Interpersonal Relations and Social Patterns in Communication Technologies: Discourse Norms, Language Structures and Cultural Variables

The development of information and communication technologies enables dynamic social interaction through computer-mediated communication. Interpersonal Relations and Social Patterns in Communication Technologies: Discourse Norms, Language Structures and Cultural Variables describes the growing proliferation of CMC applications and the need for new perspectives, methods and tools for research and practice. This reference work explores the conceptual foundations of computer-mediated interaction, language action and discourse features in various CMC contexts. Uncovering the fundamental components of CMC and looking at interdisciplinary perspectives through a variety of research methods, this book is ideal for researchers, academics, and practitioners interested in information and communication technologies in respect to online social interactions and discourse.

is currently an assistant professor at the College of Information Science and Technol¬ogy at Drexel University. Her research areas are computer-mediated communication/online discourse and knowledge organization and representation, concentrating on metadata. She has published widely in these areas. Dr. Park is the principal investigator of a four-year (2006-2010) research project entitled Metadata Creation and Metadata Quality Control across Digital Collections: Evaluation of Current Practices from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). As principal investigator, she has also been awarded an IMLS grant (2008-2010) for the research project entitled Modeling Interpersonal Discourse for Digital Information Service: Evaluation of the Question-Answering Service of the Internet Public Library. She is currently serving as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Library Metadata published by the Taylor & Francis Group. In addition to this edited book, Dr. Park has recently published Marking Discourse Coherence and Social-Interpersonal Meaning: Semantic Shifts and Functional Development of Discourse-Pragmatic Markers in Korean (LAP Lambert Academic Publishing AG & Co. KG ISBN 978-3-8383-0888-3). She is also working on a book entitled Metadata Applications in Digital Repositories and Libraries: Tools, Systems, and Architecture. This book is scheduled to be published by Chandos Publishing (Oxford) Limited in 2011.

Eileen Abels is Masters Program Director and Professor in the College of Information Science and Technology at Drexel University. Prior to joining the faculty at Drexel in January 2007, Dr. Abels spent more than 15 years at the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland. She teaches courses in the areas of digital reference, information access, access in electronic environments, and business information. Her research focuses on digital reference education, remote reference services, and automated question answering services. She is involved in overseeing the Internet Public Library, a digital reference service and learning environment.