Predicting Reinforcement and Punishment Behaviors in College Students Coping with Substance Misuse: An Application of Inconsistent Nurturing as Control Theory

Managing a romantic partner’s substance misuse can be challenging, especially in cases where attempts to show support end up worsening the negative behavior. Understanding what might predict one’s actions towards a partner who smokes or drinks can help to alleviate some of the difficulty associated with these interactions. Therefore, this study was designed to examine how issues of undesirable substance use are managed within college students’ romantic relationships. More specifically, the study applied inconsistent nurturing as control theory to assess the extent to which relational uncertainty, perceived network helpfulness, and perceived network hindrance predict the reinforcement and/or punishment of a partner’s smoking or drinking. Results from cross-sectional, self-report survey data (n = 203) revealed that perceived network helpfulness and hindrance were both significant predictors of punishment but not reinforcement. Relational uncertainty was not a significant predictor of reinforcement or punishment. Implications for studying predictors of reinforcement and punishment strategies are discussed, as is the importance of communicating about young adult substance misuse within romantic relationships.     

Rhetorical detailing in Cicero's Verrine orations

This article offers answers to three questions: Why, after his courtroom victory in the Verrine case, did Cicero publish his speech? What changes in his rhetorical theory are reflected in the speech? What principles of narrative suasion is Cicero using in the many stories he incorporates within the speech? The concept of rhetorical detailing is proposed as a key element in the probable answer to each question.     

Public Library,c 1926

Alice D. Donovan, teacher, poet and author, published dozens of stories and plays for children. Among her papers is this unpublished poem about the public library, probably written in 1926.     

Digital Citizenship: You Can’t Go Home Again

In the July/August 2011 edition of TechTrends, a group of AECT members and academic professionals explored the state of digital citizenship for students in K-12 through an article entitled: Digital Citizenship in K-12: It Takes a Village. Identified was a significant need for digital citizenship awareness by parents, educators, and students through a series of interviews, exploration of resources, reports, and surveys. In this current article, the purpose is to provide an updated perspective of the state of digital citizenship in the K-12 academic and professional environments as gathered from re-administering the 2010 survey and interviewing experts quoted in the 2010 article. Results showed the need for teaching digital citizenship at an earlier age, improved digital citizenship awareness by both educators and administrators, and a continued focus on the misuse and abuse of technology.