Letter to Sarah Leverette regarding SEAALL Chapter Meeting at the AALL Annual Meeting, February 9, 1970

A letter from Jack Ellenberger to Sarah Leverette discussing plans for a SEAALL Chapter meeting at the AALL Annual Meeting

Grounded Theory Investigation into Depression during the Freshman Year of College

Purpose: In a national study of college students during the fall of 2017, a total of 31,463 students reported feeling hopeless (51.7%), being overwhelmed (86.5%), feeling so depressed it was difficult to function (39.3%), and seriously considered suicide (12.1%) (American College Health Association, 2017). These statistics represent a major concern regarding health care practice because it is a severe mental health crisis that can disrupt students’ daily lives. The purpose of this research is to amplify awareness of freshman student depression to gain knowledge about the mental health of college students using grounded theory methodology. Theoretical/conceptual framework: Attending college for the first time can be a life changing event for many students. Depression, whether formally diagnosed or self-identified, is an increasingly significant problem in emerging adults. Method: Grounded theory methodology will be used to examine the experience of depression during the freshmen year of college. Purposive sampling will be used to recruit sophomore students who identify as having had depression during their freshman year. Recruitment will continue until data saturation occurs. Following informed consent, interviews will begin with one open-ended question of “What was the experience of your freshman year in college?” Interviews will be recorded, transcribed, and constantly compared for emerging themes throughout the data collection process. Data will be analyzed using NVivo software. Results/conclusions: Results will describe the initial categories associated with depression in this population. These preliminary categories will help provide a more in depth understanding of the experience of depression

Gate tunability of stray-field-induced electron spin precession in a GaAs/InGaAs quantum well below an interdigitated magnetized Fe grating

Time-resolved Faraday rotation is used to measure the coherent electron spin precession in a GaAs/InGaAs quantum well below an interdigitated magnetized Fe grating. We show that the electron spin precession frequency can be modified by applying a gate voltage of opposite polarity to neighboring bars. A tunability of the precession frequency of 0.5 GHz/V has been observed. Modulating the gate potential with a gigahertz frequency allows the electron spin precession to be controlled on a nanosecond timescale

THE WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART: DOES LONGER PATENT PENDENCY MEAN MORE VALUABLE PATENTS?

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is one of the busiest—and slowest—patent offices in the world. The average utility patent is pending for 25.3 months before issuance. For parties that require legal protections in fast-moving technological fields, such as mobile technology startup, the waiting could be detrimental. Moreover, the patent backlog problems worldwide cost the global economy over $10 billion per year. Even under such a delay, an increasing number of issued patents are threatened or invalidated in the U.S. court system. Undoubtedly, then, if patents are considered to have “quality” only if they are both (a) valid and (b) litigation-proof, the USPTO is failing. If, however, instead the consideration is broadened as to what it means for a patent to be “high quality”— using the four “patent worth considerations” of market, signal, impact, and reputational value—then the situation looks far from disastrous. This note proposes to examine the time-value dynamic of a patent and evaluate whether, in consideration of a variety of metrics, long-pending patents are more valuable. In short, are patents worth the wait? This note concludes with proposals for a more efficient Patent Office through examination of existing functional policies both internal to the USPTO and abroad