Description: This article discusses the media attention received when Al Easton, as 1997-1999 Futurism Section council chair, coordinated a study of the section members and asked the members to forecast future events in members' practice areas. The study utilized the Delphi technique, which assembles a group of experts and polls them on the same questions in up to four rounds of surveying. Each time, the previous round's answers are revealed so the experts can consider their next responses in light of their peers' views. From: The Actuary, January 2000, volume 34, issue 1.

Description: This article summarizes the changes in the rules for discipline of U.S. actuaries, which were recently updated, detailed, and clarified through the revision of Article X of the American Academy of Actuaries’ bylaws.

Description: For more than two years, 'The Actuary' has received more articles and letters on Social Security than on any other single topic. Given actuaries’ interest in analyzing financial situations and the extensive public debate on Social Security worldwide, the subject’s prominence among actuaries is easily understood. To offer more SOA members a forum for their views, editors of the September 1998 issue included a survey asking members’ opinions on five statements related to possible U.S. Social Security reform. The survey drew 1,067 responses, representing 6.6% of the membership, by the Oct. 31, 1998, deadline. This article summarizes the results of that survey.

Description: This article discusses the results from the 1999 SOA member survey. The survey's findings send some clear signals about approaches to developing new and better programs and improving current ones. from The Actuary, February 2000, volume 34, issue 2.