Drug Policies And The War On Drugs Criminology Essay

Drug Policies And The War On Drugs Criminology Essay The War on Drugs is an aggressive drug policy aimed at bringing the fight towards drug suppliers and cartels. It began during Nixons term when he escalated Americas problem with drugs as a moral equivalent of war (Ratliff). Presidents Ford and Carter expanded Nixons resolve when they focused the war by attacking the supply lines of drugs. Reagan followed through by militarising and launching strikes to suppliers and drug cartels and tripling its funds in drug eradication. The War on Drugs went on for years with the United States running a foreign policy that sought to encourage, persuade, bribe, or coerce its neighbouring countries (Ibid) to join them in their giant crusade against drugs. South American countries mostly supported this war because this increased their chances to receive U.S. aid. War on Drugs became a media maelstrom in the mid-80s when basketball stat Len Bias died of cocaine overdose. What followed was the signing of the Drug Policy known as the Anti-Drug Abuse Act that placed the problem of drugs as a national security problem. With the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, the U.S. government started to use military and intelligence forces in the war against drugs. What started as a metaphor actually escalated into reality when the US. Military invaded Panama to seize Manuel Noriega in 1989, who was then imprisoned for drug trafficking. Afterwards, during the Clinton administration, the United States increased its funds in countering the supply-side of drug trafficking. George W. Bush added billions more to the war on drugs effort, though by this time. The so-called war on drugs have become a very unpopular issue and many have become opposed to it. The war on drugs has also lost steam since it has been a foregone priority as the United States has become focused on countering international terrorism. Despite this the debate continues, for almost 40 years in its existence, U.S. has shuffled opinions on what to do with the decades-old policy on the crusade against drugs. Should they hang up their gloves and look for alternative solutions. The government has weighed in the pros and cons of the matter. The pros on the war on drugs are looked in the sociological importance of continuing the crusade. It is believed that drug trafficking is a flagrant disrespect of the law, and society is compelled to punish such rebellion through overt force. Punishment and retribution are the keys to stopping drug trafficking and therefore the justice system should criminalise the activity and all its forms. Therefore, putting traffickers behind bars is part of the literature of war. When theyre shut out, drug availability is reduced; and so when you decrease the availability of drugs, abuse goes down too. In short, the war on drugs is really about tackling the supply side of drugs. The U.S. government directs its efforts in purging all supply lines and drug cartels to stop the availability of drugs. When the United States elevated this priority into their foreign policies, what they actually did was to compel other countries to take care of their citizens in terms of health and safety, protect its youth from becoming corrupted by drugs and pushers. The U.S. war on drugs spread like wildfire reminding that this is not just one countries war, the problem of drugs is a global human problem that everyone should take seriously. In the process, because of the war on drugs, elaborate institutions and industries around the world emerged from prison systems, anti-terrorism, anti-money laundering-governments became more aware. However, the downside of the war on drugs is staggering. To many, the war just ended up as the militarization of Latin America. Mexico is now spending $800 million to a billion a year on the drug war (Tavis), just because they dont want Americans invading them just like what they did in Panama. So Mexicans do it themselves: 90% goes to enforcement and the military to purge drug trafficking and only 10% goes to drug treatment. A good number of local officials argue that good share of that gargantuan budget should have gone to Mexicos under-education, impoverishment, etc. The same goes with Colombia and the rest of South America. To the general opinion of many, the U.S. led war on drugs is just a silent Vietnam War that is putting civil war into a boiling point. Dissidents on the war on drugs argue that the term itself war is an inappropriate metaphor. It gives the wrong idea. Yes, there is nothing wrong about thinking war on drugs in the context of law enforcement. Law enforcement is an indispensable tool in control and outlawing drug market-related violence. Very few contend on this argument. But when you start to think a war on drugs as sending troops to other countries then that is a different matter entirely. This is something many have opposed to, like the way Americans now bitterly opposes the war on Iraq. In this case, the war on drugs truly fits its description, a war that amounts to billions that are operated from a situation room, targeting an exact enemy; the suppliers, the factories, the Colombian drug cartels, the problems they cause. But to operate the war on drugs as if America is up against the Nazis is looking at the problem from the wrong end. Here, drug trafficking runs in two ways: there are the foreign suppliers and theirs the local demand. You just cant solve the problem by military strength when the problem also comes from within? Thus, heres where the biggest criticism of the war on drugs: its too short-sighted. Its examining only one side of the pole. This war on drugs has escalated so far that the U.S. government no longer mind about collateral damage. They want to win the war conventionally. But what should be understood is that this is a war against people. For example, Colombia is a place of continued violence between left-wing guerrillas and right-wing militias. Peasants have nothing more to live on besides growing coca because theres demand for it. Now, with the war on drugs, the United States want to stop growing coca at all costs, without giving aid to peasants to do other profitable livelihoods. So the peasants end up as collateral damage. By killing the supply lines, the U.S. believes that the demand will die. And so they keep focusing on the killing supply by all means possible, even by arrogant policies such as the potential annual decertification of Latin American government that are determined not to cooperate with the United States (Ratliff). Why the war on drugs became so criticised, it is because of this very policy, which has strained and continues to strain relations with Latin American countries. The negative effect of these policies has weakened foreign institutions of garnering support from their own countries, especially if they adhere to the United States. In fact, theres a growing number of Hispanics that are already disenfranchised with the whole crusade (Tavis). There are generally two factions: one started supporting guerillas (who wants America to be decertified) and the other looking for ways to distance themselves with the U.S. and not cooperate like Mexico has done. For experts, they are of a strong opinion that America should not continue the war on drugs on the basis that focusing only on the supply side of the problem will not amount to anything, it will only be a waste of money. What U.S. should do is start facing the reality that the real problem comes from the demand side; that the root of the problem is from within. You cant call a war when the problem is within. You need alternative solutions. One example is to look at the problem not as a security threat or even a delinquency but rather as a health problem, stemming from a lack of education or youth cultural disillusionment. The way to treat drugs is to spend more money on schools, treatment efforts, not on prisons and on the military. Another problem with the war on drugs is that it looks at very limited solutions. For example, the so-called war is too focused on marijuana (Conan). Other drugs, like crack and other harder drugs, tend to be overlooked. Violent crimes are mostly committed by someone on hard drugs, not on marijuana. Now if they only focused on harder drugs, you can get a little more done. After President Obamas inauguration, the new drug policy was to drop the war on drugs term from the language of the administration. This is a drastic change from the approach of previous presidents and steer the new drug policy towards prevention harm reduction strategies that is much favoured in Europe (Glaister). The new administration embraced new drug policies supporting federally funded needle exchanges with an aim, according to David Johnson, assistant secretary of state, was to establish a policy based on public health needs (ibid). The objective of this new policy that replaces the war on drug stance is to create stronger and broader regulations than the drug policies in the past. The executive director of the Drugs Policy Alliance, Ethan Nadelman, has long sought for alternatives to the old policy of war on drugs, and the changed that Obama instigated was a welcome relief to his organisation. Washington officials reaffirmed in a congressional meeting held in March 2009 that the administration had to shift the age-old national drug policy as a response to the growing trend that drug-related violence has been transferring from the US to Mexico despite the aggressive military campaign against drug suppliers. The meeting followed a report from former presidents of South America, particularly, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, who all opined that the war on drugs policy was a complete and utter failure (Ibid). Many conservative politicians in the South blamed the United States for emphasising more on criminalising drug use and drug supplying rather than tackling the addiction problem itself. The criminalization and the aggressive approach of the war on crime only create an increase death toll. The new approach must, therefore, be based on public health. Obama is looking at a more proactive side in creating a new drug policy aimed at reform and rehabilitation, rather than intimidation. This is a lesson learned from the damages that the War on Drugs has created. Through over-criminalization, it has so far assaulted American civil liberties, clog the jails and courts. This new policy also paved the way for police corruption, like what happened in the 1999 Rampart Scandal case that involved department-wide corruption and racketeering of the LAPD. The war on drugs is also open for abuse by misguided police officers that confiscate drugs to criminals and then enrich themselves by reselling it. Worse, the war on drugs has so far cost the taxpayers approximately $3.2 billion during the Reagan and Bush presidency and then another set of billions were spent during Clintons administration (Drug Policy). Furthermore, because of it, the United States was suddenly propelled as having the highest per-capita incarceration rate for any nation in the world. The problem is drug use has not decreased and crimes committed in connection with addiction and drug use continue the upward trend. It seems there is no stopping a great number of Americans of wanting various drugs and they always have the money to buy a quick drug fix. $3.2 billion was spent on law enforcement, not a dollar went to rehab centres. Most of them went to the military to combat alongside Latin American governments to build para-militaries against cartels. What should have been done is to spent that money back home and treat the root of the problem of addiction and lack of education on drug use. Obama, who described in his autobiography having used marijuana and cocaine, steered his administration to finally get rid of the war on crime and treat needle exchanges for intravenous drug users a healthcare issue (Sullivan). Because it is true, obviously, that putting drug users in jail would not do anything concrete if you dont treat them. Once released, they return to the same neighbourhood and is back to the same problem. This is what the new drug policy should be addressing.

The Cause Of The Civil War: Eli Whitneys Cotton Gin Essay -- essays re

During the period between 1790 and 1850, the United States was rapidly changing. It was now a separate country with its own economy, laws, and government. The country was learning to live on its own, apart from England. There began to appear a rift between North and South. The North believing in the Puritan Merchant role model, and the South in the role model of the English Country Squire. The North traded with everyone, while the South traded primarily with England. The major crop in the South was tobacco, and because of the decline in the price of tobacco the slave trade was dying, just as those in the North hoped it would. Then came a man, and an invention, which changed the course of history. In 1792, Eli Whitney visited the plantation of Catherine Greene, the wife of Revolutionary War general, Nathaniel Greene, near Savannah Georgia. He watched cotton being cleaned; a very long and time consuming process to do by hand. Watching the cotton being cleaned an idea came to Whitney. He decided he would build a machine that would clean cotton faster than it could be done by hand. Thus, he created the cotton gin.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This invention changed the way the South functioned, and the ripple effect it created changed the course of history forever. The ripple effect caused by Eli Whitney’s cotton gin can be seen as the driving force behind many of the conflicts between North and South, and eventually culminating in the Civil War. Before Eli Whitney’s invention, slavery was dying in the South. The price of tobacco had plummeted, and planters were freeing slaves because of the high cost of feeding, housing and clothing them. When Eli Whitney introduced his invention the cotton market exploded. Cotton began to be grown in enormous quantities because it was good for making clothes, and with the invention of the cotton gin easier to produce. This explosion in the growth of the cotton market rejuvenated the slave trade. This time, though, the slave trade was not between the U.S. and Africa, but instead between the Old South, and the New South. The Old South began to â€Å"bree d† slaves to sell to the cotton farmers in the New South. These farmers needed large numbers of slaves because once the cotton was ripe, it needed to be picked quickly. The price of slaves skyrocketed, and this new crop ensured the practice of slavery would continue. This continuati... ...in slavery breathing new life into the South, and in the country economy as a whole. With this rejuvenation came problems between North and South over moral differences. These differences created a rift that widened until sectionalism overtook nationalism. This rift was temporarily closed several times but ultimately the differences between North and South were so ingrained in their respective culture that it took a war to change. The wide and far-reaching effects of this event can be viewed as a pond, the country, when a pebble is thrown into it the ripples become larger and larger until they come in contact with something that can stop them. As the proverb says, â€Å"A butterfly that flaps its wings in China can cause a hurricane in Kansas.† Bibliography Eli Whitney Museum. Organization Page. 3 December 2000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Green, Constance. Eli Whitney and the Birth of American Technology. Harper-Collins College Division, 1995. Hays, Wilma Pitchford. Eli Whitney and the Machine Age. Franklin Watts, 1959. Wilson, Mitchell. American Science and Invention: A Pictoral History. Simon and Shuster, New York, 1954.

Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Q2) â€Å"Evaluate the relative importance of corporate social responsibility relative to other corporate objective† (40 Marks) Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a firm’s decision to accept responsibility for its social, environmental and ethical actions. A firm’s decisions whether to adopt and rank importance to CSR should be due to a variety of reasons, like the financial stability of the company aswell as the culture of the organisation. But one definitive factor would be a firm’s corporate objectives, corporate objectives are a quantifiable statement of a business’s goals which should include measurable targets. Essay will look to examine the relative importance of CSR in relation to other corporate objectives. Many companies underlying corporate objective is profit maximisation, with this goal ranking higher than any other. This party due to the share holder value theory which makes profit a priority, therefore resulting in many firms qu estioning whether to become more socially responsible is worth the additional costs which would result in reduced profit for the company and key stakeholder’s groups. Primark offers a perfect example to this point, Primark is a retail firm in which offers exceptionally low prices through exploiting cheaper labour from abroad. If the company was to become more socially responsible they would have to sacrifice their unique selling point of low prices which may cause the company to fail. Thus proving how many businesses will see little importance in CSR relative to profit maximization. On the other hand companies whose key corporate objective is profit maximisation should take into account that CSR represents a long term commitment which can help to improve reputation and image of the company. This is due to consumers becoming more and more aware and concerned over where goods are sourced from and how they are made. CSR is therefore likely to route to profit maximization in the long term due to consumers now looking for socially responsible companies, which may rank over price therefore resulting in higher sales and therefore higher profit. This can be seen in the company Marks & Spencer who launched their bag for life campaign promising to reduce the wastage of plastic bags, and also presented an opportunity for Marks to charge for bags resulting in higher profits. Marks & Spencer is therefore a great example of a company who has looked to become more socially responsible and as a result improving their brand and reputation and even creating opportunities to improve profits, therefore demonstrating the relative importance CRS can have with profit maximisation. In contrast profit maximisation should always remain key as CSR in cases can only help to maintain brand value having little effect on overall profit maximisation. In addition, another key corporate objective is market growth, to gain market growth companies invest heavily in advertising costs amongst other promotional campaign, therefore leaving many organisation questioning whether CSR is another cost which is not sure to be beneficial to the business. However supermarket giant Tesco main corporate objective is market growth, but Tesco has recently reported that targets had been underperformed, therefore CSR could be important to this objective. During times of market growth CSR can act as a USP to differentiate the company from competition, which could be why marks & Spencer received higher profits this year after launching their bag for life campaign promising to cut down on plastic bag wastage. Due a recent change in customers views and attitudes towards the environment, becoming more socially responsible could be vital to gain an edge over competition when aiming for market growth. Then again CSR can be dependent on each individual company on whether it holds any importance to key corporate objectives. For example many oil companies whose product is in such high demand that it isn’t necessary for the business to adapt any CSR strategy as the product is so inelastic that people will by it regardless of image or reputation. This is controversially not the case for the oil provider giant BP who recently suffered a massive public relation nightmare after a massive oil spill, leading to a big hit in their reputation and brand image. BP has now ironically made CSR one of their core objectives to help rebuild the reputation and gain market growth. To conclude it is clear that CSR holds an apparent importance to other corporate objectives of a business, with it able to acting as a unique selling point for a business who is looking for market growth this can be seen in the company velvet who recently launched their triple velvet range which promised to plant a tree for every pack sold. CSR can also help in profit maximization as CSR represents a long term commitment which is likely to route to profit maximisation in the future and merits priority. But alternatively CSR is not a law requirement and has been proven that It is not always necessary depending on each company’s products, for examples oil is in such high demand that whether the company adopts CSR or not will not matter as the product is in such high demand it will be purchased regardless. Finally many companies already have a strong brand image and reputation so do not need to adopt CSR within their corporate objectives but can rely on other existing qualities to help to full fill objectives. For example apple offers a unique product with a strong reputation for quality and brand image. All of these factors can help to contribute towards profit maximisation, with image and quality allowing for increased added value to their products helping to increase profit margins. As well as strong brand image and loyal customer base helping to drive companies forward through times of market growth.

Quartz Triboluminescence

Quartz Triboluminescence Many minerals and chemical compound display triboluminescence, which is light produced when chemical bonds are broken. Two minerals that exhibit triboluminescence are diamond and quartz. The procedure to produce the light is so simple, you should try it right now! Feel free to use diamonds, but be aware the light is produced when the crystal lattice is damaged. Quartz, on the other hand, is the most abundant mineral in the Earths crust, so you should probably start with that. Quartz Triboluminescence Materials You need any form of quartz, which is crystalline silicon dioxide (SiO2). You dont have to sacrifice perfect quartz crystal points for this project! Most gravel contains quartz. Play sand is mostly quartz. Go outside and find two semitranslucent rocks. Chances are good they are quartz. How to See the Light First, make sure the quartz is dry. The phenomenon occurs when the crystal lattice is torn apart by friction or compression. Wet quartz is slippery, so its presence will compromise your efforts.Gather your materials in a darkened location. It doesnt need to be pitch black, but light levels need to be low. Give your eyes a couple of minutes to adjust to make it easier to see the flashes of light.Method 1: Firmly rub together two pieces of quartz. See the flashes of light?Method 2: Strike one piece of quartz with another. Now, you may also get actual sparks using this method, plus you may chip off splinters of rock. Use eye protection if you go this route.Method 3: Walkthrough dry sand. This works well at a beach or in a sandbox, but the sand must be dry or else the water will cushion the crystals.Method 4: Crush a piece of quartz using pliers or a vise. This method is especially nice if you want to take a video of your project.Method 5: Do what the Uncompahgre  Ute did and fill a tr anslucent rattle with bits of quartz. Shake the rattle to see the glow. The native tribes used rattles made of rawhide, but a plastic bottle works fine, too. How Quartz Triboluminescence Works Triboluminescence sometimes is called cold light because no heat is produced. Material scientists believe the light results from a recombination of electrical charges that become separated when crystals are fractured. When the charges get back together, the air is ionized, producing a flash of light. Usually, materials that display triboluminescence are displayed an asymmetrical structure and are poor conductors. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, however, since other substances display the effect. Its not restricted to inorganic materials, either, since triboluminescence has been observed between vertebral joints, during blood circulation, and even during sexual intercourse. If its true the light results from ionization of air, you might expect all forms of triboluminescence in the air to produce the same color of light. However, many materials contain fluorescent substances that release photons when excited by the energy from triboluminescence. Thus, you can find examples of triboluminescence in just about any color. More Ways to See Triboluminescence Rubbing together diamonds or quartz is not the only easy way to observe triboluminescence. You can view the phenomenon by pulling apart two pieces of duck tape, by crushing wintergreen candies, or by pulling the Scotch tape from its roll (which also produces x-rays). The triboluminescence from the tape and the candies is a blue light, while the light from fracturing quartz is a yellow-orange. Reference Orel, V.E. (1989), Triboluminescence as a biological phenomenon and methods for its investigation, Book: Proceedings of the First International School Biological Luminescence: 131–147.

Eng Annotated Bibliograph Essays - Educators, Teach For America

Eng Annotated Bibliograph Essays - Educators, Teach For America Professor Voll Eng 105 31 Mar 2015 107 Annotated Bibliography Thesis: In todays world, a lot of students are not receiving the quality education they deserve because the lack of successful teachers. Many students who live in high area's schools are getting an excellent education they need in order to be successful in the future, opposed in urban community students lack the quality of a good education. However, this has significantly changed from an organization Teach for America, which was established to ensure students who are living in poverty have the same opportunity to have access to higher education. Behrman, Jere R., and Nevxer Stacey. The Social Benefits of Education. Michigan: U of Michigan, 1997. Print. This book, The Social Benefit of Education discusses the advantage and benefits of a good education. The population are potentially considerable and has changed many lives of students. The increase of education is highly getting strong and positive in terms of correlating with the measure of health, strong families, childrens wellbeing, a good clean environment and a host of many more things. The book The Social Benefits of Education talks about the correlation and government intervention regarding education. This is considered to be a useful source to implement into my research paper. It contains information that is relevant to my topic, such as how education is a way to benefit students and teachers in so many ways in term of professional and personal life. Spring, Joel H. American Education. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996. Print This book is a great source because it pertains to my topic and talks about the power and the importance of education. How children need to be taught effectively in order to learn and grow as human beings. The author writes that education was a meaning for keeping a county in line. It is imperative to have students understand society needs an education and problems that cause lack of education. Joe Spring also addressed education and equality. In one of his chapters he focuses on student diversity in America. The majority of the nations is seeing a great increase in diversity in terms of families that relocate for job opportunities, improved political conditions, or illegal immigrations. Spring discusses also the current diverse population has made dramatic improvement. He really talks about a variety of things in the book. I think this source provides a ton of good information that can enhance my research paper. Hammond, Darling. "Does Teacher Preparation Matter? Evidence about Teacher Certification, Teach for America, and Teacher Effectiveness." Http://eric.ed.gov. N.p., Oct. 2005. Web. 28 Mar. 2015. In this article, studies have shown the great usage of Teach for America teachers are on the edge of being as effective and competitive as teachers in general who have certification for teaching. In other words, there has been a debate on how TFA teachers are considered to be more successful than teachers who has been through the process of testing and training requirement for a certification. The article also tells how the data shows Teach for America teachers are candidates that are from rigorous, selective universes, where they are required to receive weeks of training prior to teachingare as effective as similar teachers who are experienced, certified teachers. This article demonstrates that Teach for America teachers have been proved to be a good well-educated and a good resource for children in a successful matter, regardless. This is a good thing because TFA teachers are not considered to be certified teachers and still are able to perform well as other teachers. This is a g ood, very useful source for my research paper. It talks about the greatness of TFA teachers and how they are able to be successful just like a typical teacher who is certified to teach. It also goes on to relating to my topic, because my research paper is going to be regarding children who are living in poverty are not able to attain a good education. However, education equity that children are facing stops when TFA teachers are established to make an impact and change in children's lives. Teach for America organization is not only helping their teachers become more successful and gain leadership skills, but also have a huge impact on

Interaction and Engagement Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Interaction and Engagement - Coursework Example Subsequently, the study will examine another project and offer five alternative design ideas that seek to enhance the interaction of the users with its technology and amongst themselves in a simple, yet engaging manner. However, rather than focusing on how specific technologies work to create the effects, the study will dwell on suggesting simple solutions that can produce the â€Å"Wow† factor. The case study being considered for this study is the â€Å"Piano Staircase,† a project created under the initiative of Volkswagen. THE PIANO STAIRCASE (Shinn 2010:6) The project, â€Å"Piano Staircase,† offers a staircase adjacent to an escalator on a subway in Odenplan, â€Å"Stockholm, Sweden† that makes passersby wonder as to what option to take (Shinn 2010:6). This was part of Volkswagen’s experimental campaign known as the â€Å"Fun Theory† that seeks to find out whether incorporating some innovations in design that contain the fun element can i ncite people to â€Å"engage in good behaviours† such as climbing the stairs instead of using the escalator (6). While Volkswagen and their PR professionals purport this as the fun element for the sake of entertainment, in actual practice they are aiming at analysing the needs of their audience and meeting their requirements in â€Å"new forms† (6). ... An analysis of Volkswagen’s innovative concept reveals that the inclusion of fun factor has enabled active interaction of most of the audience of the Piano Staircase as can be verified from the video clipping on YouTube. Their concept of encouraging more passersby to â€Å"choose the stairs† by providing a fun element in the design, works perfectly fine in this video (Piano Stairs: The Fun Theory 2009). The beginning, the video shows a nondescript, mundane staircase remaining unused by passersby who prefer the adjacent escalator. However, once Volkswagen adorns the staircase flooring with a piano key design on the floor, it attracts public attention. As a result, a couple of passersby, who initially decides to go by the escalator, reverses their decision and takes the stair after they notice a woman coming down the stairs and perhaps on listening to the sound of the piano notes as well. Subsequently, the video shows the number of people who take the stair increasing and as the video progresses, it shows the passersby interacting in different ways with the staircase and these interactions engage them intensely and actively with various aspects of the design of the staircase. For example, the pair of youngsters who walk the stairs finds the fun of the music quite engaging and fascinating. Lured by the design’s interactive charm, the boy hops around, in tune with the music. Similarly, a lone man walking the stairs jumps from key to key to listen varying notes of the piano. On the other hand, when a woman walks a toddler, the notes play the tune of â€Å"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.† In this manner, the piano notes cater to different audiences by understanding the needs of different users so that they can interact with

Leadership Factors Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leadership Factors - Assignment Example I do not believe that the authentic leadership questionnaire is really valid because the answers are too subjective to provide a real understanding of one’s leadership style. Description of My Scores My scores on the Authentic Leadership Self-Assessment Questionnaire (ALSAQ) are as follows: Self-awareness, 13; Internalized moral perspective 17; Balanced processing, 10; Relational transparency 10; with a total of 50. According to Northouse (2013) all of these scores show weakness as an authentic leader when tallied individually. However, when the scores are added together, the final score falls within the high range (Walumbwa and Associates, 2012). When I look at these scores individually and the questions that were added together to create the score, I cannot say that these scores represent me or anyone as an authentic leader. According to Tobias (2011) the area of self-awareness is to measure the personal insights that a leader has and whether they understand their strengths and weaknesses. I scored a 13 in this area but I thought this was not a good indication of my ability. As an example, one of the numbers that determined this measure was number nine which read, â€Å"I seek feedback as a way of understanding who I really am as a person.† If someone seeks feedback from others to know who they are, I would say this is a weak leader. I said this would not describe me at all. In the next section, internalized moral perspective, Tobias (2011) states that this section measures an individual’s moral code and values. It also tells whether an individual has their own control or is controlled by others. I live by my own moral code and I do not allow other people to control how I act or react to situations. I believe this is a better way to live than to have someone else tell you what to do. Tobias (2011) states that the third category, balanced processing, measures critical thinking and the ability to take in information and make decisions after listening to other people’s opinions. Again, I think this is not a true measure of a person. I think it is better to stick to your own ideas, taking other people into consideration, but you must make the decision eventually. Welch and Welch (2012) say that being authentic shows that the individual is likable. I think this is true. People who are open and honest as far as they can be, are people who can be trusted. But, this is a perception and not necessarily a reality because it is based on how someone perceives someone else. Tobias (2011) states that he final section, relational transparency, measures how the leader communicates with others and expects that they will communicate openly and honestly. I scored a 10 on this section. I believe that I communicate well with others, but if I were leading a team, I would not reveal everything about myself to that team. I think that one can be authentic without telling all the details of their life. Implications of the Scores for M y Effectiveness as a Leader I do not think these scores really give an idea of how I would be as a leader. The scores are subjective, which means that I could change my mind about some of the scores and get a better score in the end. I think that these types of scores are like taking any personality quiz or romance quiz that one can find on the Internet. Nothouse (2013) states that this test has not had enough empirical evidence to show that it is valid. I would not take this test seriously if I wanted to know how I would be as