modeling

Modeling Blue Mountain in RDF

This page documents some exercises in modeling Blue Mountain’s data in RDF. Because we are new to RDF and to modeling, I make no apologies for its clumsiness.

Source of Terms

I’m drawing on WordNet for my terms, to start with. <2014-03-10 Mon> But now I’m extending my source to the OED, too.

<2014-03-11 Tue> And now the Getty AAT.

Nouns

• magazine
• collection
• content
• copy/exemplar
• edition
• number
• issue
• issuance
• notice/notification
• publication
• printing
• article
• picture
• advertisement
• visual_work (picture?)

Verbs

• publishes
• writes
• edits
• advertises
• reviews
• translates
• prints
• issues
• distributes
• reproduces
• collects

Adjectives

• periodical

Discussion

A magazine is (1) a storehouse; a museum; a collection; a collection of miscellaneous printable content (2) the contents of a such a collection; (3) a publication that issues such a miscellany; (4) the entity that publishes a magazine.

Figurative sense: A magazine is a entity that collects miscellaneous content and publishes it (periodically).

A magazine publishes its content by issuing copies of an edition or number.

A number is a collection or aggregation of content; a single part or issue of a magazine or periodical.

An article is (1) a distinct item in a publication; (2) a non-fictional piece of writing.

I prefer sense (1) for us; in the sense of articulation. This sense implies meanings that may sound odd: an advertisement is an article, as is a picture. A textual article; a pictorial article; a promotional article?

An “issue” is a kind of distribution.

To publish is to distribute an issuance by means of printing.

To collect is to include.

So when we say magazine, we really mean periodical magazine.

A publication is an instance of an issuance, for distribution.

Some general terms are beginning to emerge: articles and pictures, for example.

Mereology

(“The formal study of the relations between parts and wholes” [OED])

A magazine is composed of issues.

An issue is composed of articles.

An advertisement is a kind of notification.

Exercise 1

:publication rdf:type rdfs:Class.
:periodical rdf:type rdfs:Class.
:magazine rdf:type rdfs:Class.
:serial rdf:type rdfs:Class.
:volume rdf:type rdfs:Class.
:issue rdf:type rdfs:Class.
:number rdf:type rdfs:Class.
:constituent rdf:type rdfs:Class.

:magazine rdfs:subClassOf :periodical.
:periodical rdfs:subClassOf :publication.

:person rdf:type rdfs:Class.
:organization rdf:type rdfs:Class.

:publisher rdf:type rdfs:Class.