Corvinus University of Budapest

Media plays a crucial role in the portrayal of ideal beauty standards. Research has shown that social media’s influence on conveying body ideals is greater today than that of broadcast media. Online interactions with beauty content can contribute to the appreciation of one’s internal and external features. However, these interactions can also lead to sexual objectification, appearance comparisons, and body image concerns. This study sought to investigate the emerging themes of beauty studies on social media and the potential areas of study that require scholarly attention. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify studies on beauty in social media published between January 2015 and May 2023 in two databases: Scopus and Web of Science. A thematic analysis of 32 articles established the following emerging themes: body positivity, negative effects of social media, activism, makeup, and advertising. Opportunities for areas that require scholarly attention include culture and religion, gender, longitudinal studies and experiments, the need for more representative samples, and the study of diverse social media platforms. The limitation of this study is that this subject area is still growing, and articles that had not been published at the time of data collection were not included in the current study.

Jordan has recently celebrated its centennial in a volatile region. The Jordanian regime has an experience in dealing with mass protests; however, the recent decade with a surmounting socio-economic challenge aggravated by the mass influx of Syrian refugees has pushed the Kingdom towards a “boiling point.” The narrative of political reform has been dominated the daily political life of the monarchy; however, citizens have disillusioned with the pace of political liberalization in the Kingdom. Constitutional amendments mainly empowered the King authority with new rights, and the new election law adopted in 2016 failed to meet with the demands of the protesters. Jordan is not a country in political transition as the regime has remained intact from a genuine structural reform aimed at reaching a constitutional democracy. The introduction of economic liberalization process as well as the austerity measures dictated by the International Monetary Fund has led to an eroding social base of the monarchy. The rise of the new businessmen elite and the growing socio-economic problems in the tribal South made the society restructured in a way, which provoked more protest waves. Until now Jordan has managed to tackle with all difficulties; however, the pandemic and the shifting regional order have been aggravating the situation. The reforms mainly serve as a regime survival strategy; however, the ones launched in 2021 show that the monarch understands the situation. It has yet to be seen whether the new reforms will last and satisfy the citizens.

The Russian military aggression against Ukraine has had significant global impacts on energy security, economy and geopolitics. The 2022 global energy crisis raises questions about how the war affects the energy transition and global climate policy. However, there are limited studies that incorporate its effects into self-consistent projections of alternative scenarios. This scenario study uses two leading macro-economic models and one integrated assessment model to assess how the war in Ukraine and its direct implications—trade restrictions and rising energy prices—affect economies, energy supply and demand trends, emissions and the feasibility of climate policies. The models consistently project that the disruptive responses to the war lead to a shift from fossil fuels (notably natural gas) to renewable energy and a consequent CO2 emission reduction of about 1%–5%, in the period up to 2050, both for the European Union and globally. However, projections differ across models in terms of sectoral and regional contributions to emission reductions. The results are found to be highly sensitive to the expected, yet uncertain persistence of higher fossil energy prices due to the war, which depends on the duration of the conflict, the disruption of global energy supplies and the response of other major fossil fuel exporters.

Background The use of EQ-5D instruments in clinical, policy and economic applications continues to grow internationally. Population norms studies provide baseline values against which demographic and patient groups are compared and inequality is assessed. This study presents updated EQ-5D-5L population norms for 2022–2023, evaluates inequality and compares the results with those of 2012. Methods Demographic and EQ-5D-5L data were obtained from mutually exclusive, representative samples of adults in three studies conducted from July 2022 through May 2023. EQ-5D-5L index values, EQ VAS scores, and ceilings (all dimensions at level 1) were calculated for age-sex groups and stratifiers including education, income, ethnicity, marital status, and employment status. For inequality, the Kakwani index was calculated for the EQ VAS scores and index values, and ordered logit models were used to obtain odds ratios for reporting higher levels of problems on each dimension for demographic groups. The results were compared with those from 2012 which included applying the value set that had been used for the 2022–2023 population norms to the 2012 states. Results Data were obtained form 2,989 respondents. The mean index value was 0.921, EQ VAS was 79.6 and the ceiling was 31.5%. The dimensions with the highest rates of reported problems at any level (2–5) were pain/discomfort (43%) and anxiety/depression (39%). The Kakwani index was 0.113 for EQ VAS and 0.058 for index values, with sex accounting for the largest relative contribution. Mean index values, EQ VAS scores, and ceilings were lower across all demographic groups in 2022–2023 compared to 2012. Conclusions This is the first study to investigate how EQ-5D-5L population norms have changed within a country over time. Significant changes were observed in the EQ-5D-5L measures and the relative frequencies of reported problems on the dimensions. Inequality increased, and there were changes in the levels of reported problems on the dimensions for demographic groups. Such changes suggest that national population norms should be updated periodically to capture changes in health status, perceptions of health, and health inequality.

BOOK REVIEW: Political economy of Hungarian authoritarian populism: capitalists without the right kind of capital, written by Samuel Rogers, Abingdon—New York, Routledge, 2024, 210 pp., £135 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0367752705

We examine the generally accepted hypothesis that directed reciprocity is a powerful driver for cooperation. To do so, we consider a framework where agents situated on a circle network interact with their neighbors and have the choice to be egoistic, altruistic, or partially cooperative. We study the interaction between reciprocity, the likelihood that an agent reproduces value to the neighbor who has recently produced value for the agent, and inertia, the tendency of agents to repeat their previous choices even if other strategies are more successful. On the basis of extensive simulations, we conclude that for high levels of inertia, reciprocity enhances cooperation, while for low levels of inertia reciprocity rather subverts cooperation. For intermediate levels of inertia, we find a U-shaped effect. Reciprocity therefore interacts with the level of inertia in a non-monotonic fashion.

Algorithms are capable of advising human decision‐makers in an increasing number of management accounting tasks such as business forecasts. Due to expected potential of these (intelligent) algorithms, there are growing research efforts to explore ways how to boost algorithmic advice usage in forecasting tasks. However, algorithmic advice can also be erroneous. Yet, the risk of using relatively bad advice is largely ignored in this research stream. Therefore, we conduct two online experiments to examine this risk of using relatively bad advice in a forecasting task. In Experiment 1, we examine the influence of performance feedback (revealing previous relative advice quality) and source of advice on advice usage in business forecasts. The results indicate that the provision of performance feedback increases subsequent advice usage but also the usage of subsequent relatively bad advice. In Experiment 2, we investigate whether advice representation, that is, displaying forecast intervals instead of a point estimate, helps to calibrate advice usage towards relative advice quality. The results suggest that advice representation might be a potential countermeasure to the usage of relatively bad advice. However, the effect of this antidote weakens when forecast intervals become less informative.

This article examines the sports motivation and sports opportunities of people with physical disability in Hungary, filling a gap in the research area. A total of 122 people (76 athletes) participated in the questionnaire research. We supplemented the quantitative research with qualitative research, in which we assessed the experiences of sports leaders through expert interviews. As a result of the research, we have shown that gender affects participation in sports, but has no role in sports motivation. Furthermore, we have established that for athletes with reduced mobility, mostly external motivational factors are different. Intrinsic motivation is strongest in the case of paralympic athletes. The main reason for amotivation among non-athletes with reduced mobility is the lack of adequate sports facilities close to the place of residence. Most athletes get to the venue of their sporting activity by car alone. Lack of peers has also been found to be a common reason for amotivation among respondents. Organising inclusive and mixed sports events could be a solution to the problem, promoting involvement in sport and social integration.

Recently the Karcher mean has been extended to the case of probability measures of positive operators on infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces as the unique solution of a nonlinear operator equation on the convex Banach-Finsler manifold of positive operators. Let $(\Omega ,\mu )$ be a probability space, and let $\tau :\Omega \rightarrow \Omega$ be a totally ergodic map. The main result of this paper is a new ergodic theorem for functions $F\in L^1(\Omega ,\mathbb {P})$, where $\mathbb {P}$ is the open cone of the strictly positive operators acting on a (separable) Hilbert space. In our result, we use inductive means to average the elements of the orbit, and we prove that almost surely these averages converge to the Karcher mean of the push-forward measure $F_*(\mu )$. From our result, we recover the strong law of large numbers and the “no dice” results proved by the third and fourth authors in the article Strong law of large numbers for the $L^1$-Karcher mean, Journal of Func. Anal. 279 (2020). From our main result, we also deduce an ergodic theorem for Markov chains with state space included in $\mathbb {P}$.

We investigate and robustly show that transient institutional ownership (IO) has a positive effect on the level and value of corporate cash holdings. Further, using a regression discontinuity design exploiting the Russell 1000/2000 index reconstitution as an exogenous shock to transient IO, we show that the effects of transient IO on cash holdings are causal. Additionally, our analysis shows that transient institutions exacerbate debtholder–shareholder conflicts, thereby increasing the cost of debt. Overall, our results suggest that transient institutions make cash holdings more valuable because financing by debt becomes more costly.

Agri-environmental schemes (AESs) play a pivotal role in aligning agricultural practices with environmental objectives, promoting sustainable land management, and conserving biodiversity. This article presents a comprehensive synthesis of recent advancements in AES research within the European Union context, focusing on ecological, economic, and socio-political dimensions. Through a systematic review of literature published since 2013, we identify emerging trends, gaps, and research priorities, providing novel insights into AES effectiveness. We examine the factors that influence participation in AES such as biodiversity, habitat fragmentation, and agricultural ecosystem services. We also explore the economic factors influencing farmer participation, including financial incentives, income stability, and cost–benefit analysis. Furthermore, we investigate the socio-political dimensions of AES, including institutional frameworks, stakeholder engagement, and the role of trust in programme implementation. Key findings highlight the need for adaptive management strategies, incentive structures aligned with environmental objectives, and inclusive governance mechanisms to enhance AES effectiveness. Our research underscores the importance of context-specific approaches that account for farm characteristics, socio-economic factors, and institutional arrangements. Practical implications for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders are discussed, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based policymaking and iterative learning in promoting sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation.

This paper analyzes whether articulated populist dichotomies or fractured populist styles attract more user engagement on social media focusing on the 2023 Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections via Twitter, considering the tweets of individual candidates and parties ( n = 4,139). Negative binomial regressions revealed that the explicit populist style, which articulates “the people” and “the harmful others” in the same message unit, predicts user engagement. The study shows that explicit populism triggers more favorites, retweets, and replies than any other populist style. Although implicit people-centrism has positive associations with retweets and replies, implicit antagonism has no effect on user engagement data.

The recent surge in VR technology blurs the lines between physical and digital worlds. While initially limited to gaming, VR is now expanding into education, healthcare, and engineering, fueled by AI and sensor advancements, paving the way for a future “cognitive triad” of humans, AI, and digital twins. It explores VR through the lens of CogInfoCom, highlighting its potential as a revolutionary new communication and information organization tool. VR’s unique spatial and temporal perspective enables intuitive information sharing and organization, surpassing traditional 2D interfaces. Furthermore, its future integration with AI and sensor technologies promises a powerful “CogInfoCom platform” that adapts to user needs and supports advanced cognitive functions. The definition of Cognitive Aspects of Virtual Reality (cVR) is presented, highlighting its synergies with related fields like Cognitive Infocommunications, AI, and the Internet of Things. cVR aims to understand how humans interact with and utilize information in 3D virtual environments, drawing insights from AI to enhance these interactions and empower users’ cognitive capabilities. This leads to the concept of a cognitive triad, where humans, AI, and digital twins collaborate within VR, potentially paving the way for a future Digital Reality that seamlessly blends the physical and digital worlds.

This chapter provides a comprehensive exploration of the sense of presence in virtual reality, emphasizing navigational experience and comparing the presence profile of MaxWhere desktop VR with other VR systems. It thoroughly investigates theoretical foundations, technological and human factors influencing presence, measurement tools, and experimental findings related to the sense of presence. The theoretical section offers foundational definitions of presence, exploring its relationship with immersion. Discussion on technological and human factors influencing presence includes recent results highlighting the correlation between the sense of presence and task performance in VR. The chapter introduces commonly used measurement tools and methods, such as the IPQ (Igroup Presence Questionnaire), while the navigational experience was assessed through a 10-point Likert scale based on five statements. The study included 31 individuals (mean age 20.5 years, SD: 3.4). The results support the hypothesis that navigational experience correlates with a stronger sense of presence. In this examination, participants were divided into two groups based on their proficiency with MaxWhere VR: distinguishing between novices and experienced users. Novices perceived the virtual environment as less realistic compared to experienced users. Lastly, a comparison of the presence profile between MaxWhere desktop VR and other VR systems extends and complements the earlier findings.

This chapter focuses on the benefits of a virtual reality working environment from a cognitive perspective. It focuses on non-immersive, or desktop virtual reality technology that uses general 2D display devices, allowing the avoidance of inconveniences associated with head-mounted displays. The study aimed to investigate whether the use of desktop virtual reality, as compared to a basic web browser, could enhance users’ ability to interact with and remember information in a virtual workspace. After applying stricter inclusion criteria and disregarding participants who based their estimations on factors other than the graph, the initial hypothesis was confirmed. The study found that in a virtual reality environment, participants were able to estimate their performance in the experimental task significantly more accurately compared to those who worked in a traditional 2D digital environment.

This chapter explores the potential of desktop virtual reality in enhancing memory and learning, along with an examination of advertising evolution and online formats. Two studies, with a total of fifty participants, aimed to compare memory retention of advertisements in 3D highlighted and embedded formats, in both 2D browser and desktop VR environments. The findings suggest a distinct impact of 3D highlighting in VR contexts on memory retention compared to traditional 2D settings. This aspect holds significant importance in educational contexts, particularly as traditional e-learning is gradually transitioning towards VR-based education. In virtual educational settings, instructors can continuously present essential diagrams, making necessary information more accessible and promoting improved comprehension among learners.

This chapter investigates the interplay between task performance, navigational experience, and individual spatial abilities within a desktop virtual reality (VR) environment. Two competing hypotheses, the Ability-As-Compensator and the Ability-As-Enhancer, are discussed concerning how VR impacts individuals with varying spatial abilities, alongside a proposed unifying theory. The analysis includes an exploration of navigation modes in desktop VR and an experiment assessing spatial abilities, subjective navigation experience, and task performance. However, the findings suggest that, in this specific VR context, no significant correlation was observed among these variables, indicating that this type of VR technology may not distinctly influence individual spatial memory and mental rotation abilities. The chapter concludes by discussing these outcomes, addressing limitations, and highlighting potential areas for future research.

The objective of this chapter is to introduce a research where the goal was to examine the possibility of converting commonly utilized 2D digital layouts into three-dimensional dashboards in order to decrease cognitive load. In order to achieve this goal, we conducted a study in which we compared user performance metrics, pupil dilation data, and subject-reported qualitative measures in a 2D scenario and two different versions of a 3D virtual reality scenario. All three scenarios focused on a use case that involved the most prevalent digital materials and designs encountered in digital education. These scenarios made use of textual information (such as PDF files and PPT files), images, and videos. By assuming that differences in cognitive load can be verified through pupillometry measurements, we demonstrated that it is feasible to develop 3D virtual reality scenarios that result in reduced cognitive load while maintaining the same performance metrics as commonly used 2D environments. However, our experiment also revealed that these improvements are not automatic. Instead, 3D workflows that require less physical movement, even if it means increasing camera rotations, appear to be more effective in reducing cognitive load.

This chapter explores ways in which VR environments can enhance existing methods for representing information and for guiding interactions compared to other kinds of interfaces. In particular, we relate the theory of cognitive infocommunication channels to virtual reality spaces, and investigate how it applies to the design of VR spaces and user experiences therein. Examples are provided from the MaxWhere VR platform.