Communicating Risk: Analysis of the Communication Materials on the Risks of Using Mercury in Small-Scale Mining

Abstract

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 DeClemente, 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.