University of New Hampshire

About: University of New Hampshire is a education organization based out in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Solar wind. The organization has 9379 authors who have published 24025 publications receiving 1020112 citations. The organization is also known as: UNH.

Transpacific transport of ozone pollution and the effect of recent Asian emission increases on air quality in North America: an integrated analysis using satellite, aircraft, ozonesonde, and surface observations

Abstract: We use an ensemble of aircraft, satellite, sonde, and surface observations for April–May 2006 (NASA/INTEX-B aircraft campaign) to better understand the mechanisms for transpacific ozone pollution and its implications for North American air quality The observations are interpreted with a global 3-D chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) OMI NO2 satellite observations constrain Asian anthropogenic NOx emissions and indicate a factor of 2 increase from 2000 to 2006 in China Satellite observations of CO from AIRS and TES indicate two major events of Asian transpacific pollution during INTEX-B Correlation between TES CO and ozone observations shows evidence for transpacific ozone pollution The semi-permanent Pacific High and Aleutian Low cause splitting of transpacific pollution plumes over the Northeast Pacific The northern branch circulates around the Aleutian Low and has little impact on North America The southern branch circulates around the Pacific High and some of that air impacts western North America Both aircraft measurements and model results show sustained ozone production driven by peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN) decomposition in the southern branch, roughly doubling the transpacific influence from ozone produced in the Asian boundary layer Model simulation of ozone observations at Mt Bachelor Observatory in Oregon (27 km altitude) indicates a mean Asian ozone pollution contribution of 9±3 ppbv to the mean observed concentration of 54 ppbv, reflecting mostly an enhancement in background ozone rather than episodic Asian plumes Asian pollution enhanced surface ozone concentrations by 5–7 ppbv over western North America in spring 2006 The 2000–2006 rise in Asian anthropogenic emissions increased this influence by 1–2 ppbv

Holocene radiative forcing impact of northern peatland carbon accumulation and methane emissions

Abstract: Throughout the Holocene, northern peatlands have both accumulated carbon and emitted methane Their impact on climate radiative forcing has been the net of cooling (persistent CO2 uptake) and warming (persistent CH4 emission) We evaluated this by developing very simple Holocene peatland carbon flux trajectories, and using these as inputs to a simple atmospheric perturbation model Flux trajectories are based on estimates of contemporary CH4 flux (15–50 Tg CH4 yr−1), total accumulated peat C (250–450 Pg C), and peatland initiation dates The contemporary perturbations to the atmosphere due to northern peatlands are an increase of ∼100 ppbv CH4 and a decrease of ∼35 ppmv CO2 The net radiative forcing impact northern peatlands is currently about −02 to −05 W m−2 (a cooling) It is likely that peatlands initially caused a net warming of up to +01 W m−2, but have been causing an increasing net cooling for the past 8000–11 000 years A series of sensitivity simulations indicate that the current radiative forcing impact is determined primarily by the magnitude of the contemporary methane flux and the magnitude of the total C accumulated as peat, and that radiative forcing dynamics during the Holocene depended on flux trajectory, but the overall pattern was similar in all cases

Board Independence and Firm Performance in China

Abstract: We provide the first comprehensive and robust evidence on the relationship between board independence and firm performance in China. We find that independent directors have an overall positive effect on firm operating performance in China. Our findings are robust to a battery of tests, including endogeneity checks using instrumental variables, the dynamic generalized method of moments estimator, and the difference-in-differences method. The positive relationship between board independence and firm performance is stronger in government controlled firms and in firms with lower information acquisition costs. We also document that Chinese independent directors play an important role in constraining insider self-dealing and improving investment efficiency.

Returns on Investments in Information Technology: A Research Synthesis

Abstract: Understanding the return on investments in information technology (IT) is the focus of a large and growing body of research. The objective of this paper is to synthesize this research and develop a model to guide future research in the evaluation of information technology investments. We focus on archival studies that use accounting or market measures of firm performance. We emphasize those studies where accounting researchers with interest in market‐level analyses of systems and technology issues may hold a competitive advantage over traditional information systems (IS) researchers. We propose numerous opportunities for future research. These include examining the relation between IT and business processes, and business processes and overall firm performance, understanding the effect of contextual factors on the IT‐performance relation, examining the IT‐performance relation in an international context, and examining the interactive effects of IT spending and IT management on firm performance.

Spanking by Parents and Subsequent Antisocial Behavior of Children

Abstract: Objective: To deal with the causal relationship between corporal punishment and antisocial behavior (ASB) by considering the level of ASB of the child at the start of the study. Methods: Data from interviews with a national sample of 807 mothers of children aged 6 to 9 years in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Child Supplement. Analysis of variance was used to test the hypothesis that when parents use corporal punishment to correct ASB, it increases subsequent ASB. The analysis controlled for the level of ASB at the start of the study, family socioeconomic status, sex of the child, and the extent to which the home provided emotional support and cognitive stimulation. Results: Forty-four percent of the mothers reported spanking their children during the week prior to the study and they spanked them an average of 2.1 times that week. The more spanking at the start of the period, the higher the level of ASB 2 years later. The change is unlikely to be owing to the child's tendency toward ASB or to confounding with demographic characteristics or with parental deficiency in other key aspects of socialization because those variables were statistically controlled. Conclusions: When parents use corporal punishment to reduce ASB, the long-term effect tends to be the opposite. The findings suggest that if parents replace corporal punishment by nonviolent modes of discipline, it could reduce the risk of ASB among children and reduce the level of violence in American society. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1997;151:761-767