http://hdl.handle.net/11728/19 Άρθρα 2026-04-05T17:09:51Z http://hdl.handle.net/11728/12967 Children’s Interpretations of Numerically Quantified Expression Ambiguities: Evidence from Quantified Noun Phrases and Bare Cardinals Mousoulidou, Marilena; Paterson, Kevin B. Understanding how children comprehend text by forming links between sentences has been the focus of research for decades. Such research has consistently shown that children use anaphors and resolve ambiguities in a different manner than adults. The present study examined a less-studied anaphoric reference that arises when two numerically quantified expressions (e.g., “three cats. . . two cats. . .”) are used in the text. Focusing on 249 six- to eight-year-old children and 50 adults for comparison, the study employed a picture selection task across six experiments to assess interpretative preferences in ambiguous and unambiguous discourses containing numerically quantified expressions. The findings indicate a pronounced difference in interpretative strategies: unlike adults, who predominantly adopted an anaphoric subset reading, children showed a consistent preference for the non-anaphoric reading, even in contexts explicitly disambiguated towards this interpretation. This preference persisted across various experimental manipulations, highlighting challenges in text integration and comprehension among children. Contributing to the developmental trajectory of language comprehension, this study underscores the complexity of cognitive development and linguistic interpretation, revealing significant developmental differences in processing numerically quantified expressions and anaphoric references within discourse. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11728/12887 Empowering Kavewa: The socio-economic and environmental impact of biogas technology adoption in rural Fiji Prasad, Ravita D.; Jreeta; Reddy, Naveendra; Kumar, Ashmit; Dbouk, Wassim; Yiadom, Eric B.; Vassiliades, Constantinos Small Island Developing States (SIDS) frequently rely on firewood for cooking, resulting in adverse environmental, health, economic, and educational impacts. Addressing clean cooking energy needs is thus a priority for SIDS to meet Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). This study explores policy implications for clean energy access through a case study on Kavewa Island, Fiji, where biogas digesters and stoves were introduced across 22 households. A pre- and post-implementation analysis reveals significant benefits, including reduced firewood collection time, fertilizer production, and monthly savings for some households. Despite these gains, half of the households continue to use firewood daily, often due to family size or low income. Additionally, many respondents expressed concern over the vulnerability of biogas systems to adverse weather, highlighting the need for further resilience measures. Policy recommendations include prioritizing clean cooking initiatives in remote islands, funding for ongoing research and project evaluation, and capacity building to promote sustainable cooking practices. This case study suggests that biogas systems can contribute to the energy, social, and economic needs of remote communities, and that targeted policy support could facilitate a wider transition to clean cooking energy in Fiji, the Pacific, and other similar regions. 2025-02-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11728/12876 Evaluation of Inpatients’satisfaction in Pafos General Hospital, Cyprus Panaydes, Nicos; Latsou, Dimitra; Geitona, Mary To evaluate inpatients’ satisfaction in Pafos General Hospital, Cyprus. 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11728/12875 Antibiotics’ Prescribing and Pharmacovigilance Attitudes among Pediatricians and Pediatric Residents in Cyprus Geitona, Mary; Toska, Aikaterini; Latsou, Dimitra; Saridi, Maria; Evripidou, Andri; Evripidou, Iliada Background: The inappropriate, irrational use or misuse of antibiotics is observed in all health systems and in all patients’ groups worldwide, especially for children, where antibiotics continue to be the drugs most commonly prescribed. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in all public pediatric clinics in the Republic of Cyprus, from April to May 2015. A questionnaire was distributed to pediatricians in order to identify the antibiotic prescription practices in common childhood diseases and attitudes towards Pharmacovigilance. The SPSS 19.0 was used for the statistical analysis. In total 42 pediatricians and pediatric residents filled out the questionnaire. Results: A significant percentage of the respondents administered empirical therapy for possible group A streptococcus infection (59.5%), they implemented the “watchful waiting” tactic in acute otitis media (66.7%), whereas 11.9% of them administered antibiotics for the prevention of secondary respiratory tract infections. The majority of physicians did not feel diagnostic uncertainty leading to antibiotics prescribing (90.2%) and their prescribing habits were not influenced by parental demand (80.5%). Although 23.1% of physicians observed often/very often Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) after antibiotic administration during their clinical practice, however, 47.6% of the pediatricians declared that they did not report them. Conclusion: Health professionals’ continuing education on the use of therapeutic guidelines and protocols and the development of Pharmacovigilance programs could significantly contribute to the avoidance of the misuse of antibiotics in hospital care as well as to health professionals’ awareness on rational prescribing. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z