How Technology Can Help or Hinder the Crisis Negotiation Process

We live today in a world that's very different from the way it was just a couple of short decades ago, thanks in large part to advances in electronics and communications technology. Twenty years ago, few people owned cell phones or personal computers, and most of those who did have computers used them as glorified standalone word processors or number crunchers, not as communications devices. The Internet was still a mystery to most outside of universities and certain divisions of government. Today we live in a world where connectivity is key to many of our day-to-day activities. According to tech analysis firm iSuppli, 264 million personal computers shipped in 2007 (Evans, 2007). In 2008, for the first time shipments of portable (notebook) computers—most of which come with built-in wireless communications capability—surpassed that of traditional desktop machines (Kioskea.net, 2008).