Information For:

Services & Resources

Hardware

Windows Computers
The PSTC has approximately 50 Dell workstations running Windows 7 64-bit in Mencoff Hall. The computers are all new dual core processors with at least 4 GB of memory and flat panel monitors. Faculty PCs all have quad core processors, with at least 4GB of memory and 250 GB hard drives. Each student workspace and faculty or staff office is equipped with its own computer. The PSTC also has a computer lab with 8 computers available for use by any member of the PSTC community.

Linux/UNIX Servers
Our current computational servers consists of two Sun Microsystems Linux servers running RedHat ,a Sunfire v40z with 4 dual core 64bit AMD CPUs and 32 GB RAM, and a Sunfire X4600 with 8 dual core 64bit CPUs and 64GB RAM. These systems are configured with STATA/SE 11 STATA-MP 11, SAS 9.2, Matlab, SPlus, and other research software.

Windows Servers
The PSTC uses an Active Directory Domain running Windows server 2008 for authentication and security via group policy. These servers also monitor printer usage and are backed up nightly.

Printing and Scanning
There are 5 HP LaserJet 4300 laser printers in Mencoff Hall. There is one HP Color LaserJet 5550dn color laser printer and one large format HP Design Jet 500 for printing posters. There is also one XEROX DocuMate 632 duplex scanner.

Software

Windows Software
The following applications are installed on every PSTC computer:

  • Adobe Acrobat Pro 9
  • Adobe Reader 9
  • ArcGIS 9.3 Desktop and Workstation
  • Endnote
  • X1
Exceed 2007
  • Foxit Reader
  • Geoda 0.9.5-i
  • LINUX/UNIX Software
  • Nvivo 8
  • Putty SSH Client
  • Symantec Anti-Virus
  • WinScp
  • 7zip

Statistical Packages

  • Mplus
  • HLM6
  • SPSS 19
  • SAS 9.2
  • StataSE 11
  • STATA MP
  • StatTransfer 9

Mathematical

  • Matlab R2010b

Additional software is available through Brown CIS and can be installed on any Brown-owned computer. You can see a complete listing on the CIS Software Distribution Web site. If you need assistance installing any of this software on your computer, please send e-mail to help@pstc.brown.edu.

Programming Resources

Programming and statistical services are also offered by PSTC to affiliated faculty and students. PSTC's Research Analyst/Programmer provides statistical consultation and non-spatial programming services. She works with project teams to assemble, link, and analyze multi-layered, complex data sets to suit diverse research objectives using state-of-the-art computational/statistical software programs. This work includes reconciling questionnaire data across rounds with extensive subsetting of samples, matching across datasets that may have been collected at different levels, and accurately interpreting complex skip patterns. Other services include producing data files, analysis and reports to project teams, training in statistical software packages and walk-in and scheduled consultations. For more information, contact our Research Analyst/Programmer:

Ying Liu 
Research Analyst/Programmer
(401) 863-9411

107 Mencoff Hall

Spatial analysis is provided by Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences (S4) and is described in detail on the Spatial Analysis services web page. The S4 facility in Maxcy Hall has 12 offices that provide space for 3 faculty, 4 staff, and 8 post-docs or graduate students, each with a dedicated PC that can access the Mencoff Hall computer services.