Blog.ubc.ca/tangnatalie

Woman sneezing into a handkerchief

Sneezing in class, a seemingly minor nuisance, has become important enough to make it onto the CNN News Videos.  When I first came upon the video “Teacher Stands Up to Sneezes”, I was extremely curious it reminded me of the class discussion we had regarding Ryanair’s toilet charges. Both targeted a human need.  Just as Ryanair’s policy resulted in much criticism for placing profit before consumer comfort, the teacher’s strong stance against sneezing landed him on the RidicuList.  Clearly, it is never a wise choice to mess with people’s “rights” and “needs” not only in the business world, but also in classes.

However, the teacher’s stance against sneezes may be more reasonable than it appears.  Delving deeper, I realized that it wasn’t sneezing that the teacher had issues with but the “God Bless You”s that followed.  He deducted marks off students who said “God Bless You” when someone sneezed because it was a meaningless phrase that interrupted class time.

The opportunity cost of saying “God Bless You” is high as the class time interrupted could have contributed to a more cohesive lecture, a more productive class discussion, and simply a better learning environment.

Once again, I am caught in an uncomfortable dilemma between speaking and listening.  Ironically, I find myself both keen and reluctant to speak.  I feel a brilliant idea buzzing in my head, but I’ll let others speak first.  After all, I’ve heard that listening is more important than speaking.

Speaking is undoubtedly important in business.  For evident reasons, I’ve sometimes questioned, do I belong in business?  I was surprised to learn that even Whitney Johnson, one of three founders of Rose Park Advisors, is reluctant to “to talk shop” but especially in the presence of capable men.  She offers three suggestions to get women talking.

1. Invert the listen/talk radio
   We retain 85% more of what we learn when we actively participate than when we passively listen.

   

2. Talk shop with other women
   Speak with other women first to become confident enough to share our opinions in any situation.
3. Require women to talk the walk
   A common problem is that men have started talking before meetings have begun, establishing themselves as contributors and women as listeners.

Sony’s Tablet S is due to arrive in shops in the US, UK and Japan, as the Japanese electronics maker enters the tablet PC market.

The device runs Google’s market leading operating system Android and has a wedge-shaped design.

Following the success of Apple’s iPad, other manufacturers such as Samsung and HTC have released their own tablets.

Analysts say while Tablet S may prove to be a popular Android tablet, it is not a serious threat to the iPad.

“It looks like the best Android tablet so far,” said Abhishek Chauhan, associate director at Frost and Sullivan.

“But I still think it lags behind iPad 2 in terms of overall ease of use, as well as availability of tablet-specific applications.”

Innovative design

As it goes head-to-head with the iPad and others, analysts said the Sony Tablet S did have some unique features not available in other devices.

For one, the hardware design, a wedge shape, is different from most other flat, thin tablets.

“The unique form factor shifts the device’s weight closer to your palm, making it feel lighter and more comfortable while reading a book or magazine,” Sony said in a press release.

Other features include the ability to play PlayStation games on the device and stream music and video to your TV or home entertainment system from the tablet.

However, Mr Chauhan said in order for consumers to be tempted, those features needed to work seamlessly.

“The ease-of-use factor is related to the satisfaction you get when everything is extremely intuitive,” he said.

“That is what really works in Apple’s favour.”

Apple appeal

Even though Sony has come up with some distinctive features, analysts say Apple’s first mover advantage and its brand appeal has placed it squarely ahead of all others in the tablet market.

“Whether it’s Sony or Samsung it doesn’t matter, one of them has to find a compelling reason why I would choose Android over the iPad,” said Melissa Chau, research manager for mobile devices at IDC Asia pacific.

“The iPad is far and away number one and that’s not going to change any time soon.”

But it might still prove a threat to other tablets. Even though Sony entered the market later than many other competitors, the timing could work out in its favour.

“Currently the leading Android tablet is the Galaxy Tab which is facinglegal issues, so because of that, [the Sony Tablet S] has a real good chance of becoming the leading Android tablet.

The Tablet S is in stores in the UK on 15 September, the US on 16 September and in Japan on 17 September.