YEAR IN REVIEW 1997: COMPUTERS-AND-INFO-SYSTEMS

Deep Blue In February 1996 Gary Kasparov, the world's best chess-playing human, sat down against Deep Blue, the world's best chess-playing computer, for the start of a six-game match. When Deep Blue defeated Kasparov in the first game, the shock was felt around the world. Had machines finally reached the same level of intelligence as humans? The interest in having computers play chess began in about 1950. The first step was the development of an algorithm for constructing chess programs. Programmers "told" the computer certain rules it should follow (e.g., develop its pieces toward the centre of the board, get its king into safety, and attack its opponents' king). Further enhancements came with the ability of the computer to analyze numerous positions quickly. By the mid-1980s a computer called Hitech was strong enough to be rated in the lower ranks of the world's grand masters. In 1988 Deep Thought, the predecessor of Deep Blue, became the first computer to defeat a grand master. Deep Thought was soon capable of searching 750,000 positions per second (compared with one or two positions for humans). In 1989 Kasparov, world champion at that time, played Deep Thought in a two-game match and won both games. That same year a new project began at IBM, headed by Chung-Jen Tan. He was assisted by Feng-Hsiung Hsu, Murray Campbell, A. Joseph Hoane, and Gershon Brody. (Hsu and Campbell had worked on Deep Thought.) The result was Deep Blue, a 32-node IBM PowerParallel SP2 high-performance computer with 256 microprocessors working in tandem. The team improved the calculating speed so that Deep Blue could look at more than one billion positions per second. It also had a massive opening database based on one million games from the past 100 years and an endgame database (which was activated when only five chess pieces remained) holding billions of scenarios. In 1995 a match between Deep Blue and Kasparov was negotiated. Each participant would have two hours to make the first 40 moves, a common rate of play in human competition, and the winner would receive $400,000 out of a $500,000 purse. Experts were astounded when the computer beat back a dubious attack by Kasparov and made him resign on the 37th move in the first game. At first Kasparov was demoralized by the defeat, but, as he admitted later, it was the best thing that could have happened, because it forced him to treat Deep Blue as an opponent instead of just a machine. As the match progressed, Kasparov changed his strategy. He played sound chess and avoided weaknesses in his position, limiting Deep Blue's potential to attack his king. He aimed for positions that would cause the computer to have trouble in analyzing the position and make it unable to come up with a plan. Consequently, it made weak moves. Kasparov then built up a superior position that enabled him to win. After the initial loss, Kasparov won three and drew two for a 4-2 victory. Kasparov and the programmers for Deep Blue agreed to a rematch and scheduled it for May 1997. The programmers planned to upgrade the machine's sense of positional strategy so that Deep Blue could better analyze positions and be more flexible, but they admitted it would be a painstaking process. In the end, Kasparov demonstrated the flexibility and adaptability of human reasoning. Whether Deep Blue, or any machine, would ever be able to match that, only time would tell. (STEVEN MONTI) Computers and Information Systems The Internet. It was the year of the Internet's World Wide Web, which by the end of 1996 had so permeated the public's consciousness that even nontechnical adults were likely to speak of the "Net" and the "Web." Companies large and small began including a Web-site address in their print advertising and television commercials. Big telecommunications firms such as AT&T and MCI Communications Corp. began offering their customers Internet access services, competing with America Online, Inc., CompuServe Inc., and hundreds of smaller firms that already did so. Meanwhile, Internet access was no longer limited to computers. New smart telephones were able to send Internet E-mail messages, and televisions equipped with special set-top boxes were able to provide access to the Web. As a result, some Internet-related companies had a big year in the stock market. Yahoo! Inc., an Internet search engine company that held its initial public stock offering in April, watched its stock rise from the offering price of $13 a share to $33 a share at the close of the next day's trading. It was the most closely watched high-tech public offering since the explosive 1995 debut of Netscape Communications Corp., the Web browser company founded by entrepreneur James Clark and software developer Mark Andreessen. (See BIOGRAPHIES.) Profitability, however, eluded most companies doing business on the Internet. While Web-site advertising grew by 83% in the first half of 1996, few commercial business operations on the Internet made money. In fact, most of the advertisers were high-tech companies buying advertising on each other's Web sites. Consumer product companies continued to be cautious about Internet advertising. Most advertisers tried to capitalize on the Internet's strength--reaching narrowly defined audience groups. For example, the Discovery Channel Online--the Internet cousin of the cable TV Discovery channel--sought to provide information on the Web that would appeal to the same demographic segment as its TV audience, mainly well-educated, upscale men aged 25 to 54. There was great interest in extending the Internet to more people. In March U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton participated in a new California school event that spawned subsequent efforts across the country. Called NetDay96, it was a grassroots volunteer campaign to wire schools for Internet access at little cost to the public. By the year's end other states were promoting similar efforts, but the Internet revolution still had not reached many public libraries and schools that could most benefit from easy access to a world of information. An amendment to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 authorized subsidies for information technology to libraries and schools, but late in the year the federal government was just receiving recommendations on how to make that happen. Some studies suggested the Internet might facilitate learning. The Center for Applied Special Technology, based in Washington, D.C., reported that a study of urban school districts showed that elementary school students with access to the Internet had an advantage in learning over those without access. The study concentrated on 500 fourth- and sixth-grade students in Chicago, Ill.; Dayton, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; Memphis, Tenn.; Miami, Fla.; Oakland, Calif.; and Washington, D.C. Its results showed that students who used the Internet scored higher on nine learning criteria, which included greater insight into a topic and accuracy in handling information. Meanwhile, the major telephone and cable television companies tried to participate in the Internet boom by offering Net access services at previously unheard-of speeds. A new high-speed cable modem that would allow a personal computer (PC) to access the Internet through the same fibre-optic cables that transmitted cable TV programs was introduced in selected cities. It offered access speeds more than 300 times faster than those of most consumer computer modems. Telephone companies spent the closing months of 1996 preparing to introduce "xDSL" transmission technologies, which would allow telephone lines to access the Internet more than 50 times faster than present modems. As the year ended, there were questions about how soon either telephone companies or cable TV companies could introduce the new services to the general population, since in many areas the transmission lines would need to be upgraded before consumers could take advantage of the new services. Telecommunications reform became more controversial than ever before when the U.S. Congress early in 1996 approved a bill containing the hotly debated Communications Decency Act. The act provided for fines and jail sentences for Internet content providers who distributed "indecent materials" to minors. In June a three-judge federal panel ruled that the Communications Decency Act was unconstitutional. As part of the opinion, one judge wrote, "As the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed, the Internet deserves the highest protection from governmental intrusion." That ruling faced federal court appeals, however, and, in the meantime, some states began passing their own restrictive laws governing on-line content. Connecticut, Maryland, New York, and Oklahoma passed laws that restricted the transmission of on-line material. This raised the possibility of widely varied regulations based on geographic boundaries. Moral questions dogged other media as well. To deal with concerns about the content of television programs, work continued on technology that would allow in-home blocking of certain programs based on a system of ratings. Necessary for such blocking was computer circuitry called the V-chip, which would be built into TV sets. Computer Consumer Technologies. Digital video (or versatile) disc (DVD) was one of the most talked-about consumer computer technologies in 1996, even though most consumers had not yet seen it. A DVD player would read a shiny disc similar in appearance to a computer CD-ROM but able to hold about 4.7 billion bytes of data, compared with 650 million bytes on a CD-ROM. (Future DVD discs were expected to hold more than eight billion bytes.) The increased DVD storage capacity also would make possible higher-quality video and sound than could be obtained with a videocassette recorder tape and would make it feasible for a moviemaker to sell a single DVD containing several different endings to the same film or multiple versions of the same movie, each in a different language. The first consumer DVD players were expected to debut in the U.S. in early 1997. Digital photography, a marriage of computer chips and traditional cameras that could capture photos in electronic form, began to trickle into the U.S. market during 1996. These electronic cameras had previously cost from $1,500 to $30,000, but prices had dropped dramatically. Proponents hoped digital cameras costing less than $1,000 would compete for part of the $13 billion that U.S. consumers were expected to spend in 1996 on conventional cameras, photographic accessories, and film processing, while camera manufacturers and computer makers hoped that consumers would be interested in taking digital photos that could be edited on PC screens. Consumer Affairs In February the U.S. Congress passed and Pres. Bill Clinton signed into law the most wide-ranging reform of the nation's telecommunications laws since 1934, promising consumers a new level of price competition and a wider array of services through the telephone, television, and computer. Amid many complicated provisions, a basic goal of the reforms was to dismantle regulations that gave the seven regional Bell phone companies monopoly control over their respective local service areas. Although consumers had been able to choose from various long-distance companies since the partial breakup of the phone monopoly in 1984, such competition was not allowed for local phone service (except for relatively expensive cellular offerings). Meanwhile, the Bells were not allowed to compete in the long-distance or the cable television markets, so additional competition and innovation were quelled there. The new Telecommunications Act freed the Bells to offer long-distance service to their customers, providing they opened their local markets to competitors such as the long-distance carriers and cable companies. The main issues remaining were how quickly anticipated consumer benefits would accrue and who would be left behind. Health care as a consumer issue continued to provoke legislative attention in the U.S., at both the federal and state level. Federal mandates for minimum maternity stays in hospitals were signed into law. Concerns about access to health insurance prompted federal reforms that guaranteed "portability." For example, people who had insurance at a previous job were promptly eligible for coverage at their next job, regardless of preexisting medical conditions. Health insurance consumers were also offered a new tax incentive to facilitate their financial control over health care in a pilot program that allowed them to buy less-expensive, high-deductible insurance policies and keep the tax-free savings in so-called medical savings accounts for their future medical spending. At the state level campaigns by provider and consumer groups focused attention on the growing managed-care insurance industry. Some 33 states enacted laws regulating managed-care plans, largely aimed at practices designed to limit patient care. These included laws prohibiting or restricting contractual "gag clauses," which limited what physicians could tell patients about treatment options under their plans; laws guaranteeing access to specialists; and reform of methods for reviewing doctors' practice patterns. Twenty-four states' attorneys general asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the states' powers to limit the late fees that credit-card companies charge consumers. The court ruled in early June, however, that national credit-card companies can charge the maximum allowable fees applicable within the state where each credit-card company is based and thus were not subject to rate restrictions in other states. Some consumer groups argued that banks would begin charging consumers higher rates. Industry observers noted, however, that vigorous competition kept such fees to a minimum, regardless of the court's sanction. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved olestra, the first calorie-free fat substitute. The approval limited its use to potato chips and other salty snacks, but the manufacturer of olestra, Procter & Gamble, wanted approval eventually for a wider range of foods. Some medical experts, including five members of the Food and Drug Administration's advisory panel that recommended approval, raised concerns about olestra's side effects, especially possible detrimental nutrient loss, particularly in children. Procter & Gamble's safety studies were criticized as too limited in scope. Gasoline prices temporarily rose to the highest levels since the Persian Gulf War in 1991, which prompted several consumer groups and politicians to call for a federal investigation of the pricing practices of oil companies. This overlooked the fact, reported in April by the American Petroleum Institute, that gas prices were about half what they had been when government price controls were first lifted in 1981. As a result of deaths and injuries to children and frail adults caused by air bags, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed in December that car makers be authorized to reduce the air bag inflation power by 20-35%. (PETER L. SPENCER) See also Business and Industry Review: Advertising; Retailing; The Environment. CONTRIBUTORS Abramson, Gary. Reporter on Spain for Business Week, the Chicago Tribune, and the Associated Press. WORLD AFFAIRS: Spain Adams, Andy. Editor and Publisher, Sumo World. Author of Sumo; Sumo World Record Book. SPORTS AND GAMES: Judo; Wrestling: Sumo Alder, Phillip. Syndicated Bridge Columnist. Author of Get Smarter at Bridger. SPORTS AND GAMES: Contract Bridge Alexander, Steve. Freelance. COMPUTERS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS Allaby, Michael. Writer and Lecturer. Author of Basic Environmental Science; Facing the Future. THE ENVIRONMENT: Environmental Issues; International Environmental Activities Allan, J.A. Professor of Geography, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Author of Water and Peace in the Middle East. WORLD AFFAIRS: Libya Andrades, Jorge Adrin. SPORTS AND GAMES: Equestrian Sports: Polo Andrejevich, Milan. Writer and Journalist, Washington, D.C. WORLD AFFAIRS: Bosnia and Herzegovina; Yugoslavia Archibald, John J. Retired Feature Writer, St. Louis (Mo.) Post-Dispatch; Adjunct Professor, Washington University, St. Louis. Member of the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame. SPORTS AND GAMES: Bowling: U.S. Tenpins Arnold, Guy. Freelance Writer. Author of South Africa: Crossing the Rubicon; Modern Nigeria; and others. WORLD AFFAIRS: Botswana; Burundi; Cape Verde; Chad; Comoros; Djibouti; Equatorial Guinea; Gambia, The; Ghana; Guinea-Bissau; Lesotho; Liberia; Madagascar; Maldives; Mauritius; Nigeria; Rwanda; So Tom and Prncipe; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Swaziland Arnold, Mavis. Freelance Journalist, Dublin. WORLD AFFAIRS: Ireland Arrington, Leonard J. Formerly Church Historian, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Coauthor of The Mormon Experience and others. RELIGION: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Aurora, Vincent. Preceptor of French Literature, Columbia University, New York City. LITERATURE: French: France Baber, Bonnie. Senior Editor, Footwear News magazine. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Apparel: Footwear Backe, Everett E. Senior Scientist and Professor, Institute of Textile Technology. Author of Cotton Ginners Handbook. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Textiles: Cotton; Wool Bahry, Louay. Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Washington, D.C. Author of The Baghdad Bahn. WORLD AFFAIRS: Bahrain; Iraq Bailey, George. Author of Galileo's Children; Germans. WORLD AFFAIRS: Germany Bakker, Martinus A. Professor of Germanic Languages, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Mich. Editor of Studies in Netherlandic Culture and Literature. LITERATURE: Netherlandic Balaban, Avraham. Professor of Modern Hebrew Literature, University of Florida. Author of A Different Wave of Hebrew Fiction: Postmodernist Israel. LITERATURE: Jewish: Hebrew Barford, Michael F. Editor and Director, Tabacosmos. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Tobacco Barrett, David B. Research Professor of Missiometrics, Regent University, Virginia Beach, Va. Author of World Christian Encyclopedia; Schism and Renewal in Africa. RELIGION: Tables (in part) Barrett, John C.A. Headmaster, the Leys School; Secretary, British Committee, World Methodist Council. Author of Family Worship in Theory and Practice. RELIGION: Methodist Churches Bass, Howard. Journalist and Author; formerly Editor, Winter Sports; Ice Hockey Correspondent, Daily Telegraph; Skiing and Skating Correspondent, Daily Mail. Author of 17 books on winter sports. SPORTS AND GAMES: Ice Hockey: International; Ice Skating; Skiing Bauer, Stephen. Professor of English Literature, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Author of Daylight Savings, winner of the Peregrine Smith Poetry Prize. LITERATURE: Introduction Beckwith, David C. Freelance Journalist, Washington, D.C. WORLD AFFAIRS: United States: State and Local Affairs Belaski, Ann M. Copy Editor, Encyclopdia Britannica. BIOGRAPHIES (in part) Berfield, Susan. Staff Writer, Asiaweek magazine. WORLD AFFAIRS: Indonesia Bickelhaupt, David L. Professor Emeritus, Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Insurance Binczewski, George J. Principal Technical Adviser, S.C. Systems, Moraga, Calif. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Materials and Metals: Light Metals Bird, Thomas E. Co-director of the Jewish Studies Program and the Center for Jewish Studies, Queens College, City University of New York. LITERATURE: Jewish: Yiddish Bisman, Ronald W. North Island Editor, New Zealand Harness Racing Weekly. Author of Cardigan Bay; Salute to Trotting. SPORTS AND GAMES: Equestrian Sports: Harness Racing Bleibtreu, Hermann K. Professor of Anthropology, University of Arizona. ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY: Anthropology: Physical Blum, Charlotte. Staff Writer, Middle East Economic Digest, London. ARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING: Sidebar Boddy, William C. Founder and Editor, Motor Sport, London. Author of Aero-Engined Racing Cars. SPORTS AND GAMES: Automobile Racing: Grand Prix Racing Boden, Edward. Publications Adviser, British Veterinary Association. HEALTH AND DISEASE: Veterinary Medicine Boggan, Tim. Historian, U.S.A. Table Tennis Association (USATT). Author of Winning Table Tennis. SPORTS AND GAMES: Table Tennis Booth, John Nicholls. Lecturer and Writer. Author of The Quest for Preaching Power; Psychic Paradoxes; and others. RELIGION: Unitarian (Universalist) Churches Borth, David E. Manager, Communication Systems Research Laboratory, Corporate Research Laboratories, Motorola Inc. Coauthor of Introduction to Spread Spectrum Communications. MACROPDIA: Telecommunications Systems Boswall, Jeffery. Senior Lecturer in Biological Imaging, University of Derby, Eng. LIFE SCIENCES: Ornithology Box, Ben. Editor, Trade and Travel Handbooks. WORLD AFFAIRS: Costa Rica; Guatemala; Panama; Uruguay Boye, Roger. Formerly Coin Columnist, Chicago Tribune. ART, ANTIQUES, AND COLLECTIONS: Numismatics Boylan, Patrick J. Professor and Head, Department of Arts Policy and Management, City University, London. Author of Museums 2000: Politics, People, Professionals and Profit and others. LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS: Museums (international) Bradsher, Henry S. Foreign Affairs Writer. WORLD AFFAIRS: Philippines Braidwood, Robert J. Professor Emeritus of Old World Prehistory, Oriental Institute and Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago. Author of Prehistoric Men. ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY: Archaeology: Eastern Hemisphere Brant, Sara. Yearbooks Assistant, Encyclopdia Britannica. BIOGRAPHIES (in part) Brazee, Rutlage J. Geophysical Consultant. EARTH SCIENCES: Geophysics Brecher, Kenneth. Professor of Astronomy and Physics, Boston University. MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES: Astronomy Brokopp, John G. Specialist in publicity, public relations, and writing about equestrian racing. SPORTS AND GAMES: Equestrian Sports: Thoroughbred Racing (U.S. and Canada) Brown, Bess. Human Dimensions Specialist, Europe's Liaison Office for Central Asia. Author of Authoritarianism in the New States of Central Asia. WORLD AFFAIRS: Spotlight: Central Asia's Next "Great Game"; Kazakstan; Kyrgyzstan; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan Buchan, David. Correspondent, Financial Times, Paris. WORLD AFFAIRS: France Burks, Ardath W. Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. Author of Japan: A Postindustrial Power. WORLD AFFAIRS: Japan Burns, Erik. Bureau Chief, AP-Dow Jones News Services, Lisbon. WORLD AFFAIRS: Portugal Butler, Frank. Formerly Sports Editor, News of the World. Author of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: A Story of Boxing. SPORTS AND GAMES: Boxing Cafferty, Bernard. Associate Editor, British Chess Magazine; Chess Columnist, the Sunday Times. SPORTS AND GAMES: Chess Calvert, Michael T. Freelance Writer. BIOGRAPHIES (in part); WORLD AFFAIRS: Austria: Sidebar Cameron, Sarah. Freelance Writer and Editor, Trade and Travel Handbooks. WORLD AFFAIRS: Spotlight: The Japanese in Latin America; Cuba; Dominican Republic; El Salvador; Haiti; Honduras; Nicaragua Campbell, Robert. Architect and Architecture Critic. Author of Cityscapes of Boston; Coauthor of American Architecture of the 1980s. ARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING: Architecture Carter, Robert W. Journalist, London. SPORTS AND GAMES: Equestrian Sports: Show Jumping and Dressage; Steeplechasing; Thoroughbred Racing (Europe and Australia) Chapman, Kenneth F. Formerly Editor, Stamp Collecting and Philatelic Magazine. ART, ANTIQUES, AND COLLECTIONS: Philately Chappell, Duncan. Deputy President, Federal Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Sydney, Australia. LAW, CRIME, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT: Crime; Law Enforcement Chapple, Abby. Writer and Consultant, Consumer Communications, Largent, W.Va. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Home Furnishings: Furniture Cheuse, Alan. Writing Faculty, English Department, George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.; Book Commentator, National Public Radio. Author of The Light Possessed and others. LITERATURE: English: United States Clapham, Christopher S. Professor of Politics and International Relations, University of Lancaster, Eng. Author of Africa and the International System: The Politics of State Survival and others. WORLD AFFAIRS: Eritrea; Ethiopia Clark, David D. Managing Editor, World Literature Today. LITERATURE: English: Other Literature in English Clarke, Douglas L. Captain, U.S. Navy (ret.); Military Analyst. Author of The Missing Man: Politics and the MIA. MILITARY AFFAIRS; MILITARY AFFAIRS: Special Report: Combating the Land Mine Scourge Clarke, R.O. Lecturer and Consultant on Industrial Relations, London. ECONOMIC AFFAIRS: Labour-Management Relations Cogle, T.C.J. Consultant, Electrical Review. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Electrical Corzine, Robert. Oil and Gas Correspondent, Financial Times. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Energy: Alternative Energy; Natural Gas; Petroleum Cosgrave, Bronwyn. Freelance Fashion Writer; Features Editor, Zest magazine. BIOGRAPHIES (in part); FASHIONS Coveney, Michael. Theatre Critic, The Observer. Author of The World According to Mike Leigh and others. PERFORMING ARTS: Theatre: Great Britain and Ireland Craine, Anthony G. Associate Editor, Inside Sports magazine. BIOGRAPHIES (in part) Crampton, Richard J. Fellow, St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. Author of Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century and others. WORLD AFFAIRS: Bulgaria Crowell, George T. Senior Writer, Asiaweek magazine. WORLD AFFAIRS: Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of Crowley, Edward. Editor, Baltic Magazine Supplements; Director, Technical Writing Services. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Shipbuilding; TRANSPORTATION: Shipping and Ports Cunningham, Susan M. Economic and Political Analyst; Freelance Writer. Author of Latin America Since 1945. WORLD AFFAIRS: Argentina; Brazil; Mexico Curwen, Peter J. Professor of Business, Sheffield (Eng.) Business School. Author of The U.K. Publishing Industry and others. MEDIA AND PUBLISHING: Book Publishing (international) Deam, John B. Retired Technical Director, AMT--The Association for Manufacturing Technology, McLean, Va. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Machinery and Machine Tools Deanin, Rudolph D. Professor, Department of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Author of Plastics Additives. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Materials and Metals: Plastics de la Barre, Kenneth. Director, the Bridge Group. WORLD AFFAIRS: Arctic Regions Deeb, Marius K. Professor, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Author of Political Parties and Democracy in Egypt. WORLD AFFAIRS: Egypt Denselow, Robin. Rock Music Critic, The Guardian; Current Affairs Reporter, BBC Television. Author of When the Music's Over: The Politics of Pop. PERFORMING ARTS: Music: Popular (international) de Puy, Norman R. Minister, American Baptist Churches; Editor and Publisher, Cabbages and Kings newsletter. RELIGION: Baptist Churches Dicks, Geoffrey R. U.K. Economist, NatWest Markets. Author of Sources of World Financial and Banking Information. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Introduction Dixon, Bernard. Science Writer; Consultant; Editor, Medical Science Research. Author of Power Unseen: How Microbes Rule the World and others. HEALTH AND DISEASE: Medicine (international); Mental Health Dooling, Dave. Consultant and Writer, D2 Associates. MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES: Space Exploration Dowd, Siobhan. Director, PEN American Center Program; Columnist, Literary Review (London). Author of This Prison Where I Live. LITERATURE: English: United Kingdom Dunford, David J. Retired U.S. Ambassador; Adjunct Instructor, University of Arizona. WORLD AFFAIRS: Oman; Qatar Earp, John H. Director, Halcrow Fox and Associates. TRANSPORTATION: Introduction; Freight and Pipelines; Intercity Rail; Roads and Traffic; Urban Mass Transit Edmondson, Lesley. Freelance Writer. BIOGRAPHIES (in part) Ehringer, Gavin Forbes. Rodeo Columnist, Western Horseman. SPORTS AND GAMES: Rodeo Ellis, Roger. Editor, Mining Journal, London. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Mining Epstein, Thomas. Visiting Scholar, Brown University, Providence, R.I. Author of Russian Postmodernism. LITERATURE: Russian Fagan, Brian. Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara. Author of Time Detectives. ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY: Archaeology: Western Hemisphere Farr, D.M.L. Professor Emeritus of History, Carleton University, Ottawa. WORLD AFFAIRS: Canada Fendell, Robert J. Columnist, Sport Scene Florida. Author of Encyclopedia of Motor Racing Greats and others. SPORTS AND GAMES: Automobile Racing: U.S. Racing Finch, Andrew. Assistant Director, Government and Public Affairs, American Association of Museums. LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS: Museums (U.S.) Flagg, Gordon. Managing Editor, American Libraries. LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS: Libraries (U.S.) Flanders, Douglas L. Development Officer, The United Church Observer. RELIGION: The United Church of Canada Fletcher, Charmaine. Media and Press Officer, the Salvation Army. RELIGION: Salvation Army Fletcher, Matthew. Staff Writer, Asiaweek magazine. WORLD AFFAIRS: Singapore Flink, Steve. Senior Correspondent, Tennis Week magazine; Formerly Editor, World Tennis magazine. SPORTS AND GAMES: Tennis Flores, Ramona Monette S. Professor, University of the Philippines; Editorial Consultant, Masks and Voices; Editor, Pahinungd Newsletter. MEDIA AND PUBLISHING: Radio (international); Television (international) Follett, Christopher. Denmark Correspondent, The Times; Danish Correspondent, Radio Sweden; Newscaster, Radio Denmark. Author of Fodspor paa Cypern. WORLD AFFAIRS: Denmark Fossli, Karen L. Oslo Correspondent, Financial Times. WORLD AFFAIRS: Norway Foster, David William. Regents' Professor of Spanish and Women's Studies, Arizona State University. Author of Violence in Argentine Literature and others. LITERATURE: Spanish: Latin America Frank, Stephen E. Staff Reporter, The Wall Street Journal. ECONOMIC AFFAIRS: Banking Frank, Steven. Senior Editor, Asiaweek magazine. WORLD AFFAIRS: Malaysia Freeman, Laurie. Freelance Writer and Editor. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Advertising Friday, Elbert W., Jr. Assistant Administrator for Weather Services, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. EARTH SCIENCES: Meteorology and Climate Fridovich, Irwin. James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C. LIFE SCIENCES: Molecular Biology (in part) Fridovich-Keil, Judith L. Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Ga. LIFE SCIENCES: Molecular Biology (in part) Friedrich, Mary Jane. Associate Editor, Encyclopdia Britannica. BIOGRAPHIES (in part); THE ENVIRONMENT: Zoos; OBITUARIES (in part) Friskin, Sydney E. Hockey Correspondent, The Times. SPORTS AND GAMES: Billiard Games: Snooker; Field Hockey Fuller, Amanda E. Assistant Editor, The Great Ideas Today, Encyclopdia Britannica. BIOGRAPHIES (in part); MEDIA AND PUBLISHING: Television and Radio: Sidebar Fuller, Elizabeth. Senior Research Analyst, Open Media Research Institute, Prague. WORLD AFFAIRS: Armenia; Azerbaijan; Georgia Gaddum, Anthony H. Chairman, H.T. Gaddum and Co.; Vice President, International Silk Association. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Textiles: Silk Ganado, Albert. Lawyer. Coauthor of A Study in Depth of 143 Maps Representing the Great Siege of Malta of 1565 and others. WORLD AFFAIRS: Malta Garrod, Mark. Golf Correspondent, PA Sport, U.K. Contributor to Golf World and Amateur Golf magazines. SPORTS AND GAMES: Golf Gaughan, Thomas. Associate Director of Libraries, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS: Libraries (international) Gibbons, Anne R. Freelance Writer. LIFE SCIENCES: Entomology Gibbons, J. Whitfield. Professor of Ecology, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia. Author of Keeping All the Pieces and others. LIFE SCIENCES: Zoology Gibney, Frank B. President, Pacific Basin Institute, Santa Barbara, Calif.; Chairman, TBS Britannica Yearbook, Tokyo; Acting Chairman, Encyclopdia Britannica Board of Editors, Chicago. Author of Senso: The Japanese Remember the Pacific War. Feature (interviewer): A Conversation with Lee Teng-hui. Gill, Martin J. Editor, World Fishing magazine. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SUPPLIES: Fisheries Girnius, Saulius A. Senior Research Analyst, Open Media Research Institute, Prague. WORLD AFFAIRS: Latvia; Lithuania Goldsmith, Arthur. Freelance Writer. Author of The Camera and Its Images. ART, ANTIQUES, AND COLLECTIONS: Photography; BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Photography Gordon, Katherine I. Editorial Coordinator, Encyclopdia Britannica. BIOGRAPHIES (in part) Gottlieb, Jean S. Freelance Editor; Historian of Science. Author of A Checklist of the Newberry Library's Printed Books in Science, Medicine, Technology, and the Pseudosciences, ca. 1460-1750. BIBLIOGRAPHY Gould, Kira. Managing Editor, Metropolis. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Home Furnishings: Housewares Greeman, Adrian Lee. Editor, Civil Engineer International. ARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING: Bridges Green, Anthony L. Copy Product Coordinator, Encyclopdia Britannica. BIOGRAPHIES (in part) Green, Theresa. Information Officer. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Materials and Metals: Glass Greskovic, Robert. Dance Reviewer, Arts & Entertainment Monthly; Freelance Writer. PERFORMING ARTS: Dance: North America Griffiths, A.R.G. Associate Professor in History, Flinders University of South Australia. Author of Contemporary Australia; Beautiful Lies. BIOGRAPHIES (in part); WORLD AFFAIRS: Australia; Nauru; Palau; Papua New Guinea Griggs, Richard A. Political Geographer, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town, S.Af. Author of State Breakdown: The Role of Fourth World Nations. WORLD AFFAIRS: Spotlight: Fourth World Resurgence in Europe (in part) Grumet, Robert S. Anthropologist, New Hope, Pa. ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY: Anthropology: Cultural Gutek, Gerald Lee. Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Loyola University, Chicago. Author of A History of the Western Educational Experience and others. EDUCATION (U.S.) Guthridge, Guy G. Manager, Polar Information Program, U.S. National Science Foundation. WORLD AFFAIRS: Antarctica Hafez, Sabry. Professor of Modern Arabic, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Author of The Genesis of Arabic Narrative Discourse; Arabic Cinema. LITERATURE: Arabic Halman, Talat S. Research Professor; Chairman, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Literatures, New York University. Author of Poetry of Ancient Anatolia and Near East. LITERATURE: Turkish Hannen, Mark. Competitions Officer, English Basket Ball Association. SPORTS AND GAMES: Basketball (international) Harakas, Stanley S. Emeritus Archbishop Iakovos Professor of Orthodox Theology, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Author of Health and Medicine in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition and others. RELIGION: Oriental Orthodox Church; The Orthodox Church Haub, Carl V. Demographer, Population Reference Bureau. Author of Population Change in the Former Soviet Union and others. POPULATION TRENDS: Demography Hawkland, William D. Chancellor Emeritus of Law and Boyd Professor, Louisiana State University. LAW, CRIME, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT: Court Decisions Healy, Tim. Writer, Asiaweek magazine; Seattle (Wash.) Times. WORLD AFFAIRS: Brunei; Dependent States (East Asia) Heinzl, John. Business Reporter, Toronto Globe and Mail. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Retailing Hendershott, Myrl C. Professor of Oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif. EARTH SCIENCES: Oceanography Hennelly, James. Assistant Editor, Encyclopdia Britannica. BIOGRAPHIES (in part) Henschel, Milton. President, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. RELIGION: Jehovah's Witnesses Hering, Howard. Administrative Manager, Frederick Wildman and Sons. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Beverages: Wine Hobbs, Greg. Chief Writer, Australian Football League. Author of 12 books on Australian Football. SPORTS AND GAMES: Football: Australian Hocknell, Peter R. Research Officer, International Boundaries Research Unit, University of Durham, Eng. WORLD AFFAIRS: Spotlight: Fourth World Resurgence in Europe (in part) Hoeksema, Klaas J. Staff Member, Institute for Polytechnics, Amsterdam. WORLD AFFAIRS: Netherlands, The; Suriname Hoke, John. Publisher, Amateur Wrestling News. SPORTS AND GAMES: Wrestling Hollar, Sherman. Researcher, Encyclopdia Britannica. BIOGRAPHIES (in part); OBITUARIES (in part) Homel, David. Author of Rat Palms and others. LITERATURE: French: Canada Hope, Thomas W. Chairman/CEO, Hope Reports, Inc. Author of America's Top 100 Contract Producers. PERFORMING ARTS: Motion Pictures: Nontheatrical Films Hoyt, Mike. Senior Editor, Columbia Journalism Review. MEDIA AND PUBLISHING: Newspapers (U.S.) Hunnings, Neville March. Editor, Encyclopedia of European Union Laws--Constitutional Texts. LAW, CRIME, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT (international) IEIS. International Economic Information Services. ECONOMIC AFFAIRS: World Economy; Stock Exchanges (international) Ingham, Kenneth. Emeritus Professor of History, University of Bristol, Eng. Author of Politics in Modern Africa: The Uneven Tribal Dimension and others. WORLD AFFAIRS: Spotlight: Signs of Hope in Africa; Angola; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Sudan, The; Tanzania; Uganda; Zaire; Zambia; Zimbabwe Ingram, Derek. Consultant Editor, Gemini News Service. Author of Commonwealth for a Colour-Blind World; The Imperfect Commonwealth. WORLD AFFAIRS: Commonwealth of Nations Ionescu, Dan. Senior Research Analyst, Open Media Research Institute, Prague. WORLD AFFAIRS: Moldova; Romania Jackson, Peter S. Wyse. Secretary-General, Botanic Gardens Conservation International, U.K. THE ENVIRONMENT: Botanical Gardens Jamail, Milton. Lecturer, Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin. SPORTS AND GAMES: Baseball: Latin America Jardine, Adrian. Member, Guild of Yachting Writers. SPORTS AND GAMES: Sailing Jessell, Harry A. Executive Editor, Broadcasting & Cable. MEDIA AND PUBLISHING: Radio: (U.S., in part); Radio: Amateur Radio (in part); Television (U.S., in part) Joff, George. Journalist and Writer on North African and Middle Eastern Affairs. WORLD AFFAIRS: Algeria; Morocco; Tunisia Johnson, Todd M. Senior Researcher, World Evangelization Research Center. Coauthor of World Christian Encyclopedia. BIOGRAPHIES (in part); RELIGION: Sidebar; Tables (in part) Johnsson, William G. Editor, Adventist Review. Author of Behold His Glory and others. RELIGION: Seventh-day Adventist Church Jones, David G.C. Honorary Lecturer in Physics, University of Sussex, Brighton, Eng. Author of Atomic Physics. MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES: Physics; Physics: Sidebar Jones, W. Glyn. Professor Emeritus of Scandinavian Studies, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Eng. Author of Colloquial Danish and others. LITERATURE: Danish Jotischky, Helma. Head of Business Intelligence, Paint Research Association. Author of The Americas and others. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Paints and Varnishes Karimi-Hakkak, Ahmad. Associate Professor of Persian Languages and Literature, University of Washington. LITERATURE: Persian Katz, William A. Professor, School of Information Science and Policy, State University of New York at Albany. MEDIA AND PUBLISHING: Magazines (U.S.) Kelleher, John A. Journalist, New Zealand. Formerly Editor, the Dominion and Dominion Sunday Times (Wellington). WORLD AFFAIRS: New Zealand Kelling, George H. Historian and Media Relations Officer, Wilford Hall Air Force Medical Center. Author of Countdown to Rebellion: British Policy in Cyprus 1939-1955. WORLD AFFAIRS: Cyprus Kellner, Peter. Political Commentator, BBC Television; Columnist, The Observer, London. Author of The Civil Servants: An Inquiry into Britain's Ruling Class and others. BIOGRAPHIES (in part); WORLD AFFAIRS: United Kingdom Kemp, Peter. Fiction Editor, Sunday Times, London. Author of H.G. Wells and the Culminating Ape and others. MACROPDIA: English Literature Knapp, Rebecca. Managing Editor, Art & Antiques. ART, ANTIQUES, AND COLLECTIONS: Introduction Knox, Richard A. Editor, Power Supply World. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Energy: Nuclear Koberstein, Wayne. Editor, Pharmaceutical Executive magazine. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REVIEW: Pharmaceuticals Kolbe, Regina Gal