Examining County Migration: 2010-2016

.. tools and data to examine U.S. by county migration 2010 to 2016 … is the population moving away or into your counties of interest? What are the trends; what is causing the change? What are the characteristics of the population moving in and out? How might this impact your living environment and business?

The total net international migration among all counties 7/1/2010 – 7/1/2016 was 5,641,260, an annual average of 940,432. The sum of net domestic migration among counties is zero by definition, but domestic migration among counties varies radically by size and direction. This section is focused on U.S. by county migration from 2010 to 2016. Migration is one component of change used to develop population estimates. See more about county population estimates and components of change in this related Web section.

Largest 10 Counties Based on 2016 Population
This table shows how domestic migration varies widely among the most populated counties. Use this interactive table to develop your own custom views for counties of interest.

Patterns of Population Change by County, 2010-2016
– the role and impact of migration
The following graphic shows how counties have gained population (blue and green) and lost population (orange and red) during the period 2010 to 2016. Click graphic for larger view; expand browser window for best quality view.

.. view developed with ProximityOne CV XE GIS and related GIS project.

Examining Population Components of Change
– net migration and natural change
Population change can be examined in terms of components of change. There are three components of change: births, deaths, and migration. The change in the population from births and deaths is often combined and referred to as natural increase or natural change. Populations grow or shrink depending on if they gain people faster than they lose them. Examining a county’s unique combination of natural change and migration provides insights into why its population is changing and how quickly the change is occurring.

Using the Interactive Table
– examining migration by county
Use the interactive table to examine characters of counties by states, metro or peer group. The following graphic illustrates use of the interactive table to view net migration for the Houston metro by county. The net migration button was used to select only the net migration columns, FindCBSA button used to show only counties in this metro and the final step was to sort the resulting table on 2016 population. Click graphic for larger view.

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Tools to Analyze County Demographic-Economic Characteristics

.. demographic-economic characteristics of counties are essential for business development, market analysis, planning, economic development, program management and general awareness of patterns and trends. This section provides access to data and tools to examine these data for all counties in the U.S. This annual update includes geographic area characteristics based on ACS 2015 data.  The tools/data are organized into four related sections summarized below.

1. General Demographics
View interactive table at http://proximityone.com/us155dp1.htm
Patterns of School Age Population by County
Use GIS tools to visually examine county general demographics as illustrated below. The following view shows patterns of percent population ages 5 to 17 years of age by county — item D001-D004-D018 in the interactive table. Create your own views.

… view developed using the CV XE GIS software.

2. Social Characteristics
View interactive table at http://proximityone.com/us155dp2.htm 
Patterns of Educational Attainment by County
– percent college graduate
Use GIS tools to visually examine county social characteristics as illustrated below. The following view shows patterns of percent college graduate by county — item S067 in the interactive table. Create your own views.

… view developed using the CV XE GIS software.

3. Economic Characteristics
View interactive table at http://proximityone.com/us155dp3.htm 
Patterns of Median Household Income by County
Use GIS tools to visually examine county economic characteristics as illustrated below. The following view shows patterns median household income by county — item E062 in the interactive table. Create your own views.

… view developed using the CV XE GIS software.

4. Housing Characteristics
View interactive table at http://proximityone.com/us155dp4.htm 
Patterns of Median Housing Value by County
Use GIS tools to visually examine county housing characteristics as illustrated below. The following view shows patterns median housing value by county — item E062 in the interactive table. Create your own views.

… view developed using the CV XE GIS software.

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Regional Economic Information System: Annual Updates

.. which counties are experiencing the fastest economic growth? by what economic component? what does this look like on a per capita level?

.. access & analyze economic characteristics and patterns by county and state .. annual time series 1969 through 2015 with projections.  Personal income is the income available to persons for consumption expenditures, taxes, interest payments, transfer payments to governments and the rest of the world, or for saving. Use the interactive table to examine characteristics of counties and regions of interest. The table provides access to 31 personal income related summary measures. These data are a selection of a broader set of annual time series data from the Regional Economic Information System (REIS). REIS is a part of the ProximityOne State & Regional Income & Product Accounts (SRIPA) and Situation & Outlook (S&O) featuring current (2016) estimates and demographic-economic projections. Go to table.

Visual Analysis of Per Capita Personal Income Patterns
The following map shows the Houston metro (view profile) with bold brown boundary. Counties are labeled with county name and 2014 per capita personal income.

Click graphic for larger view. View developed with CV XE GIS software.

Per Capita Personal Income Change 2008-2014 by County
.. relative to U.S 2008-2014 change

Click graphic for larger view. View developed with CV XE GIS software.

Interactive Analysis – County or State Profiles
The following graphic illustrate use of the interactive table to view an economic profile for Harris County, TX. Use the table to examine characteristics of any county or state. Click graphic for larger view.

Interactive Analysis
– comparing per capita personal income across counties
The next graphics illustrates use of the interactive table to rank/compare per capita personal income across counties. Rank/compare states. Choose any of the economic profile items. Click graphic for larger view.

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

New Residential Construction by County

.. what’s happening in the north Dallas metro? .. a lot, take a look at the patterns of new residential construction for Collin and Denton counties using data and tools presented in this section. Examine new residential construction, leading economic indicator, for counties and regions of interest to you anywhere in the U.S. Use of the Regional Demographic-Economic Modeling System (RDEMS) to examine patterns of residential construction in context of related wide-ranging, multi-sourced data.

This section provides a summary of new housing units authorized by building permits for new residential construction for each/all counties. Use data analytics tools and data described here analyze these data and related housing issues.
• interactive data analytics – details/access
• use GIS project/datasets – details/access
• access individual county profiles – details/access

Patterns of New Authorized Residential Units by County
The following graphic shows the 2015 per capita value of total units authorized by county. The four largest Texas metros are shown with bold brown boundaries.
See about subject matter included in datasets.

View created with CV XE GIS. Click graphic for larger view.

Additional views with counties labeled with name, 2015 housing units and 2015 total new housing units authorized.
• Charlotte, NC-SC metro by county
• Dallas, TX metro by county
• Houston, TX metro by county

Leading Economic Indicator
Building permit data (housing units authorized by building permits for new residential construction) are economic leading indicators. Investors and housing developers use these data to examine the characteristics and trends in new residential housing development. The short time lag between the data reference date and data access date, 1-2 months, makes this set of indicators important in assessing the current situation and patterns during the past year or more. The national scope coverage and geographic granularity (state, metro, county and city) enable comparison among types of areas and peer groups. Finance and real estate professional and researchers examine building permit patterns to develop strategic insights. Government and policy makers use these data to get a pulse on markets and changing patterns to administer programs and operations. See more about these data below in this section.

New residential construction begins with building permits. Overall U.S. housing starts are approximately 2.5% less than permits issued (22.5% less for multi-family units). Completions are approximately 4% less than starts (7.5% less for multi-family units). During the past year-plus, “residential fixed investment” has been approximately $500 billion and remained steady at 3.1% of real Gross Domestic Product.

Access Individual County Profiles
The following graphic illustrates use of the Regional Demographic-Economic Modeling System (RDEMS) to access the HSG1 Housing Units & New Residential Construction tables for a selected county. Click graphic for larger view.

Mecklenburg County, NC [37119] located in the Charlotte, NC-SC metro

Add a link to your Web page for areas of interest: The URL structure for Mecklenburg County is:
– http://proximityone.com/rdems/1/rdems37119hsg1.htm
– more in general, substitute the county state+county FIPS code (37119 in this case) to access a county of interest.

Using the Interactive Table
The interactive table includes a row for each county. Column structure and content are described below the table.
• Click the StCty link to view the housing unit/new construction profile.
• Select a metro to examine component counties

The following graphic illustrtaes use of the table to examine characteristics of the Dallas metro counties. Click graphic for larger view.

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Using ACS County Data

… we are always seeking the most current data for areas of interest. This section provides an update on accessing unpublished ACS 1-year data for many counties.  Learn about how you can access ACS 1-year estimates for 85 counties for which Census released only as 5-year estimates … and why it matters. See the corresponding full Web section.

Data are tabulated from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) as 1-year estimates (for areas with population 65,000 and over) and as 5-year estimates (for areas under 65,000 population). See more about ACS 1-year versus 5-year estimates in this section.

ACS 2014 1-year tabulation areas, as released by the Census Bureau included 817 of 3142 counties and 508 of 917 metros/CBSAs. There are 85 counties for which ACS 2914 1-year estimates were not released by Census but are derivable by subtracting the aggregate county components from metro totals in selected metros.

County & Metro ACS 2014 1-year Estimates
The following graphic shows Texas and adjacent areas:
• ACS 2014 1-year estimates metros with bold brown boundaries
• Counties for which ACS 2014 1-year data were tabulated and released (green).
• Counties for which ACS 2014 1-year data are derivable but not released as tabulation areas (blue).

… view developed using the CV XE GIS software.
… click map for larger view and details.

The next view shows a zoom-in to the Austin, TX metro. The four green shaded counties had ACS 2014 1-year estimates tabulated and released. The fifth Austin metro county, Caldwell shaded blue, was not tabulated but the ACS 1-year data are derivable by subtracting the sum of the four counties from the metro totals. Tabulated data for Caldwell was released only as ACS 2014 5-year estimates. A similar situation exists in many metros across the country.

Why this Matters
There are 85 counties for which ACS 2014 1 year data are available but not released/made available by Census as separately tabulated areas. This is important due to these considerations:
• these are true annual estimates (as opposed to the other 5-year estimated counties)
• they are more recent that 5-year estimates
• they reflect conditions centric to one year
• they enable time series/trend analysis
• [as it turns out] they enable access to 1 year estimates for all counties (instead of some) in some metros

Using API Tools to Examine these Data
Create CSV-like files by clicking these links. When a link is clicked a new page will show the ACS 2014 1-year estimates tabulations areas. The area name, code and ACS 2014 1-year total population estimate is shown.
• Click to retrieve county data
• Click to retrieve metro data

Items used in these API calls:
.. B01001_001E – Total population
.. B19013_001E – Median household income ($)
.. B19113_001E – Median family income ($)
.. B19301_001E – Per capita income

Create/derive these data on your own; learn about which counties are derivable …

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

 

Census Tract-City Relationship Table

.. what census tracts are located in cities of interest? What are their codes? Conversely, do you have census tract codes and need to know corresponding city(s)? Get answers here.

This section provides access to an interactive table useful to examine relationships among Census 2010 census tracts, cities/places, and counties. Many cities and counties that might be experiencing demographic-economic decline will often have bright spots that are groups of a few or many census tracts. Census tracts are important sub-county geography in data analytics. See the related section on census data analytics. See more about census tracts and data analytics below in this section.

Relating Census Tracts to Cities & Counties
Census tracts are sub-county areas and nest coterminously within counties. The 6-character tract code is unique within county. For cities 10,000 and larger, there are some number of whole census tracts within the city. But around the perimeter of cities, census tracts will often be partly within and partly outside of the city. The following graphic shows the relationship of tracts, cities and counties in the Plano city area (green fill pattern) located mostly in Collin County within the Dallas metro. Click graphic for larger view, more detail and legend color/data intervals. This map illustrates the geographic level of detail available using census tract demographics and the relative ease to gain insights using geospatial data analytics tools.

– View developed using CV XE GIS and related GIS project.

Using the Interactive Relationship Table
A small part of Plano is located in Denton county (see north-south bold red-brown boundary). Tract 021627 (see pointer) is located in Denton County and includes a part of Plano. To determine what geography tract 021627 intersects, click the Tract> button below the interactive table shown below. See that the tract is contained in parts of 4 cities.

Census Tract to City/Place & County Equivalence Table
The following graphic illustrates use of the interactive table to view/examine the relationship between census tract 48121021627 (in Denton County, TX) and the city of Plano, TX. Click graphic for larger view.

The above view was developed using the interactive table:
– click the ShowAll button
– click the FindTract button (preset to locate this tract).

Click the ShowAll button and enter a city/place (case-sensitive) name of interest to view the set of intersecting tracts. See the table usage notes below the table in the related Web page. We review operation of the table in the Data Analytics Web sessions.

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Analyzing County Business Patterns by Type of Business

.. mapping and analyzing county business patterns by type of business … this section reviews use of tools and methods to develop custom U.S. by county business patterns data by type of business and develop mapping and related GIS applications. Steps illustrate how to develop a U.S. by county business patterns dataset for the supermarket  industry — NAICS type of business code 445100. Use the interactive table in this related section to examine supermarket business characteristics by county. Create map views such as shown below and perform wide-ranging business patterns data analytics using the tools. Develop similar applications for any type of business – see full list of NAICS/type of business categories. This section is focused on Census-sourced County Business Patterns released April 2016. There are additional data resources that can be used in a similar manner reviewed in main Web section.

Patterns of Supermarket Establishments by County
The following graphic shows patterns of the number of supermarket establishments by county for the Houston metro (bold boundary) region. Counties are labeled with the number of supermarkets and county name. Number of supermarkets shown by intervals/colors as depicted in legend panel at left of map window. Create custom maps similar to this view for your regions of interest depicting establishments, employment or payroll for your type of business selection(s). Click graphic for larger view with more detail; expand browser window for best quality view.

View developed with CV XE GIS software using GIS project.

See full Web section to access data, tools and more detail.

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Mapping Statistical Data

.. GIS tools & data resources that you can use for statistical mapping & visual data analysis … Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide flexible and powerful capabilities to combine maps with data. In our increasingly data rich environment, we often experience “drowning in data.” GIS tools can help harness disparate and voluminous data and assist with data linkage. This section provides links to other sections that provide information on no cost GIS software and “production” GIS projects and datasets that you can use.

Patterns of Per Capita Personal Income Change 2008-14 by County
— relative to U.S. PCPI 2008-14 change
To illustrate, the following graphic shows patterns of per capita personal income change 2008 to 2014 by county relative to the U.S. See more information. Click graphic for larger view with legend and additional details. Make variations of this map view using resources described in this section. Optionally integrate your own data.

— view created using CV XE GIS and associated REIS GIS Project

GIS provides us with a way to improve collaboration; we can more easily comprehend and understand geographic relationships and patterns among “variables” and statistical data. As we reduce tabular data to visual representations, we are better able to communicate “what the data are telling us” among stakeholders and teams/committees. This second dimension, learning what the data are telling us, provides the power of creating insights for more effective decision-making.

Mapping Statistical Data Topics
Most applications presented in this section involve use of Windows-based desktop GIS software. The software and GIS project files and datasets are installed on your computer. These resources are available for use by members of the User Group at no fee.  Click a link below to view additional details about a topic of interest.  There you find a description of the scope and use of the data/geography, steps to access and use the GIS projects/datasets and getting started tutorials.
• World by Country
• U.S. by State
• U.S. by Congressional District
• U.S. by Metropolitan Area
• U.S. by County
• U.S. by City/Place
• U.S. by ZIP Code Area
• State by Census Tract (each/all states)
• State by Block Group
• State by Census Block
• K-12 Schools & School District Data Analytics

Applications make use of a range of statistical data from the Federal Statistical System, and other sources, integrated with shapefiles from the Census Bureau TIGER/Line shapefiles, OpenStreetMaps, and other sources.

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss accessing, integrating and using these resources … and linking these data/geography with other data that relate to your situation.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

New York City: Census Block Demographics

.. census blocks are the smallest geographic areas for which decennial census data (and data from any Federal statistical program) are tabulated. Census blocks are geographically defined by the Census Bureau in coordination with local agencies. For Census 2010, there were a total of 11,078,297 census blocks covering the U.S. wall-to-wall. 541,776 of these blocks are water blocks, mainly located in coastal areas. Approximately one-third of all census blocks have zero population. See more about accessing and using census block demographics in this related Web section

Related New York City posts:
– Manhattan Financial Sector Earnings – monthly/quarterly attributes
    .. examine establishment characteristics by type of business
        for any New York City borough or the metro
– NYC Chelsea area and demographic analysis
– Patterns of Block Group Income Inequality
    .. illustrative applications in Pelham, NY vicinity; north of NYC & NYC overall

Census block data are important to demographic/market analysis in part due to the data being counts of population and housing units rather than estimates (subject to errors of estimation). Block data are also important due to their geographic granularity, very detailed geography. Block data provide a good way to aggregate small area demographics into territories, markets and service areas using GIS tools. We have not only demographic data for blocks but also their geographic attributes: location/boundary and area. Make maps and perform geospatial analysis using census block shapefiles. Use census block geography with non-census data for wide-ranging analyses.

Largest Population New York City (NYC) Census Blocks
The following graphic shows the NYC Census 2010 census block having the largest Census 2010 population that is not a group quarters population block.
The Lincoln Center census block shown in the graphic (red boundary) has 4,067 population and 2,922 housing units.

– click graphic for larger view; view developed using CV XE GIS

This block (36 061 015500 6000) occupies 0.033 square miles. It has a population density of 122,333 (population per square mile).

The NYC block with the largest population is on Rikers Island and has a group quarters population of 8,634 and 0 housing units.

For Census 2010, there were 350,169 census blocks covering the state of New York; 13,356 census blocks were water blocks. For the State of New York, as of Census 2010 the average census block population was 55 (57 excluding water blocks).

More about census blocks. In built-up urban areas, a census block often shares a boundary with a conventional 4-sided city block. Census blocks are normally bounded by roads and in some cases other types of physical boundaries. For Census 2010, each census block is coded as urban or rural; this is the basis for defining urban or rural population and geographies such as urbanized areas. See urban population and urban/rural ZIP Codes. Census block geography nest within block groups and census tracts.

Upcoming sections will focus on accessing, integrating and using New York City block group and census tract demographic-economic data. Unlike census blocks, annually updated demographic-economic data are available for block groups and census tracts from the American Community Survey.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

State Population 2014 & Demographic Change

.. state population dynamics are changing. Learn more about how states are changing and why — using tools and resources reviewed here. Examine how these changes might impact you.

Births as one component of change … births in the U.S. for the years 2011 through 2014 are estimated at 3.97M, 3.94M, 3.96M and 3.96M (birth rates of 12.80, 12.58, 12.54, 12.46). This relatively flat pattern varies substantially by state and region. The Northeast, Midwest and West regions experienced declining births 2010-14, while the South region had a modest increase. View extensive detail on the population and population components of change in the interactive table below. Sort, rank compare states and regions based on single years or change over time. Use our GIS project to visually examine patterns. Details below. These new 2014 state population and components of change (births, deaths, migration) estimates were released December 23 and will update with 2015 estimates in late 2015. See the related Web section with interactive table and more details.

State Migration Patterns, 2010-2014
The following view shows patterns of total cumulative state net migration for the years 2011-2014 (7/1/10 to 7/1/14). See inset legend. The label shows total state net migration for the period as a percent of 2014 total population. In expanded view, the top label shows the total state net migration for the period and the bottom label shows total state net migration for the period as a percent of 2014 total population. Use the GIS project (details below) to create views with other population and population components of change or rates for any year or year group. Label areas are desired. Add other layers such as regions or divisions. Add your own data.

View created with CV XE GIS. Click graphic for larger view with more detail.

Importance of these Data; Projecting Future Patterns
These data are important. They tell stakeholders how the population is changing, when, and where by state, multi-state regions and for the U.S.; overall. Annual measures of population change provide insights into recent patterns and how the population might change during the next few years. These data do not, in general, tell us why the population is changing. More detailed estimates of state and sub-state 2014 population by age, gender and race origin will be released between now and mid-2015.

These historical data, based on facts or near-facts, are used in models to develop projections of how the population size, characteristics and distribution might evolve in the years ahead. The projections need to be updated annually to reflect the more factually based estimates. The models endeavor to capture/specify the why of population change and how change manifests itself by age, gender and race/origin — and the all important where and when.

Selected Top 10 State Rankings

Using the GIS Resources: Flexible Visual Pattern Analysis
1. Install the ProximityOne CV XE GIS
… run the CV XE GIS installer
… take all defaults during installation
2. Download the U.S. by State Population 2014 GIS project fileset
… requires ProximityOne User Group ID (join now, no fee)
… unzip U.S. State Population GIS project files to local folder c:\popest
3. Open the c:\popest\stpop2014.gis project
… after completing the above steps, click File>Open>Dialog
… open the file named c:\popest\stpop2014.gis
4. Done. The start-up view is similar to the graphic shown at the top of this section.

Using the Interactive Table
Use the interactive table to view, rank, query and compare states based on detailed characteristics. The following graphic illustrates use of the interactive table to rank states in descending order based on population change 2010 to 2014 (see pointer in rightmost column).

Click graphic for larger view.

Support Using these Resources
Learn more about demographic economic data and related analytical tools. Join us in a Decision-Making Information Web session. There is no fee for these one-hour Web sessions. Each informal session is focused on a specific topic. The open structure also provides for Q&A and discussion of application issues of interest to participants.