Continuity in discontinuity: Changing discourses of science in a market economy

There is an emerging consensus that we are experiencing radical change in t he way that science is organized and performed. Frequently described as a s hift from Mode 1 to Mode 5 this view emphasized application, transdisciplin arity, collaboration and accountability. This article examines the ways in which U.K. public sector scientists make sense of scientific endeavor The d ata reveal that the extent to which science is being constructed varied bot h across and between institutions. Data highlight how individual scientists weave their own paths through the changing discourses of science, construc ting new understandings that do not Pt neatly into any binary framework for understanding.