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Re: [ontolog-forum] Common Logic Controlled English (CLCE)

To: <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: <matthew.west@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 07:50:14 -0000
Message-id: <808637A57BC3454FA660801A3995FA8F04EBFAAA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Dear Duane,    (01)


> 
> If the original statement was framed within a domain specific 
> ontology such
> as an HR department at a company that hires only humans, the 
> statement as
> written by John is fine IMO.  I inferred nothing more that 
> all employees are
> persons. Regardless of the definitions of employee and 
> person, the statement
> is true.      (02)

MW: I beg to differ. If you take a 4 dimensionalist view, then a
person would be person-for-the-whole-of-his-life, an employee is
just an aggregate of temporal parts of a person - the temporal
parts that were working for a particular organization. Since by
this definition an employee is not a person-for-the-whole-of-his-
life, then employee is not a subtype of person.    (03)

> What can be argued is that person and employee are 
> terms that have
> limitations however as John noted, that can be fixed by defining such.
> 
> I do not see why this is causing so much discussion.
> 
> Duane
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 3/18/07 12:45 PM, "Chris Partridge" 
> <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> > John,
> > 
> > If you look at some of the standard textbooks on data 
> modelling you will
> > find that:
> > 
> > a) They recognise that some systems fudged the distinction 
> between employee
> > and role (as you note)
> > b) that it is not a good idea to do it, and
> > c) offer their own way of modelling this.
> > 
> > My experience with legacy systems re-engineering is that 
> not all (or even
> > many modern) systems make this mistake. But am sure my sample is not
> > representative.
> > 
> > See (for example),
> > Data Model Patterns: Conventions of Thought by David C. Hay
> > 
> http://www.amazon.com/Data-Model-Patterns-Conventions-Thought/
> dp/0932633293/
> > 
> ref=pd_bbs_2/002-8927839-5907206?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174246335&sr=8-2
> > 
> > The Data Model Resource Book, Vol. 1: A Library of 
> Universal Data Models for
> > All Enterprises by Len Silverston
> > 
> http://www.amazon.com/Data-Model-Resource-Book-Vol/dp/04713802
> 37/ref=sr_1_1/
> > 002-8927839-5907206?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174246404&sr=1-1
> > 
> > (As an aside, I seem to recall Matthew West's 'High Quality 
> Data Models
> > paper' notes this - or something similar as a common 
> modelling error -
> > Matthew can confirm whether this is the case.)
> > 
> > To return to an old topic: one can regard employee as a 
> role or a temporal
> > stage of a person - depending upon your 3D/4D inclinations. 
> A description of
> > the 4D approach is in my book.
> > 
> > 
> http://www.amazon.com/Business-Objects-Re-Engineering-Computer
> -Professional/
> > 
> dp/075062082X/ref=sr_1_1/002-8927839-5907206?ie=UTF8&s=books&q
> id=1174246688&
> > sr=1-1
> > 
> > Regards,
> > Chris
> > 
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: ontolog-forum-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > [mailto:ontolog-forum-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf 
> Of John F. Sowa
> > Sent: 18 March 2007 14:27
> > To: [ontolog-forum]
> > Subject: Re: [ontolog-forum] Common Logic Controlled English (CLCE)
> > 
> > Peter,
> > 
> > That's the way most businesses handle their personnel:
> > 
> >> Since when is an "employee" a sub-type of "person"?!
> > 
> > However, one of the major mining companies used mules
> > to pull ore out of the mines.  (They didn't want to use
> > anything that might create sparks that could trigger
> > an explosion if there were any stray gasses around.)
> > 
> > When they computerized their system, they assigned
> > employee numbers to the mules.  For that company, you
> > could generalize the ontology in either of two ways:
> > 
> >   1. Assume that Employee is a subtype of Animal.
> > 
> >   2. Assume that Person could include nonhuman animals.
> > 
> > But in any case, whenever you say X is a subtype of Y,
> > you mean "every X is a Y."  That is all it says.
> > 
> > John
> >  
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> -- 
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