"Going Beyond" the world in seven days!

Keeping you up to date with snippets of the most interesting "going beyond" headlines and news stories of the week. 



Viva Las Vegas!  Casino Strip to Celebrate Going 'Beyond The Hour'

Las Vegas

US entertainment group, Caesars Entertainment Corporation, will switch off the lights of the iconic Caesars Palace and Flamingo Casino in Las Vegas for Earth Hour, along with a host of other properties along the famous entertainment strip and around the world celebrating their commitment to a range of environmental initiatives that go 'Beyond the Hour'.

To read the full story go to: Earth Hour Blog

Deloitte identifies the 10 most disruptive and emerging technologies for CIOs to Consider Over the Next 18 Months

NEW YORK, March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Deloitte today issued a new report identifying 10 disruptive and emerging technologies that are expected to play a crucial role in how businesses will operate globally over the next 18 months.

"With 2011 well underway, CIOs should be evaluating the progress made on their New Year's resolutions and taking full advantage of technologies that have the ability to dramatically improve and advance their business operations and decision-making," said Mark White, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and a co-author of the report. "We have evaluated, industry-wide, what is working and what is not when it comes to IT and have identified 10 technologies that are likely to transform the enterprise over the next 18 months."
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Cyber Intelligence:  While it still may be necessary to build a rapid detect-and-respond cyber security function, organizations should consider going beyond adding tools to learn and adapt, protect against upstream threats, and connect the internal and external dots to assess probable risks, and in the process move from reactive to proactive.  

To view the full article go to: PR Newswire


Award Recognises Exceptional Ethical Leadership Actively Upheld Within Various Industries 

WEST CALDWELL, N.J., March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ricoh Company, Ltd., a worldwide leader in digital office equipment and advanced document management solutions and services, announced today that it has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the 2011 World's Most Ethical Companies. This is the third year in a row that the company is thus honored for going beyond legal minimums, introducing innovative ideas to benefit the public and forcing its competitors to follow suit by consistently upping the ante for what it takes to be an ethical leader. Out of a record number of nominations for the award, Ricoh secured a hard-earned spot on the list by going the extra mile and implementing upright business practices and initiatives that are instrumental to the company's success, benefit the community, and raise the bar for ethical standards within the industry.

To read the full story go to: PR Newswire


Can I get a full refund on a flight to Japan?
 

Tokyo

BA (British Airways) and other airlines are going beyond their usual obligations by offering a range of options for travellers booked to Tokyo in the next few days and weeks, including postponing the trip or switching to a different destination.

BA has been offering full refunds to Tokyo passengers over the past week, because it has changed the routing of its flights and added a stop in Hong Kong extending the journey.

Taken from story by Simon Calder, http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/


Big Mike Gives Another Side of the Blind Side

Of the many well-chronicled challenges Michael Oher has overcome in his young life, the task of writing an autobiography has to be the most strange: How do you tell your own story after it’s been seen on the big screen in an Oscar-winning-film?

In ‘‘I Beat the Odds,’’ Oher, with a capable assist from author and former Sports Illustrated associate editor Don Yaeger, mostly succeeds in his stated goal of going beyond ‘‘The Blind Side,’’ a best-selling book by Michael Lewis and then a box-office smash starring Sandra Bullock.

While there’s some inevitable retread here — Lewis is, after all, one of the finest journalists of his generation — there’s much to be gained from hearing the story straight from the man dubbed ‘‘Big Mike.’’ His own voice is matter-of-fact, both hopeful and a touch melancholy.

His experience growing up poor in Memphis, Tenn., was, if anything, more harrowing than it was portrayed in the film. He saw a baby shot by a stray bullet, struggled to find meals, and his mother’s on-again, off-again relationship with drugs nearly prevented him from reaching his potential.

To read the full story go to: http://www.chieftain.com/


Beyond the Headlines: Mobile Money Afghanistan

Mobile Money Afghanistan was funded by the Institute for Money, Technology, and Financial Inclusion and frog design, and is totally independent of Reboot. I was honoured to work on it prior to co-founding Reboot and, as the project outputs were recently released, I thought I’d share some reflections on the experience here.


“So then I gave up my daughter to pay off my debt.” My pen stopped.

We were in Mazar-e Sharif, a city in northern Afghanistan. The woman in front of me, a poor mother of six, was describing how debilitating debt — to the tune of AFN 140,000, or USD 3,100 — had driven her to give her eldest daughter to the family’s creditor.

Her voice did not quiver, her eyes did not water. It was a thing of the past, a fact of life, something that had to be done. And this mother’s story, while unique in particulars, was common in thrust. Indeed, over the course of three weeks in Afghanistan, time and time again I was told: in times of great hardship, sacrifice is inevitable and exceptional circumstances are the norm.

Such tales of ‘life, going on’ are documented in the recently released Mobile Money Afghanistan. This book was born of a study conducted in August 2010, when Jan Chipchase and I traveled through Afghanistan to study the use of mobile money.

To read the full story go to: http://thereboot.org/blog/2011/03/14/beyond-the-headlines-mobile-money-afghanistan/



Cambridge Hospital Opens Healthy Living Center - Nebraska

A Southwest regional hospital opens a new facility to inspire a healthier lifestyle.
Tri-valley Health Systems in Cambridge held an open house on Sunday, unveiling phase two of its new hospital construction.  The facility now boasts a new Healthy Living Center in its remodeled "old" hospital, including a new weight loss facility, spa, and cafeteria.  Officials say the hospital is going a step beyond treating and releasing patients.

"We also believe in addition to that being our calling and our mission, that we have a calling for people to be healthy and actually try to prevent illness, and so it's in that spirit that we created the healthy living center," said hospital CEO Roger Steinkruger.

The center is medical based, and will officially be open to the public and hospital staff starting Monday.

Story from http://www.nebraska.tv/

Going well beyond the call of duty...

It has been an exceptionally tough month for the 52 strong New Zealand Fire Service Union Search and Rescue (USAR) team.  They arrived back in Auckland today after seven days in bitterly cold conditions searching for survivors in the costal Minamisanriku area, about 200km north of Tokyo.  They slept in tents and at times the temperature reached minus 17.

Many had not had a break since the devastating Christchurch earthquake on February 22, and had spent a total of just a few hours with their families in the last month.

Some rescuers had also been involved in the rescue efforts following the September 4th earthquake in Christchurch, the Boxing Day aftershock and the Pike River Mine disaster.

For the full story go to msn.co.nz

The New Zealand USAR team deserve far more than a rest.  I am very proud to call them our kiwis.  I hopefully speak for all kiwis when I say we sincerely thank and appreciate your dedication, skills and courage over the last five or so months as you have supported New Zealand and Japan.  A big thank you to all of the families of the team who have let us "borrow" your loved ones during these unbelievable times.