Mexican Universities are offering online bachelor degree courses to students and its free. The UNAM and The UNAMEXICO have teamed up to offer free online bachelor courses. The courses are specifically geared to migrant Mexicans living in the United States. The name of the program offered by the UNAM is B@Unam. However, very few register for these courses. The program allows students to complete bachelor studies in two and a half years.

According to Dr. Ernest Garcia Palacios, the director of Distance Bachelor Education at Open University and Distance Education of the UNAM, (in August) there were 241 active students in all the United States, while 48 students graduated since the program started. Dr. Ernest Garcia Palacios, noted that after a wider publicity, registration rose from 150 normally to 250 for last September. After graduating from the distance preparatory program, students can register at the UNAM for one of the 20 degrees via distance. In addition to the UNAM, the Universidad Nacional a Distancia de Mexico also has such a program.

As with any course of studies, those who register for the program need to first understand carefully how it works as there are certain requirements which students must meet. For example, those who register then return to Mexico can no longer continue in the program at the UNAM but they can register at a program in Mexico.

To find out more write to soporte_edad@cuaed.unam or visit http://www.cuaed.unam.mx/portal/

Aviso.  No está  disponible  el sitio web con el artículo original  pero puede escribir a la UNAM o revisar sus programas  (Por  aquí)

In 2014 the U.S government conducted research on cellphone use among Adults. The results show an upward trend in the first half of 2014 with a four percentage points gain over a previous study done just 6 months earlier. About 43 % of adults living in the U.S are in homes with only cellphones.  About nine out of ten Americans are likely cellphone owners and almost two-thirds are likely smartphone owners (See here). With the increasing importance of mobile devices, Americans are inventing rules about how to use these apps in social meetings and public settings.

Cellphones can serve to connect people instantly but could be a distraction as well.  Many worry that as people engage with mobile apps in both public and social settings, this urges them to live “Alone Together” according to the title of Professor Sherry Turkle’s book. Professor Turkle considers that kind of life as socially stagnant and not good for communities. The close to fifteen years exploration of people’s digital way of life by Professor Turkle found disturbing relationships among people who are close such as parents, children, friends and even lovers as well as new uneasiness about the way we perceive privacy and community(See here). In contrast, researcher Keith Hampton’s study on people’s use of mobile devices in public settings shows instead of limiting group social interactions, those devices fill time when people wait or during other institutional moments. Generally, Hamilton’s research revealed that for the last 30 years, instead of aloneness, or digital interruption there is gender equality. That is something that would’ve been unthinkable in America 30 years ago (See here).

These issues need consideration as people should not view rules of etiquette as merely small niceties but rather as truly impacting the way humans deal with each other as well as the make up of public settings. This was the subject of a Pew Research.

The results of the survey shows hundred of Americans hold different and shaded beliefs about new civil behavior. They are studying the neo-etiquette of mobile existence. In some instances, they confirm the social benefits of prolonged connectivity and in other instances lament the distractions which screen causes to social gatherings. On some occasions they welcome the ability to have both people and information right away, but on other occasions, they feel wronged when others try to use it to their own advantage.

In some instances, they show support for being around others physically but in other instances, they quickly look at screens while in groups which have in-person conversation.

To read the original article (See here).