Issues in developing programmes to support teachers of philology in using ICT in Greek schools : a case study

This paper reports on a case study of an in-service teacher-training programme for Greek philology teachers, from 2002 to 2003, which was designed to develop the use of information and communications technologies in their teaching. It draws on questionnaires and interviews with 34 teachers who took part in the training. In addition, the three trainers who led the sessions, 10 head teachers from the schools in which the teachers worked and three programme designers were also interviewed. A holistic picture of the programme was formed by comparing and contrasting the views of different "stakeholders" in the programme. It was found that the programme had some impact on developing teachers' information technology skills and knowledge of information and communications technologies as a curricular tool, but the programme had very limited impact on classroom practice. The reasons for this lack of impact included curriculum constraints, lack of time, lack of support and inadequate access to technology. The programme is discussed in the context of the structural difficulties in promoting change in highly centralised educational systems. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.

Working on the edge: Remediation work in the UK travel sector

In response to recent terror attacks, Western governments now involve private sector organizations in national security regimes in key strategic areas such as travel, communication and financial services. The UK's e-Borders programme is one such regime. Its goal is to collect and analyse passport and passenger data from all travellers entering and leaving the UK in advance of travel. Airlines and their supply chains are required to collect data from their customers and transfer it to the UK Border Agency for processing. Using documentary and interview data, this article develops the concept of 'remediation work' to characterize the impact of the regime on travel firms and their employees. © The Author(s) 2013.The research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust and was a project grant. The award number is F/00269/X