The end of national models? Integration courses and citizenship trajectories in Europe

Several European countries have recently introduced, or are planning to introduce, citizenship trajectories (voluntary or obligatory inclusion programmes for recent immigrants) or citizen integration tests (tests one should pass to be able to acquire permanent residence or state citizenship). Authors such as Joppke claim that this is an articulation of a more general shift towards the logic of assimilation (and away from a multicultural agenda) in integration policy paradigms of European states. Integration policies would even be converging in such a fashion that it would no longer make sense to think in terms of national models for immigrant integration. The empirical fact of diffusion of civic integration policies throughout Europe cannot be denied. This paper claims that there is, however, still sufficient distinctiveness between immigrant integration policies in order to continue and use an analytical framework that distinguishes national models

The state and illegality in Indonesia

The popular 1998 reformasi movement that brought down President Suharto’s regime demanded an end to illegal practices by state officials, from human rights abuse to nepotistic investments. Yet today, such practices have proven more resistant to reform than people had hoped. Many have said corruption in Indonesia is “entrenched”. We argue it is precisely this entrenched character that requires attention. What is state illegality entrenched in and how does it become entrenched? This involves The state and illegality in Indonesia studying actual cases. Our observations led us to rethink fundamental ideas about the nature of the state in Indonesia, especially regarding its socially embedded character. We conclude that illegal practices by state officials are not just aberrations to the state, they are the state. Almost invariably, illegality occurs as part of collective, patterned, organized and collaborative acts, linked to the competition for political power and access to state resources. While obviously excluding many without connections, corrupt behaviour also plays integrative and stabilizing functions. Especially at the lower end of the social ladder, it gets a lot of things done and is often considered legitimate. This book may be read as a defence of area studies approaches. Without the insights that grew from applying our area studies skills, we would still be constrained by highly stylised notions of the state, which bear little resemblance to the state’s actual workings. The struggle against corruption is a long-term political process. Instead of trying to depoliticize it, we believe the key to progress is greater popular participation. With contributions from Simon Butt, Robert Cribb, Howard Dick, Michele Ford, Jun Honna, Tim Lindsey, Lenore Lyons, John McCarthy, Ross McLeod, Marcus Mietzner, Jeremy Mulholland, Gerben Nooteboom, J Danang Widoyoko and Ian Wilson. This book is the result of a series of workshops supported, among others, by the Australian-Netherlands Research Collaboration (ANRC). “An intriguing [...] and thought-provoking volume on the nexus between the state and illegality. It treats illegality not as an abnormality, but as an integral aspect of statecraft and social life. The book advances theoretical discussions, embedding them in rich empirical material that sheds light on the ways in which people in different localities and sectors in Indonesia use, make sense of, and negotiate illegality. It will benefit students and scholars from various disciplines, seeking to explore the social meanings and functions of illegality in the everyday life of the nation.” Barak Kalir, University of Amsterda

Migration and Integration. Common Challenges and Responses from Europe and Asia

With the signing of the ASEAN Framework Agreement for the Integration of Priority Sectors (FA) in 2004, migration and integration issues gained significance on the agenda. Primarily concerned with increasing economic growth, this framework excludes the integration of low and unskilled migrant workers; instead, ASEAN efforts to address migration and integration issues have been limited to Mutual Recognition Agreements for skilled labour and professionals. After an analysis of migration policy in the region, we highlight specific barriers to the integration of labour migrants in two priority sectors – nursing, which is highly regulated by the state, and Information, Communications and Technology (ICT), which is typically selfregulated and privately run. Despite a MRA for nursing allowing registered nurses to practice in another ASEAN country under supervision of local nurses without registering with the host country’s nursing regulatory authority, in practice, there are major barriers to the free movement of nurses within ASEAN in terms of skills recognition, licensure requirements and other protectionist measures. Although regulations governing the inflow of ICT professionals are not as stringent as those for healthcare professionals, private costs associated with job search and gaining foreign employment are higher in the ICT sector, largely due to limited information on international mobility within the industry. Three sets of barriers to greater integration are discussed. First, the economic and political diversity within ASEAN makes integration more problematic than in the European Union. Second, the primary concern with value-adding economic growth means that regional agreements are focused on skilled and professional labour migration only. Third, the “ASEAN way” of doing things – via a strong emphasis on consensus and non-interference with domestic policies – often means that the FA provision for the free movement of labour is usually trumped by domestic policies that do not reflect the same desire for labour integration

The Proceeding of The Commemorative Academic Conference for the 60th Anniversary of the 1955 Asian - African Conference in Bandung, Indonesia 4-6 June 2015

The commemorative academic conference for the 60th Anniversary of the 1955 Asian – African Conference in Bandung Indonesia, implies the academic honesty and excitement to Strengthening Education Cooperation and Remaking Destinies for the Global South. Through a series of research with various perspectives. The researchers not only “market” their ideas but also emphasizes the importance of position the justice as a main principle for strengthening educational. Justine in the development process and the use of benefits is the nearest way to wealth and prosperity

Turkish political culture and the European Union.

This thesis examines the impact of improving EU-Turkey relations on Turkish political culture since the 1990s. While republican institutions and a multi-party political system were introduced in Turkey by the 1950s, political liberalism was the missing part of Turkey's substantive democratisation. The subject character of Ottoman political culture, compounded by the leading political role of the military and successive military coups, resulted in the consolidation of a republican political culture, which valued submissiveness toward state authority and did not favour citizen participation. The liberal deficit of Turkish politics became apparent with Turkey's decision to pursue membership of the European Union. Turkey's need to comply with the Copenhagen Criteria to achieve the start of EU accession negotiations meant that political liberalisation reforms were inevitable. This study embarks from an examination of the historical background to the political culture debate in Turkey. It then explores European and Turkish political cultures and draws a comparison between them. The core of this study consists of an exploration of the impact that Turkey's EU-motivated political reform had on civil society, state-society relations, the role of religion in politics and national identity. An assessment whether Turkish political culture has become more participant and citizen-centred is attempted in the concluding chapter. The theoretical framework of this thesis is informed by the work of Almond and Verba on civic culture. Historical institutionalist theories of European integration and path dependence theory are also applied to explain the role of the European Union in the liberalisation process of Turkish political culture. Putnam's work on two-level games helps explain the interplay of Turkish and European actors in the process of EU-Turkey negotiations, while his work on 16 social capital points at a feature, which can serve as the acid test for the emergence of a liberal, participant political culture in Turkey

Cross Cultural Management of Quality Performance of Chinese Construction Firms in Nigeria

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Intelligent Sensor Networks

In the last decade, wireless or wired sensor networks have attracted much attention. However, most designs target general sensor network issues including protocol stack (routing, MAC, etc.) and security issues. This book focuses on the close integration of sensing, networking, and smart signal processing via machine learning. Based on their world-class research, the authors present the fundamentals of intelligent sensor networks. They cover sensing and sampling, distributed signal processing, and intelligent signal learning. In addition, they present cutting-edge research results from leading experts