Decentralized State Research Articles

The present state and directions of local self-government and decentralization of power reform in Ukraine

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of a new administrative-territorial system formation as well as to the current state and directions of local self-government and decentralization of power reform in Ukraine. The authors explored the processes of finding the optimal format to provide local self-government functions. The regularities of the management levels strengthening according to different schemes are determined. The key aspects of practical experience of unification and the local management level strengthening in the amalgamated territorial communities are discovered. The prospects of realization of a wide range of powers by local self-government bodies are determined. The peculiarities of local and regional administrative-territorial transformations led to the different levels of management strengthening characterised. The authors underlined that local self-government reform is to be carried out on the basis of the Constitution of Ukraine and regulatory acts, the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The following principles are to be adhered: the rule of law; openness, transparency and civic participation; subsidiarity; availability of public services.

Almost global decentralised formation tracking for multiple distinct UAVs

We consider formation control of multiple UAVs, not necessarily identical, by means of a decentralized state feedback controller. The attitude dynamics is formulated on SO(3) to avoid singularities of Euler angles and ambiguity of quaternions, thus allowing for large angular maneuvers, e.g., loopings). Since we explicitly take into account the constraint of non-zero total thrust in our controller design, the controller achieves uniform almost global asymptotic stability instead of only a local result. The trade off between individual trajectory tracking and formation forming is illustrated by means of simulations.

Minimization of Sensor Activation in Decentralized Discrete-Event Systems

We investigate the problem of dynamic sensor activation for decentralized decision making in partially observed discrete-event systems, where the system is monitored by a set of agents. The sensors of each agent can be turned on/off online dynamically according to a sensor activation policy. We define a general decentralized decision-making problem called the decentralized state disambiguation problem, which covers the decentralized control problem, the decentralized fault diagnosis problem, and the decentralized fault prognosis problem. The goal is to find a language-based minimal sensor activation policy for each agent such that the agents can always make a correct global decision as a team. A novel approach to solve this problem is proposed. We adopt a person-by-person approach to decompose this decentralized minimization problem into two centralized constrained minimization problems. Each centralized constrained minimization problem is then reduced to a fully centralized sensor activation problem that is solved effectively in the literature. The solution obtained is provably language-based minimal with respect to the system language.

Politics and Promises: Exploring Fifteen Years of Peru’s Participatory Decentralization Reform

In 2001, Peruvians passed the most comprehensive and participatory decentralization reform in the country’s history. The reform contributed to widespread optimism about the country’s future after authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori stepped down the year before. More than 15 years later, many Peruvians are pessimistic about the state of decentralization and citizen participation around the country. This article explores the root causes of the disillusionment, focusing on the political factors that have contributed to this outcome. While acknowledging many achievements, the article stresses the role that political interests play in limiting the effectiveness of public policy reforms in Latin America.

State of charge and state of power management among the energy storage systems by the fuzzy tuned dynamic exponent and the dynamic PI controller

Abstract This paper develops the small signal modelling of the storage systems. In order to attain an equalized energy utilisation factor among the high energy density based storage elements, a dynamic exponent based decentralized state of charge (SoC) management scheme is integrated. Moreover, due to the low relative inertia of the microgrid, the system may undergo a power imbalance condition with the varying generation and demand. Thus, to improve the system inertia a high power dense storage element is incorporated into the system. A fuzzy-based decentralized state of power management scheme (SoP) is proposed in the study. To ensure the robustness of the proposed SoC and SoP management scheme, the microgrid is extensively tested under the dynamically varying generation and load scenarios. The system stability of the proposed approach is further cross-verified through the Nyquist stability criterion.

Finite-time robust decentralized control for uncertain singular large-scale systems with exogenous disturbances

AbstractThis paper considers the problem of finite-time robust decentralized control for uncertain continuous-time singular large-scale systems with exogenous disturbances (UCSLSSED). The concept of finite-time robust decentralized stabilization for UCSLSSED is introduced by definition of finite-time stability for uncertain continuous-time large-scale systems with exogenous disturbances. The analyses of finite-time robust bounded and finite-time robust stabilization for UCSLSSED are done. The design approach of finite-time robust decentralized state feedback controller is also given. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Samorząd wojewódzki w Polsce jako podmiot polityki rozwoju regionalnego

Jednym z największych osiągnięć procesu transformacji społeczno-politycznej w Polsce jest szeroka decentralizacja sfery władztwa publicznego. Obowiązująca obecnie ustawa o samorządzie gminnym doprowadziła do restytucji zjawiska władzy lokalnej w Polsce, a zarazem stanowiła pierwszy krok do dalszych reform samorządowych zwieńczonych ustanowieniem samorządu powiatowego i wojewódzkiego. Z dniem 1 stycznia 1999 r. wprowadzono zasadniczy trójstopniowy podział terytorialny państwa, którego jednostkami stały się gminy, powiaty i szczególnie nas interesujące województwa. Reforma samorządowa obejmując swoim zasięgiem województwa spowodowała, że nastąpiła istotna zmiana jakościowa, bowiem województwa - regiony uzyskały podmiotowość co usytuowało je na płaszczyźnie partnerskich relacji w stosunku do władz centralnych. Piętnaście lat funkcjonowania samorządu regionalnego w Polsce skłania do refleksji dotyczącej efektywności podjętych wówczas działań i kierunków dalszego rozwoju samorządu na poziomie województwa. Jest to niezwykle istotne, bowiem w demokratycznym, zdecentralizowanym państwie to właśnie samorządowy region odgrywa coraz większą rolę w promowaniu, stymulowaniu i finansowaniu ze środków publicznych inicjatyw służących rozwojowi społeczno-gospodarczemu. Od sprawnej realizacji tych zadań, a także zmiany zasad generowania przychodów budżetowych samorządu, zależy w głównej mierze przyszłe funkcjonowanie województw i to czy będą one mieć wystarczające środki na realizację programów rozwoju regionalnego.

Robust decentralised state feedback control design for large-scale networked control system

ABSTRACTThis paper deals with robust decentralised feedback control for large-scale networked control systems (NCSs). A NCS model is extended to a class of large-scale system. Less conservative sufficient conditions are formulated in the form of a nonconvex matrix inequality, of which a feasible solution can be obtained by solving an optimisation problem in terms of linear matrix inequalities. The sufficient conditions are constructed by a set of new Lyapunov–Krasovskii functionals, which are based mainly on the lower and upper bounds of delay and packet loss. An explicit expression for the desired robust decentralised state feedback control law is also given. In order to verify the proposed method, it is applied to a numerical example and the load frequency problem in a multi-area power system. The simulation results show good performance and more robust stability against digital network communications delays, packet loss and external disturbances.

Constitutional economics of Ghana’s decentralization

Abstract This paper concerns the rules that are often chosen to frame decentralization in Ghana. It perceives the challenges of multi-level governance in postcolonial sub-Saharan African countries, such as weak local government capacity for urban planning, as effects of ill-conceived constitutional rules. The paper draws ideas from constitutional political economy (CPE) to problematize the constitutional rules underlying Ghana’s current state of decentralization. I argue that these constitutional rules, embodied in Ghana’s 1992 Constitution and Local Government Act (462), evince both continued dominance of state control over local governance and a systemic transfer of the logics and instruments of the authoritarian Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) military regime to the choice of constitutional rules for Ghana’s decentralization. In other words, Ghana’s decentralization patterns and processes must be examined in the context of the constitutional regime from which they were born. One such pattern is the creation of new local governments (a gerrymandering strategy) by successive governments without commensurate improvement in local democratic and pro-poor developmental outcomes. The paper’s discussions, largely conceptual but interlaced with empirical moments, serve to stimulate debate about the relationships between the constitutional rules for decentralization and their socioeconomic and political effects. I conclude by reflecting on the conceptual and methodological challenges of using CPE to analyze constitutional rules for decentralization and offer ideas to address these challenges in future research.

Decentralized State Estimation for Hybrid AC/DC Microgrids

This paper presents a decentralized state estimation (SE) for the newly emerging hybrid ac/dc microgrid. The microgrid consists of an ac and a dc network which are connected via the interlinking ac/dc converter. The proposed SE is able to estimate the state variables of both networks in a decentralized way that the estimation is separately conducted while only limited information is exchanged during the process. The dual decomposition approach is adopted as the decentralized technique in this paper. Simulation results suggest that the proposed decentralized SE performs comparably to the centralized SE for the hybrid ac/dc microgrids in terms of accuracy, convergence, and robustness.

Decentralized state estimation for a large-scale spatially interconnected system

A decentralized state estimator is derived for the spatially interconnected systems composed of many subsystems with arbitrary connection relations. An optimization problem on the basis of linear matrix inequality (LMI) is constructed for the computations of improved subsystem parameter matrices. Several computationally effective approaches are derived which efficiently utilize the block-diagonal characteristic of system parameter matrices and the sparseness of subsystem connection matrix. Moreover, this decentralized state estimator is proved to converge to a stable system and obtain a bounded covariance matrix of estimation errors under certain conditions. Numerical simulations show that the obtained decentralized state estimator is attractive in the synthesis of a large-scale networked system.

The development of unitary relations in Ukraine as one of the conditions for the formation of a modern legal system

modern Ukraine on the way of reforming the legal system in accordance with European standards. It is concluded that at the present stage of state building the unitary form of the state structure is optimal. At the same time, practical actions are needed in the direction of decentralization of state power to create a civilized state. The great influence on the development of the modern legal system of Ukraine is due to the integration of the legal norms and principles generally recognized by the world community into its structure. Today, there are not so many states, which, having emerged as unitary, then changed the form of government into federal. The process of studying various types of unitary states should be based on a clear methodological basis. Ukrainians have confirmed that they are Europeans who profess the same values of democracy and citizens of European countries that have a decent standard of living for people. Democracy in the state, sovereignty and independence are provided not by changes in the territorial structure, but, in particular, by stable economic growth. Over the past decades, there have been processes of transformation of federal states into unitary ones, without making any changes to the constitution. According to studies by most experts, for our country the optimal form of government is the unitary decentralized state. The author defends the preservation of the unitary character of the Ukrainian state at a certain decentralization of power, development of the institution of local government and improves the structure of Parliament. We must build the newest Ukraine with a modern legal system, focusing on best practices, but not trying to copy even the best world examples.

Decentralized state estimation for the control of network systems

The paper proposes a decentralized state estimation method for the control of network systems, where a cooperative objective has to be achieved. The nodes of the network are partitioned into independent nodes, providing the control inputs, and dependent nodes, controlled by local interaction laws. The proposed state estimation algorithm allows the independent nodes to estimate the state of the dependent nodes in a completely decentralized way. To do that, it is necessary for each independent node of the network to estimate the control input components computed by the other independent nodes, without requiring communication among the independent nodes. The decentralized state estimator, including an input estimator, is developed and the convergence properties are studied. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Fault‐tolerant formation control of non‐linear multi‐vehicle systems with application to quadrotors

This study is concerned with the fault-tolerant (FT) formation control problem with a guaranteed H ∞ performance for non-linear multi-vehicle systems subject to actuator faults. The authors consider a practical situation: the information transferred between adjacent vehicles is disturbed and each vehicle is interfered by stochastic disturbance and measurement noise. For each vehicle, a decentralised state observer and an adaptive fault estimator are designed based on which a novel cooperative FT control (FTC) protocol is proposed to drive all the vehicles to the desired formation configuration. Taking the system noise into consideration, the error dynamics are modelled by I t o ^ stochastic differential equations, whose properties are used for designing and analysing the Lyapunov function in the framework of I t o ^ calculus. It is proved that the formation error system is mean-square asymptotically stable with a prescribed attenuation level in an H ∞ sense by the proposed FTC scheme. The observer, estimator and controller gains can be obtained by solving algebraic Riccati inequalities. Finally, the theoretical results are illustrated by simulations and real experiments.

Regulating groundwater use: The challenges of policy implementation in Guanajuato, Central Mexico

Around the world it has proven very difficult to develop policies and interventions that ensure socio-environmentally sustainable groundwater use and exploitation. In the state of Guanajuato, Central Mexico, both the national government and the decentralized state government have pursued to regulate groundwater use through direct state control, groundwater markets, energy pricing, and user self-regulation. We present and analyze these regulatory mechanisms and their outcomes in the field. We argue that the close interdependencies of these regulatory mechanisms have pre-empted the effectiveness of these policy instruments as well as that of other measures aimed at reducing groundwater use in order to advance towards sustainable exploitation levels.

Decentralized State-Observer-Based Traffic Density Estimation of Large-Scale Urban Freeway Network by Dynamic Model

In order to estimate traffic densities in a large-scale urban freeway network in an accurate and timely fashion when traffic sensors do not cover the freeway network completely and thus only local measurement data can be utilized, this paper proposes a decentralized state observer approach based on a macroscopic traffic flow model. Firstly, by using the well-known cell transmission model (CTM), the urban freeway network is modeled in the way of distributed systems. Secondly, based on the model, a decentralized observer is designed. With the help of the Lyapunov function and S-procedure theory, the observer gains are computed by using linear matrix inequality (LMI) technique. So, the traffic densities of the whole road network can be estimated by the designed observer. Finally, this method is applied to the outer ring of the Beijing’s second ring road and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed approach.

A Framework for Distributed Control Based on Overlapping Estimation for Cooperative Tasks

We present a framework for distributed control where the subsystems estimate overlapping components of the state of the overall system. This enables the implementation of decentralized state feedback controllers, which depend on the overlapping state estimates. For a distributed framework, communication can be added. By chosing the amount of communication and the degree of overlap in the state estimates, a trade-off between increasing computational effort, communication, and performance can be made. This approach is especially suited for systems with strongly coupled subsystems, which are restricted in communication during their operation. The computational effort of each subsystem depends only on the chosen degree of overlap in the estimates and thus stays constant with an increasing number of subsystems, which makes the approach convenient for the operation of large systems. The design problem of the distributed control and estimation is formulated with bilinear matrix inequalities in an augmented state space. A numerical example of a cooperative manipulation task illustrates the performance of the distributed control and estimation scheme.

Decentralized State Feedback Design for Multilinear Time-Invariant Systems

Today’s applications, like smart grids or complex HVAC systems, get more and more complex. This leads to enormous communication when using centralized controllers. Controller networks can reduce this effort by splitting the control task to smaller nodes, which do not need the full system information. The complex behavior of such systems can be modeled by multilinear time-invariant (MTI) systems in situations where linear models may fail. In this paper a method is proposed that determines a decentralized state feedback controller structure, that has an acceptable performance loss compared to the centralized case by multiple linearizations of the MTI plant. During operation of the controller the feedback gain is adapted to the current operating point. Application to a complex heating system example shows promising results.

DECENTRALIZED STABLE FAULT-TOLERANT CONTROL FOR LARGE-SCALE STRUCTURES

The issue of fault-tolerant decentralized control is investigated for large-scale civil engineering structures. Considering the correlation of the sub-control system, the sensor failures and the actuator failures, a sufficient condition for decentralized stabilizability is proposed for the class system of discrete-time systems with delay interconnections by using the Lyapunov stability theory and the linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach. It is shown that this condition is equivalent to the feasibility problem of the linear matrix inequality. Furthermore, a decentralized state feedback control law is derived as a convex optimization problem, and the latter can be solved by using existing efficient convex optimization techniques. The obtained controller enables the closed-loop systems to be stable. Considering sensor failures and the actuator failures, the ASCE 9-story benchmark building is selected as a numerical example to evaluate the control performance of the partially independent decentralized control and overlapping decentralized control. Numerical simulation results indicate that the proposed small gain decentralized stabilization control (LMI-SGDSC) algorithm performs as well as the traditional centralized control, and the overlapping decentralized control has a greater level of reliability. The fault tolerant decentralized control (LMI-SGFTDSC) achieves satisfactory control effects.

Relational Contracting at the Bottom of Global Garment Value Chains: Lessons from Mewat

How can labour standards be diffused beyond formal factories to those involved in informal work in the lowest tiers of global subcontracting? This question has vexed analysts and policy-makers in the face of broad agreement that private voluntary regulation is not enough to reach the most vulnerable workers in global value chains. This paper documents an alternative arrangement of relational ties at the base of the global garment chain in Mewat, India. The arrangement involved a novel place-based partnership between a leading global buyer, Gap Inc., the government, exporters, local home-based embroidery workers and an embedded nonprofit that connected them all. This networked contracting system helped secure, for a period of time, good working conditions, decent wages and improved livelihoods for previously unprotected workers. The experiment’s success however bred its own challenges and the network continues to transform. The case highlights two points: first, that focusing beyond the factory-floor, on workers in place based territorial labour markets might be an important complement to sectoral strategies of workforce protection. Second, the case also suggests that diffusing good labour standards down and beyond firms within value chains will require an active and mediating role of the decentralized state. Such a state both regulates, learns and collaborates, and holds open a space for relational mediation among firms, labour, and civic actors to jointly reach workers in the lowest tiers of global subcontracting systems.