Roland:Agency

Definition

An ‘Agreement’ is an ‘Activity’ that ‘has as a referent’ some ‘Activity’, ‘has as participants’ at least two ‘Agents’, and ‘influences’ at least two ‘Agents’

Example

The signing of Joe Namath to play football for the New York Jets

Definition

An ‘Authoritative body’ is an ‘Organization’ that ‘has as a contextual quality’ some ‘Authority’, ‘influences’ some ‘Population’, and ‘has as a capability’ some ‘Force’

Examples

The Coalition Provisional Authority, as the transitional government that followed the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq

The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), as an entity controlling significant amounts of territory during the Angolan Civil War

Definition

‘Authority’ is a ‘Contextual quality’ that ‘is derived from’ some ‘Legal formalism’, ‘Force’, or ‘Normative practice’

Examples

The power of a local police department to enforce the law in a given municipality

The power of the United States Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of U.S. statutes

Definition

A ‘Binding agreement’ is a ‘Legal formalism’ that ‘has referent’ some ‘Law’, ‘has referent’ some ‘Agreement’, and ‘influences’ at least two ‘Organizations’ or ‘Sentient agents’

Example

The contract stipulating fifty-two Saturday night appearances entered into by Elvis Presely and the management of the show “Louisiana Hayride” on KWKH Radio

Definition

A ‘Contributor’ is an ‘Agent’ that ‘is a contributor to’ some ‘Activity’

Examples

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, acting as translator of Jacques Derrida’s “De la grammatologie”

The American Civil Liberties Union, acting as amicus curiae in the United States Supreme Court Case “Brown v. Board of Education”

Definition

A ‘Creator’ is a ‘Contributor’ that ‘is responsible for’ some ‘Activity’

Examples

Allan Kaprow, as the coiner of the name “Happenings” for certain types of art events

Henry Jarvis Raymond, as the founder of the newspaper the “New-York Daily Times”

Definition

A ‘Facilitating agent’ is an ‘Agent’ that ‘enables’ some ‘Activity’

Examples

Automated Clearing House software, processing a transaction between a sender of funds and a receiver of funds

Shearson Lehman Hutton, as the investment bank intending to underwrite F. Ross Johnson’s attempted leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco

Definition

‘Force’ is an ‘Activity’ that ‘contrains’ some ‘Organization’ or ‘Agent’, ‘has as a participant’ some ‘Organization’ or ‘Sentient agent’, and ‘has as a responsible party’ some ‘Organization’ or ‘Sentient agent’

Elucidation

‘Force’ should be understood as the use of (lawful, unlawful, or nonlawful) violence.

Example

The physical violence used by the Russian Empire during the annexation of the Khanate of Kokand

Definition

A ‘Governing body’ is an ‘Authoritative body’ that ‘is derived from’ some ‘Legal formalism’

Examples

The Budapest General Assembly

The United States federal government

Definition

A ‘Law’ is a ‘Legal formalism’ that ‘has as a creator’ some ‘Governing body’

Example

The United States federal statute “17 U.S. Code § 103 - Subject matter of copyright: Compilations and derivative works”

Definition

A ‘Legal formalism’ is an ‘Abstract entity’ that ‘allows’ some ‘Activity’, ‘prohibits’ some ‘Activity’, or ‘requires’ some ‘Activity’, and ‘influences’ some ‘Organization’ or ‘Sentient agent’

Examples

The Magna Carta

The contract entered into by D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charlie Chaplin in 1919 to establish United Artists

Definition

A ‘Normative practice’ is an ‘Activity’ that ‘has as a participant’ some ‘Sentient agent’ that ‘is a member of’ some ‘Population’, and ‘influences’ some ‘Sentient agent’ that ‘is a member of’ some ‘Population’

Example

Filial piety in the Confucian philosophical tradition

Definition

An ‘Organization’ is an ‘Agent’ that ‘has as a participant’ at least one ‘Agent’

Examples

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations

The Central Intelligence Agency

Definition

A ‘Population’ is a ‘Collection’ that ‘is contained by’ some ‘Location’ and ‘has as a member’ at least one ‘Agent’

Examples

All humans on the planet Earth

The approximately 125 remaining members of the kakapo bird living in New Zealand

Definition

A ‘Singular agent’ is an ‘Agent’ that ‘has as a participant’ exactly one ‘Agent’, and ‘has as a participant’ itself

Examples

J. Edgar Hoover

Marcus Junius Brutus

Definition

‘allows’ is a relationship of possible unrequired opportunity that holds between some ‘Abstract entity’ or ‘Agent’ and some ‘Activity’ or ‘Action’

Example

The U.S. Border Patrol ‘allows’ entry for some individuals into the United States

Definition

‘enables’ is a relationship of facilitated unrequired opportunity that holds between some ‘Activity’ or ‘Action’ and some ‘Abstract entity’ or ‘Agent’

Example

The LILO boot loader ‘enables’ the loading of the Linux operating system

Definition

‘has contributor’ is a relationship of possessing an active influencer upon material, contextual, or conceptual substance that holds between some ‘Entity’ and some ‘Contributor’

Example

Semiotext(e) issue #13 ‘has as a contributor’ Sue Ann Harkey

Definition

‘has creator’ is a relationship of possessing a party providing primary influence over the material, contextual, or conceptual substance that holds between some ‘Entity’ and some ‘Creator’

Example

The BBC television program “Dr. Who” ‘has as a creator’ Sydney Newman

Definition

‘has facilitating agent’ is a relationship of possessing a contextual or situational enablement that holds between some ‘Entity’ and some ‘Facilitating agent’

Example

Project Azorian ‘has as a facilitating agent’ the company Global Marine Systems Incorporated

Definition

‘has responsible party’ is a relationship of possessing a primary influencer that holds between some ‘Activity’ or ‘Action’ and some ‘Agent’

Example

The sinking of the RMS Lusitania ‘has as a responsible party’ U-20 commander Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger

Definition

‘is allowed by’ is a relationship of possessing a possible unrequired opportunity that holds between some ‘Activity’ or ‘Action’ and some ‘Abstract entity’ or ‘Agent’

Example

Marriage between same-sex couples in New York ‘is allowed by’ the “Marriage Equality Act” passed by the New York State Assembly in 2011

Definition

‘is contributor to’ is a relationship of active influence upon material, contextual, or conceptual substance that holds between some ‘Contributor’ and some ‘Entity’

Example

Matthew Horridge ‘is a contributor to’ the “Pizza Ontology” Protégé OWL tutorial

Definition

‘is creator of’ is a relationship of primary influence upon material, contextual, or conceptual substance that holds between some ‘Creator’ and some ‘Entity’

Example

Charles Schulz ‘is a creator of’ the comic strip “Peanuts”

Definition

‘is enabled by’ is a relationship of possessing a facilitated unrequired opportunity that holds between some ‘Activity’ or ‘Action’ and some ‘Abstract entity’ or ‘Agent’

Example

The travelling of the Amtrak Northeast Regional #111 from Washington DC to New York City ‘is enabled by’ that train’s conductor

Definition

“is facilitating agent of’ is a relationship of contextual or situational enablement that holds between some ‘Entity’ and some ‘Facilitating agent’

Example

Lou Adler ‘is a facilitating agent of’ the 1967 Monterey International Pop Music Festival

Definition

‘is prohibited by’ is a relationship of possessing a negative unrequired restriction that holds between some ‘Activity’ or ‘Action’ and some ‘Abstract entity’ or ‘Agent’

Example

Usury ‘is prohibited by’ the declaration papal encyclical “Vix Pervenit: On Usury and Other Dishonest Profit”

Definition

‘is required by’ is a relationship of posessing a positive unrequired restriction that holds between some ‘Activity’ or ‘Action’ and some ‘Abstract entity’ or ‘Agent’

Elucidation

The word “requires” in the this term’s label refers to the intentionality of the restriction (i.e., “U.S. residents are required to pay taxes”). However, individual agents may choose (under pain of consequence) to ignore the restriction. Thus, from a definitional perspective, the restriction is “unrequired.” In contrast, gravity is a “required” restriction acting on material entities.

Example

Voting in elections ‘is required by’ the government of Australia

Definition

‘is responsible for’ is a relationship of primary influence that holds between some ‘Activity’ or ‘Action’ and some ‘Agent’

Example

James Watt ‘is responsible for’ the creation of the Boulton and Watt steam engine

Definition

‘prohibits’ is a relationship of negative unrequired restriction that holds between some ‘Abstract entity’ or ‘Agent’ and some ‘Activity’ or ‘Action’

Example

The “Marihuana Tax Act of 1937” ‘prohibits’ the posession of cannabis in the United States

Definition

‘requires’ is a relationship of positive unrequired restriction that holds between some ‘Abstract entity’ or ‘Agent’ and some ‘Activity’ or ‘Action’

Elucidation

The word “requires” in the this term’s label refers to the intentionality of the restriction (i.e., “U.S. tax law requires residents to pay taxes”). However, individual agents may choose (under pain of consequence) to ignore the restriction. Thus, from a definitional perspective, the restriction is “unrequired.” In contrast, gravity is a “required” restriction acting on material entities.

Example

Islamic custom ‘requires’ adult Muslims to perform the Hajj

Definition

‘has creation datetime’ is a relationship of temporal location that holds between some ‘Entity’ and some date, dateTime, or PlainLiteral

Elucidation

Though not formalized, it is assumed that, when describing any given entity, the date or dateTime value provided for ‘has creation datetime’ will be less than (“earlier than”) the date or dateTime value provided for ‘has destruction datetime’.

Definition

‘has destruction datetime’ is a relationship of temporal location that holds between some ‘Entity’ and some date, dateTime, or PlainLiteral

Elucidation

Though not formalized, it is assumed that, when describing any given entity, the date or dateTime value provided for ‘has destruction datetime’ will be greater than (“later than”) the date or dateTime value provided for ‘has creation datetime’.

Definition

‘has family name’ is a relationship of identification that holds between some ‘Entity’ and some PlainLiteral

Elucidation

“Family name” here is synonmous with “last name” (in the Western tradition).

Definition

‘has given name’ is a relationship of identification that holds between some ‘Agent’ and some PlainLiteral

Elucidations

“Given name” here is largely synonmous with “first name” (in the Western tradition).

While this property can be used for any given entity, typically given names are used only for ‘Persons’, pets (a cat named “George”), and occasionally inanimate objects that inspire human affection or sentiment (a 1958 Plymouth Fury automobile named “Christine”).

Definition

‘has organization name’ is a relationship of identification that holds between some ‘Organization’ and some PlainLiteral