[tdwg-content] New terms need resolution: "Evidence"

[John Wieczorek]

None of this was entered as an issue in the Darwin Core Issue tracker.
Rather, it arose from the discussion on DigitalStillImage (Issue 68).
The Darwin Core simplifies the representation of concepts related to
the occurrence of life in nature. Specifically, there is a Darwin Core
Occurrence class, but no separate class to explicitly represent the
physical evidence for the Occurrence. This is problematic when trying
to be explicit about the attributes of physical or digital objects in
the semantic world. Various names have been given to this concept,
including "PhysicalObject", "Evidence", "PhysicalEvidence", "Sample",
"Specimen", "CollectionObject" in the ASC model,
"DataSets/DataSet/Units/Unit/..." in ABCD, "Representation" (Baskauf
2010) and "Token" as a preferred alternative to "Representation" in
tdwg-content (http://lists.tdwg.org/pipermail/tdwg-content/2010-October/001742.html).

Open Issues:
Determine if there is a general consensus on the need for new class
for this concept.

Decide the best name for this class.

Create a new Type Vocabulary term referring to this new class.

Change the Darwin Core Type Vocabulary terms that refine Occurrence
(FossilSpecimen, PreservedSpecimen, LivingSpecimen) to refine the new
Type Vocabulary term referring to this new class.

Decide which properties currently organized under Occurrence should
instead be organized under this new class.

As a seed for further discussion, here is a complete proposal.
==============
Term Name: CollectionObject
Identifier:	http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/CollectionObject
Namespace:	http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/
Label:	CollectionObject
Definition:	The category of information pertaining to persistent
evidence of a biological entity (specimen, sample, image, sound,
drawing, etc.).
Comment:	 For discussion see
http://code.google.com/p/darwincore/wiki/CollectionObject
Type of Term:	http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#Class
Refines:	
Status:	recommended
Date Issued:	2011-07-04
Date Modified:	2011-07-04
Has Domain:	
Has Range:	
Version:	CollectionObject-2011-07-04
Replaces:
Is Replaced By:	
Class:
ABCD 2.06:	{DataSets/DataSet/Units/Unit/CultureCollectionUnit or
DataSets/DataSet/Units/Unit/MycologicalUnit or
DataSets/DataSet/Units/Unit/HerbariumUnit or
DataSets/DataSet/Units/Unit/BotanicalGardenUnit or
DataSets/DataSet/Units/Unit/PlantGeneticResourceUnit or
DataSets/DataSet/Units/Unit/ZoologicalUnit or
DataSets/DataSet/Units/Unit/PalaeontologicalUnit or
DataSets/DataSet/Units/Unit/MultimediaObjects/MultimediaObject}

Term Name: CollectionObject
Identifier:	http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/dwctype/CollectionObject
Namespace:	http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/dwctype/
Label:	CollectionObject
Definition:	A resource describing an instance of the CollectionObject class.
Comment:	 For discussion see
http://code.google.com/p/darwincore/wiki/DwCTypeVocabulary
Type of Term:	http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#Class
Refines:	
Status:	recommended
Date Issued:	2011-07-04
Date Modified:	2011-07-04
Member Of:	http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/DwCType
Has Domain:	
Has Range:	
Version:	CollectionObject-2011-07-04
Replaces:	
Is Replaced By:	
Class:	
ABCD 2.06:	not in ABCD

Term Name: collectionObjectID
Identifier:	http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/collectionObjectID
Namespace:	http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/
Label:	collectionObjectID
Definition:	An identifier for the CollectionObject. In the absence of
a persistent global unique identifier, construct one from a
combination of identifiers in the record that will most closely make
the collectionObjectID globally unique.
Comment:	For a specimen in the absence of a bona fide global unique
identifier, for example, use the form:
"urn:catalog:[institutionCode]:[collectionCode]:[catalogNumber].
Examples: "urn:lsid:nhm.ku.edu:Herps:32",
"urn:catalog:FMNH:Mammal:145732". For discussion see
http://code.google.com/p/darwincore/wiki/CollectionObject
Type of Term:	http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Refines:	http://purl.org/dc/terms/identifier
Status:	recommended
Date Issued:	2011-07-04
Date Modified:	2011-07-04
Has Domain:	
Has Range:	
Version:	collectionObjectID-2011-07-04
Replaces:
Is Replaced By:	
Class:	http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/CollectionObject
ABCD 2.06:	DataSets/DataSet/Units/Unit/UnitGUID

Term Name: collectionObjectRemarks
Identifier:	http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/collectionObjectRemarks
Namespace:	http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/
Label:	collectionObjectRemarks
Definition:	Comments or notes about the Collection Object.
Comment:	Example: "custody transferred in 1995 from National Park
Service". For discussion see
http://code.google.com/p/darwincore/wiki/CollectionObject
Type of Term:	http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Refines:	
Status:	recommended
Date Issued:	2011-07-04
Date Modified:	2009-07-04
Has Domain:	
Has Range:	
Version:	collectionObjectRemarks-2011-07-04
Replaces:	SampleRemarks-2009-01-18
Is Replaced By:
Class:	http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/CollectionObject
ABCD 2.06:	DataSets/DataSet/Units/Unit/Notes

Note that with the addition of CollectionObject, the InstitutionCode,
CollectionCode, CatalogNumber triplet would no longer apply to an
Occurrence. This is a big, non-backward compatible change.

Terms to be organized under CollectionObject rather than Occurrence:
catalogNumber
preparations
disposition
otherCatalogNumbers

Terms that might have to be added to under CollectionObject to retain
capabilities currently achieved under Occurrence:
associatedCollectionObjectMedia
associatedCollectionObjectReferences
associatedCollectionObjects
associateSequences