Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1982 (10. évfolyam, 31-34. szám)
1982 / 34. szám
places in their new land names of favorite places of their country of origin. However, this behavior does not explain why names in widely seperated geographical areas, differing in language and ethnic composition are identical at least in form if not in content. Have their been population movements of unsuspected amplitude in the distant past or did people follow yet unknown laws of language which produced identical proper names in various cultural settings? The author does not attempt to resolve the question, instead, he produces three tables each containing 100 names which clearly show identical forms in African, Indian, and Hungarian languages. He feels, that “semantic and historical analysis would allow expurgation of names whose similarity turns out to be coincidental, while suggesting, perhaps, the inclusion of additional names from the same sources. Any clustering of relevant names on the maps of Africa and India might also suggest lines of approach that, if patiently followed, could lead to exciting results.” E Mark, Gregory A. “Hungarian Consumers and the New Economic Mechanism,” East European Quarterly 16:1 (March 1982) 87-104. The New Economic Mechanism (NEM), which radically changed the rigid centralized concept of profit, and reducing the degree of price controls, to a system unique to Eastern Europe, is in its 14th year of operation. The author discusses the initial years of the NEM’s implementation and its public acceptance, giving insight into the necessary shifts in responsibility among government offices to accommodate the plan, and also citing examples of Hungarian consumer life. The positive developments during the NEM years occurred in the spheres of agriculture, industry, and foreign trade --leading to an adequate supply of foreign goods, art, and entertainment. However, the NEM has not been able to solve the acute housing shortage along with problems of the “second economy.” Now, at the dawn of the 6th Five Year Plan (1981-1985) it remains to be seen, how the NEM will be able to satisfy the needs of the consumer, and at the same time meet the challenges of the international market. The author is currently at Harvard U. (SMN) □ Norman, J.B. and L. Varga. “Educational Research Planning and Economic Change in Hungary,” Comparative Education 18:1 (1982) 47-58. An educational system is influenced by and dependent upon the country’s socio-economic and political environment. This is even more true in Eastern Europe, because of the centralized control of education. In this paper the authors present an insight into the seemingly inflexible educational system of Hungary, by proving “that in the field of educational planning and research. . .(the country) does not conform to the popular stereotype.” The authors outline the five research areas in the “State Plan for Long-Term Scientific Research” prepared by the Hungarian Council of Ministers and published in 1972, to ensure a healthy socioeconomic development. They elaborate on Area 6, “Pedagogical Researchers Dealing with the Development of Public Education,” which was added to the state plan in 1973, reflecting the importance of education to the Hungarian Socialist Worker’s Party. Eventually, Area 6 was divided into four main topics, and many subtopics, which became subjects of individual research projects. “To challenge the myth of total central control of educational research” the study mentions the existing numerous opportunities for research, the distribution and methods of funding, and the experimental FULBRIGHT AWARDS The Council for International Exchange of Scholars reports on awards of the Senior Fulbright Program. (For program description see HSN no. 27, p. 1) The program provided grants for 5 U.S. scholars to lecture in Hungary on American literature, and for 4 Hungarian scholars to lecture or conduct research in the U.S. In addition to R. Anthony Arthur, Myron Simon, and Kent Bales of whom the HSN has already reported, awards were extended to the following U.S. scholars: Robert M. Davis (lecture on American literature) from the U. of Oklahoma to Eötvös L.U. in 1980; and Cecil Eby (lecture on American literature) from the U. of Michigan to Eötvös L.U. in 1982. Awards to Hungarian scholars for coming to the U.S. were given to Péter Apor (research on sports medicine, human performance, testing methods, preventive cardiology) from the Hungarian Academy of Physical Education to the U. of California, Los Angeles, 1982-83; László Boross (research on enzymology, immobilized enzymes and cells, separation methods in biochemistry) from the József A.U. to Lehigh U., 1982-83; László Szepes (research in chemistry) from the Eötvös L. U. to the U. of North Carolina, 1982-83; and Veronika Tama'sy (research in effects of peptide hormones on brain development) from the Medical University at Pecs, to the U. of California at Berkeley, 1982-83. For further information write to Georgene B. Lovecky, CIES, 11 Dupont Circle, Washington, DC 20036. school at Szentló'rinc which is to develop complex curricula employing unconventional integrated blocks of subjects. The paper also discusses three basic aims of Hungarian education published in “Standpoints and Suggestions of the Presidential Committee for Public Education of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences" (1980). The results of educational research done under Area 6 and independently, identify three basic difficulties encountered within the school system, and the measures developed to remedy them. Norman and Varga do not fail to mention the paralyzing effect the rigid Five Year Plan approach had on research, nor do they ignore the existing "filter" by which research results, and more specifically, the accomplishments of the Szentló'rinc school have been rejected. The authors conclude by stating “.. .Hungary, like her socialist neighbors . . .does appear to be moving away from the rigid dogma of the past and adapting more pragmatic approaches to economic realities.” An outline of the new research plan submitted in 1981 is included in the text. (SMN) □ Schopflin, George, “Hungary Between Prosperity and Crisis.” Conflict Studies no. 136 (1981). Published by The Institute for the Study of Conflict, 12 Golden Square, London W1R 3AF, Great Britian. $8.00 by air only. This comprehensive “state of the Hungarian State” report sums up the recent past and pries into the future. It takes to task the recent image of Hungary as the politically most stable, tranquil, and prosperous state of East Central Europe. The author believes that in the early 1960s it could be reasonably argued that “as long as a communist party remained within the Soviet system and retained the monopoly of the party, it was fairly free to make whatever internal arrangements it wanted. This was the context in which the Hungarians launched their economic reforms (the NEM of 1968). That was accomplished by limited political reform, (Continued on Page 6) NO. 34, WINTER 1982-83, HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER 5
