Society In Hungary Research Articles

Uczestnictwo obywatelskie na Węgrzech, cz. 1

The aim of this paper is to analyse the state of civil society in Hungary and thus to offer an insight into the theory of civil society and civic engagement. Firstly, the process of political transition and the formation of civil society in Hungary is discussed. The next section gives an overview of the legal status of civil society institutions. Then an attempt is made to present complicated relationships between politics and civil society in Hungary. The article addresses the methodology of the empirical research conducted by the author. Given the collected research material and the conducted empirical research, the paper was divided into two parts.

The issue of limitation in the context of transitional justice

The present study aims to present the difficulties of transitional justice in Hungary following the change of systems. Following the regime change, it was a legitimate need in a substantial part of society in Hungary to punish the main perpetrators of the previous communist dictatorship for the crimes committed by them, either symbolically or actually. This type of ‘punishment’ may take place in a democratic society in two ways: either because of a political decision, or in the form of prosecution by a court. From the 1990s onwards, Hungarian decision-makers were characterized by the absence of ability to cope with the question. In my study relating to the statute of limitation, in addition to the description of the concept of limitation and the applicable Hungarian regulation in force, on the one hand I introduce those crimes which are not subject to the statute of limitation under international law, on the other hand I present the different approaches of the question of suspension of the limitation period in some successor states in order to determine and provide a solution to whether the statute of limitation could have been a real obstacle to criminal accountability. In this context, my study addresses, among several other issues, the breakthrough of the prohibition of retroactive effect, the issue of limitation and the question whether there is a need for transitional justice at all. The problem of limitation in connection with the historical justice arises in the fact that, although the current Hungarian legislation in force is aware of the concept of crimes which were not subject to the statute of limitation, however, during the darkest period of the communist dictatorship, such a concept did not yet exist in Hungarian law. The Hungarian laws in force in the 1950s did not yet recognize the category non-obsolete crimes, Thus, for example under Article 25 of the Compilation of Substantive Criminal Law (Act II of 1950) in force in 1956, the limitation period for acts threatened with death or life imprisonment was only 15 years, which, however, ceased to be punishable. In my opinion, which can be considered as one of the results of my research, in the absence of a mandatory legal background similar to German or Czech, it is a special legal reasoning that can justify the lack of limitation, the rules of which are presented in detail in my study. This is the legal reasoning on the basis of which the accountability of former party leaders could have been established under both domestic and international law. That is the legislative reasoning based on which – contrary to the decision of the Constitutional Court – in my opinion, legal liability would (would have been) take place, regardless of the fact, whether it was a plea or in the context of a traditional criminal proceedings.

Hungary and its civil society organisations – a fateful example for south-east Europe?

Over the course of the last decade, the Hungarian government has been tightening the space for independent civil society. Fidesz, the ruling party, has been seeking to build long-lasting strings of national and right-wing power. Meanwhile similar tendencies are being practised in neighbouring countries, including Slovenia and Slovakia. The calculated protests of the European Union and its institutions are a reaction to Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán’s open plans to establish an ‘illiberal democracy’ in Hungary and, if possible, in other parts of central and south-eastern Europe. Against this background, this article assesses the relationship between the Hungarian government and its civil society organisations on the one hand and the repercussions that this has for central and south-eastern Europe on the other. Three guiding questions must be discussed: why is civil society in Hungary in such a difficult position? Furthermore, in what ways are the structural discrimination against independent organisations being justified? And, finally, what is the role played by Hungary’s east European neighbours?

Correlations of life satisfaction and marital status in a post-socialist country: the Hungarian case

ABSTRACT Our study examines the relationship between social inclusion and the marital status of individuals. The family is interpreted as an integration-based institution affecting satisfaction. Through the interpretation of the integration function of the family, we examine whether the individuals’ life satisfaction is determined by their current marital status and what factors influence and explain the satisfaction with life in a post-socialist country a quarter of a century after the change of regime. Indeed, life satisfaction is one of the strongest social inclusion factors, so in our analysis, we seek to find out whether the different forms of coexistence (marriage, partnership, widowhood, divorced marital status) influence the level of satisfaction of individuals and what gender and other demographic and environmental features determine this the most. The study employs the database from the ‘Integration and disintegration processes in Hungarian society’ research. The sample contains 2687 people. The sample is nationally representative of gender, age, educational background, type of settlement, and region. The survey was made in 2015 with the support of OTKA (Hungarian Scientific Research Fund Programs). Through our path model analyses, we have proved that in society in Hungary the current marital status of individuals does not affect their satisfaction with life; rather, it is the quality of the cooperative spaces people live in, that is, primarily, the quality of their family relationships and their immediate living environment, and as a weaker but measurable impact, their subjectively perceived personal social prestige that does.

Nomen est omen: roma diplomás nővel szembeni diszkrimináció Magyarországon

Magyarorszagon a romak tobb evszazados jelenlete ellenere a romakerdes kezelese csupan par evtizedes multra tekint vissza, melynek egyik fő eleme a romak munkaerőpiaci integracioja. Ebből kifolyolag a szerző terepkiserletet vegzett, amely a roma tarsadalmon belul a roma nők foglalkoztatasi lehetősegeit vizsgalta, tipikus kisebbsegi hatterre utalo csaladnev hasznalataval. A kiserlet a roma kisebbsegi csoportra osszpontositott, amely a XII. szazad ota az egyik legnagyobb demografiai csoport Magyarorszagon. A tanulmany bemutatja a terepkiserlet eredmenyet, amely magaban foglalja ket, pontosan azonos kepesitessel es munkatapasztalattal rendelkező, fiktiv nő munkalehetősegeit. A fiktiv nők oneletrajzait az interneten megjelenő allashirdetesekre kuldte el a szerző: egyikuknek tipikus magyar, a masiknak tipikus roma szarmazasra utalo vezetekneve volt. Mindket oneletrajz pontosan ugyanazokat a kepeket tartalmazta, mivel Magyarorszagon a munkaltatok allashirdeteseinek jelentős reszenel az egyik kovetelmeny a foto oneletrajzhoz valo csatolasa. A kutatas eredmenyekent rendkivul magas szintű diszkriminaciot talalt a roma vezeteknevű nő ellen. ------- Despite the age-old presence of the Roma society in Hungary, the Roma issue is only a few decades old. One of the main elements is Roma integration into the labor market. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted that investigated the disposition opportunities of woman, with a typical minority background indicator family name. The experiment focus was on Roma minority group. This paper introduces the result of the field experiment that includes job applications of two fictitious women with exactly the same qualifications and work experience were sent out for job advertisement and head-hunter companies: One of them has a typical Hungarian name, the other one has a typical Roma name. Both curricula vitae had exactly the same photos of the applicant, since one of the requirements of the job applications is to attach photos to the resume. This study found significant levels of discrimination against Roma women in labor markets.

Participatory action research as political education

ABSTRACTIn this paper, I discuss participatory action research (PAR) as a way to support social and political engagement and develop civil society. After a short overview of my personal journey to participatory action research, I describe a general structure that I have developed for organizing PAR projects and a short introduction to the state of civil society in Hungary. I then summarize three PAR projects in Budapest between 2011 and 2018. All three revolved around the issue of affordable and adequate housing and were designed as part of the movement for the right to housing in Hungary. The paper concludes with some of the most important implications I drew from this work regarding the development of civil society and critical consciousness.

Civic Organization beyond the ‘Open Society’ Battle: Cases from Hungary

Our paper aims to contribute to the understanding of civil society in Hungary by looking beyond the struggles around open society and international NGOs, a topic that has dominated public debates on civil organizations in Hungary for the last decade. Our starting point follows the literature that has broadened the understanding of NGOs in the post-socialist space with the perspective of their insertion in global hierarchies in terms of unequal knowledge and resource transfer, material dependencies and the effects in local social settings. More attention recently has been given to the social positions of domestic civil organizations and the political and material dependencies they operate within. The analysis of organizations which represent and defend different interests within different social strata is crucial to understanding civil society in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Following this thread of discussions, we look at three segments of civil society which were previously understudied, to expand on how social relations structure civil society in contemporary CEE: 1) nationalist but anti-governmental organizations, for example in the field of housing; 2) urban and rural informal self-organization in order to cope with material hardships collectively has been significantly growing in the recent years; 3) rural civil organizations aligned with local elites, embedded in material dependencies, which have been present since 1990, but occupy a more and more significant role after the illiberal turn. We think that adding these segments to the study of civil society in CEE can help to broaden the analysis beyond the discursively and ideologically thematized struggles around NGOs, and contribute to a better understanding of illiberal regimes and the counter-movements they produce.

Patients' preferences for health-related use of Internet

More sophisticated implementation of the Internet in healthcare improves medical services innumerably. To better understand the patients' preferences for health-related use of Internet is warranted. Our aim was to determine the patients' health-related Internet use. Patients attending our private clinic between October 2016 and April 2017 were surveyed. 208 questionnaires have been evaluated. Most patients use Internet daily, primarily on mobiles. The majority have already searched for health-related information online, 19% do regularly. 53% are satisfied with online contents and open to websites recommended by physicians. 32% of patients have already communicated with doctors online and 93% are satisfied doing so. 8% of patients use health-related smartphone applications regularly, 6% use other Internet-based health-monitoring devices. 60% of patients have already chosen a physician based on web information, while 17% do regularly. 82% of respondents have not yet shared health-related information on the Internet. The Internet is widely used by patients seeking information about their health, yet they are dissatisfied with the quality. Many patients are open to recommendations offered by physicians regarding sources of online information. Online communication between physician and patient might increase patient satisfaction. There is no breakthrough in the use of health-related websites, mobile apps or devices in Hungary. The demand for such service could be considered moderate. Additionally, online patient forums are not specifically popular. The medical society in Hungary should accept that physician selection by patients depends more increasingly upon information made available online. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(51): 2175-2182.

XXIII International Conference on Manufacturing (Manufacturing 2018)

XXIIIrd MANUFACTURING - 2018 CONFERENCEPrefaceThe Scientific Society for Mechanical Engineering (GTE in Hungarian) has traditionally been the largest scientific society in Hungary for several decades. It was founded 67 years ago and counted more than 15.000 Hungarian engineer members in the ‘60s. Although the membership has decreased significantly since, GTE’s value and ambitions are constantly high.Among other active divisions of GTE, the Manufacturing Systems Division organizes the Manufacturing conferences with national and international participation mostly in a biannual sequence, usually but exclusively in Budapest. Now, at the XXIIIrd conference on manufacturing, Kecskemét City was chosen, where the John von Neumann University GAMF Faculty campus offered to host and support this event in early June 2018.The conference had invited participants from universities, from manufacturers, end-users and specialists from the industry sectors from countries across Europe. The aim of the Conference was to show up the newest scientific and professional achievements related to planning, designing, implementing, evaluating products and manufacturing technologies, to highlight research work performed by students and industry-experts, and offer presentation and demonstration opportunity for all. An important effect was also welcome, i.e. to meet face-to-face with experts, to share and dispute on best-practices, evaluate and compare results with other solutions. The organized laboratory and factory visits offered excellent experiences how theory and practice can both show interrelated research results.The seamless flow of the events and activities of all this had depended heavily on the support of the John Von Neumann University, GAMF Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Material Sciences and Vehicle Technology from the very beginning, with support received from the Program Committee members, and from members of the Organizing Committee and contributions from many others.The outstanding professional supporters and sponsors of the Conference were:GTE, Scientific Society for Mechanical Engineering and theJohn von Neumann University-GAMF Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science; PADMA, Pallas Athene Foundation, and MTA SZTAKI, Institute for Computer Science and Automation.Last but not least, the #1 contributors to the success of the conference were the lecturing participants and the poster-paper presenters. With the edited PROCEEDINGS of the Manufacturing-2018 Conference, the editors and the organizers offer the readers a valuable set of papers with excellent ideas and topics to remember and to quote for further scientific papers.Now let me express my thanks to all of the supporters and to all of my colleagues for putting their heart and soul into their work to prepare the Proceedings. Furthermore, I wish all the participants success in their careers, fruitful further work, new professional contacts and inspiration to prepare for participating at the next upcoming XXIVth MANUFACTURING Conference of the GTE Society.Kecskemét, 2018Prof. Dr. János TakácsChairman of the Conference

Church and Society in Hungary and in the Hungarian Diaspora by Nándor Dreisziger

<i>Church and Society in Hungary and in the Hungarian Diaspora</i> by Nándor Dreisziger

Special features and problems of rural society in Hungary

One of the basic pillar but also the indicator of rural security is the state of the social processes at a specified region. These are significantly related to the economic, environmental and developmental status of a given country, region, micro-region. Basically, the population of more developed areas shows more favorable demographic trends, while social problems are less or in some other form than in less developed, disadvantaged areas. In Europe and Hungary, the underprivileged, peripheral rural areas have to face aging, migration and economic, social and environmental problems as results. What is more, the occasionally favourable demographic trends can often be related to the slumificating of the disadvantaged population. Based on the general situation of rural areas, this article attempts to summarize the typical social situation and main problems of domestic rural areas, relying on the relevant literature, the strategic documents of the EU and Hungary, and secondary data.

Church and Society in Hungary and the Hungarian Diaspora by Nándor Dreisziger

<i>Church and Society in Hungary and the Hungarian Diaspora</i> by Nándor Dreisziger

Church and Society in Hungary and in the Hungarian Diaspora. By Nándor Dreisziger . Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2016. xxiv + 504 pp. 10 maps. Can$95.00 hardcover.

Church and Society in Hungary and in the Hungarian Diaspora. By Nándor Dreisziger . Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2016. xxiv + 504 pp. 10 maps. Can$95.00 hardcover.

The enlightened narrative in the age of liberal reform: William Robertson’s View of the Progress of Society in Hungary

ABSTRACTThis article examines a translation of the Scottish historian William Robertson’s probably most famous text (based on a previous German edition) in the journal of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in the 1830s, as a case study on continuity between the Enlightenment and the era of liberal reform in Central Europe. It underlines the benefits of the comparative study of Scotland in Robertson’s time and Hungary in the Reform Age as partners in composite polities at the opposite ends of Europe, where patriotic projects of overcoming limitations of political sovereignty via cultural and economic improvement were pursued. The belated reception of Robertson in Hungary took place within a larger initiative of progress and refinement, associated with the liberal Count István Széchenyi, in an environment where many potential sympathizers with his programme were ambivalent about the values of cosmopolitanism and commerce promoted by Robertson, indebted as they remained to more archaic modes of patriotism. In view of the peculiarities of translation, and selection the Hungarian rendering of the View of the Progress was attuned to the sentiments of this constituency, and may be interpreted as a set of discursive gestures aimed at conquering it for the cause of ‘liberalism as refinement.’

Playing with anthems: The formation of the cult of empress Elisabeth in Hungarian music

In this paper I reveal how the cult of Empress Elisabeth affected the reception of three different volumes of Hungarian music. These three works are: Erzs?bet-eml?ny (Elisabeth Memorial Album, 1854) edited by Korn?l ?br?nyi; Erzs?bet (Elisabeth, 1854) opera by K?roly Doppler, Ferenc Doppler and Ferenc Erkel; and Die Legende von der heiligen Elisabeth (The Legend of Saint Elisabeth, 1865) by Franz Liszt. In spite of their high artistic level, the first two works were banned by the cultural elite who interpreted them as Habsburgian political music after the downfall of the dual state. On the other hand, the intentionally apolitical oratorio by Franz Liszt was regarded by the same cultural elite as the highest standard of artistic representation of the Empress. As a consequence of parallel distribution of both imperially and nationally constructed memories, a strange diffusion appeared in the social sphere, especially in Hungarian cultural memory. Conflicting memories emerged due to the discrepancy between the original Hungarian political myth (Kossuth-myth) and Empress Elisabeth?s cult. Using the terminology introduced by Claude L?vi-Strauss, I have labeled this situation as the clash of the cold and hot society in Hungary during the 19th century.

National and transnational strategies of LGBT civil society organizations in different political environments: Modes of interaction in Western and Eastern Europe for equality

This article focuses on the national and transnational strategies of five European Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender civil society organizations (CSOs) pressing for equality and non-discrimination. We present three modes of interaction between CSOs and their political environment. The first mode we label ‘morality politics’. Arcigay in Italy and the Campaign against Homophobia in Poland are seemingly locked in this mode because they are confronted with a hostile and organized opposition, both in terms of public opinion and elite opinion. A second mode of interaction we label an ‘incremental change’ mode and is the strategy pursued by Stonewall in the United Kingdom and the Hatter Society in Hungary, marked by discreet elite level lobbying. Finally, we introduce a third mode of interaction we label ‘high-profile politics’. This mode is marked by highly visible public events, coalition seeking, cooperation with government, and transnational activity at the European level and abroad. This is a strategy possible by CSOs where there is a high degree of public support for equality and minimal partisan or religious opposition to the goals of the movement. The Dutch COC has been pursuing this ‘high-profile politics’ mode of interaction in their political environment over the past few years.

ICT diffusion in Hungary Nyuga-Dunántúl region

The acceptance of info communication technologies (ICT) is an inevitable element of rural development since the infrastructure is more or less developed in Hungary. The problem of acceptance lies in the attitude toward new technologies. In this paper we would like to describe the process where the use of a certain service available only in an online environment becomes popular among the rural population. Using the best known Hungarian social network site IWIW registrants data on settlements and users of a Hungarian NUTS II region combined with spatial and demographic statistics one could describe the scale and direction of diffusion processes which adds some more information to the facts we already know on state of information society in Hungary.

The Travel Medicine, as a new medical speciality in Hungary

In 2004, when Hungary joined to EU., the travel medicine, as a medical speciality had not yet been existed. In those days Hungarians gained the opportunity to travel abroad, and besides the country had to face growing number of migration, the refugees, as a Eastern border of the EU. The low-cost airlines, and last minute travel bargains appeared. Suddenly Hungarian tourists—including entire families and elderly people—could select from a wide range of travel choices. Extreme sports become popular and adventure travel is in vogue. Seemingly EU healthcare card (called the E-111 formula at the time) covered medical expenses abroad. But these cards had shortcomings for travellers. They do not cover the fees of certain private physicians nor the costs of repatriations. The Hungarian Association of Assurance (Insurance) Physicians found the cards to be inadequate and that the ideal solution would be travel insurance offered by private companies. But the Assurance Physicians realised that the private insurance companies had no experience with travellers and that most Hungarian travellers were poorly informed about the medical aspects of travel. The physicians therefore decided to establish a forum that could solve the problems—the beginnings of travel medicine in Hungary. The authors of this presentation speak the first steps and the achievements, as well as the considerable differences the way of travel medicine between western world and Hungary. The presenting author is the Chairman of travel medicine section of Assurance Medicine Society in Hungary.

Building a Democratic Market Society in Hungary

Hungary's ability to become an internationally integrated democratic market society by 2000 was facilitated by its point of departure on this path: politically liberalized reform-socialism. But other factors were crucial as well, such as the lack of violence, the economic and political behavior of transformation's winners and losers, and eu policies. The high fiscal cost of Hungary's foreign-led modernization inevitably creates tensions, but unlike under communism, Hungarians now have a mechanism to express their concerns, by electing a new government. A trial-and-error pattern of political success has thus been established that is likely to remain an inherent feature of its politics.

Information Society in Hungary: Impact Assessment of Public Policies with the Help of Social Indicators

Despite significant policy efforts, in 2003 the Hungarian general population has fallen behind the Central and Eastern European (CEE) average regarding most social indicators of Internet access, usage, knowledge and attitudes. The article is a policy impact assessment interpreting the results of a population survey covering 10 countries of CEE, performed in 2003 within the framework of the SIBIS Project (Statistical Indicators Benchmarking the Information Society). The 10 Newly Associated States (NAS) covered by the survey are as follows: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. In case of Hungary the relevant strategies, legal framework development and support actions of various public policy areas are analysed with the help of an international comparative analysis of survey findings.