Optimization of Consumption in Divine Context: Basic Principles and Extension

ABSTRACT: The paper aims to analyze the behavior of Islamic consumers that how they can get the maximum possible satisfaction in divine constraints. Islamic consumers ought to be socially conscious economic agents. They will always take into consideration that what their consumption means for the rest of the society? In the Islamic theory of consumption, we essentially look for both “religious success and personal gains”. Islam believes in aggregate welfare but at the same time it does not ignore personal gain i. E. Maximization of personal utility or profit. A rational Islamic consumer will never spend all his money on material goods for maximization of his own utility. He will allocate some portion of his earning towards spending in the way of Allah (S. W. T), thus the total utility for an Islamic consumer can be decomposed into two parts; material utility plus eternal utility. We have assumed that eternal utility is at least as good as worldly utility (U, >Um) ¥ \ye conclude that total utility derived from spending on material goods plus eternal utility derived from spending in the way of Allah (SWT) will be at least as good as utility derived from the ncome of the consumer allocated towards the consumption of material commodities only. Finally, we may conclude that based upon the satisfaction of needs in divine context, resources will be allocated towards Islamically valid, humanly productive and economically efficient goods and services. PDF

The Efficacy of Intravenous Hyoscine-N-Butylbromide Buscopan® for the Acceleration of Labour in First Time Parturients: A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Objective: to establish the safety and efficacy of hyoscine-N-butylbromide (Buscopan®) in accelerating labour in first time parturients. Design: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Setting: the antenatal clinic and maternity unit of the Aga Khan University Hospital Nairobi, Kenya. Population: first time parturients in spontaneous labour at term. Methods: women were randomised to receive 40mg of hyoscine-N-butylbromide or sterile water for injection intravenously once they were confirmed to be in active labour. The dose could be repeated once after four hours. Outcome measures: the main outcome measure was the duration of labour from diagnosis of active stage to delivery. Secondary outcome measures were rate of cervical dilatation and postpartum satisfaction score. Safety aspects such as drug adverse effects, APGAR scores and postpartum hemorrhage were explored. Results: a total of 85 were randomised and 79 yielded data for analysis. Of these 37 received hyoscine-N-butylbromide and 42 received placebo. There was no significant difference in the mean duration of active labour to second stage between the drug and placebo arms (396.2 versus 389.3 minutes, respectively, p=0.881, 95% CI -85.9 to 99.8). The mean rate of cervical dilatation in the drug arm was 1.17 centimetres per hour (cm/hr) compared to 1.22cm/hr in the placebo arm. This difference was not statistically significant (p value=0.832, 95% CI -0.5 to 0.4). The postpartum satisfaction scores were similar between the two arms. Hyoscine-N-butylbromide was well tolerated without any major adverse effects observed in either arm. Conclusion: hyoscine-N-butylbromide does not shorten the duration of labour in first time parturients in spontaneous labour. It also does not change maternal satisfaction with care received and is not associated with major adverse outcomes in the mother or newborn.