Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to investigate why convergence is so difficult in the EU Monetary Union. My hypothesis is that Non-Negotiable Domestic Factors (N-NDFs) and Partially-Negotiable Domestic Factors (P-NDFs) play a pivotal role in both monetary Integration and Europeanization. N-NDFs are radically or irreducibly different from, while Partially-Negotiable Domestic Factors (P-NDFs) are significantly different from the ones the EU dictates to its members.
I apply these two concepts to redefine two well-known approaches. Looking at �flexible integration�, my hypothesis is that the UK, Denmark and Sweden failed to enter into the Eurozone because some Non-Negotiable leadership� and citizens� beliefs prevailed. With regard to �Uploading Europeanization�, Germany was only partly successful in uploading its Deutsche Bank system to the EU level because it was obliged to partially negotiate with other members its proneness to play as a leader in monetary policy.
Furthermore, I use N-NDFs and P-NDFs to define two brand new processes. �Skeptical integration� refers to the cases of Italy�s and Greece�s dubious attitudes toward monetary union caused by Partially-Negotiable Domestic Factors (P-NDFs) such as internal policy heritage that heavily constrained the Euro implementation. Finally, �Europeanized Integration� led to new members of Eastern Europe to obtain a successful entrance delay into the Eurozone because a lack of integration process brought to a forced and subsequently unsuccessful Europeanization, meaning that new members integrated in an already Europeanized context. Taken together, these four approaches synoptically explain rejections that occurred in the EMU by both old and new members.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper looks at how non-negotiable and partially negotiable factos affected ratification of treaties and support for further integration within the EU.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Declining fertility rates and high levels of immigration predict dramatic demographic transformations in post-industrial societies. Such trends are especially advanced in North America, where large minorities of people have arrived from non-European countries within the last several decades. What impacts these demographic shifts will have on Canadian society is an interesting question. Research on the integration of immigrants has focused primarily on economic aspects of social experience, on the assumption that economic success predicts and precedes integration of all kinds. Political integration of immigrants has received far less attention. One series of questions concerns the kinds of political shifts we can expect as a result of the presence and/or the political participation of these most recently arrived immigrant groups. This paper concerns itself with research that asks the more preliminary questions of whether and how fast political integration is occurring and what predicts or explains this. My objectives in this paper are two-fold: to compile a list of factors influential in political integration to guide the collection of empirical evidence , and to identify a theoretical and methodological strategy best suited to accommodate both qualitative and quantitative insights and findings.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: When students do a complicated integration, they usually attempt the substitution method. However, when they do substitution, they have to use another variable by trial and error and then switch back to original variable. This makes the job of doing integration by substitution very tedious. Since integration is essentially the inverse operation of differentiation, most of time we can use mental substitution to do the integration. From my calculus learning, sharing and teaching experience, I believe mental substitution can really release the burden and simplify the job of doing integration and integration by parts.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper studies the effects of the extended “ASEAN Way” of cooperation as a cultural approach to international collaboration. It explores why, how and through which mechanisms Asian states reproduce a cultural approach that leads to a type of collaboration that appears to persistently lead to less institutionalized and legalized institutions, the so-called “ASEAN Way.” This type of institutionalization even appears to emerge if more cooperation-inclined states like the US, Japan or other European states are engaged. Starting from Miles Kahler's rationalist explanation for the variation of preferences for institutionalization among Asian states, the paper highlights the mechanisms and processes through which culture translates into specific outcomes, in this case “less institutionalized forms of cooperation.” The paper specifically focuses on the issue of "legalization" in promoting and furthering integration and resolving bilateral conflicts. The paper argues that legalization is a preferred option of Western states that – given diverging historical experiences that have led to a different culture of cooperation, does not constitute the preferred Asian "tool-kit". Through a systematic case study analysis focusing on Southeast and East Asia, the paper shows how culture shapes the preferences of Asian states and how these translate into specific approaches toward conflict resolution.