Identity and Communicating Systems

["Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <clbullar@ingr.com>]

Let's look at this topic individually since the Passport system 
has been mentioned.

Any identity is a systemically realized quality.  Outside a system 
of identification that enables unique record identification, identity 
is a meaningless concept.   You are all familiar with the IETF/WWW 
system based on well-formed strings and maps to Internet nodes octets. 
Most of us are familiar with the application of these in other 
systems such as XML namespaces.   For now, I assert that this concept 
of identity is outside the scope of HumanML as it is only by choosing 
a system of application that such identity qualities have practical value. 
The qualities of human attributes applied with such a system-realized 
means to identify a thing, object, resources, etc. is within the scope. 
We need to identify such qualities, but the system identifiers are not 
in scope except insofar as application design is concerned.

For example, here is a data transaction description of human attributes 
used to describe an arrestee for the purpose of booking the individual.  

Field Name			Data Type    	Size     	Status

PDID number			Integer		2		Optional
Arrestee Name(given	String		35		Mandatory
at time of arrest)		
Date of Birth		Date			1		Mandatory
Sex (gender)		Boolean		1		Mandatory
Race				String		15		Mandatory
Arrestee Address		String		50		Mandatory
(given at time of
arrest)
Social Security Number	Integer		2		Optional
Nickname/Alia		String		20		Optional
Place of Birth		String		30		Optional
Male/Female			Boolean		1		Optional 
Impersonator
Height			Integer		2		Mandatory
Weight			Integer		2		Mandatory
Hair Color			String		10		Mandatory
Eye Color			String		10		Mandatory
Complexion			String		10		Mandatory

We don't have to discuss the actual implementation (eg, that 
colors are enumerated codes, or name is better broken into 
first middle last, etc).   We can see because it is optional 
that the PDID is an indexing number not a primary key because 
it is optional.  It is likely such a primary key exists but 
specifically because the system generates it, it is not included 
in the data transaction design.  The SSN deserves attention because 
it is a global identifier from a larger system gathered by this 
record for other operations (eg, partially to help resolve 
identity and otherwise to assist with financial transactions 
such as taxes while incarcerated).

The question:

How many of these are used to identify a person in the process 
of being arrested and incarcerated?   

All of them.  Verification of identity uses all of these because 
it is expected that the arrestee will attempt to conceal their 
identity to the process.  As a result, sometimes the wrong people 
are charged, the wrong records forwarded, people are even executed. 
This is what is typically referred to as a name table and is part of the 
record of the person's involvement in the system.  It is tied by a 
master name index to other records for the overall agency system.

It uses multiple systems of identification to ensure that the human 
identified is the human named (note these are separate concepts) to ensure 
that any process applied to the human named at the location found is the 
human identified.  The IETF conflates these concepts for the purpose 
of unifying the Internet, but any other system must handle that conflation
and 
therefore, it is outside the scope of HumanML if HumanML is to be useful 
for any other system.   This data is passed between two different and 
non-integrated systems as a means of performing the act of identification 
for the agencies engaged in that acts of arrest and incarceration.  (Note: 
These are real systems but not my company's systems.  I use this example 
because it is simple and makes the points about identification as process 
within communicating systems.)  I don't want to solve the problems of 
Passport or offer alternatives as part of the HumanML project.  On the 
other hand, HumanML must be able to be used by such systems and its basis 
in XML enables that, so we don't have to do anything special.

Len 
http://www.mp3.com/LenBullard

Ekam sat.h, Vipraah bahudhaa vadanti.
Daamyata. Datta. Dayadhvam.h