Friday Roundup

Here is a listing of articles of interest that have been published within the last 7-10 days:

Health

1. New medical school model: Adopt a family to treat, Jan 5, 2011, NPR.org

Brief Intro:"Medical education in the U.S. is going through a growth spurt. After decades without a single new school, five new medical schools have opened since 2009, and 10 more are being accredited — a response to the growing doctor shortage.

Besides producing more doctors, many of the new medical schools are also trying to reshape medical education. Florida International University's College of Medicine in Miami is one of these new schools. Its approach to rethinking medical school is a community-based medical curriculum."

2. Health spending rose in '09, but at a low rate, Jan. 5, 2011, NYT.com

Brief Intro:"Total national health spending grew by 4 percent in 2009, the slowest rate of increase in 50 years, as people lost their jobs, lost health insurance and deferred medical care, the federal government reported on Wednesday."

Poverty

1. To beat back poverty, pay the poor, Jan 3, 2011, NYT.com (opinion blog)

Brief Intro:"Several factors contribute to Brazil’s astounding feat. But a major part of Brazil’s achievement is due to a single social program that is now transforming how countries all over the world help their poor."

Immigrant populations

1. State lawmakers outline plans to end birthright citizenship draws outcry, Jan 5, 2011, NYT.com

Brief Intro:" Conservative legislators from five states opened a national campaign on Wednesday to end the automatic granting of American citizenship to children born in the United States of illegal immigrants."

Education

1. Math that moves: Schools embrace the iPad, Jan 4, 2011, NYT.com

Brief Intro:"A growing number of schools across the nation are embracing the iPad as the latest tool to teach Kafka in multimedia, history through “Jeopardy”-like games and math with step-by-step animation of complex problems."

2. Georgia facing a hard choice on free tuition, Jan 6, 2011, NYT.com

Brief Intro:"The largest merit-based college scholarship program in the United States offers any Georgia high school student with a B-average four years of free college tuition.

But the Hope scholarship program is about to be cut by a new governor and Legislature facing staggering financial troubles."