Potent Warning On Smoking essays

Potent Warning On Smoking essays Smoking has been a controversial issue for many years now. Smoking is responsible for 87% of all lung cancer cases and 30% of all deaths from cancer. It also contributes to disease, stroke and lung diseases, some of the nations major killers. The only problem is that the society is uneducated to this information; and even if it is brought into the focus of a smoker it is often overlooked as some media hype. Recently, Brazil became the second country after Canada to have tobacco companies put graphic warnings on there packs of cigarettes. Graphic warnings on cigarette packs show the potential harmful effects of smoking; but some people think this idea of graphic warnings is ridiculous considering smoking is harmless. Before you side yourself with those people you should first realize the dangers of this addiction. As advertisements have shown on televised commercials smoking is a way to relax and to be cool by smoking cigarettes, they never show you the negative side of it. For example, addiction is one of the bad side effects and it is caused be nicotine. Once you inhale the cigarette you will then feel or want the need for another one, and you may have different personalities and change because of the addictions and some have succeeded while many have failed. People at a younger age start to get addicted by the nicotine in the cigarette and this is where the problem starts. About half of all smokers between the age 35 and 69 die while the new smokers replace them. Smokers could be losing an average of 20 to 25 years of their life. This number is of deaths is amazingly true and should be stopped as soon as possible. Not only do people die from smoking, but is has been recorded by MD Anderson Cancer Center that about 430,000 people die every year from smoking related problems. Secondhand smoke affects others as well as you. Even if you do not smoke, secondhand smoke also causes he ...

Proposal for a Health Education Programme Essay

Proposal for a Health Education Programme - Essay Example Moreover, the primary health care related knowledge has also been playing a significant role for maintaining good and proper health for small children. Contextually, learning regarding baby health care educations is also a significant factor that needs to be evaluated in this context (Nutbeam, 2006). In this regard, the health literacy is recognised to be a new concept for the people belonging from the modern era. It can be stated that education related to the baby health care is recognised to be important social determinant, which can work a crises management for maintaining infant healthier. It will be worth mentioning that the education in baby health care will be helpful towards ensuring a better health of new born babies as well as small babies. Moreover, baby health care related education is deemed to be useful in facilitating better skilled person for proving support during the any emergency to its family members. It will be worth mentioning that people should attend any heath care programmes for developing their knowledge related to baby health care facilities (Higgins & et. al., 2008). The principle objective of the proposed study is to prepare children health care programme plan especially for the parents, which will provide a systematic overview related to baby health care education. The proposed study primarily focuses upon organising the health education programmes especially for young parents and their children. In this regard, the study will also depict concern regarding the preparation of children health care programmes, which includes various sessions that can promote medical knowledge of young parents. Health education refers to a particular program that is deemed to be mainly responsible for promoting healthy living standard of people. The paper is concentrated over providing baby health care educational programmes to the parents of new born babies. The proposed study include certain objectives which are provided in

Should the government provide health care Essay

Should the government provide health care - Essay Example However, there is no sufficient evidence supporting the failures of government healthcare. Moreover, many developed countries such as Canada and Britain have successfully initiated a national healthcare plan. Therefore, governments should provide healthcare to the citizens. There are several arguments in support of government healthcare. Firstly, the initiation of government healthcare will ensure that everyone has access to healthcare. Many people do not have access to healthcare because many employers are not providing healthcare insurance due to increased premiums. Therefore, employees are carrying the burden of healthcare and many opt not to apply for health insurance. Accessing healthcare in hospitals is expensive for many citizens and this leads to deterioration of their health. The government’s provision of healthcare will ensure every citizen is able to access medical attention regardless of their financial status. Privatized healthcare is costly and not everyone can afford to pay for check-ups, health insurance premiums, and prescriptions. The healthcare provided by the government will be free for all citizens (Kaplan and Rodgers, 2009). Government healthcare would also improve the quality of healthcare as the health professionals’ time will not be wasted in processing insurance claims. Competition of insurance companies would be eradicated as the government would be in charge of healthcare administration. A lot of time is wasted in handling many insurance claims. A lot of insurance paperwork needs to be filled and claims need to be submitted. Therefore, the initiation of a government healthcare plan would ensure that healthcare professionals would only focus on treating their patients (Patel and Rushefsky, 2006). In addition, provision of healthcare by the government can help in regulating insurance companies. In privatized healthcare, insurance companies make a lot of money by raising premiums unfairly. Moreover, insurance

SWOT Analysis for My Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SWOT Analysis for My Writing - Essay Example In the essay I have used simple sentences that are easy to understand. The sentences are short and precise. This makes them easy to comprehend and understand. The paragraphs are also short and the sentences link making them to be characterised by coherence unity and adequate development of the ideas. The points are valid and supported by strong ideas and arguments. I have used good vocabulary that is easy to understand. The paper also have some elements of creativity as it carries my personality opinions and individuality. The weaknesses in my writing is some spelling errors that is evident in parts of the essay. Some words are not spelt correctly hence lowering the quality of the essay. The paper has also elements of poor grammar that makes some sentences cumbersome to read. In some paragraphs the sentences are not well organised. The ideas are distorted making the essay difficult to understand. Some sentences are not logical and clear inhibiting the coherence of some paragraphs. Some sentences lack appropriate punctuation marks. I failed to put comas and full stops this makes some sentences to be unnecessarily long and difficult to understand. English being my second language the grammar used was in some cases poor. My paper also lacks a clear conclusion. The opportunities I had in my writing was the availability of the writing centre. I was able to acquire information and ideas from the writing centres. There was also the online dictionary which helped in confirming the meaning of some words. I also got appropriate vocabulary in relation to my subject and topic from the online dictionary. The library also came in handy in acquiring information and ideas which support my writings. In the library there were books and journals which provided supportive information and guides for the writing. The writing instructor from Saint John College also played a big deal in ensuring the quality of the

At-Risk Program for Alcohol and Drug Use Essay Example for Free

At-Risk Program for Alcohol and Drug Use Essay When observing the schools in our communities, many choose not to notice that there is a serious problem concerning drug and substance abuse within the student population. Drug and alcohol abuse has become a serious problem for many students in the state of Alabama. There are over 40,000 adolescents in the state of Alabama that have used illegal drugs in this past month (Inspirations for Youth and Families, 2011). This is an alarming number that needs the support of the community, state funded programs, and the school district. There are currently over 15,000 youths in the state of Alabama that need help with substance abuse problems and are not receiving the proper care and help they deserve (Inspirations for Youth and Families, 2011). This community needs an at-risk program that targets the students who have become victim to drug and alcohol abuse. Identifying students in our schools who may be using drugs or alcohol is not an easy task. There are several signs that students could convey during schools hours that draw the attention of teachers or classmates. This program will be available to any parents concerned about their children with substance abuse, or students exhibiting at-risk warning signs. Warning signs of an at-risk student that will be eligible for a drug and substance abuse program may exhibit several traits that set them apart from the rest of the student body. These include smelling like alcohol or drugs, missing or skipping class, a dramatic change in academic involvement, trouble with authority, and getting involved in fights or showing an increase in aggressive behavior (Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2012). Students who exhibit any of these signs would be recommended to participate in the drug and alcohol program. Periodic drug screenings in schools for students expressing these signs is another measure that will be taken to inform educators and parents of the students experimenting with illegal substances and need our help and support. This drug and alcohol program will meet the needs of the students in our community by providing them a haven where they can turn without worrying about getting into trouble. This program is not meant to judge these students, but to help them overcome the pressure they feel from their peers and their habitual drug and alcohol abuse. This program will be in every school in the Montgomery County school district. It will target students in grades five through 12. The guidance offices will have specific laws and rules to abide by to find at-risk students and enter students into the drug and alcohol program. The guidance office will have the responsibility of meeting with students when there are not program meetings, keeping a log of the student’s success and information on the drug/alcohol abuse, drug screenings, parental involvement, and so forth. Program meetings for all students involved in the drug and alcohol program will be held three times a month at the George Washing Carver High School Gymnasium, taking place after school for three hours from two in the afternoon to five in the evening. Buses will be supplied at all schools to transport the students to the main center at Carver High School, and then will be available to transport these students home. The staff at our meetings will include guidance counselors from every school in the district, teachers, and volunteers from the community. There will be a certified psychiatrist at every meeting to meet with students considered high-risk. If these high-risk students show signs of serious addiction or dependence, extra therapy sessions will be provided through the school district and rehabilitation options will be explored. This drug and alcohol program will be supported by the Montgomery County Department of Human Resources and Covenant Health Centers who implement the Alabama Recovery Center. Both of these state departments will ensure the success of the drug and alcohol program so the students in our community have access to the best resources. The Montgomery Department of Human Resources has social workers who will be able to meet with at-risk and high-risk children and make contact with family members on the students’ behalf. All cases of adolescent drug abuse must be referred to DHR by state law. This resource will be both beneficial for the students and the community. The Alabama Recovery Center have experienced and licensed staff that work with drug and alcohol abuse in adolescents through intensive  out-patients treatments programs (Covenant Health Centers, 2012). They provide counseling options, individual or family oriented, to best meet the required needs of the student. Their substance abuse programs consist of a 12 week intensive outpatient program that includes after care programs and custom programs working in accordance with several state departments such as DHR (Covenant Health Centers, 2012). With the Montgomery County Department of Human Resources and the Alabama Recovery Center, this new drug and alcohol program will have the support it needs to become a success to our students and the community. The positive impacts the drug and alcohol program would have on our community, schools, and school district are endless. The positive impact it would have on our community is to help adolescents that have fallen victim to drug and alcohol abuse and give them the support these students deserve. This will make sure that the children and teens in our community have a chance to a bright future to become productive citizens for this community. The positive impact this program will bring to our schools is intervention and honesty. Students can communicate with their teachers on a personal basis and let them into their private lives. This will allow the schools to become responsible concerning the essential help that is needed for at-risk students. It will give schools the chance to intervene in situations that involve drug and alcohol abuse. Schools will be the most important level where the student body can be reached to deal with the issues of peer pressure and drug/substance abuse. This program will bring positive impacts to the school district by keeping drugs and alcohol off school campuses and away from the student body. The district will observe dramatic changes in the population of students who have abused drugs and alcohol. The district will reap these rewards by becoming part of a positive change by implementing this program. The school district will see the change in students. This will raise the educational rating of the schools in the district. There are several steps necessary to implement this new drug and alcohol program. The first step is to find and receive funding for this drug and alcohol program. â€Å"The Department of Educations Safe and Drug-Free Schools  and Communities Program (SDFSP) provide funds for virtually every school district to support drug and violence prevention programs and to assist in creating and maintaining safe learning environments† (National Drug Control Policy, 1999, para.12). This is where our source of funding will come from. Once we have received proper funding, the second step is to begin training the guidance counselors, teachers, and volunteers who will be helping this program. The third step is to inform the local community about the new drug and alcohol program to spread awareness. The fourth and final step is to present the at-risk program to the school district’s advisory board. They will make the final decision in regard to implementing the program throughout the schools in the district The drug and alcohol program involving the adolescents in our school systems is a serious concern this community needs to address. This program is planned to target at-risk students by giving them a way to recover from their substance abuse. There are over 40,000 adolescents in the state of Alabama who need help concerning drug and alcohol addiction. The schools in our district are the best ways to identify these students and reach them with kindness, caring, and help. If this district were to implement this program, the student body in the Montgomery County school district will reap essential rewards. These students will have a chance at becoming productive citizens of the community. These students will have a chance to break the substance abuse cycle and become something that we all hope our children will and can become. This drug and alcohol program can bring light into the lives of many students suffering from addiction in our community. It is our job as educators and members of this community to help and give at-risk students a chance. References Covenant Health Centers. (2012). Alabama Recovery Center. Retrieved from http://www.covenanthealthcenters.com/alabama-recovery-center/ Indiana University of Pennsylvania. (2012). Identifying and Confronting Students At-Risk. Retrieved from http://www.iup.edu/page.aspx?id=45873 Inspirations for Youth and Families. (2011). Drug and Alcohol Abuse Among Teens in Alabama. Retrieved from http://www.inspirationsyouth.com/Teen-Rehab-Alabama.asp National Drug Control Policy. (1999). Preventing Drug Abuse. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/policy/99ndcs/iv-b.html

Accountability In Administration

Accountability In Administration Accountability in pubic administration is very important aspect to be taken care in every country. The integrity, transparency and accountability are basic principles of public administration and governments must have a check and balance methods to check their bureaucracy for their integrity and honesty. These principles must be adopted and exercised in the country as well as in public administration. The accountability must be done in administration for having transparent and integral government system. Transparency refers to the reliable information keeping and providing citizen services of the country and integrity refers to the honesty and making sure that is no corruption in public and citizens dealings and also no misuse of powers by the public administrators. Public administrators and state heads must develop accountability criteria and the process of accountability must be fair and not one sided. All public administrators and political leaders must be aware of these rules and regulations to abide by so that there are no weaknesses in the process which can be taken for granted by the public servants and politicians. The first basic step in accountability process in public administration is to recognize the efficacy of power. The power or authority is necessary to carry out any development programs and transparency, integrity and accountability can not be obtained by simply cutting powers of administrators (McKinney and Howard, 1998). There is another issue with power that the struggle for attaining more and more powers between bureaucrats, if not eliminated, this conflict can be taken as advantage in future. Accountability is a complex process rather than just tackling the abuses but this practice is essential to attain governmental and public goals. Public trust on departments and government is very important in a democratic country and this can be only achieved by having a fair and strong accountability process in the country. When some public officer misuses its powers and he use these powers for himself instead of using for public service delivery. This also breaks trust of citizens towards public administrators and the government itself. The unethical decisions and acts performed by the public officials are also accountable. The other types of issues in public administration which may arise are blaming of errors on other officer then himself, leaking confidential information, fabricating time/quality/quantit y and reports, misusing of expenses allowed, taking gifts/favors in exchange of preference or personal benefits to clients, taking unnecessary days off and taking extra time for breaks like lunch and dinner etc are some examples of acts by public administrators which must be accountable for ensuring integrity and transparency (Gordon and Milakovich, 2009). In short, accountability is the process for ensuring that public money and powers must be used effectively and with honesty for only public services and country. There must be no misuse of any public power or money by the public administrators and government itself. This also brings trust relationship between the public and the government and its departments. Accountability is a process which must be adopted in every department of the country. Efficiency and Effectiveness Efficiency and effectiveness are important in public administration. Efficiency and effectiveness is desired in every aspect of public administration like utilization of funds by tax payers effectively and efficiency of utilization must be careful, constructive and productive for the public. Effective public administration and services are important because this respond well to the public needs and in a timely situations which are also the political demands of the ruling government and adopt such low cost efficient and effective process which are well targeted, honest, transparent and according to the public interest of the country. Efficiency refers to attaining a goal with least possible cost and resources which is also important to public administration. It is always much more needed to be done in public services and administration than before with spending least resources and achieving more and more productivity. Effectiveness refers to make sure the work done is according to public demands, accountability process is carried out and democratic process is observed (Box, 2009).The decisions made in public sector are according to demands of public which are concluded by the discussions of citizens, discovering issues, developing policies and rules, and managing public administrators to implement these services and programs. Public administration can be effective and efficient if the processes adopted by public administrators are efficient, fast and according to needs of the government and public. E-government processes bring efficiency and effectiveness in the public sector by minimizing the time scales on public level and inter-department communication and processes. E-government enables the public administrators and departments to offer citizen service through one click and their precious time saved. E-government includes online services provided to citizens of the country. This increases the efficiency and effectiveness in spending public money and for right purpose (Cloete and Petroni, 2005). The success of any government and public administration can be measured by efficiency and effectiveness. Peoples point of view regarding the effectiveness and efficiency can be measured time to time by conducting satisfaction surveys, consultations with people directly, and direct individual interaction. The policies must be made keeping in mind about what public requires and where it must be spend and where it must not be spend. In conclusion, efficiency and effectiveness are two basic principles of public administration which must be present in any successful administration. Public administrators who make their policies with consultation of public, consider their requirements and also take feedback about their policies are successful and spending public money honestly, effectively and reliably. The spending of public money must be done according to citizens needs and different tools can be adopted for finding what public needs and requires by the government and public administration. Public services must be delivered effectively and efficiently so that there most of the output can be achieved with the public money and resources. The Legitimacy of the Administrative State The legitimacy of the administrative state claims that it offers opportunities to community engagement and also provides a method for scientific decision making. Rohr (1986) emphasized that the blending of executive, legislative, and judicial powers are aligned according to the separation of powers in a democratic community. He argued that the legitimacy of the administrative state was originally meant for American Senate. It provides a sustainability and permanence to the government system of America and playing a balance role in different constitutional departments of the country government. It also focused on the limitations present in representations in the House of Representatives. The legitimacy of the administrative state empowers future public administrators for playing their own autonomous role by selecting one of constitutional masters where might be clash with one another (Spicer, 2007). Rohr worked on two basic principles: the people of the country if follow illegitimate powers and this is happening in present political environment, a legitimate state must be present to avoid such things. The question of legitimacy of the administrative state was emerged two centuries ago. The legitimacy was questioned because the constitution was not providing base for such an organization. Legitimacy can be accomplished by the state itself by focusing on how it functions and progress for supporting legislations and government. It was supposed before that elected members of the house policy making activities and other relevant activities with evolvement of such policies and how these activities are carried out to present the legitimacy of the administration as well as government itself. Bureaucratic legitimacy is based on the scientific method and professionally. To ensure legitimacy in the administrative state, administrative staff plays their part professionally and specialty. Citizens must trust government because the legitimacy can only be achieved in this case. The legitimacy of the public administrative state can be accomplished by means of expertise, public service, leadership qualities, and vision. Public administrators are responsible for the legitimacy of the state by having direct communication with the community by using their bureaucratic expertise, vision of the government, political leadership and best public service delivery. The legitimacy of the administrative state brings the sustainability to the country and ultimately to the state itself. In conclusion, the legitimacy of the administrative state is the responsibility of the public administrators. They must deliver effective citizen services with honesty and ensuring that the vision of the government is achieved. These efforts bring the legitimacy of the state in view point of the people of the country. The state is considered as stable and strong in terms of its constitution and legislative actions. The legitimacy of administrative state also empowers the government to accomplish their policies and people who elected them to the house must trust them to bring legitimacy. The Politics-Administration Dichotomy The Politics/Administration Dichotomy idea was suggested by Woodrow Wilson in his article The Study of Administration. This article is considered as the base of public administration. The dichotomy offers an enduring image to elected political members, public officers, and students of the public administration. This depicts the real issues of policy and administration decisions which struck in government. Politicians or elected members are liable to make policies agenda and decisions on policies and public servants are liable to administrator programs and providing public services to the community. This dichotomy is meant for eliminating politics in the government departments and leaving politicians to make policies who are elected members by people of democratic country. This has been observed that it is effective to create boundaries of public administration and developing a normative relationship between the public administrators and elected politicians in a democratic community (Svara, 1998). Wilsons suggested that a dichotomy must be present between determinations of government policies must be via politics while its enforcement must be non-political administration. He also emphasized on public sector approach of business like and science of administration. These all formed the public administration early 1940s. This politics-administration dichotomy was used already in Europe a century earlier. It is observed that Wilson essay regarding politics-administration dichotomy is ambiguous (Sapru, 2006). It presented for the first time in American history which focused on the required scientific and systematic study of public administration. His politics-administration dichotomy also urged on professional education which is important of higher education to bring professional bureaucracy in the country. By adopting this dichotomy he appointed on the partisan basis and implies his political power to support his policies and programs. He also successful to bring image of government where administrators were dependent on political and partisan chief executive of the country by adopting approach of centralization and executive leadership while allowing administrator to administrator the internal management matters by giving discretionary powers. Brownlow (1956) was a famous consultant of public administration matters praised the idea of politics-administration dichotomy presented by Woodrow Wilson. In his essay he wrote that Wilson laid a foundation for the study programme which is for everyone in the country who is interested in art or science of public administration. In the modern era, Woodrow Wilsons role in the public administration is not denied. However, it might be argued whether he is founder of the public administration or only a dominant personality for the growth of public administration in America. Wilsons essay about the public administration was part of the administration and politics as the social, political and intellectual ferment till the 19th century. This essay presented the ideas on how to tackle the rapidly changing American economy, social and political-administrative order. The Issue of Representation The issue of representation is present across the globe in public administration. This issue comprises on gender, race, or ethnicity factors. The public administration of any country must be comprised of all races, genders and ethnic groups. The effective representative bureaucracy offers a public administration of all people in terms of demographics so that true representation of all groups is involved in decision making process of the public administration and government. The active representation occurs in bureaucracy when they represent the views of those with similar demographic backgrounds (Kellough, 2010). The representation issues must be tackled down to increase public services quality. Female representation is another major issue in public administration. Because females can only understand better what females of the country need and what policies must be developed to make sure that the public services are offered effectively and efficiently. The demographic diversity must be present in the public officials for tackling diversified issues like religious, ethnic, gender or any other demographic issues. Poor people must be provided with their representation in public administration and government so that all representatives of the community are present. If there is no representation of the poor than there are chances that policies are made only for the landlords, businessmen and corporations. The black people representation is very less in American government and public administration departments and these also created problems for black community. This lack of representation evolved many problems and the trust of black people broken on government (Mosher, 1994). The representation issues are more emerged when there are immigrants and these people representation is not present in the administration. This also creates miscommunication and does not develop trust relationship among immigrants and the public administration. Similarly, the race, ethnic and gender issues creates such problems. The communication gap bears obstacles in developing a trust relationship among government, administration and public. The effectiveness and efficiency is also compromised due to such environment. The representation must be according to the demographics of the country, state and local level. All people must have their proper representation. Females must have their own representation in the public administration as well as in House of Representatives so that all policies and rules are made according to the needs of the females in the country. Minorities must also be represented in the government and in public administration so that the laws must be aligned acco rding to their beliefs and religious independence not compromised. In conclusion, the true representation of every class must be present in the administrative departments and government. This true representation enables government and administrators to develop and implement according to the needs of the people in specific demographics. Equal gender rights must be present in the country and community and this is only possible than there is equal representation of males and females in decision making process. The responsible public administrator Cooper presented the idea of The responsible public administrator in which suggested that the primary responsibility of the public administrator to deal with public interest with honesty and common good responsibility emerged from the fiduciary role of public administration (Boje, 2008). In this the public administrators were the individuals possessing and relied on their own expertise and neutrality. The action taken by such administrators was relied on the scientific and neutral principles. Cooper emphasized on that responsible public administrator knows how to decide an ethical choice in which one might be involved in right action versus wrong action and even sometimes right action versus right action. The individual must build up the skills of moral imagination which involves the capability to create a movie in our minds which must consider the dynamics of the environment in which ethical choice must be taken care (Menzel, 2007). The goal for the responsible public administrator is to bring up the ethical situation of the public servant and develop creative reflection of this situation while not only laying down the public service values (Cooper, 1990). This emphasized on how the public servants are responsible to act ethically and not to take advantage of their powers. Also, public administrators must behave ethically during their public service and do the value-based decisions during while performing their duties. The responsible public administrator must know how to act in a situation where the right action versus the wrong action and in some cases, right action against the right action. The decisions for such actions must be ethical no matter what environment is and also according to values of the government business. Coopers framework provides a solid base for all aspects of public administration involved in decision making and make sure that the public administrator must balance the professional, personal, and organizational values. This framework enables the public servants while they are performing their duties to take decisions neutrally and ethically. Their decisions must be according to the rules and regulations of the government and must not violate any political and governmental rules. The framework not only literate the public administrators about ethics, in fact it demands the actions ethically and practically neutral. In conclusion, the responsible public administrators are important for the democratic government and citizens of the country because these administrators take decisions on all public and national matters neutrally and ethically and also take care of their actions must be according to the law. The democratic government must be successful if they have responsible public servants because there are the people who act upon the government decisions. The democratic government only succeeds by fair play and the public administrators are one of key players of this fair play. These administrators take decisions based upon actions which are right and valuable for community and the country rather than just decision making.

Major Earthquakes are Inevitable in Indiana’s Future Essays -- Earthqu

Major Earthquakes are Inevitable in Indiana’s Future An earthquake felt throughout the Midwest on June 18 was a shaky reminder that earthquakes can occur anywhere. The earthquake, whose epicenter was located north of Evansville, was felt through most of Indiana and surrounding states, as reported by the Indianapolis Star. The quake was not the largest in Midwestern history, only registering a 5.0 on the Richter scale, nor did it do much damage. However, it was a wake-up call reminding those who haven’t paid attention to past warnings about the possibility of larger, more destructive earthquakes. Earthquakes, by Webster’s dictionary definition, are, â€Å"a shaking or trembling of the earth that is volcanic or tectonic in origin.† World Book Encyclopedia reports scientists believe that more than 8,000 earthquakes occur each day without causing damage. A little more than 1,000 each year are strong enough to be felt. Earthquakes occur in the general sense, anywhere on land. Other earthquakes go by different names, such as volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, large tidal wave storms that occur underwater, primarily in the Pacific Ocean. Earthquakes are a natural part of the Earth’s evolution. Scientific evidence leads many geologists to believe that all of the land on Earth was at one point in time connected. Because of plate tectonic movements or earthquakes, continental drift occurred separating the one massive piece of land in to the seven major continents today. Further evidence supports this theory, starting with the Mid-Atlantic ridge, a large mass of plate tectonics, which are increasing the size of the Atlantic Ocean while shrinking the Pacific. Some scientists believe that the major plate moveme... ...nd others for injuries, look for and extinguish small fires, inspect your home for damage, listen to the radio for instructions, and expect aftershocks. Tectonic plate movement can occur as close as two and up to 450 miles below the Earth’s surface. According to the Indiana Geological Survey, Indiana’s fault lines are further underground than those in California and Alaska, causing more minor quakes in the Midwest. However, Hoosiers should heed the recent earthquake as a warning for future quakes. Earthquakes can and do happen in Indiana, and almost anywhere else in the world. This is the one natural disaster that people cannot avoid no matter their location on Earth. And, being unprepared can have devastating results. Samuelson said, â€Å"Another earthquake or series of them the size of the New Madrid earthquakes is inevitable in Indiana’s future.†