Danny Kopec

Human Errors in Medical Practice: Systematic Classification and Reduction with Automated Information Systems

We review the general nature of human error(s) in complex systems and then focus on issues raised by Institute of Medicine report in 1999. From this background we classify and categorize error(s) in medical practice, including medication, procedures, diagnosis, and clerical error(s). We also review the potential role of software and technology applications in reducing the rate and nature of error(s).

THE BRATKO-KOPEC EXPERIMENT: A COMPARISON OF HUMAN AND COMPUTER PERFORMANCE IN CHESS

ABSTRACT Recently the best computer programs have demonstrated the ability to hold their own against grandmasters in blitz play and in tournament play have been able to obtain ratings just below the master level. The foundation of their success is the ability to exhaustively search 6 to 7 or more ply which makes them superior in tactical positions to humans of the same rating but not necessarily in positional play. We have designed the experiment in order to obtain some quantitative support for this proposition. Our positions have been chosen with the view that a certain type of positional move (called a lever) can play an important role in the strong players ability to find the best move in a position. Our hypothesis is that strong computer programs will score better than humans of the same rating on tactical problems but rather more poorly on the selected positional problems, unless the best positional move also leads to gain within their search limits.

Advances in Man-Machine Play

In 1968, Mac Hack Six (Greenblatt, Eastlake and Crocker 1967) became the first program to compete at the level of the average U.S. tournament player. At that time few people took the entry of programs into tournaments seriously. The programs were viewed primarily as a curiosity and, perhaps, a slight bother. Inevitably, the terminals on which the computer’s moves were relayed to the tournament site were noisy, disturbing the other participants. Hence special arrangements had to be made for computer programs in tournaments such as separate rooms or tables. Fortunately, with the exception of a few vocal opponents, most people felt that the machines provided an interesting addition or sideshow to a tournament. Albeit relatively weak, computers scored a few points against humans in chess tournaments in the early 1970s. This started to cause some bad feelings from humans who lost points to the computers, feeling that they had been adversely affected by the participation of the programs.

Revisiting novice programmer errors

Although programmer errors have been investigated, only a limited range of error types typically made by novices have been scrutinized. In this paper we present an expanded classification of the types of errors considered in previous research. In particular, problems which require the use of more difficult program constructs such as nested loops, arrays, recursion and functions have been somewhat neglected. We hope this paper will encourage other researchers to further analyze the types of errors advanced novices will make and the types of misunderstandings which underlie such errors.

A description and study of intermediate student programmer errors

To date there has been considerable investigation into the study of novice programmer errors. The research has analyzed both syntactic and semantic errors. However, the next level of programmers, who make more sophisticated errors, the internmediate level programmers, have been somewhat neglected. In this paper, we focus on the nature of the errors which intermediate level programmers make. The basis of our study is the semantic approach. Here, we the study problems which require more difficult program constructs such as nested loops, arrays, recursion, and functions.

A taxonomy of concepts for evaluating chess strength

The authors present a taxonomy of positions in chess that require special knowledge. The taxonomy drives the selection of positions, not vice-versa. The authors present a set of annotated example problems from two specific categories that require understanding of critical concepts to achieve the maximum result.<<ETX>>

The 22d annual ACM international computer chess championship

D E E P T H O U G H T II coasted th rough five rounds of play at the 22d Annua l A C M Internat ional C o m p u t e r Chess Championsh ip , capturing first place with a perfect 5-0 score. The five round Swiss-style tournament was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Doubletree Hotel. Twelve teams participated with all but two teams playing clearly at the level of chess masters. Finishing in second place with a 4-1 score was M CHESS, which received the award for best small computer ; while CRAY B L I T Z and M E P H I S T O tied for third place with 3-2 scores.

The 21st ACM North American computer chess championship

8,000 in prizes were distr ibuted with

Towards an expert/novice learning system with application to infectious disease

4,000 going to the winner.

Results of the nineteenth ACM North American computer chess championship

After twenty years of traveling from city to city across the United States, the ACM North American Computer Chess Championship came back to the place of its birth, the New York Hilton Hotel, where the competitions began in 1970. This latest five-round event ended in a two-way tie for first place between MEPHISTO and DEEP THOUGHT/88. Finishing in a two-way tie for third place were HITECH and M CHESS. A total of 10 teams participated, and the level of play was at the low grandmaster level. A special three-round end-game championship was won by MEPHISTO, who also captured the prize for the best Small Computing System. A total of