Thursday, November 28, 2019

Romantic free essay sample

Concordant major and minor scales bore me. Mundane paintings of fruit and birds should be hung only in offices. So whats intriguing? Romanticism: a reaction to the Industrial Revolution emphasizing awe in aesthetic pursuits. No, thats too plain. Romanticism, visceral and raw, sought emotion and frenzy from its followers, to please no one but themselves until those hot, strange tears spilled on the face in passionate human agony. Even at five, when I started piano lessons, I preferred dynamics over technicality. Ive since explored the twisted worlds of Chopin and Tchaikovsky until mellifluous melodies flowed in my head and out through my hands. Over the years, Ive learned all of Chopins Nocturnes and memorized The Tempest, my favorite of all Beethovens movements. Im drained after I play Romantic music, the energy and anger and passion storming onto the ivory until I am left in a dizzy stupor. We will write a custom essay sample on Romantic or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page But the delight doesnt end with sound! Turner paints dreamscapes, as I call them, terrifying portrayals of nature overpowering man in colorful, turbulent collision. With Friedrichs wanderer is where I want to be, atop a rocky mountain overlooking a sea of fog with black peaks protruding from the mist. And I have all but fallen in love with handsome, ravishing Mr. Keats, doting over his poetry that expresses exactly the sentiment I want a man to feel for me. Dark, brooding, sensual, romantic – its uncanny how perfectly a movement in history describes me.

Monday, November 25, 2019

A Level System Supports Positive Behavior

A Level System Supports Positive Behavior A level system for behavior contract is in many ways a sophisticated system for improving and shaping students long term behavior. By establishing levels, much as in a rubric for academic performance, you can shape students behavior by slowly increasing the expectations for meeting each level. This system is particularly good for secondary students, and can help a student in a single class or across classes. Creating a Level System Choosing Behaviors to Monitor Begin by identifying which behaviors will pull the cart of the students behavior. In other words if you successfully identify behaviors that are pivotal for improving a students over all performance and behavior in your class, focus on them. Behaviors need to be explicit and measurable, although data collection is not your primary focus. Still, avoid general, subjective terms like respectful, or attitude. Focus on the behaviors that will eliminate the attitude. Instead of shows respect for peers you need to identify the behavior as Waits to be called on or Waits rather than interrupts peers. You cannot tell your students what to feel. You can tell them what their behavior should look like. Choose 4 or 5 behaviors that will define the levels: i.e. PunctualityConforming to rules.Completing assignments,Participation Some people would include listening but I find that some secondary students who appear to be ignoring the teacher may actually be listening. You can ask for certain kinds of academic behavior that show whether a student has been attending or not. You cannot actually see students listening. Define the Behaviors for Each Level Describe what is excellent, good, or poor punctuality. Excellent may be on time and ready to learn. Good might be on time. And poor would be late or tardy. Determine Consequences for the Students Behavior Positive consequences can be given weekly or daily, depending on the age and maturity of the student or the intensity or inappropriateness of the behavior. For students with grossly inappropriate behavior , or who have a long way to go, you may want to reward performance daily. As a student participates in a behavior support program, over time, you want to thin reinforcement as well as spread it out so that students learn eventually to evaluate their own behavior and reward themselves for appropriate behavior. Consequences can be positive (a reward) or negative (loss of privileges) depending on the number of excellents or the number of poors each student earns. Decide Who will Provide the Reinforcement I would try to get parents to do the reinforcing if at all possible. Secondary students are especially gifted at working teachers against parents or parents against teacher. When you have parents on board, you are more likely to get the cooperation of a student. It also make lessons learned in school generalize to the students home. There is also nothing wrong with double dipping, providing one level of reward at school (i.e. a privilege earned for so many excellents) and another at home (a trip to a preferred restaurant with the family for so many excellents in a week, etc.) Evaluate and Re-evaluate Eventually, your goal is for students to learn to self-evaluate. You want to Fade from supporting the students behavior. You want to achieve these by. Increasing the time you evaluate, from daily to weekly.Raise the level of behavior you want the student to exhibit for each behavior (especially academic behavior. Tools for a Level Behavior System A Contract: Your contract needs to lay out the who, what, where, when, how of your system. Who: The students who will perform the behavior, the parent(s) who will reinforce the appropriate behavior and the teacher(s) who will evaluate the students behavior.What: Behavior you want to see increase. Remember, keep it positive.Where: all classes, or just one where the student is struggling? Do mom and want to continue the plan at home? (include levels for cleaning the room, say, or touching base with parents when out with friends?)When: Daily? Each period? Weekly? Remember to make it often enough to quickly increase the behavior, but understand that you will eventually be thinning reinforcement by spreading the incidence of reinforcement over longer intervals.How: Who is the evaluator? Will you give the student input on evaluation, or will it all be on you? Monitoring Tools: You want to create a tool that will make it easy for you or for general education teachers who may be evaluating students. I offer you models for A contract for a single class with a key.A blank contract for a single class.A week for a self contained program.A week for multiple classes.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

MGM630-0804B-04 Applied Managerial Marketing - Phase 2 Discussion Essay

MGM630-0804B-04 Applied Managerial Marketing - Phase 2 Discussion Board - Essay Example The company deals with a variety of items and is well spread across the three state region in around 1 ten stores. The company has been in this business from 1992 and has not been very inclined towards brand building. The company dealt mainly with only importing and selling of home dà ©cor and gift items and is now looking at moving into house ware items as well. Efforts are being made to improve the brand awareness and also the product portfolio of the company. There are a few issues that the company might face in the case of increasing the brand awareness. Since the company has been in the industry for such a long period and has always used brown bags to wrap their products, there has been very little or almost no attention that has been given to the GGI. It is not known if the company even has a reputation in the market at all. Also as the company is just starting to move into a new product line – House ware, it is obvious that the brand has no awareness for this portfolio of products. Also with the declining sales in the whole sale business and the store business remaining flat, it is obvious that the company is lacking a lot of marketing. To resolve these issues it is essential that steps are taken to correctly market the company and increase brand awareness. To do this it is firstly essential to understand the role of marketing in a society and how it affects a firm. The next section will deal with understanding this in brief. As already mentioned earlier, marketing plays a very important role for every business. It is a process of identifying, anticipating and satisfying the customer requirements. Marketing can be done using a number of different tools like advertising, branding, direct marketing, publicity etc. It is essential that all firms understand one simple concept, that societies do not require marketing and can exist

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Globalization and Economic Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Globalization and Economic Development - Essay Example However, extra legal means of bringing products into a country normally result to an increased in smuggling activities. These practices will eventually corrode if not slowly disintegrate the economy of the country. â€Å"Corrosion in the system of trade relations does not produce a blow-up from one day to the next. When nations find the rules too constraining and no longer appropriate to their needs they find ways of flouting them. The effects tend to be more subtle and show up over time in a gradual retreat from the cornerstone principles of multi-literalism and non-discrimination† (Rodrik). Trade in a globalized economy provides equal opportunity for all players as provided for by the WTO and the GATT. Goods can now be produced in another country without too much impact on the price and in fact can be lowered since products from another country can be produced or assembled locally and be given the same benefits as that of the local brand. Adverse effects of short cuts and ot her extra legal means of trading is not only avoided but governments earn the advantage of taxing the goods. Healthy trade between countries are assured by the WTO and GATT for member nations providing equal opportunity for the products with that of the local products. ... However a move towards ensuring that making each country a member of WTO and compliant to GATT, BASEL and other UN directives remains a challenge. WTO and other agreements prevent several archaic trading imperatives that existed and accepted in the better part of the last century. These trading practices sometimes result to war or conflicts because of its predatory nature. Equal opportunity is given to all players that wish to transact with the other WTO members preventing favouritism and preferential treatment. Globalization in its purest form makes it more efficient for trade to be concluded by moving manufacturing plants to where the market is. Long are the days where waste in the manufacture, shipment and distribution of goods are left not only to normal market forces but also to the devices of the elements and environmental factors because of the lag in shipment and distribution. Positioning for better prices due to a more efficient manufacturing process within the country where the market is if not where the actual raw materials are manufactured will also be more competitive. A more sustainable manufacturing process that will safe guard the environment if not reduce carbon emission. Corporate strategy that could include reduction of operating expense while increasing the level of quality is due to globalization. Technology as an enabler of globalization makes it easier for company to monitor and manage their remote facilities or offices that could be on the other side of the globe. In sum, decrease operating cost, immediate response to market forces that dictate price and supply under an economic environment that do not discriminate between local and imported products when it comes to tax will make the global economy more prudent. Another

Monday, November 18, 2019

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT - Essay Example As mentioned above, Tesco is nothing less than a living legend since it has been able to survive for so many decades. Quite understandably, this has caught the attention many experts, professionals, and critics. They all wonder about that magic formula or approach or Tesco has, which has enabled it to fight, survive and grow. Tesco takes pride in revealing this magic formula and calls it as Tesco’s way. More importantly, this Tesco’s way was noticeable during the visit to the Magor’s distribution centre. Sophistication in technology, highly trained and capable staff to use the same, simple yet complete and spacious infrastructure, proper planning with back up plans for peak times, efforts undertaken to ensure employee satisfaction, micro management, proper communication amongst employees, acknowledgement of company’s goals by employees and others were showing a glimpse of what makes up the Tesco’s way. Without any doubts, Tesco’s operations revolve around the corporate objectives set by the top management and inherited by its founder Jack Cohen. Jack once said, â€Å"You cannot do business sitting on your ass† (Seth & Randall, pp. 212-213, 2001). Jack’s strategy was of constant hard work, innovation, change, adaptability, and openness to experience and Tesco has inherited the same from him. Constant growth, being valued by the customers, and having the most committed and loyal staff, becoming a global retailer having influence at all parts of the world and making Tesco a strong brand name even for non-food items. Moreover, for creating this value, Tesco believes that it should the understand the needs, cultures and mindset of its customers, create maximum employee satisfaction because it leads to customer satisfaction and divert all its strength, efforts, and innovation towards creating value for its customers. Another famous tagline of Tesco is

Friday, November 15, 2019

Minorities In The Federal Government Politics Essay

Minorities In The Federal Government Politics Essay Minorities are always a source of debate in America. Whether it is relating to immigration laws, equal opportunity in schools and workplaces, or their role in government minorities are often a subject of controversy. Many citizens of the United States feel their ethnicities or sex are not fairly represented in Congress, the Justice system, or even in the Executive branch. Today we have an overwhelming majority of white males in Congress. Racial minorities and women alike are underrepresented in both houses. A debate continues on how to make this representation could become more equal. Some feel that the system is what it is and generally makes a level playing field for all candidates; others believe that white males are heavily favored in our current districting. Underrepresentation of minorities has been prevalent since the beginning of Americas government, and many feel that action must be taken to achieve a more representative Federal Government. Of all minorities, women are actually the weakest in representation. Women make up an equal amount of the United States total population, but they do not receive even close to half of the seats in Congress. In fact, as of this year, women only hold 19% of the seats in Congress. This number is record high, but is still very far from 50%. There are many factors contributing to womens underrepresentation in government. One is a very obvious reason. Women simply do not have as many candidates running for office as do men. If more females hope to gain seats in Congress, more must be willing to run campaigns. Womens participation in political education is also below that of mens. Many argue, however, that women are receiving appropriate education and are attempting to run for office. The reason they have difficulty in gaining seats is peoples predisposition to favor the traditional. Voters are used to males holding these positions, and therefore naturally favor a male candidate to a female . If women hope to achieve more success in their numbers in the government, the general voting population must be more willing to accept them as leaders and vital assets on Capitol Hill. This cannot be done by apathetically hoping people will come to their senses. Women have to make strong efforts to assert themselves in those positions, and show future voters their capability. Some feel traditional views and number of candidates are not the most important factors restricting women from gaining equal representation. The biggest obstacle facing women with regards to underrepresentation in Congress is not peoples tendency to favor males for these positions. Instead their lack of wealth is the primary reason men have over eighty percent of the seats. (Rochne) The number of men with the funding to undergo a costly campaign process is much more numerous than the small number of females who could afford to run. Those women with money who choose to run are still often overmatched when it c omes to funding. Fortunately, women are holding more assets, getting more degrees, and working at more high-level jobs than any other time in Americas history. If this trend continues, then women will continue to gradually increase their presence in Congress. http://newshour.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/2012/11/15/women_in_congress_2_blog_main_horizontal.jpg Racial minoritys struggles are far different from those of women. Often it is not money that holds minorities back, but how the voting system is set up in our Country. Redistricting is essentially a political game in which people with the most influence are trying to see their views favored, whether thats to favor party or ethnic hopes. In reality, minority voters wouldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ become submerged in white majority districts, and we would turn the clock back to a time when we had virtually all-white legislatures.(Amy) This is focusing on how redistricting can be instrumental to the racial layout of congress. For many years this was a large factor in the white majority, until it was brought to the courts. This is seen in the Supreme Court case Thornburg vs. Gingles of 1986. The court declared in a unanimous vote that the legacy of official discrimination acted in concert with the multimember districting scheme to impair the ability of cohesive groups of black voters to participa te equally in the political process and to elect candidates of their choice. Essentially this facilitated the creation of United States house districts in which a minority population constitutes a majority of the voting age population. (Banducci) Combined factors still affect minority representation. Wealth, education, experience, number of candidates all contribute to the underrepresentation of ethnicities. Despite all of these factors and the others unmentioned, districting is often considered the most challenging and restraining of all. The amount elected is solely reflected by the numbers of that minority in a voting district. (Peyton) Without minority voting populations being properly represented in their districts, they cannot be properly represented in the Federal Government. Some believe, however, that racial redistricting would have its down falls and is paradoxical in nature. As voting districts are altered to allow for racial minorities to gain election to seats, Congress may be less likely to side with this races ideology and the policies they hope to implement. For example if a district was drawn to favor African-American candidates, Congress may feel less inclined to adopt policies that are favored by many African-American voters. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦particularly in the South, the practice of concentrating minority populations into a small number of districts decreases the liberal influence in the remaining areas. Thus, a handful of minority representatives, almost invariably Democrats, win elections, but so do a greater number of conservative Republicans. (Lublin) Not only will Congress be less willing to accept their policies, but liberal influence in other districts will suffer as a large number of minorities vote democratic. This in turn does the op posite of what activists are hoping. While one minority may gain a seat, their party could lose two. It is still very hard to deny the lack of diversity in Congress. In the United States Senate there are currently no blacks holding positions. In fact, only 6 senators have been African-American since the beginning of the Senate. Todays Senate is made of a 96% white majority. Only 4 senators are racial minorities, Daniel Akaka, Hawaii (Asian-American, Daniel Inouye, Hawaii (Asian-American), Robert Menendez, New Jersey (Hispanic-American) and Marco Rubio, Florida (Hispanic-American). That means that Latinos make up 1% of the Senate, while the latest census found that they make up almost 17% of the United States entire population. It is clear why many are upset about the underrepresentation of minorities. When interviewed about this subject, it was found that most senators do not find this as a matter of importance. (Desjardins) Instead they believe the system gives an equal chance to a ll those running, and should be focused on merit not race. Senators feel that redistricting to aid the election of ethnic minorities is unfair and unnecessary. Of course their opinions are not at all objective; it shows the reluctance of the government when addressing these issues. Legislation is difficult to pass because the white majority would like to continue to see themselves as the majority. It creates a cycle that makes change a slow process. http://www.prosebeforehos.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/zz3490fe30.jpghttp://www.gregbocquet.com/images/thumbAfAmCongress.jpg The Supreme Court and the Executive branch are no exception to the high underrepresentation of minorities. To date there have been only two African- Americans in the Supreme court, one who is still serving as an associate justice. And of course only one President has broken the long chain of white male president, Barack Obama. Sandra Day OConnor made history in the Supreme Court as the first ever women elected. In todays Supreme Court, three of the nine justices are women. Between the first ever African-American (or any minority for that matter) holding office in American history, and the new found diversity in the Court it seems both of these government branches are moving toward trends to create a more representative federal government. Even more than the election that made Barack Obama the first black president, the one that returned him to office sent an unmistakable signal that the hegemony of the straight white male in America is over. The long drive for broader social particip ation by all Americans reached a turning point in the 2012 election, which is likely to go down as a watershed in the nations social and political evolution and not just because in some states voters approved of same-sex marriage for the first time. (West) As shown by Los Angeles Times writer Paul West, a new evolution in politics is beginning. It is clear that obstacles are still very much present in the legislative branch, but the new wave of voters and the progress made elsewhere shows that these trend may become a new normal for the United States. Were not in the 50s any more, said William Frey, a Brookings Institution demographer. This election makes it clear that a single focus directed at white males, or at the white population in general, is not going to do it. And its not going to do it when the other party is focusing on energizing everybody else.(West) Barack Obamas success in gaining election has been an unprecedented win for minorities in government. But to ensure that his achievements have a lasting impression, minorities must take his work in stride and continue down the path to representation. Now more than ever people are straying away from views that the candidates need to fit a certain profile. Still work needs to be done. The cabinet is made up of almost entirely white males, and the Supreme Court is only just beginning to diversify. Despite the success seen in some areas of government, the two houses of Congress are far away from fair representation. The solutions to fixing this issue, however, are very difficult to identify and even more difficult to put in place. The first option is to allow things to continue on their own path, and hope that more minorities will be elected. (Amy) Some argue that this could potentially work based on trends that have been occurring since the mid 1900s. Minorities are gaining seats slowly, and soon more will become available to them. Although possible, this method would create a long process of representation that could take several decades to become fair. It also creates an opportunity for minorities to move backwards instead of forwards, pushing districts back to even more unfair sections. Activists agree that this is not a true option to solving the problem of underrepresentation. Another solution is one that is used today. Groups like the NAACP can fight each individual chal lenge that is placed on minority districts. (Amy) This is more of a short-term solution however. The Supreme Court will not vote in favor of challenges when the only reason in race. Legal groups that fight for these districts are only keeping a minimal hold on the districts necessary for minority representation. So while this effort to save current minority districts is an important short-term tactic, and while it may work in some cases, it is difficult to be optimistic about the long-term success of this approach. (Amy) It is clear that this issue cannot be resolved by numerous court cases defending districts, especially when the Supreme Court does not look favorably on challenges solely based on race. The solution that could potentially solve these issues is an alternative election system based of proportional representation. This system is used by several Western nations and has shown great success in equaling the number of minorities in government. There are two separate ways to do this: one is by a cumulative vote, the other is by creating multi-member districts. The cumulative vote has already been used in some states for local elections in the U.S., and has shown considerable success in getting more minorities into local government positions. The success of this method at lower levels could also indicate that a cumulative vote used in districts could help minorities gain a fair amount of congressional seats. Multi-member districts are another viable option. If a districts voting population is 20% Hispanic, then that district would have 5 members, one of them likely turning out to be Hispanic. Minorities tend to vote for candidates from the same ethnic background, so creating districts into multi-member could even the playing field and create much greater representation of ethnic minorities. In the long run, proportional representation may be the only politically and constitutionally viable solution to the problem of minority representation in the U.S. P R would allow minorities a fair chance to elect their own candidates without resorting to the kind of race-based districting that has provoked the recent legal backlash. White voters would have nothing to complain about with PR since it would allow them to elect their fair share of representatives, and it wouldnt involve the drawing of special or funny shaped districts to benefit minorities. In this sense, proportional representation is a truly race neutral approach to districting, and one that would finally resolve once and for all this festering political problem. Americans committed to fair representation need to familiarize themselves with how these alternative systems work, promote the adoption of these systems on the local level, and pressure Congress to pass legislation to allow the use of proportional representation for congressional elections. Now is not the time to abandon the goal of fair representation for all Americans. We simply have to find new ways to achieve that go al; and currently, switching to proportional representation elections would seem to be our best bet. (Amy) Although this seems like an effective option, it is very difficult to put in place. Most political scientists agree that districting is the source of the problem, but if something could be done it would have already happened. (McCray) Most members of Congress are white males and will not support any acts that would potentially hurt their chances for reelection. Racial minorities need to find other ways than tirelessly challenging through the courts, and hoping that something will change about districting. Funding and strengthening of merit are two things that must be focused on. Latinos, African-Americans, and women all need to increase their wealth and their resumes if they wish to appeal to a broader audience. The graph on the next page, provided by the census bureau, shows the large gap in wealth between the majority white and all minorities. Whites hold 22 times the amount of wealth that blacks do. (Luhby) This also correlates with the amount of education received by these ethnicities. Without more success as a minority in America, it will be difficult for them to hold seats in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. Having less wealth and home equity means it will be more difficult for blacks and Hispanics to send their children to college, which gives them a leg up on landing good jobs, said Roderick Harrison, senior research scientist at Howard University. That will further extend the wealth gap. The implications will be with us into the next generation, which will have greater difficulty in getting the kinds of jobs needed to start saving and building wealth, Harrison said. (Luhby) This is not a trend that minorities want to continue. During the past few years, while every Americans wealth has been declining, minorities have been declining at an almost 40% faster rate than that of whites. (Luhby) The path to equal representation begins with closing the wealth gap and getting more minorities the best education possible. http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/2012/06/21/news/economy/wealth-gap-race/chart-racial-wealth-gap-3.top.gif The public also needs to be aware of these issues. The media plays an essential role in the United States political layout, and they need to do better at informing people of the gap between races. There is no doubting the struggles that women and racial minorities have in trying to gain fair representation. Some hope that these issues will eventually work itself out. Progress has been made in getting more diversity in the Federal Government. The first African-American man is now the President of the United States, more women are holding congressional seats than ever before, and the diversity of the Supreme Court is at an all-time high. There is a lot of hope that these are only the beginnings as well. The American government is based on the principle that the people are the voice of government. The government is in place to serve and embody the United States population as a whole, not just by the majority. Millions of U.S. citizens make up what is known as our nations minorities. It is projected that in the next few decades that America could have a minority majority (the number of minorities combined outnumbers the white population). This is why many feel that they should have proportional representation in Congress. Women and all ethnicities that make up our country have made strides in their struggle for equality in our government, and in the near future action must be taken to see that they continue to be represented fairly.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Upcoming Initiatives within the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit A

Legal Advice: Upcoming Initiatives within the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) 1. Describe the company and the major initiative(s) they have planned for the next five years: In 1967, within the Washington DC metropolitan area, Congress authorized a government agency, created through an interstate compact, known as WMATA, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Since its start in 1976, WMATA has grown into five rail lines with over 106 miles of tracks, 1,500 buses, and 86 different stations, which provides services to a population of 3.4 million within a 1,500 square mile jurisdiction. (WMATA, 2012) Commonly known by many of the District of Columbia area residents as Metro, we rely on WMATA to provide alternative modes of transportation throughout much of the District, suburban Maryland, and northern Virginia areas, which include Metrorail, Metrobus, and MetroAccess services. In a 2008 WMATA News Release, Metro planners predicted there would be a 42 percent increase in consumer use within the next 25 years. (WMATA, 2008) In order for supply to meet demand, Metro officials have constructed an extensive six year Capital Improvement Pl an (CIP) that began in 2010 and will expire in mid-2016. Several constituents the CIP will cover includes: implementing past National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) safety recommendations, purchasing new system software and track maintenance equipment, new and/or rehabilitated rail cars and lines, and replacing several bus facilities. (Kissal, 2011) 2. Determine which elements of administrative law will be most relevant to the upcoming initiatives and what the impact of those laws will be. In the wake of the 2009 tragic accident and... ...have to worry so much about product reliability. References: Access Board, The United States. (n.d.). The United States Access Board. Retrieved February 25, 2012, from Access-Board.Gov: http://www.access-board.gov/about/laws/ada.htm Bagley, C. E. (2009). Managers and the Legal Environment. Mason: Cengage Learning. Kissal, C. D. (2011). Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2011. Washington DC: WMATA. WMATA. (2008, April 18). Metro details improvements to meet future capacity needs. Retrieved February 24, 2012, from WMATA: 2. http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=2064 WMATA. (2010). August 13 2010 Response to FTA. Washington DC: Dougherty, James. WMATA. (2012). Metro - Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Retrieved February 24, 2012, from WMATA: http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/