Recent orders
During the first quarter of the 20th Century, Maricopa County communities were rural and sparsely populated
Overpopulation
The Maricopa County animal control has evolved over the last century and the best way to understand animal control is to look at it through history.
During the first quarter of the 20th Century, Maricopa County communities were rural and sparsely populated. Dogs and cats were valued for what they contributed to this rural lifestyle. Dogs were working dogs earning their keep on a local ranch or farm, or they were used for hunting to help put food on the table. Some dogs, as well as cats, were used as mousers to help keep small rodents out of the homes and barns. All dogs were permitted to run at large.
During the third decade of the 20th Century, fee roaming dogs resulted in a dog overpopulation problem, and with it came an increase of rabies; a very real threat to public health. As a result of this problem, state legislators began to establish county rabies and control programs. In Arizona, dogs must be vaccinated against rabies and licensed. Cats are not included in the mandate because cats are not a proven vector for the rabies virus. Maricopa County’s dog licensing program has effectively reduced the incidence of rabies in dogs to the level that naturally occurs in cats, which is very rare.
There have been no laws passed to regulate cats and the impact they have had on the community. Because cats don’t pose a significant rabies threat they are not regulated. An exploding cat population is posing a significant public health concern.
In the early 60’s a significant change was occurring in the human/animal relationship. All across the United States communities began to urbanize dogs and cats. They found their way out of the barnyard workforce and into our hearts, our homes and for many families, into our beds. Pets were no longer considered staff; they were part of the family. The animal control program did not keep pace with this societal change and we continued to implement catch and kill methodologies right up to the last decade of the 20th Century.
During the 70’s the dog population explosion and the related threat of rabies, cities and towns entered into a contract with Maricopa County to “get these unlicensed dogs off the streets”. These contracts only dealt with the immediate tactical need and little thought was given to any long-range strategic solutions. There was no thought given as to what to do with the animals once they were removed from the streets.
The current “catch and kill” shelters were built in the early 70’s to warehouse dogs and cats until they could be “disposed of”. The two shelters are a reflection of the “catch and kill” mentality that has guided the program for so many years.
In recognizing the great value people place on their pets, Animal Care and Control Services (ACCS) developed the most successful municipal pet adoption program in the United States, adopting out more dogs and cats than any organization public or private in the State of Arizona. The aggressive spay/neuter program, began in 1992, and has resulted in a 50% decrease in the communities’ euthanasia rate. The creation of a municipal “no-kill” Pet Adoption Center helped increase the adoption rate by 23%.
The future of animal control is proactive, innovative programs as opposed to the reactive programs of the past that only exacerbate animal related problems. ACCS is in the midst of a significant transition. This transition is not just organizational; it is cultural. ACCS’ new mission, vision, values, name change, new management team and recent reorganization reflect an on-going societal shift from the historically accepted “catch and kill” methodologies of the past to the humane “no-kill” and non-lethal strategies embraced by citizens today.
Today, ACCS is about families and communities. Pets are a part of the family. ACCS is no longer focused on providing a convenient method for disposing of unwanted cats and dogs. Euthanasia is no longer an acceptable method of pet population control. Adoption programs are understood to be only “stop gap” measures. The real answers to the overwhelming number of lost and homeless animals impounded by ACCS each year are innovative intervention programs that are designed to solve the problem at its source.
Bibliography:
Figurative Language versus Literal Language
Assignment 2: Figurative Language versus Literal Language
Author
Institution
Introduction
Communication has always been a crucial aspect for human beings. It goes without saying that it is incorporated in almost every aspect of human beings. However, communication may take a direct or indirect cue. This introduces the aspect of figurative language, which involves the use of words in a manner that supersedes their ordinary or literal meaning (Weston, 2008). In this case, the listener would have to use his imagination to discern the true meaning of the speaker or author. There are various terms that are used in figurative language.
An idiom refers to a phrase or word that is peculiar to itself grammatically, or in incorporating a meaning that may not be discerned from its elements’ conjoined meaning (Weston, 2008). For example, the phrase “Hit the road” means “go away” rather than smacking the street.
An analogy refers to phrases used to outline the similarity between things that may otherwise be considered dissimilar. It is defined as the similarity between similar features of two things or objects, which may be used as the basis for comparison (Katz et al, 1998). For example, comparison of a pump with the heart, even though the two things are dissimilar.
A metaphor refers to the comparison of different things to outline a likeness in them (Weston, 2008). However, metaphors do not use words such as “as” or like. An example of a metaphor is seen in the phrase “The foliage in winter is a painting come to life” to underline the splendid nature of foliage.
A simile is similar to a metaphor in that it is used as a comparison for two, unlike things (Weston, 2008). However, it uses words such as “as” and “like”. For example, the person is as busy as a bee in a beehive.
A cliche refers to an expression or phrase that has been utilized too often to the extent that it has become stale or trite. For example, the phrase “many hands make the work light”.
An amphiboly refers to a fallacy that depends on an ambiguous grammatical or word to mislead or confuse the audience (Katz et al, 1998). It may be understood in a broader sense a fallacy that comes as a result of a faulty sentence. The researchers headed to a remote area and captured photographs of native communities, but they were not developed. In this sentence, the pronoun “they” may be said to be ambiguous as it is unclear or ambiguous whether it refers to the native communities or the photographs although it was presumably intended to refer to the later.
A flame word is defined as a word that is used to insult an individual or even a group of people (Katz et al, 1998). In most cases, the flame word is used by a presumably intelligent and articulate individual as he questions the intelligence and upbringing of his subject. For example, “How could he be such a pig”?
A hyperbole may refer to an exaggeration of reality or the truth. It is usually meant to be funny or humorous (Weston, 2008). For example, the description of an individual as being “poor as a church mouse” is an exaggeration of the truth and humorous too.
Euphemism is defined as the substitution of inoffensive and agreeable expression for an expression that would be deemed offensive or as suggesting something unpleasant (Katz et al, 1998). For example, the term sex worker to mean prostitute.
Colloquialism is defined as a phrase, paralanguage or word that is used in informal or conversational language but would be inappropriate in formal writing or speech. For example, using the phrase “he was born yesterday” to mean “he can be fooled easily”, may not be used in formal speech or writing (Katz et al, 1998).
Evidently, figurative language may breed misunderstanding in a conversation. Its appropriateness is not only dependent on the circumstance but also the ability of the audience to dig for the hidden meaning of terms.
References
Katz, A.N., Cacciari, C., Gibbs, R.W & Mark Turner, M, (1998). Figurative Language and Thought. New York: Oxford University Press
Weston, J, (2008). Figurative Language. New York: Walch Publishing
Duncan-Andrade & Morrell reading
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Date
Duncan-Andrade & Morrell reading
For quite some time, urban schools have been lagging behind as concerning academic excellence. Varied explanations have been advanced for this situation, with comparisons being made between these schools and others. However, Duncan and Morell feel that the comparison is unfair, right from its inception. This is because the schools have experienced years of underfunding, which places them at a low pedestal compared to their counterparts in sub-urban areas. Duncan and Morell decry the fact that, on one hand, the urban schools fail at alarming rates, while, on the other hand, they are undergoing a systematic, structural design that sets them up for failure. They feel that the academic failure in urban schools is excusable since the situations they are founded under allow for their failure.
Duncan and Morell feel that the academic failure in urban schools is attributable to two things namely, the politics of failure and economics of failure. In the politics of failure, academic failure of urban schools could be traced to the belief system, in which everyone believes that there must be failures in schools. Most schools subscribe to the Darwinian belief system via the existence of a pedagogical testing and grading system that guarantees failure by its mere nature. Varied theories have been advanced suggesting that academic failure results from cultural deficiency on the part of community, family and the individual student. They feel that the system has been perpetuating inequality in the educational outcomes. As pertaining to the economics of failure, Duncan and Morell feel that schools have been reverted into de facto socio-economic sorting mechanism in the country. Wealthy communities have relatively better educational opportunities than their urban counterparts, which create an unfair competition between urban and sub-urban schools.
Duncan and Morell advance a solution to the problem where they insinuate that the reform movement for the urban education must partner with the communities, providing youth with opportunities to succeed without forfeiting their identity as urban youth. In this case, the educational model would concentrate on the design of the curriculum, pedagogy and urban school culture that identifies the communities and cultures of the urban students. These would be viewed as assets and not replaceable things. In addition, the urban schools should be better equipped in terms of teachers just like their sub-urban counterparts.
The changes advanced by Duncan and Morrell have several implications. The customization of education systems, according to the circumstances of the urban schools would be best placed to address the failure (Hill and Celio, 45). It is noteworthy that many students choose to drop out of school instead of giving up their identity as urban kids. In this case, the customization of education would allow for more appreciation of urban culture as an asset rather than an impediment and, therefore, lower the drop-out rate in urban schools.
However, it is noteworthy that the system would also be propagating inequality, with the urban schools being the beneficiaries (Hill and Celio, 67). Preferential treatment in the education systems amounts to spoon-feeding, which is not desirable at all. This would be tantamount to creating a less-level ground in the education system, only that this time round it would be favoring students in urban schools.
While the proposed system would reduce the drop-out rates and probably improve the performance of the urban schools, the symbolic implications are more profound. Having in mind that urban schools accommodate non-white students, the proposed system would propagate the notion that they are intellectually inferior compared to their white counterparts (Hill and Celio).
Conclusion
The low-academic performance of urban schools has been a controversial subject for a long time. Their dismal performance may be attributed to the inequality in the allocation of resources. However, this cannot be remedied by favoring them in the pretext of leveling the ground. In essence, as much as the educational system should be customized to individual circumstances there should be a clear distinction between schools and the community.
References
Paul Thomas Hill, Mary Beth Celio. Fixing urban schools. London: Brookings Institution Press. 1998. Print