[Pirateninfo] Fw: [New from GRAIN] New website with new sections and improved features

[Martin Sundermann]

New from GRAIN
http://www.grain.org/nfg/?id=175

NEW WEBSITE WITH NEW SECTIONS & IMPROVED FEATURES


At the end of March 2004, a new overhauled GRAIN website was launched. This
email provides details of some the new sections and features which are now
available. The GRAIN website is updated on a regular basis and new items can
be easily identified with the yellow "new" logo next to the title.

One of the biggest changes was the introduction of two new sections -
"Agricultural Research for Whom?" and "the Fight for Rights". These sections
provide a wealth of material on certain focus issues, but not necessarily
written by GRAIN: news, actions, analyses, reports, research material,
official documents and web links. In this way you can keep up to date with
these topical and important issues.


AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FOR WHOM? (New section!)
http://www.grain.org/research/

Here we tackle a few issues of topical importance:

- GM contamination -
http://www.grain.org/research/contamination.cfm - here we bring together a
range of information related specifically to the contamination of
agricultural biodiversity: cases of GM contamination; information that
documents how contamination is being used to advance the GM industry's
agenda, and examples of how people are rejecting GM agriculture.

- Hybrid Rice -
http://www.grain.org/research/hybridrice.cfm - the real reason behind the
development of hybrid rice is that it forces farmers to buy new seed each
year. And we continue our investigations online by providing regular updates
in our Hybrid Rice Blog. This is supported with key documents.

- Bt Cotton  -
http://www.grain.org/research/btcotton.cfm - with our continued work on the
spread of Bt Cotton in West Africa, we have developed this section of our
website to bring together resources available on this crop.


FIGHT FOR RIGHTS (New section!)
http://www.grain.org/rights/

This new section updated regularly comprises of:

- BIO-IPR email archive -
http://www.grain.org/bio-ipr/ - we now publish all BIO-IPR emails on the
GRAIN website. Its purpose is to disseminate news and analysis about recent
developments in the field of intellectual property rights (IPRs) related to
biodiversity and associated knowledge, especially in developing countries.
Fully searchable, you can now freely access all BIO-IPRs that have been sent
out.

- BRL, Biodiversity Rights Legislation -
http://www.grain.org/brl/ - we continue to update this growing collection of
emerging laws that directly affect people's control over agricultural
biodiversity in developing countries. It compiles those legislative texts
that define rights in relation to genetic resources or to the knowledge
associated with those materials.

- TRIPS review -
http://www.grain.org/rights/tripsreview.cfm - a number of different
resources and news items in relation to the WTO TRIPS review process.

- TRIPS-plus -
http://www.grain.org/rights/tripsplus.cfm - a range of material on the bi-
and multi- lateral trade deals that provide stronger intellectual property
protection than the World Trade Organisation's TRIPS Agreement.


GRAIN'S PUBLICATIONS
http://www.grain.org/publications/
All GRAIN's publications are now available on the GRAIN website, often
available in English, French and Spanish:

"AGAINST THE GRAIN" (New section!) - Against the grain is a series of short
opinion pieces on recent trends and developments in the issues that GRAIN
works on. Each one focuses on a specific and timely topic.
http://www.grain.org/articles/

BRIEFINGS - http://www.grain.org/briefings/
SEEDLING - http://www.grain.org/seedling/
BIODIVERSIDAD - http://www.grain.org/biodiversidad/
SEMENCES DE LA BIODIVERSITE - http://www.grain.org/semences/


WHAT'S NEW? (New section!)
You can now follow all GRAIN's updates on our website either by visiting
(and bookmarking) this page http://www.grain.org/whatsnew/ or looking out
for the automatic "new" yellow logos. As many people within GRAIN are
actively and directly updating the website, you will find that the website
has more new information and is more frequently and continuously updated.
Visit regularly to keep up with recent developments on the issues we work
on.


SUBSCRIPTIONS - GRAIN'S EMAIL LISTS (New section!)
http://www.grain.org/subscribe/
We have now brought all of GRAIN's email lists together onto the GRAIN
website, New from GRAIN, BIO-IPR and Semences de la biodiversité (French
email list). To keep up with the latest from GRAIN make sure you are
subscribed. This section also allows you to subscribe to our magazines
Seedling or Biodiversidad.


NEW FEATURES

We've added a large number of new features to "grain.org" to ensure that
using the GRAIN website is useful, quick and easy.


Where am I? As the website has expanded, the wealth and complexity of
information has increased, and it has become imperative that you know where
you are! We now have a permanent "location bar" at the top of the screen. In
addition, we now have a drop-down menu sitemap providing "Quick Links" to
all parts of our website. Furthermore our right-hand column continually
changes according to which page you are viewing providing more details (such
as PDF and translation versions) or useful and relevant links.


Print Versions - We realise that articles and documents need to be printed
for ease of reading. We now provide every single page with the option to
print the desired text whilst removing the top, side and bottom bars, and
will ensure correct formatting on paper.


View options - We have produced a website with three different types of
view - to use them, click on "Change width" or "Lo-graphics" version to
switch view:

a) the default view is 800 pixels wide and fixed, most useful for those with
large screens and normal size fonts;

b) another option is the 100% wide where the entire screen is filled. This
is most useful for small screens and those where fonts have been increased
manually;

c) the third option is the lo-graphics versions which may be useful for
those with slower internet connections or who require to increase their font
sizes considerably.


Languages - we maintain our three core languages (English, French and
Spanish) but with a few improvements. Clicking on a language does not simply
take you to the front page, but refreshes the page the user is viewing, but
with all surrounding information around the text in the chosen language.
Where a translation of the main text is available, a relevant link is
provided.


Memory - Your computer will now remember your preferred language and the
option you have chosen for viewing GRAIN's web pages. (To revert to the
default, simply delete the cookies in your browser.)


Other features - There are many other features, such as viewing the photos
from the top bar (click on a photo to see), sending pages by email to
colleagues, sending an email to GRAIN, an updated "about us" section, a
privacy statement, a copyright-type statement, information about the
website, no longer left waiting with a blank screen for large documents to
download, compatible with a large range of browsers, shortened URLs for ease
of distribution, and many others...


WE APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK
Why not write to us? All comments are very helpful and much appreciated.
Simply visit this page - http://www.grain.org/grain/feedback.cfm - write in
your views and click submit. Many thanks in advance!


To modify your subscription for any GRAIN email list, login at:
http://www.grain.org/subscribe/

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14 May 2004
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