One of the basic pillar but also the indicator of rural security is the state of the social processes at a specified region. These are significantly related to the economic, environmental and developmental status of a given country, region, micro-region. Basically, the population of more developed areas shows more favorable demographic trends, while social problems are less or in some other form than in less developed, disadvantaged areas. In Europe and Hungary, the underprivileged, peripheral rural areas have to face aging, migration and economic, social and environmental problems as results. What is more, the occasionally favourable demographic trends can often be related to the slumificating of the disadvantaged population. Based on the general situation of rural areas, this article attempts to summarize the typical social situation and main problems of domestic rural areas, relying on the relevant literature, the strategic documents of the EU and Hungary, and secondary data.

During the past three years and with the spread of the pandemic, smartphones were the most important communication bridge between tourists and organizations; now more than ever, they are intertwined with the lives of tourists and destination management organizations. Although much research has been conducted in this field, the investigation of the effects of the pandemic on the technology and functionality of smartphones is one of the topics that has been less discussed. Therefore, the current research was conducted to determine the role of smartphones in tourism management dynamics during the pandemic. The research method was qualitative (content analysis, theme analysis), and 32 people participated in the interview process as a statistical sample. Then, the oral interviews were transcribed, and a thematic analysis was performed. For the analysis of the interviews, MAXQDA 2020 software was used. The results of the research indicate that smartphones were one of the most important platforms for tourism management dynamics during the pandemic, and in the event of a pandemic in the future, they can help contain the destruction to a great extent in their current position.

The impact of climate change on river systems is a multifaceted threat to the environment, affecting various aspects of ecosystems. The Upper Benue River Basin (UBRB) in Nigeria is an area of concern, as river flow and water levels are crucial for irrigation and transportation. In this study, we investigate the impact of climate change on the hydrology of the UBRB using data on rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, river discharge, and water level. Trend, correlation, and stepwise regression analyses were conducted using Excel and SPSS 20 to analyze the data. The results indicate that the UBRB is experiencing climate change, as evidenced by annual decreases in rainfall and relative humidity and increases in maximum and minimum temperatures. Specifically, mean annual rainfall and relative humidity exhibit a negative trend, while the maximum and minimum temperature exhibit a positive trend. Furthermore, we found that rainfall and relative humidity have a significant positive relationship with river discharge and level (p < 0.01), whereas maximum temperature and wind speed have a significant negative relationship with water discharge and level. We also identified wind speed and rainfall as the critical climatic indices influencing river discharge, accounting for 21.7% of the variation in river discharge within the basin (R² = 21.7). Based on these findings, we conclude that increases in rainfall and relative humidity will lead to significant increases in river discharge and level, while increases in wind speed and maximum temperature will decrease river discharge and level. Moreover, wind speed and rainfall are the critical climatic indices influencing river discharge, whereas relative humidity, wind speed, and rainfall are the critical climatic indices influencing water level. Thus, we recommend constructing more reservoirs (dams) to mitigate the negative trend in rainfall and encourage climate change control, such as afforestation among the population of the region. These findings have important implications for understanding the impact of climate change on river systems and developing effective strategies to mitigate its effects.

The long-term strategic objectives of the EU Rural Development Policy in the next (2014-2020) programming period are as follows: the competitiveness of agriculture, the sustainable management of natural resources and the balanced territorial development. In this strategy agriculture remains the key element as solution for lagging rural areas. Summing up our research the social functions of traditional agriculture based on local resources, the strengthening of viable farms, the increasing importance of diversification and the labor-intensive products with high added-value have to be emphasized in the new rural policy. Besides agriculture the improvement of urban-rural connections are essential for lagging rural areas as well, especially in terms of employment, availability of services and allocation of local rural products to urban markets. Długoterminowe cele strategiczne polityki rozwoju obszarów wiejskich Unii Europejskiej w kolejnym okresie programowania (2014-2020) są następujące: konkurencyjność rolnictwa, zrównoważone zarządzanie zasobami naturalnymi oraz zrównoważony rozwój terytorialny. Zgodnie z tą strategią, rolnictwo pozostaje kluczowym elementem rozwoju opóźnionych gospodarczo obszarów wiejskich. Z przeprowadzonych badań wynika, że w procesie kształtowania nowej polityki wiejskiej należy podkreślać społeczne funkcje tradycyjnego rolnictwa oraz wspierać rozwój rentownych gospodarstw, dywersyfikację działalności oraz wytwarzanie pracochłonnych produktów o wysokiej wartości dodanej. Oprócz rolnictwa, niezbędnym elementem stymulowania rozwoju opóźnionych gospodarczo obszarów wiejskich jest rozwój powiązań miejsko-wiejskich, szczególnie w zakresie zatrudnienia, dostępności usług oraz produktów wiejskich na lokalnych rynkach miast.

Agricultural development projects are used by governments of countries as a strategy for community development and job creation. In the developing countries, agricultural projects are the leading edge of rural development. These development projects however require huge capital outlay from governments. There are evidences in literature which report that in developing countries huge sums of money are being lost through agricultural projects that end up failing, and South Africa’s government is no exception to this trend. In South Africa, particularly in the province of the Eastern Cape, agricultural development projects are implemented through the existing participation between farmers and extension officers under government programme. The records of these agricultural development projects in the Eastern Cape province is mixed, whilst some succeed, most also fail to achieve their goals. This paper assessed the cause of why South African government funded agricultural project fail in the province of the Eastern Cape, particularly in the Raymond Mhlaba Municipality. The overall results of this study revealed that about 54.9% of the projects that the respondents were involved in have failed. This study identified the top five factors that for failure of the government funded agricultural projects. They are Supervision, Communication, Monitoring, Political interference and Commitment to project respectively. Government funded agricultural projects in the Raymond Mhlaba Municipality registered some minimal impact therefore discouraging and decreasing willingness of farmers or communities to participate in government funded projects. In the area under study most of agricultural projects failed to achieve objectives and collapsed. Others are struggling to survive and become sustainable.

Az endogén erőforrások szerepét a vidékfejlesztésben régóta hangsúlyozza a szakirodalom. Egy falukutató tábor keretén belül a mezőgazdaságnak, mint endogén erőforrásnak a szerepét vizsgáltuk egy hagyományos agrár település, a Kalocsa melletti Bátya esetében, különös tekintettel a foglalkoztatásra, illetve a helyi termék-előállításra. A falu történetében a zöldség - közte a fűszer-paprika - termesztés kiemelkedő. A primer kutatás eredményei alapján, a mezőgazdaság foglalkoztatási szerepkörének általános visszaesése ellenére is, az ágazat (benne a paprika termesztés) még mindig kimutatható hatással van a település életére, és potenciállal rendelkezik a helyi fejlesztések tekintetében. Ugyanakkor a fiatalabb generáció agráriumtól való elfordulásának köszönhetően kérdéses, hogy a jelenlegi endogén versenyelőnyét mennyi ideig tudja fenntartani Bátya.