The Influence of Psychosocial Learning Environments on Students’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs in English Language Learning

The overarching aim of this study was to investigate whether the psychosocial learning environments of English classes influence students’ self-efficacy beliefs in English language. In order to achieve this purpose, correlational design was adopted. The study involved the gathering of data through What Is Happening In this Class and Self-Efficacy Belief questionnaires from 371 samples. Simple random sampling was used to draw the samples from the population. Simple correlations, multiple regression and standardized regression coefficients were computed to analyze the collected data. The results depict that all of the six psychosocial learning environment aspects were significantly related to students’ self-efficacy beliefs. The set of learning environment scales also significantly influence students’ self-efficacy beliefs. Among the six aspects, student involvement, task orientation and student cohesiveness contributed to the influence on students’ self-efficacy beliefs. The influence of the task orientation aspect was the strongest; this is followed by student cohesiveness and student involvement. This implies that students tend to have high self-efficacy beliefs in English language when there were more task-oriented and cohesive classroom environment and when students were encouraged to involve themselves well in class activities. Hence, the psychosocial learning environments of English classes need improvement to enhance students’ self-efficacy beliefs towards English language. In particular, the learning environment aspects of task orientation, student cohesiveness and involvement play a pivotal role in enhancing students’ self-efficacy beliefs in English learning

Morphometric Analysis and Prioritization of Watersheds for Soil Erosion Management in Upper Gibe Catchment

As morphometric investigation is connected to prioritization of watershed, morphometric analysis has got a significance role in light of soil and water conservation. In this study, an endeavour for the examination of point by point morphometric analyses of sub-basins was accomplished through the measurement of linear and shape parameters by using ArcGIS-9.3 software. Specifically, linear and shape morphometric parameters like stream length, stream order, drainage density, stream frequency, bifurcation ratio, Length of overland flow, basin perimeter, form factor, compactness coefficient, elongation ratio has been considered. The SRTM DEM (30 x 30 m) is processed for the delineation resulting in 61 sub-basins. The morphometric parameters which affect the soil erodibility are considered to organize the sub-basins and relegate positions on the premise of their association with erodibility to get compound parameter (Cp) esteem. Based on the value of Cp the sub-basin with the lowest Cp value was given the highest priority and then categorized the sub-basins into three classes as high, medium and low in terms of priority. Accordingly, high priority zone comprises 11 sub-basins, medium 19 and low 31 sub-basins. The sub-basins which are falling under high priority were a great deal more defenceless to soil disintegration and ought to be given high need for land preservation measures

Soil structural degradation and nutrient limitations across land use categories and climatic zones in Southern Africa

Although soil degradation is a major threat to food security and carbon sequestration, our knowledge of the spatial extent of the problem and its drivers is very limited in Southern Africa. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the risk of soil structural degradation and determine the variation in soil stoichiometry and nutrient limitations with land use categories (LUCs) and climatic zones. Using data on soil clay, silt, organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S) concentrations collected from 4,468 plots on 29 sites across Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, this study presents novel insights into the variations in soil structural degradation and nutrient limitations. The analysis revealed strikingly consistent stoichiometric coupling of total N, P, and S concentrations with SOC across LUCs. The only exception was on crop land where available P was decoupled from SOC. Across sample plots, the probability (φ) of severe soil structural degradation was 0.52. The probability of SOC concentrations falling below the critical value of 1.5% was 0.49. The probabilities of soil total N, available P, and S concentrations falling below their critical values were 0.95, 0.70, and 0.83, respectively. N limitation occurred with greater probability in woodland (φ = .99) and forestland (φ = .97) than in cropland (φ = .92) and grassland (φ = .90) soils. It is concluded that soil structural degradation, low SOC concentrations, and N and S limitations are widespread across Southern Africa. Therefore, significant changes in policies and practices in land management are needed to reverse the rate of soil structural degradation and increase soil carbon storage

Spatial Variation in Tree Density and Estimated Aboveground Carbon Stocks in Southern Africa

Variability in woody plant species, vegetation assemblages and anthropogenic activities derails the efforts to have common approaches for estimating biomass and carbon stocks in Africa. In order to suggest management options, it is important to understand the vegetation dynamics and the major drivers governing the observed conditions. This study uses data from 29 sentinel landscapes (4640 plots) across the southern Africa. We used T-Square distance method to sample trees. Allometric models were used to estimate aboveground tree biomass from which aboveground biomass carbon stock (AGBCS) was derived for each site. Results show average tree density of 502 trees·ha−1 with semi-arid areas having the highest (682 trees·ha−1) and arid regions the lowest (393 trees·ha−1). The overall AGBCS was 56.4 Mg·ha−1. However, significant site to site variability existed across the region. Over 60 fold differences were noted between the lowest AGBCS (2.2 Mg·ha−1) in the Musungwa plains of Zambia and the highest (138.1 Mg·ha−1) in the scrublands of Kenilworth in Zimbabwe. Semi-arid and humid sites had higher carbon stocks than sites in sub-humid and arid regions. Anthropogenic activities also influenced the observed carbon stocks. Repeated measurements would reveal future trends in tree cover and carbon stocks across different systems

The Psychosocial Aspects of Learning Environment in English as A Foreign Language Classrooms: EFL Students’ Perspectives

The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychosocial aspects of the learning environment in English as a Foreign Language classes. To attain this purpose, descriptive research design was employed. A stratified random sampling was used to ensure the proportion of male and female students while simple random sampling was used to select the participants from each stratum. The study involved the gathering of data through What Is Happening In this Class questionnaire from 371 students. Descriptive (mean and SD) and inferential (MANOVA and ANOVA) statistics were computed to analyze the collected data. The results show that students perceived the psychosocial aspects of the learning environment of their English classes positively though they perceived the aspect of task orientation more positively than the other aspects of the psychosocial environment. This implies that the activities related to the task orientation aspect of the learning environment were often practiced whereas the activities related to aspects of cohesiveness, teacher support, involvement, cooperation, and equity were sometimes practiced in English classes. Female and male students also did not depict significant differences in their perceptions of the English classroom psychosocial environment. The study concludes that the psychosocial environments of the English classes need improvement for students to learn better

Effects of land management practices and land cover types on soil loss and crop productivity in Ethiopia: A review

Identifying land management practices (LMPs) that enhance on-site sediment management and crop productivity is crucial for the prevention, reduction, and restoration of land degradation and contributing to achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN). We reviewed studies in Ethiopia to assess the effects of LMPs on soil loss (84 studies) and crop productivity (34 studies) relative to control practice. Yield variability on conserved lands was assessed using 12,796 fixed plot data. Effects of LMP on soil loss were 0.5–55 t ha−1y−1 compared to control practices yielding 50 to 140 t ha−1y−1. More than 55% of soil loss records revealed soil loss less than the tolerable rate (10 t ha−1). Area closure, perennial vegetation cover, agronomic practices, mechanical erosion control practices, annual cropland cover, and drainage groups of practices led to 74.0 ± 18.3%, 69.0 ± 24.6%, 66.2 ± 30.5%, 66.1 ± 18.0%, 63.5 ± 20.0%, and 40 ± 11,1% soil loss reduction, respectively. A yield increase of 25.2 ± 15.0%, 37.5 ± 28.0%, and 75.4 ± 85.0% was found from drainage, agronomy, and mechanical erosion control practices, respectively. The average yield loss by erosion on fields without appropriate land management practice and on conserved fields was 26.5 ± 26.0% and 25 ± 3.7%, respectively. The findings suggest that practices that entail a continuous presence of soil cover during the rainy season, perennial vegetation, retention of moisture, and barriers for sediment transport were most effective at decreasing soil loss and increasing productivity. This review provides evidence to identify the best LMP practices for wider adoption and inform decision-making on LMP investments towards achieving sustainable solutions to reverse land degradation