State Government vs Federal Government (Similarities and differences, Essay

State Government vs Federal Government (Similarities and differences, reporting standards etc.) - Essay Example It is appropriate to highlight the differences between the federal and the state government in regard to public resources, and how the same utilized effectively. The budgeting process involves careful planning of how money will be received and spent over a specific period of time (Kieso et al., 2012). Therefore, the major components of a public budget include revenues and expenditures. In the United States, the federal government differs with state governments in as far as the budgeting process is concerned. For instance, the federal management has the authority to control the economy through interest rates while state governments do not have such control over interest rates. The federal government is often at liberty to engage in deficit spending, implying that the federal administration has the ability to increase spending even if the revenue is lower than it should (Kieso et al., 2012). As a result, the public debt in the US has continued to soar over the years. On the contrary, state governments are not at liberty to engage in deficit spending on a large scale, and are bound by the parameters of a balanced budget. The federal government differs with the state governments in a number of ways in as far as the taxation process is concerned. As for the federal government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the agency charged with tax collection (Kieso et al., 2012). The government uses progressive tax to determine the tax rates in that the more money a person earns, the more the taxes. The most common federal taxes are the withholding tax and the federal tax return. The withholding tax is subtracted from wages that individuals receive, while the federal tax return requires citizens and residents to report their income each year to determine if they owe any income tax to the federal government (Weygandt, Kimmel & Kieso, 2010). Taxes imposed by state governments differ from one state to another, as there is no one system that works for all states.

Applications of Operant Conditioning at School Essay

Applications of Operant Conditioning at School - Essay Example Operant conditioning can be defined as a type of learning in which voluntary (controllable; non-reflexive) behavior is strengthened if it is reinforced and weakened if it is punished (or not reinforced) 1 . It states that environmental contingencies or the environment's 'reaction' to an individual's behaviour controls that individual's behaviour. As an Undergraduate he was an English major, then decided to study Psychology in graduate school. Early in his career he believed much of behavior could be studied in a single, controlled environment (created Skinner box - address later). Instead of observing behavior in the natural world, he attempted to study behavior in a closed, controlled unit. This prevents any factors not under study from interfering with the study - as a result, Skinner could truly study behavior and specific factors that influence behavior. During the "cognitive revolution" that swept Psychology (discussed later), Skinner stuck to the position that behavior was not guided by inner force or cognition. This made him a "radical behaviorist". As his theories of Operant Conditioning developed, Skinner became passionate about social issues, such as free will, how they developed, why they developed, how they were propagated, etc. 1 Skinner state that actions that are followed by reinforcing consequences are more likely to re-occur, and that actions that are followed by unpleasant or punishing consequences are less likely to re-occur. Again this might seem deceptively simple. However, the theory becomes more complicated when one realizes that what constitutes punishment and reinforcement differs depending on the individual. Skinner also noted that the situation within which the learning took place had to be taken into account. In analyzing and trying to account for behaviour, the psychologist, as behavioural detective, needs to take into account the antecedent (what happens immediately before the behaviour), the behaviour, and the consequences of the behaviour. This method is known as the ABC approach (A for antecedent, B for behaviour and C for consequences). There are five basic processes in operant conditioning: positive and negative reinforcement strengthen behavior; punishment, response cost, and extinction weaken behavior 2. Positive Reinforcement The term reinforcement always indicates a process that strengthens a behavior; the word positive has two cues associated with it. First, a positive or pleasant stimulus is used in the process, and second, the reinforcer is added (i.e., "positive" as in + sign for addition). In positive reinforcement, a positive reinforcer is added after a response and increases the frequency of the response. 2 Negative Reinforcement The term reinforcement always indicates a process that strengthens a behavior; the word negative has two cues associated with it. First, a negative or aversive stimulus is used in the process, and second, the reinforcer is subtracted (i.e., "negative" as in a "-" sign for subtraction). In negative reinforcement, after the response the negative reinforcer is removed which increases the fre