Risk Reflection - Coursework Example

Risk Communication Analysis The Telegraph reported the case of denial of hearing the petition of a woman wearing scarf in court by a judge in Quebec.The two different topics this risk communication report encompasses include ‘mental noise’ and ‘negative dominance’. This is a risk for people directed at their faith and following of religious teachings. The news quotes the judge telling each and every word that was said as such, “Hats and sunglasses for example, are not allowed. And I dont see why scarves on the head would be either” (Merango cited in “Canada court denies”).

This quotation is mentioned just below the title of the news; so that readers get persuaded into reading further. The news also reports the exact quotation of the Muslim woman. The fact that the report explicitly mentioned the comment of the Muslim woman where she has expressed that she no longer feels like being a Canadian citizen indicates that challenging or criticizing the religious practices of an individual tarnishes the image of the country as a whole. It is a short news report mostly filled with quotations nicely selected to convey the crux of the problem.

For the rest of the content, phrases are highlighted in quotation marks to emphasize their importance e.g. “feel afraid”, “a human being”, and “suitable dress”. The communicator focuses on these phrases because they project how challenging the dress code makes a religious person feel. The communication could have been improved by not highlighting specific phrases so that readers could form their independent opinion. Specifically, choosing the phrase, “…I felt that Im not Canadian anymore” (El-Alloul cited in “Canada court denies”) generalizes the threat for Muslims all across Canada.

Reading this report makes Muslims feel unsafe and threatened in Canada as a whole, although Quebec has its own distinct culture and laws within Canada and incidents happening in Quebec cannot be generalized for the liberal and democratic Canadian society as a whole. Fact of the matter is; when a person in Quebec is treated like this Muslim woman, his/her confidence in the whole of Canada is shattered. This can be explained in light of the ‘mental noise’ and ‘negative dominance’ theoretical model of risk communication.

The mental noise model implies, “when people are in a state of high concern because they perceive a significant threat, their ability to process information effectively and efficiently is severely impaired” (Baron et al., cited in Infanti et al. 6). Also, the negative dominance model implies that people emphasizes on losses in situations of risk (Infanti et al. 6).  Works Cited:“Canada court denies woman hearing until she removed hijab.” The Telegraph. 27 Feb. 2015. Web. 1 Mar. 2015. . Infanti, J.

, Sixsmith, J., Barry, M. M., Núñez-Córdoba, J., Oroviogoicoechea-Ortega, C., and Guillén-Grima, F. A. Literature review on effective risk communication for the prevention and control of communicable diseases in Europe. Stockholm: ECDC, 2013.