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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate if market discipline and legal environment are sufficient to motivate firms to disclose optimal level of corporate information voluntarily in the context of a developing country that is Pakistan. Furthermore, it was examined if regulators have sufficient regulatory capacity to influence the extent up to which politically connected companies disclose corporate information. Design/methodology/approach An in-depth investigation was carried out through qualitative content analysis of 200 annual reports from 40 companies listed on Karachi Stock Exchange along with 26 semi-structured interviews from experts in the field of corporate governance. Findings Findings from the research indicated that there is an absence of culture for disclosure of information and country’s existing institutional environment is not sufficiently strong to support self-regulation or voluntary disclosure of information. It is argued that stringent disclosure regulation results in better flow of information in politically connected companies and helps in curbing opportunistic behaviour. Practical implications This research carries significant policy implications. It is proposed that in addition to mandatory disclosure requirements, the code of corporate governance should indicate desirable disclosure levels for voluntary corporate information as well. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the effectiveness of role and usefulness of mandatory corporate disclosure regulation, voluntary disclosure practices, and capacity of regulators to enhance dissemination of corporate information in a developing country with high levels of political corruption and cronyism through an in-depth research.

The question of whether infants <2 years of age have functional pulmonary β-adrenoceptors has caused confusion since the discovery and use of commercially available salbutamol in 1969 [1]. For many of us, the “received wisdom” taught in clinic and on the wards is that infants with bronchiolitis do not respond to salbutamol because they do not have β2-adrenoceptors. However, is this really the case? In this article, we have tried to weigh the evidence that has been available in the last 50 years in order to reach a logical conclusion.

Background: Suicide is one of the ten leading causes of death in the world, it ranks 8th leading cause in America and 4th as years of lost life. It accounts for more than 400,000 deaths annually. Different countries have different incidence rate and suicidal patterns, which are in accordance to their cultural, religious and social values. Suicide, a major global public health problem, is an under-studied and under researched subject in Pakistan, a conservative Islamic and developing country, with severe, legal, social and religious sanctions against it. Basic epidemiological data including national suicide rates are neither known nor reported to the World Health Organization. Despite this there is strong suggestive evidence that suicide not only occurs regularly but there has been an increase in the incidence over the last few years. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate all the cases that presented in Mayo hospital Lahore from the duration 1st January 2004-31st December 2004, of attempted suicide. We wanted to find out what area they belonged to, which age group had an increased incidence, what was the male to female ratio, What method of suicide was adopted and during which season was the incidence the greatest. Materials and methods: All people who attempted suicide (medico-legal cases) from 1st January 2004 to 31st December 2004 were included in the study. Detailed information was provided by forensic department in Mayo Hospital, about age, sex, date of attempt and area they belonged to. Results: showed a male dominance, also the age group of 21-30 years showed the greatest frequency. Greater number of cases belonged to the urban area, the most common mode of suicide was by poisoning and contrary to international studies the greatest number of attempts was during the summer season. Conclusion: The results in our study show that attempted suicidal rate has rapidly increased since 1995. In 2004 almost 4/day of attempted suicide (medico-legal) cases presented in the emergency department of Ma yo hospital compared to less than 0.4/day in 1995. Our study also shows male dominance in number of attempted suicide. It also showed that in our population 21-30years had the highest number of attempts. . Our study also shows a greater number of attempts during summer months where as in the western countries a greater number is shown during spring and winter.