Communicating risk : analysis of the communication materials on the risks of using mercury in small-scale mining / Joseph A. Laroscain

Dissertation (Doctor of Communication Program) -- University of the Philippines - Open University, July 2018.

This study entitled Communicating Risk: An Analysis of the Communication Materials
on the Risks of using Mercury in Small-Scale Mining, examines the communication
materials produced by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
and Ban Toxics highlighting the risks of using mercury in artisanal and small-scale
mining. The study makes use of Norman Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis
(CDA) in the assessment of the communication materials, and the Transtheoretical
Model of Behavior Change (TTM) by Prochaska and De Clemente, in the evaluation of
the small-scale miners' response to the communication materials. Through textual
analysis, interviews, and focus group discussions (FGDs), the study reveals the
linguistic patterns used in the textual materials, the discourses, and the discursive
practices behind the production and consumption of the communication materials. The
study also narrates the response and experiences of the small-scale miners after
being exposed to the communication materials. Lastly, the study reveals that the
small-scale miners' decision to accept or reject the message of the communication
materials does not solely depend on the linguistic patterns, content, visual images,
and other textual properties of the communication materials. And finally, the study
recommends that concerned government and non-government agencies should
revisit, re-assess, and review their approach, methods, and policies in producing
development communication materials on the risks of using mercury in small-scale
mining to properly address the needs of the intended audience.