My First Attempt

Alhamdulillah.... Yes... Finally..i am able to finish my book review...hahahah... sepatutnya saya kena wat awal lagi, tetapi disebabkan merehatkan diri 2 hari ngan tido and 2, 3 hari dengan tengk kartun, baru kelmarin dulu saya start wat book review...(2 hari lepas)...tapi, baca sampai chapter 8 ja.. i cant go further than that sebab otak x leh terima dah...so, saya main buat ja book review tu..ni la book review saya yang x seberapa..huhuuhu... awas, ianya mungkin panjang berjela..hahahaha..

Mohd Hafizullah Bin Abu Bakar

History of Islamic Economic Thought

BOOK REVIEW

Poverty with Many Faces: A Case Study of Malaysia. Ataul Huq Pramanik, Mohamed Aslam Haneef, Ahamed Kameel Meera, Wan Sulaiman Wan Yusoff. IIUM Press, International Islamic University Malaysia, First Edition 2008. 157 pp.

           

Poverty is a state or condition for an individual/household that does not able to meet minimum needs or a situation being poor which they hardly able to purchase a basket of goods and services. Issues on poverty have been a major concern of the society who seeks social justice. Yet, it is still like a cancer spreading in silent, killing without us noticing it. We are still searching a cure for this disease and we did try to prevent it from spreading wildly, yet, it seems far away from reality. We wished for a higher income economy status as well as higher in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth with the lower poverty cases reported. As the title suggests, poverty has many faces apart from material faces, it also manifested in spiritual and intellectual faces. This book has done a good job in analyzing the poverty from multidimensional aspects, perhaps best stated from text:

“Like many other developing countries, poverty is not perverse in Malaysia. Poverty seems to be concentrated particularly in less productive, risk-prone subsistence farming, fishing, small- scale rubber and other small-scale unorganized economic activities, where investors from outside these sectors are not willing to invest. It is human poverty rather than income poverty that is more conspicuous by its presence in the poverty concentrated states where the study was conducted. Our findings suggest that lack of easy access to education and training, incentive structure, motivation and urge for material achievement combined with misperceptions that living in poverty is a part of life, rather than as something discouraged by Islam are the primary determinants to poverty in this country.”

Briefly, this book has covered poverty in two broad aspects namely, objective aspect and normative aspect. The objective aspect consists of the demographic factor, social factor, and economic factor. While the subjective aspect include of psychological factor, political and institutional factor, moral and equity factor, ethico-spiritual and religious factor as well as professional mobility and choices. Based on the factors delineated above, the study has been done thoroughly on four states namely Perak, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu. This book seems to be organized in its arrangement, topic discussed and the clear explanation from the researchers.

As for the objective aspect, it is a quantifiable aspect, which the relationship of poverty and the factors in this aspect can be collected and measured through various methods of sampling and analyzing. The findings of the objective aspect seem to conform that it is a major determinant that influenced the poverty situation in a concentrated area of study. The demographic factor shows the relationship between inactive labour with the active labour, which later explained by the authors how these two types of labour are related to the poverty situation through the Dependency Ratio analysis. As for the social factors, a survey has been conducted in order to see the relationship between the access to education, health and shelter with the poverty. Then, for the economic factors, the Marginal Propensity analysis has been adapted where there is a positive relationship of spending and saving behavior with the poverty.

As far as poverty is concern, the subjective aspect also plays a vital role in this situation. The subjective aspect somehow influences the behavior of objective aspect indirectly. The researchers have made a wise decision to analyzing the subjective aspect in studying the behavior of poverty. The subjective aspects which consist of subjective answer, the perceptions and the opinions from the respondents are crucial to look into and analyze it thoroughly as it is a feeling of respondents themselves. In the factors delineated as in the subjective aspect, the researchers have explained how these factors, namely psychological, political and institutional, moral and equity, ethico-spiritual and religious and lastly professional mobility and choice affect the poverty situation in term of demographic factors, social factors and economic factors as mentioned above. Nevertheless, subjective aspect also has been a major measurement for the researchers as to understanding human poverty situation in area of study and answered the question of how human poverty affects the income poverty or poverty as a whole. Human poverty is concerned as it has a positive relationship with the income poverty as dwelt on through various perspectives in this book.

Furthermore, as a concern of an academician, it is wise action to propose a policy to curb this matter from being worst after taking into consideration of factors and consequences. Some policies suggested by the researchers/academicians are namely, the implementation of progressive land tax as to discourage uncultivated land remains as it is, motivated a society to join any income generating cooperative schemes, the expansion of education which will discover a potential skills in society and last but not least, the effectiveness of bureaucracy need to be reconsidered.

As for my concern, I think the perpetuation of poverty may be caused by the injustice distribution in the certain aspect and also the greediness of certain people which later make the poor become poorer and the rich become richer. I quite agree with the suggestion on expansion of education as it will develop a hidden skill possessed by the society, because the youth seems to possess the creativity in certain aspects. They just need an opportunity as well as less risky opportunity since they are risk-averse and the educational will be a place to shape them to be a risk-lover that is, I would say as involve in entrepreneurship activities. Furthermore, in my point of view, the human poverty seems to be a troublesome one as it is a root for the perpetuation of poverty. Apart from that, human poverty also tends to cultivate a behavior of risk averse, fatalistic and discourage the competitiveness in society. Moreover, the expenditure and saving pattern of the people in the rural area is unorganized. Some of the people in rural area are not making a list to buy for groceries and save some proportion of income as saving for the future consumption. For them, they tend to use all the income for expenditure as to satisfy the needs of their children who are making an education as excuses for acquiring money. Additionally, to put all the blame on the people in the rural area is not a wise way in solving the problem of poverty, we need to look at the behavior of the society as a whole. It means that, we should analyze the interaction between the buyers and the sellers in the economic activities in more detail which include the way they finance their expenditure whether through borrowing or cash. As from my observation, there is something that has been bothering me whether the race bias also lead to perpetuation of poverty of a Malay communities. Even though, there are also Chinese, Indians and others communities faced the same situation, however, poverty in Malay communities is quite obvious compared to others. From this kind of situation, I noticed that Malays are more pampered and they lost the traits of risk lover, never giving up and creativity in solving the problems.

The poverty with many faces indeed a magnificent book; it impresses its readers with the arrangements, topic discussed, and the interrelated between income poverty and human poverty has caught my attention to continue reading on that matter. However, its high level of explanation may burdensome readers who are not really good in economics terms and usage. Overall, this book is achieved its objective in searching for factors that lead to perpetuation of poverty, and its thorough analysis in this matter.

Reviewed by,

Mohd Hafizullah Bin Abu Bakar

Bachelor of Economics,

Kulliyah of Economics and Management Sciences,

International Islamic University Malaysia,

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

saya tak tahu la sama ada betul ka tak format book review yang saya buat ni... saya just follow guide line from ni ja...

What are the author’s main points?

Again, these will often be stated in the introduction.

What kind of evidence does the author use to prove his or her points?

Is the evidence convincing? Why or why not? Does the author support his or her points adequately?

How does this book relate to other books on the same topic?

Is the book unique? Does it add new information? What group of readers, if any, would find this book most useful?

Does the author have the necessary expertise to write the book?

What credentials or background does the author have that qualify him or her to write the book? Has the author written other books or papers on this topic? Do others in this field consider this author to be an expert?

What are the most appropriate criteria by which to judge the book ? H o w successful do you think the author was in carrying out the overall purposes of the book?

Depending on your book’s purpose, you should select appropriate criteria by which to judge its success. Use any criteria your instructor has given you in lecture or on your assignment sheet. Otherwise, here are some criteria to consider.

For example, if an author says his or her purpose is to argue for a particular solution to a public problem, then the review should judge whether the author has defined the problem, identified causes, planned points of attack, provided necessary background information, and offered specific solutions. A review should also indicate the author’s professional expertise.

In other books, however, the authors may argue for their theory about a particular phenomenon. Reviews of these books should evaluate what kind of theory the book is arguing for, how much and what kind of evidence the author uses to support his or her scholarly claims, how valid the evidence seems, how expert the author is, and how much the book contributes to the knowledge of the field.

Writing the Book Review

Book reviews generally include the following kinds of information; keep in mind, though, that you may need to include other information to explain your assessment of a book.

Most reviews start off with a heading that includes all the bibliographic information about the book. If your assignment sheet does not indicate which form you should use, you can use the following:

Title. Author. Place of publication:publisher, date of publication. Numberof pages.

Like most pieces of writing, the review itself usuallybegins with an introduction that lets your readers know what the review will say. The first paragraph usually includes the author and title again, so your readers don’t have to look up to find this information. You should also include a very brief overview of the contents of the book, the purpose or audience for the book, and your reaction and evaluation.

You should then move into a section of background information that helps place the book in context and discusses criteria for judging the book.

Next, you should give a summary of the main points of the book, quoting and paraphrasing key phrases from the author.

Finally, you get to the heart of your review—your evaluation of the book. In this section, you might discuss some of the following issues:

• how well the book has achieved its goal

• what possibilities are suggested by the book

• what the book has left out

• how the book compares to others on the subject

• what specific points are not convincing

• what personal experiences you’ve had related to the subject.

It is important to use labels to carefully distinguish your views from the author’s, so that you don’t confuse your reader.

Then, like other essays, you can end with a direct comment on the book, and tie together issues raised in the review in a conclusion.

There is, of course, no set formula, but a general rule of thumb is that the first one-half to two-thirds of the review should summarize the author’s main ideas and at least one-third should evaluate the book. Check with your instructor.

Example

Below is a review of Taking Soaps Seriously by Michael Intintoli, written by Ruth Rosen in the Journal of Communication. Note that Rosen begins with a context for Intintoli’s book, showing how it is different from other books about soap operas. She finds a strength in the kind of details that his methodology enables him to see. However, she disagrees with his choice of case study. All in all, Rosen finds Intintoli’s book most useful for novices, but not one that advances our ability tocritique soap operas very much.

Taking Soaps Seriously: The World of Guiding Light. Michael Intintoli. New York: Praeger, 1984. 248 pp.

Ever since the U.S. public began listening to radio soaps in the 1930s, cultural critics have explored the content, form, and popularity of daytime serials. Today, media critics take a variety of approaches.

Some explore audience response and find that, depending on sex, race, or even nationality, people

“decode” the same story in different ways. Others regard soaps as a kind of subversive form of popular culture that supports women's deepest grievances. Still others view the soap as a “text” and attempt to “deconstruct” it, much as a literary critic dissects a work of literature. Michael Intintoli’s project is somewhat different. For him, the soap is a cultural product mediated and created by corporate interests.

It is the production of soaps, then, that is at the center of his Taking Soaps Seriously.

To understand the creation of soap operas, Intintoli adopted an ethnographic methodology that required a rather long siege on the set of “Guiding Light.” Like a good anthropologist, he picked up a great deal about the concerns and problems that drive the production of a daily soap opera. For the novice there is much to be learned here . . . .

But the book stops short of where it should ideally begin. In many ways, “Guiding Light” was simply the wrong soap to study. First broadcast in 1937, “Guiding Light” is the oldest soap opera in the

United States, owned and produced by Procter and Gamble, which sells it to CBS. It is therefore the perfect soap to study for a history of the changing daytime serial. But that is not Intintoli’s project . . . .

Taking Soaps Seriously is a good introduction to the production of the daily soap opera. It analyzes soap conventions, reveals the hierarchy of soap production, and describes a slice of the corporate production of mass culture. Regrettably, it reads like an unrevised dissertation and misses an important opportunity to probe the changing nature of soap production and the unarticulated ideological framework in which soaps are created.

Polishing the Book Review

After you’ve completed your review, be sure to proofread it carefully for errors and typos. Double-check your bibliographic heading—author, title, publisher—for accuracy and correct spelling as well.

For help at any stage of the writing process:

Writing Tutorial Services

Ballantine Hall 206

Indiana University

855-6738

www.indiana.edu/~wts/

See our website for hours, times, and locations

Revised 7/9/04

Writing Book Reviews

A book review tells not only what a book is about, but also how successfully the book explains itself. Professors often assign book reviews as practice in careful, analytical reading. As a reviewer, you bring together the two strands of accurate, analytical reading and strong, personal response when you indicate what the book is about and what it might mean to a reader (by explaining what it meant to you). In other words, reviewers answer not only the what but the so what question about a book. Thus, in writing a review, you combine the skills of describing what is on the page, analyzing how the book tried to achieve its purpose, and expressing your own reactions.

Reading the Book

As you are reading or preparing to write the review, ask yourself these questions: What are the author’s viewpoint and purpose? Are they appropriate? The viewpoint or purpose may be implied rather than stated, but often a good place to look for what the author says about his or her purpose and viewpoint is the introduction or preface.

yes, time for me to sleep..even though masih lagi awal..ngantuk... 
*saya ada edit balik...hehehhehe...