WHAT IS INTEGRATION?
Asking a scholar to define integration is like asking a blind man to define an elephant. Surprisingly enough, there is no clear definition of the word "integration", despite the common use of the word: a town's modern architecture is quite well integrated with the old, you integrate yourself into the modern society, a good musical depends on the successful integration of acting with song and dance - or what about an integrated circuit?
As long as we bear in mind that definitions are merely analytical tools without any truth-value, there is no problem. In fact, it all boils down to interpretation and investigation. In their quest to explain what integration is, researchers start from different assumptions, emphasize on different aspects, delineate different criteria and identify different actors. This search necessarily brings about a range of various explanations, none of which are able to tell the complete story but together they form an 'integrated' picture of what integration is all about. One might compare it to completing a large jigsaw puzzle: every piece gives some information but you need all the pieces to see the entire picture.
In fact, you can define integration as:
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