Organisation Definitions for ASF KID

This document was created from the ASF KID on Sun Dec 22, 2024

This is the current list of the Organisation data fields in the ASF's KID. They are identical with the draft data fields of the Informatics Commission (UISIC) of the International Union of Speleology. The definitions below are arranged in UISIC Field ID (FID) order. The FID and field name are shown first, followed by the other details. If the field has coded values a link to the available codes for that field will be provided.

The full list of all definitions is here: Field Definitions.    The full list of all field value codes is here: Field Value Codes.
Also see the Notes at the end for the meanings of the various abbreviations used here.

To find a field name in this list use your browsers search facility to search for the text or partial text. If you know the FID, you can go straight to the field by adding #fid to the URL in your browser window and pressing <Return>.

Total number of Organisation FIDs: 28

Definition: A database temporary Record ID for an organisation. Constructed using same principles as Field 227 Cave ID, but using the 3-letter Organisation Code of the site where it is being entered, as opposed to the code for the organisation being described. Comments: (1) Typically used where a person is entering their organisation's name into a database in response to a question, but is not the organisation operating the site database currently being used. (2) The code for the organisation may not be known, hence the code for the current site is used to identify the record in the interim. (3) This ID and the associated organisation details are stored in a separate table to the site's main Organisation Tables. (4) Eventually the organisation will be allocated a permanent formal ID and its temporary record deleted.

Definition: A 3-letter code, unique within a country, to designate an organisation within that country, and formally issued by the country's speleological community. Comment: (1) There is no requirement for the code to reflect the name or initials of the organisation, however it is obviously beneficial if, where possible, it relates to the name or initials of the organisation in that country's language. However because of the many organisations in a country, it may not always be possible to allocate the ideal code for any particular organisation. (2) This code can be used anywhere a short or fixed-length identifier is needed to uniquely specify an organisation. Example: The database internal keys to identify each cave entry need to permanently distinguish the site which initially created the entry. The Organisation Code is therefore used in the prefix in this key, i.e. the prefix is Country Code + Organisation Code. So the prefix used by the Australian Speleological Federation (Org Code = "ASF") is AU + ASF = AUASF. The rest of the ID is a serial number from a series unique to this prefix. (3) The 3-letter Organisation Code is the human-usable identification for an organisation, whereas 380[Organisation ID] is the computer-oriented internal record ID for the organisation in the database system. Usage: (1) A new Organisation Code can be issued only by the country's formally appointed person. Send the details of the new organisation so that they can be entered into the master Org database and a new code issued.

Definition: Temporary storage for the name of an organisation, expressed in its national language. Comment: Typically used when gathering data from a passing user.

Definition: Temporary storage for the complete address of an organisation, excluding the name but including the country. Comment: Used when obtaining data from a passing user, not from the site of data entry.

Definition: Temporary storage for the geographical coverage of an organisation, expressed as a numeric code. Examples: Codes for International, National, Regional or Local. Comment: Typically used when gathering data from a passing user.

Definition: Temporary storage for the officially recognised initials for an organisation. Comment: Typically used when gathering data from a passing user.

Definition: The country with which an organisation is concerned, expressed as a 2-letter ISO standard code. Comment: International organisations should use code AA.

Definition: The State within a country in which an organisation is located, expressed as a coded value.

Definition: The postcode or zip code for the address of an organisation.

Definition: Whether the postcode of an organisation is placed first in an address line, expressed as 1 for Yes or 0 for No. Comment: This allows for placing the postcode first or last when forming an address line.

Definition: The unique internal database key for an Organisation record. Same principles as for 227[Cave ID]. Usage: (1) To prevent a different ID for the same Organisation being generated by several sites, its ID needs to be generated by a single master Organisation database site. So if you need to refer to an Organisation record which is not in your read-only Organisation database, email the Organisation's details to the Organisation database administrator, who will send back a new record for importing into your Org database and updating your Org lookup tables. It will be sent to all other sites at the same time.

Definition: The type of organisation with respect to whether it is a club, a commercial business, a government agency, or the like. Expressed as a numeric code.

Definition: Whether or not the organisation is now out of existence, expressed as 1 for Yes or 0 for No. Comment: Field 384 can be used to show another organisation which may now have possession of its assets, such as maps, records, etc.

Definition: If the organisation is now out of existence, the final year in which it was active. Expressed as 4 digits.

Definition: If the organisation is no longer in existence, the Org ID (Field 380) of the organisation which now holds its assets, such as maps, reports, etc.

Definition: The first line of an organisation's address after its name, but not including the city or suburb.

Definition: The second line of an organisation's address, if necessary, but not including the city or suburb.

Definition: The third line of an organisation's address, if necessary, but not including the city or suburb.

Definition: The fourth line of an organisation's address, if necessary, but not including the city or suburb.

Definition: The official initials of an organisation, omitting the full stops.

Definition: The full name of an organisation. Business descriptors such as "Inc" normally not included.

Definition: The city or suburb component of an organisation's address.

Definition: The geographical coverage of an organisation, expressed as a coded value. Examples: Codes for national, state, or local.

Definition: Whether the an organisation consists of individuals or of other organisations.

Definition: The country used in the address of an organisation, expressed as a 2-letter ISO-3166 code. Comment: This is distinct from Field 376, "Organisation country code", which shows the coverage of the organisation, e.g. European Union, Australasia, etc.

Definition: If the organisation is defunct but its records are being held by another organisation, then this field shows the initials for the organisation currently holding the material. Comment: This field is needed only when the information is not available by a link via the Organisation ID.

Definition: The abbreviation of the State component, if any, in an organisation's address.

Definition: The name of the country in an organisation's address.

Notes

   AR = Article in a publication
   AT = Field or attribute
   AV = Field value
   CA = Cave or karst feature
   EN = Entity
   JN = Journal
   OR = Organisation
   PA = Land parcel
   PE = Person
   PH = Photograph
   PL = Plan or map
   PM = Marker (Permanent mark)
   PS = Map series
   RE = Region or area
   RP = Report
   SM = Specimen
   SP = Species
   ST = Site
   SU = Subject
   SV = Survey
   SY = System field
   XK = A key-in batch
   XL = An upload batch
   XU = An update batch

Data type:

   A = Alphanumeric
   N = Numeric; A "real" number allowing decimal places and many significant digits, typically around 15.
   D = Date
   L = Logical; True or False.
   I = Integer (short); A whole number in the range -32,767 to +32,768.
   M = Memo; A variable-length free-text field.
   B = BLOB; A Binary Large Object, e.g. a photo image.

Codes for field coding:

   I = International coding   U = Uncoded   L = Locally coded

   S = Single-valued   M = Multi-valued