Encyclopedia

Misinformation has emerged as a significant threat to both society and public health, with social media acting as a major conduit for its dissemination. This contributes to harmful health outcomes and undermines trust in authoritative institutions. In addition, the dismantling of scientific authority seems to be a symptom of the post-truth era, where “alternative facts” are presented in the public debate as indisputable evidence of the inherent limitations of scientific infallibility. The prevalence of misinformation on social media platforms stems from multiple, interconnected factors, including individual-level influences such as cognitive biases, as well as systemic aspects of social media’s information architecture. Unlike scientific institutions that adhere to the principles of evidence-based knowledge, social media platforms operate under an attention-driven model that favors virality over factuality. Addressing these challenges effectively requires coordinated, multi-level, and multidisciplinary interventions targeting users, content creators, technology companies, health authorities, and governments to restore public trust and safeguard the credibility of medical expertise. Full article

Technocracy refers to any political–social–economic system that is governed and managed using purportedly objective scientific and technical principles, and in which ultimate power and authority rests with technical and scientific experts. The concept had its initial origins in the early decades of the Industrial Revolution (with antecedents stretching back to the rationalism of ancient Greece and, later, the Enlightenment in the West). Henri Saint-Simon in early 19th century France was the earliest exponent of a technocratic system which involved overall political and economic government by industrialists. Technocracy was formally coined as a term in the early 20th century in the United States in the context of a specific intellectual movement under the same name which laid out a more detailed system of economic and social management by industrialists and scientists that supposedly would guarantee maximum efficiency in production, consumption and distribution without the self-defeating tendencies of political systems of the time, either democratic or authoritarian. Technocracy is currently used to refer to any policy or governmental arrangement that purportedly emphasizes technical criteria above non-technical values in policy, planning and public decision-making, and which gives significant authority to experts. Singapore is often referred to as a leading example of such an approach. Various controversies have arisen around technocracy, especially its potential incompatibility with democracy and social values that are not easily translated into technical terms. There is also debate about how feasible a genuine technocracy actually is in practice. Full article

A growing international consensus holds that science education must advance beyond content coverage to cultivate robust understanding of the Nature of Science (NoS)—how scientific knowledge is generated, justified, revised, and socially negotiated. Yet naïve conceptions persist among students and teachers, and effective, scalable classroom strategies remain contested. This narrative review synthesizes research and practice on games and playful activities that make epistemic features of science visible and discussable. We organize the repertoire into six families—(i) observation–inference and discrepant-event tasks; (ii) pattern discovery and rule-finding puzzles; (iii) black-box and model-based inquiry; (iv) activities that dramatize tentativeness and anomaly management; (v) deliberately underdetermined mysteries that cultivate warrant-based explanations; and (vi) moderately contextualized games. Across these designs, we analyze how specific mechanics afford core NoS dimensions (e.g., observation vs. inference, creativity, plurality of methods, theory-ladenness and subjectivity, tentativeness) and what scaffolds transform playful engagement into explicit, reflective learning. We conclude with pragmatic guidance for teacher education and curriculum design, highlighting the importance of language supports, structured debriefs, and calibrated contextualization, and outline priorities for future research on equity, assessment, and digital extensions. Full article

This paper reviews social science studies of emergency evacuations to point to the difficulties in associating them with panic formulations stressing irrationality and to show how the misunderstandings that how the conceptualization of one of these approaches on panic flight, which assumes the prevalence of nonsocial and self-centered behaviors and movements, has been transformed by recent studies of emergency evacuations from buildings, which show that the evacuation is best understood as social behavior in which people exhibit means-end rationality and social solidarity and act as socialized individuals moving towards sources of actual or perceived safety. The conclusion suggests first that the continued usage of the irrationality formulation by a minority of engineers and computer scientists writing on the topic of emergency evacuation and their use of “herding,” or the notion that during dangerous conditions, people follow the actions of others, leading to conformity, is not supported by a majority of findings in the social sciences, and second, that a likely solution to the disconnect between the two science communities is the adoption of transdisciplinary collaborative efforts. Full article

This entry examines how wage-setting institutions (WSIs) shape wages across advanced economies. It focuses on four core mechanisms—minimum wages, collective bargaining, wage coordination, and wage centralization—drawing on theoretical insights, empirical evidence, and cross-country comparisons. The analysis shows that minimum wages safeguard low-paid workers but have heterogeneous employment effects depending on their level and enforcement. Collective bargaining raises average wages and compresses wage inequality, though it can reduce flexibility and create insider–outsider dynamics. Wage coordination stabilizes wage growth, prevents inflationary spirals, and fosters equity, while wage centralization promotes solidarity wages and macroeconomic discipline but may limit adaptability. Using The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts (ICTWSS) data, the study highlights institutional diversity, ranging from coordinated Nordic models to fragmented liberal systems, and identifies trends toward “organized decentralization”. Policy implications suggest that WSIs should be viewed not as rigidities but as adaptable frameworks that can balance efficiency, equity, and stability when carefully designed. The conclusion emphasizes that the future of wage-setting lies in leveraging institutional complementarities to respond to globalization, technological change, and shifting labor market conditions. Full article

The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) is a psychometric instrument used in research and clinical studies to measure the intensity of subjective experiences that cannot be objectively quantified using defined biomarkers, such as pain, fatigue, or mood. It typically consists of a 100 mm straight line with descriptive anchors at each end representing the extremes of the sensation (for example, “no pain” at one end and “the most severe pain imaginable” at the other). Respondents indicate their experience by marking a point on the line, and the distance from the lower anchor is measured and recorded as a continuous variable. VAS data can be analyzed using descriptive or inferential statistics, with the ordinal and non-linear properties of the scale requiring careful justification of the statistical methods applied. Full article

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. Full article

This entry explores how foresight approaches can guide the future of water infrastructures. It highlights key long-term disruptive drivers of change—such as climate change, digital transformation, and geopolitical tensions—that infrastructures must withstand and adapt to. It also emphasizes the role of collective choices and innovation alliances, including Water-Oriented Living Labs, in shaping resilient and sustainable water systems. The focus is on transforming today’s infrastructures into adaptive systems that ensure water security and ecosystem integrity for future generations. Although many of the drivers of change are global, this entry emphasizes the European context, where policy frameworks and innovation agendas are currently shaping infrastructure transitions. Full article

The increasing presence of minors on digital platforms raises complex legal questions regarding their privacy, data protection, and the limits of parental authority in supervising their online activities. This entry analyses the legal framework applicable to the use of the Internet by minors, with particular emphasis on the validity of consent for data processing, the risks of overexposure, the need for digital literacy and the particularities of minors who create content. This study incorporates a comparative perspective, examining national and international approaches—especially in Spain, the United States, and France—to highlight the existing regulatory gaps and the urgent need for legal harmonisation in protecting minors in the digital age. Full article

A core feature of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) is configuring instruction to match each student’s needs. For students who demonstrate academic achievement deficits and need supplemental remedial instruction, it must be coordinated among all scheduled activities, evidence-based, and individualized. Each of these matters results in challenges that must be addressed for the promise of an MTSS to be realized. One resolution involves systematic instruction during brief lessons (10 min or less). This instruction is time-sensitive, evidence-based, and can be properly configured for each tier and various students’ needs. Full article

Mutable collagenous tissue (MCT) is a type of connective tissue that is characterized by its capacity to undergo rapid, nervously mediated changes in mechanical properties. In terms of both the magnitude of these changes and the timescale within which they occur (less than one second to a few minutes), this tissue appears to be unique to the phylum Echinodermata and, as it is ubiquitous in all five extant echinoderm classes, it represents one of the four major defining features of the phylum, together with pentaradial symmetry, endoskeletal stereom (calcite meshwork), and the water vascular system. MCT has been the subject of intensive scientific investigation for over 50 years. The primary aim of this contribution is to provide a comprehensive and definitive survey of the current state of knowledge of this remarkable tissue. After outlining the history of the scientific investigation of MCT, we review current information on its anatomical distribution, organization at the histological, ultrastructural and molecular levels, and physiology—focusing on its mechanical behavior and the regulation of this behavior; its significance for echinoderm biology, including pathology; and biomedical and other applications that exploit MCT-derived components or biological principles. We conclude by drawing attention to more serious deficiencies in the current knowledge base and suggesting how these should be rectified. Full article

Analysing the need for homogenisation of organisations and the incorporation of institutional theory in public administration is a relevant topic, given that it is a process that reflects the historical characteristics of an organisation built by the people who work there and the way in which it establishes relationships with its environment. The need to incorporate existing practices between organisations, which leads them to come closer together and converge, is a phenomenon known in the literature as isomorphism. This entry triggers a review of significant literature in the field, based on sound scientific principles, with the aim of contributing to the sharing of information for a better understanding of the structure and functioning of organisations against the backdrop of institutional isomorphism. In this way, it sought to convey the need to advance institutional theory in public administration based on isomorphism. Full article

The entry is intended to define the concepts of risk communication and emergency communication. At the same time, it explains the difference not only from a communication point of view but also from a cultural one. Risk and emergency are two sociologically relevant events, and they are culturally constructed. They are events that bring about a socio-cultural change, which, in turn, is triggered by the population’s responses on the basis of the social perception of the events themselves, also conveyed by the different forms of communication. When communicating risk and emergencies, it is essential to educate people about alert and emergency systems. Above all, what they refer to and what kind of message they contain. The “warning communication” must be specific and refer exclusively to the threat to start the first phase of the communication through which it is possible to understand the type of threat and define the communication plan to be implemented later. The use of social media, which is strongly spread in digital society, allows not only rapid dissemination of information but also rapid communication and message selection (speed and content of the message are equally important). Alert and warning systems are very often linked to risk systems, since the risk from natural disasters (eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis) or technological catastrophes (nuclear power plant explosions) follows emergency phases when the phenomenon occurs. The communication processes, in and emergency, must be able to explain, persuade but also confer an assist the political decision-maker and the decision-making process itself through an alert system (especially in the first phase), followed by continuous dissemination through the media that the digital society offers, as well as through the usual systems adopted by government bodies (for example, bulletins and news), specialized research institutions and institutes with information and communication functions. In risk and emergency management, information and communication are to be considered, respectively, a basic element and a means of dissemination and training to educate the population to perceive a risk, to recognise emergencies and the possible impact of the risk. Differences will be expressed and analysed with reference to international examples. Full article

In our contemporary societies, structured by unequal social relations of production, experiential knowledge remains in the shadow of expert or academic knowledge that provides legitimacy to any action that claims kinship. In the first part, this entry examines changes in the social theory of disability, characterized by the development of critical disability studies. The second part discusses forms of action in the disability field, specifically experiential knowledge, peer support, and their relationship to expert knowledge. Drawing upon a review of the literature, a synthesis of the evidence on the articulation of these three notions is produced. The results will illustrate the respective place and role of the different forms of knowledge derived from critical disability studies in the development of actions concerning disabilities. The information collected will make it possible to identify the links between these forms of knowledge and how they improve the ability of people with disabilities to obtain full citizenship. Full article

Building maintenance is crucial, yet predicting financial resources for it remains challenging, particularly during the design and construction phases. This research aims to analyze and synthesize existing studies on maintenance cost estimation, with a focus on identifying key trends, methodologies, and sustainability considerations. The review finds that most studies emphasize educational and office buildings, while limited attention has been given to infrastructure such as bridges and roads. Moreover, growing attention is being directed toward early-stage maintenance cost estimation and integrating sustainability principles into cost prediction models. The findings underscore that incorporating sustainability factors in maintenance planning enhances long-term performance, reduces lifecycle costs, and supports future-ready building management. The study concludes by highlighting the need for more comprehensive, sustainability-oriented frameworks to improve the accuracy and applicability of maintenance cost estimation in the built environment. Full article

Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly Generative AI (GenAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs), is rapidly reshaping higher education by transforming teaching, learning, assessment, research, and institutional management. This entry provides a state-of-the-art, comprehensive, evidence-based synthesis of established AI applications and their implications within the higher education landscape, emphasizing mature knowledge aimed at educators, researchers, and policymakers. AI technologies now support personalized learning pathways, enhance instructional efficiency, and improve academic productivity by facilitating tasks such as automated grading, adaptive feedback, and academic writing assistance. The widespread adoption of AI tools among students and faculty members has created a critical need for AI literacy—encompassing not only technical proficiency but also critical evaluation, ethical awareness, and metacognitive engagement with AI-generated content. Key opportunities include the deployment of adaptive tutoring and real-time feedback mechanisms that tailor instruction to individual learning trajectories; automated content generation, grading assistance, and administrative workflow optimization that reduce faculty workload; and AI-driven analytics that inform curriculum design and early intervention to improve student outcomes. At the same time, AI poses challenges related to academic integrity (e.g., plagiarism and misuse of generative content), algorithmic bias and data privacy, digital divides that exacerbate inequities, and risks of “cognitive debt” whereby over-reliance on AI tools may degrade working memory, creativity, and executive function. The lack of standardized AI policies and fragmented institutional governance highlight the urgent necessity for transparent frameworks that balance technological adoption with academic values. Anchored in several foundational pillars (such as a brief description of AI higher education, AI literacy, AI tools for educators and teaching staff, ethical use of AI, and institutional integration of AI in higher education), this entry emphasizes that AI is neither a panacea nor an intrinsic threat but a “technology of selection” whose impact depends on the deliberate choices of educators, institutions, and learners. When embraced with ethical discernment and educational accountability, AI holds the potential to foster a more inclusive, efficient, and democratic future for higher education; however, its success depends on purposeful integration, balancing innovation with academic values such as integrity, creativity, and inclusivity. Full article

This entry explains how China’s e-CNY, the retail form of its Central Bank Digital Currency, translates three design choices into improved access, affordability, and reliability: (1) enabling wallet-to-wallet payments on the CBDC ledger with settlement upon payment (SUP); (2) ensuring seamless integration at checkout with existing QR-code systems and popular payment apps; and (3) providing users with practical control through credentials stored on their devices and managed by licensed operators. With payment finality clarified in law and a two-tier structure in place, offline payments can shift to a hybrid architecture. It blends account- and token-based functionality across online and offline settings, incorporates tiered identity verification, and supports low-cost solutions. In essence, e-CNY demonstrates that strategic decisions regarding settlement, interoperability, and user control can expand financial inclusion while maintaining robust regulatory safeguards. Full article

Futures Literacy, as defined and promoted by UNESCO, is the capability to imagine, question, and use the future as a resource for better understanding the present and acting with intention. When applied to Cultural Heritage Education, it reframes heritage from a static object of preservation into a dynamic anticipatory system that evolves through dialogue between past, present, and future. This integrative approach enables learners and communities to strengthen what can be called cultural adaptive capacity, understood as the ability to ensure continuity of identity and traditions, to promote responsive innovation in the face of change, and to transmit heritage knowledge across generations. This entry situates Futures Literacy within a wider theoretical framework that includes complexity theory, anticipatory systems, and sustainability education. It emphasizes that heritage education must increasingly address uncertainty, diversity of perspectives, and interconnected challenges such as globalization, climate change, and cultural transformations. UNESCO Futures Literacy Laboratories conducted in different regions of the world, as well as ICCROM’s foresight initiatives, provide concrete examples of how anticipatory competences can be fostered in varied cultural contexts, demonstrating both universal patterns and context-specific adaptations. By embedding Futures Literacy into heritage education, cultural heritage becomes a living resource for nurturing resilience, global citizenship, and creativity. It allows communities not only to preserve their legacy but also to reimagine it as a driver of innovation and inclusion. Ultimately, this perspective highlights the potential of education to enhance cultural sustainability, foster intergenerational solidarity, and cultivate temporal justice, preparing societies to face the uncertainties of the future with confidence and responsibility. Full article

Design justice is an emerging framework that centers marginalized communities in the design of systems and technologies. Originating from the intersection of design, technology, and social justice movements, design justice challenges traditional design practices that often reinforce societal inequities. When applied to online education, it prompts critical examination of who benefits from digital learning environments and whose needs are overlooked. The framework operates on the principle that those most affected by a system should have a central role in designing it, going beyond accessible or universal design to fundamentally alter power structures within the design process itself. This entry introduces the principles of design justice and explores their relevance to online education and instructional design, arguing that seemingly neutral elements of course design—such as assessment modes, interface layout, or content formats can perpetuate inequities if created without attention to learners’ diverse contexts. Full article