Biology 2 (plant and society)a - Assignment Example

He discusses the totality of relevant aspects to undertaking this endeavor, from processing, and preparing the palm starch, how to transport and package it, and the organization of its distribution and production. The overall interpretations determined that the process of extraction, processing, and transport of the palm starch is a complex and involved. A process they may be performed differently dependent upon the culture, beliefs, and tools often used. 2)Is this an interdisciplinary study?

Explain your answer. Yes, I would conclude that this is an entirely interdisciplinary endeavor. The research delves into botany, geography, biology, sociology, and ecology are all a part of the overall scope of all the elements needed. The extraction, packaging, and processing in multi-ethnic, multicultural areas could never be anything but an interdisciplinary project. 3)Why is the number of structural components of the extraction apparatus not necessarily a gauge of the complexity or efficiency of the process?

It can be extrapolated that the technology and physical equipment used in the process necessary to extract and process the palm starch is difficult to gauge its efficiency due a consistence of varying conditions. Simply meaning the environment, culture, and nature of where the extraction is being done may differ from one location to another. The hand press apparatus described uses, at least, 21 individual parts, which may increase to as many as 50-60 parts depending entirely on the number of troughs and conduits present.

Who operates the apparatus, how often it is done, and in what manner the individuals operating the apparatus, and the whole of the extraction process, may differ entirely from another, dependent upon a number of social and cultural factors. Therefore, it can be harder to determine a single standard of total efficiency. 4)What basic principles had to have been known to develop the technology? In order to undertake such an endeavor it was necessary for those involved to be aware of a many number of things.

They would need to be aware of the local ecologies, but, also, the cultural and social values of the peoples that reside there. They would also, need to be aware of the potential consequences of their endeavor on an environmental level. As stated before this endeavor is clearly interdisciplinary, in order to accomplish the project all consideration would need to be addressed. 5)Why would this method of starch extraction not be applicable to sugar extraction? Obtaining sugar from the starch of the sago palm would require a several hour process of hydrolysis; with water at a temperature of, approximately, 190 degrees, therefore the process used in extracting the starch specifically would not lend itself to extracting sugars.

The water used during the starch extraction is cool water, not hot. This stands out as the primary reason that this process would not be beneficial for extracting sugar. 6)Examine the location of Seram (formerly Ceram) in an atlas. What was its role during the years of the spice trade? Ceram, as it was once referred, along with Halmahera and Buru, make-up the three large islands in eastern Indonesia called the Moluccas. The Moluccas were, also, called the “spice islands;” a title they earned for good reason.

These islands were the origin of, both, nutmeg and clove. In the 1500s the island were colonized by the Portuguese, who