Ian McPherson - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ian McPherson

Scottish Educational Review

Scottish Journal of Theology, 2015

Journal of Philosophy of Education, 2001

Attempts to build bridges between Kierkegaard and current educational debates or dilemmas are in ... more Attempts to build bridges between Kierkegaard and current educational debates or dilemmas are in danger of appearing facile to friends of Kierkegaard, and opportunistic or irrelevant to each opposing side in educational controversies. In hope of reducing such extravagant risks, this essay explores some aspects of Kierkegaard on communication and on ways of being, i.e. his spheres or stages of existence. Communication through ways of being seems relatively straightforward. Communication across ways of being can seem either absurdly complicated or (if aiming at unravelling such complications) wonderfully illuminating. This Kierkegaard could become a creatively awkward, Socratic partner in educational attempts to critique and deepen current accounts of language and communication, narrative and accountability, reason and justification, personal and social development, emotional intelligence and (of course) moral and religious education (with or without spiritual' development) as well as political or citizenship education. Wittgenstein found in Kierkegaard one lifelong Socratic conversation partner. If other educators can do this in their own ways, Kierkegaard can still breathe more lively passion into the cold embers of educational discourses.

Journal of Philosophy of Education, 2007

... We come now to the elusive &#x27;liminal imagination&#x27;. The importance of... more ... We come now to the elusive &#x27;liminal imagination&#x27;. The importance of the words &#x27;liminal&#x27; and &#x27;liminality&#x27; for Conroy can be seen in how they feature not only in his book&#x27;s title, but also in five of his six ... Conroy introduces these terms of art by recalling their roots in anthropology. ...

The Expository Times, 2010

Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2002

I shall concentrate on the fourth chapter of Hubert Dreyfus' (2001) On the Internet. This is enti... more I shall concentrate on the fourth chapter of Hubert Dreyfus' (2001) On the Internet. This is entitled 'Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity vs. Commitment in the Present Age'. The chapter focuses on Kierkegaard's (1846/2001) review of The Present Age. From this vantage point it may be possible to look back at the rest of the book in a somewhat different light. Questions that I shall work towards addressing include these. Where do the religious aspects of Dreyfus' argument really come from and where are they pointing us? Why is Kierkegaard so important for Dreyfus' criticism of certain misguided Internet enthusiasts who threaten the 'symbiosis' we need (p. 94)? To what extent does Dreyfus succeed in giving a fair impression of Kierkegaard? Does Dreyfus tend to assimilate Kierkegaard to Heidegger as Dreyfus understands him? Why might we look to Kierkegaard for resistance to nihilistic tendencies promoted by, or expressed in, certain ways of using and imagining the Internet? How can we refuse the offer which Dreyfus/Heidegger may seem to make us, of global nihilism and local meanings, of public disenchantment and demoralisation along with local values that 'really matter' just because we make them matter by risking our lives for them? Isn't there a pathological dualism, and therefore a version of nihilism, in such apparent anthropocentrism? Not all readers of On the Internet (OI) will recognise, at least to begin with, the unassuming authoritative expertise of Dreyfus and the indebtedness of so many of us to his remarkably fruitful academic career. For those of us who already appreciate at least something of this richness, it still seems appropriate to remind ourselves of this and to share such acknowledgement more widely. The strand of his work represented by his much reprinted What Computers Can't Do is not Luddite, but the outcome of serious, respect-worthy and in uential engagement with work by specialists in computing, arti cial intelligence and associated areas of research. The other, related, but arguably even more important, strand of his work is his interpretation of Martin Heidegger's thinking. Heidegger was once widely considered mostly incomprehensible in the English-speaking world. If that no longer holds as a dominant consensus among conscientious readers, it would be thanks in large measure to the extraordinary in uence of Dreyfus on generations of students, readers, teachers, scholars and philosophers. Many such people, and those in their spheres of in uence, now regard Heidegger's work as highly important and deserv

Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2005

During the 1980s the brothers Hubert and Stuart Dreyfus developed an influential account of five ... more During the 1980s the brothers Hubert and Stuart Dreyfus developed an influential account of five stages of skill development. Their joint account has recently been supplemented, and so transformed, by Hubert Dreyfus&#x27; 2001 account of seven stages of learning. This paper ...

Clinical Psychology Forum

Australian Health Review, 2021

Objective There is much interest in examining the use of medicines and their real-world benefits ... more Objective There is much interest in examining the use of medicines and their real-world benefits and harms using routinely collected data sources such as patients’ electronic medical records in hospitals in order to optimise use and health outcomes. This study aimed to describe the process and challenges involved in obtaining ethical approval and research governance authorisation for a research project that started on 7 December 2018 in Queensland and make recommendations for improving the process. Methods There were three aspects: (a) ethics approval; (b) governance – site-specific assessment (SSA); and (c) governance – Public Health Act (PHA) Application Assessment. Results The process to satisfy all requirements took more than 1 year (371 days); ethics took 16 days and PHA approval 16 days. The major hurdle was the SSA, which took 98–274 days across five sites. The main issues were opaqueness in processes and inconsistences in approach leading to considerable frustration. Discuss...

Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2017

Background: Adjuvant chemotherapy is an important component of treatment for stage III colorectal... more Background: Adjuvant chemotherapy is an important component of treatment for stage III colorectal cancer patients. We investigated patterns of treatment in Queensland for patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer during the period 2010-2014. Methods: Incident cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed between 2010 and 2014 were sourced from the Queensland Oncology Repository (QOR). Patients were staged at diagnosis using TNM data from treatment systems. Data from 2012 and 2014 were augmented with information obtained by auditing pathology reports. Data were limited to those patients receiving intravenous (IV) chemotherapy. Results: Over 14 500 patients were diagnosed with colorectal cancer during the 5-year period. Twenty-two percent of all patients were classified as having stage III disease. Stage was unknown for 8% of patients, although this was lower in the 2 years with supplemented data (3% and 5%, respectively). Surgery was performed on over 95% of patients with stage III disease. Adjuvant chemotherapy was delivered to 58% of patients in this cohort (colon 55%, rectal 61%). Chemotherapy rates ranged from 89% for patients aged in their 30s to 17% for those aged 80 and over. Median age for patients receiving chemotherapy was 64. Chemotherapy rates decreased with increasing number of comorbidities (0: 63%, 1: 49%, 2+: 35%). Fifty-eight percent of urban patients received chemotherapy compared with 56% of patients from rural areas. Survival rates were higher among patients receiving chemotherapy at 1 year (96% vs 82%), 2 years (87% vs 71%) and 5 years (73% vs 56%). Conclusions: Chemotherapy is being delivered in an appropriate, targeted manner to Queensland colorectal cancer patients. Utilisation rates compare favourably with those reported internationally 1 and were highest among younger patients and those with no comorbidities. Reassuringly, rural patients were able to access chemotherapy in similar numbers to those living in urban areas.

Background: Effective intra- and interprofessional collaboration abilities are necessary for safe... more Background: Effective intra- and interprofessional collaboration abilities are necessary for safe and effective medical care, however such roles are often informally taught in postgraduate medical education with lack of opportunity for practice and feedback. The Objective Structured Clinical Encounter (OSCE) is a common approach in medical education. Adaptations of the OSCE have been found useful in the assessment of collaborator competencies amongst interprofessional student groups and assessment of intrinsic roles, like collaboration. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Collaborator Objective Structured Clinical Encounter (COSCE) as a method of formative assessment on collaborator competencies for postgraduate trainees. Methods: This study involved a one group, pretest-posttest evaluation conducted in 2018. PGY1 residents completed a Team Skills Scale immediately before and after COSCE participation, completed an evaluation survey to report...

Chemical Science, 2021

CμMD reveals multi-layer electrolyte screening in the double layer beyond 0.6 M, which affects io... more CμMD reveals multi-layer electrolyte screening in the double layer beyond 0.6 M, which affects ion activities, speciation and mobility; asymmetric charge screening explains concentration dependent changes to electrochemical properties.

Internal Medicine Journal, 2020

BackgroundThe public subsidy in Australia of bortezomib (Velcade) for untreated non‐transplant mu... more BackgroundThe public subsidy in Australia of bortezomib (Velcade) for untreated non‐transplant multiple myeloma patients was based on the VISTA trial.AimsTo ascertain the health outcomes of bortezomib in ‘real world’ transplant‐ineligible elderly patients, compared to trial data.MethodsPatient and treatment data were extracted from an oncology information system, laboratory information system and medical chart audits for three Queensland public hospitals.ResultsWe identified 74 patients; the median age was 75 years. Our cohort comprised 47% patients who were International Staging System stage III, 45% at stage II and 8% at stage I. Patients who had comorbidities, such as cardiac disease (41%), pulmonary disease (14%), diabetes (22%), peripheral neuropathy (14%) and other comorbidities (41%) at baseline were included. The common regimens prescribed were VMP, CVD and VD, and most patients (n = 73) received bortezomib on a once‐weekly or twice‐a‐week basis. The overall response rate wa...

ChemSusChem, 2018

γ‐Valerolactone (GVL) is regarded as a key platform molecule in the production of fine chemicals ... more γ‐Valerolactone (GVL) is regarded as a key platform molecule in the production of fine chemicals such as pentenoic acid (PA) from biomass. Although PA is believed to be the key intermediate in solid‐acid‐catalyzed reactions of GVL, due to subsequent facile decarboxylation reactions further alkene products are formed. Here, by tailoring the acidity of Brønsted acid sites in an aluminophosphate (AlPO) molecular sieve through incorporation of Zn2+ into the framework, we access a new selective and effective catalyst for GVL conversion to PA.

Journal of oncology pharmacy practice : official publication of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners, 2018

Background Cessation of chemotherapy at an appropriate time is an important component of good qua... more Background Cessation of chemotherapy at an appropriate time is an important component of good quality palliative care. Published studies looking at administration of chemotherapy at the end of life vary widely. Objective To retrospectively determine the rate of death occurring within 14 and 30 days of chemotherapy and use this to benchmark against other cancer centres as a quality of care measure. Method All adult patients who received systemic anticancer therapy for solid tumours and haematological malignancies at an Australian Regional Cancer Centre between 2011 and 2015 were included. Results Over a five-year period, 1215 patients received systemic anticancer therapy. Of these, 23 (1.89%) died within 14 days following systemic anticancer therapy and 68 (5.60%) within 30 days. All patients who died had been treated with palliative intent. Mean time to death was 17.7 days. The majority were female (61.8%) and the mean age was 62.3 years. The most common cause of death was disease p...

Asia-Pacific journal of clinical oncology, Jan 20, 2016

Metastatic colorectal cancer has a large burden of disease in Australia. Medical therapy is funda... more Metastatic colorectal cancer has a large burden of disease in Australia. Medical therapy is fundamental to extending survival and improving quality of life. The benefits of two costly medicines, bevacizumab and cetuximab, used in Australia remain unclear. The aim of this study was to retrospectively examine the use of these two medicines in metastatic colorectal cancer across five public hospitals in south east Queensland and to compare clinical outcomes to those of published clinical trials. We extracted data from the chemotherapy prescribing database for patients planned for bevacizumab or cetuximab therapy between 2009 and 2013. Median overall survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier methods. There were 490 bevacizumab-containing protocols planned and 292 patients received at least one dose of bevacizumab. Median overall survival was 17.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.4-19.3). Of 208 planned cetuximab-containing protocols, 134 patients received at least one dose of ce...

Mental health today (Brighton, England), 2011

Mental health today (Brighton, England)

Breast Cancer Management, 2014

A LETTER IN RESPONSE TO: Lakhanpal R, Stuart-Harris R, Chan A et al. Docetaxel and cyclophosphami... more A LETTER IN RESPONSE TO: Lakhanpal R, Stuart-Harris R, Chan A et al. Docetaxel and cyclophosphamide as adjuvant chemotherapy for early breast cancer: primary prophylaxis with G-CSF is required. Breast Cancer Manage. 2(5), 367–374 (2013).