DrMock
On Q3, I picked option E (and just as I clicked on to the next question, it hit me that it was too extreme). Couldn't go back and change it. Nevertheless, it was between A and E, and my initial thought was that the author mentions their position against technology being a driver in S1 - doesn't that translate to "most important factor" or given that no extreme markers are present that's not true?
Just wanted to double check your logic for E. You said that "didn't the author mention their position
against technology being a driver..." - and you're right. The author is actually making a statement that technology is NOT necessarily a driver of change when they combine the language that it is "sometimes described" that way YET it "has no momentum of its own." The rest of the paragraph and then the second paragraph are all building on that idea. In fact, Melman's study "illustrates this point." So what is the WHY behind including Melman's study (questions that ask "in order to" are asking about the why)? Well it must be to show that it isn't just technology, but lots of things that could be impacting production methods.
(E) support the contention that technology IS the most important factor in decisions concerning production methods
Capitalization and red font are MY emphasis, but this choice says that the author is including Melman to support the idea (contention) that technology IS THE most important, but we just saw that the passage says the opposite - that is might be just one of many if its a driver at all. Eliminate (and not because it is extreme, but because it is the opposite of what the passage says).
Your question seems to present this understanding of the passage correctly, so I'd love to hear more about whether there was a misread of the answer choice or if I'm misunderstanding your description of the passage above!
Hope this helps!

Whit