LIVING STANDARD, QUALITY OF LIFE IN NORTH-EAST HUNGARY BASED ON A SURVEY

living standard, quality of life, liveability, North-East Hungary, regional differences, questionnaire surveyliving standard, quality of life, liveability, North-East Hungary, regional differences, questionnaire survey, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Labor and Human Capital,

Comparative analysis of micro-regions in the northern Great Plain Region

Our short paper examines the region of the Northern Great Plain, mainly due to its disadvantaged situation. Comparative analysis of the micro-regions in this particular region was implemented to identify possible causes for differentiation between the micro-regions. Finding these causes would then help us find more effective ways to address regional inequalities, currently one of the central issues not only in Hungary but throughout Eastern Europe. The methods used for such analysis included statistical indicators, such as difference in migration rates, rate of unemployment, number of incorporated enterprises per 1000 inhabitants etc., as well as the principal component analysis and the currently applicable categorisation system for micro-regions. The findings are univocal: the nationally disadvantageous situation of the region is aggravated by the heterogeneity present within the region, by the huge differences between micro-regions encompassing county seats, and peripheral micro-regions. The outstanding situation of the micro-regions of Nyíregyháza, Debrecen and Szolnok was maintained in 2006 as well; apart from these, only the micro-regions of Jászberény and Hajdúszoboszló can be regarded as being above-average. The micro-region of Csenger is still seriously underdeveloped in comparison with other areas in the region. The key to remedying these problems could lie in their proximity to the border, elimination of the infrastructural deficiencies of the micro-region and improving the population’s qualification levels. ------------------------------ Rövid munkánkban az Észak-alföldi Régiót vizsgáltuk, fÅ‘leg annak hátrányos helyzetébÅ‘l adódóan. A régió kistérségeinek összehasonlító elemzésével az volt a célunk, hogy rávilágítsunk a kistérségek közötti differenciálódás lehetséges okaira, hiszen azok feltárásával a területi egyenlÅ‘tlenségek kezelése – mely nem csak Magyarországon, de Közép-Kelet Európában napjaink egyik központi kérdése – eredményesebbé válhat. Ehhez statisztikai mutatókat – például vándorlási különbözet, munkanélküliségi arány, az 1000 lakosra jutó regisztrált vállalkozások száma stb. –, fÅ‘komponens-analízist és a hatályos kistérségi kategorizálást használtuk fel. Az eredmények egyértelműek: a térség országosan hátrányos helyzetét súlyosbítja a területén belüli heterogenitás, a megyeszékhelyi és perifériális kistérségek közötti óriási különbség. A Nyíregyházi, Debreceni és Szolnoki kistérség régión belüli kiemelkedÅ‘ helyzete 2006-ra is megmaradt, átlagon felüli helyze¬tűnek ezeken túlmenÅ‘en csak a Jászberényi és Hajdúszoboszlói kistérség tekinthetÅ‘. A Csengeri kistérség fejlettségben továbbra is jelentÅ‘sen elmarad a régió további térségeitÅ‘l. Ezen problémák orvoslásának kulcsa lehet a határ mentiség, az infrastrukturális elmaradottság és az alacsony képzettségi színvonal kezelése.regional differences, micro-region, principal component analysis, területi különbségek, kistérség, fÅ‘komponens analízis, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Measuring Centre-periphery Relationship in North-East Hungary by Complex Index of Living and Local Retaining Capacity

The latest transformation of industrial and agricultural areas leads to inequity implying economic and social consequences. The complex index of living is the key factor in establishment of the index of local retaining capacity. These indexes are a very useful tool in determination of the goals of revitalization

Are Cyberchondria and Intolerance of Uncertainty Related to Smartphone Addiction?

Smartphones are a medium for performing online activities, and one such activity could be the compulsive online health information search — cyberchondria. This study aimed to test whether cyberchondria and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) positively predict smartphone addiction (SA), adjusted for age, gender, daily use duration, the reason for using smartphones, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. The sample consisted of 471 adults (55.2% women) from the general population without chronic diseases ( M age = 38.67). Regression analysis showed that IU was a positive predictor of SA ( β = .17, p < .001), as well as cyberchondria ( β = .14, p < .001), which had a unique contribution to the explanation of SA, relative to IU. Other significant predictors were average daily smartphone use and entertainment use, the latter being the strongest predictor in the model. These results revealed cyberchondria as a unique predictor of SA

No direct effect of the -521 C/T polymorphism in the human dopamine D4 receptor gene promoter on transcriptional activity

BACKGROUND: The human dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene has been studied extensively as a candidate gene for certain psychological traits and several behavioural and psychiatric disorders. Both the 5' regulatory region and the coding sequence contain a number of polymorphisms. The promoter variants have received particular attention in the past few years due to their possible role in the regulation of gene transcription. Previously, the -521C/T SNP was shown to influence promoter activity. The aim of this study is to perform an in-depth analysis of this effect in the context of various neural cell lines. RESULTS: Endogenous mRNA expression of the DRD4 gene was demonstrated in two neuroblastoma (SK-N-F1, IMR32) and one retinoblastoma cell line (Y79) by RT-PCR. In addition, very low DRD4 mRNA levels were also detected in HeLa cells. The transcriptional activity of a series of 5' promoter deletion mutants was determined by transient transfection of luciferase reporter constructs. The activity profile of these promoter fragments was similar in each of the cell lines tested. The highest luciferase reporter activity was obtained with a construct containing promoter sequences between nucleotides -668 to -389, while a putative silencer region was localised spanning from nucleotide -1571 to -800. Surprisingly, the -521 C/T polymorphism had no significant effect on transcriptional activity of the reporter construct with the highest activity (-668 to -389) in any of the three cell lines tested. CONCLUSION: Our results do not confirm previous data assigning different transcriptional activities to the -521 C/T alleles of the human DRD4 promoter. Furthermore, these findings highlight the need for further characterization of the 5' regulatory region of the DRD4 gene and identification of additional functional promoter polymorphic sites, especially in the context of haplotype

The Psychometric Properties of the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory Using a Large-Scale Nonclinical Sample

The conceptualization of hypersexuality has begun to converge as a result of proposed diagnostic criteria. However, its measurement is still diverse. The Hypersexual Behavior Inventory (HBI) is one of the most appropriate scales used to assess hypersexuality, but further examination is needed to test its psychometric properties among different clinical and nonclinical groups, including samples outside of the United States. The aim of the present study was to investigate the reliability and the generalizability of HBI and to determine a cutoff score on a large, diverse, online, nonclinical sample (N = 18,034 participants; females = 6132; 34.0%; M-age = 33.6 years, SDage = 11.1). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and reliability indices provided support for the structure of the HBI and demonstrated excellent reliability. Employing latent profile analysis (LPA), seven classes emerged, but they could not be reliably distinguished by objective sexuality-related characteristics. Moreover, it was not possible to determine an adequate cutoff score, most likely due to the low prevalence rate of hypersexuality in the population. HBI can be reliably used to measure the extent of hypersexual urges, fantasies, and behavior; however, objective indicators and a clinical interview are essential to claim that a given individual may exhibit features of problematic sexual behavior

Measuring Centre-periphery Relationship in North-East Hungary by Complex Index of Living and Local Retaining Capacity

The latest transformation of industrial and agricultural areas leads to inequity implying economic and social consequences. The complex index of living is the key factor in establishment of the index of local retaining capacity. These indexes are a very useful tool in determination of the goals of revitalization

Comparative analysis of micro-regions in the northern Great Plain Region

Our short paper examines the region of the Northern Great Plain, mainly due to its disadvantaged situation. Comparative analysis of the micro-regions in this particular region was implemented to identify possible causes for differentiation between the micro-regions. Finding these causes would then help us find more effective ways to address regional inequalities, currently one of the central issues not only in Hungary but throughout Eastern Europe. The methods used for such analysis included statistical indicators, such as difference in migration rates, rate of unemployment, number of incorporated enterprises per 1000 inhabitants etc., as well as the principal component analysis and the currently applicable categorisation system for micro-regions. The findings are univocal: the nationally disadvantageous situation of the region is aggravated by the heterogeneity present within the region, by the huge differences between micro-regions encompassing county seats, and peripheral micro-regions. The outstanding situation of the micro-regions of Nyíregyháza, Debrecen and Szolnok was maintained in 2006 as well; apart from these, only the micro-regions of Jászberény and Hajdúszoboszló can be regarded as being above-average. The micro-region of Csenger is still seriously underdeveloped in comparison with other areas in the region. The key to remedying these problems could lie in their proximity to the border, elimination of the infrastructural deficiencies of the micro-region and improving the population’s qualification levels. ------------------------------ Rövid munkánkban az Észak-alföldi Régiót vizsgáltuk, főleg annak hátrányos helyzetéből adódóan. A régió kistérségeinek összehasonlító elemzésével az volt a célunk, hogy rávilágítsunk a kistérségek közötti differenciálódás lehetséges okaira, hiszen azok feltárásával a területi egyenlőtlenségek kezelése – mely nem csak Magyarországon, de Közép-Kelet Európában napjaink egyik központi kérdése – eredményesebbé válhat. Ehhez statisztikai mutatókat – például vándorlási különbözet, munkanélküliségi arány, az 1000 lakosra jutó regisztrált vállalkozások száma stb. –, főkomponens-analízist és a hatályos kistérségi kategorizálást használtuk fel. Az eredmények egyértelműek: a térség országosan hátrányos helyzetét súlyosbítja a területén belüli heterogenitás, a megyeszékhelyi és perifériális kistérségek közötti óriási különbség. A Nyíregyházi, Debreceni és Szolnoki kistérség régión belüli kiemelkedő helyzete 2006-ra is megmaradt, átlagon felüli helyze¬tűnek ezeken túlmenően csak a Jászberényi és Hajdúszoboszlói kistérség tekinthető. A Csengeri kistérség fejlettségben továbbra is jelentősen elmarad a régió további térségeitől. Ezen problémák orvoslásának kulcsa lehet a határ mentiség, az infrastrukturális elmaradottság és az alacsony képzettségi színvonal kezelése

LIVING STANDARD, QUALITY OF LIFE IN NORTH-EAST HUNGARY BASED ON A SURVEY

The results in the reduction of the territorial differences as the goals of regional development can be measured well by the living standard, quality of life of inhabitants and the changes in the above and the several economic indexes. The most important thing, of course, is that the opinions of those living there change in positive direction, and the image of their living place and its region is encouraging. By this way the local retaining capacity of single area units can be increased, which also concerns the questions of rural development regarding the rural regions. Following these ideas we made a questionnaire survey based on a 1000-strong sample in North-East Hungary. In the questionnaire the respondents could qualify their living places and the sub regions, counties by different factors of quality of life and they gave information about their financial possibilities and living standards. It helped to compare the sub regions of the above part of the country, and – through this - to present the differences invented by the living locally. Our short paper presents only that part of the main results, which is directly connected with judgement of liveability and quality of life of close and wide living place