Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Lecturer
Xian Zhou
Contact via Email
E4A 607 (4 Eastern Road)
Refer to iLearn
Angela Chow
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Credit points |
Credit points
4
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
ACST603 or (admission to MActPrac post 2014)
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
ACST851 and (STAT806 or STAT810)
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit provides sophisticated statistical and probabilistic models for survival, sickness, insurance losses and other actuarial problems based on survival data. Techniques of survival analysis are used to estimate survival and loss distributions and evaluate risk factors in actuarial applications. Methods of both nonparametric and parametric estimation are utilised. Advanced models based on Markov chains and processes will also be introduced to capture the features of stochastic transitions between different survival or loss states and to estimate the transition rates.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Extensions and penalties on coursework assessment tasks
• Tasks 10% or less – No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved.
• Tasks above 10% - No extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 20% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for special consideration is made and approved. No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.
Open-book final examination
• The final examination will be open-book in the sense that students can bring in any materials written or printed on paper with any size and number of pages.
Gradebook
• It is the responsibility of students to view their marks for each within session assessment on iLearn within 20 working days of posting. If there are any discrepancies, students must contact the unit convenor immediately. Failure to do so will mean that queries received after the release of final results regarding assessment marks (not including the final exam mark) will not be addressed.
• Assessment criteria for all assessment tasks will be provided on the unit iLearn site.
Supplementary exams
• Information regarding supplementary exams, including dates, is available at: http://www.businessandeconomics.mq.edu.au/current_students/undergraduate/how_do_i/special_consideration
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Quiz | 10% | No | 21/03/2018 |
Midterm test | 30% | No | 07/05/2018 |
Final exam | 60% | No | Examination Period |
Due: 21/03/2018
Weighting: 10%
Non-invigilated quiz with multiple-choice questions
Due: 07/05/2018
Weighting: 30%
Take-home test with a combination of multiple-chioce and problem-solving questions.
Due: Examination Period
Weighting: 60%
Open-book final examination with problem-solving questions (duration: 3 hours plus 10 minutes reading)
Classes
• This unit is taught through 3 hours of lectures and 2 hours of tutorials per week.
• The timetable for classes can be found on the University web site at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/
• Tutorials start in Week 1.
Unit Web Page
• The web page for this unit can be found at: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au
Technology Used and required
• You will need access to the internet to obtain course information and download teaching materials from the unit website.
• It is your responsibility to check the unit website regularly to make sure that you are upto-date with the information for the unit.
Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials
• Lecture Notes are the required materials and will be posted on the website before the lectures.
• The main additional reading materials are the ActEd CT4 notes. This will also be used as background reading for ACST359/819.
Week 1: Principle of actuarial modelling; Probability models
Week 2: Survival analysis; Estimation of survival distributions
Week 3: Estimation of survival distributions; Variance estimation
Week 4: Variance estimation and confidence intervals
Week 5: Cox proportional hazards models
Week 6: Cox proportional hazards models; Stochastic processes
Week 7: Markov chains
Week 8: Midterm Test
Week 9: Markov chains; Markov jump processes
Week 10: Markov jump processes
Week 11: Markov jump processes; Applications of Markov processes
Week 12: Applications of Markov processes
Week 13: Revision
Note: This is only a tentative schedule. The actual schedule will be adjusted from time to time in accordance with the progress of lectures.
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Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.
This graduate capability is supported by:
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This graduate capability is supported by:
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