#1ICBO 2016 BioCreative An ontological study of healthcare corporations and their social entities Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida Federal University of Minas Gerais ICBO Workshop: Representing Social and Legal Entities in the Biomedical Domain Corvallis, U.S. August 2016 FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 1#2Motivation Fragment of the Ontology for Biomedical Investigations (OBI) about corporations FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET "[...] It leaves open if an organization is a material entity or a dependent continuant, as no consensus was reached on that. [...] It is debatable what the organization itself is (some kind of dependent continuant or an aggregate of people). [...] favorite is still to define organization as a kind of 'legal entity' [...]." (¹) (1) http://www.ontobee.org/ontology/OBI?iri=http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/OBI_0000245 Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais 2#3Approach Main steps of our approach: What is a corporation Characterization of entities in corporations Diferentiation of medical corporations through the records and documents produced Our Premise... Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 3#4Outline I. Theories of Corporation II. Ontological Analysis of Corporations III. Final Remarks Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 4#5PART I- Theories of Corporation Topic 1- Historical background Topic 2- Theories of Corporation Personality Topic 3- Economic Theories of Corporation Topic 4- Issues in Theories of Corporation Topic 5- In the end, what is a corporation? Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais 5#6I-1 Historical Background ■ What is a corporation? Some common open issues: - - What is the corporate entity? Is it real of imaginary? - Is it natural or artificial? - Is it created by the state or ... - ... does it come to existence spontaneously? - Is it a person or not? ■ No clear-cut line between different theories ■ Corporation legal unit ■ Historical conflicts Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 6#7Historical Background Roman Empire: Canon Law ■ Europe: - Pope Innocent IV (1243 - 1254) - Sir Edward Coke (1552 - 1634), English judge "The Law of Corporations" (1702) Early days of the American Republic: - A separated juridical unit created by state action - An artificial creature owner of limited powers granted by the state Bearer of essential core attributes Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 7#8Core attributes of corporations in early America: - It could contract, sue and be sued - It could acquire and dispose of property Historical Background - It has its own seal by which it could act as a body distinct from its members - Its shares are transferable - Its membership may change without affecting its perpetual existence - It cannot commit assault, treason, felony - It cannot serve as a trustee ■ The classical formulation = "artificial person" theory of corporation FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais 8#91-2 Theories of the Corporate Personality Fiction Theory (also doctrine of "artificial person") ■ Concession Theory Purpose Theory (also the Theory of Zweckvermogen) Group Theory (also Realist Sociological, Organic ou Real Person Theory) Associational (also Contract Theory, Bracket Theory or Symbolist Theory) Hohfeld's Theory Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 9#10Corporation as a Fictional or Artificial Person ■ Fiction Theory (also called: Artificial Person, Concession Theory, Purpose Theory) ■ Main characterization: - Corporations can own property - Corporations do not have will; the solution is to create a fictitious person - Corporations are created by state action Friedrich Carl von Savigny (1779 – 1861), German jurist and historian Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais 10 FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA#11Corporation as an Organism ▪ Real Entity Theory (also called Group Theory, Organic Theory) ■ Main Characterization: - The corporation is not fictitius, but a natural person - It is a social group with real existence and will - It is recognized, but not created by law Johannes Althusius (1563-1638) German jurist and political philosopher Frederic William Maitland (1850-1906) English historian and lawyer Otto Friedrich von Gierke (1841 – 1921) German legal scholar and historian - Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 11#12Corporation as an Association ■ Associational Theory (also called Symbolist Theory, Bracket Theory) ■ Characterization: - Adopts the fiction metaphor: the corporation is just an abbreviated form to represent people - There is no corporation: it is just an association of individuals - The corporation is a result of private action Rudolph Ritter von Jhering (1818 - 1892), German jurist 12 Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA#131-3 Economic Theories of corporation ■ The Contract Theory of the Firm: "[...] corporations are simply legal fictions which serve as a nexus for a set of contracting relations among individuals" Descendant of the Associational Theory ■ The Evolutionary Theory of the Firm: FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET (Jensen & Meckling, 1976) "[...] organizations know how to do things, [...] while individual members come and go." Descendant of the Real Entity Theory Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais (Nelson & Winter, 1982) 13#141-4 Issues within Theories of Corporation Issues within Fiction Theory within Entity Theory ■ ... within Association Theory ■ ... within Economic Theories Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 14#15Issues within Fiction Theory A corporation = a fictional entity = ? 1. Corporate ownership is non-summative 2. 3. Ownership involves the possession of a will by the owner A corporation does not possess a will A dilema (?): these three statements cannot be true together Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 15#161. Corporations are organisms (?) Issues within Real Entity Theory 2. Corporations possess a real will and senses as natural persons (?) FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 16 Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais#17FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET Issues within Associational Theory 1. The corporation is just a group of individuals, not an entity (?) "The Ford Motor Company today is very different from the same company of 1970, yet many essential characteristics remain so that Ford is still Ford, for better or worse. The persistence of organizational features suggests that organizations have the means to retain and transmit information from past to future members of the social system." Stein (1995, p.17) 17 Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais#181. Explain economic behavior 2. There is no ontological debate Issues within Economic Theories 18 Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA#191-5 In the end, what are corporations? Corporations maintain their identity over time ■ Corporations have real existence separated from their members ■ Corporations are artificial (or fiat) entities ■ Corporations are non-summative aggregates Corporations are long-lasting entities Hypotheses How a corporation is organized in units and subunits. Ontological analysis of the corporation How units are assigned with duties and obligations Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais 19 FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET#20FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA PART II- Ontological Analysis of Corporations Topic 1- Formal ontology and corporations Topic 2- The corporation and its structure I: units and subunits Topic 3- The corporation and its structure II: duties and obligations SET Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais 20 20#21FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET II-1 Formal ontology and corporations ■ First attempt: Are corporations substances? 1. Corporations do not depend of other entities unless constitutive entities 2. Corporations remain numerically one and the same 3. Corporations can only indirectly stand in causal relations via their members 4. Corporations do not exist by a natural process 5. Corporations are composed by substances, which are their members Corporations are not exactly ARISTOTELIAN SUBSTANCES What are substances? (Smith, 1997) 1. Substances exist on their own; accidents require a support from substances in order to exist 2. Substances remain numerically one and the same; they can admit accidents at different times 3. Substances are able to stand in causal relations 4. Substances are 'one by a process of nature' 5. Substance has no proper parts which are themselves substances Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais 21#22■ Second attempt: What ontological entity is a corporation? Corporations have marks of independent continuants ■ At any given time all of its parts are present ■ Its existence does not depend on any other discrete entity Corporations are possibly INDEPENDENT CONTINUANTS Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET Continuant is a is a Independent Continuant Generically Dependent Continuant Is a is a Material Entity Immaterial entity is a is a is a Object Fiat Object Part Object Aggregate is a is a 22#23■Third attempt: What kind of whole? FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET What kind of corporate whole is possible? 1. Are corporations summative wholes? objects with the same parts are equal x corporate identity corporations are not maximally connected 2. Are corporations integral wholes? 3. Are corporations agreggate wholes? Corporations have members linked together Continuant is a is a Independent Continuant Generically Dependent Continuant Corporations are possibly OBJECT AGGREGATES Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais is a is a Material Entity Immaterial entity is a is a Object Fiat Object Part Object Aggregate is a is a 23#24I IS-A Representation Material Entity IS-A Continuant Object Aggregate Instance-of at t Ford New York IBM Los Angeles Mary's job John John's Lexus Boeing Mary Cognition Reality 24#25II-2 The corporation and its structure I ■ How to divide the corporation in its units and sub-units? ■ Bona fide objects ■ Fiat objects - Partition cells recognize fiat objects - Fiat objects are created through the projection of partitions ■ Granular partitions (Smith & Bittner, 2006) - Theory A Theory B Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 25 25#26Granular Partitions Essentials ■ Theory A - A theory of relations between cells, sub-cells and partitions - Maximal cell and minimal cell Automotive Company Human Resources Board of Directors Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais Maximum Cell Minimum Cell Minimum Cell 26 FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA#27Granular Partitions Essentials ■ Theory B - A theory of relations between partitions and objects in reality: projection and location - Projection: from a cell to the reality - Location: from a object to a cell Automotive Company John as cell Human John Resources FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA John in reality Mary in reality Mary as cell Board of Directors Mary Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais 27#28▪ Attempt: - The corporation is the maximal cell - The corporate units are cells and subcells What entity is a corporation unit? Corporate units are possibly FIAT OBJECT PARTS Continuant is a is a Independent Continuant Generically Dependent Continuant is a Material Entity is a Immaterial entity is a is a Object Fiat Object Part Object Aggregate is a is a FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 28 Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais#29IS-A Continuant IS-A Fiat Object Part IS-A Representation (BFO) FEDERA The Board of Directors = cell Human Resources Dept. Mary = minimum cell Ford = maximum cell Projection Projection Partitions Cognition INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET Reality Mary's job Ford Mary John's Lexus New York IBM Los Angeles Boeing John 29#30II-3 The corporation and its structure II ■ Corporations are possibly aggregative wholes... ■ But... what is the difference between a corporation and a colony of ants? ? Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 30#31FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET ■ How units are assigned with duties and obligations? Descriptive partitions: - - The way corporations are divided into sub-divisions – A successful projection lies on the side of the partition Normative x Descriptive Descriptive (or Scientific) statement = It is true or false = It is not a command - E.g. a postal clerk dividing envelops into bundles ■ Normative partitions: - The way sub-divisions are assigned with duties and obligations - A successful projection lies on the side of the reality - E.g. a medical guideline in a hospital Prescriptive (or Normative) statement = It is an imperative = How to comply Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais Sparkes, A. W. (1991) 31#32■ Corporate units are possibly fiat objects... ■ How a fiat object comes to existence? - Cognition - "Mental partition" ■ How a fiat object is sustained in existence? Normative essentials - Verbal form - speech acts - Written form - document acts "Social partition" Adolf Reinach (1883-1917): J. L. Austin (1911-1960): John Searle: Barry Smith: social acts speech acts speech acts document acts Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais 32 FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA#33Document-Acts FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET ■In BFO parlance: - - Claims and obligations are possibly Generically Dependent Continuants (GDCs) E.g. a pattern of ink on paper that concretizes the content of Oliver Twist ■ In D-acts Ontology (Brochhausen, Almeida, & Slaughter, 2013) - It includes Social Generically Dependent Continuants (SGDCs) - In SGDCs, the first role goes out of existence and the claim is concretized in a new role - E.g. John's claimant role goes out of existence when selling the land to Mary, and it is replaced by Mary's claimant role. Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais 33#34Example of d-acts entities Searle's formula: X counts as Y in context C Mary counts as a Director in the context of the Ford Motor Company FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA A director signing and stamping an official memorandum to recruit a janitor is the document act The official memorandum from the Board of Directors legally enables the recruitment process A memorandum is the specified input of the document act of the director's order to recruit the janitor The human resources manager responsible for the recruitment process is the bearer of the document act template creator role. The director is the bearer of the declaration performer role. A human resources employee responsible for the recruitment procedures is the declaration target; She becomes endowed with the right to perform procedures enabling the recruitment Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais 34#35I IS-A IS-A BFO: Continuant BFO: Ocurrent IS-A BFO: Process IS-A DACTS: Socio-Legal Dependent Continuant concretizes Template creator role Declaration performer role = HR manager = director Declaration Target = HR employee bearer of I participates in d-act ... Paul Ford New York IBM Los Angeles realizes realizes Mary Boeing John ... participates in IS-A Mary's Memorandum John's Lexus Mary's job BFO Document Acts Document act = signing, stamping is input 35#36Document Acts Partitions Reality I I I D-act template creator role = HR manager Declaration performer role = director Declaration Target = HR employee minimum cell minimum cell Human Resources Dept. Ford = maximum cell Ford New York IBM Los Angeles Mary Boeing John The Board of Directors = cell minimum cell Document act = signing, stamping Mary's Memorandum John's Lexus Mary's job 36#37III- Final Remarks The role of records and documents: "The way we structure our records [...] are indexes of how we do organization" "Records are the information base of the modern state and of the modern organization" (Ledema 2003) "There is nothing social outside the text" "Society is not based on communication but on registration" (Ferraris 2013) "[...] the mnemonic powers of individuals have been extended through documents in ways which have given rise to a variety of novel artifacts of social reality" (Smith 2014) Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 37#38Examples of documents in a medical facility: - Healthcare records Final Remarks - Medical guidelines - Consent letters ■ Identifying the kinds of d-acts that a healthcare record or document contains or generates can provide clues to distinguish the medical corporation Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 38#39Thank you! [email protected] http://mba.eci.ufmg.br/ http://ppggoc.ufmg.br/ Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET 39#40FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA SET References Brochhausen, M. Almeida, M.B., Slaughter, L. (2013). Towards a formal representation of document acts and the resulting legal entities. In C. Svennerlind, J. Almäng, R.Ingthorsson, Johanssonian Investigations, Ontos-Verlag, 120- 139. Ferraris. M. (2013). Documentality. New York: Fordham University Press. Jensen, M.C., Meckling, W.H. (1976). Theory of the firm: managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. The American Journal of Comparative Law, 47(4), 583-632. Haux, R., Knaup, P. and Leiner, F. (2007). On educating about medical data management - The other side of the electronic health record. Methods of Information in Medicine, 46 (1). 74-79. Iwai, K. What is corporation? T he corporate personality controversy and The fiduciary principle in corporate governance. Retrieved from <http://www.computer-services.e.u-tokyo.ac.jp/p/itme/dp/dp64.pdf>. Ledema, R. (2003). Discoursers of Post-Bureaucratic Organization. John Benjamins Publishing Company: Amsterdan. Nelson, R., Winter, S. G. (1982) An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais 40 40#41References FEDERA INCIPIT VITA NOVA Peters at al. (2016). Ontology for Biomedical Investigations http://www.ontobee.org/ontology/OBI?iri=http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/OBI_0000245 Smith, B., Bittner, T. (2008). A theory of Granular Partitions. In Smith B. & Munn K. (Eds). Applied Ontology: an Introduction. Berlin: Ontos-Verlag Sparkes, A. W. (1991). Talking Philosophy: a Wordbook. London: Routlegde. Smith, B. (2012) "How to Do Things With Documents", Rivista di estetica, 50 (2/2012), LII: 179-198 Smith, B. (2014). Document Acts. In A, Konzelmann-Ziv and H. B. Schmid (eds.), Institutions, Emotions, and Group Agents. Contributions to Social Ontology (Philosophical Studies Series), Dordrecht: Springer, 2014, 19-31. Stein, E.W. (1995). Organizational Memory: review of concepts and recommendations formanagement. International Journal of Information Management. [online]. v. 15, n. 1, p. 17-32. Prof. Mauricio B. Almeida - [email protected] - Federal University of Minas Gerais 41