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Developing a Financial Sustainability Model of the Performance Indicators Applied by Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna)
75-87Views:260Jordan is now facing real challenges to satisfy the current population water needs due to limited resources. Moreover, unfortunately, as a result of the increased demand for water in developing countries, water resources become scarce, thus, the sustainable management of water resources is very important everywhere and especially in these areas. The Ministry of Water and Irrigation in Jordan is aiming to improve both its quality of service and financial sustainability, therefore, it started to apply the performance measurement system developed by the International Water Association (IWA) to monitor its performance towards achieving these goals. In this article, a model connecting a financial sustainability indicator (operating cost coverage ratio) with other performance indicators applied by the ministry is developed. To assess the performance indicators and to build the model secondary data are collected from the targeted company, the data are analyzed using SPSS and Excel computer programs. Non-revenue water (NRW), speed of repair of bursts, and training per employee are found to be the indicators that have a major impact on Miyahuna’s financial sustainability, the NRW is found to have a negative relationship with the financial sustainability, whereas the other two indicators have a positive relationship. As a conclusion, reducing the NRW and increasing both the speed of repair and training per employee are recommended, by applying some methods that continuously diagnose problems in the water systems and defining clear and strict policies to control the water theft. Furthermore, using Active Leakage Control (ALC) methods, providing the needed equipment, tools and resources, and adopting new methods for training.
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The Relationship between Family Background and Labor Market Success
88-97Views:428In our study, we undertake to explore the social background of fresh graduates (has absolutorium) by field of study. In doing so, we put great emphasis on the educational attainment of the parents and the financial situation of the family, as these factors can have a significant impact on young people's learning opportunities, attitudes and career paths. In the theoretical part of our research, we consider it important to present the experiences of domestic and international authors on the socio-economic situation. Subsequently, the 2015 Graduate Career Tracking System (DPR) database provided us an excellent opportunity to study the complex data collected by the 34 higher education institutions. In our analysis, we highlighted the different socio-economic backgrounds of graduates from different disciplines. Based on our research, we have concluded that young people from richer families are in a better position on the labor market, earning higher incomes than children of parents with lower social status
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Markmyprofessor: the More the Better?
232-243Views:1240Student evaluation of faculty members is a current topic both internationally and in Hungary, partly due to the massification and partly due to the marketization of higher education. One of the evaluation methods is the internet-based voluntary rating which was started by ratemyprofessors.com in the U.S.A. and whose Hungarian counterpart is markmyprofessor.com. Research studies on the U.S. website – among many other critics – established that reliability of this evaluation method highly depends on the frequency of ratings: if an individual tutor is evaluated by more students, then the standard deviation of the ratings is smaller. The previous conclusion about the U.S. website is tested in our study based on Hungarian data. Our main result is that many of the experiences about markmyprofessor.com echo the previous findings about ratemyprofessors.com. Beside this in the Hungarian sample the higher response rate is associated with lower average ratings.
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Climate-Neutral Energy Production - Prospects in Hungary in 2024
53-60Views:79In order to protect our planet's climate, it is important to reduce humanity's carbon dioxide emissions significantly. The energy sector is one of the most polluting industries, but the rapid spread of renewable energy sources over the past 20 years can significantly contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The study examined which energy sources are used to produce electricity in Hungary, and how the proportion of renewable energy has developed in recent years compared to more polluting energy production methods. There is a strong negative exponential relationship between the share of renewable energy and the carbon dioxide emissions of the energy sector, based on which the carbon dioxide emissions of the energy sector can be significantly reduced by increasing the share of renewable energy. A forecast was made for the renewable share based on past data and the revised state of the National Energy and Climate Plan in 2023, and a linear forecast was made for the energy sector's emissions. There is a strong exponential relationship between the data series. Both models examined in the study had strong explanatory power, but neither model supports the possibility of climate-neutral energy production by 2030.
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Determination of the Accumulation of the Heavy Metal Content of the Sediment of River Danube by Plants
163-170Views:125In these days, the surface waters and their floodplains and oxbow lakes are operating as ecological corridors, although their touristic role is not negligible. The monitoring and saving of these wetlands need for sustain these areas for the future generations. The environmental parameters of floodplains and oxbow lakes is revealed with the analyses of the quality of the water and sediment. The main sampling place of our research is a sediment dump was created by excavation from the Open Beach of Dunaújváros in 2009. In 2010 the whole sediment dump was planted with trees, and many kinds of weeds were also grown here. The main aim of this research is to analyse the heavy metal content of the sediment dump in Dunaújváros. Furthermore, the heavy metal content of the parella (Rumex obtusifolius L.), perennial rye-grass (Lolium perenne) and riparian sedges (Carex riparia) which are growing on the sediment dump were also analysed. The distribution and the accumulation of the heavy metals inside this plant can be also determined with these measurements.
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Labour Market Success of Engineering Graduates
1-8Views:145The study aims to explore the labor market success of engineering graduates. The role of science field in the areas of job search time, earnings and job congruence proved significant. The engineering discipline proved to be outstanding in all the tree tested indicators. The database was GraduatesTracking System 2011-2012 (DPR 2011-2012). The indicators of employ ability could be compared among the young graduates of domestic higher education institutions in the engineering science, and similarities and differences could be highlighted
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Floodresc – Disaster Management in case of Flooding in the Hernad Watershed
181-187Views:113The aim of the Floodresc project is to develop a GIS based decision support system that can help the defense and rescue operations of the Disaster Management Directorate during any floods in the Hernád River. In the project, a geospatial database covering the entire river basin, a modeling application for predicting the extent of flooded areas in time, and a logistics model supporting defense-related transportation tasks will be developed.
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Vocational Training Students’ Self-Assessment in Higher Education
223-231Views:191This paper is intended to clarify the phenomenon that lower achieving students tend to evaluate their own academic performance less accurately than those who are better in their studies. Former studies have found that lower performers generally overestimate while higher performers underestimate their performance. The current study analyses the self-assessment behaviour and efficiency among Hungarian higher vocational education students. We found that the lowest level of higher education students typically overestimate themselves. Over results strengthen the empirical evidences in former studies that higher-achieving students evaluate their performance more accurately than their lower achieving fellows. Furthermore we found that lower-achieving students tend to evaluate their performance less accurate and typically over-assess their examination results than high-achieving students, who generally evaluate themselves more accurate and rather underestimate. We analysed the difference between the two genders too. Compared to female students, male tend to evaluate their results more accurate and overestimate their own performance more.
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A Domestic Investigation of Online Banking
22-32Views:280Nowadays, the spread of digitalization is constantly increasing. The current rising generation is already a “digital native”. As part of digitalisation, mention should be made of the Internet, which has been given a prominent role in our daily lives. We search for information on the Internet, we communicate, we buy. Due to these factors and the pandemic in 2020, internet administration has become a priority. Banks need to constantly adapt to meet their needs, promoting convenient, home banking. In the course of our research, we focused on this continuous adaptation and the resulting improvements. The research focused on the Internet and mobile banks of large Hungarian banks. Sampling took place over 2 periods. Among the primary research tools, we chose document analysis, and netnography. In the research, we compared the functions available on the platforms, the consumer perception of mobile banks and other variables. Based on the results obtained during the research, it can be stated that domestic banks are constantly developing their application along different trends and trying to adapt to changing needs. Serious changes had to be made in the mobile banks of most large banks, even with the permanent elimination of their former mobile banks. Changes can have a strong impact on consumers, who are often more likely to have a negative view of them. Digitalisation is also particularly important in this sector. The study contains the details of the course work prepared for the Scientific Students’ Associations Conference.
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Maintenance Strategies and Life Cycle Costs of Renewable Energy Systems
106-116Views:141Life cycle costs are important factors in decisions on renewable energy investments. Since maintenance costs generally constitute a high portion of the life cycle costs, the maintenance strategy applied in a project can affect the bottom line significantly. The effective maintenance tools used in the production industry (e.g., diagnostics, condition monitoring, data management, integrated information systems, machine learning, and automated decision making) can be involved in planning and maintenance of renewable energy systems to gain the benefits of these approaches. In this paper the effects of maintenance strategies on life cycle costs are investigated and the benefits of up-to-date condition monitoring techniques are presented through case studies.
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Determination of the accumulation of heavy metals of river sediment by plants
46-53Views:152Danube is the main river of Hungary. Danube and its floodplains and oxbow lakes are operating as ecological corridors, although their industrial, logistic and touristic role is not negligible. It is well known, that from the source to the estuary of the river Danube there are many industrial facilities. This heavy industrial pollution had effected on the water quality. The most dangerous components of the sewage water of these facilities are heavy metals, which can be found in the water as well as in the sediment. These toxic elements can cause significant health risks, because they can accumulate in the food-chain. The main aim of our research is to investigate the accumulation rate of the heavy metal content of the river sediment in the different parts of the test plants. The main sampling place of our research was a sediment dump was created by excavation from the Open Beach of Dunaújváros in 2009. During our measurements we analysed the cadmium, nickel, lead, chromium, copper and zinc concentration of the sediment and the plants. The test plants, which are growing on this sampling place, were parella (Rumex patientia), perennial rye-grass (Lolium perenne), sedge (Carex riparia), bistort (Persicaria maculosa). The extraction of the heavy metal content of the samples was made according to the MSZ Hungarian standard. The concentration of heavy metals were analysed with AAS (atom absorption spectrometer). According to our results we determined that parella could accumulate cadmium, nickel, chromium and zinc in its upper stem, on the other hand bistort could accumulate these elements mainly in its leaves. These information will be important in the case of the in-situ remediation of a polluted area in the future.
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The Empirical Examination of Firm Value Drivers Regarding the Global Financial Crisis
213-222Views:178The article focuses the corporate value creation and the most important value drivers. The first goal of the paper is to classify the most relevant value drivers, and their function of the firms’ value. Further objective of this study is to introduce the effects of the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. This article demonstrates the following. The first part presents the value chain and illustrates the primary and the support activities of the corporates. The second section briefly presents the 2007-2008 financial global economic crisis, introducing its causes, events and financial aspects. The third empirical part of the article analyses the database featuring data from 18 European countries, 10 sectors and 1553 firms in the period between 2004 and 2011. At the end, the fourth part contains conclusions. Based on the related literature reviewed and in the conducted empirical research it can be assessed that 2008 can be seen unambiguously as the year of the financial crisis. In this year, all predictors had a negative effect on the criterion variable, the firm value.
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The Relationship Between Renewable Energy Consumption, Net Energy Import, Greenhouse Gas Emission and Human Cap
58-71Views:169The measures to improve energy efficiency and increase of renewable energy production and consumption should be encouraged in the interest of sustainable development. Many factors can influence the use of renewable energy such as the level of economic development of an economy, nationals’ and the main economic actors’ environmental awareness, energy import dependency, ratio of the urban population, and government subsidization intensity among the others. The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the share of renewable energy in the total energy consumption and net energy import as a percentage of energy use less production, greenhouse gas emission per capita and human capital using by OECD countries data from 1990 to 2014. The results indicate that there is a negative relationship between net energy import and renewable energy consumption, and also negative relationship can be shown between the amount of greenhouse gas emission per capita and renewable energy consumption. However, we identified a positive relationship between human capital and renewable energy consumption for energy importer countries above a certain level of human capital.
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Current Challenges in the Regulation of CO2 Emission of Road Vehicles
738-742Views:219Today, as part of the fight against climate change, regulations on greenhouse gas emissions are gaining significantly higher attention. Our work focuses on the European Union legislation on carbon dioxide emissions from road vehicles, with special emphasis on the target values. Current changes in CO2 measurement methods, as important issues of the regulations, are also reviewed within this article.
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A study of pressure-sinkage relationship used in a tyre-terrain interaction
186-199Views:170The vehicle applies a normal load to the terrain, which causes sinkage and motion resistance. To forecast the normal pressure distribution on the interface of a vehicle–terrain and the tractive performance of a vehicle, the response of the terrain to normal load (which is characterized by pressure–sinkage relationship equations) must be measured. This paper presents the common conventional pressure sinkage models used in terramechanic and the modification that happened to this models. In addition the features of the new models.
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Experiences of Innovation Projects in the Light of the „European Paradox”
563-578Views:116Corporate innovation can be a major factor in economic development and long-term high-level corporate performance. The position of the EU in international innovation rankings has not improved since the 2000 2009 period; though there has been a more positive trend since 2010, meeting the Lisbon goals, the EU is still not at the forefront in terms of R&D&I. Behind this process is the rapid progress of some industrially developing nations in R&D&I, as well as the relatively slow institutional development of national innovation systems in Europe. The relative lag in Europe can be explained by the frequently referred to “European paradox”, which is still unclear for methodological reasons. Firstly we consider the international ranking in innovation, then discuss one of the explanations put forth to explain this rather weak performance. We present case study that represent Hungarian experiences with corporate innovation.
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Supplier Evaluation Schemes in Case of Different Research Frameworks
617-624Views:158Performance evaluation is not only important in employer and employee relationships, but also in partnerships between a supply chain’s members. In order to satisfy customers’ needs according to the 7 Rights of logistics, all members of the given chain have to perform properly. To ensure the best performance, supplier evaluation can act as a starting point. Besides continous feedback, supplier evaluation plays an important role in performance development of suppliers. The aim of our research is to develop and introduce innovative supplier evaluation models, which include the advantages of traditional and electronic supplier evaluation forms. In addition to this, these models are visualised, making it easier to understand expectations and information. In this study, the aim is to present two different models the PaTeNt©- SESC (Pató Tetrahedrons of interNational Theory - Supplier Evaluation of Supply Chain) and the Douple Evaluation Platform, based on previous research.
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The Empirical Examination of Different Customer Types
92-100Views:157The proper knowledge of customer types is essential for a well functioning company – regardless of its size. In current research we wanted to identify and characterize the particular customer groups with involving 302 persons. During the examination we measured the attitudes of these participants with the help of a statement range based on Kotler’s classical customer types. For the identification we made factor- and cluster analysis, and we could separate five different factors. They received the names of Angry, Definite, Discursive Passive, Experience Shopping and Indefinite - based on some related statements. After the cluster analysis – along these factors - we could separate four different groups: Young Impulse Shoppers, Outspoken Definites, Negatives and Born Customers. Each and every group requires different communication, sales attitude and service morals.
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Connection Between Internet Using Habits and Ethical Attitude of Business Students
14-25Views:139In these days we are witnessing a trend of more and more using IT assets and the using of internet too. As teachers at the university we can see that our students also tied with a thousand threads to the IT world. Current research aims to explore the students’ internet using habits, how many times they spend on the web and why. In our previous work we examined our economist students’ ethical attitudes. In this study we try to connect this two themes. Our research question: are there any connection between our students’ ethical judgment and their internet using habits.
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Trends in Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Renewable Energy Policies in the EU and USA, with Special Emphasis on the Transportation Sector
219-231Views:266The aim of this work is to review recent trends in the field of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and renewable energy policies of the European Union and the United States of America. During the last few decades, there was a significant shift within the political attitude towards these fields, therefore important changes were realized in the electricity production and the climate policy. In the present paper, we discuss the current situation focusing on the transportation segment.
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Macroeconomic Analysis of Expenditures on Education as Human Capital Investments
520-530Views:143The importance of actions on adaptation to economic change associated with the knowledge-based economy has continuously grown both regional and national level. Individuals' flexibly adjust and the knowledge acquired in all forms of education is very important factors in the evolving knowledge-based economies. We examine the fiscal and private expenditures on education among OECD countries between 2005 and 2013, and we analyse the development of education expenditures with particular attention to Hungary.
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Impact of Digitalization on Domestic Trade Strategies
318-333Views:1455The aim of our study is to reveal the fit of digital space into current and future trade and to assess the effects of digitization on Hungarian trade strategies. The information gathering and purchasing habits of consumers have changed dramatically in recent years. Consumers today make buying decisions based primarily on convenience, effectiveness (fast and convenient access to products at adequate price/value ratio), and experience. Adjusting to these trends, traders developed novel trading strategies, and the use of achievements of digitization is an integral part of these strategies. One aspect of digitization is the increasing global development of e-commerce. The Hungarian online commerce have also been expanding significantly from year after year: based on 2018 data, domestic and foreign online sales volume have passed 1000 billion HUF. The Hungarian online consumers buy on the Internet more and more often and at greater and greater value. The online shopping on virtual reality platforms may make this purchase mode more experiential. Webshops have to meet new consumer needs, and deliver the ordered products as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours. An increasing number of parcel delivery options has begun becoming more and more popular (e.g., automatic parcel terminals, pick pack points). However, traditional channels should not be buried, either. Their obvious advantage is that consumers can take their choice based on multiple senses and it also gives them more room for impulse buying. Combined with the digital technology compliant with contemporary requirements, this can offer a complete shopping experience. Nowadays, recognizing this need online and traditional channels have been mixed in several cases (e.g., multichannel, omnichannel, cross-channel sales) and offer several options for consumers during the purchase process. The sales area optimization of traditional shops and the buyer paths aided by digital technology (e.g., digital shelf labels) are designed for the buyers’ convenience. The newest innovations imply automation of the buying process making the whole process more convenient and more personalized with the use of sensors (e.g., Amazon Go) or robots (e.g., Pepper). In our future purchases, digital personal assistants will appear as digital versions of sales personnel.
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Business Students’ Attitude to Social Responsibility
1-10Views:277The companies’ most important goal is the satisfaction of consumers’ needs and the profitmaking. But nowadays the companies have to deal with the activity of corporate social responsibility, too. Therefore it can be interesting to research about the next questions: can ethics be taught? Do we have to teach ethics in the schools and especially in the business schools? What are the students’ attitudes toward the social responsibility? Are students sensitive and open-minded connection with this issues? The aims of the study were to examine responsible management attitudes among business students at the University of Debrecen (Faculty of Economics and Business). We draw their CSR pyramid (based on Carroll model) and present their opinion in reference to business education’s role in social issues.
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Simulation of a Quadcopter with LabVIEW
46-49Views:104The aim of the paper was to create a LabVIEW-based Real-Time embedded system supported development environment, which was used for the Real-Time kinematics and dynamics simulation of a quad copter as well as the adherent state-feedback controller. The state-feedback controller was designed with Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) based method.
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Casting Issues of Thick-Walled High Pressure Die Castings
159-166Views:156Die casting is a manufacturing process for producing accurately dimensioned, sharply defined, smooth or textured surface metal parts. It is accomplished by injecting liquid metal at fast velocity and under high pressure into reusable steel dies. Compared to other casting processes, die casting is at the top end of both velocity and pressure. The high velocity translates into a very turbulent flow condition. The process is often described as the shortest distance between raw material and the finished product.
Pre-fill is a process technique that is the result of significantly delaying the start of fast shot beyond the “metal at the gate” position. It can be stated as a percentage of cavity fill or as a distance beyond metal at the gate.
