Things Fall Apart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Things Fall Apart - Essay Example For the first time, an African intellectual and researcher was portraying the Igbo society from the nationalistic perspective. Realization dawned on the thinking Achebe that the untold story about the Africans must be told by an African writer, and not by the white-skinned historian or the novelist, through their colored glasses and biased pen. His mission was to prove the original beauty about complexity and sophistication of African society which the colonial power termed as the society of savages. The colonial powers had caused irreparable damage to country’s social, cultural and political fabric. The historical clock had taken the full circle. The publication of the novel came as the warning shot to the colonial powers, when it saw the light of the day two years before Nigeria’s independence and series novels on the subject of colonist racist claims and hailing African culture, history and society appeared on the scene. Achebe can be considered as the architect for launching the literary movement for the artistic and cultural renaissance of Nigeria and Africa and challenging the colonial-inspired, coated and opinionated literature that mocked at the profound African traditions. Achebe demonstrated how pen was mightier than the sword. By depicting the various facets of just one character, Okonkwo, Chinua Achebe informs us so much about the African Culture and lifestyles prevailing then, and their customs and traditions. The description of his physical strength is symbolic of the physical strength of the African tribal communities as a whole. His father was a lazy man, good for nothing and given to drinks. The nature and aptitude of Okonkwo was exactly opposite. And only an African author of the caliber of Achebe describes his traits in a befitting manner. The European writers would not have the writing skills to create a character like Okonkwo, because they are unable to gauge the depth of the inner world of the

Marketing Plan of Japanese Steakhouse Benihana

Marketing Plan of Japanese Steakhouse Benihana Benihana a Japanese steakhouse restaurant with hibachi concept commenced in 1964 in West Side, New York. This restaurant was founded by Hiroaki (Rocky) Aoki, an opportunity seeker, who identified the untapped needs in the American restaurant industry after having done a thorough analysis of the market. His concept serve the unfulfilled needs of the market especially the middle-income businessmen by providing exotic surroundings, the authentic Japanese ambiance, as well as offering new experience by having chefs cooked in front of customers. The idea quickly gained the popularity; resulted in high profits and rapid expansion. This service concept brought forth the competitive advantage to Benihana restaurant. By having chefs outside cooking; it allows the restaurant to save labor costs and offer more attentive services. The menu limitation also lowers the costs. The space was fully utilized to maximize the profits. The costs structure and utilization of space will be explained in detailed. Moreover, the highly trained skilled chefs and creative PR and marketing campaign were also the key contribution to the success of the restaurant. Despite the success, the rapid expansion can often time be a problem since, company may not have the resources and the solid plan for the growth strategy. Rocky wanted to diversify his business into retail and fast food chain. In addition, this new innovative service concept may cause confusion as to what the restaurant core product or services really are. This report aims to address the issues mentioned by evaluating Rockys diversification plan, identify the core products and services, come up with alternatives which were first to open new Beni Trendy restaurant which target younger generation and After Benis for dessert and come up with action plan. Issue Statement Rocky Aika is a man of great dreams but his dreams may be too big for him to be able to achieve it. He plans to grow his business to other sections of the market especially the younger generation but in order for Rocky to be able to grow his business and to maximize the profits, the expansion plans need to be strategically revised and planned. Currently, Rocky is planning his diversification strategy, but this has to be evaluated and for the purpose of successfully growing Rocky needs to first understand his business and market. Data Analysis Benihana, a Teppanyaki Japanese restaurant with hibachi concept was a major success. The service concept was new and unique to the market which differentiated itself from the typical existing restaurants. The major differences of the concept were: The restaurant eliminated the back of house conventional kitchen while instead providing hibachi tables with well-trained chefs cooking in front of customers. This concept allows the labor cost to be cut down to 10-12% of gross sales and attentive service. Benihana provided limited menus, which resulted in reduction of food storage and wastage costs. The authentic Japanese ambiance or Japanese touch was brought to the restaurant through importing all furniture from Japan including walls, ceilings, beams and decorations. Benihana better utilize their space. Normal restaurants require 30-35% space for back of the house meanwhile Benihana needed only 22% of the total space. By focusing on the above mentioned points, Benihana was able to reduce their costs, thus become more profitable. For instance, Chicago branch was the most profitable unit with the gross profit around 1.3 million per year. The reason for this was that the managements ability to keep their expenses to a minimal with food 30%, labor 10%, advertising 10%, management 4%, and rent 5 %. Benihana Cost and Typical Restaurant Cost Structure The above income statement shows the profits that Benihana in Chicago was making during the year 1972. Some of the amounts were already given including the gross sales, food and beverage sales, the percentage of food cost, labor cost, advertising costs, management cost, and rent. However, some other items needed to be calculated or assumed such as the percentage of beverage cost, the total sales and the income tax. The gross sales were given to be $1,300,000, thus the food and beverage would be $910,000 and $390,000 respectively. The food costs that are 30% of food sales would give an amount of $273,000 and the beverage costs that was averaged to be 20% of the beverage sales would equal to $78,000. Therefore, the gross profit would equal to gross sales minus total costs of goods sold which is equal to $949,000. The labor, advertising, management and rent expenses are expected to be 10%, 10%, 4% and 5% of gross sales respectively. The expenses were calculated to be $130,000, $130,000, $52,000, and $65,000 which totalled to $377,000 or total operating costs. The net profit before income tax on the other hand is equal to gross profit minus total operating expenses or $949,000 minus $377,000 which gives the value of $572,000. To calculate the net profit after tax, the assumption was made that the income tax was 14% which is based on the percentage of tax that needs to be charged must be given but the case does not give any such information, so for the purpose the assumption assume that the income tax was at 14% so in this case the value would be $80,080 which is $572,000*20/100. So the net profit after tax will be $572,000 minus $80,080 which calculates to $491,920. In order to have a clearer picture of the difference between Benihana and typical restaurant the percentages of each item were compared. The food and beverages sales percentages of Benihana are simlar to that of a typical restaurant which were around 70% for food and 30% for beverages. Nevertheless, the major difference lies in the food and beverage costs which was approximately 50% in Benihana whereas in typical restaurant would be equivalent to 73-88% or about 23-38% higher. The total expenses percentages of Benihana comes up to 29% which composed of labor, advertising, management and rent, meanwhile the operating expenses percentages of a typical restaurant total to 42.25-57%. It is apparent that Benihanas service concept, service operation and its delivery system enable the restaurant to significantly reduce costs and gain higher profits, thereby became more competitive than its competitors. The Chefs Salary Chefs were vital element to the success of the Benihana. Therefore, it is extremely important to estimate the influence of their salaries on the restaurant profitability. The case provided that in one unit there were approximately 30 staff which were 6-8 chefs, 6-8 waitresses, 4-5 managers, 2-3 barman, and about 8-11 bus staff and dishwashers. The total labor cost as calculated above was 10% of gross sales which is equivalent to $130,000 which must be divided among all the employees excluding the managers. In order to estimate the chefs salaries, each employee salaries will be first estimated. The assumption is made that waitresses and barmen would have roughly the same amount of salary which is approximate $3,000-4,000 per person per year or about 2-3% of total labor cost. The 6-11 bus staff and dishwashers could earn around $1,500-3,000 per person per year or 1-2% of total labor cost for each person. Given the assumptions above, the chefs salary would be around $10,000-12,000/year. Benihana Production System Benihana has an efficient process flow from that of the production process to the service delivered to the customer, providing them with the ultimate dining experience. The average dining time period is one hour which does not include the bar time. This identifies the efficiency of the employees, the hibachi style of cooking and seating arrangement. The food is prepared in front of the seated guest and is delivered to them with a personalised service; at the same time ensuring that high quality standards of food production are met. The restaurant has a well-organized layout plan which enhances their service delivery. It has been designed in a very systematic so as to facilitate the smooth flow of the staff and the guest entering the restaurant. The production system has been focused, which can be interpreted to mean, the entire production service within the restaurant from time of bringing the guest and staff together , seating them, taking their order, delivering the food, preparing the food till the time of guest leaving the restaurant. On carefully examination of the layout for the Benihana, it can be seen that the entrance leads directly to the lounge. See Figure 1. The guest can relax and have a drink in the lounge which has a seating capacity of about 50, while a table is being organised for them as the turnover time period ranges to about an hour. They are then escorted to the dining area in batches 4, 8 or 16. The 112 seat restaurant has again been planned with great efficiency. There is one chef and one waitress for every two hibachi tables, thus the designing process has been made keeping this in mind and at the same time this reduces the labour costs. The back area space has been efficiently utilised. The kitchen includes a pre-preparation area, hot area and post production area, which are separated to avoid confusion and chaos. The washing area is close to the kitchen and the restaurant to avoid delay of service. The storage area has enough space to cater to both the kitchen and the beverage areas in addit ion are designed to be easy access to both the areas. At the same time there are a few alterations that can be made to further enhance the process. The entrance for the restaurant consumes a lot of space and can be modified to accommodate more guests in the lounge. The Lounge area setup can be reorganized to accommodate more guest so that if the guests dining in the dining area want to spend some more time in the restaurant by having a few drinks they can thus be escorted to the lounge area, this in turn would also further reduce the turnover time period. The washrooms have been placed quite close to the bar and near the entrance which is extremely far from the dining area so if they are placed in between the lounge and the dining area it would be more convenient for the guest to walk to the location than to go from the dining area and through the lounge at last reaching the washroom. The three poles in between the lounge area can also be an obstacle for the people seated in the area as well as for the employees while delivering their s ervices. Presentation of Solutions The major concerns that were raised by both internal and external parties regarding Benihana business were the expansion strategy, understanding its core business and the sustainability of the business. In order to come up with solutions, one needs to understand the core business by first understanding the market. According to the survey, the main target market of Benihana was middle-income businessmen. The survey also revealed that the number one reason that persuades customers to come to the restaurant is good food or about 46.7% and atmosphere and preparation together came up to about 26.4%. The first time visit percentage is about 34.4%. Thereby, it is led to believe that first time visitors may come because the restaurant provides them with new exotic experiences. Consequently, as they have experienced the food; they were satisfied with the taste, hence second visit. Customers also rated that they would highlight the food 38.2% and preparation 24.6%. From this, one could conclude that the main core products and services of Benihana are the food and the experiences. The sustainability of business issue was also raised by Russ Carpenter. Due to the concept of the restaurant and the limited menus, the long-term competitiveness is questioned. As the business grows, so did the competitors. If new competitors with different concepts come into scene, the sustainability is raised. The limited menu options which although Benihana gave an advantage by reducing the food costs, but would it be enough the changing trends to attract the customers. Once the restaurateur knows that the restaurant is already successful, the management should consider the sustainability of the products and services. Time changes, trends change and people change, thus businesses should come up with innovative plan as a pioneer or expand the line of product for the business growth. If Benihana is considered to be fashionable due to the trend, then they will need to develop a concept for service according to help Benihana to become sustainable. According to Rockys, he planned to diversify into retail sale of Benihana-labeled food label and quick-service operation. Orient Express, their new product lines will be quite innovative and a great potential plan for the future. The Benihana label will enhance the corporate brand, yet increase the brand awareness among the people who have never experienced Benihana. Figure 3 shows Rockys growth strategy. One core product/service and one market Benihana Restaurant Chain for middle-income businessman Sell existing products/service in new geographic market segment Expanding Benihana Restaurants to different part of US through JV and wholly-owned Sell existing core service out of country Expanding Benihana Restaurants to different part of world Conglomerate diversification Expanding to retail and fast food chain, Orient Express Rocky intentionally aimed to appeal the younger generation by investing in the new small units called Orient Express which would be located in gas stations. However, the quick-service units in gas stations did not necessary target the younger generation. Since the gas station is a place that people stop to fill gasoline, use the restrooms or take a rest after a long journey. According Rockys concerns and issued raised by Russ Carpenter the following solutions are suggested: (1) To open a new Benihana which directly targets the younger generation. (2) To diversify the Benihana business to the other business such as Benihana restaurant that sells purely the Japanese style dessert. By doing so, Rocky could direct his business towards the group he wanted to attract, at the same utilize the companys core competencies which were the quality food and authentic Japanese experience. The dessert restaurant would allow Benihana to diversify into the potential market which is females which currently only constituted only 28.6% of Benihana restaurant according to the survey. The costs of training and staff would be reduced as the operation would be similar to that of the existing ones. Figure : Proposed growth strategy. Adapted from Carmen Langeard (1986) One core product/service and one market Benihana Restaurant Chain for middle-income businessman Sell existing products/service in new geographic market segment Expanding Benihana Restaurants to different part of US through JV and wholly-owned Sell existing core service out of country Expanding Benihana Restaurants to different part of world Conglomerate diversification Expanding to retail, but NO ORIENT EXPRESS Concentric diversification Beni Trendy: targets 18-30 people After Benis: desserts penetrate into younger and female market Recommendation The alternative to the solution mentioned above is opening a new unit which targets only the young generation (18-30 years old) as a separate clientele from existing Benihana. The unit will be named Benihana Trendy. This unit will create a completely different experience from original Benihana, but at the same time the customers still can perceive the feeling that this is Benihana. Benihana Trendy would still sell grilled steaks, however of different price and quality. The atmosphere would be created to attract new generation who seek for thrill and exotic experiences at lower prices. For example, the customer can cook with chef upon reservation. The menu of self-cooking might be added in the menu. The interior will be designed to facilitate the trendy atmosphere that appeals the young generation. The furniture did not have to be imported from Japan, hence cost saving. Another diversified alternative is creating a separate dessert unit which is called After Benis. The name comes from the idea that people can come to have dessert after having main course from Benihana or Benihana Trendy The ideal is the location of After Benis should be located as near as possible to Benihana, otherwise the name would not be quite suitable. The concept of this unit would also be the cooking show but the chef is not allocated at each table. The cooking show from chef will be set in the area that everyone can see, so the tables are not equipped with the hot stove. The dessert menu will be designed to incorporate the cooking show; for instance, the pancake, the fried ice-cream (mixing two or more ice-cream in one dish), and etc. As Japanese food culture is very delicate, the menu will be deliberately invented by design of Japanese chef. This also aims to attract younger generation as well as females segment. The decoration would be homely, but keep the trendy element. By having these two new concepts, it is believed that Rocky can best utilize his resources and core competency. This would help him save costs. In addition, he can tailor these new products and services to the new market segments which he had not yet tapped into. This will provide the opportunity for him to expand his business or concentric diversification, which is believe to be less risky than conglomerate diversification which he had initially planned. It is believed that this would be a good investment and diversification plan for Benihana. Action Plan For Benihana Trendy and After Benis Goals: To open Beni Trendy within 1 year with the budget of approximately around $US 210,000 To open After Benis within 1 year with the budget of approximately around $US 150,000 This is from the assumption that to open up new Beni Trendy will cost 70% and After Benis will cost 50% of set up cost for Benihana unit which is $US 300,000. Actions: Market research Define Five Ps of services Procurers, (customers) Product, (service concept) Policies Practice (operation strategy) Place Plant (service delivery system) Providers (servers)Actual Construction of the site Construction Hire The thorough concept is defined to serve the target market. Key factors are identified. 1. What products to sell. 2. What should the ambiance of the restaurant? 3. What should be on the menu none Define (Policies and Practices) Operation Strategy Within 1 month Rocky, Bill Susha, Allen Saito Time Concrete concept formed. Eg. The rules and regulations of the company that is accepted by all parties none Finding (Place and Plant) Restaurant location Within 2 months Rocky Time, connections with people, capital To find the right location to have the restaurant and to negotiate and sign contract with the landlord. none Design of the restaurant Within 3 months however alternations could be made within the project period. Rocky, Glen Simones and Interior Designer Floor plan To come up with the floor plan and interior design concept that fit the service concept $US50,000 Construction of restaurant Within 3 months External contractors Time and finances Find the right contractor and construct the restaurant $US120,000 Find Suppliers Within 2 month Bill Susha and Allen Saito Time Found the best suppliers of the raw materials which the price reflects the quality none Hire staff Within 2 months Restaurant Manager Time To find the quality staff that match the culture of the restaurant. none Train staff Within 1 month Restaurant manager Time and finance $US 2,000

Dennis Banks Essay -- essays research papers

Describe the overall purpose of their organizational effort   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dennis Banks , an American Indian of the Ojibwa Tribe, was born in 1937 on the Leach Lake reservation in Minnesota and was raised by his grandparents. Dennis Banks grew up learning the traditional ways of the Ojibwa lifestyle. As a young child he was taken away from practicing his traditional ways and was put into a government boarding school that was designed for Indian children to learn the white culture. After years of attending the boarding school, Banks enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, shipping out to Japan when he was only seventeen years old.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Banks returned to Minnesota he was living in poverty and was later arrested for stealing groceries to help feed his growing family. His accomplice, who was white, was freed and given probation, but Banks was sent to prison. While in prison, Banks was determined to educate himself. He heard about the civil rights struggle that African Americans were dealing with at the time. He realized that the same thing was happening with American Indians and they must fight for their rights too. He wanted Americans to realize that native people are still here, that they have the same rights as every other U.S. citizen and have morals of their own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dennis Banks dealt with racism most of his life and was robbed of his culture. He did not want Native people to live in poverty anymore or not have a voice in the government. He was tired of putting up with the battery, unfairness, and racism against Indians. He felt it was time for him to step up and take control of the situation. Dennis Banks 3 Accomplishment in assisting disadvantaged groups and how they were achieved   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1968 Banks co-founded the American Indian Movement (AIM). AIM is to help and protect the traditional ways of Indian people and also to engage in legal cases that protected treaty rights of Indian people, such as hunting and fishing, trapping, wild riceing. Through AIM, Dennis Banks wanted to confront racism with activism that deeply affected the Native religion and culture. Banks had inspired many Indians from many different tribes to join and fight for American Indian rights. In 1972 AIM organized a march called â€Å"Trail of Broken Treaties† across the U.S. to Washington... ...ian rights. He is a true activist and refuses to let anyone degrade or abuse Indians. He has stud up to government policies and laws and still will not be destroyed to fight for what he believes in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dennis Banks 7 List any publications written by this individual Books by Dennis Banks Include: Banks, D., Erodes, R. (2004). Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement. Ojibwa Warrior. Reference Wilcox, B. (1996). Dennis Banks runs for justice on behalf or American Indian Rights. Metro, 14-20.Retrieved January 20, 2005, from http://siouxme.com/lodge/banks.html Banks, D. (2001). Biography of Dennis Banks .Retrieved January 20, 2005, from http://members.aol.com/Nowacumig/main.html Banks, D., Erodes, R. (2004). Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement. Ojibwa Warrior. Retrieved January 20, 2005, from http://www.oupress.com/bookdetail.asp?isbn=0-8061-3580-8 Corbett, B. (1999). Last call in Pine Ridge For the Lakota’s in White Clay, Nebraska, death is on the house. Retrieved February 6, 2005, from http://ishgooda.org/oglala/whitcla1.htm   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Eyeskube write up

Subsume write up Overall this assignment made me feel like a creeper. I didn't like having to constantly sneak the cubes. Especially at work, I felt like a weirdo looking over my shoulder and waiting around for it to be â€Å"all clear† near the Ice machine and Ice chest. The first day went by really well and really easy. I was home alone for quite a while and so most of my â€Å"fixes† didn't have to be hidden. When my friend came over around 3 it got a little harder, telling her to stay in my room and â€Å"No, I'll go get it for o† so I could sneak my water.I didn't really like sneaking around someone I tell almost everything to. I drank less and less as the night win on because I went into a dance and wasn't concerned with hydration of any sort, and when I got home I passed out in m bed before even thinking of the cubes or water or anything! Like I mention in the write up, getting my â€Å"fix† at work was increasingly difficult. I work at McDonald's s o there are always employees in some place or another.I was in drive- hour most of the day so my main source of ice was from a really close ice chest next to the drive-thru window. I literally had to Walt until someone was busy with fries or in the back or dealing with a customer Just to get the Ice, because grabbing a drink Is always the easy part! I also TLD like the string around my wrist because It was annoying after It got wet because It didn't dry quickly kind of distracting me at work. Sneaking around was the main behavior I had that resembled an addict.It made my work day more stressful than needed waiting around until it was all clear Just to get my â€Å"fix†. The hardest part of the simulation was almost telling my best friend about it when we Just casually talking while I styled my hair and I had to back track and Just change the subject. To make the simulation more effective require the assigned simulation on a person's busiest day or time frame to really get a f eel of the added attention/energy It takes to get the Subsumes!

All About Blood Essay

1.) What is the significance of lower-than-normal hematocrit? Lower-than-normal hematocrit indicates anemia. People with anemia do not have enough hemoglobin, which is the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. Iron, B12, and folic acid deficiencies, some medications, and pregnancy can cause anemia. There are also more serious causes such as problems with the immune system that cause destruction of red blood cells earlier than normal, chronic diseases including kidney disease and cancer, and problems with bone marrow found in leukemia and lymphoma (MedlinePlus:Anemia, 2012). What is the effect of a bacterial infection on the hematocrit? A bacterial infection, which raises white blood cell counts, may affect the hematocrit by lowering it. 2.) Compare the development of lymphocytes with the development of the other formed elements. Lymphocytes and the other formed elements are developed from pluripotent stem cells. The pluripotent stem cells generate myeloid stem cells and lymphoid stem cells. Myeloid stem cells start and complete their development in red bone marrow and give rise to red blood cells, platelets, eosinophils, basophils, neutrophils, and monocytes. Lymphoid stem cells begin development in the red bone marrow, but some are completed in the lymphatic tissues, where they give rise to lymphocytes. The B cell lymphocytes are began and completed in the red bone marrow and the T cell lymphocytes begin in the red bone marrow, but they mature in the thymus (Jenkins, Kemnitz, & Tortora, 2010). 3.) What is erythropoiesis? Erythropoiesis is the production of red blood cells or erythrocytes. It starts in the red bone marrow with a proerythroblast. The proerythroblast divides many times and produces cells that begin to make hemoglobin. A cell near the end of the development cycle ejects its nucleus and then becomes a reticulocyte. Reticulocytes pass from red bone marrow into the bloodstream. Reticulocytes develop into erythrocytes with 1 to 2 days after they are released from the bone marrow (Jenkins, Kemnitz, & Tortora, 2010). Which factors speed up and slow down erythropoiesis? Oxygen deficiency (hypoxia) detected by the kidneys increases erythropoiesis. This stimulates the kidneys to release more erythropoietin. It circulates through the blood to the bone marrow and speeds up the production of proerythroblasts into reticulocytes. Erythropoiesis slows down when there is sufficient oxygen delivery to the kidneys and tissues (Jenkins, Kemnitz, & Tortora, 2010). 4.) Explain what would happen if a person with type B blood were given a transfusion of type O blood. Type O blood carries neither antigen A nor antigen B and is known as the â€Å"universal donor† because of this. Therefore, there would be no negative reaction if a person with type B blood were transfused with type O blood (Jenkins, Kemnitz, & Tortora, 2010). 5.) During an anatomy and physiology exam you are asked to view white blood cells in prepared slides of standard human blood smears. Based on the observations below, what is the name and function of each WBC? a.) WBC has a round nucleus surrounded by a blue halo of cytoplasm with no visible granules. These are lymphocytes (T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells). Lymphocytes mediate immune responses, such as antigen-antibody reactions. B cells develop into plasma cells, which then secrete antibodies. T cells attack viruses, cancer cells, and transplanted tissue cells. Natural killer cells attack a variety of infectious microbes and certain tumor cells. b.) WBC contains dense blue-purple granules that hide the nucleus. This WBC is a basophil and makes up 0.5-1% of the total WBCs. Where there is inflammation, basophils leave the capillaries. They enter tissues, and release histamine and heparin. These substances make inflammatory reactions greater and are involved in allergic reactions. c.) WBC has a U-shaped nucleus and a bluish, foamy cytoplasm with no visible granules. These are monocytes, making up 3-8% of WBCs. They migrate from the blood into tissues, enlarge, and then become macrophages. Some become fixed macrophages and live in a particular tissue, such as the lungs and spleen. Others become wandering macrophages and gather at infection and inflammation sites. They gather at infection sites in large numbers and phagocytize microbes. They also clean up cellular debris after an infection. d.) WBC contains small, pale lilac granules and a four-lobed nucleus. This type is a neutrophil and makes up 60-70% of WBCs. Neutrophils arrive at an infection site the quickest of all WBCs. After they ingest a pathogen, neutrophils release chemicals to destroy that pathogen. These chemicals include lysozyme, hydrogen peroxide, and hypochlorite. Neutrophils also contain defensins, which are a protein that poke holes in the membrane of the microbe and kills it. e.) WBC contains red-orange granules and a two-lobed nucleus. This is a sample of an eosinophil and they represent 2-4% of all WBCs. Eosinophils leave the capillaries and enter the tissue fluid where they release enzymes that combat allergic reactions. They also phagocytize antigen-antibody complexes and fight parasitic worms. A high eosinophil count would most likely indicate an allergy or a parasitic infection (Jenkins, Kemnitz, & Tortora, 2010). 6.) Why would the level of leukocytes be higher in an individual who has been infected with a parasitic disease? A parasitic disease is a stressor in the body. It is a normal, protective response for the number of leukocytes to increase in this situation because the blood is producing more leukocytes to fight the parasite. 7.) In regions where malaria is endemic, some people build up immune resistance to the malaria pathogen. Which WBCs are responsible for the immune system response against pathogens? How do they function? Eosinophils are the WBC responsible for immune system response against pathogens. Eosinophils leave the capillaries and enter tissue fluid where they release enzymes. They phagocytize antigen-antibody complexes and fight parasitic infections (Jenkins, Kemnitz, & Tortora, 2010). 8.) What is the function of prothrombinase and thrombin in clotting? Explain how the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways of blood clotting differ. The extrinsic pathway of blood clotting occurs rapidly, within a matter of seconds. A tissue protein called tissue factor enters into the blood from damaged tissue cells outside (extrinsic) blood vessels. Tissue factor then begins a series of reactions that lead to the formation of prothrombinase. The intrinsic pathway occurs more slowly, over the course of several minutes. The activators of this pathway are in direct contact with blood or contained within (intrinsic) the blood. Again, after a series of reactions, prothrombinase is formed. Once the prothrombinase is formed it converts prothrombin (a plasma protein formed by the liver) into the enzyme thrombin. Thrombin, together with calcium ions, converts fibrinogen to fibrin threads and activates a clotting factor that strengthens the fibrin threads into a clot. A positive feedback cycle begins with the formation of thrombin. Thrombin activates more platelets, which increases the release of platelet phospholipids, which then increases the formation of prothrombinase. Thrombin also directly accelerates the formation of prothrombinase. The additional amount of prothrombinase accelerates the production of thrombin. The positive feedback loop continues and the fibrin clot grows (Jenkins, Kemnitz, & Tortora, 2010).