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The concept of responsible research and innovation (RRI) has increased in popularity in the context of European Commission policy since 2010; promoting inclusive and sustainable research and innovation. The present paper introduces a curriculum development effort following the RRI principles in higher education in order to demonstrate the potential positive influence of an RRI-inspired course design on the self-perception of students related to their own reflexivity and inclusiveness competencies. The paper first outlines the use of the RRI approach in higher education, with a special focus on two areas, reflexivity and inclusiveness. The development of a marketing-related subject will then be introduced, described and evaluated. With the aid of a master’s course, the selection of appropriate learning/teaching methods and related assessment practices will be introduced in relation to the competencies of reflexivity and inclusiveness. The results of a quantitative study are also presented, as students evaluated their own competency development in relation to reflexivity and inclusiveness topics at the end of the semester, with the help of an online survey. According to the main findings, the student perception was that course development served the aim of competency development well, and the various teaching methods supported inclusiveness, which also assisted the improvement of reflexive thinking.

Ethics has always been playing a great role in the theoretical traditions of liberalism. The paper is trying to find the answer for the question if morality could save the people of today. Starting from the ancient philosophers and the authors of the era of Enlightenment, the classics of moral philosophy, following with the thinkers of the 19th and 20th century, liberalism has only been able to formulate meaningful proposals capable of bringing about social progress when it was centred around morality and virtue. Many scholars today claim that liberalism failed but this study argues for a historical turning point when liberalism can be renewed and returned to its classic values. The study analyses the ordo-liberal era with its Kantian tradition that helped ordo-liberal theorists in implementing liberal values in practice. According to the statement of this paper, an appropriate education system, good governance and fair public incentives are essential for opening a new page of liberal history. The study contains an educational case study and principles of social organisation that can help to reach the desired result for a well-working liberal state and governance. The author of this treatise has never gave up the hope that the constitution should be written for good citizens but she calls for strong ethical basements of the education and legal system that can help the society to return to the “old true”.

Workplace spirituality is a social movement about purposeful work that has both personal and broader societal considerations. Social enterprises are alternative organizational forms that strive to create value by simultaneously pursuing social, economic and environmental goals. Both workplace spirituality and social enterprise discourses have a value creation orientation for self and others, framed as serving and contributing towards the common good. However, only a few studies have addressed the relevance of workplace spirituality for social enterprises. Based on the literature for workplace spirituality and social enterprise, respectively, this paper argues that these phenomena have a common ground: prosocial motives, doing well (value creation) and being well (flourishing). Workplace spirituality can help preserve social enterprises’ integrity, while the social enterprise context can support the incorporation of workplace spirituality to generate positive outcomes. Further studies could explore this potentiality, and the present paper provides some future research suggestions.

It has been a popular theme in both the professional literature and in the pop-culture to identify critical success factors of entrepreneurs, thus forecasting entrepreneurial success. This study presents the preliminary results of an exploratory, multi-stage study applying qualitative and quantitative research steps. The research approaches the issue from the angle of competencies aiming to examine if an entrepreneur-specific leadership competency model can be constructed. The paper introduces four leadership dimensions and three leadership styles that are specific for successful entrepreneurs. There is no one-size-fits-all solution here. Successful entrepreneurs employ various leadership strategies and rely on a wide-range of leadership competencies. Beyond the competency sets distinguish entrepreneurs from each other, the paper presents a further leadership competency dimension that separates entrepreneurs from the rest of the word. This leadership dimension contributes to answering the question of who becomes an entrepreneur.

In this paper I would like to provide an insight into the multiple usages of institutional economic theories for assessing economic phenomena and economic processes such as the functioning of different subsystems of the economy and economic structures. I will base my argumentation on János Kornai’s lifework trying to emphasize the broad vision of systemic approach, the wide range of analysing tools provided by his theoretical thinking, and the high explanatory power of his theories. This paper is influenced and motivated by the launch of the book: Systems, institutions and Values in East and West, which is a rather thought-provoking and influential book, based on the application and reconsideration of Kornai’s theories with regard to the actual economic processes.

Project management is considered to be one of the most complex professions nowadays, and project related jobs could be found in almost every sector of the global economy. Organisations need to put a greater emphasis on the improvement of their project management performance to stay competitive and relevant in this new business environment, which is a constantly changing technical landscape, in which the required skill set, and the way of learning will be changed. These explain why the development of project management competence came to the forefront both in academia and in professional associations as well. Both the academic world and the professional associations’ standards struggle with the definition, because of the multifaceted nature of project management competence. This resulted in the phenomenon that different standards use different definitions for the same concept. The paper has a multifaceted aim, such as: a) providing a comparative review of the project management competence definitions appeared both in literature and in professional standards; b) providing a comparative analysis of the project management competence models published in literature; c) introducing a broader approach to understanding the concept of project management competence; d) providing a comparative analysis of professional project management competence standards based on the broader approach introduced in this paper; e) highlighting practical implications derived from the broader concept of project management competence.

A brilliant idea means nothing if it stays in someone’s mind and doesn’t come to life. The process of an idea developed into a new business is very unstable, like a balloon in the wind that can blow in any possible direction. Sometimes the idea gets thrown away, sometimes it creates something extraordinary. Studies on nascent entrepreneurs contribute to the understanding of the factors affecting the intention of an individual to become an entrepreneur. Nascent entrepreneurship is a rather new topic of research. There are large number of journals on the topic only since the early 2000’s. There are several challenges in defining the topic accurately since the beginning and the end of the process is not always clear. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between the idea phase and the ongoing work in progress. In addition, research results are difficult to compare with each other because of conceptual uncertainties and different approaches. In this paper the most important literary background related to nascent entrepreneurship is presented. In this study, keyword searches reveal the most frequently researched conceptual approaches to the intention of starting a new business. In the critical analysis of selected papers, the research is confined to the field of business and management and economics, which I explore with the steps of the Systematic Literature Review methodology. In the comprehensive literature review is based on bibliometric analysis and quantitative text analysis. Results, proposals and future research areas are also presented.

Though the recruitment of child soldiers is a violation of universally accepted human rights and humanitarian law, hundreds of thousands of children participate in armed conflicts today all over the world. Among these child soldiers, girls are the most vulnerable group. Apart from actively participating in the conflict, they usually experience other grave human rights violations, including forced marriage and sexual abuse. Yet, they still constitute the most invisible group of those participating in armed conflicts. The paper aims to fill this gap and examines the current situation of girl child soldiers with particular attention to the post-conflict reconstruction process and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programmes. It builds on the assumption that the experience of girls is distinct from that of boys, and argues that a gender-sensitive approach has not yet been sufficiently incorporated into strategies. Therefore, the paper proposes the adoption of a distinct protection regime in international law and the recognition of the complexity of girl child soldier experiences during policy making. The implementation of this approach can lead to more efficient DDR programmes and higher participation rates, while it can also transform the public perception that places boys at the core of the child soldier phenomenon.

Democracy is in deep crisis today: this is indicated by decreasing turnout at elections, media that blur the distinction between information, defamation and propaganda, and the hidden influence of business corporations through tax evasion and lobbyism (Barber 1994; Crouch 2004; Preiss/Brunner 2013; Merkel 2015). In this situation, direct democracy seems to offer a new way to strengthen citizens’ political participation. However, several recent referenda have shown that the former can be used by the elites as an instrument for advancing their ambitions to power, and legitimating specific (often problematic) political aims. This paper uses a theoretically informed historical-sociological approach with the intent of explaining elites’ attitudes toward democracy. I start from democratic elite theory, which argues that elites are indispensable for the management of large and complex societies, but that they will pursue their own interests if not checked by a strong opposition and civic action from below. Six concrete hypotheses are developed: Direct democracy increases in the course of realizing democratic systems; elites are much more sceptical concerning direct democracy than citizens; the use and implementation of referenda depend on the political system (distinguishing three types); and the dysfunctions of direct democracy are mainly due to its misuse by elites, while the outcomes of strong direct democracy are mostly positive. These hypotheses are tested by looking at applications of direct democracy (referenda) in totalitarian, authoritarian and elitist democratic systems in recent European history. The paper concludes with some considerations about the necessary measures for solving the problems of direct democracy as articulated by the elites.

After a short theoretical overview about the interplay between institutions and elites, the paper analyses the economic performance operationalized by the GDP and the quality of governance in Hungary in comparative perspective, considering two milestones, namely, the impact of the Great Recession, and the change of government in 2010. The role of elites and elite moves are revealed in these developments. In Hungary, the local crisis started before the Great Recession as the slide of the quality of governance and mismanagement of the economic policy can be observed since the accession to the EU. The paper elaborates the disruptive nature of the system built after 2010 with a special focus to the schemes of corruption and cronyism. Finally, the paper confronts the political elite’s endeavors with some perceptions of the population.

The paper compares the political leadership of Silvio Berlusconi and Viktor Orbán from the beginning of their political careers to 2014, Besides giving a descriptive comparison of the Italian and Hungarian political leaders, the paper focuses on two questions: (1) the nature of their populism; (2) the quality and robustness of the changes induced by their policy. The paper concludes that both leaders introduced a new era in politics, but Orbán has been more effective in transforming policy means and priorities and also in adjusting the institutional settings (polity). Unlike Berlusconi, he has become a founder of a new regime; a democracy with authoritarian elements. Both of them are populist leaders in terms of substance, as well as process and linkage, but the ideological nature of their populism is rather different. While Berlusconi represents liberal populism, Orbán represents an illiberal one.

This paper explores the methodological and ethical challenges of conducting qualitative research – especially individual interviews – with children in relation to an investigation of individual perspectives about the time that parents and their teenage children spend together. From an overview of the topic, three key issues are identified: power inequalities, competence, and parental gatekeeping. First, the paper discusses general challenges and suggests possible responses as far as conducting qualitative interviews with children are concerned, with a focus on the phases of research design and data collection. Second, it reflects on specific questions that are raised in connection with an investigation of the sensitive issues of parental time and technology use. The paper concludes that using a combination of traditional and innovative techniques, and paying attention to taking a reflexive approach throughout the research process, are essential elements of research with children.

The present paper examines the political construction of ageing and conflicts between generations. The process of construction is driven not merely by institutional actors and opinion leaders in the media, but also by citizens who talk to each other about politics. In my paper I have focused on the latter by observing online discussions that appear on the political forum Index.hu. Disagreement between old people’ and ‘young people’ evolved mainly about the pension system, thus the examination of ageing constructions is embedded in this context. In spite of its numerous limits, the method used seems to be suitable for providing hypotheses for further research. In the first part of the study I present the applied theoretical approach in which the concept of stereotype is connected with the concept of social construction. After that I focus on investigating the activity, origin and contents of the stereotypes that influence the construction of ageing. In the third part of the study the components of the constructions are demonstrated.

Sociological concepts of social disorganization, disintegration, social involution and social anomie offer relevant explanations of many developments in Serbia in the 1990s. However, if one relies only on such concepts, one will not get a comprehensive understanding of the extremely destructive developments that occurred simultaneous in practically all spheres of society (economy, politics, culture, and spiritual), and the long-lasting negative social developments that occurred even after the regime change in Serbia at the end of 2000. The author presents a more complex sociological concept, the concept of destroyed society, to describe ‘things’ that happen to society when its basic structure as an ordered social community is being destroyed. The essential features of societal destruction include a radical, long-lasting disintegration of societal structure, the social system and societal culture, generating the destruction of society’s identity and vitality; the ‘empting’ of key social institutions (institutions of state, of the economy, policy, culture..), when institutions no longer carry out their institutionally-specific activities and degenerate into empty social forms; the prevalence of quasi and para-phenomena, which are outside regular social control and replace normal forms of activities established by institutions; the annulment and making of senseless basic social roles (occupations, professions, even roles in inter-personal relations); de facto making the system of social rules ‘out of order’, disrespect for the legal regulation of social development, an absence of morality; the life ‘behind the (public) scene’ becomes the real life of people, so that lies tend to dominate social communications; an accumulation of ‘unfinished happenings’, of activities which started but did not end, leading to the destruction of a sensible future; mass forgetting of ethics and morality which leads to widespread tolerance of inhuman doings; massive impoverishment, regression to low-level practices, even among members of society who usually would not be faced with poverty. Specific manifestations of the complete destruction of Serbian society in the 1990s are illustrated in the paper using empirically based findings2. Some comments on the possible reconstitution of destroyed Serbian society since the regime change are presented in the last part of the paper.

The paper explores how the UK planning system has impacted on Gypsies and Travelers and is partly based upon evidence and conclusions made by the Panel Review of Coalition Government Policy on Gypsies and Travellers which was particularly interested in Coalition Government localist policy. There are differing interpretations of what ’localism’ is but one adherent of localism has described the brand as espoused by a section of Conservatives as ’big bang localism’ (Jenkins, 2004). A dogma of radical decentralisation which some would argue has permeated the Coalition Government. As is evidenced in the paper the Coalition’s localist policies could have a profound effect on Gypsy and Traveler site provision and race relations. However, localism is not a new phenomena it is a policy which has been applied to Gypsy and Traveler site provision in the past and has alternated with more centralised measures which could be described as ’statist’.

The phenomenon of the trafficking of women, especially of young girls and women into exploitative sexual and commercial labor, has recently begun to attract local, national and international attention from world leaders, academics, the mass media, advocacy groups, the clergy and humanity in general. This is against the back drop of the fact that the trafficking of women has a number of far-reaching socio-economic, health and political consequences. Several factors, among them poverty, unemployment, ignorance and family size have been implicated as being reasons why women fall easy preys to the antics of traffickers. From available statistics, we can say that about 500,000 women are brought into the United States of America and Europe yearly for sexual and domestic servitude. Of the over 70,000 African victims of women trafficking, Nigerian women account for 70 percent of those trafficked to Italy alone. Fighting the menace requires a coordinated and concerted push from all stakeholders. This paper presents the causes and consequences of the trafficking of women from Nigeria to America and Europe. Empirical evidence indicates that the activities of traffickers, corrupt embassy officials, the country’s porous borders, poverty, refusal of victims to expose traffickers, delay in prosecuting apprehended culprits and biting youth unemployment have “conspired” to undermine the battle against the illicit trade. The paper makes far-reaching recommendations about how to mitigate the identified obstacles.

The emerging concept of responsible research and innovation (RRI) in some ways always relates to sustainability. In the transition towards sustainability, the authors need to build responsibility for both society and the environment in higher education and management education. Non-formal approaches to learning provide an opportunity to transform a student’s ‘head, heart and hand’, including at the social level as well. This paper showcases the role of experiential and transformative learning in higher education practice. Two of their courses are described and analysed, which are intended to familiarise students with the problem of sustainability within economic higher education. The authors share the theoretical and practical experiences of designing, teaching and assessing these courses. They aim to contribute to the discussion on how business education could be producing useful and credible knowledge that addresses problems important to nature and society.

This paper highlights three aspirations, which are shared by the diverse concepts and practices of responsible research and innovation (RRI): co-creation, reflexivity, and transformation. The authors analyse a service-learning (SL) initiative at the University of Szeged, Hungary, based on the model by Chupp and Joseph (2010). This provides a typology of SL practices and identifies four main approaches to the social impact of SL: traditional, critical, social justice oriented, and institutional change-focused approach. The authors also use this model to analyse the effects of their initiative with regard to the RRI principles of co-creation, reflexivity, and transformation. They provide evidence that their SL course may reach beyond its traditional (student-learning-based) effects in the Hungarian context, and embrace social justice and critical approaches. While the authors also found certain instances of institutionalisation, embedding critical SL into a Hungarian university and inducing significant institutional transformation seems to be a long way away.

Whilst the relationship between sport-related success and its effect on the identity of athletes has been acknowledged, less attention has been paid to understanding this relationship from the perspective of the individual. Elite sport follows the logic of individualism, competitiveness, and productivity, while elite athlete performance is depicted as being a remedy for society’s ills by empowering control over health and serving as a good example for future generations. This dualism is reflected in the viewpoints of elite athletes: in their experiences, reflections, and memories. The aim of this paper is to formally examine through Hungarian elite athletes’ experiences how elite sport is related to components of the athletic identity and their potential impact on individual sustainability. Results show (1) how essential the role of coaching is in elite athletes’ careers, (2) how sport is seen as a protective shield, indicating the importance of life-long career planning, and (3) that there is cognitive dissonance regarding the identity of elite athletes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the adoption process of emerging technology on the example of blockchain. The theoretical interpretation of blockchain acceptance and its implications are discussed from the positions of technology adoption theories (diffusion of innovation theory, the technology acceptance model, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, the technology – organisation – environment framework) as well as sensemaking theory. These theoretical models help understand the perception among end-users (e.g. supply chain practitioners) and facilitate technology diffusion among enterprises. Due to the novelty of the research field, the analysis revealed that current studies were conducted within the functionalist paradigm; however, studies on blockchain implementation can be equally done in the interpretive paradigm. The results indicate a shortage of empirical research investigations and the need for greater theory elaboration to accelerate the adoption process within organisations.

A szervezetek műkodese napjainkra hatarokon es kulturakon ativelőve valt. Az egyenek, a sajat es a szervezeti celjaik megvalositasa erdekeben napi szinten erintkeznek mas kulturak tagjaival az online terben vagy szemelyesen. A kulturakutatasok segithetnek a kulturak talalkozasakor felmerulő jelensegek ertelmezeseben. E terulet vizsgalata a kulonboző kulturak egyenekre es a szervezetekre gyakorolt hatasa miatt aktualis es fontos. Ket kultura tagjainak talalkozasakor esetleges nezetkulonbsegek, ertekkulonbozősegek, konfliktushelyzetek es kommunikacios problemak lephetnek fel. Korabbi kutatasi eredmenyek alapjan tudjuk, hogy bar az egyuttműkodes ket kultura tagjai kozott jelentős kulturalis kulonbsegek ellenere is zokkenőmentes lehet, ket kultura talalkozasa mindig hatassal van az egyenekre. E szakirodalomi attekintes azon elmeleti cikkek eredmenyeit szintetizalja, amelyek a kulturak tipizalasara alkalmas jellemzők bemutatasarara fokuszalnak. A cikk celja a kultura fogalmanak alapjaitol kiindulva bemutatni a kulturakutatasok, mindenekelőtt a szervezetikultura-kutatasok tipizalasi lehetősegeit. ------ Nowadays, the operation of organizations spans borders and cultures. To achieve personal and organizational goals, individuals regularly meet members of other cultures in person or the virtual space. Cross-cultural research helps to understand phenomena emerging at the encounter of different cultures as well as to learn how cultural differences affect individuals and organizations. Cross-cultural encounters often lead to communicational difficulties, conflicts, including clash of views and values. Previous research shows that even though cooperation between members of different cultures may prove to be smooth, cross-cultural encounters always affect and change individuals. This literature review synthesizes theoretical articles that focus on dimensions of classification in cultural and cross-cultural research. This paper suggests a possible typology of organizational cultural research based on the fundamental concept of culture itself.

Transhumanism as a Thin-centred Ideology [védés előtt] Szabados, Krisztián (2021) Transhumanism as a Thin-centred Ideology [védés előtt]. Doktori (PhD) értekezés, Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem, Nemzetközi Kapcsolatok és Politikatudományi Doktori Iskola. Teljes szöveg [img] PDF : (dissertation in English) 1MB [img] PDF : (draft in English) 474kB [img] PDF : (az értekezés tézisei magyar nyelven) 534kB Kivonat, rövid leírás As a product of the ongoing scientific and technological revolution, transhumanism has grown into a worldwide movement and its ideas penetrated the public discourse and popular culture. Transhumanism promotes the radical idea that humanity will be able to transcend its biological limits and enhance individual cognitive, physical, psychological and moral capabilities far beyond the current nature-driven level through new techno-scientific innovations applied on the human body. These changes demand radical changes in society and the reconfiguration of all aspects of politics. The transhumanist movement has recently grown political branches that exert influence on policy-making by inviting transhumanist topics into the political arena that other political ideologies neglect. The latest development is the emergence of transhumanist political proto-parties worldwide. These changes signal an ideational thickening of transhumanism. This thesis presents the first ideological analysis of political transhumanism applying Michael Freeden’s morphological approach. Its hypothesis is that transhumanism is a thin-centred ideology. To test this hypothesis, this paper conducts the morphological analysis of key transhumanist political texts. It investigates whether transhumanism can be described as having ideological coherency, what core ideas, key values, and claims (decontestation chains) make up its ideational architect, how, if at all, the conceptual structure of transhumanism can best be described, to what extent these transhumanist concepts and claims are distinct from those of other ideologies. To start with, three arguments are suggested to support the choice of Freeden’s morphological approach to be the right methodology for the ideological analysis of transhumanism. The subsequent section presents the selected transhumanist literature and other texts that the ideological analysis was conducted on explaining the criteria of selection. Next, a concise argument was put forward to underpin the relevance of transhumanism as the subject of political science. Then, attention turns to the social and cultural context. The dissertation summarises briefly the intellectual and organisational history of transhumanism. After that, the ideological analysis is presented. Key findings are: 1. Transhumanism is an adequate subject of ideological analysis as it can be described with five of the six ideological attributes defined by Freeden. 2. The ideological analysis reveals five core concepts in the transhumanist conceptual structure: morphological freedom, human enhancement, longevity, the precautionary principle, and personhood. 3. It identifies and describes the morphologies and decontestations of several adjacent concepts, such as rationality, diversity, democracy, equality and the state. 4. It defines the roles of peripheral concepts as effective tools to creating new ideological variants, supporting intellectual and political expansion, and responding to criticism 5. The thesis presents an ideological map of transhumanism revealing the positions, interconnectedness and proximity of these concepts within the ideational structure in accordance with the morphological approach. 6. Special attention is given to two critical accounts of transhumanism: the bioconservative critique presented by Francis Fukuyama and the moral philosophical critique put forward by Jürgen Habermas. 7. The thesis unveils how transhumanism acquires unique issue ownership over a variety of social issues as well as its attempt at creating a novel semantic field to frame and interpret the perceived consequences of techno-scientific progress. The inferences from these chapters allows for testing the main hypothesis and to foreground a new account of the transhumanist thought system. A three-part argument is offered to justify the idea that transhumanism is a thin-centred ideology. Finally, a detailed account of James Hughes’ innovative spatial theory of 21st century politics is presented to justify the potential of transhumanism to become a full-fledged ideology and to acquire a dominant status among mainstream ideologies in the near future. To conclude the dissertation draws these theoretical, methodological and analytical strands together to appraise the main findings of the ideological analysis. It offers a new account of transhumanism based on its existing conceptual architecture, its power to interpret social reality and its capacity to contest other dominant and emerging ideologies

In a constantly changing social, technological, and economic environment, schools not only need to adapt but to learn continuously. One of the most significant and most current fields of school learning in Hungary and worldwide is one of the digital competencies. In this paper, I present the concept of digital competencies and the learning organization, offering an overview of different interpretations and frameworks and draw connections between them. The study suggests interrelations between schools’ learning organizational and digital competence capacities and proposes future empirical research on the topic.

This paper examines how American and Hungarian economists of generation Y and Z view the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in the short and long term. The choice of topic is motivated by the integration of AI into our everyday lives. Research has been carried out in human resources and social perspectives. Based on the responses of 147 Hungarian and 105 American economists surveyed within the framework of an online, anonymous questionnaire method, a positive vision emerges for young economists. They were confident in the social and economic welfare effects of AI. No significant difference can be found between the thinking of the two generations and the opinion of the nations. The most important conclusion from the empirical results is that AI does not take away the job of economists, but transforms it, and supports to appreciate the virtues of human resources. Accordingly, employers need to develop a shortand long-term action plan to secure their employees’ future.

This paper deals with the atmosphere of Sziget Festival. My research goal was to interpret and to depict the festival as a socio-cultural environment, an experienced material and spiritual space; a special place that exists only for a week. Based on the results, the mental places of Sziget Festival – i.e. the places that exist in festivalgoers’ minds – and the most important values of the venue, the functions of the sites, the forces that create places, the most characteristic atmospheric elements of the place, and the channels of perception of the spirit of place can be described. The applied objective of the research was also to assist in festival development, from the perspective of the formation of the festival image and marketing communication to practical considerations. Thus, the research highlights the usability of both the social sciences and applied research (marketing and market research) of genius loci, and some appropriate methods.

Self-disclosure is a well-known phenomenon in interpersonal relationships. The term has also been applied by previous research to corporate-consumer relations, but there are some differences between the two concepts. This paper tries to find a common ground, offers a new definition for corporate self-disclosure (one that is in line with the previous terminology but is closer to the interpersonal approach) and by the means of qualitative research it investigates its possible use in corporate-to-consumer communication. The author also argues that social media is very suitable field for corporate self-disclosure.

This paper investigates consistent poverty defined as living at the risk of both income poverty and material deprivation. Using EU-SILC data from 2012, we analyze patterns of consistent poverty across EU member states and in the main individual and household-level factors predicting this status. According to our results, consistent poverty is present in all Member States, although its extent displays fairly large cross-country differences. The share of those living in consistent poverty is highest in the New Member States and the Southern countries. Living in consistent poverty is associated with several household characteristics. Those living in consistent poverty are more likely than those in severe material deprivation or income poverty to live in bigger families, to have lower levels of education, and to have weak or non-existent links to the labor market. In addition, they evaluate their financial circumstances as being worse, ceteris paribus .

In societies heading for modernization, culture‑ and stratum‑specific cognitive representations of social success also undergo change, but it is by no means indifferent to the process of development how they change. Nor is Hungary an exception, where after the changes of the early 1990s the findings of research which give an insight into the images of social and personal success among professionals who play a decisive role in modernization might be of special interest, and perhaps utility. These images are indicators of status as well as motivations in the given process of modernization. The investigation described in this paper used cognitive social psychology to explore the social representations of success among would‑be and practicing members from three professional fields (agricultural engineers, architects and economists) who had and still have varying chances of success after the political changes. The present study only enlarges upon a part of the complex questionnaire survey,specifically the alleged factors and traits (causal attributes) that underlie the success of a) successful persons that respondents’ personally know, and b) generalized Hungarian successful persons, together with the factors that structure the social representations of success, as well as significant differences in these by gender, professional field and generation. The most conspicuous of our findings relates to negative emotional perceptions about the generalized successful Hungarian man, especially in the subsample of students. Known successful people are almost exclusively male and come from the world of business, which is a remarkable sign of the survival of earlier beliefs, even if otherwise no comprehensive difference was detected between the genders. Neither was a difference specific to the field of specialisation identified, in contrast to generation‑specific divergences (particularly concerning the more complex approach of earning professionals to achievement, staying well‑informed and communicative skills).

A cikk fókuszában az interkulturális szolgáltatással való találkozás áll. A téma jelentősége kétségen kívül áll, hiszen a szolgáltatások egyre növekvő térhódítása, valamint a globalizáció terjedése fontossá teszi annak ismeretét, hogy a különböző nemzeti kultúrából érkező szolgáltató és fogyasztó számára hogyan érhető el a legfőbb cél, az elégedettség. A szerzők jelen kutatásukban annak megértését helyezték a középpontba, hogy melyek azok a tényezők, amelyek befolyásolják a felek erőfeszítéseit a találkozás során fellépő problémák megoldásában. Kutatásuk során mélyinterjúkat folytattak mind a szolgáltatói, mind a fogyasztói oldallal, majd a megalapozott elmélet (grounded theory) konstruktivista irányzatának segítségével elemezték ezen interjúkat, és azonosították azokat a tényezőket, amelyek fontossá válhatnak egy kultúraközi szolgáltatásélmény során. A kutatás eredményei rámutatnak, hogy melyek azok a kommunikációs és kulturális korlátok, amelyek problémát okozhatnak, s hogy az e problémák megoldására tett erőfeszítések visszavezethetők az interakció résztvevőinek személyes jellemzőire, tapasztalataira, kulturális nyitottságára és ismereteire. A kutatás eredményeinek egyik fontos menedzseri következtetése, hogy a szállodákban a probléma jelentősége ellenére nem helyeznek elegendő hangsúlyt a kommunikációs és kulturális korlátok leküzdésére irányuló képzésekre, tréningekre. _____ This paper presents an attempt to analyse the possible solutions to problems that can occur during intercultural service encounters (ICSE). Using grounded theory the authors provide a theoretical framework that identifies the factors that lead to ICSE barriers. Based on in-depth interviews with service providers and clients they have defined the relevant characteristics that influence intercultural competence. Intercultural competence with communication and cultural differences lead to problems during ICSE that can be handled by both parties: the service provider and the client, as well. An important finding is that service companies should provide adequate training that concentrates not only on the cultural knowledge but it should create capability in understanding and adapting to cultural differences.

In this paper we estimate empirically a prospective type of welfare regime for Ukraine through testing the correspondence between ideal types of welfare regimes and mass attitudes to state support of individual well-being. In accordance with G.Esping-Andersen’s classification (1990), we consider three types of welfare regimes which have their historical bases in Europe and use the examples of three European countries as empirical referents for comparative analysis. The analysis of social attitudes to welfare regimes is based on data from ESS Round 4 (2008-2009) and is done in a three-dimension space of social expectations, assessments, and estimations of state social support for individual welfare. The comparison of social attitudes to state support for individual well-being in Ukraine and in three selected European countries allows us to come to a conclusion about the possibility of welfare reforms in Ukraine that would move it towards having one of the ideal types of European welfare regimes. Using a linear regression model we test the influence of institutional, cultural and structural factors on individual expectations about the social responsibility of a state. The empirical analysis demonstrates that the ‘three welfare regimes’ theoretical model accurately describes differences in social attitudes between West European countries like Great Britain, Germany and Sweden. However, as was expected from a theoretical perspective the empirical profiles of social attitudes towards welfare regimes in the post-Socialist countries contain substantial mismatches. The research outcomes highlight the currently very unsteady process of welfare development in different types of European societies. Post-Socialist states as a whole, and post-Soviet states especially, are unique ‘worlds’ of welfare attitudes in wider Europe.

The paper focuses on the concept of ‘financial strategies’ and addresses two problems: first, how to define the concepts of financial strategy and strategizing, and second, how to operationalize them into indicators for empirical research. The introduction to this new concept is based on the conviction that strategizing (which is understood as a specific attitude to life held by people who do not live for the moment, think about their future even if it is rather uncertain, set long-term financial goals and act towards achieving them), is an intrinsic factor in the financial behavior of people. It is argued that it is not possible to define financial strategy or to operationalize it objectively and universally since people operate in very different circumstances; i.e. in different institutional environments or at different stages of life, etc. The solution must be found in the interactionist sociological perspective with the emphasis on the construction of the interpretation of a situation: how individuals themselves make sense of financial strategizing in their own environment, the options they perceive and the constraints they feel.

Normal 0 21 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 ABSTRACT In this paper the behavior of economic actors shown in the uncertain quality goods markets is examined from the perspective of the sociology of markets. The analysis uses the findings of in-depth interviews conducted in 2011 and 2012 respectively amongst small and medium size entrepreneurs working in construction industry. In the Hungarian construction industry neither formal rules, nor vocational chambers, are able to create a safe environment for entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, networks created as a result of micro-selection steps might be able to enforce the quality of services, observe deadlines and what is more, ensure payment discipline. In this market, the typical high risk can be reduced by relationships. Networks reduce also the cost of transactions, since the important part of the services in this field could only be standardized at significant costs.

In this paper we present the results of analysis into the collaboration network of disability organizations in Hungary using survey and social network research methods. The aim was to compare Hungarian and international cases regarding cooperation between disability organizations. Consequently, we tried to find answers to the following questions: (1) what types of organizations are disability organizations in contact with? (2) what influences selection of partner organizations? (3) in what areas? (4) how often? and, (5) under what form do these organizations cooperate with each other? Results showed that all forms of cooperation are considered advantageous. By analyzing specific name-generated cooperation networks we also found that the larger, national organizations have a dominant role in applications and project implementation arrangements.

This paper gives an overview of John von Neumann’s methodology and provides a criticism of the ’ordinary’ historical explanations concerning von Neumann’s writings. His broad multidisciplinary works are traditionally analysed within separate fields, completely detached from social and multidisciplinary context. This can often lead to oversimplified historical explanations. As an illustration I discuss a lesser-known article, which plays a central role in general economics in the postwar period. This is, however, the only one which concerns directly theoretical economics. I review the possible explanations concerning his motivations to write this article and propose a different historical approach to outline his exceptional train of thoughts.

Analysis of the integration strategies followed by migrants provides good insight into the process of integration and helps with understanding the interaction between migrants and the receiving society. This approach integrates the micro, the meso and the macro levels of social scientific analysis because migrants face social challenges at different levels and their survival strategies are reactions to this whole intertwined complex. I propose to approach the integration of the migrants by investigating their techniques of maneuvering. Most migrants try to maximize their contact with the receiving community. Even those who live in rather segregated ethnic enclaves maintain some basic contacts with the surrounding world. In this paper I present the results of an analysis of narrative and semi-structured interviews conducted with immigrants who are living in Hungary and focus on the ‘slalom’ nature of the technique they follow in trying to avoid the integrationrelated traps in bureaucratic processes, the labour market and social life in general.

This paper contributes to the discourse on grassroots organizations by providing details of research on traditional Harambee Self Help Groups (SHG) in Kenya in the light of social enterprise and third sector discourses. Data for this study were provided by the provincial administration of Riruta Location in Nairobi, Kenya. The location archives were comprised of self-help group registration forms, constitutions, details of dispute processes, correspondence, proposals and minutes. The study found that increases in SHG resource mobilization activities, organizational meetings, governmental recognition (registration), membership and village outreach had a significant positive influence on the number of economic empowerment activities. Decreases in networking and increases in challenges faced by the SHGs had a negative influence on their activity. This study attempts to equate the Harambee SHGs with social enterprises, studies their entrepreneurial dynamic within the Kenyan third sector and examines their historical and current contribution to the country.

In 1998, during a fieldtrip in the former Yugoslavia, I interviewed members of associations of internally displaced persons (IDPs). They were petitioning the authorities to recover their homes and properties because they wanted to “go home”. They also wanted the truth told about their families, communities and the war. They presented me with photos of houses or farms, anonymous letters threatening them if they would not leave, photos of missing family members and legal papers. And they wanted justice. They wanted that those responsible for killing their kin and neighbors and driving them from their homes should be punished. Based on these and other experiences I investigate four institutions designed to learn the truth about contested historical events and their interpretation: the international criminal tribunal, the truth and reconciliation commission, the outsider commission, and political agreement between adversaries.

Serbia and Croatia, both actors in civil wars during the 1990s, started their transformation by emerging from the same model of "liberal socialism". The two countries had authoritarian regimes with nationalistic mobilization, and their respective transformations developed under the control of their political oligarchies. In addition to many similarities, there are also important differences which influenced their transformations. Croatia embarked upon its modernization earlier than Serbia, and was more developed economically. In contrast to Serbia, which suffered international political and economic isolation during the 1990s, Croatia enjoyed external support (making it more susceptible to external influences, to some extent) and moreover, was more opened to the world economically. This resulted in a faster economic recovery for Croatia, and accounts for the country's substantially more favorable position in the EU integration processes. Based on joint research carried out in 1989 and 2003, this paper tries to establish the degree of influence of the stated similarities and differences on changes in position of the working class in these countries, and moreover, on class homogeneity (measured in terms of economic differentiation, vertical mobility, value orientations, and trade union and political organization).

Many management scholars believe that the process used to make strategic decisions affects the quality of those decisions. However several authors have observed a lack of research on the strategic decision making process. Empirical tests of factors that have been hypothesized to affect the way strategic decisions are made notably are absent. (Fredrickson, 1985) This paper reports the results of a study that attempts to assess the effects of decision making circumstances focusing mainly on the approaches applied and the managerial skills and capabilities the decision makers built on during concrete strategic decision making procedures. The study was conducted in California between September 2005 and June 2006 and it was sponsored by a Fulbright Research Scholarship Grant.