PERMAP 11.8a

PERMAP is an interactive Windows-based MDS program that can make any of the standard types of MDS analyses. In addition, it adds some important features that have to do with error analysis and the investigation of the influence of “data types.” You will probably enjoy your ability to change MDS parameters, dimensionality, objective functions, and so forth, “on the fly” while you observe the affect your changes make on a real-time MDS map.

PERMAP has joined the NewMDSX organization and it is now available, free, via their web site. NewMDSX offers a large suite of new and classic MDS programs. The NewMDSX web site is here: http://www.newmdsx.com/.

I encourage you to visit the NewMDSX site. It has a wide range of MDS programs which include most of the “classics” that have been translated from their early programming languages (usually FORTRAN).

The NewMDSX site charges a nominal fee to download their entire suite of programs (PERMAP is free). Even the source code is available for many of their programs.

A guide to making MDS analyses using PERMAP is approximately 77 pages long and can be downloaded (or opened, depending on your browser) in pdf format here: MDS Using Permap 11.8

I am still available to answer general PERMAP and MDS questions (email here: ron at heady dot us), but please don’t try to con me into doing your homework for you. :) As a retired professor I get a bit grumpy with students that try to avoid the hard work that good scholarship demands. On the other hand, I delight in seeing new MDS applications, helping students that are stuck after trying their best, and working with those of you that want to dig deeper. Certainly, if you find a bug in PERMAP please let me know immediately.

If your systems administrator needs a letter stating that you have permission to post PERMAP on a school server I will be happy to provide one. Or, if you are a teacher and want to download a completely free version of PERMAP for class room use, please contact me.

Ron Heady