Friday, September 6, 2019

Jane Ms Lynch Essay Example for Free

Jane Ms Lynch Essay Jane Ms. Lynch was born and raised in Dolton, Illinois, the daughter of a housewife mother and a banker father. She was raised in an Irish Catholic family and attended Thornridge High School. She received her bachelor’s degree in theatre from Illinois State University and her MFA from Cornell University, also in theatre. She lived in Chelsea for a year and a half. Ms. Lynch began her career in the theatre but quickly moved on to TV. She starred with MDs, and has made guest appearances in numerous television series, including L.   A. Law, Judging Amy, The West Wing, 7th Heaven, Friends, Felicity, Arrested Development, the cult hit Lovespring International, Two and a Half Men, Weeds, Boston Legal, The L Word, Help Me Help You, Gilmore Girls, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Psych, Monk and Party Down, among others. She also appeared in the crime drama Criminal Minds as Spencer Reid’s schizophrenic mother. As of 2009, Ms. Lynch currently appears on the Fox series Glee. GLEE is a musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox. It focuses on a high school show choir (a modern GLEE club) called â€Å"New Directions,† at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio. Ms. Lynch has won glowing reviews for her role as the aggressive cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. Sue is part of the William McKinley High School staff and is the coach of the cheerleading squad, the â€Å"Cheerios†. She detests the Glee Club and their teacher, and attempts to bring them down at any cost. She is jealous of the GLEE club’s talent and also holds grudges to unhealthy, almost super-villain levels, particularly her desire to destroy the Glee Club for getting money that had once been promised to her â€Å"Cheerios†. However, Sue is not completely without her soft-side. She is very loving towards her sister Jean, who suffers from Down Syndrome and who Sue visits as often as she can. This love for her sister caused Sue to donate money to the school to help disabled kids, and to allow a student with Down Syndrome to join the â€Å"Cheerios†. Mary McNamara of the LA Times wrote, â€Å"Ms. Lynch alone makes GLEE worth watching. † On August 29, 2010, Ms. Lynch won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Comedy Series. Ms. Lynch recently helped unveil a wax figure of her famous character Sue Sylvester from the Fox hit series at Madame Tussaud’s in Hollywood. While Ms. Lynch commented that it was an amazing honor, she also compared the experience to seeing herself in a coffin.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

A Case Commentary: Chan Yoke Sim v Choong Teck Fook Ors

A Case Commentary: Chan Yoke Sim v Choong Teck Fook Ors The plaintiff a kindergarden teacher at Tadika Emmanuel (TE) seeks damages over several tort of defamation by several Emmanuel Baptist Church committee members. The plaintiff alleged the committee members have published defamatory statements which leads the other members of the church to believe she was a corrupt,untrustworthy and dishonest person and have repeatedly committing several accounts of frauds and criminal breach of trust during her service in TE. The 1st defamatory statement was that she had allegedly receive twice the payment from the TE board during the same month implying she was a dishonest person. Misusing fund from TE to buy bankdraft for her son that is studying in Australia therefore implying she has committed a criminal breach of trust. Alleged to have repeatedly committing fraud on the accounts of TE and is a corrupt,untrustworthy and a person without morale and principle. Alleged to have abused her position during her service in TE to gain profit for her own pe rsonal gains. The plaintiff have demanded TE board to take appropriate actions to clear her name and demanded an apology statement to be publish to the rest of the members but was ignored by TE board. Firstly to prove whether the statements were defamatory and is made with malice, lets look on the statement that the plaintiff cash in both checks issued to her by the TE board chairman. A replacement cheque is issued by the bank to replace the cheque the plaintiff had loss. This proves that the plaintiff had not cash in both cheques like claimed. The fact that the cheque was reimbursed by the TE board chairman was never questioned and yet allegation against the plaintiff was made ,even after the plaintiff had requested the TE board to carry out investigations to clear her name and demanded an apology no actions were taken by the board and the chairman of the TE board never came out and clarify the matters. I would quote one of the defamatory statement published by the TE board The plaintiff alleged these passages to be defamatory to her in the 2009 Minutes: iii. Purported usage of TE fees collection for the purchase of personal bank draft (Refer to item 6. 3 of the Fact Finding Report and Appendix F). Bro. BC said TE previous Treasurer, sis. Ang Hwee Loo (AHL)s allegation was a very strong and sensitive one as the teacher she referred to was bro. CYHs sister. The Fact Finding Team could not conclude that the purported bank draft was in fact related to the discrepancy being written off in Point 7 of Appendix C, or the purchase of personal bank draft actually happened. v. Salary for Sep-06 was alleged to have been paid twice to a teacher (Refer to 6. 5 of the Fact Finding Report and Appendix G H). Bro. BC in referring to item 3. 1 of the Audit Report (Appendix I) said the audit observation has given the impression of the salary cheques being issued twice to a teacher when actually the alleged replacement cheque was issued to bro. RL as a reimbursement for a different amount. Bro. BC said there were two aspects to this finding. firstly, sis. AHL admitted to the Fact Finding Team that she had omitted to cancel the first salary cheque that was reported lost. secondly, although the second reimbursement cheque to bro. RL included an amount of the teachers salary for Sep-06, there was no voucher to evidence the second salary payment purportedly to have been made in cash. Therefore, the Fact Finding Team could not confirm that the teacher in question has received the Sep-06 salary twice. Sis. LKK commented that when she joined the TE Board, she remembered being told that the TE accounts were very messy. Sis. LL also recalled that sis. AHL wanted collections to be banked in immediately and teachers were later not allowed to hold any money. Since sis. AHLs allegation of a teacher having used TE money to purchase personal bank draft was never tabled and discussed in the past TE Board meetings, the present TE Board accepted the recommendation of the Fact Finding Team and unanimously agreed that the unsubstantiated allegation be dismissed. (the alleged fourth defamatory statements) Is the statements by the TE board defamatory or not?I would quote the decision delivered by Gopal Sri Ram JCA (as he then was) in the Court of Appeal case ofChok Foo Choo @ Chok Kee Lian v The China Press Bhd[1999] 1 MLJ 371at pp 374 and 375 where it was held that: In my judgment, the test which is to be applied lies in the question: do the words published in their natural and ordinary meaning impute to the plaintiff any dishonourable or discreditable conduct or motives or a lack of integrity on his part? If the question invites an affirmative response, then the words complained of are defamatory. (SeeJB Jeyaretnam v Goh Chok Tong[1985] 1 MLJ 334. ) Richard 2 MLJ 117 at 128 Malanjum J, in an admirable judgment inTun Datuk Patinggi Haji Abdul-Rahman Yakub v Bre Sdn Bhd Ors [1996] 1 MLJ 393, collected and reviewed the relevant authorities upon this branch of the subject and I would, with respect, expressly approve the approach adopted by him. To further support the statements were defamatory i quoted the decision by Low Hop Bing J (as he then was) in the case ofAbu Samah bin Omar v Zainal bin Montel[2004] 5 MLJ 377at p 382 where it was held that: Whether the words are defamatory? In respect of this issue, it has been said that there is no precise test applied to determine whether or not any given words are defamatory or are capable of a defamatory imputation. Several general formulations have been accepted and may be stated as follows: (a) any imputation which may tend to lower the plaintiff in the estimation of right thinking members of society generally (seeSB Palmer v AS Rajah Ors[1949] MLJ 6); to cut him off from society or to expose him to hatred, contempt or ridicule (seeAbdul Rahman Talib v Seenivasagam Anor[1965] 1 MLJ 142); (b) a defamatory statement is one to a mans discredit, or which tends to lower him in the estimation of others, or to injure his reputation in his office, trade or profession, or to injure his financial credit or if the words cause him to be shunned or avoided:Yussoupoff v Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Ltd[1934] 50 TLR 58; per Mohamed Azmi J (later FCJ) inSyed Husin Ali v Sharikat Penchetakan Utusan Melayu Bhd Anor[1973] 2 MLJ 56at p 58,Gatley on Libel and Slander(6th Ed) p 4, as followed by Ramly Ali J inKian Lup Construction, pp 41–42. It is also crucial to determine wether the statement is being defamatory or not, the words must be read in its context in which they were used, (seeLim Guan Eng v Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd[2012] 2 MLJ 394at pp 403–404 (HC)) The plaintiff therefore had no other options but to bring the case to the court to clear her name. The attitude and actions of the defendants towards the plaintiff up until the trial was indifferent with their imputations towards the plaintiff. There was no investigation carry out to clear her name and all allegation is based on assumption and therefore it is flawed. The defendants were indifferent to the truth and seems to have falsify all the allegation made towards the plaintiff,this is sufficient to prove there was malicious intention towards the plaintiff. The next course is to prove wether the alleged defamatory statements and records were being publish to third party. The documents which allegedly contain information about the plaintiff wrong doing was supose to be classify information as stated and will only be distribute during different occasions of meetings of the board or if the documents were requested by the members of the board yet unfortunately the person that have the responsibility to keep the documents confidential had made the documents known to the members of the TE board and the regular members of the church that has nothing to do with their administration. Even though the distribution of the records doesnt fall into the category of general public and even if the plaintif doesnt conduct a business for a living but the family of the plaintiff were devout members of the church and this action has severely made the other members of the church label her and probably her family as frauds and untrustworthy severely damaging her worth as a person and affecting the plaintiff family as well. This was proven that the defamatory statement were valid as the regular members of the church falls into the category as 3rd party. According to Defamation act the TE board committees had violate section 5 of slandering the plaintiff of her reputation as a teacher thus will bring problems to her employment in the future. They are also guilty of violating section 6 slandering of title since TE board has alleged published several defamatory statements that imply the plaintiff was a dishonest person and a fraud and has been proven the statements were made with malice. The TE board couldnt claim to be alleged to the defenses of unintentional defamation in section 7 since the plaintiff have requested a lot of times for investigations to be carry out to clear her name and unfortunately was ignored. This alone prove that this is far from being unintentional. The TE board couldnt claim section 8 Justification as defenses as well since there was never any official investigation being carry out to verify the allegations made towards the plaintiff therefore all allegations were without prove and was just slanderous. The TE board couldnt claim section 10 Migitation damages as well since there was no action taken even after the plaintiff have ask for clarification and apology from the TE board and their attitude has remain indifferent up until the trial. This shows that the TE board isnt sincere in their apology and has no intention of doing so until it is proven they had indeed committed defamation against the plaintiff. Based on the analysis above, It is unfair that the plaintiff receive such treatment when the defendants could care less about proving the authenticity of the alleged claim that the plaintiff have committed the alleged dishonest act. the plaintiff is egligible to receive payments for the damages that the defendants were responsible for the defamation.

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

anorexia nervosa :: essays research papers

Anorexia nervosa Overview | Treatment | Images Definition An eating disorder associated with a distorted body image that may be caused by a mental disorder. Inadequate calorie intake results in severe weight loss (see also bulimia and intentional weight loss). Alternative names Eating disorder - anorexia nervosa Causes, incidences, and risk factors The exact cause of this disorder is not known, but social attitudes towards body appearance and family factors play a role in its development. The condition affects females more frequently, usually in adolescence or young adulthood. Gorging followed by vomiting (spontaneous or self-induced) and inappropriate use of laxatives or diuretics are behaviors that may accompany this disorder. Risk factors are being Caucasian, having an upper or middle economic background, being female, and having a goal-oriented family or personality. The incidence is 4 out of 100,000 people. Prevention In some cases, prevention may not be possible. Encouraging healthy, realistic attitudes toward weight and diet may be helpful. Sometimes, counselling can help. Symptoms  · weight loss of 25% or greater  · cold intolerance  · constipation  · menstruation, absent  · skeletal muscle atrophy  · loss of fatty tissue  · low blood pressure  · dental cavities  · increased susceptibility to infection  · blotchy or yellow skin  · dry hair, hair loss  · depression (may be present http://health.yahoo.com/health/dc/000362/0.html Anorexia Nervosa Anorexia nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss. Anorexia Nervosa has five primary symptoms:  · Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for height, body type, age, and activity level.  · Intense fear of weight gain or being "fat."  · Feeling "fat" or overweight despite dramatic weight loss.  · Loss of menstrual periods in girls and women post-puberty.  · Extreme concern with body weight and shape. The chances for recovery increase the earlier anorexia nervosa is detected. Therefore, it is important to be aware of some of the warning signs of anorexia nervosa. Warning Signs of Anorexia Nervosa:  · Dramatic weight loss.  · Preoccupation with weight, food, calories, fat grams, and dieting .  · Refusal to eat certain foods, progressing to restrictions against whole categories of food (i.e., no carbohydrates, etc.).  · Frequent comments about feeling "fat" or overweight despite weight loss.  · Anxiety about gaining weight or being "fat."  · Denial of hunger.  · Development of food rituals (i.e., eating foods in certain orders, excessive chewing, rearranging food on a plate).  · Consistent excuses to avoid mealtimes or situations involving food.  · Excessive, rigid exercise regimen--despite weather, fatigue, illness, or injury, the need to "burn off" calories taken in.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

thornton wilder :: essays research papers

thornton wilder a great writer Wilder’s Writing â€Å"Either we live by accident and die by accident, or we live by plan and die by plan.† In Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Brother Juniper strives to make this determination. Thornton Wilder may have also tried to ascertain this himself. As one of America’s most respected contemporary authors, Thornton Niven Wilder has recieved much renown for his works, especially Pulitzer Prize winning The Bridge of San Luis Rey . Why Wilder wrote the novel and why the novel is so famous may be argued through his background and use of specific themes (Books). Thornton Wilder’s background contribute to his way of writing as well as his outlook on life. In his novel In Life as we Live it, Wilder expresses his strong belief in the preciousness of life: â€Å" Do humans ever realize life while they live it?† (Simoni).When someone asked Thornton Wilder about his purpose in writing The Bridge of San Luis Rey, he replied that he was posing a question: "Is there a direction and meaning in lives beyond the individual's own will?" (Society). The three principle influences on the writings of Thornton Wilder were his religious background, his love of classicism, and his worldwide travels. Wilder’s Family and homelife also affected his writing greatly, especially his father (Books). The time period of his life aslo brought influence on Wilder’s writing. During this time was World War II in which Wilder served and recieved ideas. The reason for Wilder’s wide acceptance and large renown in society may be answered through the author’s Life influences, the time period in which he grew up, and the style and themes that he uses in his writing. Thornton Niven Wilder was born in Madison , Wisconsin on April 18, 1897, as one of five children, one of which was his twin, of Amos Parker Wilder and Isabella Wilder.Thornton’s father was a newspaper editor, diplomat, and a strict Calvinist. His father had a great impact on Wilder’s writing. In The Bridge of San Luis Rey, the Wilder said that the idea of the collapse of the bridge stemmed from arguments with his strict father. In 1906 the family moved to Hong Kong, where his father had been appointed American Consul General. After six months his mother returned with the children to the United States, but the family rejoined again in 1911 in Shanghai, where his father had been transferred. Wilder stayed in China for a year (Encyclopedia). Wilder’s home life was characterized by a strong religious and intellectual atmosphere

Monday, September 2, 2019

Witchcraft in Salem Essay -- Salem Possesed Witchcraft Witch Trials Es

Witchcraft in Salem In the past, the word Salem has always been somewhat synonymous with the infamous witch trials. Thanks to works such as Arthur Miller’s â€Å"The Crucible†, many people find it hard not to envision a community torn apart by chaos, even though Miller’s play was not so much about the witch trials but instead a commentary on the rampant McCarthyism going on at the time he wrote it. Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, however, see a very different picture when the Salem witch trials are mentioned. Rather than overlook the â€Å"ordinary† people living in the towns in which they write about (in the case of Salem Possessed, the town of Salem, Massachusetts), they instead take the instance of the witch trials of 1692 and springboard from them into a detailed inquisition into the entire history of the small village of Salem; or, in their own words, Boyer and Nissenbaum have â€Å"exploited the focal events of 1692 somewhat as a stranger might make use of a li ghtning flash in the night: better to observe the contours of the landscape which it chances to illuminate† (xii). That is to say, the authors strive to show how the witch trials were not simply a completely spontaneous event, but rather a long, horrible process by which individuals were singled out, tried, and executed in order to vent emotions of hostility towards change. The way in which the authors go about this, however, is in a somewhat difficult to comprehend style that goes back and forth between the years, forcing one to rethink all the facts thus far each time a new chapter is introduced. In addition, the authors tend to focus mostly on the social and economic aspects of witchcraft, with little to nothing as far as further explanation of the actions of the women accused. In the year 1692, the small farming village of Salem, Massachusetts saw a social phenomenon that would propel the village into the history books: the calamity that was witchcraft. The witch trials were initiated whenever three young girls, Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, and Ann Putnam were caught performing fortune telling rituals in the woods, trying to gather information on what type of man would be best for them. Soon thereafter, the girls began experiencing hysterical fits, prompting Betty Parris’s father, Reverend Samuel Parris, to call in the authorities to confirm the cause of the girls’ symptoms. ... ...rought into the case would treat it as though it were a completely rational occurrence. But then again, this is perhaps more of a fault of my own than of the authors. In the end, Salem Possessed did indeed leave me with more of an understanding of the events that took place in Salem Village, even though that understanding did seem a little shallow, as I felt it only focused on one aspect of the whole. But regardless of my unpleasant viewpoint on said novel, Mr.’s Boyer and Nissenbaum have done an admirable thing by taking the Salem witch trials and examining them by today’s standards. By going strictly from church records and personal accounts, the authors have brought a whole new light to what was once percieved as a purely tyrannical act of prejudice against seemingly random people, letting the public know that it was in fact a calculated attack on many ‘radical’ individuals. And, while the book did occasionally fall short on offering a complete picture of the events, it was still a fairly succinct guide to the economic factors involved with the village of Salem and its â€Å"fifteen minutes†, as it were, a nd as such would be reccommended to history buffs around the world.

Sunday, September 1, 2019

End of Life Care: Family Health Essay

In nursing, the goal of care is usually to restore the patient back to the highest level of health possible. In some cases, however, the goals of care change when a curative approach is no longer appropriate. The new goals of care could simply be palliation and pain control rather than a restoration back to full health. This type of care is called palliative care. Palliative care is not the same as end-of-life care, but the two go hand-in-hand at times. The goal of end-of-life care is a â€Å"good† death, good being defined by the patient. Palliation is part of that â€Å"good† death. Both palliative care and end-of-life care are areas of patient care that can be highly sensitive for those involved. A nurse must be able to navigate these waters carefully. The physically and mentally exhaustive nature of illness and dying takes a huge toll on the patient and his/her family. Anyone can qualify for palliative or end-of-life care regardless of race, gender, age, or any othe r demographic factors. It simply depends on the disease-state, the recommendations of the health care providers, and the goals of the patient. It is estimated that 69%-82% of those who die in high income countries such as the United States will need palliative care (Murtagh, Bausewein, Verne, Groeneveld, Kaloki, & Higginson, 2013), illustrating the need for nurses to familiarize themselves with this type of care. One concern voiced by many nurses is a not knowing what to do or say during end-of-life care (Sherwen, 2014). In the case of cancer, in particular, which has become more of a long-term illness, nurses feel uncomfortable and may miss opportunities in patient care (Sherwen, 2014). The following will be a discussion of palliative/end-of-life care and what the nurse can do to help the family and patient during a difficult time. A successful case is one in which the patient and his/her family feel supported and listened to throughout the whole process and the goals of the patient are achieved. Discussion When does palliative care begin? When does end-of-life care begin? These are questions that can only be answered by the individual going through the disease process and the team of caregivers advising him/her. A simple answer to both questions would be this: when the goals of care change from full restoration to health to comfort, relief of symptoms, and maintaining as high a quality of life as possible given the disease-state. Palliative care has a broader definition in that it focuses mainly on the patient’s comfort and can be applied to many other cases besides the imminently dying patient. The original development of palliative care was primarily for patients with cancer, in which there may not be a cure, but symptom management and prevention of progression of the disease is the primary goal (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, & Hanson, 2015, p. 278). It has since branched out to other illnesses with poor prognosis but long disease-course; it really depends on the care team and the individual as to when it is implemented. End-of-life care, on the other hand, is a series of decisions made by the family when death is imminent (projected in the next days to months). They must decide how much medical intervention they want done with their family member, where the â€Å"ideal† death would occur (in their home vs. in a facility), and what their definition of a â€Å"good† death would be. Every case is different and there is not always time to plan everything, but this is a general outline. Before approaching any new area of nursing, a nurse must assess his/her own personal beliefs and for the presence of any biases about death and illness. It may be that the nurse has never encountered death and dying face-to-face and may hold pre-conceived notions that may not be in harmony with the patient’s beliefs. Identifying these biases and correcting them is crucial to taking care of the patient. While it is not wise or possible to separate one’s own person from one’ person as a nurse, it is better to find ways to help the patient through the process without burdening them with your own beliefs. Dying is a process that involves the entire family; that is to say, the family that is defined by the person. The nurse must be aware that this is  not only an individual process but a family process. This involves recognizing family dynamics and communication patterns and facilitating healthy interactions. Kaakinen et al (2015) discusses the two types of health care teams that will be involved in the patient’s care: multiprofessional and interprofessional. The multiprofessional model is an older model that does not focus on holistic care. Care is fragmented with an autocratic leader, vertical communication, separate goals of the professionals involved, and families are peripheral to the process (Kaakinen et al., 2015). The preferred model is the interprofessional model emphasizing a team approach, holistic care of the patient, horizontal communication, and involvement of the family (Kaakinen et al., 2015). The nurse should keep this collaborative approach in mind when dealing with any patient case, involving all teams associated with the patient for the best outcome. It is important to remember that care of the patient does not end when the patient dies. After the death there is still work to be done in the form of comforting the bereaved family members. It has been reported that some families feel â€Å"abandoned† after the death of a loved one by the hospital staff and this simply should not be so (Kaakinen et al., 2015). The nurse’s role after death involves simply a comforting presence, providing resources, answering questions, and listening to concerns. It may also be helpful to give the family information about what to expect next, what information is needed from them (funeral home arrangements, organ donation, etc.), and provide a place for them to rest and process. The relationship the nurse has with the patient is integral to positive patient outcomes. Ways that a nurse can improve this relationship include being professional, being sensitive, listening, and establishing trust. The nurse needs to be able to communicate and be communicated with clearly and easily. This will be a challenge for some families who already have poor communication skills. Asking questions and taking time to listen go a long way in opening up communication. It is of benefit to the nurse to try and center his/her thinking on what the dying patient’s goals are. A dying person wants to feel some semblance of control, strengthen personal relationships, and be relieved of pain and suffering. Good end-of-life care involves finding these goals, describing to the patient what good end-of-life care might look like, talk about symptoms that may occur, and discuss the importance of good communication, good relationships, and the role of informal (family) caregivers (Sherwen, 2014, p. 51). When palliative care and end-of-life care are the direction care is taking, the nurse needs to shift gears in a positive way. One positive step the nurse can take is to empower the family during this time. Many families feel helpless against the diagnosis, but the nurse can show them that they still have an element of control. The nurse should provide them with information about the disease process, give the family resources in the community for support and services, and most of all offer encouragement. There will be negative feelings present in most cases, including feelings of hopelessness, depression, anxiety, and loss of control. The nurse must recognize these negative feelings and start a conversation. The nurse needs to be a facilitator of conversation between family members in order to identify common goals. Family meetings are a great tool to utilize throughout. It is held between caregivers and leaders in the family and can reveal concerns, answer questions, and establish go als of care. Parts of positively dealing with a dying loved one include balancing hope and preparing for death, as well as finding meaning in the situation (Kaakinen et al., 2015). These are things that may be beyond the scope of the nurse’s practice, but identifying them is important. The nurse can bring in social work, the palliative care team, and pastoral care to assist the family; whatever is appropriate. When the time comes for the actual death of the patient, there are clinical signs and symptoms that the nurse must recognize. Care at the time of active dying is crucial for a good death. Some symptoms such as sleeping, decreased hydration and food needs may be easy for the family to bear, but  others, such as restlessness, difficulty breathing, and confusion may be very difficult to bear (Kaakinen et al., 2015). The nurse and care team must work together to provide maximum comfort for the patient as well as emotional support for the family during this difficult time. Conclusion In conclusion, there is a point in a patient’s care where the focus shifts from curative to palliative, often in the case of cancers but in some other cases as well. The nurse needs to familiarize his/herself with this topic in order to provide optimal care. He/she must assess his/her beliefs and biases on the topic and address those that may be a source of conflict. The goals of the patient and his/her family must be established. Family meetings and conversations need to occur to facilitate communication, address concerns, and provide information. The nurse plays an important role in providing information for the family, managing negative feelings, encouraging hope, and preparing for the death. At the end-of-life and after the actual death the nurse can provide compassionate care, display sensitivity, and comfort the bereaved. Death is the inevitable outcome of this life that all must face and a nurse has a special opportunity to help a family through the process. Helping and comforting a family during this process can be a truly rewarding aspect of a nurse’s career. Reference Kaakinen, J., Coehlo, D., Steele, R., Tabacco, A., Hanson, S. (2015). Family Health Care Nursing: Theory, Practice, and Research. (5th ed.). Philadelphia PA: F.A. Davis Company Murtagh, F., Bausewein, C., Verne, J., Groeneveld, E., Kaloki, Y., & Higginson, I. (2013). How many people need palliative care? A study developing and comparing methods for population-based estimates. Palliative Medicine. 28(1). 49-58. Doi:10.1177/0269216313489367 ***Sherwen, E. (2014). Improving end of life care for adults. Nursing Standard, 28(32), 51-57. Trueland, J. (2014). All it takes is a bit of specialist knowledge. Nursing Standard, 29(3), 26-27. ***Research Article

Marketing the Church

Christianity in the twenty-second century when put side by side with its first century counterpart employing the aid of history will help clearly expose any discrepancies and similarities of problems each generation encountered. People utilize euphemisms in place of very weighty terminologies to describe and attribute the state of affairs; for instance issues in place of problems. It is understandable though the rationale for such changes despite the subtleties they may entail concerning definitions and descriptions. Today, Christians are facing myriad problems especially where the objective faith has to be reckoned with. This body of doctrine had broken through centuries of conflict, persecutions and changes, and still the Bible continued to deliver the message.The message is still the same, however, despite various attempts that were made to dilute, twist and suit to self-centered people’s own thinking and vested interests. The issues as they are commonly termed today, inclu de anything not just to disparage simple believing Christians and the practice of their faith; issues embrace those that had continued to conflict traditional men’s thinking and the usual rationalistic and humanistic viewpoints of life, not to mention those presuppositions that keep the truths of Scripture from sinking deep into the recesses of a person’s mind as well as superstitious beliefs (e.g., â€Å"divination† and the like) that are just so fantastic anybody would wonder why this is happening to some poor souls (de Waay 2007).In much of the controversies facing the church today, nothing is more prevalent and has so affected significant influence to the church at large as the â€Å"marketing-the-church† approach. The reason or the key to why it is so influential among many churches is in its pragmatic method on doing church business. Gary E. Gilley has captured the gist of the whole scheme of this â€Å"new paradigm shift† that has drawn many to adapt its strategies in his four-part report critique of this kind of church’s strategy (Gilley p 2 2000).He observed that because the large segment of the church has become content with its so little impact on the large mass of people in society, some of its leaders began to think that it might be because the church is not doing its work right. It might be that many of those occupying leadership positions in the church are simply continuing what has been passed on to them. They are doing it in the traditional way that past generations of pastors had done it. So these leaders decided to â€Å"strategize† and think of new ways to repackage the church so that it would â€Å"sell fast† and effectively draw large number of the population into its sanctuaries.This simply is the idea behind marketing the church. The church has become just any other product. One just has to learn how to merchandize it like a skillful salesperson or a good businessman. â€Å"There must be a better way,† the church growth gurus have surmised. â€Å"It should not continue the way it is being done.† There must be ways to improve the â€Å"quality† of the church’s appearance to the watching world. The obvious need of the day was new techniques to reach the lost. The gospel must be wrapped in a wrapping that will catch the attention of the world so they will bother to check what’s in the inside. The gospel, according to the observation of these church growth gurus, is rejected outrightly the moment it is sensed by prospective converts. The gospel is not the problem, it is the outdated form that it is being presented that has become the problem (Gilley p 15 2000).The Power of God for SalvationWhat needs to be remembered at this point is the fact that the New Testament has made it very clear that the only tool that God is using for the conversion of people is the gospel. Church workers must be convinced of its inherent power to conv ict and draw people to the Lord. It does not need any coating so people will get attracted to it. On the other hand, contrary to what church growth consultants advocate (to repackage or add other elements to the gospel so it will become acceptable to its market), whenever the message of the cross (gospel) is mixed with humanistic opinions and philosophies, the Word of God is rendered void of its power (1 Cor.1:17). What is worse in this kind of approach is that it falls under the category of â€Å"handling the word of God deceitfully† (2 Cor.4:2).If there is anything that the church must do at this point in time, it is not to adapt new ways to present the gospel but to educate its people about the content of the gospel and its sufficiency in administering salvation. This is the real need of the church that has not been dealt with seriously by the great majority of Christians. The reason why the paradigm shift is deemed as the only solution for the inefficacy of the church in reaching its community is actually because a significant number so-called Christians are ignorant of what the gospel consists of. Apostle Paul said, â€Å"it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes† (NKJV, 1982).The Bible has already forewarned us of the negative impressions people would have of the gospel message. It is â€Å"foolishness† and a â€Å"stumbling block† to people who could not apprehend it. The good news however is that it is effective and will definitely work positively to those who ready to accept it. Thus, sticking to its purity will always guarantee a result. It may not be as massive as the church’s marketer’s strategies but its fruit is genuine conversion of those who really have grasped and accept its terms (Gilley p 17 2000).ConclusionTo learn to market the church and to strategize as to secure a substantial number of attendance in a church’s service may be in itself considered a success in today†™s church growth measurement. But Biblically speaking, even in Jesus’ elaboration on what it really means to be His true disciple (Luke 14:25-35), simply being among the â€Å"crowds† does not guarantee being genuinely converted to faith. Sticking to God’s prescription of the gospel as the only means to secure salvation and true harvest of souls in God’s kingdom may not be as explosive in result as the marketing approach, but its result is sure, and hence, more effective if measured by God’s standard of success.The temptation to comply with the standards of the times is always a challenge to the church of Jesus Christ. The pressure to become popular and accepted in today’s culture is still an intense battle facing Christians everyday. The question of relevance is not actually the issue. When the church buy into the ploy of the culture and coerced to measure her success allowing those outside to judge whether she is effective or not in her work, it simply means that the church has shifted from using God’s Word as the gauge to listening to surrounding discontented world. It is no longer God who has the say. Remember that, naturally, humankind in its rebellion and sin against God is hostile and antagonistic to the gospel message. It is only when it is drawn through the message of the gospel in God’s terms that it will ever get nice and pleasant to the ways of God.Of course, it is not an easy task for the people of God. It hasn’t been. The preaching of the gospel and the charge to teach people (educate them) of the teachings of Christ is the primary duty of the church. Any strategies that end up short of making people Christ’s true disciples are not effective when appraised through the aims of the Great Commission. Unfortunately, the attempts of those who want to compete and enjoin the church in the field of the corporate world are not biblically sound and too risky. The danger lies in its pot ential to compromise and invent another gospel. It is not that writer refuses to be relevant; in fact, the message of the gospel is so pertinent enough that on its proclamation hinges the solution to humanity’s real problem.What the church needs in general is to have enough faith in the effectiveness of the message of God to address man’s deepest needs and correct those inner problems which when it finally happens will automatically appease superficial cravings. The solutions offered by church marketers address the surface only. In the end, after all of the attractions of the strategies have lost their bite, the ultimate question must still be answered: Is the gospel accepted in its own terms or not?Works Cited:de Waay, Bob, Contemporary Christian Divination. 2007. â€Å"Critical Issues Commentary† Accessed December 1, 2007. < http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue83.htm>.Gilley, Gary E. â€Å"The Market-Driven Church: A look behind the scenes† Think on These Things.   September, 2000 p. 1- 20. Southern View Chapel, Springfield, IL.