RE: SKOS primer section 3.3 and DCAM VocabularyEncodingScheme

> From: Antoine Isaac [mailto:aisaac@few.vu.nl]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 01:42 PM
> To: Houghton,Andrew
> Cc: public-esw-thes@w3.org
> Subject: Re: SKOS primer section 3.3 and DCAM VocabularyEncodingScheme
> 
> 1. it would maybe call for a more precise characterisation: is
> skos:ConceptScheme really a subClassOf dcam:VocabularyEncodingScheme?
> Isn't it the opposite? Could they be equivalent? Honnestly I don't know
> enough DCAM to answer, but I'd be interested in having a clearer view
> ;-)

I agree there isn't a clear answer here and that is why I'm concerned
with what I'm trying to do and its implications.  Maybe the SKOS
working group should get together with the DCMI folks ot iron this
out.

> 2. there's something weird with your examples. According to your
> definition of <class/123.4>, <scheme/ddc22> is an *instance* of both
> skos:ConceptScheme and dcam:VocabularyEncodingScheme. Which is fine.
> But in the lines above you say that <scheme/ddc22> is a subclass of
> dcam:VocabularyEncodingScheme, which does not fit.
> Similarly, your first example (in XML) seems to hint that the object of
> your dct:subject statement is an *instance* of dct:DDC, not a *member
> of* it.

DCAM takes the same approach that SKOS takes.  You declare something a
scheme, e.g., skos:ConceptScheme vs. dcam:VocabularyEncodingScheme, but
membership is via a property in a resource.  So <scheme/ddc22> is a 
skos:ConceptScheme that subclasses dcam:VocabularyEncodingScheme.  
Members must be related to the scheme, e.g., skos:inScheme vs. 
dcam:memberOf, so even though skos:ConceptScheme is a subclass of
dcam:VocabularyEncodingScheme relating members with just skos:inScheme
would relate a member to skos:ConceptScheme but not 
dcam:VocabularyEncodingScheme.  Hence, both assignments.

Hmm... perhaps I also need to make skos:inScheme a subproperty of
dcam:memberOf, then I could just use skos:inScheme and dcam:memberOf
could be inferred.


Thanks for your response, Andy.

Received on Wednesday, 27 January 2010 21:33:48 UTC