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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Ethics & OED: Practitioner Discipline at the USPTO July/Aug. 2012 ...

In addition to discussing the impact of the America Invents Act on ethics, specifically from a malpractice standpoint, I will also discuss the enforcement efforts of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) during 2012.

An odd order sequencing I know, but with great energy and certainty that I wouldn?t run out of time I set out to ambitiously review the 48 disciplinary actions taken by OED during 2o12. Then as the calendar started to no longer be an alley I thought that perhaps I should work my way backwards.

With this in mind, what follows is discussion of the two disciplinary proceedings undertaken by the USPTO during the months of July and August 2012. There were no OED disciplinary decisions from September 2012.

Hugh D. Jaeger of Wayzata, Minnesota, is an attorney licensed ?to practice in both Minnesota and Pennsylvania. ?He is also a registered patent attorney (Registration No. 27,270). The Supreme Court of Minnesota suspended Jaeger for violating various Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct for neglecting client matters, signing documents without consent, failing to return client files and failing to cooperate with the disciplinary investigation into his actions. ?In what was essentially a negotiated resolution, the August 11, 2011?Order of the Supreme Court of Minnesota indefinitely suspended Jaeger for a minimum of 120 days and ordered that he be placed on inactive status (i.e., retired) following the end of his suspension period. The Supreme Court of Minnesota Order also notes that Jaeger agreed not to apply for reinstatement to practice in Minnesota and that he would not apply for admission (or readmission) to any other bar in any other jurisdiction. As the result of this Minnesota proceeding Jaeger was also similarly ordered suspended by Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

The USPTO issued a Notice and Order Under 37 CFR 11.24, which gave Jaeger 40 days to respond. No response was forthcoming. Thus, as the result of this?reciprocal disciplinary proceeding, the USPTO suspended Jaeger for a minimum of 120 days. After serving the 120 day suspension, the OED Order suggests that he may request reinstatement pursuant to 37 CFR ? 11.60 for the sole purpose of being placed on voluntary inactive status. The OED order, similar to the Order of the Supreme Court of Minnesota, forbids Jaeger from being restored to active status as a member of the patent bar. ?Thus, for all intents and purposes Jaeger was disbarred.

If you read through disciplinary orders from OED you start to become familiar with the language used and the penalties handed out. This effective disbarment of Jaeger is peculiar in ways, but illustrative of what we see over and over again in other ways. It is peculiar for the Office to invite reinstatement only for the purpose of voluntarily going on inactive status. That, however, seems perfectly consistent with the Order of the Supreme Court of Minnesota. Thus, once again we see that the discipline handed out by the State will be equivalent to the discipline ordered by the USPTO in a reciprocal disciplinary proceeding.

Reading between the lines, and based on a 27,270 registration number, it seems that Jaeger was at or near the end of his career anyway. In order to get this disciplinary matter to go away he essentially agreed never to practice law again. In return the States of Minnesota, Pennsylvania and the USPTO will allow Jaeger to end his practice career as ?retired inactive? rather than disbarred.

In the Matter of Anthony J. De Laurentis (August 1, 2012)

Anthony J. De Laurentis (Registration No. 24,757) was disbarred on consent from practicing law in Maryland for participating in a conspiracy to suppress completion in three auction sales of tax liens throughout the state of Maryland in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act (15 U.S.C. ? 1). He was not criminally charged, recognized his wrongful conduct and voluntarily terminated his participation in the conspiracy. De Laurentis also fully cooperated in an investigation by the United States Department of Justice that culminated in the indictment and conviction of his co-conspirators.

The USPTO issued a Notice and Order Under 37 CFR 11.24, which gave De Laurentis 40 days to respond. No response was forthcoming. Thus, as the result of this?reciprocal disciplinary proceeding, the USPTO excluded De Laurentis from practice for violating 37 CFR 10.23(a) and (b) as the result of being disbarred in the States of Maryland. Rule 10.23(a) is the one that prohibits a practitioner from engaging in ?disreputable or gross misconduct.?

Rule 10.23(b) lists various things not to do. There are any number of sections of 10.23(b) that, could fit. The closest fits seems to be:

10.23(b)(3), which prohibits a practitioner from engaging in ?illegal conduct involveing moral turpitude.?
10.23(b)(4), which prohibits a practitioner from engaging in ?conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.?
10.23(b)(6), which prohibits a practitioner from engaging in ?any other conduct that adversely reflects on the practitioner?s?fitness to practice before the Office.?

Moral of the Story: Don?t commit a crime!

In the Matter of Mark L. Chael (August 1, 2012)

On September 26,2011, the Supreme Court of Illinois ordered that Mark L. Chael (Registration number 44,601)?be suspended from the practice of law for six (6) months for violating Rules of Professional Conduct by attempting to charge an unreasonable fee, by engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, and by engaging in conduct which?tends to defeat the administration of justice, or to bring the courts or the legal profession into disrepute. According to the Illinois State Bar Association website, Chael ?recorded more than 260 hours of time he falsely claimed to have spent on behalf of one of the firm?s clients during a two-month period.?

?The USPTO issued a Notice and Order Under?37 CFR 11.24, which gave Chael 40 days to respond. No response was forthcoming. Thus, as the result of this?reciprocal disciplinary proceeding, the USPTO determined that there was no genuine issue of material fact. The USPTO further determined that suspension was the appropriate discipline. Chael was suspended from the practice of patent, trademark, and non-patent law before the USPTO for a period of six (6) months for violating 37 CFR 10.23(b)(6) via 37 CFR 10.23(c)(5)(i) by having his license to practice law in the state of Illinois suspended on ethical grounds by the Supreme Court of Illinois.

The USPTO suspension was applied?nunc pro tunc. Discipline imposed?nunc pro tunc is appropriate only if?the practitioner: (1) promptly notified the OED Director of his or her suspension or disciplinaary disqualification in another jurisdiction; (2) establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the practitioner voluntarily ceased all activities related to practice before the Office; and (3) complied with all provisions of 37 CFR ? 11.58. That was found to be the case effective October 17, 2011, thus the six (6) month suspension started effective that date.

Chael was a partner with a prominent Chicago patent firm. He is no longer listed on that firm?s site.

In the Matter of Heather L. Mansfield (August 2, 2012)

Heather L. Mansfield of Westfield, New Jersey, was a registered patent attorney (Registration No. 39,157). The Director o f the United States Patent and Trademark Office (?USPTO? or ?Office?) has accepted Ms. Mansfield?s affidavit of resignation and ordered her exclusion on consent from the practice ofpatent, trademark, and non-patent law before Office.

Mansfield voluntarily submitted her affidavit of resignation at a time when a disciplinary investigation was pending against her, thus she is deemed to have conclusively acknowledged that her conduct violated?37 C.F.R. ?? 10.23(b)(5) and 10.23(a) via 10.23(c)(1) predicated upon certain acts that culminated in her guilty plea and conviction of one count of ?Interference with Custody of Children ? Conceal? in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Hunterdon County on January 5,2012. ?This stemmed from charges brought on March 3, 2011, by the New Jersey State Police, for Kidnapping and Interference with Custody. An Amber Alert was authorized and she was apprehended near the Canadian border. See Hunterdon County Press Release.

While Ms. Mansfield did not admit to violating any of the Disciplinary Rules of the USPTO Code of Professional Responsibility, she acknowledged that, if and when she does apply for reinstatement, the OED Director will conclusively presume, for the limited purpose of determining the application for reinstatement, that (i) the allegations set forth in the disciplinary investigation against her are true, and (ii) she could not have successfully defended herself against such allegations.

Source: http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2013/01/27/ethics-oed-practitioner-discipline-at-the-uspto-julyaug-2012/id=33860/

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Monday, January 28, 2013

Alberta brings in policy to allow Sikhs to wear kirpan religious knives in court

EDMONTON - Alberta has come up with a policy to allow Sikhs to wear a ceremonial religious dagger called a kirpan in courthouses.

Under the Justice Department policy, a person must tell security officers they have a kirpan and wear it in a sheath, under clothing.

The blade of the kirpan can be no longer than 10 centimetres.

The World Sikh Organization says Alberta is the first province to bring in such a policy, which is partly based on rules developed for courts in Toronto.

The organization says Ontario is now working on a provincewide policy.

The Alberta rules stem from a human rights complaint filed in 2008 where a man wasn't allowed inside a Calgary court because he was wearing a kirpan.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/alberta-brings-policy-allow-sikhs-wear-kirpan-religious-194403884.html

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Sunday, January 27, 2013

Chuck Hagel: Shaped by Vietnam

Obama's choice for defense secretary is a decorated veteran with a deep suspicion of war

What is?Hagel's?background?
He comes from humble stock. Born in Nebraska,?Hagel?grew up poor and constantly on the move. His father was a World War II veteran who had bad health and a drinking problem, and died when?Hagel?was 16. The eldest of four boys,?Hagel?worked to help support the family, and took an early interest in politics. In 1960, he broke with his fellow Catholic schoolboys to support Richard Nixon over John F. Kennedy.?Hagel?was a promising high school athlete, but a neck injury forced him to give up a college football scholarship. He drifted until his number came up in the draft in January 1967.

Where did he serve?
Hagel?initially received orders to go to Germany, but he asked for a transfer to Vietnam so he could fight in the war. Against protocol, he was placed in the same infantry squad as his younger brother Tom. Just four months into his tour,?Hagel?was caught in a mine blast, taking shrapnel wounds to his chest that his brother bandaged up. A month later, in April 1968,?Hagel?returned the favor after their troop carrier hit another mine.?Hagel?pulled Tom from the burning vehicle under heavy fire, sustaining serious burns to his face. (Hagel's?wounds in the two incidents won him two Purple Hearts.) In 2007, he recalled what went through his head when rescuing his brother: "I told myself, 'If I ever get out of this and I'm ever in a position to influence policy, I will do everything I can to avoid needless, senseless war.'"

How did he get into politics?
John Y.?McCollister, a Nebraska congressman, brought the young veteran to Washington in the early?1970s; within 18 months, he was?McCollister's?chief of staff.?Hagel's?ascent in the Republican Party was similarly rapid, and soon after Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, he was named deputy director of the Veterans Administration. But within six months, he quit in protest against cuts in benefits for his fellow Vietnam veterans. It was his first act of rebellion against the party, but far from his last. "He thinks with the clarity of an actuary," said Michael McCarthy, one of?Hagel's?longtime financial backers, "but decides with the heart of an Irishman."

What was his next move??
He sold his car and joined two friends in investing in an industry no one knew about in 1982 ? a?cellphone?company. It made him millions when it later went public. In 1992 he moved his family from Virginia back to his native Nebraska, where he was elected senator in 1996 in an upset victory after a high-profile endorsement from fellow Vietnam vet Sen. John McCain. But?Hagel?remained a party maverick. After the GOP's poor showing in the 1998 midterm elections, he excoriated the leadership for running?"issueless?campaigns" and "demonizing" ads. In the 2000 primaries, he backed his friend McCain, saying that George W. Bush had "sold his soul to the right wing." Two years later, he became an ever bigger burr in Bush's saddle.

What issue divided them?
The war in Iraq, which?Hagel?opposed from the get-go, earning himself a place on the "axis of appeasement'' compiled by the?neoconservative?magazine?The Weekly Standard.?In 2002,?Hagel?delivered a thunderous speech on the Senate floor warning that "imposing democracy through force is a roll of the dice." The U.S., he said, did not truly understand the factional divisions among Iraq's Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. He then voted to authorize military action in Iraq ? a vote he attributed to his loyalty to the office of the presidency. As the war spun out of control,?Hagel?became an ever-fiercer critic of the Bush administration. He voted against extending the Patriot Act in 2005, and led opposition in the Senate to the Iraq surge of 2007, calling it the "most dangerous foreign-policy blunder in this country since Vietnam."

Is that why many Republicans now oppose him?
Hagel's?apostasy on Iraq is just one of the ways in which he has infuriated his party's hawks. He has opposed military action to stop Iran's nuclear program, and described the Defense Department as "bloated." He angered pro-Israeli Republicans by complaining about the power of Washington's "Jewish lobby," and alienated social conservatives by comparing them to "Know-Nothings." But arguably his greatest sin against the GOP was befriending Obama. The two bonded in the Senate over their?contrarian?views on Iraq. In 2008,?Hagel?declined to endorse John McCain, which brought a chill to the long friendship between the two Vietnam vets.?Hagel?did not endorse Obama either, but enraged McCain by traveling to Iraq with the Democratic presidential candidate in July 2008.?Hagel?retired from the Senate in 2009, but he will soon return there as Obama's nominee for defense secretary to face confirmation hearings headed by his spurned former ally. "The friendship, I hope, is still there," McCain said in January, "but I have very serious questions about whether he will serve in a way that I think serves America's best national interests."?

The smoking gun on Vietnam
Although the Vietnam War left?Hagel?scarred, for decades he saw it as a righteous cause gone wrong, not an unjustified incursion. That changed in 1997, when the government released tapes from 1964 of Lyndon B. Johnson confessing that the U.S. couldn't win in Vietnam. Johnson had made a "cold political calculation" to stay in Vietnam to secure his legacy,?Hagel?came to believe, and he vowed to "never, ever remain silent when that kind of thinking put more American lives at risk in any conflict." His anti-war views hardened yet further in 2005, when a cousin unearthed long-lost letters his father had written to his family during his service in the Pacific. "If I thought I would ever have a son who would have to go through this," he had written, "I would never get married."?

SEE MORE: Obama's tumultuous first term: By the numbers

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Dewey's Treehouse: Scrapbooking (expensive hobbies, cheap ...

Years and years ago, when Creative Memories was just getting off the ground, I read about them in a magazine and wrote a letter (by snail mail, of course)?to one of the co-founders, asking if their scrapbooks were available in Canada.??She wrote back and suggested I look into becoming a Canadian consultant...because there Weren't Any Then.

Imagine that.

I didn't follow up on the suggestion, for?several different?reasons.? For one thing, I couldn't imagine who (besides me) would be that interested in buying scrapbooking stuff.

Imagine THAT.? Yeah, I know.? It's on my list of big mistakes?to beat myself with.

In the years since then, of course, Scrapbooking as a concept?not only became one of the "standard" womens' hobbies slash places to blow a lot of money, but it teamed up with all the?developments in?Technology (i.e. computers, Internet,?and special scrapbooking gizmos and?software)?to quintuple all the possibilities for page design, embellishment and photo printing.? Every hobby store has a scrapbooking section.? Every dollar store sells scrapbooking paper and stickers.? Scrapbook crafters have not only whole boxes and organizers devoted to this stuff, but whole rooms, sometimes.

But you knew that already.

Am I a scrapbooker?? Just an occasional one.? I've put together small memory books for birthdays, that sort of thing.? I like making cards and gift tags.?But in the last ten years or so, with cameras all gone digital (including ours, and I thought we'd be the last 35mm holdouts), the truth is that we don't actually have that many printed photos around anymore.? It sometimes seems harder to get "real" photos in my hand?these days?than it did when we had to wait for the photo counter to get our pack of snapshots back from the developers...or when Mr. Fixit's home darkroom was still viable.? So any scrapbooking I'm likely to be doing now?is not with family photos--it's more likely to be just for fun, with souvenirs or snippings.

And the other reason that I've shied away from the whole scrapbooking hobby is, of course, the huge amount of money that you can pour into supplies and equipment.? It's enough to drive you to the list of "cheap hobbies" that someone recently submitted to the Festival of Frugality--things like, um, walking.? Or crocheting with?plastic bags.? (Which does have its fans as well.)

Well, I came across an e-book recently by a frugal scrapbooker who really "gets it," as Amy Dacyczyn used to say.? It was free for Kindle when I downloaded it; it's up to $4.99 now, although it's still free for Prime members at Amazon; but considering the amount of money that, as I've said, you could be spending on scrapbooking...and even a nice?magazine is going to set you back at least that much...$4.99 could be money well spent here.? Especially if it actually SAVES you that much money, and it very well could.? The book is Budget Scrapbooking for Beginners, by Phyllis Matthews.

The book is stuffed full of suggestions for alternative materials, alternative sources, using real/found/thrifted materials instead of?printable fake/purchased expensive?ones, and so on.? Even if you prefer some other kind of crafting, I think she covers basics that would apply to quite a few other frugal hobbies and situations...say, making dollhouse accessories, or choosing craft projects for kids.? In the case of scrapbooking, a lot of the hype around buying "real" supplies came out of the scary words "acid free," meaning that the materials you use won't hurt your photos.? Mrs. Matthews points out that only the materials actually contacting your photos, such as adhesives and matting material, need to be acid free; anything else is fair game.? When you think about it, fancy paper, pictures, and writing can come from almost anywhere:? even dollar-store greeting cards.? Where else can you find scrapbooking supplies?? How about the hardware store?? The toy aisle?? The back yard?? The possibilities she opens up go beyond the obvious, and that's what I like most about the book: it proves you can have just as good a time, and produce just as good a finished project, with "found" materials, as you can with the latest and best in hobby-aisle supplies.

The book is illustrated with a few photographs of her own work; a few more wouldn't have hurt, but what's included is helpful.? My one quibble with the editing was the frequent use of the word "affect" when I think she meant "effect," and a few other small distractions of that kind.? I'm also a bit surprised at one of her pages which uses construction paper as a base; in my own somewhat limited experience, coloured construction paper is one of my last choices even for kids' play?projects, as it fades terribly.? Maybe Mrs. Matthews just buys better construction paper, but I'd still be careful.? Oh--and the?other crafting?problem we have around here right now is that rubber cement is becoming harder to find (along with safety eyes, which have just about disappeared, but that's another story). Without a bottle of that around, you may not be able to use some of her suggestions.

But overall, it's a good tour through the hobby room of a good crafter who wants to share her smart strategies as well as her passion.? Well recommended.

Source: http://deweystreehouse.blogspot.com/2013/01/scrapbooking-expensive-hobbies-cheap.html

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AP NewsBreak: Harkin won't seek 6th Senate term

In this Monday, Oct. 25, 2010 photo, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, speaks to reporters following a rally in support of three Iowa Supreme Court justices who are up for retention votes in the November election, in Des Moines, Iowa. Harkin says he will not seek re-election in 2014, The Associated Press reports Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

CUMMING, Iowa (AP) ? U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said Saturday he will not seek a sixth term in 2014, a decision that frees a new generation of Iowa Democrats to seek higher office and eases some of the burden Republicans face in retaking the Senate.

Harkin, chairman of an influential Senate committee, announced his decision during an interview with The Associated Press, and said the move could surprise some.

But the 73-year-old cited his age ? he would be 81 at the end of a sixth term ? as a factor in the decision, saying it was time to pass the torch he has held for nearly 30 years.

"I just think it's time for me to step aside," Harkin told the AP.

Harkin, first elected in 1984, ranks 7th in seniority, and 4th among majority Democrats. He is chairman of the health, education, labor and pensions committee, and chairman of the largest appropriations subcommittee.

Harkin has long aligned with the Senate's more liberal members, and his signature legislative accomplishment is the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. He also served as a key salesman of President Barack Obama's 2010 health care bill to the wary left.

"I'm not saying that giving this up and walking away is easy. It's very tough," Harkin said at his rural Iowa home south of Des Moines. "But I'm not quitting today. I'm not passing the torch sitting down."

Harkin's news defied outward signals. Besides being beloved in his party, Harkin has $2.7 million in his campaign war chest, second most among members nearing the end of their terms, and was planning a gala fundraiser in Washington, D.C., next month featuring pop star Lady Gaga.

Although members of his family have been diagnosed with cancer, Harkin said his health is good ? and reported a recent positive colonoscopy. But he said "you never know," and that he wanted to travel and spend his retirement with his wife Ruth "before it's too late."

He also nodded to his political longevity: "The effect of that cascades down and it opens a lot of doors of opportunity" for future candidates, he said.

Indeed, the news creates a rare open Senate seat Iowa. Harkin, Iowa's junior senator, is outranked by Sen. Charles Grassley, who has held the state's other seat since 1980.

Attention will turn immediately to U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, a fourth-term Democrat from Waterloo, long mentioned as a possible Harkin successor. Braley, who was traveling in Iowa on Saturday, did not immediately return requests by the AP for comments beyond an emailed news statement calling Harkin a "mentor" and "progressive force" who leaves "a legacy few will ever match."

Harkin held open the possibility of endorsing a Democrat before the party's primary if the candidate fit the profile of "someone who is progressive, who is a pragmatic progressive."

Although no Republicans have stepped forward, Harkin's news gives the GOP's private huddles new life.

"There are lots of conversations, but it's very early still," said Nick Ryan, an Iowa Republican campaign fundraiser.

U.S. Rep. Tom Latham of Clive is a seasoned Republican congressman, a veteran appropriations committee member and a robust fundraiser who has survived challenges to win 10 consecutive terms. Aides to Latham declined to comment beyond issuing a statement saying the congressman "respects Sen. Harkin's decision (and) looks forward to continuing to work with him."

But with opening a door in Iowa, Harkin has created a potential headache for his party nationally.

Democrats likely would have had the edge in 2014 with the seat, considering Harkin's fundraising prowess and healthy approval. A poll by the Des Moines Register taken last fall showed a majority of Iowans approved of his job performance.

Democrats hold a 55-45 advantage in the Senate, requiring Republicans to gain six seats to win back the chamber. But Democrats have more seats to defend in 2014_20 compared to only 13 for Republicans.

And the president's party historically loses seats in the midterm elections after his re-election.

Seats in other states will be tough for Democrats to hold onto. In GOP-leaning West Virginia, five-term Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller recently announced he would not seek re-election.

Democratic incumbents also face tough re-election races in Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina and Alaska ? all states carried by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in November's presidential election.

Since then, Harkin has stepped up his role as one of the Senate's leading liberal populists.

He was a vocal opponent late last year of President Barack Obama's concession to lift the income threshold for higher taxes to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. Harkin instead supported raising taxes on all earners making more than $250,000 a year.

He also endorsed Obama's call for banning assault rifles and larger ammunition magazines in the wake of the Connecticut school shooting last month

Despite Harkin's strong political position, he has faced questions about his and his wife Ruth's role in developing a namesake policy institute at Iowa State University, Harkin's alma mater. The Harkins and their supporters have been pushing for the institute to house papers highlighting his signature achievements, including the ADA and shaping farm policy as the former chairman of the agriculture committee.

Harkin has avoided questions about fundraising for the institute after disclosure reports showed some of its largest donors are firms that have benefited from his policies.

Harkin dismissed that those questions had any bearing on his decision.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-26-Harkin-Iowa/id-25593d51402947cfb4687ee317b0bf82

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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Financial aid FAQs - Collegewise

Here are ten of the most common questions I get about financial aid and scholarships, and my answers to each.

1. Should we bother to apply if we don?t think we?ll qualify?

Probably, but here?s the litmus test.? If a family cannot write a check for the full cost of their student?s college education next year, they should apply for financial aid.?? Many people who think they won't qualify actually do.? And some schools may require students to complete the FAFSA for merit scholarships.? You have nothing to lose but the time you spend filling out the forms, which isn?t inconsequential, but it?s less risky than forgoing available financial aid by not applying.

2.? Will applying for financial aid hurt my student?s chances of getting in?

No.? First of all, it?s important to remember that just because you apply for aid doesn?t? mean you?ll get any.? So if you?re in the position of debating whether or not to apply for aid, the chances are that while you may get some aid, it won?t be a large enough amount to ever be held against you.? Still, applying for aid has no negative impact at most schools.? Many colleges are ?need-blind? which means that the admissions officers don?t know whether or not you need aid.? And even at schools that are not need-blind, the admissions office wants who they want.? They see it as their job to pick the right students for the freshman class, while the financial aid office?s job is to decide whether or not those kids get aid.?

3. At what parental income level is it not worth it for a family even to complete a FAFSA?

There is no cut off because there are so many other factors considered (number in the family, student income, assets, number of children in college, cost of attendance, etc.).?? So again, use the litmus test.? If you can't write a check for the entire cost of attendance for the coming year, you should apply for aid.? Use one of the previously mentioned calculators and see if you qualify.

4. What if we know we can pay without aid?? Can that help our student get in?

It can at some colleges, particularly at less competitive private schools.? Most applications will ask if you?re going to be applying for financial aid.? Checking ?No? tells them that you are full-pay.? And if you know you?re capable of paying comfortably without any assistance, you likely wouldn?t have qualified for financial aid anyway.

5. Can a student establish residency at an out-of-state public university and then pay in-state tuition?

In the past, yes.? But in recent years, it has become almost impossible unless the entire family moves out of state.? If you couldn?t afford, or wouldn?t want to pay for, out-of-state tuition, attending an out-of-state college could be a risky thing to do.?? Don?t count on getting in-state residence.

6. What if parents are divorced or separated?? Which parent?s financial information will be used?

The parent with whom the child resided most during the 12 months prior to completing the aid application is called the ?Custodial parent??that?s the parent who completes the FAFSA.? Federal guidelines say that it is the custodial parent whose financial information will be used to determine the parental contribution to college.? It?s important to remember that the custodial parent may not necessarily be the parent who was initially awarded custody in the divorce settlement.?? It is all based on who the kid lived with during the base year.

The aid formula also considers a stepparent who lives with the custodial parent as a natural parent.??? That means the financial aid formula doesn?t distinguish between biological parents and step-parents?it only cares which parent, or parents, the student lived with most during the first base income year.

Most colleges will never ask to see income or asset information from a non-custodial parent.? The FAFSA has no questions about non-custodial parents, and while the PROFILE form asks a few questions, the processor does not take this information into account in providing the EFC.?? On the other hand, if you receive child support or alimony, it will appear as your income.?

7. Can my student declare independence from her parents while she?s in college, and therefore, get more financial aid?

If the college decides that a student is no longer a dependent of his parents, then the college won?t assess the parents? income and assets at all.? But it?s the federal government and the colleges themselves who get to decide who is dependent and who is independent, and it is obviously in their best interest to decide that the student is still dependent.? Don?t get your hopes up.? Most kids who are considered independent are foster kids, or kids who have been legally declared independent from their parents.

8. Is it possible to negotiate with a financial aid office to get more aid?

Sometimes it is.? If it looks like you might not be able to send your student to a school she really wants to attend because of money, or if two similarly ranked colleges offered very dissimilar packages, you might consider calling and asking the financial aid office to reconsider its offer.? However, if you can comfortably afford what the college has determined that you must pay, then there is little chance a college will change its aid package.? You?re not buying a used car here. Financial aid officers aren?t likely to do anything that feels like haggling.? But I?ve seen it work. There are times when making that call can lead to a good outcome, especially if the two schools compete for the same applicants, and if the offers are very different. Approach this like a civil business discussion. Leave your emotions out of it.? Be polite and respectful. If there are substantial differences between the two awards, the college will probably ask to see a copy of the other award.? Offer to provide any additional documentation that might be helpful. And always thank the person no matter what the outcome.

9. What's the best way to find scholarships?

There's no need to pay to find outside scholarships.? The best search sources are available for free at finaid.org and scholarships.com.?

Having said that, I meet a lot of families who have the impression there is oodles of money available from outside or private scholarships. These are little-known awards from private companies, foundations, community organizations, churches and other benefactors. There is money to be had from those sources, and they may be worth applying for, but you won?t likely get a free ride from outside scholarships alone.

The best way to get scholarships is to apply to colleges that may pay.? Financial aid offices earmark a certain percentage of money every year just to lure academically appealing students. This practice is called preferential packaging, and it?s not a dirty secret.?? The better the fit between you and a college, the more likely that school will entice you to attend.

10. Can applying early decision hurt my chances of receiving financial aid?

Yes.? Under a binding early decision plan, colleges don?t have as much incentive to entice you with unsolicited aid because you?re bound to attend if they take you.? And if you?re accepted early decision, you give up the chance to compare offers of financial aid from other colleges.

Source: http://www.wiselikeus.com/collegewise/2013/01/financial-aid-faqs.html

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3-D fireworks of a star: Astronomers reconstruct journey of emitted gas

Jan. 24, 2013 ? In 1901 the star GK Persei gave off a powerful explosion that has not stopped growing and astonishing ever since. Now a team of Spanish and Estonian astronomers has reconstructed the journey of the emitted gas in 3D which, contrary to predictions, has hardly slowed down its speed of up to 1,000 km/s after all this time.

Thanks to the images captured from the Isaac Newton Telescope and the Nordic Optical Telescope in La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain), a European team of astronomers has constructed a three dimensional map of the remnant of a nova, or in other words, what was left of the star after its explosion. The results have just been published in the Astrophysical Journal.

The protagonist of this story is the star GK Persei situated at 'just' 1,300 light years away from Earth. It is also known as Nova Persei 1901 because a strong thermonuclear eruption occurred on its surface on the 21st February 1901. On that day astronomers observed how its brightness suddenly increased to such an extent that it became one of the brightest stars in the skies.

The surprising thing is that the explosion created remaining material made up of gaseous knots, which become visible in 1916. "From then the visual spectacle has been similar to that of a firework display seen in slow motion," claims Miguel Santander, researcher at Spanish National Observatory and coauthor of the study.

After patient work to gather images, the team was able to measure the movements of more than 200 knots as well as the radial velocity using the Doppler effect, which allows to determine if they are getting closer or moving further away from us. In this way the 3D map of the nova was created and its dynamic was analysed.

"Such data are rarely available in astrophysics because as a general rule apparent expansion or, in other words, in the layout of the sky, the majority of objects cannot be seen," outlines another of the authors, Romano Corradi, from the Astrophysics Institute of the Canary Islands.

An unexpected result

In any case, the main result of this work "is that the gas seems to be moving further away in a ballistic or free manner and is hardly slowing down, contrary to what was thought in previous studies," comments the lead author of the investigation, Tiina Liimets of the Tartu Observatory in Estonia.

Until now it was thought that the gas from the explosion would slow down "significantly" due to the large quantity of matter in its path that the star has expelled previously. However, its speed has remained between a range of 600 and 1000 kilometres per second.

Long before the explosion in 1901, more than one hundred thousand years ago, GK Persei had already undergone a massive transformation from a red giant to a white dwarf. This process expelled its external layers forming a planetary nebula, which is a giant gas cloud within which the nova is now growing in 3D.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Plataforma SINC, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

T. Liimets, R.L.M. Corradi, M. Santander-Garc?a, E. Villaver, P. Rodr?guez-Gil, K. Verro, I. Kolka. A three-dimensional view of the remnant of Nova Persei 1901 (GK Per). Astrophysical Journal, December 2012

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/SLhdjgIXI-s/130124123442.htm

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