UKOLN - Projects - IEMSR - Model for LOM Application Profile (LOMAP)

Introduction
Definitions
LOM Application Profiles and LOM Data Element Usages
LOM Application Profiles and Bindings
Entities and their Attributes/Relationships
Vocabularies (IEMSR)
Examples

1. Introduction

A LOM Application Profile (LOMAP) is a specification of how the information model described by the IEEE LOM standard is adopted to the requirements of a particular metadata application. It specifies which LOM data elements are used, provides information on how they are interpreted in the context of the application, and describes constraints on their occurrence. A LOMAP may specify the use of vocabularies to provide values for LOM data elements where the dataype in the LOM standard permits it, and it may specify taxonomies and classification schemes for use for specified "purposes" with the LOM Classification data element.

A LOMAP may use both LOM data elements defined by the LOM standard and extended data elements.

2. Definitions

a LOM data element is a data element defined in the IEEE LOM standard
an aggregate LOM data element is a LOM data element that contains one or more other LOM data elements. (A LOM category is a type of LOM aggregate data element).
a simple LOM data element is a LOM data element that does not contain other LOM data elements.
Aggregate LOM data elements do not have individual values; only simple data LOM data elements have individual values.
A simple LOM data element is associated with a LOM datatype. A LOM datatype is a property of distinct values, indicating features of those values and operations on those values
A simple LOM data element may be associated with a value space. A value space is a set of values for a given datatype. A value space specified by the LOM standard is either
- a reference to another standard
- a LOM vocabulary
a LOM vocabulary is a list of values specified by the LOM standard
a LOM simple data element may be mapped to an RDF property [Note: I don't think this is sufficient: a LOM instance describes multiple resources, and a single RDF property may be used in the description of several resources. I think any mapping has to take this into account. The only way I can see this working is to do something like the SHAME editor does and to specify the form of the RDF graph by a query and to map between the relevant LOM tree components to the relevant parts of the graph.]

Figure 1: LOM Conceptual Model

3. LOM Application Profiles and LOM Data Element Usages

A LOMAP is a set of data element usages. An XML LOMAP is a simple XML document representing a LOMAP as a hierarchical structure.

A data element usage

must use one data element. That data element may be
- a LOM data element; or
- an extended data element (a data element not defined in the IEEE LOM standard)
may provide additional documentation on how the data element is interpreted in the context of this application;
may specify obligation for the data element (whether it is mandatory, optional, conditional)
may specify permitted number of occurrences for the data element

Figure 2: LOM Application Profile

In addition to the occurrence/obligation constraints and the documentation described above, a data element usage that references a LOM simple data element

must not change the datatype of the LOM simple data element
may extend the value space of the LOM simple data element, by allowing values from one or more non-LOM vocabularies. Where such non-LOM vocabularies are used, they must be used in addition to the LOM vocabulary specified in the LOM standard. Values in a non-LOM vocabulary must not duplicate values in that LOM vocabulary.

A data element usage that references the LOM Classification data element

must specify a purpose for the classification (from the LOM standard vocabulary)
may specify the use of one or more taxonomies for that specified purpose of classification

Entity-Relation model for LOM element usage

Figure 3: LOM Element Usage

Extended data elements are defined outside the LOM standard. Extended data elements may be aggregate data elements or simple data elements.

In addition to the occurrence/obligation constraints and the documentation described above, a data element usage that references an extended simple data element

must specify a datatype for the extended simple data element [Note: I'm not sure whether this has to be a datatype from the LOM standard, and if it isn't how/where those datatypes are defined]
may specify a value space for the extended simple data element, by
- a reference to another standard
- a non-LOM vocabulary

Entity-Relation model for LOM extended element usage

Figure 4: Extended Element Usage

4. LOM Application Profiles and Bindings

A LOMAP may be associated with one or more binding schemas that describe the structure of a metadata record conforming to the LOMAP.

5. Entities and their attributes/relationships

5.1 Agency

An Agency is an entity responsible for managing one or more LOM Application Profiles, non-LOM Vocabularies or Taxonomies.

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
Identifier	A URI Reference which identifies the agency	Mandatory	Max=1	URI
Name	The name of the agency	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Description	A description of the agency	Optional	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Home Page	A human-readable document that provides more information about the agency	Optional	Max=1	Document
Is Defined By	A schema document that describes this agency	Mandatory	Max=1	*Schema Document*

5.2 Schema Document

An Schema Document is a document containing a machine-readable description of the LOM, a LOM Application Profile or a non-LOM Vocabulary. A Schema Document may be created by the LOMAP editor tool or it may be created by some other means.

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
Identifier	A URI Reference which identifies the schema document	Mandatory	Max=1	URI
Title	A title for the schema document	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Description	A description of the schema document	Optional	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Date modified	The date on which this schema document was last modified	Mandatory	Max=1	Literal, xsd:date
Publisher	An agency that publishes this schema document	Mandatory	Max=unbounded	*Agency*

5.3 LOM Data Element

A LOM data element is a data element defined in the IEEE LOM standard.

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the LOM data element	Mandatory	Max=1	URI
Number	A number by which LOM data element is referenced (specified by the LOM standard)	Mandatory	Max=1	Literal, xsd:string
Name	A name by which LOM data element is referenced (specified by the LOM standard)	Mandatory	Max=1	Literal, xsd:string
Description	The definition of the LOM data element	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Size	The number of values of the LOM data element allowed	Mandatory	Max=1	Literal, xsd:string
Order	Whether the order of values of the LOM data element is significant	Conditional	Max=1	Literal, xsd:string
Is Child Of	The aggregate LOM data element of which this LOM data element a child	Conditional Required for all except root element	Max=1	Literal, xsd:string
Is Defined By	A schema document that describes this LOM data element	Mandatory	Max=1	*Schema Document*

5.3.1 Simple LOM Data Element

A Simple LOM data element is a LOM data element that does not contain other LOM data elements.

In addition to the attributes of a LOM data element:

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
Value Space	A set of allowed values for the LOM data element	Mandatory	Max=1	*LOM Value Space*
Datatype	The datatype for the LOM data element	Mandatory	Max=1	*LOM Datatype*
Example	An example of the use of the LOM data element	Optional	Max=1	Literal, xsd:string
Maps to Property	An indication of how the LOM data element maps to an RDF graph using the LOM RDF binding	Optional	Max=1	Literal, xsd:string

5.4 LOM Value Space

5.4.1 Standard Value Space

Repertoire of ISO/IEC 10646-1:2000
LanguageID
MIME Types
vCard

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the standard value space	Mandatory	Max=1	URI
Name	A name by which standard value space is referenced (specified by the LOM standard)	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Description	A description of the standard value space	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Is Defined By	A schema document that describes this value space	Mandatory	Max=1	*Schema Document*

5.4.2 LOM Vocabulary

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the LOM Vocabulary	Mandatory	Max=1	URI
Name	A name for the LOM Vocabulary	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Description	A description of the LOM Vocabulary	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Is Defined By	A schema document that describes this LOM vocabulary	Mandatory	Max=1	*Schema Document*

5.5 LOM Vocabulary Value

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the LOM vocabulary value	Mandatory	Max=1	URI
Label	A human-readable assigned to the LOM vocabulary value	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Description	A description of the LOM vocabulary value	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Is Value In	The LOM vocabulary of which this value is a member term	Mandatory	Max=1	*LOM Vocabulary*
Is Defined By	A schema document that describes this LOM vocabulary value	Mandatory	Max=1	*Schema Document*

5.6 LOM Datatype

A LOM datatype is a datatype defined in the IEEE LOM standard:

CharacterString
LangString
DateTime
Duration
LangString
Vocabulary

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the LOM datatype	Mandatory	Max=1	URI
Name	A name by which LOM datatype is referenced (specified by the LOM standard)	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Description	A description of the LOM datatype	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Is Defined By	A schema document that describes this LOM datatype	Mandatory	Max=1	*Schema Document*

5.7 LOM Application Profile

A LOM Application Profile (LOMAP) is a specification of how the information model described by the IEEE LOM standard is adopted to the requirements of a particular metadata application. It specifies which LOM data elements are used, provides information on how they are interpreted in the context of the application, and describes constraints on their occurrence. A LOMAP may specify the use of vocabularies to provide values for LOM data elements where the dataype in the LOM standard permits it, and it may specify taxonomies and classification schemes for use for specified "purposes" with the LOM Classification data element. A LOMAP is a set of data elemnt usages managed as a coherent unit by an agency.

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the LOM application profile	Mandatory	Max=1	URI
Title	The name or title of the LOM application profile	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Version	An indicator of the version of the LOM application profile	Optional	Max=1	Literal, xsd:string
Status	An indicator of the status of the LOM application profile	Optional	Max=1	*Profile Status*
Description	A summary of the scope and purpose of the LOM application profile	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Specification	A document that provides more information about the LOM application profile	Optional	Max=unbounded	Document
Audience/purpose	A user community for whom this LOM application profile is intended to be deployed	Optional	Max=unbounded	*Audience/purpose*
Administrator	An agency that manages the LOM application profile	Mandatory	Max=unbounded	*Agency*
Expressed By	A binding schema used to structure metadata records conforming to this LOM application profile	Optional	Max=unbounded	*Binding Schema*
Is Defined By	A schema document that describes this LOM application profile	Mandatory	Max=1	*Schema Document*

5.8 LOM Data Element Usage

A Data Element Usage is a description of how a LOM data element is deployed in the context of a LOM application.

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the LOM data element usage	Mandatory	Max=1	URI
Uses LOM Data Element	A LOM data element which is used in this LOM Application Profile	Mandatory	Max=1	*LOM Data Element*
Status	An indicator of the status of the LOM data element usage.	Optional	Max=1	*Usage Status*
Obligation	An indication of whether this LOM data element is required to occur in a LOM instance conforming to this LOM Application Profile	Mandatory	Max=1	*Obligation*
Condition	A description of the condition or conditions according to which this LOM data element should be present in a LOM instance conforming to this LOM Application Profile	Conditional (Mandatory if Obligation = Conditional)	Max=1	Literal, xsd:string
Comment/Usage Note	Additional information about the LOM data element and its use specific to this LOM Application Profile	Optional	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Is Property Usage In	The LOM Application Profile of which this LOM data element usage is a member	Mandatory	Max=1	*LOM Application Profile*
Is Defined By	A schema document that describes this LOM data element usage	Mandatory	Max=1	*Schema Document*

5.8.1 Simple LOM Data Element Usage

In addition to the attributes of a LOM data element usage:

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
Extends Value Space	A vocabulary not defined in the LOM standard which provides values for the LOM data element to be used in addition to the LOM vocabulary	Optional	Max=unbounded	*Non-LOM Vocabulary/Taxonomy*

5.8.2 LOM Classification Data Element Usage

In addition to the attributes of a LOM data element usage:

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
Classification Purpose	The purpose for the classification, from the LOM classification-purpose vocabulary	Mandatory	Max=1	*LOM Classification-Purpose Vocabulary*
Taxonomy	The taxonomy to be used for the classification	Mandatory	Max=unbounded	*Non-LOM Vocabulary/Taxonomy*

5.9 Non-LOM Vocabulary/Taxonomy

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the Non-LOM Vocabulary	Mandatory	Max=1	URI
Name	A name for the Non-LOM Vocabulary	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Description	A description of the Non-LOM Vocabulary	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
VDEX	A VDEX document that describes the Non-LOM Vocabulary	Optional	Max=1	Document
Is Defined By	A schema document that describes this Non-LOM vocabulary	Mandatory	Max=1	*Schema Document*

5.10 Non-LOM Vocabulary Value

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
URI Reference	A URI Reference which identifies the Non-LOM vocabulary value	Mandatory	Max=1	URI
Label	A human-readable assigned to the Non-LOM vocabulary value	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Description	A description of the Non-LOM vocabulary value	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Is Value In	The Non-LOM vocabulary of which this value is a member term	Mandatory	Max=1	*Non-LOM Vocabulary*
Is Defined By	A schema document that describes this Non-LOM vocabulary value	Mandatory	Max=1	*Schema Document*

5.11 Binding Schema

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

Attribute Name	Definition	Obligation	Occurrence	Value
Identifier	A URI Reference which identifies the binding schema	Mandatory	Max=1	URI
Title	A title for the binding schema	Mandatory	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Description	A description of the binding schema	Optional	Max=1 Max=unbounded if allowing for multiple languages	Literal, xsd:string
Type	The type of the binding schema	Mandatory	Max=1	*Binding Schema Type*
Date modified	The date on which this binding schema was last modified	Mandatory	Max=1	Literal, xsd:date
Publisher	An agency that publishes this binding schema	Mandatory	Max=unbounded	*Agency*
Is Defined By	A schema document that describes this binding schema	Mandatory	Max=1	*Schema Document*

6. Vocabularies (IEMSR)

6.1 Profile Status

private
draft
proposed recommendation
recommendation

6.2 Obligation

mandatory
optional
optional (recommended)
conditional

6.3 Usage Status

private
unstable
testing
stable

6.4 Binding Schema Type

XML DTD
W3C XML Schema
RELAX NG
Schematron

6.5 Audience/purpose

[to be decided]

6.6 LOM Classification-Purpose Vocabulary

discipline
idea
prerequisite
educational objective
accessibility restrictions
educational level
skill level
security level
competency

7. Example

To be completed

JISC IE Metadata Schema Registry

Model for LOM Application Profile (LOMAP)