Hungarian Online Research Articles

Seeing the unseen: The Chernobyl imprint on the Hungarian public sphere

This research article analyzes the influence of the “Chernobyl factor” on the nuclear power discourse in Hungary. Despite its temporal distance, the geographical proximity of the Chernobyl disaster has significantly influenced the lives and perceptions of current Hungarian generations. The research examines two layers of public communication regarding the Chernobyl disaster—political discourse and Hungarian online news media—and matches these with the online representation of the catastrophe. This study finds that despite Chernobyl's significant impact on the cultural memory of Hungarian society, it is considered an event of the past with limited relevance for the future. The contemporary representation of Chernobyl reflects the aspirations and expectations of current society, manifests highly mediatized content, nurtures elements of infotainment, symbolizes danger and negligence, and socially reconstructs meaning through alienation from its original connotation. The Chernobyl factor does not appear significantly in current nuclear discourse in Hungary.

Gender Moderates the Partial Mediation of Impulsivity in the Relationship Between Psychiatric Distress and Problematic Online Gaming: Online Survey.

BackgroundResearch has shown that some individuals can develop problematic patterns of online gaming, leading to significant psychological and interpersonal problems. Psychiatric distress and impulsivity have been suggested to contribute to problematic online gaming (POG).ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the potential mediating or moderating mechanisms of impulsivity and gender-related differences in possible associations between psychiatric distress and POG.MethodsA total of 596 matched female and male participants, ranging in age from 14 to 38 years (mean 21.4, SD 4.5), were chosen from a large cross-sectional, nationwide Hungarian online gaming sample. Participants completed online questionnaires about self-reported impulsivity, psychiatric distress, and POG.ResultsPsychiatric distress directly predicted POG, and impulsivity partially mediated the relationship between psychiatric distress and POG. However, this mediation effect was found only for the impatience factor of impulsivity. Impulsivity did not moderate the relationship between psychiatric distress and POG. A moderating effect of gender was not found in the direct relationship between psychiatric distress and POG. However, a moderated mediation analysis revealed that impatience mediated the association between psychiatric distress and POG in males, whereas the indirect effect of impatience was not significant in females.ConclusionsThe results of this work highlight gender-related difference among online gamers in the mediation effect of impulsivity between psychiatric distress and POG and provide novel insights regarding clinical implications for preventing or treating POG.

Older People in the Platform Economy.

Since the platform economies have emerged, there are many new ways how people can perform earning activities. These new opportunities concern older people too. However, some authors write that the actors of the platform economy are mainly younger people and it is not typical that older people work through platforms. We cite the opposite case of Oszkar (Hungarian On-line Passenger Intermediary System) where the ratio of older (55+) drivers to the total number of chauffeurs increased in time. At the same time, 30–40% of all drivers do not declare their age. In our paper, we analyse why older people do not declare their age. Using the results of our online survey and a Bayesian game theoretic model we prove that in the equilibrium state older people are frequently against letting others know their real age when they apply to work through a platform. We think that the cause is still existing age discrimination

An imitative hexagram of the 7th century

In a Hungarian online numismatic forum (a closed Facebook group) in August 2016 a very particular silver coin appeared as a local find, probably near to Gyula, on the Great Hungarian Plain. On the obverse the coin shows the busts of Constans II and Constantine IV with a general design very similar, for example, to the hexagram MIB 151-2-3. Constans II is draped and facing, wearing a plumed helmet with star, and Constantine IV is draped and facing, but wearing a crown; between their heads, there is a cross.

The role of internet-based healthcare services in the healthcare process: the example of a Hungarian health portal

E-health plays an increasingly important role in healthcare since it can improve the access to health information. In this article, we are seeking to answer the following questions with respect to online health services: To what extent can they reduce the workload of healthcare professionals in the healthcare system? What kind of health benefits can e-health produce for patients? In our study, we conducted a content analysis based on 'the doctor answers' columns of a Hungarian online health portal. We examined the direct and indirect references to two indicators (seeing the doctor, therapeutic advice) in the responses in relation to ten disease groups. Our results suggest that online health portals can moderately reduce the workload of healthcare professionals and at the same time they can produce considerable health gain for patients.

Opportunity, obligation, risk – The representation of preimplantational genetic tests in the Hungarian online news media

Abstract Preimplantational genetic technologies (PG technologies) used in the processes of reproduction under laboratory conditions are considered to be one of the most controversial fields of gene technology. These tests are performed on embryos and result in the selection of the most capable embryo, while destroying the rest. Several moral questions arise regarding the ethical application of these procedures. This study investigated the representation of this topic in the Hungarian online media, applying (qualitative) Foucauldian discourse analysis. The results suggest that the narratives related to the topic can be organized according to their objects around three discourses: discourses surrounding parents, discourses surrounding the embryo, discourses surrounding the application of PG technologies. It was also revealed that narratives of risk, responsibility and freedom of autonomous decision play important role in constructing the representations of PG technologies in the Hungarian online news media.

Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling Analysis of the Self-Compassion Scale

The present research investigated the construct validity and psychometric properties of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) with a new and advanced statistical procedure, exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), in order to contribute to the ongoing discussion about its dimensionality by employing a bifactor-ESEM framework. A Hungarian online representative sample (N = 505, N female = 265, M age = 44.37) filled out the Hungarian version of the SCS. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and ESEM methods were employed, and first-order and bifactor solutions were examined and compared. The bifactor ESEM model demonstrated the best fit to the data with the joint presence of the general self-compassion factor and the specific factors. Internal consistency was adequate in all cases. Reliability indices—omega and omega hierarchical—showed that not all specific factors had unique contributions over and above the general factor. High levels of gender invariance were also achieved with females having lower general self-compassion and self-judgment latent means, while having higher self-kindness scores. The findings shed new light on the underlying theory behind the SCS and proved the usefulness of the bifactor ESEM framework in the investigation of multidimensional constructs.

“Someone Else’s Problem”: New Psychoactive Substances in the Online Hungarian Media

ABSTRACTMedia monitoring is an important method to inform public health and prevention services about emerging health issues, such as new psychoactive substances (NPS). This study assessed the portrayal of NPS in online Hungarian media in 2015 using qualitative content analysis. Hungarian online media considers the dealer to be the main cause of drug use, which is portrayed as a problem for youth, poor people, minorities, and rural populations. The point of view of the articles is externalized, and so is the solution offered by them. From the perspective of the police or using a biomedical approach, the articles suggest that drug use is an individual (someone else’s) problem, and the perspectives of insiders (such as users or addiction treatment professionals) are absent. The media portrays low socioeconomic background and the hopelessness of disadvantaged rural and mostly minority populations as the roots of NPS use, and misses the pressing incapability of health care emergency and drug treatment services to cope with the problem. The dominant portrayal of police raids is rarely counterbalanced by voices of active or recovering drug users or professionals in addiction treatment and harm reduction, who could offer a systematic solution to the apparent rapid spread of NPS use.

Portrayal of New Psychoactive Substances in the Hungarian Online Media

We assessed the portrayal of new psychoactive substances (NPS) in online Hungarian printed media between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014 using content analysis. Altogether five topics were identified: 1: effects/side effects from the point of view of an outsider; 2: motivation of drug use; 3: type of NPS mentioned; 4: location of consumption or seizures; 5: tone of the article. The results suggest that much of the Hungarian online printed media is written in a sensation seeking way and mainly focuses on police seizures and on the physical (especially on the deviant and aggressive behavioral) effects of NPS usage. Articles mainly associate NPS with events among the marginalized population of the 8th district in Budapest (a low socioeconomic and drug infested area with a high population proportion of marginalized Roma minorities), or law-enforcement activities outside of Budapest. The monitoring of written online media may inform public health professionals and policy makers about emerging problems related to NPS, while such professionals may inform journalists to counterbalance the sensationalist tone of news pieces about NPS.

Analysis of Competitiveness with Online Marketing Tools in Hungary

In the world of marketing, innovative solutions and new development opportunities will always come into play. They play of the major factor in improving the competitiveness and for consumers needs as well. The aim of the study is to examine and compare the efficiency and effectiveness measurement of the online campaigns. At first, this study is arising the theoretical approaches and then points to the practical application differences and also wants to rank the effectiveness of online. The currently used Hungarian online measures (rate/index) are explained in this study by using the available practical literature. The in-depth interviews will be conducted with the consent of online shop managers and leader professionals of creative and advertisement agencies. Procession of the practical literature will include the online advertising methods ranked by the CPM (Cost per 1000 Impression) will imply the effectiveness of ads. Our research methodology followed qualitative strategy, on the base of content analyses of in-depth interviews of online experts (N=7). We recorded the conversation and then we transcribed the data. Our questions were structured. The questioning went between 10 March 2016 and 18 May. 7 persons have taken part in the research, regarding to their profession they were mid, – or top managers and had at least 4 maximum 15 years of experience. Regarding to their activities, there are who is planning, leading and following up marketing and/or creative campaigns – together with analyses – or with full-service of web shop, online legal advising, retargeting and optimization services. Each interviewee serves the business-to-business trade. Furthermore our aim is to present the Hungarian online advertising trends in 2016. This indication will show the effectiveness of different marketing tools, also the reach of online experts, which is a tool in increasing competitiveness. This research will point out the possible measuring methods and indications, which allows the integrated testing of performance on different channels.

Geographies of an Online Social Network.

How is online social media activity structured in the geographical space? Recent studies have shown that in spite of earlier visions about the “death of distance”, physical proximity is still a major factor in social tie formation and maintenance in virtual social networks. Yet, it is unclear, what are the characteristics of the distance dependence in online social networks. In order to explore this issue the complete network of the former major Hungarian online social network is analyzed. We find that the distance dependence is weaker for the online social network ties than what was found earlier for phone communication networks. For a further analysis we introduced a coarser granularity: We identified the settlements with the nodes of a network and assigned two kinds of weights to the links between them. When the weights are proportional to the number of contacts we observed weakly formed, but spatially based modules resemble to the borders of macro-regions, the highest level of regional administration in the country. If the weights are defined relative to an uncorrelated null model, the next level of administrative regions, counties are reflected.

Ego-resiliency reloaded: a three-component model of general resiliency.

Ego-resiliency (ER) is a capacity that enables individuals to adapt to constantly changing environmental demands. The goal of our research was to identify components of Ego-resiliency, and to test the reliability and the structural and convergent validity of the refined version of the ER11 Ego-resiliency scale. In Study 1 we used a factor analytical approach to assess structural validity and to identify factors of Ego-resiliency. Comparing alternative factor-structures, a hierarchical model was chosen including three factors: Active Engagement with the World (AEW), Repertoire of Problem Solving Strategies (RPSS), and Integrated Performance under Stress (IPS). In Study 2, the convergent and divergent validity of the ER11 scale and its factors and their relationship with resilience were tested. The results suggested that resiliency is a double-faced construct, with one function to keep the personality system stable and intact, and the other function to adjust the personality system in an adaptive way to the dynamically changing environment. The stability function is represented by the RPSS and IPS components of ER. Their relationship pattern is similar to other constructs of resilience, e.g. the Revised Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (R-CD-RISC). The flexibility function is represented by the unit of RPSS and AEW components. In Study 3 we tested ER11 on a Hungarian online representative sample and integrated the results in a model of general resiliency. This framework allows us to grasp both the stability-focused and the plasticity-focused nature of resiliency.

Typology and Sociodemographic Characteristics of Massively Multiplayer Online Game Players

To date, there has been relatively little research comparing different types of online gamers. The main aim of this study was to provide robust benchmark data on different types of Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) players using a large sample of online gamers. An online survey was used to recruit 4,374 Hungarian online gamers from websites offering different types of MMOGs. In addition to sociodemographic characteristics, the study also collected data on gaming preference, amount of time spent gaming, amount of money spent on the game, and whether they played at an amateur or professional level. A latent profile analysis of gaming preferences differentiated between eight specific gamer types, of which four types emerged as clear categories, indicating clear preference for a specific type of game (role-playing games, first-person shooter games, real-time strategy games, and other games). Overall, 79% of gamers belonged to these four categories. First-person shooter gamers were almost exclusively male, younger aged, lower educated, and of lower socioeconomic status. Real-time strategy gamers were older. Female gamers were most likely to play “Other” games and/or role-playing games. In relation to time spent gaming, role-playing gamers appeared to be the most vulnerable. The results indicated that a significant number of gamers have clear gaming preferences, and these specific gaming types are associated with significant differences regarding sociodemographic and gaming characteristics of gamers.