Policy Hub
On 7 September 2006 the British Academy (BA) Festival of Science included an event 'Coping with Uncertainty' which examined how people handle uncertainties in relation to topics including unemployment, pensions, GM foods, health care and nuclear power and what the government can do to re-build trust in politicians and scientists.
Risk researchers say the answer lies in emotions, not reason, especially when the perceived risk is related to health, the environment, new technologies and energy. 'There is a lot of evidence that concern about risk is directly related to lack of knowledge and the extent to which the event is dreaded,' says Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby, Director of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Social Context and Responses to Risk Network (SCARR ) at the University of Kent. 'And trust always involves emotion as well as reason.'
A press summary can be viewed on the ESRC
website