Not sure if I am understanding properly, but replace:
```
if query_conditions.empty?
  filtered_contents = Content.find(:all)
else
  filtered_contents = Content.find(:all, :conditions => query_conditions) 
end 
```
with
```
filtered_contents = Content.find(:all) if query_conditions.empty? 
filtered_contents = Content.find(:all, :conditions => query_conditions) if !query_conditions.empty? 
```