Title: Social Event, Monday, November 18, 6pm
1Social Event, Monday, November 18, 6pm
2The Information Artifact OntologyRoots in BFO
- Barry Smith
- October 14, 2013
3Continuant
Occurrent
Independent Continuant
Dependent Continuant
Process
Realizable Dependent Continuant
Quality
Disposition
Role
4Types and Instances
Geographic Coordinates Set
designates
Geopolitical Entity
Spatial Region
has location
instance_of
is_a
Village Name
has location
Distance Measurement Result
designates
Village
Well
Latrine
instance_of
instance_of
instance_of
instance_of
instance_of
16 meters
VT 334 569
Khanabad Village
measurement_of
located in
located near
5Continuant
Independent Continuant
Specifically Dependent Continuant
Generically Dependent Continuant
Realizable Dependent Continuant
Quality
Gene Sequence
Information Artifact
Disposition
Role
6Specifically Dependent Continuants
has unique bearer if this bearer ceases to
exist, then the quality or RDC ceases to
exist the color of my skin the function of my
heart Johns smile
Specifically Dependent Continuant
Quality, Pattern
Realizable Dependent Continuant (RDC)
7Generically Dependent Continuants
Generically Dependent Continuant
if one bearer ceases to exist, then the entity
can survive, because there are other
bearers (copyability) the pdf file on my
laptop the DNA (sequence) in this chromosome
Information Object
Sequence
8Information artifacts
- pdf file
- email
- poem
- symphony
- algorithm
- symbol
- - can migrate from one information bearer to
another
9Continuant
Independent Continuant
Specifically Dependent Continuant
Generically Dependent Continuant
Material Entity
Quality
Gene Sequence
Information Artifact
Information Bearing Entity
10Continuant
Independent Continuant
Specifically Dependent Continuant
Generically Dependent Continuant
Material Entity
Quality
Information Artifact
Information Quality Entity
Information Bearing Entity
concretized_by
depends_on
11http//bioportal.bioontology.org/ontologies/IAO
12IAO information content entity
- def. an entity that is generically dependent on
some artifact and stands in the relation of
aboutness to some entity - Problems
- Is a work of fiction about something?
- Is a fake cover story for a fake terrorist about
something? - Is an erroneous entry in a database about
something?
13Generically dependent continuants such as plans,
laws
- are concretized in specifically dependent
continuants - (the plan in your head, the protocol being
realized by your research team, the law being
implemented by this government agency)
14War and Peace is an instance
Specifically Dependent Continuant
Independent Continuant
Generically Dependent Continuant
instance_of
instance_of
instance_of
This bound copy of War and Peace
War and Peace quality
The novel War and Peace
depends_on
concretized_by
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16The novel War and Peace has many bound copiesThe
quality spherical has many instancesBut having
copies and having instances are two different
things Information entities exist in a way
which makes them dependent on provenance, and on
processors, in a way in which types are not
17What is a work of literature?
- Is War and Peace a type or an instance?
- If War and Peace were a type, and the copies of
War and Peace in my library and in your library
were instances, then - there would be many War(s) and Peaces.
- Hence War and Peace is an instance.
18There are not two Declarations of Independence
- There can be two copies of the US Declaration of
Independence - There cannot be two US Declarations of
Independence - There cannot be subtypes of the US Declaration of
Independence - Hence the US Declaration of Independent is an
instance and not a type.
19Rule for types
- Their names are pluralizable
- There can be three people
- There cannot be three Michelle Obamas.
- Information Content Entities are GDCs entities
which can exist in many copies
20Generically dependent continuants are distinct
from types
- they have a different kind of provenance
- Aspirin as product of Bayer GmbH
- aspirin as molecular structure
- This Financial Report is submitted to the SEC
21Passport vs. Boarding Pass
- Your passport can be copied, but a copy of your
passport cannot be your passport - Boarding pass can be copied, and a copy of your
boarding pass can be your boarding pass
22Terminology of types and tokens, vs. terminology
of types and instances
23Generically dependent continuants
- are concretized in specifically dependent
continuants - Beethovens 9th Symphony is concretized in the
pattern of ink marks which make up this score in
my hand this is an information quality entity
a BFOquality of the material (information
bearing entity) that is the score
24Generically dependent continuants (GDCs)
- can be concretized in multiple different media
(paper, silicon, neuron )
25What is a datum?
Continuant
Occurrent process
Independent Continuant laptop, book
Dependent Continuant quality
datum a pattern in some medium with a certain
kind of provenance
.... ..... .......
26Type or instance
Continuant
Occurrent (Process)
Independent Continuant human being, protocol
document
Dependent Continuant pattern of ink marks
Applying the protocol
Side-Effect
... .. ..... .... .....
27Continuant
Occurrent
Independent Continuant
Dependent Continuant
Action creating a datum
Information Content Entity
.... ..... .......
28Generically dependent continuants
- do not require specific media (paper, silicon,
neuron )
29Generically Dependent Continuants
Generically Dependent Continuant
Gene Sequence
Information Content Entity
.pdf file
.doc file
instances
30Generically dependent continuants
- are concretized in specifically dependent
continuants - Beethovens 9th Symphony is concretized in the
pattern of ink marks which make up this score in
my hand
31Steps towards an email ontology
- message has_part header section and body section
- header section has_part a collection of header
fields - header field contains a header name and a header
body - header body may have additional structure based
on the header in question - body may have nested structure and attachments
based on MIME - the body may contain a text version, an HTML
version, or both - the body may contain attachments (files such as
images, documents, other emails, etc - header fields may use MIME to include header
information in other languages/charsets
32Steps towards an email ontology
- email may have_status draft, sent
- email may addressee may be in to field, cc
field, bcc field - email may be forwarded
- email may be read, unread
- email may have priority
-
33E-mail Header
34Email Address Field
- A field is an information structure entity
- (comparable to cell, margin, space between words,
period, comma, etc.) - This means it is not about anything.
- Nearly all information content entities have
fields as parts - Address field is an information content entity
which has a field as part - But address field is about (in some very
attenuated sense) the type address - Similarly the field in a spreadsheet where you
fill in the measurement unit used is an ICE,
because it is (in this same attenuated sense) the
type measurement unit. -
- When you fill in the actual address then the
resultant field is an ICE which is about that
actual address - BS
35Purpose of an Information Artifact
- Descriptive purpose
- def. the purpose of describing some portion of
reality - Examples scientific paper, newspaper article,
diary, experimenter log notebook - Prescriptive purpose
- def. the purpose of prescribing or permitting or
allowing some activity - Examples a legal code, a license
36Purpose of an Information Artifact
- Directive purpose
- def. the purpose of specifying a plan or method
for achieving something - Examples instruction, manual, recipe, protocol
- Designative purpose
- def. the purpose of uniquely designating some
entity or the members of some class of entities - Examples a registry of members of an
organization, a phone book, a database linking
proper names of persons with their social
security numbers.
37Purpose and kinds of aboutness
- Literary purposedef. a Document whose primary
purpose is to express products of imagination
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39Information Content Entity (science)
protocol database theory ontology gene
list publication result ...
40Information Content Entity (labeling)
serial number batch number grant number person
number name address email address URL ...
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43Information Content Entity (Finance)
- Financial Report
- Financial Report in XBRL for submission to GAAP
- Business Report