Perceptions of Electoral Fairness and Voter Turnout

Previous research has established a link between turnout and the extent to which voters are faced with a “meaningful” partisan choice in elections; this study extends the logic of this argument to perceptions of the “meaningfulness” of electoral conduct. It hypothesizes that perceptions of electoral integrity are positively related to turnout. The empirical analysis to test this hypothesis is based on aggregate-level data from 31 countries, combined with survey results from Module 1 of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems survey project, which includes new and established democracies. Multilevel modeling is employed to control for a variety of individual- and election-level variables that have been found in previous research to influence turnout. The results of the analysis show that perceptions of electoral integrity are indeed positively associated with propensity to vote. </jats:p

Caloric intake from fast food among children and adolescents in the United States, 2011-2012

Key findingsData from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey\ue2\u20ac\ua2 In 2011\ue2\u20ac\u201c2012, just over one-third of children and adolescents consumed fast food on a given day.\ue2\u20ac\ua2 In 2011\ue2\u20ac\u201c2012, children and adolescents consumed on average 12.4% of their daily calories from fast food restaurants.\ue2\u20ac\ua2 Caloric intake from fast foods was higher in adolescents aged 12\ue2\u20ac\u201c19 years than in children aged 2\ue2\u20ac\u201c11 years.\ue2\u20ac\ua2 Non-Hispanic Asian children had significantly lower caloric intake from fast food compared with non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic children.\ue2\u20ac\ua2 No significant differences in caloric intake from fast food were noted by sex, poverty status, or weight status.Consumption of fast food has been linked to weight gain in adults (1). Fast food has also been associated with higher caloric intake and poorer diet quality in children and adolescents (2). From 1994 through 2006, caloric intake from fast food increased from 10% to 13% among children aged 2-18 years (3). This report presents the most recent data on the percentage of calories consumed from fast food among U.S. children by sex, age group, race and Hispanic origin, poverty status, and weight status.Suggested citation: Vikraman S, Fryar CD, Ogden CL. Caloric intake from fast food among children and adolescents in the United States, 2011\ue2\u20ac\u201c2012. NCHS data brief, no 213. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2015CS25871

Meteoroids as One of the Sources for Exosphere Formation on Airless Bodies in the Inner Solar System

AbstractThis manuscript represents a review on progress made over the past decade concerning our understanding of meteoroid bombardment on airless solar system bodies as one of the sources of the formation of their exospheres. Specifically, observations at Mercury by MESSENGER and at the Moon by LADEE, together with progress made in dynamical models of the meteoroid environment in the inner solar system, offer new tools to explore in detail the physical phenomena involved in this complex relationship. This progress is timely given the expected results during the next decade that will be provided by new missions such as DESTINY+, BepiColombo, the Artemis program or the Lunar Gateway