crashley - Slashdot User

Comment HR Perspective (Score 1) 823

by crashley on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @09:24AM (#19035417) Attached to: Student, Denied Degree For MySpace Photo, Sues

Several people I know from HR have mentioned that the act of looking at websites with the intention of looking up applicants is not legal. This is because the hiring agent has a chance to learn more about the applicant than they should know for job purposes such as age, if they are married, have kids, are homo/heterosexual, have drinking problems etc. All of these are questions that cannot be asked in an interview because they could possibly lead to discriminating against the applicant. The same becomes true if someone researches an applicant online.

The young lady in the story has a very strong case for discrimination, maybe the people who originally saw the page are against drinking, or maybe they felt that she has a drinking problem and might come to work drunk. So because of their personal feelings towards alcohol they presented a case to have her teaching credentials stopped. The plaintiff has a strong argument because proving that you were not discriminated against is pretty difficult.

I know that many companies do use websites to investigate future employees, but when it happens you don't ever admit to it. Or you open yourself up to the same kind of lawsuit.

Submission + - When the Earth was purple

Submitted by Ollabelle on Monday April 23, 2007 @01:16PM

Ollabelle writes: It's always been a bit of a mystery why plants absorb red and blue light while reflecting green when the sun emits the most visible light in the green part of the spectrum. Now a theory has come up with one possible answer: that the first chlorophyll-utilizing microbes evolved to exploit the red-and-blue reflected light of older green-absorbing microbes, eventually out-competing them through greater efficiency and the rise of oxygen. http://www.livescience.com/environment/070410_purp le_earth.html [note to editor: I'm baffled how to tag this story to science, and nothing else. All the "topics" seem to be anything except 'off topic'. Thanks for any insight you can give.]

Feed Feature: CrossOver: Windows applications without Windows (macworld.com)

From feed by macworldfeed on Monday April 23, 2007 @01:12PM

CodeWeavers' CrossOver Mac is unique among virtualization programs in that it doesn't actually require a copy of Windows. That's right: once you've paid CodeWeavers your $60 ($70 for a CD), you're ready to start installing Windows programs, without paying Microsoft a dime.

Feed Free Songs With Built In Ads Is Not The Answer (techdirt.com)

From feed by techdirtfeed on Monday April 23, 2007 @01:12PM

An idea that's been discussed for years and apparently is now a hot one for various startups is to try to create a legitimate file sharing system, where before you can listen to the music, you have to first pay attention to an advertisement. It's simple for recording industry execs to understand, so they like it -- but they seem to be missing the key point: it's not what music listeners want. Just look at how many people were willing to jump to satellite radio claiming the lack of ads on many satellite music stations was a key driver. Also, these file sharing systems need to recognize that they're still competing with the ad-free versions (also known as unauthorized file sharing programs). The trick to making money in these spaces isn't to saddle the content with some annoyance no one wants -- but to make it more valuable in a way that people are willing to pay.

Submission + - Anti-Matter's Potential in Treating Cancer

Submitted by

eldavojohn

on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @11:39AM

eldavojohn writes: "The BBC is taking a look at how atomic physicists are developing cancer treatments. A step past radiotherapy, the CERN institute is publishing interesting results: "Cancer cells were successfully targeted with anti-matter subatomic particles, causing intense biological damage leading to cell death." The press release from last year is finally sparking interest in the medical community."

Iran Launches Payload into Space 698

Posted by CmdrTaco on Sunday February 25, 2007 @11:18AM from the he-said-load dept.

An anonymous reader writes "BBC is reporting that Iran has launched its first space rocket carrying a payload. Britain's former ambassador to Iran, Sir Richard Dalton, told the BBC that, if confirmed, such a move could destabilise the Middle East: "It is a matter of concern. Iran's potential nuclear military programme, combined with an advanced missile capability, would destabilise the region, and of course if there were a bomb that could be placed on the end of this missile, it would in breach of Iran's obligations under the non-proliferation treaty." From the article: Iranian TV broke the news of the reported test saying :"The first space rocket has been successfully launched into space. It quoted the head of Iran's aerospace research centre, Mohsen Bahrami, as saying that "the rocket was carrying material intended for research created by the ministries of science and defence". In 2005, Iran's Russian-made satellite was put into orbit by a Russian rocket. But shortly afterwards Iranian military officials said they were preparing a satellite launch vehicle of their own and last month, they announced they were ready to test it soon."

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