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This ontology provides the core OBOE modeling constructs.
A class annotation property that states that the annotated class is conceptually similar (e.g., overlapping), but not identical to the concept identified by the value of the annotation property. If the value of the annotation property denotes an OWL class, then the similarConceptAsClass annotation property should be used instead.
A class annotation property that states that the annotated class is conceptually the same class as (i.e., conceptually equivalent to) the concept identified in the annotation value. If the value of the annotation property denotes an OWL class, then the sameConceptAsClass annotation property should be used instead.
A class annotation property that states that the annotated class is conceptually the same class as (i.e., conceptually equivalent to) the referenced class (as given by the value of the annotation property). Note that being conceptually the same can differ from strict class equivalance in that the two classes may have different structural definitions within their specific ontologies, e.g., their superclasses and subclasses in the respective ontologies may differ.
A class annotation property that states that the annotated class is conceptually similar (e.g., overlapping), but not identical to the referenced class (the value of the annotation property).
The contextFor property states that one observation serves as the context for another observation. In the case of contextFor, the domain is the context, and the range is the observation being contextualized. Context defines a semantic relationship between two entities that is a fundamental aspect of the observations, but not necessarily of the entities themselves. For example, most measurements are accomplished in a spatio-temporal framework that might be valuable context. The assertions made by contextual observations are assumed of the contextualized observations. Context is a transitive relationship.
The contextObservationFor property relates an contextualizing observation to the corresponding context measurement.
The hasBaseQualifier together with the hasNextQualfiier property allows qualifier characteristics to be combined and ordered. For example, for an MinimumDailyAverage qualifier, the hasBaseQualifier refers to Minimum and the hasNextQualifier refers to a DailyAverage qualifier, and for a DailyAverage qualifier, the hasBaseQualifier refers to a Daily qualifier and the hasNextQualifier refers to an Average qualifier.
The hasContext property states that one observation serves as the context for another observation. In the case of hasContext, the domain is the observation being contextualized, and the range is the context. Context defines a semantic relationship between two entities that is a fundamental aspect of the observations, but not necessarily of the entities themselves. For example, most measurements are accomplished in a spatio-temporal framework that might be valuable context. The assertions made by contextual observations are assumed of the contextualized observations. Context is a transitive relationship.
The hasContextObservation gives the contextualizing observation for the context.
The hasMeasurement property gives the measurements of the observed entity.
The hasMember property gives the observations of an observation collection.
The hasNexQualifier together with the hasBaseQualfiier property allows qualifier characteristics to be combined and ordered. For example, for an MinimumDailyAverage qualifier, the hasBaseQualifier refers to Minimum and the hasNextQualifier refers to a DailyAverage qualifier, and for a DailyAverage qualifier, the hasBaseQualifier refers to a Daily qualifier and the hasNextQualifier refers to an Average qualifier.
The hasObservationContext is a special type of hasMeasurement property that links an observation to a context measurement.
The hasQualifier property assigns an optional characteristic qualifier to a physical characteristic. Examples of qualifiers are Average, Minimum, Maximum, Daily, etc.
The hasSourceUnit property gives the source unit being converted from within a unit conversion.
The hasTargetUnit property gives the target unit being converted to within a unit conversion.
The hasUnit property gives the underlying base or derived unit for a derived or composite unit, respectively.
The hasValue property gives the value of the measurement.
The measuredBy property gives the measurement a characteristic is used in.
The measurementFor property relates a measurement to its corresponding observation.
The memberOf property gives the observation collections the observation is a member of.
The observationContextFor property gives the contextualized observation for a context measurement.
The observedBy property gives the observation of an observed entity.
The ofCharacteristic property gives the entity characteristic measured by a measurement.
The ofEntity property gives the observed entity of an observation.
The protocolFor property gives the measurement that uses a protocol.
The standardFor property gives the measurements that use this standard.
The usesProtocol property gives the protocol used in a measurement.
The usesStandard property gives the standard (e.g., unit) used in a measurement.
The valueFor property gives the measurement a value is used in.
The hasCode property gives the underlying value (or coded representation) of a primitive value.
The hasMultiplier property gives the multiplier value in a unit conversion.
The hasOffset property gives the offset value in a unit conversion.
The hasPower property gives the power a base unit is raised to within a derived unit.
This property gives the precision of a measurement value.
The usesMethod property gives the actual method used to carry out the measurement.
Base Characteristic Qualifier
A Base Qualifier denotes a simple, atomic qualifier such as average, minimum, maximum, etc.
Base Unit
A BaseUnit simply represents a unit that is not naturally decomposed into other units.
Boolean
Represents a Boolean value, either 'true' or 'false'.
Characteristic
A characteristic represents a property of an entity that can be measured (e.g., height, length, or color). We adopt the standard distinction (e.g., as in M. Bunge, 1979) between things (entities) and their properties (characteristics). A characteristic of an entity is observed through a measurement, which further asserts a value of the characteristic for the entity. A characteristic type (e.g., "height") can be associated with many different entities, whereas an individual characteristic (a particular occurrence of the "height" characteristic) is associated to exactly one entity.
Characteristic Qualifier
A Characteristic Qualifier is a generic derived (e.g., computed) property of an entity that must be combined with concrete characteristics to be used in a measurement. A qualifier is either a base (atomic) or composite qualifier. As an example, the base qualifier Minimum can be combined with a characteristic Length to create a Minimum Length qualified characteristic. A composite qualifer is used to combine multiple qualifiers.
Composite Characteristic Qualifier
A Composite Qualifier is used to combine multiple qualifiers. Each composite qualifier has a base qualifier and a reference to another qualifier. Composite qualifiers are ordered (through hasNextQualifier) to distinguish between, e.g., AverageMinimum versus MinimumAverage.
Composite Unit
A CompositeUnit is a product at least two base or derived units. For example, 'meter per second square' denotes a composite unit defined over 'meter' (a base unit) and 'per second square' (a derived unit).
Context
A context measurement is a special measurement for capturing the details of a contextual relationship among two observations. These details include a characteristic that asserts the relationship between the two entities being observed. Optionally, a protocol (e.g., defining the procedure for observing the relationship) and a standard can also be given (however, these will typically not be specified as part of context). The value of the context measurement is the contextualizing entity, and the observation for the context measurement is the contextualized observation.
Decimal
Represents any real number value (see the XSD decimal type).
Derived Unit
A DerivedUnit raises a base unit to an integer power other than 0 or 1. For example, the unit 'square meter' is a unit derived from the 'meter' base unit raised to the power 2.
Entity
An entity denotes a concrete or conceptual object that has been observed (e.g., a tree, a community, an ecological process). We adopt the standard distinction (e.g., as in M. Bunge, 1979) between things (entities) and their properties (characteristics). Entities constitute the foci of observations, i.e., every observation is of exactly one entity.
Measurement
A measurement is an assertion that a characteristic of an entity was measured and/or recorded. A measurement is also composed of a value, a measurement standard, and a precision (associated with the measured value). Measurements also encapsulate characteristics that were recorded, but not necessarily measured in a physical sense. For example, the name of a location and a taxon can be captured through measurements.
Name
A Name characteristic provides the name (or label) used for identifying (either globally or within a context) an entity.
Observation
An observation represents an "observed entity," that is, an entity that was observed by an observer. An observation often consists of measurements that refer to one or more measured characteristics of the observed entity. Observations may also be made within a broader context. The context of an observation is given by other observations, implying that an observed entity (and specifically each corresponding measurement) contextualizes another observed entity (and its corresponding measurements). For example, an observation of a location may serve as context for an observation of an organism. In this case, the observed characteristic values of the location (such as humidity) are assumed constant for the observation of the organism.
Observation Collection
An observation collection contains a set of observations.
Physical Characteristic
A Physical Characteristic of an Entity is one that is measurable within the physical world, and subsumes primary and derived physical dimensions (e.g., length, mass, area, density). The measured value assigned to a Physical characteristic may be a quantity (a numerical value) or a quality (a label).
Primitive Value
A PrimitiveValue is an entity that represents a literal value (e.g., a number, a string, a a Boolean, etc.)
Protocol
A protocol represents a specific procedure that is used for generating or processing data.
Relationship
A Relationship represents a directional (binary) association between two entities in which the observed entity is associated to the given entity. Examples include spatial (e.g., within, overlaps, adjacent), temporal (e.g., during, before, after), and composition (e.g., part of, has part) relationships.
Standard
A standard defines a reference for comparing or naming entities via a measurement. A standard can be defined intentionally (e.g., as in the case of units) or extensionally (by listing the values of the standard, e.g., for color this might be red, blue, yellow, etc).
String
Type
A Type characteristic provides the type (or class) of an entity as a measured (or observed) value. A typical example is a biological taxonomy designation.
Unit
The base class for physical measurement units.
Unit Conversion
A UnitConversion defines a mapping from a source unit to a target unit via a multiplier and an offset.