Saudade is a cultural concept expressing a profound sense of longing, nostalgia, or melancholy associated with absence, loss, or unattainable experiences. Emerging in medieval Portugal and shaped by historical, social, and literary developments, it has evolved from an individual emotion into a collective cultural construct reflecting the identity, history, and aesthetic sensibilities of Lusophone communities. Drawing on peer-reviewed scholarship and interdisciplinary research in cultural studies, this entry examines how saudade is expressed in the literature, music, and philosophical discourse, and its role in national memory, emigration, and cultural imagination. While sometimes described as untranslatable, its uniqueness reflects deep historical and cultural embedding rather than a linguistic limitation. Saudade, therefore, functions as a multilayered symbolic category, revealing the interplay between emotion, language, and cultural identity in Lusophone contexts.

This entry paper explores the multifaceted oral health crisis in the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, a remote archipelago of nine coral atolls. It delves into the severe burden of oral diseases, such as early childhood caries (ECC) and periodontitis, which are rampant within its population of just over 11,000. The analysis investigates the primary drivers of this crisis, including a significant dietary transition towards imported, ultra-processed foods, compounded by profound socioeconomic challenges and a lack of public health literacy. The paper critically examines the systemic failures of the national healthcare system, characterized by the absence of a formal oral health policy and a critically inadequate dental workforce, which forces residents to seek complex care abroad. Furthermore, it highlights how extreme geographic isolation and severely limited air connectivity function as direct barriers to accessing essential services, rendering specialized treatments like orthodontics and effective management of dental emergencies virtually impossible. In response to these challenges, the paper discusses innovative, forward-looking solutions, including the potential of teledentistry to bridge service gaps, the strategic development of regional medical or dental hubs in proximity to the biggest airports to centralize care, and the necessity of integrating oral health into broader strategies for economic development and climate resilience.

Extremes of the Edgeworth box concern corner allocations and their relationship to the contract curve in a two-good, two-agent exchange economy. In the standard pure-exchange setting with well-behaved preferences, the contract curve comprises all Pareto-efficient allocations, including interior tangencies and boundary corners, where no mutually beneficial trade remains. When money is introduced as a numéraire (a medium of exchange only), real feasibility and preferences are unchanged, so the contract curve remains the benchmark for efficiency. When money provides liquidity services (is valued for holding), agents may rationally abstain from trade even near interior tangencies; short-run outcomes can therefore include inaction at corners. This entry defines these objects, outlines the efficiency conditions at boundaries, and summarizes how monetary interpretations affect short-run behavior in general equilibrium and monetary economics. The Edgeworth geometry remains a real-exchange depiction; when we discuss money as a store of value, we use it as a short-run, reduced-form outside option that proxies intertemporal motives. This does not “fix” the box; it clarifies why no-trade at or near corners can be individually rational when liquidity is valued.

Social–emotional development in early childhood lays the groundwork for school readiness, healthy relationships, and long-term well-being. Parents play a pivotal role in this process, shaping children’s emotional awareness, regulation, and social competence through everyday interactions. This literature review synthesizes evidence from 74 peer-reviewed studies to evaluate nine evidence-based parenting interventions targeting parents of preschool-aged children. The programs were analyzed with respect to their objectives, theoretical foundations, components, and the resulting outcomes for both parents and children. Across interventions, consistent benefits emerged in children, including improved emotion recognition, regulation, empathy, and prosocial behavior, as well as reductions in internalizing problems. Parents also gained in confidence and positive discipline practices. Key elements linked to effectiveness included active parent skill-building (such as modeling, role play, and guided practice), structured parent–child interactions, multi-component designs integrating home and school contexts, and flexible delivery formats that adapt to family needs. These findings underscore the critical role of parenting interventions as an evidence-based method to enhance preschoolers’ social–emotional development.

This entry explores the implications of generative AI for the underlying foundational premises of copyright law and the potential threat it poses to human creativity. It identifies the gaps and inconsistencies in legal frameworks as regards authorship, training-data use, moral rights, and human originality in the context of AI systems that are capable of imitating human expression at both syntactic and semantic levels. The entry includes: (i) a comparative analysis of the legal frameworks of the United Kingdom, United States, and Germany, using the Berne Convention as a harmonising baseline, (ii) a systematic synthesis of the relevant academic literature, and (iii) insights gained from semi-structured interviews with legal scholars, AI developers, industry stakeholders, and creators. Evidence suggests that existing laws are ill-equipped for semantic and stylistic reproduction; there is no agreement on authorship, no clear licensing model for training data, and inadequate protection for the moral identity of creators—especially posthumously, where explicit protections for likeness, voice, and style are fragmented. The entry puts forward a draft global framework to restore legal certainty and cultural value, incorporating a semantics-aware definition of the term “work”, and encompassing licensing and remuneration of training data, enhanced moral and posthumous rights, as well as enforceable transparency. At the same time, parallel personality-based safeguards, including rights of publicity, image, or likeness, although present in all three jurisdictions studied, are not subject to the same copyright and thus do not offer any coherent or adequate protection against semantic or stylistic imitation, which once again highlights the need for a more unified and robust copyright strategy.

The present article reinterprets the history of polyglot lexicography and encyclopedic language projects in late imperial China from the Yuan and the Ming through the Qing periods by tracing a three-stage transformation. The Yuan period inaugurated a foundational regime of phonetic transcription anchored in the ’Phags-pa script (Ch. Basiba zi 八思巴字) while already experimenting with semantic pairing in the early Sino–Mongol glossary conventionally known as Zhiyuan yiyu (至元譯語). The Ming consolidated that legacy into a state curriculum centered on the Huayi yiyu (華夷譯語) corpus, together with frontier manuals such as Beilu yiyu (北虜譯語), which systematized domain-based vocabulary and coupled it with documentary templates for tribute, diplomacy, and administration. The Qing, finally, reconceived multilingual lexicography as a project of imperial integration, recentering Manchu as the pivot language in the Qing wen jian (清文鑒) series and culminating in the five-language Wuti Qing wen jian (五體清文鑒). Specialized compendia such as Xiyu tongwen zhi (西域同文志) normalized toponyms across scripts in newly incorporated territories. Complementing official compilations, market-facing handbooks—including Menggu zazi (蒙古雜字)—and the dialogic textbooks Nogeoldae (Ch. Lao qida 老乞大) and Bak Tongsa (Ch. Piao tongshi 朴通事) produced within Joseon’s translator-training institutions reveal a multi-sited ecosystem in which court, frontier, marketplace, and foreign language schools co-produced the infrastructure of interlingual governance. By following the shift from “how to read” (phonetic) to “what it means” (semantic) and ultimately to “what it governs” (administrative integration), this article argues that polyglot lexicons were not merely repositories of words but instruments that made a multilingual empire legible, speakable, and governable.

This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesises 88 effect sizes from 88 peer-reviewed journal articles to evaluate the association between marketing capability and firm performance. Studies were identified in Scopus and Dimensions for the period 2000–2025 and were eligible if they reported a construct identifiable as marketing capability, at least one firm performance outcome, and sufficient statistics to compute a correlation. Random-effects pooling indicates a positive and practically meaningful correlation between marketing capability and performance (r = 0.44, 95% CI [0.40, 0.48]), with a 95% prediction interval from 0.06 to 0.71, indicating that marketing capability is an important correlate of performance outcomes. Subgroup analyses show stronger correlations for reflective first-order models, weaker estimates for higher-order and formative specifications, and wider prediction intervals when confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is reported. Contextual differences are also evident: business-to-consumer samples exhibit the largest effects, business-to-business samples moderate effects, and mixed samples smaller effects. Small-study patterns were examined with funnel plots, Egger’s test and trim-and-fill, and sensitivity analyses using Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML), Hartung–Knapp, and multilevel models produced similar pooled estimates. Most included studies were cross-sectional, which limits causal interpretation, so the findings should be read as consistent associations rather than proven effects. Taken together, the review shows that construct design, validation practice, and market setting systematically shape both the size and spread of the marketing capability–performance association and provides benchmarks and prediction intervals that future studies can use for theory development and research design.

The love for horses is deeply rooted in human history and culture, captivating us with their magnificent nature. For millennia, horses have been crucial to human survival and development, providing transportation, labor, and even status. Currently, interest in human relationships with other animals has grown significantly, in the context of promoting the well-being and essential health of both species. This entry aims to explore the possibilities of human–horse relationships, from early interactions to strong bonds. The literature collected here highlights the complexity of this relationship, with special attention to the various biological and social factors involved. The text compares historical practices with current perspectives, examining how these changes affect the relationship between humans and horses. It examines how connecting with horses potentially benefits both humans and horses, underlining the importance of recognizing horse behavior and noting that our assumptions may not reflect their true needs. This literature enriches our understanding of the multifaceted nature of human–horse relationships, offering a new perspective on horse care, which focuses on positive relationship and well-being, and therefore on the importance of harmonious provision of all domains of well-being, highlighting the importance of healthy behavioral interactions and emotional stability of both species.

Background: Telemedicine expanded dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, transforming healthcare delivery worldwide. However, implementation faced challenges, and the impact on clinical outcomes, access, and quality remains under investigation. Objective: To systematically review the literature from 2020 to 2025 on telemedicine adoption, identifying key barriers and facilitators, and to evaluate clinical outcomes associated with telehealth use during this period. Methods: We followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines in conducting this review. Multiple databases were searched for studies on the implementation or evaluation of telemedicine/telehealth. Eligible studies included randomized trials and observational studies reporting telehealth-related outcomes, barriers, or facilitators. Two reviewers screened studies and extracted data on study characteristics, telemedicine interventions, barriers/facilitators, and clinical outcomes. Risk of bias was assessed using RoB2 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for qualitative or cross-sectional studies. Meta-analyses were performed where data were comparable, and qualitative synthesis was used to summarize barriers and facilitators. Results: Thirty-two studies (17 RCTs and 15 observational) were included. Telemedicine use surged in 2020 and remained elevated compared to baseline through August 2025. Reported barriers included insufficient broadband access, limited digital literacy, uncertain reimbursement policies, and workflow disruptions. Facilitators encompassed supportive policy waivers, the integration of telehealth into established care pathways, and strong acceptance from patients and providers. Clinical outcomes were generally comparable to in-person care. Telehealth enhanced chronic disease management (e.g., hypertension, diabetes) and decreased hospitalizations for heart failure, while ensuring safety in surgical follow-up and prenatal care. However, higher revisit rates were observed in some acute follow-up settings. Patient satisfaction consistently remained high, especially among rural and underserved populations reporting benefits, though disparities in digital access continued to exist. Conclusions: Telemedicine has become a sustainable component of healthcare, delivering clinical outcomes comparable to traditional care while offering convenience and resilience. Overcoming technology gaps, regulatory uncertainties, and equity issues is crucial for ongoing progress. Hybrid care models that combine telemedicine with in-person services, supported by strong policy frameworks, are recommended to maximize benefits and promote fair access in the post-pandemic era.

Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is increasingly recognised as a potential factor that can strengthen social cohesion and societal resilience. Yet, existing scholarship often valorises ICH without fully examining the challenges, exclusions, and political tensions it can produce. This article addresses that gap by critically reviewing UNESCO frameworks, case studies, and academic literature to evaluate both the opportunities and the limitations of ICH in contemporary societies. Our analysis highlights how ICH can contribute to shared identity, intergenerational transmission, and adaptive ecological knowledge, while also noting the risks of standardisation, misappropriation, and nationalistic appropriation. Using a comparative and critical literature review approach, we synthesise examples from diverse contexts to illustrate the dual role of ICH as both a community resource and a contested political tool. The findings do not suggest that ICH universally or inevitably generates resilience or cohesion. Rather, they map the paradigms in which ICH has been mobilised for these purposes, showing both the potential benefits and the risks. On this basis, the article offers policy recommendations that emphasise community-led safeguarding, integration of traditional knowledge into resilience frameworks, and vigilance against exclusionary or exploitative uses of ICH.