ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the social contract for science that emerged from World War II, exploring how science was represented in the wake of that contract. It discusses the transformation of that contract and the process of asymmetrical convergence. The chapter presents the findings with regard to the representations of scientific research we unearthed among life scientists and support personnel in both academic and industrial domains. Organizational logics previously unique to industry have increasingly been imported into academia, and vice versa. Legislators promoted mechanisms that would facilitate closer interaction and cooperation between industry and academia. Instances like these were indicative of the cross-cutting normative pressures to which biotechnologists were repeatedly exposed. The chapter suggests that in the face of the ongoing transformation of the knowledge economy and the university with it, academic scientists need to develop a distinct vision of the role of their work and its contribution to the public good.
