According to Lakoff and Ricoeur’s concept of conceptual and living metaphor, these poetic images are not only part of everyday language use, but are in fact crucial for conceptualisation, world-understanding, understanding and interpretation. The following paper places the collective identity traits of Hungarian society within this metaphorical framework and links István Bibó’s concept of Hungarian communal hysteria to the diagnosis of complex postural stress disorder. The aim of this line of thought is to contribute to a more complex understanding of the collective nervous system through a new metaphor.

Life in post-modern societies is exposed to a range of risks and challenges in different dimensions: people face environmental threats and societal risks at the same time. These issues contribute to rising uncertainty and concerns in the population. Our investigation aims to explore the level of worries about different potential risks in the future of both environmental and social nature. The survey was conducted in Szeged, Hungary in spring 2024 with a sample of 577 respondents representative by sex and age. People were asked to indicate the level of worries on a 0-10 scale about climate change, pandemics and epidemics, wars and armed conflicts, environmental pollution, widening gap between rich and poor, conflicts between different cultures, the rise of artificial intelligence, deepening inequalities between men and women, and overpopulation. The relationship with different socio-demographic and socio-economic factors has also been analysed. Our results suggest that the level of worries about environmental and social risks is significant in adult the population of Szeged. Women, elderly and people with lower socio-economic status tend to be more concerned.

In 2023, a research project was launched within the framework of the University of Szeged IKIKK Research and Development Center for Supporting the Advancement of Roma and Disadvantaged Youth, with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of the world of Roma youth in the Southern Great Plain region of Hungary. The survey respondents had an average age of 15 years, and of the 311 participants, 197 identified themselves as being of Roma/Gypsy descent. In this study, we analyze the data from this subsample, presenting the deeper patterns of social value perceptions and future orientations.

Margaret of France (1158-1197) became queen of Hungary in 1186 as the wife of Béla III. Previously, she had been married to Henry the Young King (1155-1183), son of Henry II (1133- 1189) king of England. This study examines her role in the Plantagenet court, using 12thand 13th-century narrative sources. Their marriage in 1160 was arranged by Henry II, as this union was a strategic move to ease tensions between the Capetian and Plantagenet dynasties. Margaret’s dowry, which included strategically important territories, made her a pivotal figure in this rivalry. The marriage lasted for nearly twenty-three years, and during this time, Margaret was raised in the Plantagenet court and was crowned queen of England in 1172. After becoming widowed in 1183, she returned to France, however, disputes over her dowry persisted. Three years later she left for Hungary to marry Béla III, and her decade-long reign left a significant cultural legacy.

In the study of the process of secularization, functional differentiation, which is a distinctive and even defining feature of modern societies, is particularly important. In this sense, different sectors of society (e.g. politics, economy, education) are becoming increasingly autonomous and no longer require religious legitimacy. According to Niklas Luhmann, who approaches sociology from the perspective of systems theory, social systems such as law, politics, and economics operate according to an autonomous logical mechanism. Two years after Luhmann’s death in 1998, André Kieserling published his systems theory interpretation of the sociology of religion, which was itself a theoretical milestone. Religion, Kieserling suggests, is a functional subsystem of modern society, which, like all other subsystems, is shaped by autopoietic and meaning-rich communication. Religion purports to explain, without contradiction, the relationship between the transcendent and the immanent in everyday life. Faith becomes a personal end product the power of which rests in its uniqueness and intimacy. In modern society, religion has become a social subsystem, now so complex that a separate science, theology, has been built around it. The systems theory of religion addresses important issues ranging from meaning and development to secularization, and it turns decades of sociological assumptions on their head. It offers a new vocabulary and a fresh philosophical and sociological approach to one of society’s most fundamental phenomena.

The main aim of the research presented in this paper is to understand students’ reactions during lessons using the traditional and Flow-based pedagogical model. In order to improve students’ flow state and knowledge, a pilot study is presented that presents the research results recorded in lessons designed at the Ludovika University of Public Service without and based on the Flow-based pedagogical model. The lessons were measured using the validated Dominek Learning Flow Questionnaire (Dominek 2023). In this study we aimed to present the results of the surveys of lessons without the Flow-based pedagogical model and lessons with the model (Dominek 2022)

In this study, the author explores the influence of the digital space on social sciences, focusing on sociology, cultural anthropology, and social work. The central theme is how these disciplines find opportunities in the digital world while adapting to the digital society. Two main aspects are highlighted: the digital presence of these fields and the tools available within the digital space to achieve disciplinary goals. While the digital space enhances knowledge access, it also leads to new forms of deprivation, brings new social problems into the digital sphere, which are not only location-shifting but also introduce new characteristics. Social scientists like sociologists and social workers play a crucial role in supporting marginalized groups, facilitating smoother access to information, and ensuring that digital platforms promote social inclusion. They can also contribute to decision-making processes by using data-driven strategies to benefit communities, emphasizing the positive aspects of the digital transformation. This study highlights how digital technologies have expanded participatory methods, enhancing communication, collaboration, and goal-setting in both digital and in-person contexts. Additionally, the study investigates the potential of fintech solutions for community-based fundraising and resource mobilization, underscoring the growing reliance on digital tools for achieving social and economic goals. The findings indicate that, despite ethical and practical challenges, there are significant opportunities to advance digital social work, fostering greater community engagement and development through digital innovations. The paper concludes by emphasizing that the social sciences are still in the early stages of adapting to the digital space, presenting opportunities to refine practices and better serve professional goals in the evolving digital age.

This study investigates the value system inherent in foster parenting to clarify the perceived importance of various characteristics attributed to a „good foster parent.” Utilizing a quantitative approach, foster parents were asked to rate fourteen predefined traits, categorized into moral expectations, practical skills, and given attributes. The findings largely confirmed the initial hypothesis that moral values would be rated highest, while attributes like strictness or religious practice would show more varied responses. Notably, practical aspects such as the willingness to seek and accept help, and viewing foster care as a vocation, were also ranked among the most crucial characteristics. Conversely, self-sacrifice was deemed relatively less important than anticipated. The study reveals that the perceived importance of these values is predominantly personality-dependent, showing minimal correlation with socio-cultural backgrounds or specific aspects of the foster parents’ careers, apart from minor links between altruism and education level, and vocational commitment with long-term fostering plans. These insights carry significant implications for the recruitment, training, and support of foster parents.

The aim of my study is to showcase the Rákosi Era’s opera premieres and renewals of the Opera House through the lenses of the time’s press. The base of my analysis are the papers published in this period by Új Zenei Szemle and Szabad Nép. I am looking for the answer to see to what extent the play critiques published in the political and professional press were part of the propaganda. I also examine how much the papers published in the profesional press were driven by ideology. I compare the different critics’ writings about the same play on different forums but I also contrast the same critics’s writings published in the professional and political daily newspapers to investigate their likenesses and differences. In aid to answer my questions I am using the method of discourse analysis.