1. Towards the Information Artifact Ontology 2
Towards the Information Artifact Ontology 2.0 May 1, 2012 – CUBRC, Buffalo NY
Werner CEUSTERS, MD
Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, Ontology Research Group
and
Department of Psychiatry
University at Buffalo, NY, USA

2. Data generation and use
organization
model development
observation &
measurement
further R&D
(instrument and
study optimization)
Δ = outcome
use
add
Generic
beliefs
verify
application

3. A crucial distinction: data and what they are about
organization
First-
Order
Reality
Representation
“is about” ???
model development
observation &
measurement
further R&D
(instrument and
study optimization)
Δ = outcome
use
add
Generic
beliefs
verify
application

4. Information Artifact Ontology

5. Origin: (cleaned up) Ontology of Biomedical Investigations

6. Information Artifact Ontology
def: an entity that is generically dependent on some artifact and stands in relation of aboutness to some entity

7. is about
def: is_about is a (currently) primitive relation that relates an information artifact to an entity.

8. Another view on the subject
Ceusters W, Manzoor S. How to track absolutely everything? In: Obrst L, Janssen T, Ceusters W (eds.) Ontologies and Semantic Technologies for the Intelligence Community. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications. IOS Press Amsterdam, 2010;:13-36.

9. Two proposals for re-arrangement (1)
“reparative”:
Information Content Entity (ICE)
Representational Artifact (RA)
Representational Unit (RU)
Denotator
Term
Composite Representation
Data Collection
Data Dictionary
Terminology
Ontology
Realism-based
Reference Ontology
Application Ontology
Assessment Instrument Ontology
Data Item
Measurement Datum
Directive Information Entity
Conditional Specification
Rule
Bridging Axiom
Data Format Specification
Plan Specification
Assessment Instrument
Ceusters W. An Information Artifact Ontology Perspective on Data Collections and Associated Representational Artifacts. Medical Informatics Europe Conference (MIE 2012), Pisa, Italy, August 26-29, (accepted for publication)

10. Purpose of the ‘reparative’ version

11. Definitions (reparative) (1)
Term
Definition
Information Content Entity (ICE)
an entity that is generically dependent on some artifact and stands in relation of aboutness to some portion of reality [4]
Representational Artifact (RA)
an ICE which is believed to represent a portion of reality external to the representation (modified from [5])
Representational Unit (RU)
a RA which according to the structural conventions it is designed, is not built out of any other RAs
Denotator
a RU which denotes directly an entity without providing a description [6]
a RU which is a general expression in some natural language used to refer to portions of reality (modified from [5])
Composite Representation
a RA built out of constituent sub-representations as its parts (modified from [5])
Data Collection
a composite representation built out of measurement data
Data Dictionary
a composite representation describing, inter alia, what data items in a data collection are about, including a data format specification
Terminology
a RA consisting of terms (modified from [5])

12. Definitions (reparative) (2)
Ontology
a RA comprising a taxonomy as proper part, whose RUs are intended to designate some combination of universals, defined classes, and certain relations between them [3]
Realism-based
an ontology built out of RUs which are intended to be exclusively about universals and certain relations between them, intended to mimic the structure of reality, and which correspond to that part of the content of a scientific theory that is captured by its constituent general terms and their interrelations [3]
Reference Ontology
an ontology intended to provide an informationally complete representation of a domain
Application Ontology
an ontology representing the portion of reality which is relevant for some purpose in some community
Assessment
Instrument Ontology
an application ontology describing the portion of reality covered by an assessment instrument
Data Collection
an application ontology describing the portion of reality covered in a data collection
Data Item
a RA that is intended to be a truthful statement about something (modulo, e.g., measurement precision or other systematic errors) and is constructed/acquired by a method which reliably tends to produce (approximately) truthful statements (modified from [4])
Measurement Datum
a data item that is a recording of the output of a measurement. [4]

13. Definitions (reparative) (3)
Directive Information Entity
an ICE whose concretizations indicate to their bearer how to realize them in a process [4]
Conditional Specification
a directive information entity that specifies what should happen if a trigger condition is fulfilled [4]
Rule
an executable conditional specification which guides, defines, or restricts actions [4]
Bridging Axiom
a rule specifying how a RA should be interpreted in terms of an application ontology
Data Format Specification
the information content borne by the document published defining the specification (modified from [4])
Plan Specification
a directive information entity that when concretized is realized in a process in which the bearer tries to achieve the objectives, in part by taking the actions specified [4]
Assessment Instrument
a plan specification designed to compile data collections reliably, validly and reproducibly

14. Two proposals for re-arrangement (2)
Expansive:
Information Content Entity
Descriptive Information Content Entity
Representative Information Content Entity
Designative Information Content Entity
Deceptive Information Content Entity
Directive Information Content Entity
Hypothesis Information Content Entity
Fiction Information Content Entity

15. Basis for both proposals: is_about
is_about = def. An entity s is about an entity e if, and only if,
s is a mental quality and s intends e ,
or there exists some mental quality m such that s is conformant to m ,
or s is the product of some process (e.g. in a bank’s computer) for producing SDCs deliberately designed (e.g. by the programmers of the bank’s computers) to be such that there could be some mental quality (e.g. of the brain of the bank’s auditor) which is conformant to s
and s is such that there could be some mental quality m which is conformant to s and intends e .

16. Intends
Intends is a primitive relation between a mental quality and an entity towards which it is directed. 'Entity' here includes both particulars and universals. ‘
A mental quality is a quality which specifically depends on an anatomical structure in the cognitive system of an organism.
An intending mental quality is a mental quality which intends some entity.
[this is not a definition, since ‘intends’ is not really providing any new information, it means ‘represents’ in the way in which ideas, words, represent entities]
the intends relation is taken as being always veridical in the sense that only what exists can be intended; i.e. that we cannot intend, e.g., a unicorn. But we can have a phenomenologically indistinguishable experience that fails to intend.

17. Tracking evolution of representations and what they are about

18. is_conformant_to
is_conformant_to = def. A specifically dependent continuant (SDC), s, is conformant to a mental quality m if, and only if, there is some generically dependent continuant (GDC) g such that s concretizes g and m concretizes g

19. Definitions (expansive approach) (1)
Descriptive Information Content Entity =def. An information content entity that is concretized by some SDC which is of the type that can be treated as representative  (note: ‘can be treated as’ can be defined in terms of mental qualities and associated beliefs in their aboutness).
Representative Information Content Entity =def. A descriptive information content entity that is concretized by some SDC that is produced by a reliable process for producing SDCs which are about what they are intended to be about. (note: the assumption is that we can elucidate the last phrase in terms of conformance; note that Representative ICEs are not necessarily about anything, e.g. because of errors)
Designative Information Content Entity =def. A representative information content entity that is concretized by an SDC which picks out an entity uniquely and which is such that all conformant SDCs pick out this entity uniquely.

20. Definitions (expansive approach) (2)
Deceptive Information Content Entity =def. A descriptive information content entity that …
Directive Information Content Entity =def. A descriptive information content entity that is concretized by some specifically dependent continuant that indicates to their bearer how to realize them in a process. 
Directive Information Content Entity =def. A GDC if concretized by an appropriately qualified agent, will yield in that agent a concretizing SDC (and associated mental quality?) which obligates (or something weaker, promotes, encourages …) the agent to act in accordance with what is specified in the GDC
Hypothesis Information Content Entity =def. An information content entity that …
Fiction Information Content Entity =def. An information content entity that …

21. Outstanding core issues
BFO is about particulars; how to work now with RUs for universals and configurations
A good theory about mental qualities
How far to expand the hierarchy …