Issues for Using Semantic Modeling to Represent Mechanisms

Abstract: Mechanisms are a fundamental concept in many areas of science. Nonetheless, there has been little effort to develop structures to represent mechanisms. We explore the issues in developing a basic semantic modeling framework for describing some types of mechanisms. We draw together threads from a number of different approaches and then consider two examples. From this survey, we propose a rich Semantic Modeling Framework (SMF) based on Transitionals and hierarchies of Aggregates and Mechanisms, which could be implemented with the XFO programming environment. Potentially, the framework will be useful for developing direct-representation scientific research reports and community models.