Report on UNIX|STAT release 5.1: Data analysis programs for UNIX and MSDOS

UNIX|STAT is a statistical package developed at the University of California, San Diego, and at the Wang Institute of Graduate Studies. Over 20 programs allow the manipulation and analysis of data and are complemented by a detailed tutorial, a manual entry for each program, and a quick reference sheet. The package was first introduced as 4 programs (Perlman, 1980). Since then, many programs have been added, and since 1980, the package has been distributed to over 400 UNIX sites. The portability of the package, written in C, was demonstrated when it was ported from UNIX to MSDOS at Cornell University on an IBM PC using the Lattice C compiler. The added capabilities of the package, combined with the availability on the popular MSDOS, used on IBM, AT&T, Wang, and other personal computers, make the programs even more useful for psychological research and instruction.     

A system for automatically analyzing and correcting real-time experiment control programs

A system is described that automatically analyzes the time constraints in a real-time experiment control program and automatically makes corrections to that program to provide any degree of temporal accuracy desired by the experimenter within the capabilities of the hardware. A generalized procedure is presented to allow similar systems to be developed for most common languages and hardware platforms.     

The PSYCHLAB programming system: A tool for developing experimental control programs

The PSYCHLAB system is designed to facilitate the task of writing experimental control programs. The system consists of two major components: (1) a collection of procedures and functions to facilitate presenting stimuli, collecting responses, and measuring response times and (2) a high-level language (LAB-TALK) designed to organize and sequence events in experiments. The PSYCHLAB system is formally an interpreter that will interpret programs written in LAB-TALK. The interpreter is customized to perform the detailed functions of each trial in an experiment. The occurrence of these trials is controlled by the LAB-TALK program. Thus, once a particular experimental paradigm has been represented in a customized version of the interpreter, many different experiments in that paradigm can be programmed by variations in the LAB-TALK program.     

A real-time satellite system based on UNIX

One solution to the difficulty of running real-time applications under UNIX is to develop the application programs on an available UNIX system and execute them on a dedicated satellite processor. This combines the advantages of a powerful timesharing operating system with the real-time capabilities of a single-process system. PARASITE, a real-time satellite system, provides tools for developing the application program on the host and executing it on a satellite. A host utility serves to invoke the standard UNIX C compiler and link its output with the PARASITE library. The PARASITE library consists of routines that mimic the standard library and routines that read and write the real-time peripherals. PARASITE currently supports digital inputs and outputs, asynchronous serial-line interfaces, program-mable real-time clocks, and analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters. Another PARA-SITE utility downloads the object code of the user program and PARASITE support code into the satellite, where it runs independently. Once the application routine is executing on the satellite, it controls the satellite processor at all times and is continuously available for servicing hardware-generated interrupts. When a real-time peripheral interrupt routine is invoked by a hardware interrupt, it sends a software signal to the user program, in addition to processing the interrupt. This allows the user program to perform additional tasks that are specific to the application. All data to be permanently stored must be transferred to the host. Since the satellite has no direct access to the resources of the host, a process running on the host receives the data and manages files. PARASITE provides packet driver routines on both the host and the satellite, which together handle the data transmission protocol.     

A floppy disk operating system for the 8080 and Z80

Techniques for the design and implementation of a floppy disk operating system for the 8080A or Z80 microprocessors are described. Implementation details are illustrated through reference to SOS, a prototype Small Operating System which runs with a single IBM-format floppy drive on an 8080. Techniques for floppy disk communication, disk directory design, and system resource management are described and illustrated.     

Experimental social innovation and client-centered job-seeking programs

The complexity of most social problems and a growing human services shortfall dictate that we reevaluate our approach to planned social change. Simplistic one-shot evaluations of social interventions are unlikely to yield the kind of information that will help us identify true social innovations, understand and refine their instrumental processes, and thereby optimize their effects. However, incremental progress in these areas is possible through the pursuit of ESI or other systematic and rigorous approaches to outcome research.     

PC operating system for measuring discrete biological responses during classical conditioning

A software package, written in C source code for MS-DOS 5.0 or higher IBM-compatible computers, was developed for the classical conditioning of discrete biological responses. The program’s primary functions include collecting and storing conditioning parameters, controlling presentation of stimuli, transforming discrete analog responses into dependent measures (e.g., CR frequencies and various measures of response topography), and generating data sets for use with commercial PC statistical packages. These functions were implemented in a windows-based user interface to increase the experimenter’s ease of use and to maximize efficiency in performing experimental procedures. Scrollable windows provide detailed visual displays that permit monitoring responses during conditioning and a review of each trial after the session is over. Additional software tools aid the visual inspection of response topographies, data manipulation, and calibration of the experimental apparatus. An overview of the system, its design objectives, and the user interface is presented.     

An experiment control system for the Amiga microcomputer

The Commodore Amiga microcomputer, with its powerful and versatile hardware features, is well-suited to many areas of behavioral research. The complexity of the hardware and software, however, creates considerable difficulties for the researcher who wishes to construct real-time experiment-control programs. The present article describes a coordinated package of routines that have been designed to support experiment-control programs written in FORTRAN 77. The package was constructed specifically for cognitive research on verbal processes, but is sufficiently flexible to be useful in a variety of other applications. The functions performed by the program include the construction of stimulus displays, response detection, and timing operations.     

Elements of effective weight control programs: Implications for exercise and sport psychology

Abstract

Research on elements of effective weight control programs may have important implications for applied exercise and sport psychology. Eight of 11 elements were derived from the scientific literature: (1) quality of the initial assessment; (2) completeness of the cognitive-behavior therapy component; (3) completeness of the nutritional component; (4) emphasis on exercise; (5) training and skills of staff; (6) frequency of sessions and duration of the program; (7) management of the weight losers' social environments; (8) use of protein sparing modified fasting. The remaining 3 elements were selected based on clinical judgment; (9) reasonableness of costs; (10) ethics (including the use of scientific knowledge); and (11) flexibility of treatment. The gestalt of these elements represents a very comprehensive, intensive, and long-term approach to treating obesity. When all of these elements are operational, a treatment program can help many obese clients develop the super-normal self-regulatory skills that seem necessary to overcome the formidable psychological and behavioral barriers to permanent weight control. The implications of this perspective for cognitive-behavioral interventions designed to promote adherence to exercise and training regimens and to improve sport performance are considered. The primary conclusion is that more complete assessments and much longer and more intensive interventions and evaluations may be needed to promote robust changes in applied exercise and sport contexts.     

Student statistics programs for the Macintosh

This paper reviews 15 statistics programs for the Macintosh. All are intended for student use, often in conjunction with a statistics course, and are available for under $100. Of the general-purpose programs, Data Desk and StatView offer the most appealing combination of features, Macintosh interface, and student-accessible manual. Minitab is also recommended, especially in situations where some students will be using Macs and others using PCs. In addition to the analysis-only programs, two other applications present interesting combinations of statistics and other features. DataSim offers outstanding data generation and experiment simulation along with very complete, and psychology-oriented, statistical analysis. HyperStat combines an entire statistics textbook in hypertext format with a complete data analysis package. Finally, for special situations where simple statistics are all that are required, InStat is recommended because of its tutorial features and very simple interface.     

Signal-processing software for teaching and research in psychoacoustics under UNIX and X-Windows

A package of software is described that generates, analyzes, stores, and displays sampled waveforms. The package is designed for use under UNIX and includes C source code, UNIX manual pages, and tutorial documents. The programs interact via UNIX pipes using an ASCII-text data format, which enables the user to view the data in numerical form as well as through the use of plotting programs. Among many other functions, the programs can do the following: efficiently generate linearphase FIR filters with arbitrary transfer functions; generate impulse responses for rectangular rooms of specified dimensions; convolve waveforms with each other; perform Fourier transformation and inverse Fourier transformation; filter waveforms in the Fourier domain; filter waveforms according to the peripheral frequency selectivity of the human auditory system; cross-correlate waveforms; autocorrelate waveforms; synthesize complex waveforms, including vowel sounds and white noise. The software can read and write a variety of commonly used waveform file formats. The data can be plotted on an X-Window display using thegnuplot software, which has been included in the package. The complete software package is available via anonymous ftp from ftp.ihr.mrc.ac.uk in ~ftp/pub/johncu/wave.tar.Z