Vietnams Petroleum Industry

Oil is one of the most valuable resources. This is because it is the principle source of energy. Therefore, effective management of revenues from oil may lead to economic prosperity of a country. United Arab Emirates is one of the countries that provide evidence of how good management of revenues from oil may lead to economic prosperity.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Vietnam’s Petroleum Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The country has experienced meteoric economic growth due to effective use of revenues from oil. Oil has helped in fuelling the development of other sectors of the country’s economy. These include tourism, housing, and education (Rostin 3). However, various countries have been unable to use revenues from oil effectively. Nigeria is one of the countries that continue to have extreme levels of poverty despite having huge oil reserves (Falola and Heaton 11). This highl ights the importance of effective management of revenue from the oil. Vietnam is one of the Asian countries that have huge oil reserves. The country strives to use revenue from oil to improve the welfare of its citizens. Vietnam’s petroleum industry has come a long way since Vietsovpetro’s initial exploration of crude oil in the Bach Ho oil field in 1986 (Alpert 51). Since then, Vietnam has exploited more than 200 million tons of oil. Vietsovpetro is the largest company in oil exploration. Vietsovpetro is a joint venture between Russia and Vietnam. Petrovietnam, a state owned company, owns 51% of the Vietsovpetro. JSC Zarubezhneft owns the remaining 49% of the company (IBP 70). Vietsovpetro is the fifth largest company in Vietnam. Oil exploitation by Vietsovpetro accounts for approximately 90% of the total oil exploited in Vietnam. Continued exploitation has led to the development of the petroleum industry. The industry is one of the major sectors that help in the grow th of the economy of Vietnam.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Revenue from oil accounts for approximately 25% of the annual budget revenue of the country. Vietnam is the third largest country in South East Asia according to oil reserves, exploitation and exportation (IBP 70). Figure 1.1 Vietnam’s annual crude oil production The discovery of new oil fields has led to significant increase in Vietsovpetro’s revenue. In 2011, the company had revenues of more than $5 billion (Anon. para 1). This figure may seem small when compared to dominant players in the global oil industry such as ExxonMobil. However, the increase is vital in ensuring the continued development of the company into a global corporation. In 2011, Vietsovpetro produced slightly more than 6.4 million metric tons of oil (Anon. para 6). This was more than the projected output of the company. The company projects higher revenues in the future. This is due to the price volatility of oil. Vietsovpetro is not the only company in the industry. The company faces stiff competition from Qatar Petroleum International. However, government support gives Vietsovpetro a competitive edge in the industry. Development of Vietnam’s petroleum industry has led to the development of numerous auxiliary industries. Massive investments in technology have helped in fuelling the growth of the industry. These investments have helped in the expansion of Vietnam’s petroleum industry into the region and the world market.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Vietnam’s Petroleum Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More If the current trend continues, the industry is likely to become one of the most competitive industries in the region. This would greatly benefit the economy of Vietnam. The development of the industry would help in improvement of the welfare of the Vietnamese citizens. However, the industry continues to face various challenges that necessitate it to make considerable capital investments (IBP 70). Vietnam forecasts great improvements in the oil industry. The country forecasts that by 2020, the immanent capital retrieving rate (IRR) accounting would reach about 43% (Viettrade para 4). Vietsovpetro is the major player that would help in the development in the industry. Development of the oil industry would help in the development of other energy related industries. These include nitrogenous fertiliser, chemicals and the gas industry. However, it is vital for the Vietnam government to ensure that there is planned development of the industry. This would ensure the long-term stability of the industry. The Vietnam government has a strategy for the development of the industry up to the year 2015. The strategy has six orientations that are vital in the development of the ind ustry (Vietrade para 5). These orientations are outline below. The government plans to make the petroleum and gas industry a vital branch of the economy. This industry would help in the development of the economy over the next several decades (Vietrade para 6). Technology is vital in the development of the petroleum and gas industry. Therefore, the government plans to make the industry a major sector that would help in the technological development of the country (Metz and Turkson 231). Technological development in the oil industry would facilitate the development of other industries.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The government also intends to use oil in forming a strong economic corporation. The government is one of the major players in the industry. Therefore, growth of the industry would enable the government to become a strong economic corporation (Vietrade para 7). Since Vietnam is a socialist government, it is vital for the government to become a strong economic corporation. This would help in better management of revenues from oil. However, this would necessitate the government to regulate the political environment in the highly volatile region. The government should desist from activities that may make it face sanctions from the diplomatic community. Sanctions may derail the efforts of the government to become a strong economic corporation. The Vietnam government intends to increase efforts aimed towards the discovery, exploitation and exportation of the vast oil and gas complex in the country (Vietrade para 8). Recent discoveries of new oil reserves prove that Vietnam may have huge reserves of unexploited oil. Therefore, it is vital for the government to improve discovery efforts. In addition, the government intends to expand exploitation activities in overseas locations. Therefore, Vietsovpetro will continue to be a major organisation that would help the government to achieve its goals. Vietsovpetro is currently contemplating venturing into other markets. The company intends to follow the example of other highly successful state owned enterprises that have ventured into the international market. These include CNPC-PetroChina and Sinopec. Both companies are highly successful state owned Chinese companies. Vietsovpetro intends to venture into the Malaysian, Cuban, Nigerian, and Peruvian markets. Successful venture into the international market would guarantee the future development of the company. The Vietnam government also intends to increase the development of the oil filter and natural gas industry (Vietrade para 9). Development of this industry would help in improving the economy of the country. It would facilitate the development of the Vietnamese manufacturing industry. This would help in broadening the economy of Vietnam. The Vietnam government also intends to diversify the mode of investment and business (Vietrade para 10). These investments would help in the gradual development of the competitive oil and gas market. These investments would ensure the long-term stability of the industry (Papageorgiou and Spatafora 12). Finally, the Vietnam government intends to enlarge the types of petroleum and gas services to ensure that they contribute towards energy security. In addition, the government strives to ensure the protection of the national sovereignty and ecological environment (Vietrade para 11). Protection of national sovereignty necessitates the government to continue being a major player in the industry. This would ensure that Vietnam residents are the major beneficiaries of revenues from oil. In most developing countries, mul tinational corporations are the major beneficiaries of revenues from oil. Various regulations would ensure that oil exploration does not have a negative effect on the environment (O’Rourke 45). The Vietnamese petroleum industry has many companies that perform different roles that help in the development of the industry. There are companies that engage in exploiting petroleum, processing and trading, designing and constructing petroleum services, and training workers. These companies have highly skilled managers and employees. In addition, the companies use modern technologies. The activities of petroleum companies get special attention from Vietnamese and Russian political leaders. This is because they both have interests in Vietsovpetro, the dominant player in the industry (Sumsky, Hong and Lugg 331). The activities of other companies in the industry may have a direct or indirect effect on Vietsovpetro. Regulating the development of the oil industry would help in the industr ialisation and modernisation of Vietnam’s economy. Works Cited Alpert, William T. The Vietnamese economy and its transformation to an open market system. Armonk, NY: M.E Sharpe, 2005. Print. Anon. Vietsovpetro’s revenues exceed $5.6 bln. Vietnam Investment Review. 11 Jan 2012. Web. Falola, Toyin and Matthew M Heaton. A history of Nigeria. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print. IBP. Vietnam investment and business guide. Washington, DC: International Business Publications, 2007. Print. Metz, Bert and John K Turkson. Methodological and technological issues in technology transfer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print. O’Rourke, Dara. Community-driven regulation: Balancing development and the environment in Vietnam. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2004. Print. Papageorgiou, Chris and Nicola Spatafora. Economic diversification in LICs: stylized facts and macroeconomic implications. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund, 2012. Print. Ros tin, Andreas. Structural change in the United Arab Emirates. Nordesterstedt: Grin Verlag, 2007. Print. Sumsky, Victor, Mark Hong and Amy Lugg. Asean-Russi: Foundations and future prospects. Pasir Panjang: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2012. Print. Vietrade. Petroleum industry: An important motive force to push up the economic development. Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, 8 May 2012. Web. http://en.vietrade.gov.vn/ This research paper on Vietnam’s Petroleum Industry was written and submitted by user Teagan Cantrell to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Kansas Nebraska Act.

Kansas Nebraska Act. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, of 1854, created and destroyed American political parties and lead to the sectional differences in our nation that resulted in violence. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was a plan introduced by Stephen Douglas that would divide the remainder of the Louisiana Purchase, of 1803, into two separate territories- Kansas and Nebraska. In each territory popular sovereignty would allow voters to determine whether the state was to be a slave state or a free state. If Stephen's Act was passed, a railroad could be built from Chicago to the pacific, an idea that outraged northerners. They believed it was a terrible plot to turn Free states into a "dreary region...inhabited by masters and slaves." All across the antislavery North, citizens held protest meetings and sent anti-Nebraska petitions to Congress. But with the South's strong support along with President Pierce persuading fellow democrats to vote for it, Douglas's plan for turning Chicago into a rich city filled with Calif ornia's new found wealth, was full steam ahead.Sam Houston was named commander of the new Texian ...But Congress did not approve the construction of the railroad until 1862.On July 6th, 1854 in the town of Jackson, Michigan, hundreds of people who were against the recently passed Kansas-Nebraska Act came together to form the Republican party. Douglas felt the Act would "raise a storm" and it did just that. Under pressure from Douglas and President Pierce, nearly 60 northern Democrats had voted for the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and suffered the consequences for their support. Only 7 of the northern Democrats who voted for the bill retained their seats. The others had left because of the controversy caused by the Kansas-Nebraska act. The party was hurt further by the Ostend Manifesto. In this document, three U.S. diplomats laid out a plan to buy Cuba, which allowed slavery. If Spain refused, they would take...

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The federal budget deficit - Research Paper Example The US budget picture has evolved through leaps and bounds. The current federal deficit for the government went down by 37% from the previous years pictures. The decline in the fiscal deficit shows improvement in the economy. But is the decline in the deficit figure enough for the economic longevity and prosperity? What factors can help in improving the deficit picture of the country? We will conduct an analysis to comprehend the federal budget deficit situation and find answers to the above questions. The US deficit has not always been in a bad shape with the 19th century showing surplus figures and holding deficits only during wartime. Initially the deficit was very small with numbers peaking in the World War 1 and 2. During the 1960s till the 1990s there can be seen a steady increase in the deficit. The deficit crossed the ten percent GDP barrier owing to the crises that hit the economy in the year 2008. The movement of the federal deficit can be seen from the graph below: (Usgove rnmentspending.com, 2013) Now looking at the deficit scenario one needs to understand the current market implications and the forecasted figures of the federal budget deficit. ‘The federal government took in $680 billion less revenue than it spent, or about 4.1 percent of gross domestic product. In 2012, those numbers were $1.087 trillion and 6.8 percent of GDP. That means the deficit fell a whopping 37 percent in one year.’ (Irwin, 2013) The reason behind the figures for the year 2013 is the increase in the government receipts due to the high payroll taxes that are a result of the increased income. The effect of this is the decrease in expenses is terms of unemployment insurance benefits that decreased with the improving economy. The US economy has cut its fiscal tail in order to achieve the results. But one can argue that the decline in the federal deficit is very rapid. The austerity measures taken by the government has taken a deficit that was 4.5% in the first quar ter of the this fiscal year to a 3% when the figures were published at the year-end. According to many economists the drastic measures by the government cannot improve the economy in the long run. The economy needs to grow at a steady pace keeping all its factors of production in line, leading to a better and positive growth of the country. ‘Goldman's projections indicate that simply allowing the economy to grow will result in significant deficit reduction without painful spending cuts.’ (Carter, 2013) Comparing the US economy with Greece and the like shows that the position of the economy is not alarming but a fixture is required in the near future. The President has laid a budget that does not tackle the federal budget deficit in its entirety; he has set a commission in order to obtain ideas as to bridging the gap between the public revenue and expenditure in a more meaningful manner. The effects of these changes have to be long term. The economy needs more than just an yearly decrease in the federal budget deficits. The decrease in the figure is good but not enough for long-term survival of the economy. The recent shutdown of the government offices show that deep down the picture is not that simple and although the economy has recovered from the downfall and crunch much needs to be done before it is stable in terms of growth and activity. The changes in the US economy are evident with improved standard of living and better job opportunities in the country. But along with the positives

Innovation and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

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Durkheim: Types of suicide in society

Durkheim: Types of suicide in society Once he discovered that certain types of suicide could be accounted for by anomie, he could then use anomic suicide as an index for the otherwise unmeasurable degree of social integration. This was not circular reasoning, as could be argued, but a further application of his method of analysis. He reasoned as follows: There are no societies in which suicide does not occur, and many societies show roughly the same rates of suicide over long periods of time. This indicates that suicides may be considered a normal, that is, a regular, occurrence. However, sudden spurts in the suicide rates of certain groups or total societies are abnormal and point to some perturbations not previously present. Hence. abnormally high rates in specific groups or social categories, or in total societies, can be taken as an index of disintegrating forces at work in a social structure. Durkheim distinguished between types of suicide according to the relation of the actor to his society. When men become detached from society, when they are thrown upon their own devices and loosen the bonds that previously had tied them to their fellow, they are prone to egoistic, or individualistic, suicide. When the normative regulations surrounding individual conduct are relaxed and hence fail to curb and guide human propensities, men are susceptible to succumbing to anomic suicide. To put the matter differently, when the restraints of structural integration, as exemplified in the operation of organic solidarity, fail to operate, men become prone to egoistic suicide; when the collective conscience weakens, men fall victim to anomic suicide. In addition to egoistic and anomic types of suicide, Durkheim refers to altruistic and fatalistic suicide. The latter is touched upon only briefly in his work, but the former is of great importance for an understanding of Durkheims general approach. Altruistic suicide refers to cases in which suicide can be accounted for by overly strong regulation of individuals, as opposed to lack of regulation. Durkheim argues in effect that the relation of suicide rates to social regulation is curvilinearhigh rates being associated with both excessive individuation and excessive regulation. In the case of excessive regulation, the demands of society are so great that suicide varies directly rather than inversely with the degree of integration. For example, in the instance of the Hindu normative requirement that widows commit ritual suicide upon the funeral pyre of their husbands, or in the case of harikiri, the individual is so strongly attuned to the demands of his society that he is willing to take his own life when the norms so demand. Arguing from statistical data, Durkheim shows that in modern societies the high rates of suicide among the military cannot be explained by the deprivations of military life suffered by the lower ranks, since the suicide rate happens to be higher for officers than for enlisted men. Rather, the high rate for officers can be accounted for by a military code of honor that enjoins a passive habit of obedience leading officers to undervalue their own lives. In such cases, Durkheim is led to refer to too feeble degrees of individuation and to counterpose these to the excesses of individuation or de-regulation, which account, in his view, for the other major forms of suicide. Durkheims discussion of altruistic suicide allows privileged access to some of the intricacies of his approach. He has often been accused of having an overly anti-individualistic philosophy, one that is mainly concerned with the taming of individual impulse and the harnessing of the energies of individuals for the purposes of society. Although it cannot be denied that there are such tendencies in his work, Durkheims treatment of altruistic suicide indicates that he was trying to establish a balance between the claims of individuals and those of society, rather than to suppress individual strivings. Acutely aware of the dangers of the breakdown of social order, he also realized that total control of component social actors by society would be as detrimental as anomie and de-regulation. Throughout his life he attempted to establish a balance between societal and individual claims. From Coser, 1977:132-136. At the end of the 19th century a French sociologist, Emile Durkheim, recorded an apparent link between high suicide rates and a breakdown in social structure and organisation. He coined the term anomie for this state. This link has since been recorded many times in places outside France and appears to be real. However, its true significance has only recently begun to be understood with the development and exploration of the concept of social capital and its link, not just with suicide, but with health generally. (Stronger Communities One of 28) He wanted to demonstrate and establish sociologys scientific status by providing a sociological explanation of that seemingly most individual of acts-suicide. In order to do this he had to define suicide as a social fact that would require explanation in terms of other social facts (social structures and forces as conceptualized in his multi-layered model). The social fact to be explained was not the individual act of suicide, which might be better accounted for by a case study method where, in favourable instances, there might be enough evidence to make inferences about the victims mental state-motives and intentions. It was suicide rates, as disclosed by statistics, that constituted the social fact to be explained as an effect of an imbalance of social structural forces. Consequently, he proceeded to define suicide with the least possible reference to mental elements, excluding any reference to intentions but allowing for the need to distinguish between accidental death and suicide : the term suicide is applied to all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result. Comparative statistics for countries and categories of people within each country showed that suicide rates were relatively constant; therefore, it must be a social fact that a collective tendency towards suicide existed. These collective tendencies could be related to sets of causes to produce a classification of types of suicide. The sets of causes were theoretically postulated on the basis of Durkheims conception of possible imbalances between centrifugal forces (too much individualism) and centripetal forces (too much social pressure). Two pairs of imbalances of forces are defined; one pair refers to the degree of integration or interaction in a group (egoism and altruism), the other pair refers to the degree of moral regulation (anomie and fatalism). The two continua of integration and regulation, and the four types of suicide, can be illustrated in Fig. 3.2 and summary: The first type of suicide, at the low extreme of the integration continuum, was egoistic suicide. Here rates of interaction in egoistic groups were low, and so values, beliefs, traditions, and sentiments were not held in common by all members. The result was that they weakened each other whenever they came into conflict. The collective life was diminished and individual interests were asserted. The individual lost the beneficial effects of group membership, such as support and revitalization, and consequently found little meaning in group life. Thus suicide rates were higher for Protestants than Catholics, both in comparisons between predominantly Protestant countries and Catholic countries, and between Protestants and Catholics in the same society. It was not the case that one religions beliefs condemned suicide and the other did not, as suicide was severely condemned by both Protestantism and Catholicism. The difference was that Protestanism encouraged individual free inquiry and, unlike Catholicism, it did not offer priestly and sacramental supports. Where a Protestant church did offer more of those supports, as in the Church of England, which had kept some of the Catholic emphasis on priesthood and sacraments (and had more clergyman per head of population than Protestant countries) the suicide rate was mid-way between that of the Catholic and Protestant countries. A further example of egoistic suicide was the higher rate to be found among adults who were unmarried compared with married people of the same age. And the larger the family, the lower was the chance of suicide occurring. Finally egoistic suicide varied inversely with the degree of political integration, the rate fell in wars and political crises. Altruistic suicide was the result of too much integration. The individual absorbed and controlled by the group had an under-developed and so under-valued sense of individuality. Such a person could not resist the pressure to sacrifice the self for the groups interests, even if it me ant committing suicide. Durkheim pointed out the similarity of the modern army and primitive society in this respect; in both there was a lack of individuality and a strong pressure towards self-sacrifice. Examples of suicides in primitive societies included suicides of the old or very ill, suicides of women on their husbands death, and suicides of followers or servants on the death of their chiefs. The much higher rate of military suicides compared with civilians in modern suicide was explained by Durkheim in terms of military morality being a survival of primitive morality, predisposing the soldier to kill himself at the least disappointment, for the most futile reasons, for a refusal of leave, a reprim and, an unjust punishment, a delay in promotion, a question of honour, a flush of momentary jealousy, or even simply because other suicides have occurred before his eyes or to his knowledge [1] p. 239. The next type of suicide, at the low extreme of the regulation continuum, was anomic suicide. Anomie was the consequence of social change resulting in a diminution of social regulation. He discussed two forms of economic anomie-acute and chronic, and then chronic domestic anomie. They were all cases of an imbalance between means and needs-states of disequilibrium, where means were inadequate to fulfil needs. Durkheim did not believe that needs were given in mans biological, psychological, or individual nature. Indeed, that was one of his main criticisms of the economic, psychological, and utilitarian theories of his time, because they ignored the socially-derived and variable nature of human needs. Passions, desires, appetites, ends, and goals could all become needs, and if such wants were not restrained they would bring unhappiness. The individuals wants were boundless unless a limit was set on them by an external moral authority. Acute economic anomie occurred in booms and slumps. In both circumstances old rules relating means to ends were inapplicable, and individuals were freed from social restraint, creating disequilibrium, unhappiness, and leading to an increase in suicides. Chronic economic anomie was a product of a longer term diminution of social regulation of the relation between means and ends. For over a century there had been an erosion of the influence of agencies that had exercised moral restraint over economic relations, particularly religious and occupational groups, and instead of being regarded as a means, industry had become an end in itself. Not surprisingly, suicide rates were higher in manufacturing and commercial occupations than they were in agriculture, because the latter still had traditions and customs that exercised constraint. (Not that Durkheim wanted to revert to older forms of organization, although he believed new occupational associations should be formed that would have some of the same functions as the old guilds.) Constant economic striving after limitless goals could not bring happiness, as was shown by the fact that the higher socio-economic strata had higher rates of suicide than the poor. Acute domestic anomie was exemplified by widowhood, which represented a crisis for the surviving husband or wife, who would not be adapted to the new situation and so offered less resistance to suicide. Chronic domestic anomie was discussed by Durkheim in terms of the way in which marital regulation affects the means-needs balance in men and women. He defined marriage as: A regulation of sexual relations, including not merely the physical instincts which this intercourse involves but the feelings of every sort gradually engrafted by civilization on the foundation of physical desire [1] , p. 270. Civilization had produced a multiplicity of triggers of mans passions, and only marriage could channel those needs within attainable bounds; bachelors, however, experience limitless horizons, which lead to unrestrained passions that create a disjunction between means and ends, and a state of chronic anomie. Consequently, bachelors had a higher suicide rate than married men. Ease of divorce had a similar effect on married men, producing higher suicide rates. Women, who had long been more restricted within the domestic sphere, had not had their sexual aspirations raised to the same level, and so they required less regulation. Marriage served to over-regulate them, particularly if it was difficult to secure a divorce (they had a lower rate of suicide in societies where divorce was easier than in those where it was difficult). As distinct from family life with children, marriage itself offered no protection against suicidal pressures so far as women were concerned. The interests of the two sexes were in conflict: Speaking generally, we now have the cause of that antagonism of the sexes which prevents marriage favouring them equally: their interests are contrary; one needs restraint and the other libertyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Women can suffer more from marriage if it is unfavourable to her than she can benefit by it if it conforms to her interest. This is because she has less need of it [1] , p. 274-275. Fatalistic suicide was at the high extreme of the regulation continuum. He only discussed this condition of excessive regulation once, and that was restricted to an eight-sentence footnote. Examples were the situation of childless married women (presumably where divorce was difficult), young husbands, and slaves. He described it as the suicide of persons with futures pitilessly blockedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦or all suicides attributable to excessive physical or moral despotism. For some reason, not specified, he decided that it has so little contemporary importance, and examples are so hard to find aside from the cases just mentioned, that it seems useless to dwell upon it [1] , p. 276, footnote 25. Although Durkheim used the categories of egoism, altruism, and anomie (not so much fatalism) to distinguish suicidogenic currents, and collective tendencies, he admitted that in practice it was very difficult to separate the currents of egoism and anomie as they flowed from a single source-the loss of mechanical solidarity and the failure to develop a genuine organic solidarity. A moderate amount of egoism and anomie was necessary for progress. A certain amount of individualism was necessary for the growth of the division of labour; it was excessive egoistic tendencies that produced a pathological level of egoistic suicides. Similarly, with anomie, among peoples where progress is and should be rapid, rules restraining individuals must be sufficiently pliable and malleable; if they preserved all the rigidity they possess in primitive societies, evolution thus impeded could not take place promptly enough [1] , p.364. The language of forces and currents in states of disequilibrium was symptomatic of Durkheims effort to demonstrate that a sociological explanation of suicide could reveal hidden causes-in this case social forces that were as real as physical forces. Although his references to suicidogenic currents sound like an over-drawn analogy with electrical currents, in fact they refer to phenomena specified in his multi-layered model.

Inventor Project April 1, 1996 Albert Einstein :: essays research papers fc

Inventor Project April 1, 1996 Albert Einstein My name is Albert Einstein. I was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. I was not an inventor in the conventional sense. I was a physicist and theorist. My inventions were not tangible things, but ideas I put on paper and may later on have led to inventions. I was not a good student in school. I did not pay attention to teachers because I found their lectures and teachings boring. Often I would skip class to go study physics on my own. By the age of twelve I had taught myself Euclidean Geometry, and slowly beginning to develope my own theories in physics. My first theoretical paper was on Brownian motion. The paper discussed the significant predictions I made about particles that are randomly distributed in a fluid. My next paper was on the photoelectric effect, which contained a revolutionary hypothesis on the nature of light. I proposed that under certain circumstances light can be considered as consisting of particles, and I also hypothesized that energy carried by any light particle, called a photon, is proportional to the frequency of the radiation. The formula for this is E=hv, where E is the radiation, h is a universal constant known as Planck's constant, and v is the frequency of the radiation. This proposal, that the energy contained within a light beam is transferred by individual units, or quanta, contradicted the hundred year old tradition of considering light as a manifestation of continuous processes. My third and most impotant paper, "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies", contained what has become known as the special theory of relativity. Since the time of Sir Issac Newton, scientists had been trying to understand the nature of matter and radiation, and how they interacted in some unified world picture. The position that mechanical laws are fundamental has become known as the mechanical world view, and the position that electrical laws are fundamental has become known as the electromagnetic world view. Neither approach, however, is capable of providing a consistent explanation for the way radiation and matter interact when viewed from different inertial frames of reference, that is, an interaction viewed simultaneously by an observer at rest and an observer moving at unifrom speed. In the Spring of 1905 after considering these problems for ten years, I realized that the crux of the problem lay not in a theory of matter but in a theory of measuerment. At the heart of my special theory of relativity was the realization thet all measurements of time and space depend on judgments as to