The Big Data Collection Problem of Little Mobile Devices

There should be little question that mobile device-based data are discoverable if relevant. However, as was the case with ordinary computer-based data a decade or more ago, there is a tendency to believe that there is only one way to collect such data—“forensically.

UD to Offer Summer Physics Course

News release announces that the University of Dayton Department of Physics will conduct an intensive summer physics program

Utilizing Credit Reports for Employment Purposes: A Legal Bait and Switch Tactic

In our previous article, Holding Credit Reporting Agencies Accountable: How the Financial Crisis May be Contributing to Improving Accuracy in Credit Reporting we reviewed the legal history of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), its amendments, and the federal case law by circuit. We suggested that the ability of consumers to ensure the accuracy and security of their credit reports might lead to an expansion of the litigation surrounding accurate credit reporting. This article takes the discussion further by exploring the ever-expanding use of credit reports in the employment law arena. We review the state legislation limiting the use of credit reports by employers, the exceptions to these state statutes, and litigation related to those laws to date. This analysis is followed by an examination of the federal legal landscape and broader legal issues related to the use of credit reports, including whether the use of credit reports by employers discriminates against various protected groups. We conclude with a summary of our research, draw conclusions, and point to areas that should be explored in the future, and also speculate, based on a case from the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit that we discuss, that this consequence could once again operate to increase the accuracy of credit reporting and hold those agencies more accountable

Tunnel magnetoresistance in alumina, magnesia and composite tunnel barrier magnetic tunnel junctions

Using magnetron sputtering, we have prepared Co-Fe-B/tunnel barrier/Co-Fe-B magnetic tunnel junctions with tunnel barriers consisting of alumina, magnesia, and magnesia-alumina bilayer systems. The highest tunnel magnetoresistance ratios we found were 73% for alumina and 323% for magnesia-based tunnel junctions. Additionally, tunnel junctions with a unified layer stack were prepared for the three different barriers. In these systems, the tunnel magnetoresistance ratios at optimum annealing temperatures were found to be 65% for alumina, 173% for magnesia, and 78% for the composite tunnel barriers. The similar tunnel magnetoresistance ratios of the tunnel junctions containing alumina provide evidence that coherent tunneling is suppressed by the alumina layer in the composite tunnel barrier.Comment: 3 pages,4 figures, 1 tabl