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Virtuelle Umgebungen
(2000)
Analysis of Synthetic Polymers and Copolymers by Pyrolysis- Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry
(2005)
Structural analysis and the study of degradation properties are important in order to understand and improve performance characteristics of synthetic polymers and copolymers in many industrial applications. Polymers/copolymers are inherently difficult to analyze because of their high molecular weight and lack of volatility. Traditionally, various analytical techniques are used to characterize polymers/copolymers including physical testing (rheological testing), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC)/gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and mass spectrometry (MS). Often, time consuming sample preparation, including hydrolysis, dissolution, or derivatization is needed before analysis.
The development of mobile robotic systems is a demanding task regarding its complexity, required resources and skills in multiple fields such as software development, artificial intelligence, mechanical design, electrical engineering, signal processing, sensor technology or control theory. This holds true particularly for soccer playing robots, where additional aspects like high dynamics, cooperation and high physical stress have to be dealt with. In robot competitions such as RoboCup, additional skills in the domains of team, project and knowledge management are of importance.
A Bicycle Simulator Based on a Motion Platform in a Virtual Reality Environment - FIVIS Project
(2007)
A reference model is always developed in order to support a specific purpose. The development environment is setting the broader context. Limitations are not only set by size and experience of the modeler team or by budget and time constraints. The intended usage scenario also defines the fundamental contour of a reference model. During the practical work with reference models, a range of key issues has come up to increase the suitability of reference models for daily use. As the result of many projects, the authors have summarized the key issues and formulated critical success factors for reference modeling projects.
Domestic Robotics
(2008)
Gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection (FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) has been used for structure elucidation of long-chain primary n-alkyl amines after derivatization with trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAA). Electron impact ionization- (EI) and positive chemical ionization- (PCI) mass spectra of trifluoroacetylated derivatives of the identified nalkyl amines are presented. The corrosion inhibiting n-alkyl amines were applied in the investigation of a new anticorrosive and antifouling formulation for water-steam circuit of energy systems in the power industry. The presented results are part of an EU-funded international collaboration with partners from research institutes and industry from Poland, Lithuania, Romania, France and Germany (EUREKA project BOILTREAT E!2426).
With regard to performance well established SW-only design methodologies proceed by making the initial specification run first, then by enhancing its functionality and finally by optimizing it. When designing Embedded Systems (EbS) this approach is not viable since decisive design decisions like e.g. the estimation of required processing power or the identification of those parts of the specification which need to be delegated to dedicated HW depend on the fastness and fairness of the initial specification. We here propose a sequence of optimization steps embedded into the design flow, which enables a structured way to accelerate a given working EbS specification at different layers. This sequence of accelerations comprises algorithm selection, algorithm transformation, data transformation, implementation optimization and finally HW acceleration. It is analyzed how all acceleration steps are influenced by the specific attributes of the underlying EbS. The overall acceleration procedure is explained and quantified at hand of a real-life industrial example.
The objective of the FIVIS project is to develop a bicycle simulator which is able to simulate real life bicycle ride situations as a virtual scenario within an immersive environment. A sample test bicycle is mounted on a motion platform to enable a close to reality simulation of turns and balance situations. The visual field of the bike rider is enveloped within a multi-screen visualisation environment which provides visual data relative to the motion and activity of the test bicycle. That means the bike rider has to pedal and steer the bicycle as a usual bicycle, while the motion is recorded and processed to control the simulation. Furthermore, the platform is fed with real forces and accelerations that have been logged by a mobile data acquisition system during real bicycle test drives. Thus, using a feedback system makes the movements of the platform match to the virtual environment and the reaction of the driver (e.g. steering angle, step rate).
Motivation is a key ingredient for learning: Only if the learner is motivated, successful learning is possible. Educational robotics has proven to be an excellent tool for motivating students at all ages from 8 to 80. Robot competitions for kids, like RoboCupJunior, are instrumental to sustain motivation over a significant period of time. This increases the chances that the learner acquires more in-depth knowledge about the subject area and develops a genuine interest in the field.
Timely recognition of threats can be significantly supported by security assistance systems that work continuously in time and call the security personnel in case of anomalous events in the surveillance area. We describe the concept and the realization of an indoor security assistance system for real-time decision support. The system consists of a computer vision module and a person classification module. The computer vision module provides a video event analysis of the entrance region in front of the demonstrator. After entering the control corridor, the persons are tracked, classified, and potential threats are localized inside the demonstrator. Data for the person classification are provided by chemical sensors detecting hazardous materials. Due to their limited spatio-temporal resolution, a single chemical sensor cannot localize this material and associate it with a person. We compensate this deficiency by fusing the output of multiple, distributed chemical sensors with kinematical data from laser-range scanners. Considering both the computer vision formation and the results of the person classification affords the localization of threats and a timely reaction of the security personnel.
The ongoing miniaturization, multi-layer structure parts and hybrid parts require methods to determine mechanical properties on a micro-scale. However, there is a gap in measuring techniques. On one hand there are the classical methods to measure hardness e.g. VICKERS, ROCKWELL, UNIVERSAL, IRHD etc having resolutions typically above 100μm. On the other hand there are well-developed AFM methods that allow for the determination of mechanical properties in the nanometer range. This paper describes an indentation technique that yields data of mechanical properties in the micrometer range between typically 5 to 50 μm. The measuring device and the data evaluation is presented. Results of micro-mechanical mapping are shown for NR-SBR rubber interfaces, a fuel tank and a part manufactured by two component injection moulding. Finally, the measured micro-mechanical stiffness is compared to the YOUNG’s modulus of the corresponding materials.
Embryonic stem cells (ES) have the potential of long-term viability, selfrenewal and pluripotency which makes them interesting candidates for tissue engineering and gene therapy applications. On the other hand ethical and political issues arise while using theses cells and severe problems such as their tumorgenicity have not been solved yet. In the last couple of month a new source of cells with stem cell character was developed, the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). These cells are derived from differentiated adult cells via transduction of three transcription factors and show features similar to embryonic stem cells. Unfortunately, this includes the tumorgenicity which is even higher in those cells since the transcription factor transduction needed until now, is performed with retrovial vectors, which have a tumor potential on their own. Thus, adult stem cells are investigated extensively as alternative source of self-renewing cells. Human mesenchymal stem cells (HMSCs), which have in addition the advantage of potential autologous transplantation, can be found in various differentiated tissues since they are needed for maintenance and repair. They can be differentiated in chondrogenic, osteogenic, adipogenic and myogenic lineages which makes them an excellent tool for future tissue replacement strategies.
In the presented project, a new approach for the prevention of hand movements leading to hazards and for non-contact detection of fingers is intended to permit comprehensive and economical protection on circular saws. The basic principles may also be applied to other machines with manual loading and / or unloading. With an automatic blade guard an improved integration of the protection system can be achieved. In addition a new detection principle is explained. The distinction between skin and wood or other material is achieved by a dedicated spectral analysis in the near infrared region. Using LED and photodiodes it is possible to detect fingers and hands reliably. With a kind of light curtain the intrusion of hands or fingers into the dangerous zone near the blade guard can be prevented.
In the last 5 years a close co-operation between the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences and the Philips Research Laboratories in Aachen has been established. In this article I want to report on the co-operation of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Technical Journalism with Philips. Besides a number of diploma theses on the field of water treatment with new discharge lamps, power electronics and modelling of electromagnetic field configurations, there is running also an activity on a new generation of highly efficient light sources based on molecular discharges.
In Artificial Intelligence, numerous learning paradigms have been developed over the past decades. In most cases of embodied and situated agents, the learning goal for the artificial agent is to „map“ or classify the environment and the objects therein [1, 2], in order to improve navigation or the execution of some other domain-specific task. Dynamic environments and changing tasks still pose a major challenge for robotic learning in real-world domains. In order to intelligently adapt its task strategies, the agent needs cognitive abilities to more deeply understand its environment and the effects of its actions. In order to approach this challenge within an open-ended learning loop, the XPERO project (http://www.xpero.org) explores the paradigm of Learning by Experimentation to increase the robot's conceptual world knowledge autonomously. In this setting, tasks which are selected by an actionselection mechanism are interrupted by a learning loop in those cases where the robot identifies learning as necessary for solving a task or for explaining observations. It is important to note that our approach targets unsupervised learning, since there is no oracle available to the agent, nor does it have access to a reward function providing direct feedback on the quality of its learned model, as e.g. in reinforcement learning approaches. In the following sections we present our framework for integrating autonomous robotic experimentation into such a learning loop. In section 1 we explain the different modules for stimulation and design of experiments and their interaction. In section 2 we describe our implementation of these modules and how we applied them to a real world scenario to gather target-oriented data for learning conceptual knowledge. There we also indicate how the goaloriented data generation enables machine learning algorithms to revise the failed prediction model.
A method for the identification of polymeric residues in recycled aluminium by using analytical pyrolysis at 700°C hyphenated to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was presented for the first time. The polymeric residues in recycled aluminium were identified as a mixture of polyethylene, polystyrene, and phenolic resin. The described method could be useful for the aluminium industry as a part of the quality control of the recycled aluminium production.
A soluble form of the complement receptor CD21 (sCD21) is shed from the lymphocyte surface. The sCD21 is able to bind all known ligands such as CD23, sCD23, Epstein-Barr virus and C3d in immune complexes. Here, we show the serum levels of sCD21 in sera the of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) patients. Antiphospholipid syndrome is an autoimmune disorder in which autoantibodies cause heart attack, stroke and miscarriage. Antiphospholipid syndrome may appear as primary or in association with systemic lupus erythromatosus (SLE) and other autoimmune diseases. Here, we ask whether APS patients have different sCD21 titers compared to healthy persons and whether sCD21 levels correlate with the presence of anti-β2-GPI autoantibodies. We show that autoimmune APS patients have significantly reduced amounts of sCD21 in their sera, irrespective of the presence of anti-β2-GPI autoantibodies. In our APS patients cohort additional SLE, vasculities, DVT (deep vein thrombosis), fetal loss or thrombosis did not correlate to the reduced level of sCD21.
Introduction: Some Basic Remarks on Sustainable Forest Management, Environment and Global Ethics
(2010)
Green IT (Green IS, Green ICT) is a concept of saving energy consumption to reduce IT costs. A current survey shows that only few companies in German speaking countries consider this aspect in their daily business. This is important facing the current situation of attempts of cost saving during the current economic crisis worldwide. This paper introduces into Green IT and presents an IT management and controlling concept. Then the main results of a currently presented survey are used to modify the concept. Finally an agenda for future research is given.
In the past decade computer models have become very popular in the field of biomechanics due to exponentially increasing computer power. Biomechanical computer models can roughly be subdivided into two groups: multi-body models and numerical models. The theoretical aspects of both modelling strategies will be introduced. However, the focus of this chapter lies on demonstrating the power and versatility of computer models in the field of biomechanics by presenting sophisticated finite element models of human body parts. Special attention is paid to explain the setup of individual models using medical scan data. In order to reach the goal of individualising the model a chain of tools including medical imaging, image acquisition and processing, mesh generation, material modelling and finite element simulation –possibly on parallel computer architectures- becomes necessary. The basic concepts of these tools are described and application results are presented. The chapter ends with a short outlook into the future of computer biomechanics.
Incremental Bond Graphs
(2011)
Polymerase Chain Reaction
(2011)
DNA Sequencing
(2011)
Isolation of DNA and RNA
(2011)
Green IT (Green IS, Green ICT) is a concept of saving energy consumption to reduce IT costs. A current survey shows that only few companies in German speaking countries consider this aspect in their daily business. This is important facing the current situation of attempts of cost saving during the current economic crisis worldwide. This paper introduces into Green IT and presents an IT management and controlling concept. Then the main results of a currently presented survey are used to modify the concept. Finally an agenda for future research is given
Gas chromatography with simultaneous flame-ionization detection (FID) and a nitrogen-phosphorus detection (NPD) as well as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) has been used to characterize some long-chain primary alkyl amines and alkyl diamines after derivatization with trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAA).
One of the most common problems in Regenerative Medicine is the regeneration of damaged bone with the aim of repairing or replacing lost or damaged bone tissue by stimulating the natural regenerative process. Particularly in the fields of orthopedic, plastic, reconstructive, maxillofacial and craniofacial surgery there is need for successful methods to restore bone. From a regenerative point of view two different bone replacement problems can be distinguished: large bone defects and small bone defects. Currently, no perfect system exists for the treatment of large bone defects.
Information reliability and automatic computation are two important aspects that are continuously pushing the Web to be more semantic. Information uploaded to the Web should be reusable and extractable automatically to other applications, platforms, etc. Several tools exist to explicitly markup Web content. The Web services may also have a positive role on the automatic processing of Web contents, especially when they act as flexible and agile agents. However, Web services themselves should be developed with semantics in mind. They should include and provide structured information to facilitate their use, reuse, composition, query, etc. In this chapter, the authors focus on evaluating state-of-the-art semantic aspects and approaches in Web services. Ultimately, this contributes to the goal of Web knowledge management, execution, and transfer.
Gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection (FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with electron impact ionization (EI) and chemical ionization (PCI and NCI) were successfully used for separation and identification of commercially available longchain primary alkyl amines. The investigated compounds were used as corrosion inhibiting and antifouling agents in a water-steam circuit of energy systems in the power industry. Solidphase extraction (SPE) with octadecyl bonded silica (C18) sorbents followed by gas chromatography were used for quantification of the investigated Primene JM-T™ alkyl amines in boiler water, condensate and superheated steam samples from the power plant. Amine formulations from Kotamina group favor formation of protective layers on internal surfaces and keep them free from corrosion and scale. Alkyl amines contained in those formulations both render the environment alkaline and limit the corrosion impact of ionic and gaseous impurities by formation of protective layers. Moreover, alkyl amines limit scaling on heating surfaces of boilers and in turbine, ensuring failure-free operation. Application of alkyl amine formulation enhances heat exchange during boiling and condensation processes. Alkyl amines with branched structure are more thermally stable than linear alkyl amines, exhibit better adsorption and effectiveness of surface shielding. As a result, application of thermostable long-chain branched alkyl amines increases the efficiency of anti-corrosive protection. Moreover, the concentration of ammonia content in water and in steam was also considerably decreased.
This book chapter describes application examples of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and pyrolysis – gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in failure analysis for the identification of chemical materials like mineral oils and nitrile rubber gaskets. Furthermore, failure cases demanding identification of polymers/copolymers in fouling on the compressor wall of a car air conditioner and identification of fouling on the surface of a bearing race from the automotive industry are demonstrated. The obtained analytical results were then used for troubleshooting and remedial action of the technological process.
Bone regeneration and replacement is a major focus in regenerative medicine since degenerative diseases and tumor surgery as well as accidents or dangerous recreational behavior is leading to an increasing need for bone reconstruction strategies. Especially for critical size bone defects, tissue engineering with mesenchymal stem cells is extensively studied because these cells are functioning as precursors for osteoblast in vivo. Nevertheless to reproduce the complex interaction of various factors in vitro is not an easy approach and further investigations have to be done. The status quo is summarized. A variety of growth and transcription factors are known to be involved in osteogenesis with bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and the transcription factor Runx2 being the most extensively studied ones. But also PPAR γ and Osterix are generally regarded as the master regulators of osteoblast differentiation. Recently the large family of purinergic receptors has proven to be essential molecules in osteogenesis as well. In addition, scaffolding is needed to create a three-dimensional tissue. Recent developments in scaffold design are summarized, including natural and synthetic materials with or without the use of bioactive molecules constructed to mimic the natural environment. The status quo of scaffold fabrication methods such as 3D nanoprinting and their influence on cell-scaffold interactions is discussed. In this review we summarize the most interesting results and our related work focusing on two joined approaches: 1) the complex interaction of the most promising factors improving or accelerating osteogenic differentiation and ii) the development of scaffold materials with osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties.
Noncooperative Game Theory
(2016)
Domestic Robotics
(2016)
Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME) is a very simple and efficient, solventless sample preparation method, invented by Pawliszyn and coworkers at the University of Waterloo (Canada) in 1989. This method has been widely used in different fields of analytical chemistry since its first applications to environmental and food analysis. SPME integrates sampling, extraction, concentration and sample introduction into a single solvent-free step. The method saves preparation time, disposal costs and can improve detection limits. It has been routinely used in combination with gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and successfully applied to a wide variety of ompounds, especially for the extraction of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds from environmental, biological and food samples.
Since the last twenty years, SPME in headspace (HS) mode is used as a valuable sample preparation technique for identifying degradation products in polymers and for determination of rest monomers and other light-boiling substances in polymeric materials. For more than ten years, our laboratory has been involved in projects focused on the application of HS-SPME-GC/MS for the characterization of polymeric materials from many branches of manufacturing and building industries. This book chapter describes the application examples of this technique for identifying volatile organic compounds (VOCs), additives and degradation products in industrial plastics, rubber, and packaging materials.
Service robots performing complex tasks involving people in houses or public environments are becoming more and more common, and there is a huge interest from both the research and the industrial point of view. The RoCKIn@Home challenge has been designed to compare and evaluate different approaches and solutions to tasks related to the development of domestic and service robots. RoCKIn@Home competitions have been designed and executed according to the benchmarking methodology developed during the project and received very positive feedbacks from the participating teams. Tasks and functionality benchmarks are explained in detail.
Telecollaborating and communicating in online contexts using English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) requires students to develop multiple literacies in addition to foreign language skills and intercultural communicative competence. This chapter looks at the intersection of technology and teaching ELF, examining mutual contributions of technologies, more specifically Web 2.0, and ELF to each other, and the challenges in designing and implementing collaboration projects across cultures. Moreover, it looks at how the development of digital competencies in ELF (DELF) can be enhanced through the implementation of Web 2.0 mediated intercultural dialogues. The detail of the research design including internet tools used, participants and tasks are also discussed. Data analysis points to a positive attitude towards telecollaboration, also providing confirmation of some of the problems identified in theoretical framework, such as different levels of personal engagement.
RoCKIn@Work was focused on benchmarks in the domain of industrial robots. Both task and functionality benchmarks were derived from real world applications. All of them were part of a bigger user story painting the picture of a scaled down real world factory scenario. Elements used to build the testbed were chosen from common materials in modern manufacturing environments. Networked devices, machines controllable through a central software component, were also part of the testbed and introduced a dynamic component to the task benchmarks. Strict guidelines on data logging were imposed on participating teams to ensure gathered data could be automatically evaluated. This also had the positive effect that teams were made aware of the importance of data logging, not only during a competition but also during research as useful utility in their own laboratory. Tasks and functionality benchmarks are explained in detail, starting with their use case in industry, further detailing their execution and providing information on scoring and ranking mechanisms for the specific benchmark.
Systemunterstützung für wissensintensive Geschäftsprozesse – Konzepte und Implementierungsansätze
(2017)
Integrating Bond Graph-Based Fault Diagnosis and Fault Accommodation Through Inverse Simulation
(2017)
Social Assistance
(2018)
If the first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to “End poverty in all its forms everywhere” is to be taken seriously, most low- and middle-income countries face a huge challenge. An estimated 1 billion people have indeed escaped extreme poverty since the early 1990s, and the global poverty rate fell from 35% in 1990 to 10.7% in 2013, but the absolute number of people living below the international poverty line of $1.90 at purchasing power parity has hardly changed. Countries in Asia contributed greatly to the overall decline in poverty rates: from 2012 to 2013, over 100 million people in Asia left extreme poverty behind, notably in India, Indonesia, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) (World Bank 2016). Yet the living standards of those still below that line have hardly improved (Ravallion 2016). The achievement of the first SDG requires additional efforts at global and national levels, particularly on policies that address chronic poverty traps and that improve the outcomes of poor and vulnerable populations.
According to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) recommendation, analytical pyrolysis (Py) is defined as the characterization in an inert atmosphere of a material or a chemical process by a chemical degradation reaction(s) induced by thermal energy [1]. Thermal degradation under controlled conditions is often used as a part of an analytical procedure, either to render a sample into a suitable form for subsequent analysis by gas chromatography (GC), mass spectrometry (MS), gas chromatography coupled with the mass spectrometry (GC/MS), with the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (GC/FTIR), or by direct monitoring as an analytical technique in its own right [2].
Gas chromatography (GC) is a type of chromatography. According to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) recommendation, gas chromatography is defined as a separation technique in which the mobile phase is a gas. Gas chromatography is always carried out in a column [1]. GC is a separation and detection method for sample mixtures, whose components can be volatilized without thermal decomposition.
Conclusion
(2018)
There is a paradigm shift from traditional content-based education and training to competencybased and practice-oriented training. This shift has occurred because practice-oriented teaching has been found to produce a training outcome that is industry focused, generating the relevant occupational standards. Competency-based training program often comprises of modules broken into segments called learning outcomes. These learning outcomes are based on criteria set by industry and assessment is designed to ensure students become competent in their respective areas of specialization.
Multidisciplinary, multicultural, and multitasking has taken center stage in the global educational debate. Globalization and improvement in communication have affected the way organisations operate and hence influenced whom they hire. Today, it is common practice to work with people from diverse backgrounds and it requires competencies that go beyond general project management. Intercultural awareness, networking in different global communities, and learning to develop specific communication strategies for different stakeholders is all part of the package of skills and competencies that are required in today's interconnected world. This has indirect implication on the nature of skills and competencies institutions/universities must equip their students with to enable them to compete successfully in the working world.
From September 2016 to February 2017, I did an internship at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana (UCC) as part of my studies in Business Administration at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, University of Applied Sciences, Germany (H-BRS). At H-BRS, an internship of five or six months (or, alternatively, one exchange semester) is an obligatory part of the curriculum so students get hands-on experience even before they enter the job market. My internship was also part of the intercontinental partnership between UCC and H-BRS, which has resulted in many different projects.
Telecollaborating and communicating in online contexts using English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) requires students to develop multiple literacies in addition to foreign language skills and intercultural communicative competence. This chapter looks at the intersection of technology and teaching ELF, examining mutual contributions of technologies, more specifically Web 2.0, and ELF to each other, and the challenges in designing and implementing collaboration projects across cultures. Moreover, it looks at how the development of digital competencies in ELF (DELF) can be enhanced through the implementation of Web 2.0 mediated intercultural dialogues. The detail of the research design including internet tools used, participants and tasks are also discussed. Data analysis points to a positive attitude towards telecollaboration, also providing confirmation of some of the problems identified in theoretical framework, such as different levels of personal engagement.
Improving the Performance of Parallel SpMV Operations on NUMA Systems with Adaptive Load Balancing
(2018)
For a parallel Sparse Matrix Vector Multiply (SpMV) on a multiprocessor, rather simple and efficient work distributions often produce good results. In cases where this is not true, adaptive load balancing can improve the balance and performance. This paper introduces a low overhead framework for adaptive load balancing of parallel SpMV operations. It uses statistical filters to gather relevant runtime performance data and detects an imbalance situation. Three different algorithms were compared that adaptively balance the load with high quality and low overhead. Results show that for sparse matrices, where the adaptive load balancing was enabled, an average speedup of 1.15 (regarding the total execution time) could be achieved with our best algorithm over 4 different matrix formats and two different NUMA systems.
Social Insurance
(2018)
Extending coverage through contributory social insurance or other contributory programs is tempting for governments as a potential avenue for mobilizing new resources and creating new fiscal space. Such extension has clear limits, however: it applies only to those in the labor market who have employment status with high degree of formality and whose incomes are significantly above subsistence level and received regularly. It also requires administrative structures with capacity to regularly register incomes of those covered, and to collect contributions.
This chapter analyzes the potential of social insurance (also called contributory social protection) in the 16 Asian countries reviewed in this publication to fill the protection and coverage gaps in income security. It focuses on pensions, but also reviews other benefits temporarily replacing lost labor income due to events such as sickness, maternity, and unemployment. As current labor market structures largely determine the chances of extending coverage through these means, this chapter also examines their characteristics and analyzes coverage by the different forms of social insurance and assesses the potential for extension.
Social protection measures require sustainable financing – creating and maintaining adequate fiscal space at the national level. Good governance of social protection at all stages – planning policies, policy reforms, and implementation – requires continuous monitoring of its performance and finances, including long-term projections and simulations of cost and benefits of different social protection programs and overall social protection systems. These projections and simulations should take into account demographic trends, including demographic ageing.