“Report that examines the role of expert and Lay knowledge in understanding and managing risk. 1 Introduction 1.1 Risk 2 Risky Soil 2.1 Risky Tanning 3 The Risk Society 3.1 Epidemiology and lay knowledge 4 Conclusion 5 References”

1.  Introduction

This report will examine the challenges to expert knowledge in understanding and managing risk. I will look at the definition of risk and put forward two case studies that show how expert knowledge has raised peoples perception of a risk and how the people have managed this risk and challenged it. I will also add a theory on risk society by Ulrich Beck that reflects the role of the expert. I will then look at epidemiology and the role it has played on society and the challenges it has met.

2. Risky Soil

In 2003 a family in London managed to get an allotment plot for growing vegetables. The vegetables were to be grown and eaten by the family, not long after they received a letter informing them not to eat anything grown from the soil and not to let the soil come in contact with the skin. The local government had carried out a soil test and the results showed high …(short extract)