News
Nigerian foreign scholar sets to break new grounds on mathematics education in doctoral research
A young Nigerian scholar, Emmanuel Chukwuebuka Umeh, who is currently on his doctoral degree programme in the United States of America (USA) is set to break new grounds in the field of Mathematics and Education with special focus on providing possibilities of teaching and learning mathematics with the aide of the grasp of immigrants’ indigenous cultures from asset based perspectives .
When completed, Umeh’s research findings will be of huge benefits to researchers in tertiary institutions , High school teachers, refugee organizations and scholars on the need of understanding of immigrants’ indigenous cultures in teaching mathematics.
Informing about this laudable development in a piece tagged:” Bridging Cultures in Mathematics Education: An Innovative Approach To Understanding African Immigrants and Refugee Youth Background In Western Culture”, Umeh said: “In today’s diverse educational landscape, immigrant and refugee students pose challenges and opportunities for educators and teachers in the United States and across the globe. With newcomers comprising 14.4% of the population, according to the Migration Policy Institute (2020), schools are witnessing a notable influx of students from refugee backgrounds and those who have immigrated with their families. Among them, African newcomers form a significant demographic, bringing with them rich cultural and linguistic backgrounds that influence their learning experiences.
Recent years have seen a steady rise in refugee admissions to the U.S., with numbers climbing from 11,411 in 2021 to 25,465 in 2022 and an anticipated 60,000 in 2023, as reported by the Refugee Processing Center (RPC, 2023).
“This demographic shift necessitates a thoughtful approach from educators, who must navigate the complexities of teaching mathematics to students with diverse linguistic and sociocultural backgrounds.”
Having been volunteering for Refugee Organizations in the United States and working closely with teachers of refugee background, The Anambra State born Emmanuel Chukwuebuka Umeh”s research on Mathematics Education at the University of Missouri, U.S focused on educational cultural systems and mathematical learning. It sheds light on the unique challenges African multilingual students face in American classrooms and how it is important to create a system that can foster cross-cultural relationship between teachers and refugee students. His research underscores the need for tailored educational approaches that cater to the specific needs of these students. Central to his work is the “Math-trivium framework,” a conceptual framework he developed to bridge the gap between research and practice in mathematics education.
To further this innovative research, Emmanuel is set to travel to Kenya as a visiting researcher. He will collaborate with Masinde Murilo University of Science and Technology Kenya, using his framework to study refugee students at the Kakuma Refugee Camp, specifically looking at the role of culture, language, use of technology, and mathematical experiences of refugee youths from an asset-based perspective and how teachers can leverage on such experiences to help them achieve mathematical success when they immigrate to western culture.
His work promises to potentially impact improving educational outcomes in Kenya and cross-cultural relationships between refugee youths and educators across the globe. The Findings from this study have informed policy and practice, leading to more effective strategies for teaching mathematics in refugee contexts and enhancing the overall educational experiences of refugee students.
The Math trivium framework is rooted in understanding how African multilingual students engage with mathematics through their cultural lenses. It identifies three essential components: communication (literacy), mathematization (Matheracy), and tools (technocracy), each deeply embedded in cultural knowledge. For recent immigrants, proficiency in mathematics often requires mastery of English as a communicative language and adaptation to new mathematical systems and technological tools different from those in their home countries.
Umeh’s framework emphasizes the importance of cultural knowledge in fostering mathematical competence among immigrant students. By recognizing and leveraging students’ cultural backgrounds, educators can create more equitable and inclusive learning environments. This approach not only enhances students’ mathematical skills but also validates their unique experiences, promoting a deeper engagement with the subject.
“Understanding recent African multilingual high school students’ mathematical learning experiences inside and outside the classroom is crucial,” Umeh explains. “It allows us to develop strategies that empower these students to succeed academically while honoring their cultural identities.”
Through his research, Umeh advocates for a shift in educational practices towards more culturally responsive teaching methods. By integrating cultural knowledge into mathematics instruction, educators can better support immigrant students’ academic and cultural integration, fostering a learning environment where every student can thrive.
As the educational landscape continues to evolve, Emmanuel Chukwuebuka Umeh’s work stands as a testament to the transformative potential of culturally informed teaching practices in mathematics education. By embracing diversity and cultural richness, educators can pave the way for a more inclusive and equitable educational experience for all students.
Umeh is a graduated with first class honors from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike Abia State, and was retained as a Junior Lecturer in the same University before he won a fellowship and travelled to Universidade federal de ouro preto in Brazil for a program in Ethnomathematics. He proceed to the United States for his Doctoral degree where he has won several awards including international discovery award the John BIES fellowship.
News
How to Regrow Hair On A Bald Spot Medically
Regrowing hair on a bald spot is often possible. You may need to try more than one type of treatment to get the results you want. Be patient and consider all your options as you approach this very common concern.
Hair loss is a common development for people of all genders. But a bald spot can still trigger feelings of embarrassment and frustration while also affecting your self-confidence.
Causes of hair loss can vary widely, including:
stress
certain hair care practices
medical conditions that are inherited or are related to the body’s immune system
hormone levels
skin health
cancer treatment
In many cases, treatments are available to help regrow hair on a bald spot or thicken hair growth where thinning has occurred. But it’s important to rely on proven treatment methods, and to be wary of products and treatments that make big promises with little scientific data to support them.
Sometimes, simple home remedies can produce good results, but you may need over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medications to regrow hair if home treatments aren’t working for you.
If these approaches aren’t effective, medical or surgical procedures may be necessary. Read on to learn more about what causes a bald spot, how to treat it yourself, and when you may need medical treatment.
What are some natural treatments for a bald spot?
Natural hair growth methods typically focus on improving circulation in the scalp or promoting hair follicle health and restoring hair quality.
Many products associated with hair growth are found in the home and are often used for other purposes. Here are some options:
Rosemary oil
Rosemary oil has anti-inflammatory properties and helps improve circulation, so it may have propertiesTrusted Source for treating hair loss.
Rub a small amount gently on your bald spot each night or consider using natural shampoo containing rosemary oil.
Peppermint oil
Peppermint oilTrusted Source is used to treat headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, and other illnesses. According to a 2024 review of studies, it showed promise in treating some types of hair loss in mice, but little to no research has been done on people.
It’s considered safe to use topically in low doses. Rub some peppermint oil into your scalp with your fingers or use shampoo with peppermint oil.
Aloe vera
Aloe vera is usually thought of as a skin treatment for wound healing and burn relief.
A few older studies, such as one published in the Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research notes that aloe vera’s anti-inflammatory properties and many enzymes, minerals, and other healthy ingredients may make it an effective hair growth treatment.
It’s considered safe to use not the scalp, but no direct benefits for hair growth have been confirmed to date.
To use it, massage it into your scalp before shampooing your hair. Try mixing it with wheat germ oil and coconut milk.
Massage
Requiring no products, a vigorous scalp massage is one of the simplest ways to help boost circulation in the scalp and stretch hair follicle cells to promote thicker hair growth. However, there is no research suggesting that a massage will increase hair growth.
To try it, firmly (but gently) press your fingers against your scalp and rub them across your scalp for at least 5 minutes.
Tips to Naturally Regrow Your Hair
View video transcript
What are some over-the-counter treatments for bald spots?
There’s no shortage of OTC products promising to reverse hair loss, or at least slow it down. Some are more established and well regarded than others.
Here are some trustworthy OTC treatments for bald spots:
Minoxidil
One of the most widely used and proven treatments is minoxidil (Rogaine and various generic products).
It’s available in liquid, foam, or shampoo options. Stronger forms of minoxidil are also available by prescription.
Minoxidil may cause side effects like skin irritation or unwanted hair growth on skin near the scalp. If minoxidil does restore hair growth, it must be used regularly or its effects will start to wear off.
Collagen-based products
Collagen, a protein found in the skin and elsewhere in the body, is also associated with hair growth and thickening hair that has started thinning due to androgenetic alopecia (male and female pattern hair loss).
Look for shampoos, conditioners, ointments, or serums that contain collagen. Try using them when you bathe or rub them into your scalp. It’s also available in an injectable form.
Collagen-based supplements may also help, but there’s little to no evidence that these work for hair growth.
Vitamin supplements
Certain vitamins and minerals are associated with hair growth, including:
vitamin A
B-vitamins, including biotin, which is the key ingredient in many hair-growth treatments
vitamin C
vitamin D
vitamin E
iron
zinc
Taking high doses of any supplement may put you at risk for complications.
Discuss your concerns with a doctor before starting any new supplements, as these are not closely monitored by the FDA and may contain ingredients not listed on the label or higher amounts of active ingredients.
What are the medical treatments for a bald spot?
Before recommending a medication or procedure to treat your bald spot, your doctor will try to diagnose any underlying condition that may be causing the problem. This may include a:
review of your medical history, including current symptoms
physical examination focusing on the nature of your hair loss
“pull test,” where you pull a few hairs to see how many come out and how easily
blood test to look for underlying conditions
scalp biopsy, which is the removal of a few scalp cells or hairs to examine in a lab for clues to an infection or other cause of hair loss
Once your doctor knows what may be causing your bald spot, they may recommend one or more of the common prescription medications for hair loss.
Finasteride
One of the most widely prescribed hair growth drugs is finasteride (Propecia). It can be used by everyone, but if you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t use finasteride because of concernsTrusted Source it may case defects.
Corticosteroids
Prescription-strength corticosteroids in liquid form can be applied directly to the scalp. This is often an effective treatment for children affected by a type of hair loss called alopecia areata.
Corticosteroid injections into areas of patchy hair loss on the scalp revive hair growth within several weeks in people with alopecia areata.
Anthralin
Anthralin (Dritho-Scalp) is a topical treatment for alopecia areata. When applied to bald spots, it may help stimulate hair growth. A recent studyTrusted Source showed it was effective in children.
Methotrexate
If other treatments don’t work, your doctor may prescribe this powerful medication.
It’s also used sometimes with a corticosteroid. But methotrexate also carries some serious potential side effects, so follow your doctor’s directions carefully.
What are surgical treatments for bald spots?
Surgery should be considered a last resort if other, less-invasive means don’t work.
The most common form of hair restoration surgery — transplanting follicles from elsewhere on the head — doesn’t always work. And transplanted hair follicles may not continue to produce healthy hair growth for a long time.
Be sure to discuss with your doctor or surgeon what’s realistic to expect from any procedure.
Hair transplant
Hair transplant surgery is a common surgical solution to permanent hair loss.
In this procedure, a doctor removes hair follicles from an area of healthy hair growth (usually the back of the head) and implants them on a part of the scalp experiencing hair loss.
There are two main hair transplant approaches:
Follicular unit transplantation (FUT): In FUT, a surgeon uses a strip of skin with hair follicles from a donor site. Follicles are removed and transplanted.
Follicular unit extraction (FUE): In FUE, a surgeon removes individual hair follicles from the donor site and inserts them into tiny incisions in the recipient site in your scalp.
Laser therapy
Though it hasn’t been widely evaluated, laser therapy has been shown in some studies to reverse pattern hair loss, especially when combined with topical treatments or after a transplant procedure.
The idea is that a low-level laser can stimulate circulation and hair growth in follicles that have stopped producing hair. Results have been inconsistent, however.
What are the possible causes of a bald spot?
The most common causes of bald spots are age-related, while others are the result of treatable medical conditions or behaviors that can be changed to promote healthier hair.
Here are some of the most common causes of a bald spot.
Androgenetic alopecia
Also known as hereditary hair loss because it tends to run in families, androgenetic alopecia (female and male pattern baldness) affects all sexes.
In men, the condition is known to cause hair receding near the temples and top of the forehead, while hair at the crown of the head starts to thin.
In women, it usually starts with a thinning of the hair all over the head.
Alopecia areata
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition where your body’s immune system mistakenly attacks your hair follicles.
Hair tends to fall out in small patches on the head, while the eyebrows, eyelashes, and other parts of the body may also be affected.
People with alopecia areata may be at higher risk for other autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and vitiligo.
Hormonal imbalance
Stopping some types of birth control can lead to a temporary loss or thinning of hair.
People with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may also experience a hormonal imbalance that causes hair loss and other complications.
Stress
Mental or physical stress can sometimes cause more hairs than usual to show up in your brush every day.
Usually, normal hair growth returns when the cause of stress eases or you develop different coping mechanisms.
Cancer treatment
Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can both lead to hair loss just a few weeks after treatment starts.
Hair often starts to grow back within a month or so of ending treatment. Medications to revive hair growth may help speed up the process.
Wearing a cooling cap before, during, and after treatments may reduce hair loss.
Hair products and styling
Hairstyles that pull back tightly can lead to a bald spot.
Shampoos and other hair-care products containing the following ingredients may also be problematic:
sodium lauryl sulfate and laureth sulfate
sodium chloride
propylene glycol
How can I cope with a bald spot?
A bald spot can be an alarming experience.
Coping with hair loss starts with accepting the situation and then being proactive about addressing it. Part of this comes from remembering that millions of people are going through the same experience.
For more information,consultations inquiries or examinations
SMS /Call /Whatsapp:Dr Mawanda +260767053936
+260779652913
Website: https://doctormawanda.com
News
As a young man starting out in life, you don’t need a girl who wants to spend your money with you. You need a woman who wants to spend her life with you – Reno Omokri
As a young man starting out in life, you don’t need a girl who wants to spend your money with you. You need a woman who wants to spend her life with you. You need a life partner, not a dance partner in one nightclub or lounge. Mark this down: High-maintenance girls also come with high nuisance value.
Any woman who does not require financial maintenance from you and who does not see sex as her main contribution to the relationship should be the beginning and end of your spec.
Maintain your business, not your girlfriend. Dating an unemployed lady who is also high maintenance is the most foolish thing you can do. As a young man starting out in life, high-maintenance women will put the greatest distance between you and success. It is like paying to carry a burden.
Listen, women are not rare. 50% of the population are women. Stop dating a liability, no matter her sensuality! Never think that relationships with women are hard to come by. Not true. Success is hard to come by. A job is hard to come by. Millionaire status is hard to come by. Prioritise.
Focus on things that are harder to get. Once your tree has fruit, many low-maintenance, high-quality women will gather under it! Travel and avoid the fate that befell the original Adam, the royal Prince Harry and many Nigerian comedians. A lot of countries on Earth have the type of low-maintenance, high beauty and morals women you find all over Northern Nigeria.
#RenosNuggets
News
Should Power Return To The North In 2027? – Reno Omokri
Saying that the North has only been in power for eleven years since 1999 and that power should return to the North by 2027 is a dangerous argument being made by desperate people.
Nigeria’s independence did not start in 1999. Prior to 1999, Nigeria experienced twenty good years of Northern leadership, with only 83 days in between those twenty years given to the South when Chief Ernest Shonekan headed the ill fated Interim National Government.
In the nineteen years before that, the North enjoyed another fifteen years in power, with only four years to the South comprised of six months for Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi and three and a half years for General Olusegun Obasanjo.
In the sixty four years of Nigeria’s existence as an independent nation, the North has been in power for a total of forty six years, versus only eighteen for the South.
If you further break it down to elected civilian governments and military dictatorships, the North has had twenty one years of democratically elected leaders, including six years for Sir Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa, four years for President Shehu Shagari, three for President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, and eight for General Buhari.
This is compared to fourteen for the South, with eight years for President Obasanjo, five for President Goodluck Jonathan, and less than two for the incumbent.
The North has also had twenty-five years of military dictatorship, comprising nine years for General Gowon, six months for General Murtala Muhammed, two years for General Buhari, eight years for General Babangida, five years for the butcher, Abacha, and nine months for the blessed General Abdulsalami Abubakar. This is versus only three and a half for the South, and three out of those three and a half years were not even deliberate. If Murtala had not been murdered by his fellow Northerner, all that the South would have had would have been only six months!
Yet, Southern Quislings have the temerity to spew such gobbledygook about the North being shortchanged?
In mathematical ratio, for every year the South has been in power, the North has been at the helm for 2.56 years. And now, Oliver asks for more?
Look, I am a Sokoto boy. True Arewa people know me and my deep, unfeigned love for the North and Islam. Without being a Muslim, I practice more Islamic principles than many people who profess Islam as a religion. And it did not begin with me. My late father was an expert in Sharia Law.
I am the second generation of the perfect Nigerian experiment. My father went to Sokoto as a twenty three year old National Youth Service Corp member and became so entrenched in the North and Islam that he represented the Northwest in the Court of Appeal.
Nobody has a greater stake in Nigeria than my family and I.
If we are talking about equity, the South still has much catching up to do.
For the stability of our nation, it is essential that power rotates between the North and South.
Yes, I supported a Northerner in the previous elections because he won my party’s presidential primary. My hands were tied. But even with tied hands, we made him state publicly that he would do only one term and hand over to his Southern deputy.
As thoroughly useless as General Buhari was, the South did not disturb his eight-year reign. No serious Southerner rose up to challenge him in 2019. 2019 was exactly like 1999, when the rest of the country left the race to the Southwest, specifically General Obasanjo and Chief Olu Falae.
Northern Nigeria must not allow itself to be goaded into actions that could have serious ramifications for its political stability. The Southwest is the most pro-Nigerian region of the South. If they feel cheated out of their just desserts in 2027, those behind the action will unwittingly unite the South in calling for a renegotiation of Nigeria’s unity, which will not augur well for unity campaigners like myself.
Nigeria is better together. And Southerners like myself and others know that. But our Northern counterparts should not empower Southern Judases, who have found a breath of fresh air in Kemi Badenoch’s ‘I have nothing in common with Northern Nigeria’ comment.
If Arewa makes that mistake, and Kemi Badenoch should become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, they would have inadvertently created a perfect storm that could lead to the disintegration of Nigeria.
And why even remove President Tinubu? Our economy is growing at 3.46%. Our trade surplus is at a record high of ₦5.81 trillion for the third quarter of 2024. The Federation Account Allocation Committee received an all-time high revenue of ₦3.134 trillion for November. In the area of insecurity, which is likely to be the biggest challenge facing the North, according to the Global Peace Index, Nigeria is less insecure than it was under Buhari.
So, except there is something those paid to float that vacuous argument are not saying, there is no reason for Northern Nigeria to want to change a horse midstream and seek a return of power to the North after just four years of power residing in the South.
Reno Omokri
Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #TableShaker. Ruffler of the Feathers of Obidents. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Hodophile. Hollywood Magazine Humanitarian of the Year, 2019. Business Insider Influencer of the Year 2022.