Re: [Obi-role-branch] organizations

[Smith, B. <phi...@bu...>]

At 11:15 AM 2/29/2008, frank gibson wrote:
>re-forwarding to obi-role...
>
>
>
>  Hi
>
>   As Melanie requested I have summarised what I have suggested and
>   presented a suggestion as to how to model an organisation. This is
>   relevant to both the role and the biomaterial branch and therefore
>   cc-ed. A role is only realised by a bearer in a process. It can loose
>   the role. It seems strange to me personally, to define the very
>   existence of an organisation just by a role it might play instead of
>   asserting what "it is". This doesn't solve the problem of where to
>   assert an organisation like Sigma as you would not assert under the
>   class organisation if it was defined by "organisational_role", i.e the
>   same as the biomaterial example. In addition, an organisation clan
>   play a role, for example manufacture_role or vendor_role. These would
>   be the most common uses, especially from the point of view of the
>   instrument branch.

I think there is no organizational role, for reasons presented in my 
email of yesterday. In this I agree, I think, with Frank.



>   collection: A collection is a material which have members.Members can
>   be added and subtracted without thereby changing the identity of the
>   Collection. Some examples are toolkits, football teams, and flocks of
>   sheep.

The word 'material' is not, I think, helpful here.
Also it is a mass term, so should not be preceded by 'a'. In general, 
it is better to avoid mass terms as far as possible.

>   organisation: An organization is a group which the members of an
>   Organization typically have a common purpose or function. The
>   existence of an Organization is dependent on the existence of at least
>   one member (since Organization is a subclass of Collection).

This definition is circular. An organization is ... an Organization

>   corporation: A corporation is an organisation that is granted a
>   charter recognizing it as a separate legal entity having its own
>   rights, privileges, and liabilities distinct from those of its
>   members.

OK
BS