ICT:Data Model Entity definitions

Data Model – Entity Definitions

This page defines the principal conceptual entities of the project.

Its purpose is to establish a shared and explicit understanding of what each entity represents before any technical implementation is undertaken.

These definitions are conceptual. They describe meaning and responsibility, not database tables, Cargo structures, or software mechanics.

Scope

These definitions apply to:

• Conceptual ER modeling
• Cargo or database schemas
• Page Schemas and forms
• Editorial workflows
• Interpretation of diagrams and documentation

If an entity definition is unclear or disputed, implementation must be postponed.

Conceptual overview

The model distinguishes clearly between:

• Storage → Files
• Interpretation of files → DigitalAssets
• Subjects of research → HeritageObjects, Persons, Organizations
• Narrative structure → ResearchChapters

The fundamental semantic flow is:

File → DigitalAsset → Research Entity

DigitalAssets provide meaning to files. Research entities provide historical meaning to DigitalAssets.

Core Research Entities

HeritageObject (HO)

Definition

A HeritageObject (HO) represents a historical, conceptual, or material entity that is the subject of study.

It answers the question:

“What is the thing we are studying?”

Examples

• A sanatorium
• A building
• A historically meaningful place
• A document or register
• A functional or conceptual part of a larger entity (e.g. “Medical practice”)

What a HeritageObject is not

A HeritageObject is:

• Not a digital file
• Not a person
• Not an organization
• Not a research chapter
• Not a technical database record

Structural behavior

HeritageObjects are recursive.

Each HeritageObject may:

• Have zero or one parent HeritageObject
• Have zero or more child HeritageObjects

This supports conceptual decomposition.

Example:

• Sanatorium
  • Architecture
  • Equipment
  • Medical practice

Relationships

A HeritageObject may:

• Be documented by multiple DigitalAssets
• Be linked to Persons with roles
• Be linked to Organizations with roles
• Have Persons or Organizations as holders
• Be included in multiple ResearchChapters
• Be tagged with Keywords

Purpose

HeritageObjects are the primary conceptual anchors of the research.

Person

Definition

A Person represents a historical individual with agency.

It answers the question:

“Who was involved historically?”

Examples

• Sister Maria
• A director
• An architect
• A patient
• A shareholder

What a Person is not

A Person is:

• Not a MediaWiki user
• Not a HeritageObject
• Not an organization

Relationships

A Person may:

• Play roles in relation to HeritageObjects
• Play roles in relation to Organizations
• Be documented by DigitalAssets (photos, documents, biographies)
• Act as a holder of HeritageObjects

Roles belong to relationships, not to the Person entity itself.

Purpose

Persons model historical agency, responsibility, and participation.

Organization

Definition

An Organization represents a historical collective actor with institutional continuity.

It answers the question:

“Which collective body acted or was responsible?”

Examples

• Religious congregations
• Companies
• Institutions
• Associations
• Managing bodies

What an Organization is not

An Organization is:

• Not a person
• Not a HeritageObject
• Not a MediaWiki user group

Relationships

An Organization may:

• Play roles in relation to HeritageObjects
• Have Persons playing roles within it
• Be documented by DigitalAssets (articles, reports, archival documents)
• Act as a holder of HeritageObjects

Purpose

Organizations model collective responsibility and institutional continuity.

Digital Representation

DigitalAsset (DA)

Definition

A DigitalAsset (DA) represents the research interpretation and extended metadata of exactly one digital file.

It answers the question:

“How do we interpret and describe this specific digital file as a source?”

A DigitalAsset is the human, research-oriented layer that gives meaning to a file.

Core principle

One DigitalAsset corresponds to exactly one File.

There is never a grouping of multiple files inside one DigitalAsset.

Each file that requires interpretation has its own DigitalAsset.

Examples

• A photograph and its description
• A scanned document
• An OCR transcription
• A cropped or processed derivative
• A newspaper article scan
• A portrait of a person

Relationship to Files

A DigitalAsset:

• Always references exactly one File
• Does not manage storage
• Does not replace MediaWiki file handling

Files are storage. DigitalAssets are interpretation.

Recursive behavior

DigitalAssets are recursive.

A DigitalAsset may:

• Derive from another DigitalAsset (parent)
• Have multiple derived children

This models:

• variants
• processing steps
• derivatives
• provenance chains

Relationship to research entities

A DigitalAsset may document one or more:

• HeritageObjects
• Persons
• Organizations

DigitalAssets represent sources about research subjects.

What a DigitalAsset is not

A DigitalAsset is:

• Not a file
• Not a container of files
• Not a historical object itself
• Not merely technical metadata

Purpose

DigitalAssets exist to:

• Separate meaning from storage
• Provide rich research metadata
• Record provenance
• Link sources to research subjects

File (External System Entity)

Definition

A File is a physical digital object managed by MediaWiki.

Examples include:

• images
• scans
• PDFs
• audio or video files

Modeling status

Files are:

• Outside the conceptual research domain
• Managed entirely by MediaWiki
• Included only as external reference entities

Files provide storage only. They gain research meaning only through a DigitalAsset.

Research Structure

ResearchChapter

Definition

A ResearchChapter represents a conceptual or narrative unit of interpretation.

It answers the question:

“Where does this belong in the research story?”

Characteristics

A ResearchChapter:

• structures interpretation
• is not merely a date range
• may be thematic or chronological

Structural behavior

ResearchChapters are recursive.

A Chapter may contain subchapters.

Top levels often represent time slices. Lower levels often represent themes.

Time is descriptive, not defining.

Relationships

• A Chapter may include multiple HeritageObjects
• A HeritageObject may belong to multiple Chapters

Purpose

ResearchChapters organize interpretation rather than historical reality itself.

Supporting Concepts

Keywords

Keywords provide flexible thematic tagging.

They support discovery but do not define structure.

Roles

Roles qualify relationships between entities.

Examples:

• creator
• owner
• restorer
• shareholder
• board member
• holder

Roles are attributes of relationships, not of entities themselves.

Certainty (future extension)

Certainty expresses confidence in an assertion.

It qualifies statements such as:

• roles
• attributions
• dates
• interpretations

Certainty is attached to relationships or claims, never to entities.

This concept is reserved for later implementation.

Status

This document defines the agreed conceptual meaning of the entities – Version 3.1.

All ER diagrams, DBML definitions, and technical implementations must conform to these definitions.