Name Kayley Cartwright Class time: 12pm
KEEP THIS TO 1-3 – PAGES LONG (EXCLUDING REFERENCE PAGE)
Author: Baase
Date of Publication: 2008
Book: “A Gift of Fire”
Sections read: 8.1 Failures and Errors in Computer Systems
8.2 Case Study: The Therac-25 425
1.(Knowledge) Tell three interesting elements of this chapter:
a. “We can categorize computer errors and failures in several ways, for example, by the cause, by the seriousness of the effects, or by the application area” (Baase, pg. 406).
b. “ The Therac-25 was a software-controlled radiation therapy machine used to treat people with cancer. Between 1985 and 1987, Therac-25 machines at four medical centers gave massive overdoses of radiation to six patients (Baase, pg.425).
c. “Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), a Canadian government corporation, manufactured the Therac-25. Investigators studying the accidents found that AECL produced very little documentation concerning the software specifications or the testing plan during development of the program. Although AECL claimed that they tested the machine extensively, it appeared that the test plan was inadequate (Baase, pg.426).
2.(Comprehension) Summarize what is being discussed within this chapter?
Errors, failures, and risk happen all the time when it comes to technology. A website may crash because of too many users or a computer program might fail because of an error. These problems happen all the time. Some are small and affect few people while some are large and affect many people. A perfect example would be the Therac-25. The machine had problems with the programming and many bugs that caused the machine to overdose six patients (Baase, pg.425). More information on Therac-25 http://courses.cs.vt.edu/cs3604/lib/Therac_25/Therac_1.html
3.(Application) Name a specific example or NEW solution for this type of problem/similar situation in society or that you have experienced – BE SPECIFIC AND EXPLAIN?
Problems with software happen all the time. Many of the bugs are found before the product or software is released to the public, a few of them slip by the testers. Take a look at the new iPhone that was released. Many people were complaining about the quick loss in battery life, although Apple claimed that the battery would last up to 8 hours talk time. It took Apple a while to admit that there were problems with the new iPhone 4S, but they have claimed to fix most of the problems and released an update for users to download. Here are the technical specifics that Apple released about the iPhone 4S: http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html Here is an article better explaining the bugs in the new iPhone 4S: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/237698/technology/more-bugs-reported-in-iphone-4s
4. (Analysis) Address ANY that apply. How can you compare one of the situations in this chapter to something that does not relate to computers, technology, or the Internet? Be sure to reference the chapter and your solution. What ideas NEW can you add to the issue that is being presented within the reading? Try to connect what you have by reading this article and how it applies to the stages in Bloom's taxonomy in 2 full sentences.
Many people thought that the Internet and computer systems were going to crash on January 1, 2000. People were told to stock up on food and water and that caused a panic. To tell the truth nothing really happened on the major scale, but some minor problems did occur. “For example, some credit cards with expiration dates in 2000 would not work” (Baase, pg.421). “People writing software in the 1960’s and 1970’s never considered or imagined that their code would still be used in the year 2000. Businesses and governments spent many billions of dollars on the “Y2K problem”, tracking down two-digit dates in their software and making modifications, rushing to finish before January 1, 2000” (Baase, pg.421).
5.(Synthesis) Address all that apply. Do you agree with what is being said within the article (Why/Why not? Back up with FACTS)? What new conclusions can you draw about this (or other topics) after reading this material?
Baase makes many great points about the errors of technology. This topic is important when it comes to technology in everyday life especially medicine. Computer programs and machines need to be tested and be working correctly before they are released to the public. There also can be issues when it comes to the Internet and websites. There maybe an error with your online banking or a companies business through the Internet. I think that there should be tougher regulations when it comes to companies producing products for medical treatments. Maybe if these stricter regulations were in place a while ago the deaths involved with the Therac-25 incident would of not had happened.
6.(Evaluation) Address all that apply. Judge whether or not this topic is relevant in today’s society? Evaluate why you are viewing the topic in this manner based on your experiences. What ethical evaluations (see Chap1-1.4 for exp of Ethics) or decisions were made/can be assumed from this chapter? What new ideas will you make after reading this chapter?
Errors, failures, and risks are an important topic to talk about when it comes to technology and safety. There are many new technological inventions that make life easier but they need to be tested to make sure they work okay. For example, my mom had to go to many training classes to learn how to do the new Da Vinci robotic surgeries. The new robotic surgeries are minimally invasive and allow a person to heal quicker. With this there are also many concerns, what happens if something goes wrong and the robot does the wrong thing? The doctor is controlling the robot away from the body and there are many safety features where the robot will just shut off. I have had the experience of seeing this robot at Millard Suburban Hospital and even got to do a pretend surgery myself using the controls it was like playing a video game.
http://www.davincisurgery.com/
http://biomed.brown.edu/Courses/BI108/BI108_2005_Groups/04/davinci.html
References
http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html
http://biomed.brown.edu/Courses/BI108/BI108_2005_Groups/04/davinci.html
http://courses.cs.vt.edu/cs3604/lib/Therac_25/Therac_1.html
http://www.davincisurgery.com/
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/237698/technology/more-bugs-reported-in-iphone-4s
Baase, Sara. A Gift of Fire. 3rd. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. 1-34. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment