UKOLN - Projects - IEMSR - Model for Dublin Core Application Profile (DCAP)

1. Introduction

A Dublin Core Application Profile (DCAP) is a declaration specifying, at a minimum, which properties are used within a particular metadata application. Optionally, an application profile may describe how those properties have been constrained or adapted for particular purposes.

2. Definitions

a resource is anything that has identity
- a resource is related to one or more classes by a type relationship, and is said to be an instance of those classes
a metadata vocabulary is a set of properties, classes and datatypes
a property is a type of relationship between two resources
- a property is declared a member term of exactly one metadata vocabulary
- a property may be related to another property by a sub-property relationship: this states that all resources related by the first property are also related by the second property
a class is a group of resources
- a class is declared as a member term of exactly one metadata vocabulary
- a class may be related to another class by a sub-class relationship: this states that all instances of the first class are are also instances of the second class
- a member of a class is referred to as an instance of the class. e.g. If a class represents a controlled vocabulary, then the individual terms or values in that controlled vocabulary are instances of that class.
a datatype consists of a set of character strings (the lexical space), a set of values (the value space) and a mapping from the lexical space to the value space.
a schema document describes
- one metadata vocabulary and its constituent properties, classes and datatypes
- one or more sets of instances of classes that represent controlled vocabularies. The instances may be described in a separate schema document from the class that represents the controlled vocabulary

Entity-Relation model for Metadata Vocabulary

Figure 1: Metadata Vocabulary

3. Dublin Core Application Profiles and Property Usages

A DCAP is a set of property usages. Each property usage must reference an existing property from a metadata vocabulary. Since an application typically deals with the description of multiple related resources, and a single property may be used in the description of multiple resources, each property usage must specify the type of resource to which this usage of the property applies.

A property usage

must use one property from an existing metadata vocabulary;
must specify one subject type to which these constraints on the property apply;
may provide additional documentation on how the property is interpreted for the description of an instance of this resource type in the context of this application;
may provide an application-specific label for the property
may specify obligation for the use of the property (whether it is mandatory, optional, conditional)
may specify constraints on the occurrence of the property
may specify constraints on the permitted values of the property i.e. may specify "encoding schemes" for the property. Values may be specified to be either
- instances of specified classes; or
- instances of specified literal datatypes
a schema document describes one DCAP and its constituent property usages

Figure 2: Dublin Core Application Profile

4. Dublin Core Application Profiles and Bindings

A DCAP

may be associated with one or more binding schemas (e.g. a set of XML Schemas) that describe the structure of a metadata record conforming to this DCAP

5. Entities and their attributes/relationships

Note: the tables include suggestions for Classes and Properties to be used in an RDF representation of the model. The names of Classes and Properties are recorded as QNames. The prefixes are assumed to be associated with Namespace Names as follows:

dc: http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/
dcterms: http://purl.org/dc/terms/
dcmitype: http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/
rdf: http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#
rdfs: http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#
xsd: http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#
iemsr: to be confirmed http://example.org/iemsr/terms/?

5.1 Schema Document

An Schema Document is a document containing a machine-readable description of a Metadata Vocabulary, a DC Application Profile and/or one or more sets of instances/individuals.

A Schema Document may be created by the DCAP editor tool or it may be created by some other means.

The text content of each Schema Document is in exactly one language; to provide descriptions of a Metadata Vocabulary or a DCAP in multiple languages, separate Schema Documents are required.

Class: iemsr:SchemaDocument

Attribute Name	Definition	Property Name	Min Occurs	Max Occurs	Value Space
Identifier	A URI Reference which identifies the schema document		1	1	URI Reference
Title	A title for the schema document	dc:title	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Description	A description of the schema document	dc:description	0	1	Literal, xsd:string
Language	The language of the text content of the schema document	dc:language	1	1	dcterms:RFC3066
Date modified	The date on which this schema document was last modified	dcterms:modified	1	1	dcterms:W3CDTF
Publisher	An agency that publishes this schema document	dc:publisher	1	unbounded	iemsr:Agency

5.2 Agency

An Agency is an entity responsible for managing one or more Metadata Vocabularies or Application Profiles and their components.

Class: iemsr:Agency

Attribute Name	Definition	Property Name	Min Occurs	Max Occurs	Value Space
Identifier	A URI Reference which identifies the agency		1	1	URI Reference
Name	The name of the agency	iemsr:label	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Description	A description of the agency	iemsr:comment	0	1	Literal, xsd:string
Home Page	A human-readable document that provides more information about the agency	iemsr:seeAlso	0	1	*iemsr:TextDocument*

5.3 Metadata Vocabulary

A Metadata Vocabulary is a set of metadata terms (properties, classes, and instances of those classes) managed as a coherent unit by an agency.

Class: iemsr:MetadataVocab

Attribute Name	Definition	Property Name	Min Occurs	Max Occurs	Value Space
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the metadata vocabulary		1	1	URI Reference
Title	The name or title of the metadata vocabulary	dc:title	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Version	An indicator of the version of the metadata vocabulary	iemsr:version	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Date modified	The date on which this metadata vocabulary was last modified	dcterms:modified	1	1	dcterms:W3CDTF
Status	An indicator of the status of the metadata vocabulary	iemsr:status	0	1	iemsr:VocabStatus
Description	A summary of the scope and purpose of the metadata vocabulary	dc:description	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Specification/Guidelines	A human-readable document that provides more information about the metadata vocabulary	iemsr:seeAlso	0	unbounded	*iemsr:TextDocument*
Preferred XML Namespace Name	The preferred XML Namespace Name to be used when encoding terms from this vocabulary in an RDF/XML document	iemsr:preferred XMLNamespace Name	0	1	Literal, xsd:string
Preferred XML Namespace Prefix	The preferred Namespace Prefix to be used when encoding terms from this vocabulary in an RDF/XML document	iemsr:preferred XMLNamespace Prefix	0	1	Literal, xsd:string
Administrator	An agency that manages and makes available this metadata vocabulary	dc:publisher	1	unbounded	*iemsr:Agency*
Is Described In	A schema document that describes this metadata vocabulary	rdfs:isDefinedBy	1	unbounded	iemsr:Schema Document

5.4 Property

A Property is a type of relation between two resources.

Class: rdf:Property

Attribute Name	Definition	Property Name	Min Occurs	Max Occurs	Value Space
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the property		1	1	URI Reference
Label	A human-readable label assigned to the property	rdfs:label	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Status	An indicator of the status of the property	iemsr:status	0	1	*iemsr:TermStatus*
Definition	A statement of the concept and essential nature of the property	rdfs:comment	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Comment/Usage Note	Additional information about the property or its use	dc:description	0	1	Literal, xsd:string
Specification/Guidelines	A human-readable document that provides more information about the property	iemsr:seeAlso	0	unbounded	*iemsr:TextDocument*
Subproperty Of/Refines	A property of which this property is a subproperty	rdfs:subPropertyOf	0	unbounded	*rdf:Property*
Range	A class of which values of this property are instances.	rdfs:range	0	unbounded	*rdfs:Class*
Domain	A class of which a resource having this property is an instance.	rdfs:domain	0	unbounded	*rdfs:Class*
Is Member Of	The metadata vocabulary of which this property is a member term	iemsr:isMemberOf	1	1	*iemsr:MetadataVocab*

5.5 Class

A Class is a set of resources.

A resource is related to one or more classes by a type relationship, and is said to be an instance of those classes. If a class represents a controlled vocabulary, then the individual terms or values in that controlled vocabulary are instances of that class.

Class: rdfs:Class

Attribute Name	Definition	Property Name	Min Occurs	Max Occurs	Value Space
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the class		1	1	URI Reference
Label	A human-readable label assigned to the class	rdfs:label	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Status	An indicator of the status of the class	iemsr:status	0	1	*iemsr:TermStatus*
Description	A statement of the concept and essential nature of the class	rdfs:comment	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Comment/ Usage Note	Additional information about the class or its use	dc:description	0	1	Literal, xsd:string
Specification/Guidelines	A human-readable document that provides more information about the class	iemsr:seeAlso	0	unbounded	*iemsr:TextDocument*
Subclass Of	A class of which this class is a subclass	rdfs:subClassOf	0	unbounded	*rdfs:Class*
Is Member Of	The metadata vocabulary of which this class is a member term	iemsr:isMemberOf	1	1	*iemsr:MetadataVocab*

5.6 Instance/Individual

A resource is related to one or more classes by a type relationship and is said to be an instance of those classes. The instances the IEMSR is concerned with are the values which make up a controlled vocabulary: the controlled vocabulary is represented by a class and the individual terms or values are instances of that class.

N.B. an instance may also be a class, as is the case with the values of the DCMI Type Vocabulary.

Attribute Name	Definition	Property Name	Min Occurs	Max Occurs	Value Space
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the instance		1	1	URI Reference
Label	A human-readable label assigned to the instance	rdfs:label	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Value	A literal that acts as the main value.	rdf:value	0	1	Literal
Status	An indicator of the status of the instance	iemsr:status	1	1	*iemsr:TermStatus*
Description	A statement of the concept represented by the instance	rdfs:comment	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Specification/Guidelines	A human-readable document that provides more information about the instance	iemsr:seeAlso	0	unbounded	*iemsr:TextDocument*
Type	The class of which this instance is a member (the controlled vocabulary of which this instance is a term).	rdf:type	1	1	*rdfs:Class*
Is Described In	A schema document that describes this instance	rdfs:isDefinedBy	1	unbounded	iemsr:Schema Document

5.7 Datatype

See list of XML Schema datatypes.

5.8 DC Application Profile

A Dublin Core Application Profile (DCAP) is a declaration specifying, at a minimum, which properties are used within a metadata application. Optionally, an application profile may describe how those properties have been constrained or adapted for particular purposes. A DCAP is a set of property usages managed as a coherent unit by an agency.

Class: iemsr:DCAP

Attribute Name	Definition	Property Name	Min Occurs	Max Occurs	Value Space
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the DC application profile		1	1	URI Reference
Title	The name or title of the DC application profile	dc:title	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Version	An indicator of the version of the DC application profile	iemsr:version	0	1	Literal, xsd:string
Status	An indicator of the status of the DC application profile	iemsr:status	0	1	*iemsr:VocabStatus*
Description	A summary of the scope and purpose of the DC application profile	dc:description	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Specification/Guidelines	A human-readable document that provides more information about the DC application profile	iemsr:seeAlso	0	unbounded	*iemsr:TextDocument*
Administrator	An agency that manages and makes available the DC application profile	dc:publisher	1	unbounded	*iemsr:Agency*
Is Expressed By	A binding schema used to structure metadata records conforming to this DC application profile	iemsr: isExpressedBy	0	unbounded	*iemsr:BindingSchema*
Is Described In	A schema document that describes this DC application profile	rdfs:isDefinedBy	1	unbounded	iemsr:Schema Document

5.9 Property Usage

A Property Usage is a description of how a previously declared property from a metadata vocabulary is deployed in the context of an application.

Attribute Name	Definition	Property Name	Min Occurs	Max Occurs	Value Space
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the property usage		1	1	URI Reference
Uses Property	A property which is used in this DC Application Profile	iemsr:uses	1	1	*rdf:Property*
Subject Type	A class which is the type of resource to which these constraints on the property apply	iemsr:subjectType	1	1	*rdfs:Class*
Label	A human-readable label assigned to the property, in the context of this DC application profile	rdfs:label	0	1	Literal, xsd:string
Status	An indicator of the status of the property usage.	iemsr:status	0	1	*iemsr:TermStatus*
Definition	A statement of the concept and essential nature of the property, as it is used in this DC Application Profile	rdfs:comment	0	1	Literal, xsd:string
Comment/Usage Note	Additional information about the property or its use specific to this DC Application Profile	dc:description	0	1	Literal, xsd:string
Specification/Guidelines	A human-readable document that provides more information about the property usage	iemsr:seeAlso	0	unbounded	*iemsr:TextDocument*
Obligation	An indication of whether a statement using the property is required to occur when describing this subject type in a metadata record conforming to this DC Application Profile	iemsr:obligation	1	1	*iemsr:Obligation*
Condition	A description of the condition or conditions according to which a statement using the property should be present when describing this subject type in a metadata record conforming to this DC Application Profile	iemsr:condition	0	1	Literal, xsd:string
Occurrences	The maximum permitted number of occurrences of statements using the property to describe this subject type in a metadata record conforming to this DC Application Profile	iemsr:maxOccurs	1	1	Literal, xsd:int or "unbounded"
Uses Encoding Scheme (Datatype)	A datatype of which the literal value of the property is an instance, when the property is used to describe this subject type in a metadata record conforming to this DC Application Profile	iemsr:encoding Scheme	0	unbounded	*rdfs:Datatype*
Uses Encoding Scheme (Object Type)	A class of which the value of the property is an instance, when the property is used to describe this subject type in a metadata record conforming to this DC Application Profile	iemsr:encoding Scheme	0	unbounded	*rdfs:Class*
Is Member Of	The DC Application Profile of which this property usage is a member	iemsr:isMemberOf	1	1	*iemsr:DCAP*

If a Property Usage is the subject of multiple Has Encoding Scheme relations, they value of the property must be an instance of any one of the classes i.e. a union operation is implied.

To specify that an occurrence of the property with a value of a particular type is required, and values of other types are optional, use multiple Property Usages: one specifying that occurrence is mandatory and a Has Encoding Scheme relation for the required class, and a second specifying that occurrence is optional with multiple Has Encoding Scheme relations for the optional classes.

5.10 Binding Schema

A Binding Schema is a document containing a machine-readable description of how to structure a metadata record conforming to a DC Application Profile.

Attribute Name	Definition	Property Name	Min Occurs	Max Occurs	Value Space
Identifier	A URI Reference which identifies the binding schema		1	1	URI Reference
Type	The type of the binding schema	dc:type	1	1	iemsr:Binding SchemaType
Title	A title for the binding schema	dc:title	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Version	An indicator of the version of the binding schema	iemsr:version	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Date modified	The date on which this binding schema was last modified	dcterms:modified	1	1	dcterms:W3CDTF
Status	An indicator of the status of the binding schema	iemsr:status	0	1	iemsr:VocabStatus
Description	A description of the binding schema	dc:description	0	1	Literal, xsd:string
Specification/Guidelines	A human-readable document that provides more information about the binding schema	iemsr:seeAlso	0	unbounded	*iemsr:TextDocument*
Publisher	An agency that manages and makes available this binding schema	dc:publisher	1	unbounded	*iemsr:Agency*

5.11 TextDocument

A TextDocument is a document containing text intended for a human reader,

Class: iemsr:TextDocument

Attribute Name	Definition	Property Name	Min Occurs	Max Occurs	Value Space
Identifier	A URI Reference which identifies the binding schema		1	1	URI Reference
Title	A title for the document	dc:title	1	1	Literal, xsd:string
Description	A description of the content of the document	dc:description	0	1	Literal, xsd:string
Language	The language of the text content of the text document	dc:language	1	1	dcterms:RFC3066

6. Vocabularies (IEMSR)

6.1 Vocabulary-Profile Status

Class: iemsr:VocabStatus

URI ref	Label	Value Name	Description
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/VocabStatus/private	Private	private	The vocabulary or application profile is for use only within a context controlled by its developer/publisher.
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/VocabStatus/workingDraft	Working Draft	workingDraft	The vocabulary or application profile is available for use but is still work-in-progress and likely to change without warning.
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/VocabStatus/proposed Recommendation	Proposed Recommendation	proposed Recommendation	The vocabulary or application profile is available for use. It is in being approved through the process of some organisation. It is probably relatively stable but still liable to change.
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/VocabStatus/recommendation	Recommendation	recommendation	The vocabulary or application profile is available for use. It has been approved through the process of some organisation. It is stable, and changes are made though the processes of the organisation.
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/VocabStatus/standard	Standard	standard	The vocabulary or application profile is available for use. It has been approved through the formal process of a standards body. It is stable, and changes are made though the processes of the standards body.

6.2 Obligation

Do we really need this? Is "optional(recommended)" different ffrom "optional"? Could we just use minOccurs and maxOccurs instead of this?

Class: iemsr:Obligation

URI ref	Label	Value Name	Description
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/Obligation/mandatory	Mandatory	mandatory	An occurrence of a statement using this property must be present in the description.
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/Obligation/optional Recommended	Optional (recommended)	optional Recommended	An occurrence of a statement using this property may be present in the description. While it is not required, it is recommended that such a statement is present.
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/Obligation/optional	Optional	optional	An occurrence of a statement using this property may be present in the description.
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/Obligation/conditional	Conditional (recommended)	conditional	An occurrence of a statement using this property is required to be present in the description under certain conditions.

6.3 Term Status

Class: iemsr:TermStatus

URI ref	Label	Value Name	Description
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/TermStatus/private	Private	private	The term is for use only within a context controlled by its developer/publisher.
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/TermStatus/unstable	Unstable	unstable	The term is available for use but is still work-in-progress and likely to change without warning.
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/TermStatus/testing	Testing	testing	The term is available for use. It is in the process of being tested. It is probably stable in the short term, but still liable to change.
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/TermStatus/stable	Stable	stable	The term is available for use. It has passed through testing processes of the agency that administers the vocabulary. It is stable, and changes are made though the processes of the organisation.

6.4 Binding Schema Type

Class: iemsr:BindingSchemaType

URI ref	Label	Value Name	Description	Specification
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/BindingSchemaType/XMLDTD	XML DTD	XMLDTD	XML Document Type Definition.	http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/BindingSchemaType/W3CXMLSchema	W3C XML Schema	W3CXMLSchema	W3C XML Schema.	http://www.w3.org/TR/xmlschema-0/
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/BindingSchemaType/RELAXNG	RELAX NG	RELAXNG	RELAX NG.	http://www.relaxng.org/
http://example.org/iemsr/terms/BindingSchemaType/Schematron	Schematron	Schematron	Schematron.	http://xml.ascc.net/resource/schematron/schematron.html

7. Example

DCAP:

The RDN rdn_dc DCAP. http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/projects/iemsr/wp2/rdf/dcap/rdn-dc.rdf

Metadata Vocabularies:

The RDN terms vocabulary. http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/projects/iemsr/wp2/rdf/vocab/rdnterms.rdf
The MEG terms vocabulary. http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/projects/iemsr/wp2/rdf/vocab/megterms.rdf

Controlled Vocabulary Values (Instances):

The UK educational levels (UKEL) vocabulary. http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/projects/iemsr/wp2/rdf/vocab/ukel.rdf
The UK educational contexts (UKEC) vocabulary. http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/projects/iemsr/wp2/rdf/vocab/ukec.rdf

JISC IE Metadata Schema Registry

Model for Dublin Core Application Profile (DCAP)