October 1, 1981

IN small apartments, with space at a premium, listeners are often at a loss where to stash their stereos. Standard-size components rarely fit standard-size bookshelves. That may account for mounting interest in minicomponents - tuners, amplifiers, tape decks and even loudspeakers scaled down to a fraction of their customary bulk. These bantams are favored not only by urbanites living in cramped spaces; they are also gaining popularity among listeners who simply don't want their home dominated by big, knobby sound gear. Stereo, they feel, should be heard, not seen.

''Here you have the most controversial area of discussion in what is probably t he most controversial nuclear plant in the country.

Greek left expected to win elec- tion A2 Commonwealth talks focus on Af- rica A3 Printers reje ct Times of London accord A3 Around the World A4 Pakistani commandos end Sikh hijacking in Lahore A8 Sadat backs Awacs sale to Saudis A12 Haitian President says he expects new U.S. aid A14 U.S. and Haiti announce plan to end flow of migrants A14 Government/Politics Interest rates bring economic chill to Cedar Rapids, Iowa A30 Conferees increase a tax deduc- tion for members of Congress A32 Byrne urges Jersey to open files in Lindbergh kidnapping B2 Reagan nominates New York judge for Court of Appeals B8 Transit workers get cost-of-living increase B10 Washington Talk Briefing A28 Required Reading A28 Labor Secretary Donovan says his clientele is America A28 General Around the Nation A16 Russians deny embassy contacts with U.S. officer A21 High interest rates have slowed co-op sales in New York B4 Health/Science Use of new dye may have led to fruit fly infestation A16 Doctors testing an way of dissolv- ing clots after a heart attack A17 Religion Mormons alter wording of proph- ecy on native Indians A17 Home Section Home Governors' mansions: Bringing them back alive C1 Finding stereo components to fit narrow shelving C1 Contemporary Swedish silver C5 Where to find those luxury linens C8 On beauty contests and 40th birth- days C1 Hers C2 Helpful Hardware C2 Home Beat C3 Home Improvement C4 Design Notebook C10 Calendar of Events C11 Gardening C12 Arts/Entertainment American Craft Museum to open a second display space C13 City Opera gives season's first "La Boheme" C14 Pauline de Groot dances her "Yellow Whale" C17 In New York concert halls, a sense of deja vu C18 Michael McClure's musical "The Derby" is staged C18 British art dealers and auction- eers settle lawsuit C21 "Chorus Line's" Michael Bennett back on Broadway C21 F.T.C. drops consideration of rule on children's TV ads C22 Elverman's first play, "Particu- lar Friendships," staged C23 Chicago sponsoring a major 1982 new-music festival C24 "The Obsession," on overeating and obesity, is reviewed C25 Stream Dance Inc. gives double- matinee performance C35 Dorothy Donegan begins jazz piano performances C35 Obituaries Dr. George W. Corner, medical historian and scientist B12 Edward McCaffrey, retired jus- tice of State Supreme Court B12 Sports Duguay agrees to terms; Rangers beat Flyers B14 Royals gain playoff spot against A's by beating Twins B15 Seoul and Calgary named host cities for 1988 Olympics B15 Mets beat Cubs on Mazzilli hit in ninth, 2-1 B15 Roy Hamilton strives to make Nets B15 Giants say Carpenter will report today B15 Dave Anderson on the James Madison of sports B16 Features/Notes Issue and Debate: Should Awacs sale to Saudis be approved? A1 Notes on People B11 Sports People B19 News Analysis Kenneth A. Briggs writes on im- pact of Cardinal Cody inquiry A16 Hedrick Smith on the beginning of the 'new year' for Reagan A31 Dena Kleiman on New York's at- tempt to stem dropouts B3 Editorials/Letters/Op-Ed Editorials A34 The clouded missile "window" Scant justice on little boats Misguided mall Topics: youthful indiscretions Letters A34 Anthony Lewis: a shot across the bow A35 William Safir e: India and the Islam bomb A35 S.I. Hayakawa: speaking Eng- lish, by law A35 Leonard Sussman: Unesco's "order" A35

The International Business Machines Corporation, the world's largest computer c ompany, is reported to be o n the verge of a major reorganization, spurred in part by heated com petition and internal conflicts within its sales groups. Executives of the company, which has its headquarters in Armonk, N.Y., were said by analysts and sources within I.B.M.'s globespanning organization to be explaining the shifts at meetings with division vice presidents yesterday. The changes apparently include scrapping its traditional divisionbased sales approach, in which separate sales representatives from the data processing, general systems and office products units might all call on the same customer. Instead, I.B.M. customers will be able to order a full range of I.B.M. products, ranging from its large mainframe computers, to small desktop business computers from the same sales personnel.

President Reagan's economic and social policies will finally be put to the test as most of his budget and tax reductions go into effect tomorrow, marking a historic contraction in the role of the Federal Government. At the start of the new fiscal year, after more than eight months of intense public debate over the major social programs, Americans will finally start feeling the effects of the cuts. There are strong indications that the states, which under the Reagan philosophy must bear more of the burden of caring for the poor, will, for the most part, not increase their spending to compensate for the loss of Federal money. Poor people and those who are just above the poverty line, especially those who are also employed, will be most sharply affected. Some welfare recipients will get smaller checks than usual or no checks at all in the mail this week. Some people will become ineligible for Medicaid. Several million Americans will receive smaller allotments of food stamps. And as soon as new regulations can be issued, rents will rise for the 2.4 million families living in subsidized or public housing.