Worship, Culture, and Mission: Ethnomusicology as a Tool for Evangelism in America

Despite many efforts of using evangelism as a tool in the United States, a deficit within the mission field of the unchurched is still very present. Within the scope of the ethnomusicologist, there are both secular and sacred musical fronts and participants that must be presented with the gospel in a form that ministers to them and connects with their own cultural or traditional music. Infiltrating these atmospheres as an ethnomusicologist may be the way to meet these needs. Because music has such a strong potential for changing the hearts of others and fostering acceptance, it is important for the ethnomusicologist to meet these potential Christians at their current level or point of interest. This study explores strategies for ethnomusicology as a tool for Evangelism in America in reaching and discipling fellow musicians in both Christian and secular environments. This qualitative approach identifies leadership strategies of Christian ethnomusicologists in the mission field, and worship leaders in American church culture. Leadership strategies will be viewed in context of Christian evangelism with music as the vehicle and common ground of delivering the gospel to other musicians and music enthusiasts. This study will focus on (1) Ethnomusicology in America for the purpose of evangelism, (2) Successful worship leading strategies to multicultural congregations, and (3) presenting the gospel in and outside of church through music. This work is important because it helps to bring the gospel to those inside and outside of church who may not connect with past methods of musical delivery. Because the goal of the gospel is to reach people everywhere, this study could benefit/ advance methods of outreach and evangelism through ethnomusicology and music ministry. This project will help to bridge the gap between methods that Christian ethnomusicologists use to reach others through music, and methods that worship leaders use to minister to those of their congregations through music. This could prompt further research by other liturgical music researchers to explore methods of ethnomusicology and respecting the cultures and traditional music of others as they endeavor to present the gospel of Jesus Christ

Zest and work

Zest is a positive trait reflecting a person's approach to life with anticipation, energy, and excitement. In the present study, 9803 currently employed adult respondents to an Internet site completed measures of dispositional zest, orientation to work as a calling, and satisfaction with work and life in general. Across all occupations, zest predicted the stance that work was a calling ( r  = .39), as well as work satisfaction ( r  = .46) and general life satisfaction ( r  = .53). Zest deserves further attention from organizational scholars, especially how it can be encouraged in the workplace. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61871/1/584_ftp.pd

Association of Mild Anemia with Cognitive, Functional, Mood and Quality of Life Outcomes in the Elderly: The “Health and Anemia” Study

BACKGROUND: In the elderly persons, hemoglobin concentrations slightly below the lower limit of normal are common, but scant evidence is available on their relationship with significant health indicators. The objective of the present study was to cross-sectionally investigate the association of mild grade anemia with cognitive, functional, mood, and quality of life (QoL) variables in community-dwelling elderly persons. METHODS: Among the 4,068 eligible individuals aged 65-84 years, all persons with mild anemia (n = 170) and a randomly selected sample of non-anemic controls (n = 547) were included in the study. Anemia was defined according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria and mild grade anemia was defined as a hemoglobin concentration between 10.0 and 11.9 g/dL in women and between 10.0 and 12.9 g/dL in men. Cognition and functional status were assessed using measures of selective attention, episodic memory, cognitive flexibility and instrumental and basic activities of daily living. Mood and QoL were evaluated by means of the Geriatric Depression Scale-10, the Short-Form health survey (SF-12), and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Anemia. RESULTS: In univariate analyses, mild anemic elderly persons had significantly worse results on almost all cognitive, functional, mood, and QoL measures. In multivariable logistic regressions, after adjustment for a large number of demographic and clinical confounders, mild anemia remained significantly associated with measures of selective attention and disease-specific QoL (all fully adjusted p<.046). When the lower limit of normal hemoglobin concentration according to WHO criteria was raised to define anemia (+0.2 g/dL), differences between mild anemic and non anemic elderly persons tended to increase on almost every variable. CONCLUSIONS: Cross-sectionally, mild grade anemia was independently associated with worse selective attention performance and disease-specific QoL ratings

Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review

In a meta-analysis, Julianne Holt-Lunstad and colleagues find that individuals' social relationships have as much influence on mortality risk as other well-established risk factors for mortality, such as smoking

The Iron Triangle of Healthcare: Examining the Relationship between Quality, Efficiency, and Uncompensated Care for Florida Hospitals

Recent pressures on hospitals to increase quality and efficiency raise concerns over their ability to continue necessary provision of uncompensated care and maintain access to patient services. Conflicting evidence has been presented on the quality of hospitals providing efficiency. However, no study has examined the interplay between hospital quality, efficiency, and provision of uncompensated care. Our study seeks to address this gap by estimating the relationship between hospital efficiency and uncompensated (charity) care, and the relationship of efficiency and charity to quality, for all short-term, Florida general hospitals from 2004-2015. We find a generally negative relationship between hospital charity care rate and hospital uncompensated care compared to the least efficient hospitals. The results also show a positive relationship between charity rate and hospital quality, and an insignificant relationship between hospital efficiency and quality. Future studies should examine the environmental factors responsible for these results