A comparison of the physiological response to simulated altitude exposure and r-HuEpo administration.

Concerns have been raised about the morality of using simulated altitude facilities in an attempt to improve athletic performance. One assumption that has been influential in this debate is the belief that altitude houses simply mimic the physiological effects of illegal recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEpo) doping. To test the validity of this assumption, the haematological and physiological responses of 23 well-trained athletes exposed to a simulated altitude of 2650-3000 m for 11-23 nights were contrasted with those of healthy volunteers receiving a low dose (150 IU x kg(-1) per week) of r-HuEpo for 25 days. Serial blood samples were analysed for serum erythropoietin and percent reticulocytes; maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) was assessed before and after r-HuEpo administration or simulated altitude exposure. The group mean increase in serum erythropoietin (422% for r-HuEpo vs 59% for simulated altitude), percent reticulocytes (89% vs 30%) and VO2max (6.6% vs -2.0%) indicated that simulated altitude did not induce the changes obtained with r-HuEpo administration. Based on the disparity of these responses, we conclude that simulated altitude facilities should not be considered unethical based solely on the tenet that they provide an alternative means of obtaining the benefits sought by illegal r-HuEpo doping.     

Unequal Partners: teachers under indirect rule

This paper argues for a historical analysis of the relationship between teachers and the state. The historical analysis demonstrates the ways in which strategies of teacher management shifted according to circumstances. In the first period, the 1920s, restrictions on teacher autonomy were removed, and ‘indirect rule’ used as a means of moving teachers away from the labour movement. In the second period, after the 1944 Act, a restricted ‘professional’ autonomy was encouraged. In both periods equality of status for teachers as ‘partners’ in the educational enterprise was offered in return for teachers’ acceptance of a limited or licensed professionalism. Current developments in the management of the teaching force suggest that the abandonment of indirect strategies of management may result in a return by teachers to less restricted ‘professional’ behaviour.     

Outreach to public health professionals: lessons learned from a collaborative Iowa public health project

In 1995, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the Public Health Service (PHS) recommended that special attention be given to the information needs of unaffiliated public health professionals. In response, the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) Greater Midwest Region initiated a collaborative outreach program for public health professionals working in rural east and central Iowa. Five public health agencies were provided equipment, training, and support for accessing the Internet. Key factors in the success of this project were: (1) the role of collaborating agencies in the implementation and ongoing success of information access outreach projects; (2) knowledge of the socio-cultural factors that influence the information-seeking habits of project participants (public health professionals); and (3) management of changing or varying technological infrastructures. Working with their funding, personnel from federal, state, and local governments enhanced the information-seeking skills of public health professionals in rural eastern and central Iowa communities.