the "Rebel" or "Islamist" labels. Rather than the two longstanding dominant narratives of the ASG as terrorist and criminals, the emerging rebel and militant labels, suggest a more domestically and politically sensitive Twitter commentarial than represented in the work of the Al-Qaeda centric paradigm exponents. These findings along with the complex associated political and policy contexts and implications are discussed in this paper.
The philosophical and democratic case for a citizens' super-jury to represent and defend future p... more The philosophical and democratic case for a citizens' super-jury to represent and defend future people Rupert Read "[Society is] a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born."-Edmund Burke. "We act as we do because we can get away with it: future generations do not vote; they have no political or financial power; they cannot challenge our decisions".-World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987. "We may come to think that vox populi is vox dei, but not until it is the group voice, not until it is found by some more intimate process than listening to the shout of the crowd or counting the votes in the ballot-box".-Mary Parker Follett. "The irony of the matter is that the future generations do not have a vote. In effect, we hold their proxy."-Charles J. Hitch, Regarding the environment. 7 My suggestion in this paper is that the great applied work for philosophers et al at this time is to think a change to our socio-political institutions that might enable us to rise to the challenge we face: that might enable us collectively to think the future. To think and will and bring about a sustainable/survivable future. This way will have, I argue, to be and to be perceived to be democratic; in the era of the Arab Spring (on which, see the previous issue of JIRR), authoritarian 'solutions' are simply no longer viable, even if they were to be desirable (which they are not). It will also have to have enough teeth, enough force, to do what is necessary to turn around this supertanker, this carbon-driven society that we live in. A society in which the economic interests of rich individuals and corporations (and countries) is tending to tyrannise over the needs of the bulk of humanity-present and future. This is the challenge we face. I answer it here by offering a radical vision: of a 'super-jury' of strong guardians for the future, powerfully inserted at the apex of each and every parliamentary democracy, and into our system of international governance (such as it isand, hopefully, to be strengthened in the process). In response to this challenge, I will begin by (in the remainder of the present section) laying out briefly in an informal manner how I arrived at my argument to follow (and thus summarise my proposal). I will then detail that argument, in sections 1 thru 7 of the paper. This, I have tended to find, is the most effective way of introducing and making comprehensible the radical proposal that I am making. The simplest way of making plausible the challenge that we face is to point out that we have to find some way of addressing chronic short-termism in our culture and institutions. i The electoral cycle, let alone the news cycle, quarterly reports: these all incline us to incredibly short time-horizons. The idea in the present paper is proposed to counterbalance those pressures for short-termism. This problem of short-termism is particularly harsh so far as it applies to electoral democracy. Only people who are alive vote. Even markets do, at least in a rudimentary way, include a reckoning for future people: for example, the desire of future people for oil is already being registered, today, in (somewhat!) 'rational expectations' about future oil prices. Thus economic decisions being taken right now make at least some basic inclusion of the needs of future people. But votes don't, unless future people are fortunate enough that voters explicitly choose for them to, in a way that makes the effort to foresee those needs. And that begins to lead into another way in which one can think about the basis for the proposal that I will make, that's equally important: and that's in the concept of democracy itself (See section 1, below). One of the main things I want to do is to get philosophers and IR theorists and citizens to reflect on what we mean by democracy. What is democracy? For me, the obvious place to start with that question is etymology; and 'democracy' means, or is supposed to mean, 'the rule of the people'. So: the question we ought to ask ourselves is, "Do the people rule in Britain [or the U.S., or wherever, reader, you are living] today?" And to ask that question is to answer it-of course they don't. In Britain, where I live, and allegedly the 'mother' of all modern parliamentary democracies, we need a reformed electoral system, a thoroughly reformed Upper House, economic democracy, localisation, participatory democracy; these are the kind of changes that would be needed to make a country like Britain worthy of the name 'democratic'. But there's a problem that remains, even after all of those reforms have perhaps been made in 9 So, that's the essence of my proposal: a super-jury, faithfully sworn to uphold the basic needs of future people; with access to the very best expert advice (including from philosophers, legal theorists, international relations experts…); able to exercise a proxy veto on the future's behalf over legislation. And these people should be selected like a jury, by 'sortition'…which was exactly the main democratic mechanism in Athens, which is well-known as the 'birthplace of democracy'. There's no particular reason why 'democracy' has to mean election; democracy can mean random selection, sortition. It did in Athens; it could do again here and now; it still animates our democratic system through the jury system. You could call these new guardians 'philosopher-kings'… But the philosophical inspiration for my proposal is actually less Plato than Habermas (as I detail in section 3, below). The super-jurors wouldn't of course have to be philosophers; they would form a non-elite, democratic institution. Giving a powerful voice to the voiceless (unborn future generations). Actually bringing us a step nearer to a more ideal situation in which the speech of all can as it were be heard, and matter, at last…I will now seek to make good and fill out the summary-overview just offered. Democracy: What does it mean? Democracy means: the people rule… Do the people rule at present? To ask the question is to answer it: No… So, for example, to change this, one might have a polity such as Britain's, ii that has a House of Commons (which should be elected by proportional representation (PR)), and an Upper House (that should probably be elected by PR if the Commons is not or alternatively selected Athenian-style by a Goodwin-style lot, iii and served by experts to assist in its deliberation). Such electoral reform, together with campaign finance reform (public funding of elections), massively-egalitarian redistributive legislation, and serious media reform to break the power of media oligarchs, should be enough to take us some way in the direction of democracy. Furthermore, serious decentralisation is essential-what Colin Hines calls 'localisation'-and this can and should result in far more participatory democracy. But: there is a problem that still remains, even in the much-improved reformed democracy that would eventuate. The problem is this: The people who would rule, even in this improved democratically-reformed future, are only the people (in fact, the adult, registered-to-vote, not extremely-infirm etc. people) who are alive now. But surely 'the people' iv ought to be thought of in a far more temporally extended manner. Does a people only exist as a momentary 'time-slice'; or even one generation at a time? Surely not. A people, a nation-state, a society, a continent such as Europe, the global citizenry: each of these is something extended over time. Extending into (or rather from) the past, and extends indefinitely into the future. (Of course, over time a people changes, radically: the Romans of the 4 th century C.E. don't have a great deal in common with the 'Romans' of today. But this point too will turn out to my eventual advantage: for over time, a people tends gradually to become more and more dispersed into the entire future of the human race. A people, to protect its descendants, needs to protect the entire human future; needs, that is, to protect the ecosystems etc of the Earth…) To some extent this is an intractable problem that we simply have to come to terms with: our power over the future. We cannot wish this away. We cannot wish away the asymmetry 12 We need then to think about the legitimation of a democratic principle for how to represent, voice and empower future generations (whether by means of 'guardianship' or in any other way). First, then, let me move to introduce into this conversation the leading living philosopher of legitimation and of democracy, Jurgen Habermas. One's starting-point here, in thinking about legitimation, ought to be the fundamental principle of every democratic government: all power is based upon the people. This is a simple, clear concept of how a state is legitimate. Every citizen of a nation is to be treated as a citizen and thus able to have their own voice. This form of government ensures a ground for a just procedure of governing, entailing the (re-)distribution of power and authority. The justice of the procedure is based upon the fact that every member, in the exercise of her own will, is in a position to equally-contribute towards the decision process which involves her fate. In the United Kingdom this contribution is (allegedly) ensured via representatives on different levels of government who are voted in in a just way. So far the situation is set and clear, but there are implications that are hidden and must be revealed. The legitimate representative authority of an official decision is ensured by basing the power on the people (and, where appropriate, by deciding via justly appointed representatives). Again we need to ask: What does 'the people' mean? (And here we are rehearsing in a more 'abstract' way the considerations that occupied us at the very opening of the paper, in Sections 0 & 1.) In a democratic system the concept of 'the people' is used...
Pacific Affairs
Despite election violence being a commonly agreed upon phenomena in the Philippines, there has be... more Despite election violence being a commonly agreed upon phenomena in the Philippines, there has been a dearth in academic research on the topic in recent years, largely due to a lack of reliable information. To address this, our article adapts recognized methods from studies such as Lindsay Shorr Newman's 2013 paper, together with Stephen McGrath and Paul Gill's 2014 research on terrorism and elections. To expose the timing of election violence, we tracked incidents relative to election dates for the period from 2004 to 2017, with the results indicating that violence increased closer to an election date, and frequency substantially increased during the 14-year period. This is the first academic journal article since John Linantud in 1998 to focus on the issue of election violence in the Philippines but through adaptive methodologies goes further, enabling national analysis. Furthermore, our findings reveal statistically significant differences regarding the types of terrorist...
Journal of Humanities and Education Development
The pre-experimental one-grouped pretestposttest designwas the researcher's way on providing a si... more The pre-experimental one-grouped pretestposttest designwas the researcher's way on providing a single group and intervention during the experiment. This study was limited to the mathematical anxiety, self-efficacy and mathematical performance of the 19 grade seven students of Telesforo and Natividad Alfonso High School for the school year 2016-2017. The coverage of this study was the third grading period geometry lesson and its main goal was to determine the problems that contribute to the mathematical anxiety and respondents' self-efficacy and its effect on their performance. Most especially, its major aim was to increase the students' self-efficacy and decrease their anxiety using touch math and instructional games strategies. As drawn from the results of the study, touch math on instruction and instructional games on assessment positively decreased students' mathematical anxiety, negatively increased their self-efficacy, and developed their academic performance. And it was suggested that different approaches such as cooperative learning, making topics practical and workable, and students' perceptions towards Mathematics should be taken into considerations in teaching Math t o enhance their mathematical ability.
Journal of Humanities and Education Development
Three Experimental Phases of Cornstarch-Based Biodegradable Plastic is the focus of this current ... more Three Experimental Phases of Cornstarch-Based Biodegradable Plastic is the focus of this current study whose purpose was to create a bio-plastic from eco-friendly materials as a platform for an alternative commercial plastic. This study used a pre-experimental research design where three bio-plastic experiments were monitored to identify which among them was likely to produce the most efficient bio-plastic. At the end of the study, it was concluded that in terms of elasticity, tear resistance, appearance, texture, and odor, Experimental Two with four tablespoons of cornstarch, one cup of water, two tablespoons of vinegar, and two tablespoons of glycerin, is the most reliable among the three experiments. Hence, this study recommends to the biologists and scientists that may use this study to help them find ways to lessen biological problems caused by non-biodegradable plastics; to the producers that the study may help them to create and manufacture bio-plastics and to improve the study using other materials for the product to last longer indoors; to the consumers that the study may let them know the reliability and liability of the plastic they use in their everyday life; and to the future researchers who will want to conduct a further study about bioplastics, this study may serve as a related study and think of an intervention to improve the results from the problem.
The Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies
The importance of indigenous knowledge in reducing risk from disasters and natural calamities has... more The importance of indigenous knowledge in reducing risk from disasters and natural calamities has been widely discussed in the social sciences by scholars arguing for integrative frameworks and participatory processes. This type of knowledge is vital for archipelagic developing countries, such as the Philippines, situated in a geographical area exposed to natural hazards. However, despite its potential contribution to disaster prevention, mitigation, response, rehabilitation and recovery, along with possible combination strategies with western scientific knowledge towards reducing vulnerability and disaster risk management, the literature on the integration of specific communities' indigenous knowledgebased disaster preparedness and adaptation is still limited. The novel contribution of this article is in the discussion of the unique indigenous knowledgeidentified in the cases of San Miguel Island, Camotes Island and Alabat Island, which is utilized even up to the present. Parti...
Journal of Humanities and Education Development
The descriptive correlational method of research aimed to analyze the mathematical performance of... more The descriptive correlational method of research aimed to analyze the mathematical performance of high school freshmen in relation to their admission test results. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions: 1.) What is the profile of the respondents in the terms of age, gender, and types of elementary school graduated? 2.) What is the mathematical performance of the respondents? 3.) Is there a significant relationship between the mathematical performance and the profile of the respondents in terms of age, gender, and types of elementary school graduated? 4.) What are the admission test results of the respondents? 5.) Is there a significant relationship between the admission test results of the respondents and their profile in terms of age, gender, and types of elementary school graduated? 6.) Is there a significant relationship between the mathematical performance of the respondents to their admission test results? 7.) Is there a significant difference in the mathematical performance between ASC and VAC respondents? 8.) Is there a significant difference in the admission test results between ASC and VAC respondents? Findings revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 12.96 (ASC) and 12.80 (VAC). There were more female than the male students in the VAC, while of the same number among the ASC. More public elementary graduates were found in the VAC while lesser in the ASC program. Talking about the mathematical performance, the ASC obtained 29.42 (Good); the VAC was 25.15 (Good). The admission mean scores of both programs were 38.04 and 32.13 described as both Satisfactory. The relationship of the mathematical performance and the admission test results to the age, gender, and types of elementary school of the ASC and VAC respondents were not significant. Relationship between the mathematical performance and the admission test results was significant. Difference in mathematical performance and admission test results between ASC and VAC respondents was significant. In reference to the foregoing summary of findings and conclusions, the following recommendations are hereby provided: Different approaches such as cooperative learning, making topics practical and workable, and student's perceptions towards Mathematics should be taken into considerations in teaching Math to ASC and VAC students to enhance their mathematical abilities and become very satisfactory in Mathematics. Elementary teacher should provide deeper concepts to prepare grade six students for the different school admission test. A similar study should be conducted that will trail the Mathematics learning process of the students from first year to fourth year high school. Further study should be conducted to include factors, which were not considered in this study.
The Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies
Myriad debates in electoral politics have drawn attention to the importance of and risks to genui... more Myriad debates in electoral politics have drawn attention to the importance of and risks to genuine democracy brought about by factors such as campaign spending, incumbency, political party affiliation and political dynasties. However, only a few studies utilize integrative and multivariate approaches to understanding the contribution of these factors, and this is even rarer for studies on the Philippines of recent times, despite its being among the first and most vibrant democracies in Asia. Examining the relationships to senatorial candidates' total number of votes for the 2010, 2013 and 2016 elections findings reveal overall that total campaign expenditure has a very significant relationship with the number of votes, this being consistent for all of the elections covered by the study. Thus money matters a lot – even when compared with the traditionally highly regarded factors such as incumbency, political dynasty and membership to political parties. This article discusses the...
Philippine Engineering Journal, Jul 26, 2011
Clinics in orthopedic surgery, 2016
Antegrade transmalleolar drilling method is one of the options for the treatment of osteochondral... more Antegrade transmalleolar drilling method is one of the options for the treatment of osteochondral lesion of talus (OLT). We present five patients who underwent tibial drilling for treatment of OLT and later developed distal tibial cystic formation induced by cartilage opening or heat necrosis during drilling. Antegrade transmalleolar drilling can be a possible option for the treatment of OLT if the lesion is not easily reachable; however, other viable treatment should be considered due to its possibility of distal tibial pathologic change.
Terrorism and Political Violence, 2015
This paper investigates Twitter data related to the kidnapping case of two German nationals in th... more This paper investigates Twitter data related to the kidnapping case of two German nationals in the southern region of the Philippines by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). It explores perceptions of the ASG, along with associated organizations and sentiments indicated in the tweets together with statistically significant relationships. Findings revealed that: "Rebel" and "Militant" were the most frequently used labels for the ASG; Majority of the tweets contained sentiments that assess threats such as abduction and kidnapping of hostages; and almost half contained words that indicate negotiation or concession to the demands of the captors. Logistic regression analyses on "Rebel" and "Islamist" revealed positive coefficients for these sentiments used as predictors. This meant that people who assessed threats and expressed sentiments that responses should concede to the captors' demands were more likely to use the "Rebel" or "Islamist" labels. Rather than the two longstanding dominant narratives of the ASG as terrorist and criminals, the emerging rebel and militant labels, suggest a more domestically and politically sensitive Twitter commentarial than represented in the work of the Al-Qaeda centric paradigm exponents. These findings along with the complex associated political and policy contexts and implications are discussed in this paper.
The philosophical and democratic case for a citizens' super-jury to represent and defend future p... more The philosophical and democratic case for a citizens' super-jury to represent and defend future people Rupert Read "[Society is] a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born."-Edmund Burke. "We act as we do because we can get away with it: future generations do not vote; they have no political or financial power; they cannot challenge our decisions".-World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987. "We may come to think that vox populi is vox dei, but not until it is the group voice, not until it is found by some more intimate process than listening to the shout of the crowd or counting the votes in the ballot-box".-Mary Parker Follett. "The irony of the matter is that the future generations do not have a vote. In effect, we hold their proxy."-Charles J. Hitch, Regarding the environment. 7 My suggestion in this paper is that the great applied work for philosophers et al at this time is to think a change to our socio-political institutions that might enable us to rise to the challenge we face: that might enable us collectively to think the future. To think and will and bring about a sustainable/survivable future. This way will have, I argue, to be and to be perceived to be democratic; in the era of the Arab Spring (on which, see the previous issue of JIRR), authoritarian 'solutions' are simply no longer viable, even if they were to be desirable (which they are not). It will also have to have enough teeth, enough force, to do what is necessary to turn around this supertanker, this carbon-driven society that we live in. A society in which the economic interests of rich individuals and corporations (and countries) is tending to tyrannise over the needs of the bulk of humanity-present and future. This is the challenge we face. I answer it here by offering a radical vision: of a 'super-jury' of strong guardians for the future, powerfully inserted at the apex of each and every parliamentary democracy, and into our system of international governance (such as it isand, hopefully, to be strengthened in the process). In response to this challenge, I will begin by (in the remainder of the present section) laying out briefly in an informal manner how I arrived at my argument to follow (and thus summarise my proposal). I will then detail that argument, in sections 1 thru 7 of the paper. This, I have tended to find, is the most effective way of introducing and making comprehensible the radical proposal that I am making. The simplest way of making plausible the challenge that we face is to point out that we have to find some way of addressing chronic short-termism in our culture and institutions. i The electoral cycle, let alone the news cycle, quarterly reports: these all incline us to incredibly short time-horizons. The idea in the present paper is proposed to counterbalance those pressures for short-termism. This problem of short-termism is particularly harsh so far as it applies to electoral democracy. Only people who are alive vote. Even markets do, at least in a rudimentary way, include a reckoning for future people: for example, the desire of future people for oil is already being registered, today, in (somewhat!) 'rational expectations' about future oil prices. Thus economic decisions being taken right now make at least some basic inclusion of the needs of future people. But votes don't, unless future people are fortunate enough that voters explicitly choose for them to, in a way that makes the effort to foresee those needs. And that begins to lead into another way in which one can think about the basis for the proposal that I will make, that's equally important: and that's in the concept of democracy itself (See section 1, below). One of the main things I want to do is to get philosophers and IR theorists and citizens to reflect on what we mean by democracy. What is democracy? For me, the obvious place to start with that question is etymology; and 'democracy' means, or is supposed to mean, 'the rule of the people'. So: the question we ought to ask ourselves is, "Do the people rule in Britain [or the U.S., or wherever, reader, you are living] today?" And to ask that question is to answer it-of course they don't. In Britain, where I live, and allegedly the 'mother' of all modern parliamentary democracies, we need a reformed electoral system, a thoroughly reformed Upper House, economic democracy, localisation, participatory democracy; these are the kind of changes that would be needed to make a country like Britain worthy of the name 'democratic'. But there's a problem that remains, even after all of those reforms have perhaps been made in 9 So, that's the essence of my proposal: a super-jury, faithfully sworn to uphold the basic needs of future people; with access to the very best expert advice (including from philosophers, legal theorists, international relations experts…); able to exercise a proxy veto on the future's behalf over legislation. And these people should be selected like a jury, by 'sortition'…which was exactly the main democratic mechanism in Athens, which is well-known as the 'birthplace of democracy'. There's no particular reason why 'democracy' has to mean election; democracy can mean random selection, sortition. It did in Athens; it could do again here and now; it still animates our democratic system through the jury system. You could call these new guardians 'philosopher-kings'… But the philosophical inspiration for my proposal is actually less Plato than Habermas (as I detail in section 3, below). The super-jurors wouldn't of course have to be philosophers; they would form a non-elite, democratic institution. Giving a powerful voice to the voiceless (unborn future generations). Actually bringing us a step nearer to a more ideal situation in which the speech of all can as it were be heard, and matter, at last…I will now seek to make good and fill out the summary-overview just offered. Democracy: What does it mean? Democracy means: the people rule… Do the people rule at present? To ask the question is to answer it: No… So, for example, to change this, one might have a polity such as Britain's, ii that has a House of Commons (which should be elected by proportional representation (PR)), and an Upper House (that should probably be elected by PR if the Commons is not or alternatively selected Athenian-style by a Goodwin-style lot, iii and served by experts to assist in its deliberation). Such electoral reform, together with campaign finance reform (public funding of elections), massively-egalitarian redistributive legislation, and serious media reform to break the power of media oligarchs, should be enough to take us some way in the direction of democracy. Furthermore, serious decentralisation is essential-what Colin Hines calls 'localisation'-and this can and should result in far more participatory democracy. But: there is a problem that still remains, even in the much-improved reformed democracy that would eventuate. The problem is this: The people who would rule, even in this improved democratically-reformed future, are only the people (in fact, the adult, registered-to-vote, not extremely-infirm etc. people) who are alive now. But surely 'the people' iv ought to be thought of in a far more temporally extended manner. Does a people only exist as a momentary 'time-slice'; or even one generation at a time? Surely not. A people, a nation-state, a society, a continent such as Europe, the global citizenry: each of these is something extended over time. Extending into (or rather from) the past, and extends indefinitely into the future. (Of course, over time a people changes, radically: the Romans of the 4 th century C.E. don't have a great deal in common with the 'Romans' of today. But this point too will turn out to my eventual advantage: for over time, a people tends gradually to become more and more dispersed into the entire future of the human race. A people, to protect its descendants, needs to protect the entire human future; needs, that is, to protect the ecosystems etc of the Earth…) To some extent this is an intractable problem that we simply have to come to terms with: our power over the future. We cannot wish this away. We cannot wish away the asymmetry 12 We need then to think about the legitimation of a democratic principle for how to represent, voice and empower future generations (whether by means of 'guardianship' or in any other way). First, then, let me move to introduce into this conversation the leading living philosopher of legitimation and of democracy, Jurgen Habermas. One's starting-point here, in thinking about legitimation, ought to be the fundamental principle of every democratic government: all power is based upon the people. This is a simple, clear concept of how a state is legitimate. Every citizen of a nation is to be treated as a citizen and thus able to have their own voice. This form of government ensures a ground for a just procedure of governing, entailing the (re-)distribution of power and authority. The justice of the procedure is based upon the fact that every member, in the exercise of her own will, is in a position to equally-contribute towards the decision process which involves her fate. In the United Kingdom this contribution is (allegedly) ensured via representatives on different levels of government who are voted in in a just way. So far the situation is set and clear, but there are implications that are hidden and must be revealed. The legitimate representative authority of an official decision is ensured by basing the power on the people (and, where appropriate, by deciding via justly appointed representatives). Again we need to ask: What does 'the people' mean? (And here we are rehearsing in a more 'abstract' way the considerations that occupied us at the very opening of the paper, in Sections 0 & 1.) In a democratic system the concept of 'the people' is used...