Description: This paper presents multiple book reviews: Reports from Staff of U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means and U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Reports in Connection with Social Security Legislation 1975-77, 'Statement on Cost Comparisons of Individual Life Insurance Policies', by Canadian Institute of Actuaries, 'Investment Activities of Life Insurance Companies' from Huebner Foundation Lectures, 'The Life Insurance Industry's Marketing Dilemma' by Johns, 'The Future of Social Security' by Munnell, 'Social Security - Today and Tomorrow' by Ball, 'Mortality Table Construction' by Batten, 'Mortality Table Construction' by Batten, 'The Crisis in Social Security - Problems and Prospects' by Boskin, 'A History of Interest Rates' by Homer, 'Indexation of Pensions and Other Benefits' by Robert Myers, 'Life Insurance Accounting' by Strain, '1978 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund...' by US Congress. Brief summaries of additional readings are also included.

Description: Review of a new text on mortality measurement, 'Mortality Table Construction' by Robert W. Batten.

Description: The purpose of this paper is to explore the rationale underlying the development of the family of linear compound graduation formulas. As the title suggests, this paper also attempts to defend the Min-Ro member of that family against the unqualified charge that it is a 'poor' graduation method. It concludes with a description of a simple modification of the Min-Ro, and an analysis of the improvement obtained by that modification.

Description: Discusses four areas of interest: Alternative Examination References, Validation by Educational Experience, Academic Program Accreditation, and an Alternate Route.

Description: This is a sequel to author's earlier paper on Installment Premiums. This paper explores the parallel case of apportionable premiums, another situation in which a special adjustment payment at death causes an otherwise somewhat complex policy to be identical with a more simple and familiar one. As with installment premiums, this will result in terminal reserves for the complex policy being exactly equal to those for its corresponding familiar policy.

Description: This paper attempts to broaden the actuary's understanding of decrement rate estimation and to clear up some of the more common misconceptions which have been promoted.

Description: The Graduate School of Actuarial Science at Northeastern University closed its doors at the end of 1981, terminating a seventeen-year experiment in actuarial education. It was unique in its field. Designed to assist employed actuarial students to prepare for the Society examinations and to earn a Master of Science degree on the cooperative education plan, its courses covered four of the Society's examinations beyond the preliminary level. From The Actuary VOL. 16, No. 9

Description: This panel discussion, from the April 1982 Society of Actuaries meeting in Orlando, presented a discussion on development as of 1982 in the education and exam system. Topics included: 1. Goals, purposes and objectives of actuarial examination and education. 2. Critique of the current system. 3. Role of the academic community in actuarial education. 4. Interrelationship of the Society's E&E structure with that of other actuarial bodies. 5. Plans and future directions.

Description: Discussion of the October 23 & 24 Meeting of the Society of Actuaries Board of Governors, at which two motions addressing matters of interest to academic actuaries were approved. 1. Undertaking a process of accreditation for academic actuarial science programs. and 2. SOA exam exemption for certain students attending certain institutions.

Description: The installment fractional premium scheme, although not practical for actual use, has some interesting theoretical properties. Jordan states, on page 88 of 'Life Contingencies', 'For example, if the insured dies after paying one quarterly premium for the current year, the three unpaid installments for the balance of the year are deducted from the policy proceeds.' This paper discusses the effects of adjusting the unpaid installments for interest.