This study presents a novel, multidisciplinary research project entitled DIPKIP (data acquisition, intelligent processing, knowledge identification and proposal), which is a Knowledge Management (KM) system that profiles the KM status of a company. Qualitative data is fed into the system that allows it not only to assess the KM situation in the company in a straightforward and intuitive manner, but also to propose corrective actions to improve that situation. DIPKIP is based on four separate steps. An initial "Data Acquisition" step, in which key data is captured, is followed by an "Intelligent Processing" step, using neural projection architectures. Subsequently, the "Knowledge Identification" step catalogues the company into three categories, which define a set of possible theoretical strategic knowledge situations: knowledge deficit, partial knowledge deficit, and no knowledge deficit. Finally, a "Proposal" step is performed, in which the "knowledge processes"-creation/acquisition, transference/distribution, and putting into practice/updating-are appraised to arrive at a coherent recommendation. The knowledge updating process (increasing the knowledge held and removing obsolete knowledge) is in itself a novel contribution. DIPKIP may be applied as a decision support system, which, under the supervision of a KM expert, can provide useful and practical proposals to senior management for the improvement of KM, leading to flexibility, cost savings, and greater competitiveness. The research also analyses the future for powerful neural projection models in the emerging field of KM by reviewing a variety of robust unsupervised projection architectures, all of which are used to visualize the intrinsic structure of high-dimensional data sets. The main projection architecture in this research, known as Cooperative Maximum-Likelihood Hebbian Learning (CMLHL), manages to capture a degree of KM topological ordering based on the application of cooperative lateral connections. The results of two real-life case studies in very different industrial sectors corroborated the relevance and viability of the DIPKIP system and the concepts upon which it is founded.Key words: data and knowledge visualization, connectionism and neural nets, knowledge-based systems, knowledge management applications, discovery-based science.

Knowledge has become the most strategic resource in the new business environment. A case-based reasoning system, which incorporates a novel clustering and retrieval method, has been developed for identifying critical situations in business processes. The proposed method is based on a Cooperative Maximum Likelihood Hebbian Learning model, which can be used to categorize the necessities for the Acquisition, Transfer and Updating of Knowledge of the different departments of a firm. This technique is used as a tool to develop a part of a Global and Integral Model of business Management, which brings about a global improvement in the firm, adding value, flexibility and competitiveness. From this perspective, the model tries to generalise the hypothesis of organizational survival and competitiveness, so that the organisation that is able to identify, strengthen, and use key knowledge will reach a pole position.

This study presents the application of an unsupervised neural projection model for the analysis of Human Resources (HR) from a Knowledge Management (KM) standpoint. This work examines the critical role that the acquisition and retention of specialized employees play in Hi-tech companies, particularly following the configuration approach of Strategic HR Management. From the projections obtained through the connectionist models, experts in the field may extract conclusions related to some key factors of the HR Management. One of the main goals is to deploy improvement and efficiency actions in the implantation and execution of the HR practices in firms. The proposal is validated by means of an empirical study on a real case study related to the Spanish Hi-tech sector.

El objetivo de este trabajo es diseñar y aplicar un modelo robusto de Gestión del Conocimiento para las empresas energéticas que permita identificar el conjunto de conocimientos y capacidades clave del sector, comprender y aplicar estos conocimientos, realizar el inventario de expertos, retener y capitalizar la experiencia y el saber hacer, compartir y transmitir el conocimiento entre el personal y detectar las necesidades de formación y actualización derivadas de las exigencias del trabajo. El «Modelo PAR de Gestión del Conocimiento» que resulta se basa en tres estrategias de conocimiento, con sus respectivos objetivos, acciones, recursos e indicadores.

The mission of the conference is to bring together researchers and people from industry in order to discuss together new trends and applications in data mining. This year a broad spectrum of work of different applications was presented ranging from image mining, medicine and biotechnology, management and environmental control, to telecommunications. Besides that an industrial exhibition showed the successful application of data mining methods by industries in different areas such as medical devices, mass data management systems, data mining tools, etc.During the discussion many projects were inspired leading to new and joint work. The fruitful discussions, the exchange of ideas and the spirit of the conference made it a remarkable event for both sides, industry and research.We would like to express our appreciation to the reviewers for their precise and highly professional work. We appreciate the help and understanding of the editorial staff at Springer and in particular Alfred Hofmann, who supported the publication of these proceedings in the LNAI series.Last, but not least, we wish to thank all speakers, participants and industrial exhibitors who contributed to the success of the conference. We are looking forward to welcoming you to ICDM 2005 (www.data-miningforum.de) and to the new work you will present there.Abstract. The complexity of current organization systems, and the increase in importance of the realization of internal controls in firms, make it necessary to construct models that automate and facilitate the work of auditors. An intelligent system has been developed to automate the internal control process. This system is composed of two case-based reasoning systems. The objective of the system is to facilitate the process of internal auditing in small and medium firms from the textile sector. The system, analyses the data that characterises each one of the activities carried out by the firm, then determines the state of each activity, calculates the associated risk, detects the erroneous processes, and generates recommendations to improve these processes. As such, the system is a useful tool for the internal auditor in order to make decisions based on the risk generated. Each one of the case-based reasoning systems that integrates the system uses a different problem solving method in each of the steps of the reasoning cycle: fuzzy clustering during the retrieval phase, a radial basis function network and a multi-criterion discreet method during the reuse phase and a rule based system for recommendation generation. The system has been proven successfully in several small and medium companies in the textile sector, located in the northwest of Spain. The accuracy of the technologies employed in the system has been demonstrated by the results obtained over the last two years. P. Perner (Ed.): ICDM 2004, LNAI 3275, pp. 1-10, 2004. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004 4 J.M. Corchado et al.Greater competitiveness between auditing firms, consequently resulting in lower fees; the offer of new services to ...