In The university of learning, John Bowden and Ference Marton explore the idea that being able to handle varying and unfamiliar conditions is fundamental to effective practice in 'real-life'. They suggest that in an age of rapid change and complexity, the challenge for educators and students is to 'prepare for the unknown by means of the known', and they offer the powerful proposition that the educational experience itself should provide rich diversity in the ways in which learning encourages engagement with phenomena. Variation, they suggest, is fundamental to what they call the 'whole idea' of the university. This paper is a tribute to John Bowden, reflecting upon the significance of his thinking for the development of teaching and learning practice. In particular, it explores the practical possibilities and the fruitful, though considerable, challenges of deliberately introducing variation into teaching and learning in the university context.

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This paper holds in tension two perspectives on the framing of entrepreneurship: one as a discipline and the other as a domain of practice. Cooperative inquiry is the research method used to 'hold' and 'conduct' this inquiry with the purpose to explore the implications of both the different definitional frames of entrepreneurship and the use of a cooperative inquiry research method. First, we demonstrate the application and implementation of the cooperative inquiry. Second, the implications of the different definitional frames are explored within the contexts of Australian educational policy frameworks and the teaching and learning practice of entrepreneurship. Finally the implications and possibilities of a cooperative inquiry research method are discussed for the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project.

This article explores the complexities of realising the full potential of local e-government through the lens of paradox. In developed nations, this sector has been characterised as being initially slow, and now very variable, in coming to grips with both the opportunities and challenges of e-government. Indeed, it has been argued that e-government crystallises the complex interdependencies and uncertainties of the sector more generally, challenging the power of expert knowledge and rational reform. Some particular examples of paradoxical dynamics are suggested that highlight the dynamic organisational capabilities needed to sustain e-government.

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