In recent years, the image of biotechnology has been transformed from one of danger and uncertainty to one of opportunity and familiarity. This article explores the process of issue definition by examining the efforts of private interests and public officials. An analysis of interview data, public documents, and other sources reveals four methods of issue definition: (1) establishing the "biotechnology industry" as a collective voice, (2) forging alliances with established public and private interests, (3) associating biotechnology with popular issues on the policy agenda, and (4) discrediting opponents and critics of biotechnology. These methods of issue definition reveal the importance not only of defining a specific issue but also of influencing the context in which it is considered.

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PROLOGUE: After turning to managed care to hold down costs, states found that they needed to shed their regulatory mentality toward Medicaid services and learn to implement policy through the contracting process. Theoretically, contracting relieves both states and service providers of a trying, micromanagerial relationship and creates a conceptually satisfying single point of accountability.In practice, states must build new capabilities to monitor and assess health plan performance. Their new role as hard-nosed purchaser has to be balanced with the traditional responsibility to protect and serve the disadvantaged, and plans can walk away if states push too hard. Nor does the "prudent purchaser" model provide much guidance for

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Technology transfer is well recognized as a major determinant in the economic development of newly industrializing countries. Increasingly, technology transfer is also recognized as an important component in the economic fortunes of developed countries. The globalization of markets and the premium placed on technological sophistication in industry and services emphasizes the need for governments to consider and engage in technology transfer policy strategies. Our understanding of the dynamics of technology transfer can be enhanced through the study of the experiences of specific states. It is against this backdrop that this paper presents an analysis of technology transfer patterns from the United States and Japan to South Korea from 1962 through 1992. The Korean experience reveals that patterns of technology transfer cannot be explained simply by concentrating on what has been transferred from donor countries, such as the United Slates and Japan. Rather, we need to turn our focus to the host country and to the policy strategies that have been adopted to shape patterns of technology transfer. In short, the question turns from the economics of what, to the policies of how, technology transfer is accomplished.

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