Library book intelligent recommendation system based on artificial intelligence

In order to improve the accuracy of intelligent recommendation of library books, an intelligent recommendation system of library books based on artificial intelligence was designed. The system uses artificial intelligence technology to clean up and normalize the data, automatically extracts the user’s historical evaluation data of books, divides the whole user space into several similar user clusters through the similar user clustering module, constructs the user book evaluation matrix according to the historical evaluation data, and uses the hybrid collaborative filtering algorithm which integrates user based and project-based to predict each user a book evaluation matrix of similar user clusters was used to realize the intelligent recommendation of library books, and the recommendation results were displayed to users through the user interface module. The results show that the average absolute error and root mean square error of the system are always the lowest, and the recommendation accuracy is high. When the control parameter is 0.4, the best intelligent book recommendation effect can be obtained; the recommended recall rate is not affected by the sparse density of the data set, and the stability is strong.

THE TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON ENGLISH TEXTBOOK “WHEN ENGLISH RINGS THE BELL”

The purpose of this study is to compare the student's and teacher’s perceptions about their current English textbook they used. This study categorized as a descriptive qualitative study. The population of VIII grade students (45 students) of junior high school was involved in this study and an English teacher of them too. The questionnaire and semi-structured interview were used as the instrument of this research. Besides, the guideline of the interview and questionnaire was from [1]Cunningsworth's (1995) theory which is explained about the book evaluation. The data were analyzed through Google form percentage presentation for the questionnaire while transcription, coding was used for the interview section. The result showed, 75% of students believed that the book they used has good quality. While the rest 25% felt it did not fulfill their expectation and need. Besides, the teachers’ perception supports it with some of the books’ part lacks organization and employed too many vocabularies. Whereas the students felt their current level was not suitable with the teachers’ beliefs, but the teacher believed that it was appropriate with the students’ level. So, there were few different perceptions between them. However, the teacher believed that her role in helping students with textbook usage could help the main point of students’ need due to the teacher has lack of knowledge and awareness to do coursebook evaluation. Therefore, further research needs to be done to make this study more comprehensive.

Evaluation of Business English Writing Course-book Based on the Needs Analysis Model

Since business English (BE) was ratified as an undergraduate major in China by the Ministry of Education in 2007, domestic research on it has been mushrooming. BE writing course is one of the core courses in the module of English knowledge and skills for BE undergraduate program. Although there are more than 354 BE writing course-books have been published, few researches have been done to evaluate these textbooks. This paper aims to evaluate one of the BE writing course-books used by Guizhou University, namely, A Basic Course for Business English Writing. Targeting on the students majoring in Business English, the paper adopted the needs analysis model proposed by Hutchinson and Waters as well as the present situation analysis model raised by Richterich and Chancerel to design the questionnaire, which was used to identify students’ needs for business English writing. Based on the results of the questionnaire survey and the course-book evaluation criteria created by McDonough and Shaw, we identified the problems with the course-book and proposed some suggestions for modifications and further improvement.

CONTENT ANALYSIS: EXPLORING THE SUITABILITY OF BUSINESS ENGLISH TEXTBOOK FROM LEARNER’S PERSPECTIVE

ABSTRACT This research aims to find out how the following aspects of analysis in textbook evaluation can facilitate assessment of the suitability of the text book students have been using as the main course book. The aspects are (1) use of business language skills and grammar (2) business vocabulary (3) business related materials (4) pedagogic features.The textbook being referred to is Market Leader, Third edition, Elementary published by Pearson Education, London, United Kingdom. The gap filled in this research and prior research is that they are prior-use textbook evaluation, while this article is based on a in-use textbook evaluation. To achieve the aim, this research employs Philipp Mayring’s Qualitative Content Analysis research method, and Chengqian Guo’s new text book evaluation model as the framework developed from previous evaluation models. Keywords: Business English text book suitability; Content Analysis; Textbook evaluation; Phillpp Mayring’s Content Analysis; Chengqian Guo’s New Textbook Evaluation Model

IDENTIFYING READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS OF NATIONAL EXAMINATION FOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Reading is the complex cognitive process of decoding symbols to derive meaning. It is a form of language processing. Success in this process is measured as reading comprehension. The aim of the researcher is to identify the types of question reading comprehension of the national examination of the textbook. The form of this research is descriptive by analyzing the reading question in the Sonar Eksplorasi USBN/UNBK’s book 2019. Indicators data are grouped based on qualitative. To maintain the results of research carried out to collect data using descriptive qualitative. Then the data can be seen means out of reading comprehension questions into five types, namely question of literal comprehension, a question involving reorganization or reinterpretation, the question of inference, the question of evaluation and question of personal responses. The question of literal comprehension gets 5 data (5,05%). The next types are the question involving reorganization or reinterpretation it gets 6 data (6, 06%). The question of inference gets 5 data (5,05%). The question of evaluation gets 4 data (4, 04%). The last type is the question of personal responses which gets 10 (10, 10%). Data obtained through book evaluation text by looking at the form and level of questions. Based on this result, it can be concluded that the dominant type of used test is multiple-choice items in testing the reading comprehension.

Eight grade text book evaluation by Cunningsworth’s theory

The objectives of this study are to: (1) describe the appropriateness of textbooks of the eighth grade based on the criteria of good textbook by Cunningsworth, and (2) describe the strength and weaknesses of each textbook. This research belongs to evaluation research. The object of this research was two textbooks. They are When English Rings a Bell and Bright for the eighth grade junior high school. The research adapted Cunningsworth’s theory of a good textbook to evaluate these textbooks. The data were taken from document analysis and interview. The steps of the research were data condensation, data display, drawing, and verifying conclusions. The results of the research were (1) When English Rings a Bell fulfills three criteria of a good textbook by Cunningsworth; they are topic, teachers’ book, and practical consideration. Bright meets seven criteria by Cunningsworth: aims and approaches, design and organization, language content, skills, topic, methodology, and practical consideration. (2) The strengths of When English Rings a Bell are in terms of appearance, topics, activities, and social and cultural context. Bright has strength in terms of topic, activities, social and cultural context, and media. On the other hand, When English Rings a Bell contains some weaknesses in terms of skills, authentic resource, and content. It does not cover four skills, authentic reference for listening, and complete materials. Bright presents unattractive colouring, an expensive price, and less local, social, and cultural context.

An Evaluation of an English Coursebook “When English Rings The Bell”

This study aimed to evaluate an English course-book for eight graders entitled “When English Rings the Bell” published by the Ministry of Culture and Education of Indonesia in 2014. The study discussed what the teachers perceived as a good quality course-book and what recommendations they expected for the improvement of the course-book. The study was carried out in Bengkayang District. It employed a mixed-method with 15 English teachers as the research subjects. It applied the convenience sampling method and collected data using a questionnaire designed based on Tomlinson’s course-book evaluation framework and analyzed by interpreting the subjects’ answers. The finding revealed that the teachers perceived the course-book positively with some recommendations for its improvement.

A Prática Religiosa e a Psicologia Positiva

Pessoas que praticam alguma religião têm mais características otimistas, de autoestima ou esperança quando comparadas a pessoas que não possuem nenhuma prática? Com base neste questionamento se buscou com este artigo comparar os aspectos estudados pela Psicologia Positiva (otimismo, esperança, satisfação de vida, autoestima, etc.) de indivíduos que declaram ou não estarem envolvidos em práticas religiosas. Para isso, foram utilizadas a Escala de Afeto Positivo e Afeto Negativo; Escala de satisfação de vida; Escala de Autoestima de Rosenberg; Escala de Esperança Disposicional; Escala de Esperança Cognitiva e Escala de Otimismo, todas retiradas do livro “Avaliação em Psicologia Positiva”, escrito por Claudio Simon Hutz, em 2014, e que foram aplicadas em dois grupos. O primeiro grupo foi composto por praticantes de religião, que tinham sua prática com carga horária semanal igual ou superior a 10 horas, e o segundo grupo foi formado por indivíduos que declaravam não praticar religião alguma. Em seguida, os participantes foram pareados por idade, sexo e escolaridade. A coleta de dados durou cerca de 5 meses e seu processamento ocorreu por meio do software SPSS, 18.0 for Windows com estatística descritiva e inferencial. Foi utilizado o teste t de Student para comparar os grupos de praticantes e não praticantes, considerando α de 5%. Os resultados não corroboraram com a hipótese previamente pensada, e tais resultados podem ser resultantes de uma amostra pequena e outros interventores. Palavras-chave: Psicologia Positiva. Avaliação em Psicologia Positiva. Prática Religiosa. AbstractDo people who practice some religion have more optimistic, self-esteem, or hope aspects when compared to people who have no practice? Based on this questioning, this article aims to show the comparison of the variables studied by Positive Psychology (optimism, hope, self-esteem, etc.) of individuals who declared themselves to be involved in religious practices or not. Therefore, Positive and Negative Affect scales, Life satisfaction scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale, Hope Dispositional scale and Cognitive and Optimism scale were used, all taken from the book "Evaluation of Positive Psychology" written by Claudio Simon Hutz, which were applied in two groups. The first one was composed of practitioners of religion with weekly practicing hours superior or equal to 10 hours. The second group was composed by not religious/not declaring practitioners. The data collection lasted for about five months and the processing was done through SPSS software, 18.0 for Windows with descriptive and inferential statistics. There will be used students' tests to compare the groups practicing and non-practicing/declaring, considering α of 5%. The results did not corrobotate with the previously hypothesis, and these results can be explained by the small group investigated and other interventions. More investigations about this issue are suggested to discuss it better. Keywords: Positive Psychology. Positive Psychology Evaluation. Religious Practices.

A Study of Using Smart Book to Enhance Communication Ability for Hearing-Impaired Students

This research aimed to study the use of smart book to enhance communication ability and satisfaction of hearing-impaired students. The content for the research composed of three aspects; 1) Travelling by BTS, 2) Getting a personal identification (ID), and 3) Accessing health care service. The samples were 10 hearing-impaired high school students derived from purposive sampling. The research instruments were smart book, evaluation form of communication ability and questionnaire of satisfaction. The data was statistically analyzed by mean, standard deviation, and content analysis. The research findings were as follow: 1. The evaluation on communication ability found that the students gained the communication ability at the level of “good”. (X ̅=2.84, S.D. = .37) Considering on any item, the students was able to communicate with others with most frequency (X ̅= 3.00, S.D. = 0.00), the less was that the students were able to choose the content for communication (X ̅= 2.90, S.D. = 0.32), and the students were able to apply in real situation, and applied the use of application to others. (X ̅= 2.80, S.D. = 0.42) 2. The evaluation on satisfaction of the students to the smart book found that the quality of smart book was at the level of “most”. (X ̅=4.52, S.D. = .58) Considering on any item, the application for communication ability was valuable for use with the most average (X ̅= 4.90, S.D. = 0.32), the less was that the application was able to search for keywords conveniently and fast (X ̅= 4.80, S.D. = 0.42), and the clarification of using sign language for explaining the content respectively. (X ̅= 4.70, S.D. = 0.48)