Funeral Directors Research Articles

Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps (review)

Reviewed by: Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps Steven Harvey (bio) Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps by Ted KooserUniversity of Nebraska Press, 2002153 pages, cloth, $22 Ted Kooser lives in an area of rural Nebraska known, "with a wink," as the Bavarian Alps. Settled by German and Czech immigrants from Bohemia in the 1870s, it is the edge of Midwest flatland where "hills" of "silty clay and gravely till" no higher than "a hundred feet from bottom to top" dot the terrain. Kooser owns two of these hills and the woods between and lives there with his wife, Kathleen, on a small farm. There in a shack among his nearest neighbors—"coyotes, raccoons, opossums, badgers, field mice, fish, frogs, and birds"—Kooser writes poetry and essays. This is a place where the postmistress in the nearest town attaches sticky notes to the mail that say "Ted and Kathy, your newspaper did not come today, Iris." That, Kooser suggests, is a local wonder, and one "of the thousand reasons" he likes where he lives. Reading his collection of essays called Local Wonders is a bit like running into Lao Tsu and Confucius in line at the hardware store. A Taoist love of country life permeates the book, which is divided into sections labeled for the seasons of the year. Kooser turns the attentive eye of the poet to a bobcat with "its arched back and its legs hunched up as if it were playing with something, springing upon it and dancing away in the manner of cats." In his barn he looks at old farm machinery and sees a "big bullsnake" hiding there, "bending itself around a big stone. Its spots like cogs." For Kooser, the snake's emergence from the machinery is a transfiguration—another wonder. "Old barns are big enough to hold a lot of miracles." At the same time the book is filled with aphorisms—pithy sayings that he attributes to the "Bohemians," a name for the Czech immigrants in his [End Page 135] area. Unlike the words of the ancient Chinese master, though, these bon mots are more witty than wise. According to the Bohemians, it "is easy for the satiated man to fast." "'Where sheep are lacking,' say the Bohemians, 'the goats are honored.'" Or, "he who goes seeking other people's sausages often loses his own ham." The sayings are winning, disarming, and intended as a relief from Kooser's more solemn tone. Dropped in here and there throughout the book, they serve, like a joke in the dark, as a reminder of the power and limitations of words. As the Bohemians say, "You may christen a wolf, and he will ask 'which way to the woods.'" What Kooser discovers in his shack by the woods—a discovery that sets him apart from Thoreau and many other writers on nature—is the nurturing and sustaining power of family in our lives. He puts on a cowboy shirt that his mother made for him when he was 14 and conjures up memories of a woman whose only defense against falling apart when Ted's dad died was her frugality. To "every amenity" that the funeral director proposed she said, "We won't be needing that," her lips trembling. Kooser's dad owned a store and during the press of Christmas—when the young Ted contributed by making bows in the furnace room—he realized that his father occasionally escaped customers by visiting with him in the back room, "his arms hanging as if to let his responsibilities drip from his fingertips." When Kooser gazes at a windfall apple, he sees the image of his grandmother, entering "her shadowy parlor, wearing a shawl against the cold" while his hands, cupping the apple, "are becoming the walls of that room." Imagination and memory—released by the local wonders of nature—identify us and tell us where we belong in this world. The title appears in several parts of the book, but most memorably in the section on summer when Kooser watches the "very old news" from stars that are a "hundred million" years old. While he watches he sees a bat "like a small rag...

Patient-centred care after Shipman

Professor Baker (April 2004 JRSM1) believes that the Shipman case exposed a medical culture in need of radical reform. In laying blame on the medical profession he tends to ignore those who were primarily responsible for delay in detecting Shipman's murderous behaviour. We now know that Shipman was a criminal who at the same time was a registered medical practitioner. It was in the public domain that Shipman had a criminal record dating back to his time in practice in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. Following his disgrace and his rehabilitation, he applied to enter practice in Hyde, Cheshire. His new family practitioner committee failed to check whether he had had a previous criminal record. During Shipman's time in practice in Hyde, the family practitioner committee had medical advisors visiting practices, and part of the advisors' duties was to check doctors' drug registers. Pharmaceutical inspectors visited chemist outlets regularly and likewise examined drug registers. In both of Shipman's convictions, any failure in either the storage of drugs or the recording of drugs in drug registers had to be the responsibility of Government inspectors to enforce regulations available to them at the time or to detect irregularities in their system. What information was passed by all of those professional State-paid inspectors to alert the appropriate authorities with regard to Shipman's activities? Our coroners were not vigilant. Thus they failed in their duties. The police, though alerted, failed to investigate fully a complaint. Funeral directors also had a public duty. Government statistical analysts through their computerized information should have noticed an abnormal trend. Yet Professor Baker writes about systems that failed at the patient-doctor level and at the patient-professional level. It is true that there was and is a system failure in death certification. The medical profession, the Royal Colleges, the BMA and the General Medical Council collectively and separately over the years lobbied for changes in death certification. As a profession we recognized that technology has progressed and changes were needed in many areas. Government must accept that funding is a vital element so that our monitoring systems can be upgraded. Government had failed to provide Parliamentary time to support requests from the General Medical Council and the Royal Colleges for new statutory regulations. It was Government-paid officials who failed the people of Hyde. The statutory instruments that were available to them were not used.

Health and safety considerations following the death of a patient

Arthur, who had spent all his life in Liverpool, came to live with his niece in Brighton. He was in his eighties and systematically prepared for his death. He told her that he would like to be cremated and the ashes returned to Liverpool. On his death in hospital, the family made arrangements for him to be cremated. Unfortunately no one remembered or checked about the fact that a heart pacemaker had been inserted many years before, and when questioned by funeral directors, no warnings were given by the family. The pacemaker exploded in the crematorium and the local authority who was responsible for its upkeep claimed compensation from the family or NHS trust. Who, if anyone, is liable?

From Death Notification Through the Funeral: Bereaved Parents' Experiences and Their Advice to Professionals

Parents who experience the sudden death of a child will interact with many professionals in the period immediately following the death notification through to the funeral. The way these professionals respond to the parents during this critical period may be perceived as helpful, and thus support them in beginning the process of managing the trauma and starting a healthy grieving process. It may also be perceived as unhelpful, though, and contribute to more prolonged and complicated grieving. This article identifies the interventions that a sample of 20 parents who had experienced the sudden death of a child found helpful with different aspects of grieving. Specific advice is given to police, nurses, doctors, coroners, social workers, crisis counselors, funeral directors, and chaplains or clergy.

Review article: the sociology of dying, death and bereavement.

Cobb, M., 'The Dying Soul: Spiritual Care at the End of Life' (Buckingham: Open University Press, 2001 £16.99 (pbk) vii + 145pp) Currer, C., 'Responding to Grief: Dying, Bereavement and Social Care' (Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave, 2001 £14.50 (pbk) v + 181pp) Field, D., Clark, D., Corner, J. and Davis, C. (eds), 'Researching Palliative Care' (Buckingham: Open University Press, 2001 £22.50 (pbk) vii + 198pp) Hockey, J., Katz, J. and Small, N. (eds), 'Grief, Mourning and Death Ritual' (Buckingham: Open University Press, 2001 £19.99 (pbk) vii + 286pp) McNamara, B., 'Fragile Lives: Death, Dying and Care' (Buckingham: Open University Press, 2001 £17.99 (pbk) v + 165pp) Seymour, J., 'Critical Moments – Death and Dying in Intensive Care' (Buckingham: Open University Press, 2001 £17.99 (pbk) xiii + 185pp) The sociological study of dying, death and bereavement is a relatively recent field of research interest. In 1958, Faunce and Fulton wrote a paper entitled ‘the sociology of death: a neglected area of research’, their argument being that the lack of sociological research in this area was probably attributable to a wider reluctance within society to contemplate dying and death. However, despite Walter’s (1993) claim that (with the exception of medical sociology) British sociologists had been notably quiet in this topic, it would seem from the research literature that the number of sociologists researching in the area of dying, death and bereavement has increased significantly, particularly in the last 10 to 15 years. The aim of this review is to outline the work that sociologists have conducted with regard to dying, death and bereavement. Within this discussion, I locate and review the six books listed above, ending by reflecting on what sociological research related to dying, death and bereavement might explore in the future. Reviewing the work of sociologists in this field is no small task given the diversity of research that has been, and continues to be, conducted. Indeed, it is testament to the wealth of material published by social scientists that I have such a broad range of books to review. The six books cover topics that include the experiences of dying and death in the high-tech world of Intensive Therapy Units (ITUs), a reflection on the difficulties of providing ‘spiritual’ care, and an edited collection introducing the research methods used within palliative care research.

How far are people with learning disabilities involved in funeral rites?

SummaryMany referrals to specialist learning disability services follow bereavement and loss experiences. Research and clinical experience both suggest that people who have not been fully involved in funeral rituals have delayed and/or prolonged grief reactions. This study in a multicultural inner London borough examined local religious and cultural practices following bereavement of people with learning disabilities. Interviews were sought with funeral directors and representatives from six religious groups to build up a picture of local practice, resources and knowledge, particularly with regard to how people with learning disabilities are involved in the process. It was found that most of the local funeral directors had little direct experience of people with learning disabilities. The religious group representatives who were interviewed also spoke of a lack of involvement of people with learning disabilities. A pamphlet has been designed for funeral directors and religious groups to give to families or friends of people with learning disabilities who have been bereaved.

Conflict in the context of care: an examination of role conflict between the bereaved and the funeral director in the UK

In their interaction with the bereaved there is evidence to indicate that funeral directors can become the recipients of anger. While this expression can be acknowledged as a characteristic of the grieving process, analysis of the occupational role reveals a number of areas where additional conflict can be generated. This article identifies and discusses four areas. The first three are interrelated and present issues discernible in the relationship between the funeral director and the bereaved: the economic environment of funerals; the contractual relationship between the funeral director and client; and control of the funeral. The final area considers the role of funeral director as agent between the bereaved and third parties involved in achieving the funeral performance: the funeral officiant, cemetery and crematorium.

The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade

The American poet, Thomas Lynch, is also hired to bury the dead, to cremate them and to tend to their families in a small Michigan town where he serves as the funeral director. In the conduct of these duties he has kept his eyes open and his ears tuned to the vernacular sound of love and grief. In these 12 essays is the voice of both witness and functionary. Here is homage to parents who have died and children who shouldn't have. Here are golfers tripping over grave-markers, gourmands and hypochondriacs, lovers and suicides - a collection of lessons taught to the living by the dead.

Why the sad face? Secularization and the changing function of funerals in Newfoundland

The objective of this paper is to analyse the effects of professionalization (within the funeral services industry) on funeral practices in Newfoundland. A significant contemporary characteristic is a trend toward secularization, which has augmented the funeral services industry's claims to professional status, as funeral professionals take over roles that clergy once played. The findings are based on primary research from several sites: funeral directors, clergy, funeral services students and industry literature. Clergy recognize the shift towards personalization in funeral ritual and the move away from a strictly theological purpose for funerals. Funeral directors and funeral services students are keenly aware of the changes taking place in funeral practices. Some of these are seen in a positive light by professionals, others are taken as indicators of serious, even dangerous, trends in our culture. This concern over the potential loss of funeral ritual results in funeral professionals assuming the role of the protectors of these rituals. Thus, the changes in funeral customs are not simply the result of a de-ritualization process or an increasing discomfort with death, but they mark a shift in the practices used in ritualizing death and in the people who are charged with that responsibility.

Aftercare Services from Funeral Directors to Bereaved Men: Surveys of Both Providers and Recipients

Little is known about the aftercare practices of funeral directors toward bereaved men or about bereaved men's use of aftercare services. We addressed these issues in two studies. In Study 1, 145 funeral directors were surveyed about their attitudes and aftercare services for bereaved men. They offered a range of services, but only a minority of men utilized them, and primarily only those services initiated by the funeral home (e.g., mailings, phone calls), rather than initiated by the men themselves (e.g., use of support groups, using reading material, counseling). Funeral directors who acknowledged men's emotional needs and adjustment problems were more active in providing services, and in turn, reached more men. In Study 2, we interviewed 69 men who had funeral services for their wives in the prior 16 months. Their use of aftercare services paralleled reports by funeral directors. On average, these men reported that such services were only moderately helpful. However, men who used services that they initiated (i.e., support group or reading material) had significantly better emotional status than men who did not use such services, whereas the use of funeral home-initiated services was unrelated to men's emotional state. We conclude that aftercare services that are actively sought by men are potentially helpful but underutilized. Funeral directors may be able to provide for bereaved men's aftercare needs, but funeral personnel should offer services or make referrals that are tailored to men's preferred style of coping with loss.

Attribution of Deaths Following Cancer Treatment

Attribution of Deaths Following Cancer Treatment

The Effect of State Funeral Regulations on Cremation Rates: Testing for Demand Inducement in Funeral Markets

Abstract This article presents evidence that state funeral regulations affect the choice of whether to cremate or bury dead bodies. States that require either funeral directors to be embalmers or funeral homes to have embalming preparation rooms have lower cremation rates, holding other factors such as income, age, educational attainment, nativity, religious adherence, race, and region constant. These embalming regulations reduce cremation rates by roughly 16 percent, which increases the amount spent on funerals by 2.6 percent. The article also presents evidence that funeral directors induce consumers to choose burial over cremation, which supports one of the fundamental premises underlying the Federal Trade Commission's Funeral Rule. However, the additional evidence that inducement is more prevalent in states with stringent funeral regulations suggests that repealing state regulations that impede competition might be more effective than the Funeral Rule in attacking the problem of demand inducement.

Necrophilia: Case Report and Consideration of Legal Aspects

A criminal investigation arising from a break-in at the premises of a funeral director indicated that sexual interference with several corpses had taken place. The forensic issues regarding consent to examine the bodies and the nature of the crimes committed, with consideration of international law in this field, are discussed. Necrophilia is an issue that has not been the subject of legal statute in the United Kingdom to date, although this issue is currently under consideration by the Home Office in proposals to reform the law on sexual offences

The Faces of Deceased Persons as Emotion-Expressive Behaviors: Implications for Mourning Trajectories

Emotion discrete terms (e.g., sad, happy, and angry) are not only used to describe the faces of living people but could also be used to describe those of dead people. This study was carried out in two phases among college and non-college participants drawn from a small community in the mid-west region of the United States. Study one was made up of 108 participants (age range 17–81), with a mean of 38, and study two was made up of 211 participants (age range 17–52), with a mean of 19. The results showed that both positive and negative emotion discrete terms were used to describe a deceased person's face. But contextual and demographic variables such as the type of death, age, and sex of the deceased, as well as the age and sex of the viewer were influential. It is suggested that the emotion discrete term that the viewer attributes to the face of a deceased loved one would affect his or her mourning trajectory. This study has implications for counselors who work with bereaved individuals, for funeral directors who prepare deceased persons for viewing, and for researchers interested in the relation between emotions and grieving.

The recording of demographic information on death certificates: a national survey of funeral directors.

The authors sought to ascertain the methods used by funeral directors to determine the demographic information recorded on death certificates. Standardized questionnaires were administered to funeral directors in five urban locations in the U.S. In addition, personnel on four Indian reservations were interviewed. Study sites were selected for diverse racial/ethnic populations and variability in recording practices; funeral homes were selected by stratified random sampling. Fifty-two percent of responding funeral directors reported receiving no formal training in death certification. Seventy-nine percent of respondents reported finding certain demographic items difficult to complete--26% first specified race as the problematic item, and 25% first specified education. The decedent's race was "sometimes" or "often" determined through personal knowledge of the family by 58% of respondents; 43% reported "sometimes" or "often" determining race by observation. Only three respondents reported that occupation was a problematic item. The authors recommend that the importance of demographic data and the instructions for data collection be clarified for funeral directors, that standard data collection worksheets be developed, and that training videos be developed.

The recording of demographic information on death certificates: a national survey of funeral directors

The recording of demographic information on death certificates: a national survey of funeral directors

Night of stone: death and memory in twentieth-century Russia

Russia has endured more bloodshed than any other European country in the twentieth century. Yet, while countries such as Germany have learned the value of confronting the darker side of their own pasts, Russia has never faced the reality of its troubled history in a meaningful and collective way. In this provocative and highly original book, Catherine Merridale asks Russians difficult questions about how their country's volatile past has affected their everyday lives, their aspirations, their dreams, and their nightmares.Based on extensive research including rare imperial archives, Soviet propaganda, memoirs, letters, newspapers, literature, psychiatric studies, and texts, as well as interviews with doctors, priests, social workers, policemen, survivors, gravediggers, and funeral directors, Night of Stone seeks answers to the questions: What is the true impact of violence in the Soviet century? How successfully have the Russians psychologically rewritten their own histories? What rituals have survived the Soviet regime, and what do they tell us of the Russian mentality? Reminiscent of the highly successful The Hour of Our Death, Night of Stone is an emotionally wrenching, eloquent work that will appeal to all readers of Russian and European history as well as anyone interested in the processes of memory.

Procedure manuals and textually mediated death.

The procedure manual as a document represents the practice of nursing care. Analysis of such manuals allows us to explore discourses of nursing and the ways in which they frame nursing practice. A critical analysis of a hospital procedure manual using discourse analysis was undertaken. A specific excerpt concerning 'Last offices' is used as an example of the institutionalisation of organisational values and beliefs as these influence nursing care. 'Last offices' directs nursing practices related to the death of a patient, and the laying out as preparation for the funeral director or coroner. The analysis shows that procedure manuals reproduce hegemonic ideologies of nursing. The analysis also shows how nursing practices are constituted by intersecting forces of differing locations such as the hospital as an organisation, the healthcare system and the wider society within which these function.

Joseph of Arimathea Patron Saint of Funeral Directors

Joseph of Arimathea Patron Saint of Funeral Directors

Transmission of TB to a Funeral Director During Routine Embalming

Transmission of TB to a Funeral Director During Routine Embalming