Anishnabe change makers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Anishnabe change makers - Essay Example The Anishinaabe people all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin languages of the Algonquian language family. One of the Anishinaabe change makers was George Manuel, born back in February 21st 1921 to Maria and Rainbow on the Secwepemc side of Shuswap people. Her mother, Maria later married Louie Manuel, and hence George inherited his second name. He started school at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. During this time he was, diagnosed with tuberculosis and later transferred to Indian TB hospital near Chilliwack, British Columbia. During his spell there, George met Marceline Paul; a Kootenai woman from St. Marys Indian Band and made her his first wife. They both married and together, had six children. He gained strength from his family, which added to his leadership quality. George started developing the urge of taking responsibility as a political leader which began to be a developing strain on his life in marriage. First elected as the chief of Neskon Indian Band and during the year 1959 and after the death of his mentor Andy Paul, he took the responsibility as the head of North American Indian Brotherhood. After he had broken up with Marceline, the federal Department of Indian Affairs offered him a position with the Cowichan Tribes at Duncan where he worked as a community development officer. As a change maker, George felt the need to have a vision for his life and his people in general. He opted to work for his community for the aboriginal people and the indigenous people of the world as well. He recognized that for aboriginal societies to effect change, the members of the community had to work together as one in order to achieve this goal. George moved from his position and advanced to a role with the Alberta brotherhood where he developed a strong and firm working relationship with the Cree political leader Harold

Dont blame Wal-Mart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dont blame Wal-Mart - Essay Example The threat of millions of American shoppers to Wal-Mart is another issue, which is discussed in details in the Reich's essay. Reich in his essay has not only highlighted problems, but he also suggests solutions. No doubt honest living is everyone's right and we can see the same case in this crisis. Both, the workers of Wal-Mart and other shoppers need an honorable livelihood. The main problem is not that both sides like different things. The problem is that both sides do not have the complete picture. I also like the convenience that a one-stop shopping place like Wal-Mart offers me. Six days a week, I work like a slave, but on the day I shop at Wal-Mart, I feel like the Queen! I love their service with a smile and their clean stores. Most of all, searching for bargains and seeing so many beautiful things give me pure joy. I cannot buy everything I like, but seeing those colorful items on display gives me something to look forward to, something to save for, a future treat to savor for myself, my kids, or for our home. A few hours shopping at Wal-Mart helps me rest and forget the many troubles in life. Walking through the shopping aisles of Wal-Mart is like a relaxing walk in the park, and this is what I want to continue enjoying, at least once a week. The essay made me think of how we can strike

Techniques to Increase Student Enrolment

Techniques to Increase Student Enrolment International Student Recruitment at University of Wales (Positioning, Target Market, Services  and Advantages) ABSTRACT: The higher education market globally is becoming increasingly dynamic and competitive. Options for students have increased at a dramatic rate. The education industry is regarded no less then any other business, prospecting and attracting students from around the world. Consequently, we can say with utmost confidence that it is misleading to separate the word marketing from education industry. Students have been over loaded with information due to globalization, and realize that to survive in this competitive market, they need to equip themselves with the best knowledge. INTRODUCTION: The university once established can serve as an efficient self recruitment tool for students. Universities have been spending so much on recruitment activities but not on the right track. It is essential for universities to help, identify and clarify what their name in particular means and how it is different from other alternatives.  The role of a university is to widen horizons and challenge existing paradigms. This university will pursue these goals in their more traditional sense. However, the uniqueness of the institution means that special focus will be placed upon widening the horizons of its students and raising their own confidence to achieve their full potential.   The title of the University underscores our commitment to the region within which its campuses are located whilst reaffirming its responsibility, as a university, to the wider academic and international community. Mazarrol (1998) suggested that higher education is a considerable marketable service and it possess all the necessary characteristics of services identified earlier by Zeithaml et al (1985). Among the characteristics, difficulty in marketing intangibility of services prevails more in education industry as it is difficult to define (Mazzarol, 1998). Marketing of educational institutions in UK started in 1980’s (Brown and Oplatka, 2006) and due to increasing competitive environment, nationally and internationally, universities are sensing the need to market themselves aggressively and after careful situational analysis, they carefully need to adapt strategies to effectively position their in the mind of students (Ivy, 2001). Higher education has become a positional good in the sense that students, parents and employers view some institutions as offering better social life and future prospects and vice versa, institutes seek for the best students (Hirsch, 1976; Maringe, 2006).   University of Wales is already enormously diverse on any number of dimensions, including ethnicity and nationality. The University celebrates this diversity and looks further to widen its international reputation and appeal. Any firm, no matter which business they are in, works in vacuum. You need to observe actively which environment you are working in, considering all the external factors which might influence your business. Competitors, especially, have a massive impact on company’s profitability. Rivalry among existing competitors takes the familiar form of jockeying for a better position, pushing companies to adapt tactics such as price cuts, product innovation etc in order to have competitive advantage. All these devices one way or the other, affect the overall profitability of the firm. BACKGROUND: University of Wales is s a confederal  Pontypridd. It also accredits courses abroad and has over 100,000 students. The Chancellor of the University of Wales is  Archbishop of Wales, Dr. Barry Morgan. The Vice-Chancellor is Professor Marc Clement The University was composed of  Privy Council  to change its name to the University of Wales, Newpo Cardiff University and the University Of Wales College Of Medicine (UWCM) merged on  2005  to study other subjects are awarded Cardiff University degrees The University has a clear mission as a regional institution which aims to extend opportunity and widen participation in further and higher education and, to that end, commits itself primarily to teaching and learning rather than research. It is a relatively large institution, with some 31,000 registered students in 1996 97, of whom 65 per cent were studying part-time, 64 per cent were women and 59 per cent were aged over 25. 48 per cent of students described themselves as non-white. 11 per cent of students were from non-UK EU countries, and 22 per cent were from countries outside the EU. An important feature of the University is that some 22 per cent of its students are seeking further education qualifications, for which the University is not the awarding body, and for which it bears no formal responsibility for the standards of the awards. Similarly, many of the vocationally-based undergraduate and postgraduate programmed are accredited by professional or statutory bodies, whose standards and quality criteria the University is obliged to meet. In some of these cases, however, the University itself has been accredited by the awarding body (for BTEC courses, for example) and thus has effective sole control of quality and standards. A further important feature of the University is the strength of commitment of its staff to the institutional mission. We were constantly struck by the way in which this permeated many of our meetings with staff at all levels, from the Vice-Chancellor to the most junior support staff. The mission is ambitious: given the remarkable variety of the student body, the University has set itself a very demanding objective in seeking to provide higher and further educational opportunities which are comparable in standard of outcome, as well as quality of experience, with the generality of higher education institutions in the UK. It is a tribute to the Universitys staff that its mission remains a source of inspiration despite the difficulties that many of them have experienced in recent years. Briefs of Aims and Objectives: Research Aim: University of Wales  was established long time back providing services to facilitate students in attaining better education at different levels. It is facing fierce competition from other universities in London. Preliminary research has indicated that students fail to make associations about the positioning about key benefits of the University over its competitors and cannot identify a unified identity. Therefore, the University clearly needs to position itself against competitors in order to remain attractive in the domestic and international market. Research Objectives: In order to satisfy the aim for which this research is being undertaken, following objectives need to be accomplished which will lead to provide us the clear view of current position of  University of Wales. To systematically collect data from current students about perception of University in relation to their competitors. To identify the needs and expectations of students from the University. To identify the current positioning of  University of Wales. To critically analyze the findings about current positioning. Depending on the analysis, to reinforce the current image of its brand. OR, to re-position the  University of Wales  image. Finding developments necessary for university to make in order to meet gaps in provision. Key Words:  Positioning; Target Market, Service; Higher Education; Research Question: Q1) what are the perceptions of students about the  University of Wales  in relation to competitors? Q2) what is the current positioning of the  University of Wales? Hypothesis Perception HO1:  University of Wales  has no effect on perception of students. H11:  University of Wales  has positive effect on student’s perception. Positioning H02:  University of Wales  has no effect on to attracting students. H12:  University of Wales  has positive effects on attracting students. Research Methodology: In order to accomplish the end objectives for which this research is being conducted, both qualitative and quantitative techniques will be used, which are discussed further. Data collection, both primary and secondary has been divided into two phases. Phase 1 constitutes exploratory research aiming to look for secondary data from different sources as well as qualitative method of conducting focus groups in order to gather primary data necessary for the next step. Phase 2 accompanies quantitative techniques in the form of survey to gather finalized results to be analyzed. Data Collection (Phase 1): Exploratory research is investigation informal studies to provide background information. It is not intended to provide conclusive evidence from which to follow a concrete direction, rather it provides a basis that subsequent research will be a requirement to achieve final results. The basic purpose behind exploratory research is to exhaust inexpensive readily available data which may help to prevent mistakes like rushing into expensive detailed surveys (Zikmund, 1997). Exploratory research can be conducted using various techniques. For our research objectives, and considering the mind in limitations, the most suitable are secondary data and focus groups. Secondary Data:  Also termed as holistic data previously collected for some project other than the one at hand. It is relatively inexpensive and readily available, but we need to make sure it is consistent with the problem definition as they are not designed for the purpose to serve research needs (Zikmund, 1997). External sources where we can gather secondary data for this research includes Libraries (Huge source of information including databases, books and periodicals, journal articles) British Library,  University of Wales  library , EBSCO database, Emerald Management full text database, Athens DA Resources etc. The Internet (Provides secondary data, authenticity is a bit doubtful but in many cases huge information can be acquired). Focus Groups:  The second step of phase 1 is conducting focus group which is a qualitative method of data gathering. It is an unstructured, free flowing interview with a small group of people. Focus groups are not rigidly structured; rather they are of a flexible discussion format. The moderator introduces the topic to the participants who in turn carry out the discussion and as this discussion progresses, new topics emerge. It freely allows the participants to truly reflect their feelings and emotions in their own words (Zikmund, 1997). The role of the moderator is to ensure that all members participate in the session and none dominates it. Though focus groups are the least expensive ways of gathering information; it should be kept in mind that data gathered from focus groups only provide qualitative information. Another limitation to them is that since the members are not selected scientifically, they may not truly reflect the opinions of the whole population at large. However, t he exploratory information collected through focus groups can be a basis for further scientific research. We will be conducting two focus groups of 6 students each. One group will contain a random sample from the international students and other from the domestic students. The objective of the focus groups is to generate further insights about students and the factors they might feel important to them in their ultimate decision of selecting a University. We may or may not come up with factors other than discussed earlier. There is no scientific method to analyze qualitative data. Therefore recording of the whole focus group discussion will be carried out which will help to reduce any risk of biases. Face expressions is a short coming, and it solely based on moderators interpretation. Data Collection (Phase 2): The second phase of collecting data is by gathering quantitative data by asking respondents to fill in the finalized self administered questionnaire. We have selected a sample size of 200 students purely based on judgment and keeping in mind the limitations of the study. However, if further we might feel that the sample size is not justified; further alterations may be carried out. Non probability sampling technique is one in which sample is selected on personal judgment or experience and the probability of any member from the population is not known and within that framework, we will be using Quota Sampling (Zikmund, 1997). Quota sampling is a procedure which ensures that all the sub groups present in the population will represent the sample to the extent on the desire of investigator. A logical drawback of quota sample is it tends to select people which are easily available therefore careful supervision is required in order to gather a true representative sample of the population. Obviously, the logic for using quota sampling for questionnaires is that we want student representing  University of Wales  from different geographical backgrounds and level of education to be part of the sample. Quota allocation is explained below: Total Sample = 200 100 International Students 100 Domestic Students 50 Post Graduate Students 50 Graduate Students 50 Post Graduate Students 50 Graduate Students 10 Students from each geographic division America’s Asia Europe Australia Africa’s 10 Students from each geographic division America’s Asia Europe Australia Africa’s Data Analysis: The number of questions in the final questionnaire is not known as yet since they will depend on the findings from the primary data from focus groups. However, a few sample questions are listed below (not necessarily the part of final questionnaire): Q: The achievements of the institution for you? Q: The  University of Wales  avenues for religious practices? Q: Stable political economy of the host country is important? The most appropriate technique for measuring the attitude of students’ for this research is through Likert scale which is a type on an ordinal scale. It is a bipolar attitude measurement technique most widely used which allows respondents to rate how strongly they agree or disagree with these carefully constructed statement. Therefore, for our research we will construct a 5 point Likert Scale ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree and weights are assigned to answers accordingly. An example is shown below: Q: The achievements of the institution for you? Each dimension as mentioned will contain certain questions which will reflect the attitude towards the overall dimension. Therefore in order to achieve this, we will use the method of cross-tabulation. It is a technique for organizing data by groups, categories or classes facilitating comparison between them). For individual question, calculation of confidence interval will be conducted using the t distribution. This will help us in finding out attitude of students that how many respond favorably or unfavorably to a certain question. The results will be measured and analyzed with the help of most extensively used statistical software called SPSS. Once data is input, immediate reports are generated and there is no probability of human calculation error. Conclusion: The aspect of positioning university brands in students mind is an increasingly growing phenomenon and now a pre requisite for institutions to effectively compete in domestic and international markets. Options for students have proliferated at a progressive rate. Globalization and competitive employment environment at the same time have lead students to treat education as a return on investment in order to safeguard their careers. The research will help the  University of Wales  establish a unique position in relation to its competitor which is favorable to students. By doing so, it can develop an enhanced image and also attract more students for a higher market share. Also, as mentioned before there are not many studies providing positioning dimensions for universities. Therefore, our exploratory research might lead us to come up with additional dimensions which can be helpful for universities in future to use as a base for positioning strategy. Once a positioning strategy has been identified and adopted by  University of Wales  based on this research, future research may be conducted about its validity and may serve as a case study for future work. References: Aaker, D. A. Shansby, G. J (1982), ‘Positioning Your Product’  Business Horizon, May/Jun, 56-62. Blankson, C. and Kalafatis S. (1999), ‘Issues and challenges in the positioning of service brands: a review’,  Journal of Product and Brand Management, Vol. 8, No 2, p 106 -118 Brown, J., Oplatka, I., (2006) ‘Universities in a competitive global marketplace: A systematic review of the literature on higher education marketing’, International Journal of Public Sector Management,  Vol. 19/4, 316-338 Cowell. D., (1989), ‘The Marketing of Services’, Heinemann, London. Gray. J, Fam. S, Llanes. A, (2003), ‘Branding Universities in Asian Markets’,  Journal of Product and Brand Management’, Vol. 12, No 2, p 108-120. Hirsch, R. (1976), ‘Social Limits to Growth, Harvard University Press’, Cambridge, MA Hooley, G.; Broderick, A.; Moller, K. (1998),  Ã¢â‚¬ËœCompetitive positioning and the resource-based view of the firm’,  Journal of Strategic Marketing, June, Vol. 6 Issue 2, p97-115 Ivy, J. (2001), â€Å"Higher education institution image: a correspondence analysis approach†,  International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 15 No. 6, pp. 276-82 James, R., Baldwin, G. and McInnis. C, (1999), ‘Which University? The Factors Influencing Choices of Prospective  Undergraduates’, Evaluation and Investigations Programme, Higher Education Division, Australia. Kalafatis S., Tsogas M., and Blankson C., (2000), ‘Positioning Strategies in Business Markets’,  Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Vol. 5, No 6, p 416-437. Kotler, P. (2000), ‘Marketing management’, 10th ed., London: Prentice Hall Levitt T., (1981), ‘Marketing Intangible Products and Products Intangible’,  Harvard Business Review, May-June, p 94- 102 Maringe. F, (2006), ‘University and course choice Implications for positioning, recruitment and Marketing’,  International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 20, No. 6, pp. 466-479 Mazzarol T., (1998), ‘Critical success factors for international education Marketing’,  International Journal of Educational Management, 12/4, 163–175 Naude P., and Ivy J., (1999) ‘The Marketing Strategies of Universities of in the United Kingdom’,  The International Journal of Educational Management, 13/3, p 126-134 Nguyen N. and Leblanc G. (2001), ‘Image and reputation of higher education institutions in students’ retention decisions’,  International Journal of Educational Management,  Volume 15, Issue 6, p 303 – 311 Porter, M. E. (1996), ‘What is Strategy?’  Harvard Business Review,  Nov-Dec, p61-78 Ries, A., Trout, J. (1986), ‘The Battle for your Mind’,  McGraw-Hill, Singapore Sekaran, U. (2003), ‘Research Methods for Business: A skill building approach’, John Wiley Sons, USA. University for Jobs (2007), extracted from University of Surrey Mission statement, available at: www.surrey.ac.uk (accessed 20 May 2007).

Science in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Hard Times by Charles Dicken

The 19th century was a time of massive change socially, politically and scientifically. This time saw the rise of Imperialism and of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, seeing massive changes in the way industry was run. Also during this time the literary movements of Romanticism and Victorianism emerged. Romanticism dealt with the issues of reality versus illusion, childhood and man versus nature. The first book I will examine in this essay, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, comes from this literary period and focuses on the man versus nature theme, namely the theme of scientific development and it’s contrast to nature. The second book I will look at in this essay comes from the Victorian period of the 19th century. This period saw the rise of the Industrial Revolution and of huge social and political change. Hard Times by Charles Dickens deals with these issues very closely, focussing mainly on the rise of industry in Britain and its effects on the people of Britain. Bot h of these novels challenge the social, political and scientific developments of the 19th century, namely the advent of science and technology. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has become almost a myth in our culture; it so deeply probes the collective cultural psyche and our fear of science and progress. â€Å"Frankenstein is our culture’s most penetrating literary analysis of the psychology of modern ‘scientific’ man, of the dangers inherent in scientific research, and the exploitation of nature and of the female implicit in a technological society† (Mellor, 1988:38). The interesting thing about Frankenstein is that there can be multiple readings of the text. It can be seen as a conservative criticism of science, a Promethean belief of the unlimited progress of science, the feminist anti-female principle angle to the story, even a religion versus science story. What I will explore through this essay is each of these readings and shed some light on this wonderful novel. â€Å"The value of Mary Shelley’s novel lies not in presenting a clear morale but encouraging the readers to make up th eir own† (members.aon.at.htm). The most obvious and well-known theory of the story of Frankenstein is that of a warning to the dangers of science: â€Å" Mary Shelley’s implicit warning against possible dangers inherent in the technological developments of modern science† (Mellor, 1988:114). Shelley was very interested in ... ... David Copperfield and Hard Times, New York: Macmillan Press. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Small, C. (1972) Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein-Tracing the Myth, Pittsburgh: University Of Pittsburgh Press. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shelley, M. (1996) Frankenstein: A Norton Critical Edition, New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tambing, J. (1995) Dickens, Violence and The Modern State, London: Macmillan Press. 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ashbury, M (2001) Representation of Industrialization in Dickens’ Hard Times [Online]. Available: http://www.colourpurple.com [Accessed 25th April 2005]. 10.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Allingham, P. (2000) Charles Dickens’ Hard Times for These Times as an Industrial Novel [Online]. Available: http://www.victoriaweb.com [Accessed: 25th April 2005]. 11.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rohrmoser, A. (2004) The Origin of a Myth: Mary Shelley's Novel Frankenstein [Online]. Available: http://membersaon.at.htm [Accessed: 25th April 2005]. 12.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oldham, R. (2000) Charles Dickens’ Hard Times: Romantic Tragedy of Proletariat Propaganda [Online]. Available: http://www.pillowrock.com [Accessed: 25th April 2005]. 13.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Frankenstein: a science-fiction novel or a scientific fiction? [Online], (2001). Available: http://gala.univ-perp.fr [Accessed: 25th April 2005].

Carbon dioxide Essay

Do not write outside the box around each page or on blank pages. ? Do all rough work in this book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked. Information The marks for questions are shown in brackets. ? The maximum mark for this paper is 45. ? You are expected to use a calculator where appropriate. ? You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers. ? Advice ? In all calculations, show clearly how you work out your answer. (Jan12CHy1H01) K76507 6/6/6 CHY1H 2 Answer all questions in the spaces provided. Do not write outside the box 1 Petroleum diesel is a fuel made from crude oil. Biodiesel is a fuel made from vegetable oils. To make biodiesel, large areas of land are needed to grow crops from which the vegetable oils are extracted. Large areas of forest are cleared by burning the trees to provide more land for growing these crops. Leave as forest Forest Produce food Burn the trees Grow crops Produce biodiesel 1 (a) 1 (a) (i) Use this information and your knowledge and understanding to answer these questions. Carbon neutral means that there is no increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Swallowing Stones

In Joyce McDonald’s novel, â€Å"Swallowing Stones† the protagonist, Michael MacKenzie, continues to make bad choices which lead to trouble. On Michael MacKenzie’s seventeenth birthday, he got a . 45-70 Winchester rifle from his grandpa. Michael figured he’d try out his new gun. Michael and a friend, Joe Sadowski, decided to shoot the rifle on the Fourth of July. They had no idea of the repercussion that it would cause when they did. The bullet that they fired traveled four blocks over and hit a man named Charlie Ward in the head as he was fixing his roof.Michael was on his way to his driving test at the D. M. V. when on the radio, it was broadcasted that Charlie Ward was mysteriously killed by a bullet from the sky on the Fourth of July. Michael finally realizes that he fired the shot that killed Charlie Ward. Michael panics and decides to hide his rifle in his back yard under a pile of wood. When the police go around from door to door, interviewing peopl e and asking if anyone had any firearms, they get to Michael’s house. When the police ask if they had any firearms, Michael’s dad volunteers the information that his son owns a . 5-70 Winchester rifle.The police ask to see the rifle, but Michael makes up a story that it was stolen from his friends car, thus making his friend an accessory. Jenna, Charlie Ward’s daughter, is hunting for her fathers killer, she has pictured him as a faceless killer, a cold hearted man, but she finally hears from the town gossip that the shot came from the MacKenzie house during a party. Soon the police begin to think that it was Michael who fired the shot and they search the property, and they use metal detectors to try and find the gun, but come up with only a shell casing from the rifle. Swallowing Stones Mark Romero Tigner English 9 Period 3 October 19, 2012 Swallowing Stones Michael Mackenzie will think that he is having the best day of his life on his seventeenth birthday party on the Fourth of July, because in that moment he does not know that he has accidentally killed a man. In Swallowing Stones, Joyce McDonald has written about a teenage boy whose life will turn upside down when he finds out he has killed Jenna Ward’s father, Charlie Ward.The Briarwood police department desperately looks for the killer while Michael hides it from everyone except for a few of his friends, making them accessories. When Michael hears about Charlie’s death on the radio his best friend Joe Sadowski, who was with him when he shot his . 45-70 Winchester rifle, tried to convince him that it wasn’t him who killed the man. Soon, the two friends find out that it was him and Michael tries to hide the evidence. The police manage to narrow their search to about forty kids that were at Mi chael’s party.Michael starts to feel unsafe around everyone except one friend, Amy Ruggerio. He visits her every day after work, but she starts to feel uncomfortable with him. She finally tells him that she saw him and Joe walk out of the woods with the rifle on the day of his party. While this was happening, Jenna kept dreaming with Michael and a huge tree but she didn’t know why. She also thought she saw him waiting outside her house on some nights, watching her. She begins to question why. Whenever she thinks about the killer Michael’s face pops into her mind.Everybody started to suspect it was Joe so Michael starts feeling guilty. Finally, he takes the rifle and drives to police station to confess. On his way there, he visits the Spirit Tree, a huge tree in the woods that Joe and he visited as little kids to hang out. When he gets there he’s surprised to find Jenna sleeping next to the tree. He decides to wait until she wakes up to tell her the truth. Joyce McDonald uses many forms of literary language and devices, such as similes-a figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared, and etaphors-a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance. â€Å"The windows were open and the curtains swelled like gently billowing sails in the breeze† is one example of a simile. Another would be â€Å"His tongue felt like an oversized cotton ball. † A metaphor would be â€Å"He was a walking time bomb. † Another metaphor would be â€Å"The whole night had been an emotional roller-coaster ride. †Michael Mackenzie did change throughout the story. At the beginning, when he found out about Charlie’s death, he told himself that it could’ve been anyone who fired that bullet. After time he starts to wonder if it was him that night that had killed Charlie. The police also provide evidence suggesting that the bullet had come from the woods behind Michael’s house. He realizes it was him, but he keeps it a secret. At the end of the story he changes though. His guilt was eating him alive.He decides to turn himself in to the police and not get any of his friends in anymore harm. He also did it so that Jenna knew who it was that had killed her father. So she wouldn’t have to live the rest of her life not knowing who it was. Swallowing Stones was a magnificent novel. Joyce McDonald did a splendid job in this work of art. She made it so that the reader could really feel the suspense in the story. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It’s a really good story and most people would enjoy it.