Exploring the computer-mediated communication option for crises management in Nigeria

Abstract

A given society is rocked by crisis of malevolence when social misfits take recourse to acts of criminality or other unlawful means for the sole purpose of venting their spleen or frustration on or seeking undue gains from the people and the social institutions, probably with the aim of destabilizing or destroying the entire social system. The successful armed robbery attack on four banks in Nsukka and consequent killing of Nsukka Divisional Police Officer on 17 July 2009, represent a typical instance of crisis of malevolence that has become a regular feature of social life in a good number of Nigerian cities and urban areas. This paper explores the applicability of computer-mediated communication interface as a crisis management strategy in Nigeria. The value of this approach derives from the fact that in crisis situations, decision-making capabilities rely on accurate reports from all parties involved. However, recent crisis events have shown that existing communication infrastructures can become overloaded or even witness unprecedented outright system collapse. The need, therefore for crisis-management technology to cope with nondeterministic environments resulting from the global wired-communication break-down has made imperative a communication-interface prototype to support language-independent communication and reduce the chances of ambiguity and multitude of semantic interpretation of human observers’ reports. Herein lies the value of this visual language interface type of computer-mediated communication developed by Siska Fitraine and Leon Rothkrantz as a comprehensive experimental system for maintaining reliable communication in crisis events.