Soundbites

Here is a sampling of quotations from Cornell faculty, students and staff that have appeared recently in the national and international news media:

"I would hate to think the industry is at the level that some automated device has to signal the server to the table. ... this probably has limited applications, particularly at the high-end restaurant. But lots of restaurateurs are technology freaks, and I see some potential applications in some areas, such as really large restaurants where there's a lot of distance involved."

--Gregory Norkus, senior lecturer in the School of Hotel Administration, discussing a newly developed "smart" beverage glass that signals when a patron has finished a drink, in The Wall Street Journal, April 30.

"If an employee has a genuine complaint, there are enough resources to pursue that complaint and reach a suitable settlement."

--Alan Hedge, a professor and ergonomics expert in the department of design and environmental analysis, discussing the federal government's new ergonomics policy that makes guidelines regarding repetitive-stress injuries voluntary, in the Wall Street Journal, April 28.

"Every effort should be made to make the hospital more hospitable, but this kind of marketing raises questions. It's what Enron Field did to the Astrodome."

--Dr. Joseph J. Fins, medical ethicist at the New York Weill Cornell Medical Center of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, discussing the trend of including "alternative medicine" in mainstream hospitals. Fins was quoted in an April 13 New York Times article inspired by the news that Memorial Health University Medical Center of Savannah, Ga., has joined with holistic health guru Deepak Chopra to create a center where patients and Savannah residents can come for yoga, meditation and alternative treatments.

"We try to promote a view that takes into account the environment and the long-term interests that shareholders and society share."

--Robert Swieringa, dean of the Johnson Graduate School of Management, responding to a study by Aspen Institute's Initiative for Social Innovation through Business, which found that entering MBA students begin with relatively idealistic ambitions, such as to create quality products and be of service to consumers, but by the time they graduate have adopted such priorities as boosting their company's share price. Quoted in "Business Week Online," March 11.