rss_2.0Sciendo RSS Feed for Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, European and Regional Studieshttps://sciendo.com/journal/AUSEURhttps://www.sciendo.comhttps://sciendo-parsed-data-feed.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/61faa35201c75d5690f78ac3/cover-image.jpghttps://sciendo.com/journal/AUSEUR140216https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-0007<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Our article examines the changes in the economic position of a Hungarian secondary city, Pécs, and its region in the post-crisis period from a labour productivity perspective. Our aim is to contrast results based on data of the city’s largest local firms from the Orbis Europe enterprise database with the results based on the EuroStat regional database. We assess local trends in a sectoral disaggregation and focus on the period between the two crises. Our results suggest that Pécs and its region face a persistent difficulty in attracting external resources and in retaining and generating endogenous resources.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-00072023-03-15T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-0006<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Written in late summer of 2022, this article aimed to provide an overview on the intra-EU cohesion of the EU Member States that transformed the communist system into a democratic market economy in 1988–90. The study analyses the economic background of these states for sustainable catching-up in the European Union. The result is a picture of a divided CEE area, where some states showed macroeconomic imbalances and economic growth, while others started to catch up with the solid background of the eurozone membership or its future perspective. In terms of most parameters, Hungary is in the first group but – together with Romania – is also facing serious macroeconomic difficulties.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-00062023-03-15T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-0012<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Since the 1980s, almost all of the Hungarian narrow-gauge railway lines underwent a complete change of function. About 120-140 years ago, narrow-gauge railways were created mainly for economic purposes. Nowadays, with a few exceptions, freight operation is completely eliminated and replaced by tourism. In my study, I deal with two questions: on the one hand, I will examine the place of the existing narrow-gauge railways in the tourism system. In this context, I will present the tourism potential of narrow-gauge railways. These include, for example, the availability of narrow-gauge railways, their inclusion in the wider tourism system, the material conditions of the basic infrastructure of narrow-gauge railways, etc. On the other hand, by presenting four railway lines from South Transdanubia, I will examine how well the opportunities offered by tourism have been exploited at the local level, what the impact of narrow-gauge railways is on tourism, and what the tourism-related significance of these lines is at all. Based on my analysis, it can be concluded that the narrow-gauge railway sector is developing within the tourism system, and compared to the period before the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021), investments, technical developments, and attendance have also increased. It is also clear from the South Transdanubian cases that the narrow-gauge railway system is becoming more and more important especially where it can be connected to other tourist attractions (natural parks, forest schools, etc. ), which is also evident in the attendance indicators.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-00122023-03-15T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-0010<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The 2010s saw a gradual improvement in economic growth in Hungary, which was noticeable in all regions. In this research, we examine the post-crisis economic development trends in a NUTS 3 level disaggregation in the context of the dependent market economy model. The research uses descriptive and multivariate statistical analysis to shed light on the main regional trends. Notable changes occurred mainly in the top and middle performing counties in terms of output, while the bottom of the ranking was characterized by stagnation. Territorial disparities have temporarily narrowed, but there has been no significant catching up of lagging regions.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-00102023-03-15T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-0011<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>In this study, we compare the socio-demographic background of Hungarian higher education students in the field of agriculture with that of students in other fields, and we also examine students’ career consciousness based on data from a large-sample survey conducted in Eastern Hungary in 2019. We found that in the field of agriculture 63.6% of the students were male and 64. 8% came from smaller settlements, which may be explained by the nature of the agricultural field. Regarding career consciousness, we found that while agricultural students come to higher education with the hope of obtaining a well-paying, high-prestige job, they usually do not engage in career-oriented activities and achievements during their studies.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-00112023-03-15T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-0009<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The pharmaceutical market is in a constant state of dynamism. There have been many changes in the market recently, and the business environment has changed, one of the most important factors driving the market being consumer behaviour and habits. Trends towards a healthier lifestyle are reflected in changes in purchasing behaviour, with the consumption of dietary supplements becoming increasingly popular. Within the pharmaceutical supply chain, the analysis focuses on pharmacies. The aim of the study is to describe the market changes affecting pharmacy retailing, in particular the effects of changing consumer habits and more conscious purchasing and the impact of the strong presence of players outside the supply chain on pharmacy turnover.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-00092023-03-15T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-0008<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>In this paper, we introduce research results from our network-approach-based investigation of the European Union defence cooperation projects. After brief remarks on the background, the research problem, the conceptual and methodological issues, we focus on the structure of the cooperation network and introduce the territorial, institutional, and (sub)regional patterns of partnerships. The data analyses illustrate that an integrated but fragmented cooperation network could be explored, and in several aspects remarkable differences can be measured on country-, regional, and sub-regional levels implying that territorial and institutional factors might have an important role in this specific area as well.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-00082023-03-15T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-0004<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The southernmost part of Vojvodina is the Syrmia region. The Hungarian presence here is only sporadic. The area is the most Serbian part of Vojvodina. The central settlement of the Hungarian diaspora in the region is Maradék. Maradék is the last stronghold of local Hungarian culture. The settlement is home to the Petőfi Sándor Cultural Association. The Association is the dominant community of the Hungarian culture in the Syrmia region. The local primary school has a Hungarian-language class, which is unique in the region. Maradék was also the economic centre of the region’s Hungarian population. However, historical and economic changes have had a very negative impact on the settlement. Living in Maradék is difficult, and many people, especially Hungarians, are moving away.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-00042022-12-03T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-0003<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, the emerging economic uncertainty, a declining trust, digital solutions, and the home office have changed consumer behaviour, including food-buying habits. Given that the epidemic in Central and Eastern Europe has developed differently due to territorial differences, we have focused our study on the comparative analysis of two countries. The aim of our research was to examine the food purchase habits during the first wave of the pandemic together with consumer decisions and their motivations emerged due to the epidemic among the Hungarian urban population of two countries. In the present study, we conducted a survey among Hungarian urban consumers in Romania and among the urban population in Hungary at the beginning of the pandemic when lockdown was implemented. Over a two-month period, we collected more than 2,000 completed questionnaires.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-00032022-12-03T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-0005<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The present study examines the dilemma of the Calvinists living in Transcarpathia (which became part of the Soviet Union in 1946) that arose following its annexation to the Soviet Empire. The problem was caused by the fact that among the Protestant denominations in the Soviet Union in 1946-47, only Evangelical Christians-Baptists (ECB) had state registration, i.e. a legal operating licence. The study aims at revealing the dialectics of the dilemma arising among the Calvinists, according to which, in order to survive, they should either align with the ECB (i.e. imperial expectations) or, alternatively, even take the risk of termination and maintain their denominational separation. In addition, the research brings insights into how the choice of the Calvinists was influenced by the denominational autonomy and national traditions that had been enjoyed until then. The state authorities would have provided a chance for an easier and routine-like solution of the problem and classify the nearly 80,000 Reformed community members in Transcarpathia as ECB. However, the case generated an unexpected problem even in the Soviet bureaucratic system as the denominational affiliation was also linked to the issue of nationality. Therefore, at the state level, it was a problem of both a religious belief and national belonging. Likewise, the study highlights the extent to which the response of the religious minority in the present case was about religious affiliation and ethnicity. Finally, the present paper considers how the state’s primary project had ultimately changed when exploring the dilemma and what conclusions and outcomes it entailed.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-00052022-12-03T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-0001<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Active citizenship, critical citizenship, digital citizenship, global citizenship: just a few from the concepts that have shaped the debate about citizenship in the past decades. While these concepts have dominated both the academic and the public discourse and had implications for citizenship education in mature democracies, they often seem to be far away from the lived realities of many Eastern European new democracies. In these countries, debates about citizenship have been burdened with the legacies of the non-democratic past, and even citizenship education has been marginalized for a long time. This paper introduces the Hungarian case and aims to contribute to the theoretical debates about the concept of the good citizen by reflecting on the peculiarities of a post-socialist new democracy.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-00012022-12-03T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-0002<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>As a result of the first free and democratic elections in Hungary, in May 1990, József Antall formed a government, whose foreign policy goal was the restoration of the sovereignty of Hungary and the support and representation of the Euro-Atlantic integration and of the Hungarians across the border. In the Hungarian–Czechoslovak bilateral relations, the new Hungarian government’s aim was to expand the political relations in both federal and republican levels. It was Hungary’s interest that serious legacies, such as the issue of the Bős– Nagymaros Dam system, should not hold back the general advance, wherefore a solution appropriate for both parties had to be found. Hungary considered Czechoslovakia as an outstanding economic partner. The Antall government took steps so that the fate and future of the Slovakian Hungarians would be ensured in accordance with the European development standards. One of the key issues in this was the consistent Czechoslovak condemnation of the principle of collective guilt, the Beneš decrees. During the dialogues, certain elements of the common historical past returned several times.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2022-00022022-12-03T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-0012<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>This article explores the role that language played in the development of national identity in Romanian cultural discourses from the writings of Dimitrie Cantemir in the 18^th century to those of Mihai Eminescu in the second part of the 19^th century. The article also makes use of the theories of Daco-Roman continuity and the theory of Latin descent. Seen in relation to the Latinization of Romanian that occurred in the 18^th and the 19^th centuries, these concepts are considered as contributing to the emergence of the so-called Romanian exceptionality. Cantemir’s and Eminescu’s writings are analysed in relation to the rise of fascism in interwar Romania as well as to the transformation of internationalist communism into nationalism after the purges of the 1950s and the re-orientation of the Romanian socialist regime towards the Right. The use of language for political purposes is ultimately considered as one of the elements that contributed to the hold that fascism and nationalism had on the Romanian psyche, so much so that nationalism survived (and was indeed boosted) throughout the socialist period and into post-socialism. The article concludes that this has contributed to the ongoing identity crisis of the national self-image and will continue to do so in the 21^st century.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-00122022-02-02T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-0009<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>This paper contains the analysis of regional innovation performance in the NUTS 2 regions of Romania, based on the European Innovation Scoreboard evaluation for 2011 and 2019, and the identification of the most significant influencing factors of county-level R&amp;D activity, for the 1997–2018 period. The Regional Innovation Index (RII) provides a profound characterization for Romanian regions regarding their innovation performance, which was studied using the GIS (Geographic Information System) methodology in relation with the regional R&amp;D activity, GDP per capita, and entrepreneurship innovation. In the following, the Romanian R&amp;D activity is analysed at the county level. The influencing factors of R&amp;D expenditures and employment in Romanian counties were studied based on two panel regression models and using exogenous variables, for economic development, entrepreneurship, education, and infrastructure.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-00092022-02-02T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-0011<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Competition for all kinds of resources has started among the Ukrainian cities and first of all for human capital. Therefore, a proper strategic planning is the uppermost priority for local governments. In this paper, the vision and market segmentation of the adopted strategy for the socio-economic development of the Ukrainian city of Sumy is analysed using the comparative method and content analysis. It aims to demonstrate that the city marketing approach towards strategy creation helps to make the strategy more concrete and visible. Existing city marketing strategies of Helsinki, Whitehorse, and North Port were used for comparison.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-00112022-02-02T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-0014ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-00142022-02-02T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-0013<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The paper is devoted to providing a schematic presentation of the evolution of Dobruja’s administrative-territorial system as part of Romania, presenting and highlighting the factors that contributed to the Romanian nation- and state-building process. As its primary objective, the study describes the evolution and conscious development of the abovementioned region as part of Romania between the years 1878 and 1926. Also, it formulates as a secondary goal the impact of Dobruja’s numerous administrative-territorial reorganizations on the fate of the multicultural community living in the region. At the same time, the aim is also to list and emphasize the strategies, procedures of assimilation, integration, and colonization of the region.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-00132022-02-02T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-0008<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Developed countries started to outsource labour-intensive production processes to lower-cost countries decades ago such as the ones belonging to Central Eastern Europe, where subcontracting became significant from the 1950s. During the past few years, tendencies of relocation came to the fore and received a fresh boost because of the economic situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The growing need for shorter supply chains creates a noteworthy situation in the region’s fashion industry. But we have to make a difference between the ‘headquarter’ country of the brand and the actual country of origin: even if luxury products are made here, the relations in production remain hidden.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-00082022-02-02T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-0010<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The common agricultural policy accounts for more than 38% of the European Union’s budget. In the 2014–2020 cycle, 8.9 billion euros went in Hungary to the first pillar and 4.1 billion euros to the second pillar for rural development, the mobilization of which was coordinated by the Rural Development Programme. The second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy plays an important role in catching up with the lagging and depopulated Hungarian countryside. It serves key objectives such as sustainable environmental management, strengthening and diversifying the rural economy, or a fair standard of living. In my dissertation, I explore the territorial distribution of the payments of the rural development programme between 2015 and 2019 and how it affects unemployment and incomes.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-00102022-02-02T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-0006<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Across the River Tisza, there lies a town, Berehove (hereinafter also referred to as Beregszász [Hu]), situated on the north-eastern edge of the Great Hungarian Plain with the wind swaying ears of wheat, on the flatlands surrounded by rustling oak forests, gold-sweating trachyte mountains, and rivers subsiding upon reaching the plain. It is a veritable fairy garden, a small piece of the realm that out foremother, Emese, dreamt of back in the day. Places, just as people, have their own destinies: they emerge, evolve, thrive, and then, if they are destined so, disappear from the stage of history. The very first mention of Berehove dates back to early 1063, recorded under the name Lamperti, as the estate of Prince Lampert, son of Béla I of Hungary. Prince Lampert founded the later town. At the time, a small settlement must have been situated here with the prince’s countryseat inhabited by the garrison and the household servants. Residents of the house were mostly the gamekeepers and huntsmen of Bereg Forest County.</p> <p>To fully uncover the past is not possible – at the very most, some attempts can be made at its reconstruction by drawing on contemporary sources and relying on archaeological research. The mediaeval layout of the settlement is known from the available sources and serves as a basis for the present study in its efforts to reconstruct the settlement image of the historical town centre and to find out why Lampertszásza did not embark on the path of the ‘classic, city wall/fortification’ type of settlement development. The parish church is the only building of the mediaeval townscape that has survived partially, which, however, provides us with indications about the contemporary buildings of the one-time reginal town and the related ‘block of church buildings’.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/auseur-2021-00062021-11-15T00:00:00.000+00:00en-us-1