Unit 6 Discussion and Conclusions 109 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering Unit 6 Discussions and Conclusions Discussions A research discussion analyzes the findings and the data displayed in a table, a graph, a figure, or other kinds of non-verbal illustration. In addition, it may involve the results of your own work or other studies. An important point to keep in mind is that a discussion is not merely a presentation or a list of your findings. Rather, it should place your findings within the context of your research or the broader context of your discipline. A discussion usually takes one or more of the following forms, including: 1) Interpreting the present finding 2) Comparing and contrasting the present finding to those reported in previous studies, 3) Explaining the present finding, i.e. identifying its cause(s) and/or consequence(s), 4) Evaluating the present finding, 5) Indicating limitations of the study, and 6) Recommending further research. Task 1 Identify the types of the following discussions. 1. Another interesting finding is that the slope of the relationship increased as the infection rate went up, implying a considerable change in system performance with a rise in both infection rates and closeness centralization. ________________________________________ 2. With regard to students from other legal systems (and therefore most likely from a different L1 background), it would be very interesting to have empirical evidence for whether there is indeed a convergence of writing norms between native and non-native speakers attending the same Master’s degree program. ________________________________________ Unit 6 Discussion and Conclusions 110 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering 3. A second possible explanation of the poor ratings of Thai academics’ articles concerns national cultural values, which can influence how people think about knowledge and their writing. ________________________________________ 4. This particular finding is not surprising in light of research which has found evidence of increased complexity of output when learners make use of the additional online planning time afforded by text-chat for monitoring and elaboration. ________________________________________ 5. The findings of this study should be interpreted with caution, not only because of the relatively small size of the study but also because of the nature of the writing tasks used. Had we used more discipline-specific topics ... ________________________________________ 6. Our results support those of Sullivan and Hall (1997), who, like us, found that self-assessors tended to overrate themselves. However, our results contradict those of Chen (2008), Matsuno (2009), Brown (2005) and Leach (2000) who indicated that the self-assessors in their studies tended to underrate themselves. ________________________________________ Unit 6 Discussion and Conclusions 111 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering Task 2 Study the following paragraphs. Underline the discussion parts in each and identify their types. A. Fig. 6 shows the effect of the reflux ratio on the acetic acid conversion. The methanol concentration in the reaction zone went up with an increase in the reflux ratio. Therefore, the reaction equilibrium shifted towards the product side, causing the acetic acid conversion to rise. However, when the reflux ratio was greater than 14, the conversion of acetic acid began to fall. A reasonable explanation for the decrease could be that the product, methyl acetate, as well as methanol was brought back to the reaction zone, which forced the reaction to reverse direction. Thus, it can be concluded that the highest conversion of acetic acid appears under the reflux ratio of 14. B. Table 3 presents the results of CVaR analysis versus closeness centralization at different infection rates. It can be seen that CVaR seems to correlate directly with closeness centralization. That is, when the closeness centralization of the networks increased, CVaR became higher, and vice versa. This implies that the performance of the clinic will worsen with an increase in the closeness centralization of the networks, perhaps because a disease spreads faster in networks with this configuration. Another interesting finding is that the slope of the relationship increased as the infection rate went up, implying a considerable change in system performance with an increase in both infection rate and close centralization. To illustrate, the CVaR of the network with the highest closeness centralization level rose more dramatically as a result of an increase in infection rate than that with the second highest closeness centralization level. Generally, then, it can be expected that a rise in infection rate should lead to an increase in CVaR. However, this is not always true, as illustrated by the cases of the lowest or second lowest closeness centralization levels. Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 112 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering C. Fig. 9 shows the total energy consumption of 112 streetlights in one week for different traffic volumes while operating different lighting schemes. The results show that the energy consumption of time-based dimming schemes, i.e. Conventional, Chronosense, Part-night and Dynadimmer, is not dependent on traffic volume. Thus, their energy consumption remains constant while evaluated with different traffic volumes. As expected, Conventional was the least energy efficient of the lighting schemes considered since the streetlights were always switched on at 100% illuminance. Chronosense, Part-night and Dynadimmer cut down illuminance at specific hours, hence reducing the energy consumption by 15%, 34% and 37% respectively, compared to Conventional. In general, the energy consumption of the streetlights when operating traffic-aware lighting schemes, i.e. Multi-sensor, Zoning and TALiSMaN, increases with larger traffic volumes. This trend is anticipated since these lighting schemes are designed to save energy by turning off or dimming lights when less traffic is present. As a result of increasing traffic volumes, a near-continuous stream of traffic is developed within the detection range of each sensor. Hence, the time each streetlight spends active is also prolonged, and thus energy consumption is also increased. The effect of increasing traffic volumes to Multisensor, however, was less pronounced compared to other traffic-aware lighting schemes. This was due to the streetlights operating Multi-sensor being constantly switched on at 40% illuminance output even when a road user was not detected. Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 113 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering Structure of the discussion section The discussion section generally consists of the following components: A. location elements B. 1. highlighting statements 2. supporting evidence/findings C. 1. discussions 2. supporting evidence/findings Location elements refer to sentences or phrases used to help readers to understand a text more easily by referring them to a relevant part, table, or figure. Thus, they frequently serve as a starting point for a discussion. Highlighting statements show generalizations which can be drawn from the data displayed. Note that not every discussion contains all of the above components. Some may contain only certain components, depending on such factors as the length of the report or the conventions of the journal in which the research report is to be published. In addition, a discussion section may be arranged in other orders than the one shown above. Finally, one component may be scattered in several sentences within a discussion paragraph; thus, drawing clear boundaries may be difficult. Task 3 Indicate the components of the following data interpretation paragraphs, reproduced from those in the previous task, by marking (A), (B1), (B2), (C1), or (C2). A. Fig. 6 shows the effect of the reflux ratio on the acetic acid conversion. The methanol concentration in the reaction zone went up with an increase in the reflux ratio. Therefore, the reaction equilibrium shifted towards the product side, causing the acetic acid conversion to rise. However, when the reflux ratio was greater than 14, the conversion of acetic acid began to fall. A reasonable explanation for the decrease could be that the product, methyl acetate, as well as methanol was brought back to the reaction zone, which forced the reaction to Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 114 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering reverse direction. Thus, it can be concluded that the highest conversion of acetic acid appears under the reflux ratio of 14. B. Table 3 presents the results of CVaR analysis versus closeness centralization at different infection rates. It can be seen that CVaR seems to correlate directly with closeness centralization. That is, when the closeness centralization of the networks increased, CVaR became higher, and vice versa. This implies that the performance of the clinic will worsen with an increase in the closeness centralization of the networks, perhaps because a disease spreads faster in networks with this configuration. Another interesting finding is that the slope of the relationship increased as the infection rate went up, implying a considerable change in system performance with an increase in both infection rate and close centralization. To illustrate, the CVaR of the network with the highest closeness centralization level rose more dramatically as a result of an increase in infection rate than that with the second highest closeness centralization level. Generally, then, it can be expected that a rise in infection rate should lead to an increase in CVaR. However, this is not always true, as illustrated by the cases of the lowest or second lowest closeness centralization levels. C. Fig. 9 shows the total energy consumption of 112 streetlights in one week for different traffic volumes while operating different lighting schemes. The results show that the energy consumption of time-based dimming schemes, i.e. Conventional, Chronosense, Part-night and Dynadimmer, is not dependent on traffic volume. Thus, their energy consumption remains constant while evaluated with different traffic volumes. As expected, Conventional was the least energy efficient of the lighting schemes considered since the streetlights were always switched on at 100% illuminance. Chronosense, Part-night and Dynadimmer cut Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 115 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering down illuminance at specific hours, hence reducing the energy consumption by 15%, 34% and 37% respectively, compared to Conventional. In general, the energy consumption of the streetlights when operating traffic-aware lighting schemes, i.e. Multi-sensor, Zoning and TALiSMaN, increases with larger traffic volumes. This trend is anticipated since these lighting schemes are designed to save energy by turning off or dimming lights when less traffic is present. As a result of increasing traffic volumes, a near-continuous stream of traffic is developed within the detection range of each sensor. Hence, the time each streetlight spends active is also prolonged, and thus energy consumption is also increased. The effect of increasing traffic volumes to Multisensor, however, was less pronounced compared to other traffic-aware lighting schemes. This was due to the streetlights operating Multi-sensor being constantly switched on at 40% illuminance output even when a road user was not detected. Language focus: location elements Location elements in discussions follow the same patterns as those used to describe results. (Refer to Unit 5.) Some examples from the texts in Task 2 above are provided below. Fig. 6 shows the effect of the reflux ratio on the acetic acid conversion. The best-fit model parameters are listed in Table 1. All ENPs used in this study were predominantly negatively charged at their original pH (Table 2). Language focus: highlighting statements Highlighting statements, or generalizations which can be drawn from the data, are the core of discussions. They provide an excellent opportunity to show that you are able to locate trends or regularities in the data and to focus on important findings. General recommendations are that you should not simply repeat your findings, attempt to discuss all aspects of your findings, or make an unreasonable or indefensible claim. Writing them requires both good judgment and effective presentation of the judgment. Making claims of appropriate strength is Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 116 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering an important aspect of the presentation and thus needs to be taken into consideration. Making claims of appropriate strength While writing highlighting statements, you may attempt to make strong, unwarranted claims, particularly when you become too overwhelmed by your findings or because of your lack of linguistic resources. Whichever the case, remind yourself to choose the right strength for your claims and to present it accordingly. This can be achieved by softening or moderating such claims – technically referred to as hedging. Language focus: Moderating a claim Hedging, or using cautious language, involves one or a combination of the following techniques. a. Using modal verbs such as may, might, and could b. Using adverbs such as possibly, perhaps, and almost c. Using adjectives such as likely, probable, and possible d. Using impersonal verbs such as seem, appear, and tend e. Replacing stronger verbs such as cause with weaker ones such as lead to, result in, and contribute to. Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 117 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering Using modal verbs Modal verbs deal with varying degrees of certainty. General guidelines are as follows. When you believe that something is certain to or not to occur, you can use ‘will’ or ‘will not’, as in: Some processes that are able to monitor all streams will benefit by occasionally using a fractional sample along with full samples. When you wish to express that something will or will not possibly happen, you can use ‘may’ or ‘may not’, as in: Some processes that are able to monitor all streams may benefit by occasionally using a fractional sample along with full samples. When you are less certain that something will or will not possibly happen, you should use ‘might/could’ or ‘might not/could not’, as in: Some processes that are able to monitor all streams might/could benefit by occasionally using a fractional sample along with full samples. When you want or do not want something to happen, and it is reasonable to expect it to or not to, you can use ‘should’ or ‘should not’, as in: Some processes that are able to monitor all streams should benefit by occasionally using a fractional sample along with full samples. Using adverbs and adjectives In addition to modal verbs, you can use modal adverbs to express changing degrees of certainty. Note that within a sentence, you can use both modal verbs and modal adverbs. See the following claims and how their strength progressively weakens. Some processes that are able to monitor all streams will certainly/definitely benefit by occasionally using a fractional sample along with full samples. Some processes that are able to monitor all streams will generally/usually benefit by occasionally using a fractional sample along with full samples. Some processes that are able to monitor all streams will possibly/probably benefit by occasionally using a fractional sample along with full samples. Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 118 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering You can also use close counterparts of adverbs, adjectives, to soften a claim. In the following examples, the claim remains the same, whereas its strength gradually weakens. It is certain It is almost certain It is very probable/highly likely It is probable/likely It is possible that some processes that are able to monitor all streams will benefit by occasionally using a fractional sample along with full samples. It is unlikely It is very/highly unlikely There is a definite possibility that There is a strong possibility that There is a good possibility that There is a slight possibility that some processes that are able to monitor all streams will benefit by occasionally using a fractional sample along with full samples. There is little possibility that Using impersonal verbs Impersonal verbs are verbs which help you to distance yourself from a strong claim. Compare the difference in terms of strength of claim between these examples. Strong claim: Customers make attributions to stable causes rather than unstable ones. Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 119 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering Weaker claims: It seems/appears that customers make attributions to stable causes rather than unstable ones. Customers seem to/appear to/tend to make attributions to stable causes rather than unstable ones. Replacing stronger verbs with weaker ones and combining several hedging techniques Verbs vary with regards to the degree of consequent relations they create between the subject and the object. Compare the strength of the following claims. Applying synergistic bundles of lean practices concurrently causes operational performance to be above the small but significant effects of context. Applying synergistic bundles of lean practices concurrently leads to operational performance above the small but significant effects of context. Applying synergistic bundles of lean practices concurrently contributes to operational performance above the small but significant effects of context. Note that you can always moderate the strength of a word by changing its surrounding structure. See the following examples. Applying synergistic bundles of lean practices concurrently is probably a major cause of operational performance above the small but significant effects of context. Applying synergistic bundles of lean practices concurrently is one of the causes of operational performance above the small but significant effects of context. Applying synergistic bundles of lean practices concurrently may have contributed to operational performance above the small but significant effects of context. Applying synergistic bundles of lean practices concurrently might have been a small factor in operational performance above the small but significant effects of context. Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 120 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering Task 4 Soften the claim made the following statements, using at least four hedging techniques in different sentences. For some of the sentences, hedging is required twice. 1. The proposed technique must be applied to those objects moving perpendicular to the light axis of an observing camera, i.e., from one side to the other in an image. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 2. The inferior performance of R-CNN (Convolutional neural networks) is definitely caused by the loss of recall and localization. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 3. The results prove that titanium is a more suitable cathode material for orthopaedic implant applications. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 4. The combination of fluid solvers with solid textures is a promising area for future research. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 121 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering 5. It is firmly concluded that etherification of the biodiesel by-product glycerol is successfully achieved by using i-butene. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 6. Lower melting duration in high fat chocolates is attributed to reductions in inter-particle interactions. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 7. The drivers’ risk perception of the danger of sleepy driving is the major factor for applying the less effective strategies to reduce their sleepiness. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 8. The result proves that the Ag-zeolite-Y-LDPE films are used in food packaging to increase safety. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 9. It is difficult to improve the occupational safety for informal sector workers definitely due to the lack of knowledge about the problem. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 10. It is certain that the loading factors of the traction transformers are improved by proper switching operation between the traction transformers. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 122 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering Language focus: tense in discussions Tense choices in discussions can be complex. However, it is possible to provide some general guidelines. First, use the present tense for conclusions or generalizations drawn from your data. Second, use the past tense to refer to your results. Finally, follow the conventions of your research community and/or consult your supervisor. Task 5 Discuss the tense choice of each of the underlined verbs. A. While there was no difference between the proportion of respondents and non-respondents at each correctional center, the different complexions of each center and the nature of each center’s inmates may have affected inmates’ responses to questions regarding utilization and satisfaction with health care. The relative satisfaction of indigenous inmates at Center A with health services received compared to that of inmates at Center B could be partly explained by the more stable inmate health and custodial profile of women at Center A, both for indigenous and non-indigenous women. For example, women at Center B were usually sicker, more medically unstable and more likely to have a mental health condition. Women at Center B had difficulties regarding their custodial or legal process, and any preoccupation with these issues was likely to bias individuals’ responses to some of the questions. Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 123 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering B. Fig. 5 shows the permeation rate, averaged over the full 10 min of the backwash, for draw solutions comprised of either NaCl at concentrations ranging between 32–96 g/L or 32/64 g/L of Instant Ocean (the raw data of the accumulated volume vs. time are available in the appendix). As may be seen, the experimentally measured osmotic permeation rates generally followed an expected trend of increasing with a higher draw concentration. It is important to note, however, that these results should not be held strictly against any simple theory. This is mainly due to the fact that a 10-min average is not predictable based solely on the draw concentration. Specifically, since no information is known regarding the transport on the support side, which governs a large portion of the accumulated volume, no conclusions may be made on a strictly quantitative basis. Moreover, there may be unknown variations in the support structure between the different membrane coupons used in the experiments. C. The calculated percentage of energy savings versus file size for our test-bed setup under the thin-client paradigm is illustrated in Fig. 12. For all devices, the savings were negative for smaller file sizes, thus indicating that no energy could be saved for these test cases. An analysis of the power logs indicated that in this case, more energy was consumed by the wireless interface of the device while communicating with the remote server. However, in our test setup, the energy savings retained a positive value for file sizes above 75 KB, thus showing that energy could be saved only on mobile devices under the thin-client scenario if the processing energy consumed on the local device is greater than the energy consumed by the wireless interface to process and send the data for remote processing. It is also shown in Fig. 12 that for the test case with ︎1 MB file size, approximately 85% of the energy could be saved under the thin-client–server paradigm for all devices. Such a high percentage of energy savings was achieved by Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 124 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering offloading a major fraction of the computations to the remote server. However, as per our test setup, there exists a trade-off between wireless communication for remote processing and local computations for smaller file sizes. This suggests that for both newer and older devices, if the application requires less computation, then it is energy efficient to handle such a task locally. Nevertheless, it is always beneficial for larger and computation-intensive files to be processed under the thin-client scenario in order to lower the usage phase energy and achieve a longer usage lifetime. Energy savings could also be affected by varying the network conditions, form factor of the devices, remote server capabilities, etc., as reported earlier in our previous work [11,19]. Conclusions The conclusions section is usually one to three paragraphs long, depending on how much is to be included. Regardless of the length, remember to restate/answer the objective(s) set forth in the introduction, summarize the major findings the study presented, and point out implications of the findings, unresolved issues, and/or possible areas of further research. On the other hand, remember not to introduce ideas not directly or logically connected to the introduction and the results as this will confuse readers. An example of the conclusions section is given below. Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 125 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering Restatement of the research objective Conclusion [This study aims to examine whether green bean husk can be used as a sorbent for the removal of Sb(III) from aqueous solutions.] [The results showed that the sorption of Sb(III) by green bean husk was dependent on several process parameters, such as pH, sorbate and sorbent concentrations, and contact time. Second, the maximum Sb(III) sorption capacity was 20.14 mg g-1 at pH 4.0, the biosorbent mass of 1.5 g L-1, and the contact time of 60 min at 25 °C. Also, the pseudo-second-order and the Langmuir isotherms models were observed to be most appropriate for describing the kinetics and equilibrium of the biosorption process, respectively. Additionally, the FTIR and XPS spectra indicated that carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amino functional groups were involved in the sorption of Sb(III). Complete desorption was achieved with 0.1 M HCl as the desorbent. It was also shown that a reuse of the desorbed green bean husk biomass was possible as evident from the seven sorption–desorption cycles, without any significant loss Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 126 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering in the sorption capacity. The fixed-bed column studies showed that green bean husk could be efficient in a continuous removal of Sb(III).] [It can be concluded from the present findings that because of its efficiency, green bean husk has a strong potential as a low-cost adsorbent for the removal of Sb(III) from aqueous solutions.] Summary of the major findings Implications of the findings Language focus: signaling the different parts of the conclusions Some expressions useful for signaling the different parts of the Conclusion are provided below. Remember to make notes when you come across new ones in order that you can use them effectively to serve different writing purposes. Restatement of the objective(s) This article / paper / study aims to / sets out to determine / discuss / evaluate / examine / present / provide ... The aim(s) / purpose(s) / objective(s) of this article / paper / study is/are to determine / discuss / evaluate / examine / present / provide … Summary of the main points The research / results / findings demonstrated / illustrated / indicated / showed that … It was also shown that … The main / major findings are as follows. First, … Second, … Finally, … Implications of the findings The evidence / findings reported indicate(s) / suggest(s) that ... Therefore, it seems that ... Taken together, this evidence / these findings indicate(s) / suggest(s) that ... An implication of this article / paper / study is that ... The findings have a number of important implications for future practice. First, … Second, … Third, … Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 127 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering Therefore, there are a number of important changes / improvements which need to be made. First, … Second, … Third, … Unresolved issues However, / Nevertheless, a number of issues remains unclear / unresolved. First, ... Second, … Third, … However, / Nevertheless, a number of caveats needs to be noted regarding the present article / paper / study. First, … Second, … Third, … However, / Nevertheless, the current article / paper / study has only examined … However, / Nevertheless, the issue(s) that has/have not been addressed is / are … Recommendations for further research This article / paper / study has thrown up many questions in need of further investigation. First, … Second, … Third, … Further work needs to be done to establish whether ... It is recommended that further research be undertaken in the following areas. First, … Second, … Third, … Further experimental investigations are needed to estimate ... Further research might explore / investigate ... Further research in this field / regarding the role of X would be of great help in ... Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 128 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering Task 6 Complete the following Conclusion sections with appropriate words or phrases. Write ONLY the letters corresponding to the correct answers. A. A. is to determine D. indicated that G. reveals B. therefore E. however H. implemented C. would examine F. might explore I. sets out to examine The present study 1) __________ whether the use of a multi-channel ZigBee wireless sensor network (WSN) for robust data transmission could increase the packet delivery ratio (PDR) through the application of multi-channel technology. We 2) __________ a multi-channel architecture aimed at overcoming the problem of hidden nodes and WLAN interference with the goal of increasing PDR. We modified the MCCT protocol with ACA algorithm to minimize the effects of hardware limitations and to enable the implementation of multi-channel technology in cases where ZigBee and Wi-Fi networks coexisted. Each sensor node within the network consecutively scanned all 16 channels by performing PDR measurements in order to determine their occupancy level. The coordinator performed calculations for each channel to ensure that each node contributed to the selection of the optimal channel in accordance with established priorities. Measurements obtained in the real-world implementation 3) __________ the proposed multi-channel technology could increase the robustness of the network. The star protocol used a single channel with various transmission intervals in order to enhance the PDR; 4) __________, the number of collisions increased with a rise in the number of working nodes. It was also found that the combination of the ACA algorithm with multi-channel processing made it possible to enhance the transmission performance of all nodes and to increase the PDR of all nodes to between 94 and 99%. Further research5) __________ how the use of a larger number of wireless devices and a variety of sensors and microcontrollers improve the range and the utility of the system. Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 129 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering B. A. appears to show D. is likely to occur G. seems reasonable B. clearly indicates E. might enable them H. will not likely C. is definitely F. might not suffice I. will probably be profitable As demonstrated by the findings, despite the predictions that the global distribution system (GDS) business would disappear, it still accounts for nearly 60% of all air segments booked in the U.S. market, and all major GDSs continue to enjoy healthy growth and margins. Industry experts agree that major carriers 1) __________ withdraw from the GDS business in the short term as they cut prices and shift to a more diversified range of airline technology solutions. Our analysis 2) __________ a set of asset pre-emption mechanisms as possible factors contributing to GDSs’ success. These assets included their creation of network externalities and established reputation with suppliers and distributors allowing them to raise significant entry barriers for GDS new entrants (GNEs) who had to create a commercial network from scratch. The advantages enjoyed by GNEs, such as access to cheaper and more efficient technology, better adaptability to the new dynamic needs of the Internet era, and organizational flexibility, 3) __________ to help them overcome their main disadvantage, namely the lack of marketing capabilities. Lieberman and Montgomery (1988) suggest that if one firm has unique R&D capabilities, while the other has strong marketing skills, it is in the interest of the first to pioneer and the second to enter at a later date. Therefore, entering in this sequence 4) __________. In contrast, neither would gain if the entry order were reversed. Applying this logic to airline reservation systems, it 5) __________ to argue that new players challenging the leadership of traditional GDSs should be able to demonstrate superior marketing capabilities than incumbent players. Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 130 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering C. A. consequently D. were carried out G. to classify B. in addition E. were analyzed H. to examine C. should be extended F. were also compared I. are recommended In this research, particulate matter (PM) concentrations in one of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway (SMS) networks was investigated 1) __________ the effects of platform screen door (PSD) installation on PM concentration levels. To assess the effectiveness of the PSD system, the concentration data of PM10 and PM2.5 before and after the installation 2) __________. Changes in PM10 levels 3) __________ between indoor and outdoor locations. The measurements made during the research period indicated that the mean concentration levels of PM10 inside the subway station were always higher than those outside, regardless of the installation of the PSD system. However, the mean concentration levels of PM10 and PM2.5 were reduced notably after the installation. The recorded relative reduction was 16% and 12%, respectively. 4) __________, it was found that such changes in the PM10 data were also statistically significant. The overall results of this study thus confirm the likelihood that the installation of PSD with an enhanced ventilating system will be useful for reducing PM levels in the platform areas of the SMS system. As such, efforts 5) __________ further to refine this type of approach to derive the maximum effects of PSD, by gathering more information concerning air quality change throughout the subway system. Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 131 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering Task 7A (Self-study) Soften the claim made the following statements, using at least four hedging techniques in different sentences. For some of the sentences, hedging is required twice. 1. The improvement phase, where interchanges are performed in the container neighborhood, leads to well-clustered routes. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 2. Customers agree that they are receiving responsive/reliable service and acceptable tangibles from the agency. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 3. Another interesting fact consistent to all decision-making models is that at higher values of sensitivity, the CP fraction has less effect on the sample size. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 4. It was shown that the measurement systems perform better than when they are viewed by the “traditional” method. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 5. No significant gain is achieved by increasing the resample size, and thus, it is a good practice that the resample size be taken equal to the original sample size. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 132 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering 6. This short lifespan leads to millions of cell phones and other mobile devices being discarded every year, thus contributing to a significant part of electronic waste, or e-waste. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 7. Another method that is capable of reducing the 50/60-Hz ECG interference is an adaptive filter (AF). _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 8. Effective street lighting reduces both crime and traffic collisions, and encourages socio-economic activities at night. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 9. High strength wastewater containing a high load of contaminants leads to a great degree of membrane clogging, depending on the membrane characteristics, biomass, and operating conditions. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 10. The results of our study point to the fact that in addition to hydrophobic interactions, other mechanisms play an important role. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Unit 6 Data Interpretation and Conclusion 133 5500 308 Technical W riting for Engineering Task 7B (Self-study) Complete the following Conclusion sections with appropriate words or phrases. Write ONLY the letters corresponding to the correct answers. A. should be done B. was indicated D. appears to deteriorate E. the results obtained G. have demonstrated that H. would be of great help C. improved F. was analyzed I. the findings revealed In this paper, the stability of a run-of-river diversion hydropower plant with a spillway in the head pond that evacuates a portion of the river flow 1) __________. A proportional-integral (PI) controller was used to maintain a constant water level in the head pond and the effects of a surge tank were considered. From the stability analysis, it was found that the existence of a spillway in the analysis 2) __________ the stability of the plant water level control. The stability analysis, as well as the PI tuning criterion, was applied to a real hydropower plant, currently in the design stage. The plant response was obtained by means of simulations with a more detailed model. 3) __________ were found to be useful for the design process and may be used in the implementation of the control system. The results of the stability analysis and the simulations 4) __________ operation with a reference water level above the spillway crest level is more stable than that with a reference water level below the spillway crest level. Also, level controller gains should be updated in real-time operation, not only as a function of the actual operating point (full or partial load) but also as a function of the actual operating mode (normal or flood conditions) in order to guarantee the stability and responsiveness of a water level control system. If real-time gain updates are not possible, a similar analysis to the one carried out in this paper 5) __________ in order to select a pair of gains that guarantees a stable response in as many operating points and modes as possible.