Studying Industrial Engineering and Management | Reflection

Studying Industrial Engineering and Management | Reflection During the past four years, I studied industrial engineering with specialization in electronics at Ostend. The emphasis of my studies was understanding the fundamental electronic principles that govern modern day electronics. But I also learned about other diverse topics such as safety, economics, and industrial management. I found the last topic, industrial management, to be very interesting and exciting, because one of my career aspirations is to participate in the senior management of an industrial company. To further my career aspiriations of becoming part of a senior management team, I want to obtain a Masters Degree in Industrial Management. Having this knowledge will allow me to better understand management principles. With all the uncertainty and changes in with world, political, economic, and technological, I believe that management must have a solid understanding, supported by a strong academic foundation, of how to guide companies through these challenging times. No education is complete without experience. Armed with a solid understanding of academic principles, I can begin my career where I will add to my experience. Because I will be well versed in the theory, I will be able to adapt and modify the theoretical constructs as required in order to meet my companys needs. I fully recognize that our political, economic, and technological environments are constantly changing, and thus management needs to be able to adapt quickly and accurately to the new conditions if the company is to survive, let alone prosper. I believe obtaining a Masters Degree will provide the necessary background for me to be to anticipate and react to ever-changing environments. I have completed my four year Bachelor of Technology program at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. I graduated in July 1998 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Many of my courses and research activities in the final year were in the field of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research with a strong focus on production and operations management. I am presently working in Tata Technologies India Ltd., an information technology firm that is involved in the areas of enterprise integration and CAD/CAM. I am applying for admission and financial aid to the Ph.D. program in Operations Management at the Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University. Detailed information about my academic record and my research and other experience is attached to this statement. I was introduced to mathematics and the physical sciences while at school and it was in high school that I considered a career in this area. The desire to study the applied physical sciences and mathematics prompted me to take the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology. I was ranked in the top 0.25 % of the nearly 1,00,000 students who took the examination. My undergraduate education at IIT Bombay has not only given me a certain set of skills but has also helped me understand my fields of interest and my academic strengths and weaknesses. This understanding has made me realize that though the applied physical sciences appeal to me, my strengths lie in applied mathematics and in abstractions of reality. In particular, I am interested in the managerial aspects of industrial and technological systems. This interest developed during my junior year seminar titled Productivity Management in which I explored the relationship between manufacturing strategy and productivity improvement. I continued further research in this area through my senior year project titled Decision Support System for Quality Control which sought to investigate various decision making mechanisms in the quality function and provide corresponding computer support. The project also enabled me to appreciate the interaction between manufacturing and the other functions of the firm especially information systems. The reading of certain outstanding books during the course of my research such as Skinners Manufacturing in the Corporate Strategy, Demings Out of the Crisis and Goldratts The Goal finally convinced me to pursue a Ph.D. in operations management and an academic career thereafter. My past work in the area of industrial engineering and operations research was characterised by a dichotomy of approaches. The courses that I took in this area dealt with various operational and tactical issues. The basic aim was to understand a specific problem, model the problem appropriately and find an optimal or reasonably optimal solution using the techniques of operations research. This has given me a good background in issues related to methodology, modelling, and heuristic solutions. On the other hand, my research has been oriented towards strategic issues. The basic thrust of my junior year seminar and senior year project has been integrative. Through my future research efforts I would like to understand this dichotomy better. Initially, I want to study rigorous model-based methods and do research on operational and tactical topics. After gaining a thorough grounding in these topics, I am interested in applying the same methodologies and techniques to strategic topics in op erations management. I believe that I have the qualities to be a good researcher and teacher. I am a creative person and often think in a contemplative way about various issues of practical importance. Being able to identify patterns and relationships that are not obvious to others is perhaps my greatest strength. This will prove very valuable because an integral part of being a researcher and teacher is to perceive the balance between theory and practice, analytical rigor and intuition. My communication skills are good and I like expressing ideas and concepts both in oral and written form an ideal platform for the dissemination of knowledge in my chosen field of specialization. The Krannert Graduate School of Management is one of the best schools of management in the world with a strong orientation towards research. The diversity of research interests in the operations management group is of particular interest to me. The eminent faculty and the individualized nature of the doctoral program will definitely bring out the best in me. I would like to reiterate that I possess the background, the ability and the motivation to make a significant contribution to Operations Management. I hope you will take a favorable decision regarding my admission to the Ph.D. program and I look forward to joining the Krannert Graduate School of Management and Purdue University. ============== Like most young kids in computer science, my first interest was in computer graphics. I remember my interest in graphics led me to build a single player Tic-Tac-Toe game with some nice graphics and show it off to my friends. However, I soon realized that my Tic-Tac-Toe is actually quite stupid and almost always lost to my friends. I started working on it and made it more intelligent so that it never loses to anyone, and wins most of the times. I didnt realize that I was working on Artificial Intelligence at that time, but thats how my interest in AI started growing. Since then my exposures, associations with clubs, readings, and undergraduate work all have served to push me into deciding to study, research, teach and discover different aspects of AI, particularly those that connect computer science with robotics, and logic-based planning under incomplete knowledge. I am now completely taken in by the challenge of solving complex problems, and making generalizations and relationships that concern writing programs which will make machines think, analyze and learn. AI excites me also because its becoming a potpourri of all kinds of knowledges. Apart from AI I have also developed a keen interest on Bioinformatics through my undergraduate research work during the last few months. Bioinformatics is an area I didnt know much about. However, since I started my research on sequence analysis, I have got more and more interested on this area, particularly on processes by which a genes information can be converted into the functions of a cell. Life outside classes has been quite exciting for me and I am really enjoying my research work under Dr. Gurpur M. Prabhu. I am currently working on a project on sequence analysis of DNA and then predict functions of the resulting protein. The idea we are working on is to use Conways Look and Say Sequence and incorporate some of its properties in the DNA sequence. The first obvious difference between the two is that Conways sequence contains primarily three characters (1, 2, 3), whereas there are four characters (A, T, C, G) to deal with in the DNA sequence. I first tried to see whether its possible to generate characters other than those three, for example 0 or 4. I proved that its not possible for any other character to appear in the successors of the original string, unless it was present in the original string itself. Another interesting property of the Conways Sequence is its 92 audioactive elements, just like elements in the normal periodic table and the concept of compound that can be formed using these elements. I am currently working on a program which tests and verifies the similarity of the properties of these elements with the real world elements. Recently I found that though the compound MgCl cannot exist in the real world (only MgCl2 exists), this compound can be formed using Conways elements. I am currently also working on a semester long research project for an AI course on developing artificial intelligence for the game Othello, also known as Reversi. I am particularly focusing on the evaluation function and the search techniques. I also discovered that the mobility of the opponent is crucial to the strategy. The idea is to make a move that will restrict the possible moves of the opponent. I am using alpha beta search for this problem. I discovered that finding the better move towards the beginning cuts off many moves and thus makes it faster. Currently I am working on this algorithm to order the moves so that the better moves come first. I also plan to make it learn inductively in the next step. Another project I recently started under Dr. Prabhu is on a concept called negative-language. At times it is easier to define something by saying what its not than what it is. One such example is justice; its easier to say what justice isnt than what it is. I am using Disjunctive logic programming to work on this problem using DLVk Java Wrapper. Often its easier to decide whether a particular solution is optimal or not, than to find the optimal solution. Our goal is to solve this kind of problems effectively. Now I am also closing in on a yet another watershed decision in my life of studying higher and deeper into the area of computer science and get into research in fields like AI, or Bioinformatics. Under the Ph.D. program I will get enough scope to translate my thinking and ideas to reality by application to the real problem. This will build up my self-confidence if I am successful. Otherwise, if I fail in a particular application I will get scope to find the reasons and modify it in the next step. Actually, Im looking forward to an in-depth and challenging hands-on experience in my Ph.D. career. Being on a Ph.D. program will also provide me the opportunity to attend conferences and symposium on my chosen area and I will be able to listen to the experts in the area as well as have interactions with them. This will certainly enable me to enrich my knowledge and keep myself updated on the recent developments. Moreover, I believe that the Ph.D. program will help me to enhance my independ ent thinking and analysis of a problem. This will be of much importance to me in the next career step, when I aspire to take up my own problem and build up own group. I believe, doing my Ph.D. in University of California, Santa Barbara will expose me to a deeper area of my chosen topic and will provide me a much optimized environment to expand my knowledge on the subject through associations and interactions with my supervisor and other faculty experts in the department. My reasons of choosing University of California, Santa Barbara are three. First, this university offers a wonderful Ph.D. program in Bioinformatics and Artificial Intelligence; two, it has an acclaimed network of closely working labs that engage in lots of sponsored research Bioinformatics and Artificial Intelligence. On my own, I am interested in doing something in areas like Active Logic, Metacognitive Computation, Simple Hierarchical Ordered Planning, and Sequence Analysis of DNA and all of these are very much there in University of California, Santa Barbara in some variant or other. And third, most importantly, presence of professors like Dr. Ambuj Singh, Dr. Tobias Hollerer, Dr. Terrence Smith, and Dr. Matthew Turk who have been passionately working in the field of Bioinformatics and Artificial Intelligence also influenced me a lot. The presence of these factors led to University of California, Santa Barbara being my preferred choice. If I do my Ph.D. from University of California, Santa Barbara, I will have the opportunity of interacting with them, and who knows, of even working with them on a path breaking idea. ========== When introduced to economics in high school I realized that it interestingly qualified as a subject of both Arts and Science. It was an area defined by precise rules, principles and axioms and yet there was tremendous scope for self-expression in the form of interpretation and analysis. This facet of economics intrigued me very much and I decided to pursue further studies in Economics. During my Masters program I equipped myself as best as I could, with various tools used in economic analysis. I obtained rigorous training in mathematics, econometrics and game theory. After completing the Masters program, I joined National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, as I was very eager to see how one might use economics to tackle real life problems, where simplified models, and assuming away of problems may offer no respite. I did some very interesting work here, which is described in my resume. I want to delve deeper into the subject to be able to carry out independent research and analysis, hence my decision to join the Ph.D. program at UCLA. International Economics is an area I would really like to explore. I am fascinated by game theoretic modeling of issues pertaining to International Economics. I believe that game theoretic models can be effectively used in international economics as many policy issues such as negotiations over mutual reductions in tariffs, formation and preservation of customs unions, establishment of cartels in the case of internationally traded goods, all have some game theoretic character. The current Regionalism versus Multilateralism debate holds its own attraction. It should be interesting to analyze the trade diversion effects of Preferential Trading Agreements and also their impact on multilateral institutions like GATT. The strategic trading that takes place in foreign exchange markets and the variety of auction like mechanisms that have been used for foreign exchange trade, especially in developing countries, are intriguing. During my graduate studies I aim to equip myself with some advanced tools and develop my analytical and research capabilities. I want to get an excellent command over econometrics to be able to confront stochastic statistical data with exact models of economic theories and also for empirical verification of other models, which might otherwise be set in a partial equilibrium framework. I expect to emerge as an economic engineer and an expert in model building.Econometrics per se, also interests me as a subject of economics and I might like to research in econometric methodology. I want to be an academic economist. I have cleared the National Eligibility test conducted by the University Grants Commission of India, which makes me eligible to teach an undergraduate course in economics in any Indian university. I want to study at UCLA, as it emphasizes on the rigor and analytical tools that are necessary for academic research. I have well-developed analytical and mathematical skills and I want to exploit these skills to the greatest extent. I feel the help and guidance that can be provided to me by the distinguished faculty of your university will be invaluable. I am sure if I am given the opportunity to study at your university that attracts some of the best students from all over the world, it will provide an environment competitive enough to bring out the best in me. =============== wish to become an accomplished academic researcher in the field of strategic management and I am convinced that the XXXX School of  Business is the best context for me to pursue studies at the doctoral level. My professors have all encouraged me to continue my studies of  management and I am confident that I will be successful in this quest. Several of my professors as well as colleagues have suggested that  XXXX might be a great location for me to pursue my doctoral work. My business experience is a prominent factor in my qualifications  since I have worked as a consultant at one of Koreas leading strategy-consulting firms. I am most pleased with the way that I have been  able to help my clients organizations perform better. And I have also been engaged in research for several years Throughout my Masters program at XXXX University, I struggled to refine my analytical skills and research capabilities concerning  strategic management, organization, and international business, resting on a solid foundation of statistics and methodology. My most relevant  academic experience in research has been assisting Professor XXXX in writing a report on XXXXs core competence. This experience has  helped me to better understand that research is what means most to me in my professional life. Writing my masters thesis was also a most  important learning experience preparing me for doctoral study. The thesis investigated factors influencing founder-CEO replacements in  venture companies and in Korean entrepreneurial firms. Drawing on three different perspectives, namely the organizational life cycle,  founder-CEO characteristics, and founder-CEOs power, I developed a conceptual framework and collected data from DART, the  electronic disclosure system of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS); the Company Data XXXX, and KINDS, the database of the Korea  Press Foundation. This was the first study of this kind to be conducted in Korea, since it dealt with event-history analysis performed using  STATA. This study is now under second review at the Korean Management Review and I am presenting an updated English version at the  5th Asia Academy of Management (AAoM) this December. I profoundly enjoyed all phases of the research process, especially developing  hypothesis, the collection of data, and running statistical analyses-as well as drawing conclusions. I am especially enamored with the  discussion of critical issues in management with professors and colleagues. My thesis resulted in a study now under second review at the  Korean Management Review, indisputably the top management journal in Korea, and I am presenting an updated English version at the 5th  Asia Academy of Management (AAoM) meeting this December. I am very pleased tha t my academic research has been appreciated by  renowned researchers in the field. I look forward to learning a great deal more about corporate governance in the Ph.D. program at the XXXX School of Business, especially  topics related to CEOs and top management teams. Building on my previous research, I want to continue to study the consequences of  founder-CEO replacement, and how entrenched CEOs influence a firms performance. I am interested in the management of innovation and  technology and would like to investigate how different technology acquisition strategies, including networks, lead to innovation and, in turn,  to competitive advantage in the high-tech industry. I am also fascinated by the knowledge management strategy of multinational  corporations, the field of expertise of my thesis advisor Professor XXXX. The first academic research I engaged in was a project commissioned by the XXXX Bank. As a Senior at XXXX University, Professor XXXX asked me to assist him with his investigation of the reasons behind a recent surge of Korean patents in the US. My responsibility  was to write a case study on the Korean semiconductor industry, which played a central role in increased patents. I wrote a qualitative case  in English along with four other graduate students and learned invaluable teamwork skills. This study was published in 2003 as a research  report What is Behind the Surge in Korean Patenting? by the XXXX Bank. I also assisted Professor XXXX with his study of XXXXs  core competence from multiple perspectives. Through collaboration with the XXXX Economic Research Institute (XERI), I was  responsible for conducting literature reviews on various topics including but not limited to core competence, synergy, corporate  governance, diversification, and organizational learning and I presented my findings at weekly meetings. The result of this research XXXX  Way: The Great Transformation of XXXX since the 1990s was published as a research report in 2004. I am presently working as a research assistant at the Graduate School of Business Administration at XXXX University. I am assisting  Professor XXXX with his research on the knowledge management strategy of multinational corporations, which is a collaborative work  with Professor XXXX of XXXX. This research examines the internationalization process of RD activities of US, European, and Asian  companies from an evolutionary perspective. My main responsibility is to conduct research on each companys internationalization process  according to functional areas and collect quantitative data ready for analysis. During this process, I am learning how to manage a joint  research project and gaining familiarity with Japanese databases such as XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. I feel strongly that my studies, coupled with my research experience, have provided me with a diverse set of knowledge and skills that  make me an excellent candidate for doctoral study in this field. My enthusiasm and good cheer, coupled with sound fundamentals in  management theory will provide me with the driving force that I will need to be a successful life-long researcher. I am fascinated by the management of innovation and technology. On the one hand, I am interested in how different technology acquisition  strategies, such as alliances, acquisitions, and networks, lead to innovation and, in turn, to competitive advantage. And I am deeply intrigued  by the characteristics and influence of network effects of internet-based industries, especially online game companies and the social  network service (SNS) providers. I also wish to become more in tune with the knowledge management strategy of multinational companies  I have discovered that my academic interests fit especially well with the research interests of outstanding faculty members in the area of  management and organization at the XXXX School of Business. I especially value XXXXs emphasis of the importance of and support for  teaching excellence. As someone who very much wants to become a professor, I think that being an effective educator is as important as  being an important rese archer. I am attracted by the fact that XXXXs undergraduate program provides an opportunity for many graduate  students to gain invaluable teaching experience. I also admire XXXXs supportive environment for research. At XXXX, I am confident that  I will develop invaluable research and teaching skills while having the privilege to interact with attentive professors and intellectually-gifted  colleagues. I hope to teach at a school of business in the United States, where I plan to struggle to add my name to the long list of distinguished  scholars that have come from your program. I sincerely believe that the Ph.D. program at the XXXX School of Business is the best match  for my strong motivation. I have no doubt that I have made the right choice to spend five years at XXXX as a Ph.D. student. I have found  that my academic interests fit well with the research areas of the outstanding faculty and resources of XXXX, including the Center for  Global Business and the Center for Human Capital, Technology, and Innovation. I value XXXXs support for interdisciplinary learning. I  would like to use this opportunity to advance my understandings in a variety of specific areas in the field of management, and gain expertise  knowledge in economics which I believe will be of foundational importance for my future study. Finally, and of primary importance, I  admire XXXXs dynamic supp ort for research. I strongly believe that one of the most important elements in pursuing a successful  academic career is to have a good mentor who can closely guide you academically, and in person, as well. I am confident that I will develop invaluable research and teaching skills while interacting with attentive professors and intellectually-gifted  colleagues. After graduation, I will seek an academic career at a leading American business school. I would like to see myself publishing at  top journals and winning teaching awards for teaching excellence and, in the long run, I hope to positively add to the reputation of XXXX  by adding my name to its long list of prominent scholars. I want to thank you for consideration of this application. ============= Ever since I was a child I have been concerned with poverty, not my own poverty, but that of others, especially in Third World or  developing countries. This concern led me to develop a profound fascination with the study of economics, the inequality between  developed and developing countries, in particular, and a search for creative directions in which to foster economic development on an  international level. Now, I very much want to push ahead with this interest, studying towards a graduate degree in economics. I have  chosen to apply to XXXX University for several reasons, especially the renown of the faculty for exploring questions of economic  development in creative ways. I am also especially attracted to the highly international character of this university, along with its  cosmopolitan location near the heart of Los Angeles. I have long been interested in international economics and international relations because my life has been always affected by them. While in  junior high school, I had a chance to visit North Korea for three months for a music/performing arts exchange. Although I stayed in Pyong  Yang, the capital of North Korea, I witnessed great poverty-many local people wearing ragged clothes, and very thin malnourished  children searching for food in the streets. All information was totally controlled by the government and people do not have economic and  political freedom. I was so shocked by the disparity in North Korea and by the large gap between the living conditions in Japan. During my freshman year in university in Japan, I participated in a two-week summer school program at XXXX University in Thailand. Although the political and economic structure of Thailand is more open to the rest of the world than North Korea, economy has not  developed as other Asian countries such as Japan, China and South Korea. While visiting a HOYA factory, which is one of the major  firms for the lenses, I learned that such factories had recently greatly expanded by developed countries through the exploitation of third  world countries. It is time for us to reconsider our economic system and renovate the alternative methods of economic development. While in undergraduate, I had a great opportunity to present my research on sex trafficking at the annual spring symposium. A great  number of women in the third world countries are engaged in human trafficking (human trading) and sex industry as their ultimate means  to survive and protect their families. Due to the ineffective national economic policy and international economic regulations established on behalf of the developed countries, poverty issue has not been alleviated. As economic discrepancy gets larger among the nations, it   aggravates the international tensions and it would finally trigger international conflicts. The more I recognize the severity of problems  confronted by our global society, the more strongly I believe the way to avoid conflict and improve economic conditions is to act from a  professional point of view After obtaining a masters degree in Economics, I strongly hope to work in the sphere of economic affairs concerning international  economic development. For such a future career, my working experiences play an important role in understanding professionalism. In  2003, I was volunteering for the non-profit organization called People for the Advanced Cambodian Education (PACE) and since  September 2005, I worked as a computer lab assistant at XXXX University. After graduating from XXXX University, I started to work  for the XXXX Company as a full-time sales associate. The company is one of the imported oriental food and supplies distributors in the  United States. Through this job, I truly realized that local business significantly affects the international business and such economic  interaction has fundamental influence to the international economy. Moreover, through all my professional experiences, I learned how to  cope with problems efficiently with professional mann ers and how to establish relationships with co-workers as a team. I also acquired  leadership skills that I would be required in a real society. Though career opportunities may place me in a variety of professional positions,  my final goal is to work at the United Nations. What I expect to learn from graduate school is to obtain academic foundation required for  such a career and find a way to apply methods to the real world. This is the incentives that stimulate me to pursue further studying and the  motives for my choice of University of XXXX. Economic Developmental Programming at XXXX is a very rare MA degree on the west  coast and it suits my needs and professional goals. Since I have taken only a few lectures relevant to the quantitative economics, it is  significantly important for me to take mathematical methods in economics as well as economic development in order to apply them to the  practical problems of developing countries. I truly believe that a graduate degree in International Relations from XXXX, combined with my  own interests and experiences, will provide ample chances for accomplishing my professional goals

Cultural Brokers in Colonial America

During the settlement of North America there were many people who crossed cultural borders becoming cultural brokers. Three such people were Isabel Montour, Samson Occom and Susannah Johnson. These three possessed strong language skills or the ability to learn new languages quickly, this was perhaps the most important skill needed to cross cultural borders and communicate with â€Å"outsiders. † Another necessary skill was a complete understanding of their culture and the cultures of other groups. This skill was used to convey traditional customs, political protocol, and to avoid any misunderstandings between the people of the each culture.The cultural broker would also have an agreeable disposition. Likeability and the ability to get along well with most people would be an asset in a cultural broker. Intelligence and diplomacy were also attributes necessary for the success of a cultural broker. I believe the cultural broker would have to be able to take rejection because of t he possibility of those in their culture ostracizing them for their association with the â€Å"other† culture. A combination of these skills would allow a person to move easily from one culture to another and sometimes have a foot in both at the same time.Isabel Montour was born in Canada to a French father and Abenaki mother. She was about ten years of age when warriors of the Five Nations of Indians raided her village during war with the Canadians and took her captive. The Iroquois Indians adopted her and she was raised as one of their children. Upon maturity she married an Oneida war captain named Carondawana. In 1711, New York Governor Robert Hunter enlisted Madame Montour’s assistance regarding negotiations with the Iroquois. Governor Hunter would make her a central figure in Indian negotiations in New York. He considered her to be one of his â€Å"most trusted advisers. Her duties included acting as interpreter at conferences, and helping to write speeches to be delivered. Another aspect of her work involved relaying messages and explaining the expectations and mannerisms of the Indians to the colonists. Through her work she aided the colonists’ in their quest to understand the culture of the Iroquois. She had great knowledge of the customs, ideas and the language of the Iroquois. Her ability to fluently speak English, French, Oneida, Mohawk, Delaware, and possibly Huron and Miami along with her many relatives located throughout Canada and the Great Lakes region identified er as a person â€Å"in the know† about the issues facing both cultures for the majority of her life. She was â€Å"trustworthy, and unafraid to tell the truth†. In the 1720s her family moved to Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna River Valley to live in an Indian community. Here she also served as interpreter for the colonists’ in negotiations with the Iroquois. As in New York she was known for her knowledge and often asked for her advice regar ding Indians affairs. In 1729, while on his way home from war with the Catawba Indians, her husband, Carondawana was killed.After his death she focused her attention on teaching her son Andrew the skills necessary to be a successful diplomat and cultural broker. Madame Montour had no real memory of her birth culture. Because of her mixed heritage she could blend in with many cultures by emphasizing or de-emphasizing certain aspects of her background. Madame Montour moved easily between the cultures of the Indians and the colonists. She was very adaptable. This was probably derived from her early capture and assimilation into the Iroquois culture.Despite having family among Iroquois and supporters among the white settlers at times it seems she did not quite belong to any specific group. Even after being adopted by the Iroquois they still referred to her as the French woman who was married to an Indian. It seems Madame Montour was a woman of many cultures but also a woman with no true culture of her own maybe that is why she was successful as a cultural broker. Madame Montour both gained and lost by crossing cultures. She gained the respect of government officials in the colonies beginning with Governor Hunter of New York.Her work as an interpreter and assistance in the understanding of the Iroquois provided financial resources for her and her family. She also gained a well-deserved reputation as an important person who was well versed in the manners, customs, and languages of the Indians. Due to her own cultural brokerage she trained her son Andrew Montour to be a cultural broker providing him with a career. Madame Montour also lost as a result of her cultural brokerage. Her mixed heritage set her apart and her association with the colonists caused ill will among some of the Natives.Although she was respected among the colonists and Indians alike, this did not necessarily â€Å"translate into acceptance† among either group. After the death of her husband even the Oneida community â€Å"began to marginalize her family† and she moved around frequently alone or with her son. She received little â€Å"in the way of reward from the white colonial or Indian societies whom she served†. Madame Montour was used by both the colonists and the Indians. The colonists respected her and actively sought the knowledge she held regarding the Indians but as soon as she was no longer needed she was cast aside and forgotten until they needed her again.An Oneida headman Shickellamy used Madame Montour’s contacts and influences to grow his status as a representative of the Iroquois Confederacy. Then he and a Seneca headman accused her of being untruthful and ended her public career. â€Å"She never again appeared at a conference in any recognized capacity. † Madame Montour used her fluency of language; her family connections and knowledge of Native customs to help the colonists’ come to understand the Natives. Like Mada me Montour, Samson Occom was a cultural broker but he used a different path to achieve his brokerage.Samson Occom was Mohegan by birth. During the â€Å"Great Awakening† he converted to Christianity. Tutored by Reverend Eleazar Wheelock he learned to read and write in English. Additionally, he learned Latin, Greek, some Hebrew, Oneida, and Mohawk. Occom became an ordained minister. He used the path of â€Å"Reformed Protestantism, namely, Congregationalism and Presbyterianism† to cross cultural borders. He built a two story frame house in Mohegan where his family lived for twenty-five years. To his people and the English the house represented his moving from his birth culture to the English culture.Wheelock asked Occom to travel to Britain to raise funds for Dartmouth College which he said would be used to educate Native youth. In Britain Occom was somewhat of a celebrity and preached to the people there and in Scotland. Upon his return to North America Occom learned W heelock had deceived him regarding Dartmouth College. The target students were to be young English men. Occom had made the trip to Britain because he believed Native youth would make up the majority of the students. Occom never traveled to Dartmouth College and severed his ties with Wheelock.After a period of depression Occom gained a â€Å"renewed sense of self-worth† as a sermon he had delivered was published as a temperance tract. While in Britain Occom had collected hymnals and in 1772 he published a book of his favorite hymns. Later his knowledge of English law and his recordkeeping would enable the Mohegan to retain land in the community he started called Brothertown. When Occom died Mohegan, Iroquois, and Algonquian Indians attended his funeral which was preached by an Englishman/American and was held in Brothertown.The many different cultures present reflected his experience as a cultural broker but the place his funeral was held said even more: â€Å"Samson Occom ha d come home. † Occom adjusted well to the English culture in the beginning. It could be said he even preferred the English culture over his own. But Occom never forgot about his people as to do so would have been irresponsible. Occom was well received in Britain where he was considered â€Å"a unique attraction. † In Scotland he was a living example of the success of their â€Å"commitment to education and conversion† important because they funded Wheelock’s ventures.Occom became less enchanted by the Europeans when he discovered Wheelock had deceived him about Dartmouth College. He decided that his faith was the only good thing to be taken from the English culture and severed ties with Wheelock and the English culture. This was a reverse of his early years when he had offended the Oneida by telling them to â€Å"to grow their hair long as the English do and not to wear wampum or other such things† which suggested he agreed with the concept of confo rmity. Occom gained the ability to read and write by crossing cultural borders.Additionally he gained his lifelong faith in God through Protestant Religion. He became an ordained minister and used his preaching to help his culture. Occom learned the English laws regarding property ownership which eventually led to his people keeping the lands among the Oneida. He gained recognition through publication of one of his sermons and his popular book of hymns. In contrast he lost a part of his own culture for a brief time at the beginning of his association with the English. His knowledge of the English ways also â€Å"created a bone of contention with the splintered loyalties of the Mohegan tribe. Occom sacrificed time away from his wife due to his service to the English and Wheelock. Eventually the English culture lost appeal to Occom due to their abuse of his trust and confrontations of â€Å"English antagonism. † Occom was used by several people. The Boston Board used him to pr ove a Native could be used as an educator and cheap labor at the same time. Wheelock used him to obtain funds to create Dartmouth College and to prove his ability to convert and educate the Native people showing he was worthy of the donations he had received.Even though he eventually withdrew from the English culture Samson Occom achieved many things during his time as a cultural broker just as those before and after him. Roughly the same time as Occom was using his religious faith to cross cultures another person, Susannah Johnson, was pursuing cultural brokerage through another path. Susannah Johnson was a cultural broker. Her ability to adapt to any environment and â€Å"attract and remember the kindness of others† was the main path of her brokerage. Susannah’s empathy for those in her culture and other cultures helped her cross cultural borders.Through the telling of her and her family’s trials as captives of the Abenaki Indians she helped challenge many ide as about the Indians that were not always true. Susannah was born on the Massachusetts frontier to Moses and Susannah Willard. She married and her husband and family lived on the New Hampshire frontier in Charlestown. On August 30, 1752, a group of Abenaki Indians raided their house and took her captive along with her husband, their three children, her sister, kinsman Ebenezer Farnsworth and a friend Peter Labarree.She was pregnant at the time and on the second day of their captivity she went in to labor and delivered a baby girl she named Captive. Susannah considered the Abenaki to be â€Å"by no means void of compassion† as they helped her to deliver, clothed the baby and provided shelter for mother and baby. Additionally the Abenaki built a litter to carry Susannah and baby Captive but the other captives tired after a couple of miles and she was offered a horse to ride which she accepted for fear of being left behind in the wilderness with a newborn. Susannah spoke of how the Abenaki showed mercy to her family and the other captives.Susannah also spoke of the Abenaki modesty. Upon being sold to Governor Ange Duquesne de Menneville, Marquis Duquesne, in Montreal Captive became ill and Susannah allowed her to be baptized a Roman Catholic and named the governor as her godfather. As Susannah was a Puritan this was a huge leap into another culture. Her husband James raised the money for his release and was allowed to return to New Hampshire to obtain the money to pay the ransom for Susannah and their children. Due to Massachusetts preparing to expeditions against Acadia and Fort St. Frederic James was not allowed to return to Canada.When James did not return to Montreal Susannah and her two youngest daughters and her sister were cast out of Canadian society and made a living as seamstresses. When he finally returned to Montreal due to the escalation of war, James was considered a parole violator and posed a risk to military intelligence. Later, Susannah, James and the two youngest daughters were sent to Quebec to a criminal prison where conditions were poor and disease rampant. Intendant Francois Bigot used his influence to allow the Johnsons to be moved to a civilian prison where conditions were more comfortable.There the family had a garden and Susannah was allowed to travel to town weekly to buy necessary goods. While in prison she gave birth to a stillborn son and learned her father had been killed by the Abenaki during another raid. Her baby girl Captive spoke only French and Susannah learned enough to understand her daughter. The Johnsons were given permission to go home via England but at the last minute they said her husband James could not go but she and all but her son still with the Abenaki and her daughter in Montreal went on the boat alone.She arrived home after being gone for three years three months and eleven days. † James having been released arrived home about the same time. Susannah’s son Sylvanus was redeemed from the Abenaki but could only speak their language and broken French. Her oldest daughter finally arrived home after six years in Montreal. Susannah’s family had become a â€Å"mixture of nations. † In later years she loved telling about her adventures which she saw as â€Å"an instructive tale of suffering and redemption. † She always credited the Abenaki with kindness. Susannah had some difficulty adjusting to life with the Abenaki.She was not very good at canoe making and agreed with their adoptive sister’s occasional complaints that she was â€Å"a no good squaw. † Susannah adapted better to life in Canada in Governor Duquesne’s house. She met many other captives there and found the people kind and she was treated like a daughter. Even after being cast out of Canadian society she survived by working as a seamstress. She never did adapt to the criminal prison but in the civilian prison she made do with the little she had. Duri ng weekly outings she met other captives and had conversations with them.During her captivity Susannah met many people who were kind to her and her family. She never forgot that kindness and persevered until she was once again home. As a cultural broker Susannah gained knowledge of Native culture and personal insight into their lives. She became aware the Natives were capable of kindness and were a good moral people. She always believed the Abenaki were nicer to her family than the English would have been to a Native family had the situation been reversed. She found their community very favorable. Susannah further related surprise that the Abenaki adopted her as a sister and treated her as one of their own.Although Susannah gained as a cultural broker she also experienced loss. She had a stillborn son and lost a son to the Abenaki. She later regained this son but he always considered himself an Abenaki. The six years her oldest daughter spent in Montreal were lost to her. One positi ve loss she experienced was her loss of fear over time. Susannah was used by the Indians as trade to the Canadians. She was also used by the Canadians as a prisoner to be bargained for political reasons. The three biographies relate much about intertribal relations and interaction between the Europeans and Natives. Inter-tribal relations were not always positive.The tribes were many times split between loyalties to different cultures. They often looked upon cultural brokers as outsiders or a kind of traitor. There were also good things about tribal relations shown by Occom who never forgot his people. He became a cultural broker more for the benefit of his people than himself. The Indians were usually loyal to one another and treated most captives as family members. The interaction between English and Natives was usually strained. Neither group knew what to expect from the other or understood the other culture. The English were far worse in their treatment of the Natives.They were g enerally unfair and untruthful. They used the Natives far more than the reverse. They considered them backward and perceived them as stereotypical savages. When captured Susannah was surprised to be treated as well as she was for she knew the English would treat their captives far worse. Madame Montour, Samson Occom, and Susannah Johnson were all successful cultural brokers. Cultural brokers played a large role in the colonization of the United States. Although they used different methods to cross cultural borders the intent was universal. They strived to bring understanding to both their culture and the culture of the English.

Cultural Diplomacy: a Filipino Perspective Essay

I. WHAT IS CULTURAL DIPLOMACY? Considered as a relatively new term in international relations and among governments, a commonly cited definition of cultural diplomacy is that of Milton Cummings, an American Political Scientist which defines Cultural Diplomacy as â€Å"the exchange of ideas, information, values, systems, traditions, beliefs, and other aspects of culture, with the intention of fostering mutual understanding† between or among nations (Kang, 2013) or simply put, it pertains to a cultural form of international communication between and/or among nations (Kieldanowicz). It was only during the past decade when governments started to and have increasingly paid attention to the practice of Cultural Diplomacy and have acknowledged the growing importance of cultural dimensions in analyzing the ever-increasing complexity of foreign affairs (Kang, 2013). Art and culture are two important aspects of cultural diplomacy, as these are the forefront of many countries’ promotional efforts. The showcasing of a country’s cultural heritage, as made possible by cultural diplomacy, provides a country with the opportunity of showing who they are and create a positive image which will help them achieve their political aims (Kieldanowicz). This belief was echoed by Philippine DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario was quoted saying â€Å"DFA recognizes the impact of culture in modern diplomacy and sees it as an effective tool in protecting our national interest, in advancing our advocacies and in achieving the development agenda of the country in the international arena. Cultural diplomacy is described as â€Å"†¦a course of actions, which are based on and utilize the exchange of ideas, values, traditions and other aspects of culture or identity, whether to strengthen relationships, enhance socio-cultural cooperation or promote national interests; Cultural diplomacy can be practiced by either the public sector, private sector or civil society.† From this definition, we can gather that cultural diplomacy is similar to an agreement between two countries for the purpose of strengthening their relations through their cultures. II. PHILIPPINE ISSUES IN LINE WITH CULTURAL DIPLOMACY The first issue which the group considers significant in line with the establishment of cultural diplomacy is the young population’s patronization of Korean, Japanese and American pop culture. As previously mentioned, art and culture makes up our identity as Filipinos, however with the continuous and increasing â€Å"Japanesation, Koreanisation and Americanization† of our young generation, the young population is slowly losing its Filipino identity this then becomes a hindrance to the promotion of local Philippine culture, so the question is how could the Philippine local culture be promoted abroad if locally, there is difficulty in promoting, much less preserving it. III. PROJECTION OF ISSUES ON FOREIGN POLICY The ‘Japanesation’, ‘Koreanisation’ and ‘Westernization’ of the Filipino pop culture must be addressed by the Philippine government. We believe however, that action must first be taken in the local or domestic level and extend it later on to the international level by virtue of foreign policy. In line with this issue the government may sponsor students to study sociology with focus on Philippine culture, or establish art competitions such as song-writing and painting contests and the like. This will later on be reflected in the foreign policy by the establishment of government sponsorship of foreign students studying of Philippine culture and society. As we know, globalization is defined as â€Å"worldwide integration and development† and it has helped in improving the economy of different countries. Nowadays, there is a need for all the countries need to improve their exports to be able to make it in the international market. But despite that, globalization has also caused problems such as in cultural diplomacy, an example of this is the Business Process Outsourcing Industry. Even though the pay is nice in such an industry, there is an issue concerning cultural clashes. Since most of the BPOs came from the western side of the earth and then merely outsourced, there is a clash of what are the ways of living in one certain country and the ways of doing things when brought to the receiving country. There would be a lot of issues that would need to be addressed which causes in problems in cultural diplomacy. Let’s use the call center business as an example. Let’s us say that there is a new call center has been outsourced here in the Philippines. In the country where the call center originated they do no not celebrate Christmas or Lent but here in the Philippines we do celebrate these events. This is where the clash begins, because these are two different countries with two different cultures, it would be hard to make or form a cultural diplomacy. There is a need to have talks to address such issues and so that both parties can agree on decide on something to agree on to form a partnership through cultural diplomacy.

American Drug War The Last White Hope - 1245 Words

American Drug War Essay Cultural Awareness CRIM103 21 Apr 2013 Danielle Walters / Ivy Tech Community College James Reed Synopsis I chose to watch a documentary called American Drug War: The Last White Hope, and do a little research on the war on drugs. The documentary I chose was very interesting. I learned several things about the war on drugs, as well as operations that have been swept under the rug. This documentary also provided some chilling statistics on deaths due to legal and illegal drugs. There were several different conspiracy theories about the government being involved in illegal drug trafficking as well. In 1971 President Nixon declared an all-out war on drugs, now over a million non-violent drug offenders live behind bars. The war on drugs has been the longest, most costly, and destructive war in the US history as of today (Booth , 2007). The war on drugs focuses on the poor people, and not the bankers that launder the money. In 1973 Nixon created the DEA, which stands for Drug Enforcement Agency. The DEA is a federal agency responsible for enforcing laws and regulations governing narcotics, and controlled substances. Their job is to immobilize drug trafficking organizations. When Nixon declared the war on drugs in 1971, the federal budget was 101 million dollars, going into the year 2000; the federal budget allegation was 20 billion dollars. Half of what we spend in the court systems and prison is drug related (Booth , 2007).Show MoreRelatedShould We Be Mandatory Sentence Reduction?870 Words   |  4 Pagestough on crime indicator when it comes to drugs. We have criminalized Amer icans for possessing drugs in the war and drugs while in the more egalitarian Europe society simple possession is not even a crime. 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