Framework for collaborative knowledge management in organizations

Nowadays organizations have been pushed to speed up the rate of industrial transformation to high value products and services. The capability to agilely respond to new market demands became a strategic pillar for innovation, and knowledge management could support organizations to achieve that goal. However, current knowledge management approaches tend to be over complex or too academic, with interfaces difficult to manage, even more if cooperative handling is required. Nevertheless, in an ideal framework, both tacit and explicit knowledge management should be addressed to achieve knowledge handling with precise and semantically meaningful definitions. Moreover, with the increase of Internet usage, the amount of available information explodes. It leads to the observed progress in the creation of mechanisms to retrieve useful knowledge from the huge existent amount of information sources. However, a same knowledge representation of a thing could mean differently to different people and applications. Contributing towards this direction, this thesis proposes a framework capable of gathering the knowledge held by domain experts and domain sources through a knowledge management system and transform it into explicit ontologies. This enables to build tools with advanced reasoning capacities with the aim to support enterprises decision-making processes. The author also intends to address the problem of knowledge transference within an among organizations. This will be done through a module (part of the proposed framework) for domain’s lexicon establishment which purpose is to represent and unify the understanding of the domain’s used semantic

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

A multimedia information exchange of the industrial heritage of the Lower Lee Valley.

The Lee Valley Industrial Heritage Electronic Archive (LVIHEA) is a model record of industrial buildings composed as a composite of multimedia data files relevant to the interpretation of the region's dynamic industrial environment. The design criteria concerning natural, human and artificial resources are applicable to education and heritage management strategies. The prototype model was evaluated in terms of its efficacy and effectiveness with designated user groups. The developed model will enable qualitative and quantitative analyses concerning the economic, social and industrial history of the region. It can be used as a pedagogic tool for instruction in the principles of structured data design, construction, storage and retrieval, and for techniques of data collection. Furthermore the data sets can be closely analysed and manipulated for interpretative purposes. Chapter one attempts to define the Lee Valley in terms of its geographic, historical, economic and societal context. The aims and resources of the project are outlined and the study is placed in the bibliographic context of similar studies. Thereafter it addresses the processes leading to and a description of the structure of the prototype model. A paper model is presented and the data structures conforming lo or compatible with established planning, archiving and management protocols and strategies are described and evaluated. Chapter two is a detailed description and rationale of the archive's data files and teaching and learning package. It outlines procedures of multimedia data collection and digitisation and provides an evaluative analysis. Chapter three looks at the completed prototype and reviews the soft systems methodology approach to problem analysis used throughout the project. Sections examining the LVIHEA in use and the practical issues of disseminating it follow. The chapter concludes by reviewing the significance of the research and indicates possible directions for further research. The survey is artifact rather than document led and begins with the contemporary landscape before "excavating" to reveal first the recent and then the more distant past. However, many choices for inclusion are necessarily reactive rather than proactive in response to the regular "crises" where conservation is just one consideration in a complex development. Progressive strategies are sometimes sacrificed for the immediate opportunity to record information concerning an artifact under imminent threat of destruction. It is acknowledge that the artefact (building) would usually disappear before its associated documentation and that therefore it was imperative to obtain as much basic detail as possible about as many sites as possible. It is hoped that greater depth can be achieved by tracking down the documentation to its repositories when time permits. Amenity groups had already focussed their attention on many of the more "interesting" sites and every opportunity was taken to incorporate their findings into the LVIHEA. This study provides an insight into the cycle of development and decline of an internationally important industrial landscape. It does so in a structured environment incorporating modem digital technology while providing a framework for continuing study

Computer-based tools for supporting forest management. The experience and the expertise world-wide

Report of Cost Action FP 0804 Forest Management Decision Support Systems (FORSYS)Computer-based tools for supporting forest management. The experience and the expertise world-wide answers a call from both the research and the professional communities for a synthesis of current knowledge about the use of computerized tools in forest management planning. According to the aims of the Forest Management Decision Support Systems (FORSYS) (http://fp0804.emu.ee/) this synthesis is a critical success factor to develop a comprehensive quality reference for forest management decision support systems. The emphasis of the book is on identifying and assessing the support provided by computerized tools to enhance forest management planning in real-world contexts. The book thus identifies the management planning problems that prevail world-wide to discuss the architecture and the components of the tools used to address them. Of importance is the report of architecture approaches, models and methods, knowledge management and participatory planning techniques used to address specific management planning problems. We think that this synthesis may provide effective support to research and outreach activities that focus on the development of forest management decision support systems. It may contribute further to support forest managers when defining the requirements for a tool that best meets their needs. The first chapter of the book provides an introduction to the use of decision support systems in the forest sector and lays out the FORSYS framework for reporting the experience and expertise acquired in each country. Emphasis is on the FORSYS ontology to facilitate the sharing of experiences needed to characterize and evaluate the use of computerized tools when addressing forest management planning problems. The twenty six country reports share a structure designed to underline a problem-centric focus. Specifically, they all start with the identification of the management planning problems that are prevalent in the country and they move on to the characterization and assessment of the computerized tools used to address them. The reports were led by researchers with background and expertise in areas that range from ecological modeling to forest modeling, management planning and information and communication technology development. They benefited from the input provided by forest practitioners and by organizations that are responsible for developing and implementing forest management plans. A conclusions chapter highlights the success of bringing together such a wide range of disciplines and perspectives. This book benefited from voluntary contributions by 94 authors and from the involvement of several forest stakeholders from twenty six countries in Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia over a three-year period. We, the chair of FORSYS and the editorial committee of the publication, acknowledge and thank for the valuable contributions from all authors, editors, stakeholders and FORSYS actors involved in this project