Conclusions and Recommendations from the Central and Eastern European Workshop on Drought Mitigation

The importance of prevention and planning in drought mitigation was the impetus for the Central and Eastern European Workshop on Drought Mitigation, held April 12–15, 2000, in Budapest-Felsoőgöd, Hungary. The workshop was organized and sponsored by several Hungarian agencies: the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; Ministry for Environment; Ministry of Transport, Communication and Water Management; Research and Development Division of the Ministry of Education; and Hungarian Meteorological Service. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), European Commission Joint Research Centre (EC JRC–ISPRA), European Regional Working Group of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ERWG ICID), and the International Drought Information Center and National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, USA, also provided support. Seven country reports on the status of national drought mitigation strategies in central and eastern European (CEE) countries and twenty-one scientific and technical papers were presented and discussed. U.S. scientists discussed drought mitigation practices used in the United States that might also be followed in Europe. Although some steps have been taken in several CEE countries toward the establishment of national drought mitigation strategies, participants noted that further efforts are necessary. Their recommendations are republished below

Preparing for the BTWC Sixth Review Conference 2006

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General problems related to innovation and its potential in the Hungarian agro-food sector

This paper stresses that innovation in Hungary leaves something to be desired, and a perpetual lack of innovation also applies to the agro-food sector which, of course, consequently weakens the nation’s general competitiveness. The 2007-2013 period and the subsequent resources provided by the EU present new challenges. It is not overstating the case to say that if Hungary is not able to capitalize on this period, then it will face competitive disadvantages capable of placing Hungarian agriculture in a critical situation. To avoid this, the conditions for innovation and innovation performance must be improved. The system of innovation in the Hungarian agro-food sector does not lend itself to the application of the model constructed on R+D. Therefore, it appears practical to follow the adaptive innovation model, which would be particularly useful for SMEs.innovation, agro-food sector’s innovation, agricultural innovation, innovation models, adaptive innovation, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Labor and Human Capital, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

WATER DEMAND OF CONCRETE MIXTURES

After summarizing the former methods for evaluating water demand of concrete mixtures [1-17], the author gives some information about his investigations of the last twenty years carried out in Hungarian Institute for Building Sciences, sponsored partly by Ministry for Building (1975-1985), partly by National Organization of Technical Development in Hungary, OMFB, (1989-1992), partly by National Foundation for Scientific Research in Hungary, OTKA (1992-1994). The detailed results came - as by-products - from these investigations, which had the aim to determine possibilities and criteria of making durable concretes. According to the results, the water demand of concretes may be separated into three stages: (a) mixture of water and aggregate with cement content from zero to a relatively small quantity (depending on the aggregate grading up to 150-250 kg/m 3 ), where the necessary water quantity (in kg/m 3 ) for a given workability is constant and depends only on the aggregate grading (from aggregate+water up to lean concrete mixtures), (b) mixture of cement, water and aggregate with cement content from 150-250 kg/m 3 up to 600-700 kg/m 3 , where the necessary water quantity depends on the aggregate grading but increases slowly with increasing cement content (ordinary con- crete mixtures), (c) mixtures from very rich concretes (cement content of about 600-700 kg/m 3) up to cement pastes, where the necessary water content for a given workability depends mainly on cement content (pastes or paste-like mixtures). The paper deals with the calculation method of necessary water quantity depending on cement content and fineness (specific surface), on aggregate grading (type and fineness) and on necessary workability

Usage habits of business information system in Hungary

The IT functions of the companies can be executed in different ways in-house solution, outsourcing, in sourcing, formation a spin-off company. Predominantly this function is provided within the company in Hungary. The larger a company is; it is more likely that a separate IT manager will be entrusted for the supervision of IT functions. Only a very small number of small-sized enterprises said that they paid special attention to formulating an IT strategy, while it was not considered important by microenterprises at all

Ensuring the growth of enterprises and organizations through the motivation of managerial staff

The article studies the motivational issues of managerial staff in the context of ensuring the growth of enterprises and organizations. Design/Methodology/Approach: Eurostat data have been used within the framework of the disclosure of the article. Such methods of economic analysis as generalization and comparison have been applied for processing statistical data. Findings: It has been established that in the countries of European Union, such as Great Britain, Spain, Germany, Poland and France, there is an acceptable, in particular high level of satisfaction of their own job by employed persons, including managerial employees (managers). It has been established, that timely identification and diagnosis of problematic situations that arise on the path of development and growth of enterprises and organizations substantially depends on the level of qualification and professionalism of the head, that is, the manager. Practical Implications: The results are interesting from the theoretical and practical aspects to be applied for the improvement of the motivation to employees, including managerial staff at the enterprises and organizations. Originality/Value: The insight of the article’s subject matter requires an analysis of such key indicators as the occupational level, population’s education index, individual level of the population’s digital skills, the proportion of people who speak a foreign language, the proportion of people employed and at the same time are satisfied with their job.peer-reviewe

Different perceptions of adaptation to climate change: a mental model approach applied to the evidence from expert interviews

We argue that differences in the perception and governance of adaptation to climate change and extreme weather events are related to sets of beliefs and concepts through which people understand the environment and which are used to solve the problems they face (mental models). Using data gathered in 31 in-depth interviews with adaptation experts in Europe, we identify five basic stakeholder groups whose divergent aims and logic can be related to different mental models they use: advocacy groups, administration, politicians, researchers, and media and the public. Each of these groups uses specific interpretations of climate change and specifies how to deal with climate change impacts. We suggest that a deeper understanding and follow-up of the identified mental models might be useful for the design of any stakeholder involvement in future climate impact research processes. It might also foster consensus building about adequate adaptation measures against climate threats in a society