| DiveBorneo Site Organisation & Philosophy |
| This is a no-glitz site |
We minimise the use of frames, Javascript, Flash, streaming-video, animations and other devices that tend to bog down connections in much of the world where seaplant people live. |
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| The heart of DiveBorneo is the developing database that comprises all of the useful seaplant information that it is possible for DiveBorneo to accumulate and organise. As with any database we have three major challenges: |
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Acquiring the massive amount of seaplant information available form the Internet and from "legacy" sources and rendering information into forms that can be utilised in our database. |
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Providing a two dimensional interface to a complex multidimensional body of knowledge and information - while keeping this interface simple, intuitive and easily navigable |
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Producing and distributing infomedia - data products - that make our repository of knowledge and information available on a timely basis, useful to seaplant communities and cost effective for our users. |
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| The approach that we have taken is to provide three "gateway portals" to our resources of knowledge and information and to provide a "take-away portal" in the form of our developing inventory of products and services. Therefore the DiveBorneo website is organised into four segments as shown below. Click on the images to go to section index pages>>> |
| People |
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We have so far defined ten "communities of interest" within the overall seaplant community in addition to the DiveBorneo Community as such. |
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| Most serious seaplant people will belong to more than one such community. Within each community there are several (or many) subunits designed to organise information in a way that we hope is logical and easy to find. For example the "Carragar" community is being set up with subunits such as "Cultivated carrageenan seaweeds", "Wild harvested carrageenan seaweeds", "Cultivated agar seaweeds", "Further-processed carrageenan seaweeds" and several more as necessary and as requested by our users. |
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| Plants |
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We organise all of our information, to the maximum extent possible, with respect to the seaplant genera and species involved. |
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| We are developing handbook pages for every genus of seaplant that is commercially utilised according to reliable information that we collect. The handbook also deal with processes, products, uses and applications of these genera. In some cases where a single species has extensive usage the handbook "seaplant pages" will get down to the species level. |
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| Places |
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Our GIS is set up by country or territory and also by water body. |
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| We have 42 "country pages" in place and more coming. As our database builds these pages will lead to ever richer sources of information about places where seaplants have the most significance. |
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| Products |
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We integrate the content and facilities of the Communities, Handbook and GIS sections to provide products tailored to specific seaplant community needs. |
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| We have an exciting array of products in the works for DiveBorneo members, subscribers and clients. We will be introducing these over the next several months as the project moves from "beta" to "alpha". The InfoStore will sell (and sometimes give away!)... electronic documents - books - reprints - technical manuals - videos - CDs DiveBorneo has a considerable mass of material in preparation for members, subscribers and clients. As with our other products we will be introducing these over the next several months and will constantly be adding relevant, useful new information products. |
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| Example Under this form of organisation any given cluster of products or information can be accessed through any or all of the four portals described above. For example a person interested in buying semi-refined kappa carrageenan (SRCK) from Kappaphycus (cottonii) might want to check out the Carragar community for an overview; the Biopolymer Community for issues related to carrageenan; the Farming Community for information about producing the crop; the Kappaphycus Factsheet for genus-specific information; the Malaysia Factsheet for country-specific information; or might go directly to infomedia sections to check out recent news, monographs and other infomedia products. |
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| The "W-5" and the "How" of DiveBorneo |
The "W-5" of DiveBorneo
In its capacity as an information source DiveBorneo adheres to the time-tested journalistic principle that for each subject area we should cover the "W-5" questions of "who, what, when, where and why?". With respect to the interests of each community we strive to do this and the site organisation deals with this need as follows: |
| Who? |
The "who" is the members of this DiveBorneo community; the DiveBorneo Associates, users and members and the related communities to which we have links. These are identified in our links, and events sections. |
| What? |
The "what" is the seaplant genera that we utilise and the products that are made from them and what is done with them. These are covered with respect to the interests of each community in the Seaplant Handbook and in the documents linked to the handbook. |
| When? |
The "when" of the past is covered by the materials we are making available through the InfoStore. The "when" of the present and the future is covered in the News and Events sections of the site and in newsletters of individual communities. |
| Where? |
"Where" issues are covered in our Geographical Information Systems (G.I.S.) |
| Why? |
The "why" issues comprise much of the content of DiveBorneo. |
The "How" of DiveBorneo
As a "metamediary" (as opposed to "infomediary") site DiveBorneo is developing means to facilitate commercial transactions between and among users. We are therefore going beyond the "W-5" of information provision to provide the answer to the question of "how do I take action?". |
| How? |
'How" issues are dealt with by our Products and Advisors sections. |
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