Taking the plunge

(Photograph) - Taking the plunge: modern societies are full of risks, many man-made. Mad cow disease, genetically modified organisms, fertility-threatening chemicals, polluted water, the list grows by the week. Which risks should we fret about - can we protect ourselves anyway? From Monday to Wednesday insurers, sociologists, psychologists and engineers will discuss approaches to the hot new academic topic of risk at an international conference at the University of Surrey. See our guide (pages i-viii) to the subject some say is the great new social divide.