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    Responsible risk communication

  • Telling the Truth : Certainly, responsible risk communication should start with the commitment to tell the truth. But the virtue of truthfulness is more complicated than it might seem at a first glance. For example, were an expert to tell nonexperts the whole truth this might confuse them, especially if the account is loaded with complex technical explanations and jargon. Truthfulness might require some simplification (holding some things back or putting them in different terms), judicious comparisons, and the use of concrete images. Thus, the virtue of truthfulness requires (a)understanding the audience and (b) outlining their perceptions, concerns, feelings, and needs. With this in mind, here are some factors that are useful in communicating risk responsibly and truthfully.
  • Know the audience : What is their level of understanding, their needs, and their perceptions. For example, do they perceive the risk as voluntary, under control, accompanied with substantial benefits, accompanied by effects that are well known, and of a low dread factor? The risk perception framework described above will help you to communicate risk in a helpful and responsible manner.
  • Take measures to avoid deceiving the audience : The gap between the expert (those in the know) and the public is sometimes quite large. This creates the temptation to fill that gap with less then truthful content. Avoiding deception requires more than just refraining from telling outright lies. It also requires taking measures to avoid subtle manipulation and unintentional deception.
  • Guard against unintentional deception : (a) Be careful when using rhetorical devises. (b) Use risk comparisons and analogies to provide the public with benchmarks, not to persuade them that because they accept risk X they should accept risk Y. (c) Be sure to point out the limits of comparisons and analogies. (Driving to the public hearing is a risk of a greater magnitude than living next to a nuclear plant but this does not include key factors such as voluntariness, control, and expected benefits. (d) Avoid conflicts of interest. In exercise one below, you will be looking at an example of risk communication taken from the movie Silkwood . Think about whether this communication is reponsible and honest. Do the interests of the risk communicators coincide with those of the audience? Do the interests of the communicators bias the content of the communication in any way? (For example, does the upcoming vote to keep the union play a role in this risk communication act?)

What you will do ...

In this section, you will practice managing and communicating risk information. In managing risk information, you will practice how to empower, inform, and involve the risk-bearing public. In communicating risk, you will practice different ways of helping the public to deliberate on the acceptability of certain risks.

    Exercise one

  • Listen to the doctors communicating the risks associated to exposure to plutonium while working in the Kerr-McGee plant in the movie, Silkwood. How effective is this communicative act? (Explain your assertion.) How truthful is this communicative act? (Is truth about risk value-free scientific information or do values play a crucial role in our deliberations on risk? What kind of values are at stake here?)
  • Listen to Charlie Bloom's presentation to the Milagro citizens' meeting on the economic and social risks associated with the Devine Recreational Center. Describe in detail the audience's reaction. Analyze both the content and style of Bloom's short speech. Does he facilitate or impede the process and substance of deliberation over risk? Rewrite Bloom's speech and deliver it before the class as if they were citizens of Milagro.
  • Paul Slovic pictures a part of the risk perception process in terms of unknown and dread factors. In general, the higher the dread and unknown factors, the less acceptable the risk. Other factors that enter into the public perception of risk are voluntariness, control, expected benefits, and the fairness of the distribution of risks and benefits. Given this depicting of the public's perception of risk, how do you expect the Kerr McGee employees to react to the risk information being presented by the doctors? How will the citizens of Milagro react to the risk information they are receiving on the ethical, social, and economic impacts of the Devine Recreational Project?.

Questions & Answers

Discuss the differences between taste and flavor, including how other sensory inputs contribute to our  perception of flavor.
John Reply
taste refers to your understanding of the flavor . while flavor one The other hand is refers to sort of just a blend things.
Faith
While taste primarily relies on our taste buds, flavor involves a complex interplay between taste and aroma
Kamara
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Ummi Reply
omeprazole
Kamara
what
Renee
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Renee
is a drug
Kamara
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Kamara
Omeprazole Cimetidine / Tagament For the complicated once ulcer - kit
Patrick
what is the function of lymphatic system
Nency Reply
Not really sure
Eli
to drain extracellular fluid all over the body.
asegid
The lymphatic system plays several crucial roles in the human body, functioning as a key component of the immune system and contributing to the maintenance of fluid balance. Its main functions include: 1. Immune Response: The lymphatic system produces and transports lymphocytes, which are a type of
asegid
to transport fluids fats proteins and lymphocytes to the blood stream as lymph
Adama
what is anatomy
Oyindarmola Reply
Anatomy is the identification and description of the structures of living things
Kamara
what's the difference between anatomy and physiology
Oyerinde Reply
Anatomy is the study of the structure of the body, while physiology is the study of the function of the body. Anatomy looks at the body's organs and systems, while physiology looks at how those organs and systems work together to keep the body functioning.
AI-Robot
what is enzymes all about?
Mohammed Reply
Enzymes are proteins that help speed up chemical reactions in our bodies. Enzymes are essential for digestion, liver function and much more. Too much or too little of a certain enzyme can cause health problems
Kamara
yes
Prince
how does the stomach protect itself from the damaging effects of HCl
Wulku Reply
little girl okay how does the stomach protect itself from the damaging effect of HCL
Wulku
it is because of the enzyme that the stomach produce that help the stomach from the damaging effect of HCL
Kamara
function of digestive system
Ali Reply
function of digestive
Ali
the diagram of the lungs
Adaeze Reply
what is the normal body temperature
Diya Reply
37 degrees selcius
Xolo
37°c
Stephanie
please why 37 degree selcius normal temperature
Mark
36.5
Simon
37°c
Iyogho
the normal temperature is 37°c or 98.6 °Fahrenheit is important for maintaining the homeostasis in the body the body regular this temperature through the process called thermoregulation which involves brain skin muscle and other organ working together to maintain stable internal temperature
Stephanie
37A c
Wulku
what is anaemia
Diya Reply
anaemia is the decrease in RBC count hemoglobin count and PVC count
Eniola
what is the pH of the vagina
Diya Reply
how does Lysin attack pathogens
Diya
acid
Mary
I information on anatomy position and digestive system and there enzyme
Elisha Reply
anatomy of the female external genitalia
Muhammad Reply
Organ Systems Of The Human Body (Continued) Organ Systems Of The Human Body (Continued)
Theophilus Reply
what's lochia albra
Kizito
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Source:  OpenStax, Introduction to business, management, and ethics. OpenStax CNX. Aug 14, 2016 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11959/1.4
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