PANORAMA NUCLEAR
Experiences
of the information and knowledge management processes in Cuban nuclear institutions
Experiencia
de los procesos de gestión de la información y del conocimiento
en instituciones nucleares cubanas
Alejandro González
García, Alois Arencibia Aruca, Daniel López Aldama, Jorge Labrada
Labrada,
Manuel Fernández Rondón, Enrique Viant Garrido, lraida Oviedo
Rivero
Centro de Gestión de la Información y Desarrollo de la Energía
(CUBAENERGÍA)
Calle 20 N° 4111 el 18-A y 47, Miramar, Playa, Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba
ABSTRACT
The Agency of Nuclear Energy and Advanced Technologies recognizes as needful the introduction of the information and the knowledge management processes in its institutions,as support to the executive taking decision process. In this article are presented some experiences of the executed projects, with the participation of the cuban nuclear institutions,focused to this purpose.
RESUMEN
La Agencia de Energía Nuclear y Tecnologías de Avanzada reconoce como necesaria la introducción, en sus instituciones,de los procesos de gestión de la informacióny el conocimiento como soporte del proceso de toma de decisiones ejecutivas. En este artículo se presentan algunas experiencias de proyectos ejecutados con la participación de instituciones nucleares cubanas dirigidos al alcance de este propósito.
Key words: knowledge base, personnel management, infcrmation dissemination, information centers, computer networks, data transmission, learning
INTRODUCTION
The Agency of Nuclear
Energy and Advanced Technologies (AEN&TA) clusters all institutions committed
of the peaceful use and application of nuclear energy in Cuba, which demands
a wide doma in of the capabilities and an inherent knowledge for technicians
employee and a part of the personnel linked to the nuclear specialties, the
application of the generated and accumulated information in databases and the
organization in an integral culture that allows the socialization of the generated
and acquired knowledge, supported on a salid infrastructure based on the use
of the information and communication technologies.
That's why the
AEN&TA recognizes as main priority the establishment of the nuclear knowledge
management system, being necessary the assimilation by its technicians and specialists
of the technologies in the state of art for the framework of the knowledge management,
which have been developed and applied successfully in several contexts.
Experiences
for the institutionalization of the management of information and knowledge
in organizations belonging to the Agency of Nuclear Energy and Advanced Technologies
The Nuclear Energy
Information Centre (CIEN), actually denominated the Energy Development and Information
Management Centre (CUBAENERGIA), is committed since its foundation of the management
of the information about the peaceful use and application of nuclear energy
in Cuba and the world and as centre representing INIS in Cuba has the function
to distribute the output products of this system: the base of data in CD-ROM,
the
referative review INIS Atomindex, between others, and also to select, to process
and to send the generated articles in Cuba about the included material in the
INIS agenda.
Taking into consideration the obtained results by CUBAENERGIA on the establishment of own strategies for institutionalization of the process ofmanagement of the information, knowledge and TIC [1] and the development of its corporative intranet site through of the project denominated "Development of the corporative Intranet site of CIEN and AEN" [2] so as of its Corporative Intelligence System [3], this organization has been designed by the AEN& TA to coordinate the institutionalization of theprocesses of information and knowledge management to rever of agency, throuhg of the co-operative projects between all the institutions belonging to AEN&TA and have required of the introduction of the TIC as support to the institutionalization of these processes to rever of each organization and rever of agency.
Some experiencies gol of these projects are the following.
TheAEN&TA's
executive information management process
The AEN&TA's executive information management process is supported ayer:
. The executive
Intranet site, which has been created and developed as part of the project denominated
"Development of the executive intranet site oftheAEN&TA" [4],
and with a development of dynamic applications ayer Web technology and focused
to management the information relative lo: organization, corporative
documentation, projects, human resources, economic results, international collaboration
and INIS Data Base. The access to this executive Intranet site is supported
ayer a virtual prívate network (VPN), which has a technical
architecture composed by a VPN server, allocated in CUBAENERGIA, and VPN clients
in each organization belonging to the agency. In this VPN conexion the prívate
data is encapsuled and encripted to guarentee your
confidenciality.
. The portal (http://www.aenta.cu),
which was created as part of the project denominated "Development of the
Web site of the AEN" [5], and contains links to the Web site for each organization
belonging to the agency. This
portal is considered, algo, as the image in Internet of the nuclear sectorial
nade belonging to the network of the Cuban Energy National Systam [6] and is
algo linked from the REDENERG portal (http://www.energia.cu) of
this network.
. The first step to introduction of the datawarehousing process, which constitute
the state of art on the use of the TIC as support of the information and knowledge
management processes, for all institutions belonging to
AEN&TA on corporate levels and that algo will allow managing great volume
of information derived of the application of the nuclear technologies in several
social and economic contexts, inclosed the information derivated of the Cuban
Nuclear Ramal Program, was the introduction in CUBAENERGIA of the datawarehousing
process in this organization through of the project denominated "Development
and implementation of a methodology to discover knowledge in corporative database
as support to the organizational making decision process" [7].
A methodology to evaluate the impact of applied projects of Nuclear Ramal Program
The Cuban Nuclear
Ramal Program constitutes an important loor to introduce of nuclear technologies
in the socioeconomic life in Cuba.
An adequate management of it requires: the quantification of the results, the
organization of its available information in electronic formal to make easy
the access to them and the diffusion between the interested public, so as the
generalization of the results, which is considered as the implementation of
the necessary actions to
diffuse them and its application in other organizations. This process allows
elevating the impact of the gol results and guarantees the ownership of the
program.
The got results
behind the evaluation ex-post impact of the first convocation of the Nuclear
Ramal Program were presented in the article "Evaluation of the results
of the first Nuclear Ramal Program" [8]. The used method is based in the
hierarchical analysis of the purposes of the programo In each rever were setting
the similar elements with impact in high levels. At each element is associate
a weight according to its importance.The Saaty's method was used to weight and
the weights are calculated according to the predominance of each element compared
two to two. The assignation of the predominances of the each aspect to consider
so as the evaluation of the contribution of each project at the indicator of
successful of the results was based ayer the judgements of the experts according
to the analysis and the systematization of the recompiled information.
Management of the information of nuclear profile
A catalogue [9] has been developed to compile the scientific and technical publications of nuclear prefije available in cuban nuclear institutions, according to like methodology proposed by institutions as BIREME to develop OPAC.
To create and support its Unified Database was selected the WINISIS systsm and to process the information were assumed the INIS's Reference Manuals. To recover the bibliographic records of the database was ceded a convergían program of the automatized information using the CD/ISIS utilities.
An interface was
developed with WWWISIS to consult information by the users.
Also the review
Nucleus, referenced in the database INIS and with arbitration, establishes an
space for diffusion by cuban researchers, specialists and technicians of the
jobs produced with scientific rigor about topics relatives to the nuclear energetic,
several applications of nuclear technical, nuclear safety, radiological protection,
safeguards and no proliferation, nuclear energy and public information, etc.
Technology watching
system for all the scientific and technical activities linked to the use and
application of the peaceful use of nuclear energy
The technology
watching as organized, selected and permanent form to get information from the
exterior of the organizations, to analyze and to convert it in knowledge to
support the making decision process with lesser risk possible, is considered
by AEN&TA as an important element and complementary of its strategy to introduce
the
knowledge management process in its institutions. So, was executed the project
denominated "Technology watching system for the information and knowledge
management in the use and application of energy" [10] with the main purpose
to implement a service to watch and to analyze the world tendencies relatives
to the use and
application of the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
The technology
watching system in developing is based on the information and knowledge contained
in the databases of INIS, WIPO and RRIAN and will support a service composed
by three steps: consult of information in the databases cited and other source
information, processing and analysis of the information, confection and deliver
of the final reporto The final product is delivered in hard copy and CD-ROM.
Web system for
learning to distance of the human resources belonging energetic sector in Cuba
With the purpose to guarantee the continued capacitation of the human resources, independently of its territorial allocation and available time, was developed the Web system called la Escuela [11] (see figure) as part of the project "Implementation of a system for learning to distance" [12], allowing the socialization of the generated and acquired knowledge through of the process of use and application of nuclear energy with peaceful purposes, so asothers technologies. This platform can be accessed by all institutions belonging to AEN&TA through Internet.
Conceptual maps
as collective space to construct structured knowledge
The conceptual maps, as "schematic devices represent a group of concepts inserted on a structure of prepositions", are a magnificent way to represent and organize knowledge; and help to management in adequate way the. difficulties related to the management of nuclear knowledge.
. To have a uniform
and normalized language for the nuclear activities, which guarantee the circulation
and the comprehension of the nuclear knowledge.
. To be in conditions to identify, to modulate and to represent explicitly the
nuclear knowledge.
. To have capabilities to share and reuse the own knowledge in several applications,
between different users.
The agenda of investigation
[13] for CUBAENERGIA's DELFOS Consultor Group, following this line, aim toward
the assimilation and development, by specialists, technicians, researchers,
students and masters, of computational tools and methods to make, to share,
to performance and to understand its constructions. So they have worked in the
evaluation of some tools, e.g AXXON, CMAP, VISIMAP, INSPIRATION, ate; and in
the creation with
them of conceptual maps.
Forums aim to
share experiences in the implementation of the processes of management of the
information and knowledge on Energy
The celebration
of avenís like the Workshop of the applied scientific-technical information,
the National Workshop of Knowledge Management on Energy and the National Seminar
of Information on Energy as support to make decisions, with an important and
a decisiva support of the OIEA, coordinated by CUBAENERGIA has allowed to
create spaces for discussion on these topics and to share the experiences of
the institutions in the implementation of processes of information and knowledge
management, starting from the design and implementation of own strategies.
CONCLUSIONS
To establish a
nuclear knowledge management system, is required the assimilation, by the nuclear
technicians, specialists, researchers, students and masters, of the technologies
in the state of art for the framework of the knowledge management, which have
been developed and applied successfully in others contexts.
The institutions
belong to the AEN&TA are working, actually, in the carried up of several
projects aim such purpose, which demands, algo, a wide domain of the capabilities
and an inherent knowledge for technicians employee and a part of the personnel
linked to the nuclear specialties, the application of the generated and accumulated
information in databases and the organization in an integral cultura that allows
the socialization of
the generated and acquired knowledge, supported on a salid infrastructure basad
on the use of the information and communication technologies.
REFERENCES
[1] GONZÁLEZ
A. The strategies for the management of the ínformation, the knowledge
and the technology in
CUBAENERGíA The integration toward an intelligence organization. VII
Iberoamerican Workshop for the
interchange and the actualization in Management of Science and Technology. La
Havana, 2002.
[2] GONZÁLEZ. A. PNN2-01: Development ofthe corporativa Intranet sita
of CIEN and AEN& TA. CUBAENERGIA, 2001.
[3] GONZÁLEZ. A. Technological architecture of the corporativa intelligence
system, support to the knowledge
management in CUBAENERGIA. VIII Iberoamerican Workshop for the interchange and
the actualization in Management of Science and Technology. La Havana, 2004.
ISBN 959-270-044-3.
[4] FERNÁNDEZ M. PNA/02-02: Development of the executive intranet sita
oftheAEN&TA. CUBAENERGIA, 2002.
[5] ARENCIBIA. A. PNN03-02: Development of the Web sita oftheAEN&TA. CUBAENERGIA,
2002.
[6] GONZÁLEZ A, ARENCIBIA A, VIANT E, et.al. The creation of the nades
of Energy, a new strategy for
the development of the process of Knowledege Management in the framework of
the Energy Information
National System in Cuba. First National Workshop of Knowledge Management in
Energy. Santiago de Cuba, 2003. ISBN 959-7136-22-8
[7] GONZÁLEZ A. PNA/08-02: Development and implementation of a methodology
to discover knowledge in
corporativa database as support to the organizational making decision process.
CUBAENERGIA, 2002.
[8] DíAZ N. Evaluation of the results of the first Nuclear Ramal Program.
CUBAENERGIA, 2001.
[9] OVIEDO l. On line Collective Catalogue. First National Workshop of Knowledge
Management in Energy. Santiago de Cuba, 2003. ISBN 959-7136-22-8
[10] LABRADA J. Technology watching system for the information and knowledge
management in the use and
application of energy. CUBAENERGIA, 2003.
[11] GONZÁLEZ A, ARENCIBIA A, VIANT E. LaEscuela, a Web system for the
leaming to distance of the human
resources belonging to the energetic sector in Cuba. First National Workshop
of Knowledge Management in Energy. Santiago de Cuba, 2003. ISBN 959-7136-22-8
[12] PEÑA O. PNA/3-02: Implementation of a system for learning to distance.
CUBAENERGIA, 2002.
[13] GONZÁLEZ A. Prefije of project, Development of a methodology to
introduce the use of the conceptual maps
¡¡S collective space to construct structured knowledge. CUBAENERGIA,
2004.
alex@cubaenergia.cu