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Background: Endovascular clot retrieval (ECR) is known to reduce global disability at 3 months post stroke however limited research exists regarding the trajectory of specific clinical impairments including language, swallowing and cognitive deficits between onset and 3 months. Aims: To assess language, swallowing, and cognitive performance following ECR and explore whether impairment severity is correlated with modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score (mTICI), stroke severity or quality of life (QoL). Methods: Assessment was completed within 7 days (T1), 1 month (T2) and 3 months (T3) post‐stroke. Performance was measured with the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS), Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), Trail Making Test (TMT A and B) and Brixton Spatial Awareness Test. The Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) was used for left hemisphere stroke. QoL was measured with the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale. Results: Twenty‐five participants (median 72 years; 64% male) were prospectively recruited following ECR. High reperfusion success (68% mTICI 3) and low stroke severity post ECR (median 24 h NIHSS = 3, IQR 7–18) were noted. At T1, 10 participants presented with aphasia, eight required a modified diet and 20 had impaired cognition. At T3 all had recovered to a normal oral diet, 39% had persistent cognitive impairment and 45% of patients with left hemisphere stroke remained aphasic. Performance on the WAB, FOIS, RBANS and TMT changed significantly over time (all p < 0.05). The severity score at T1 for all measures, excluding TMT B and Brixton, was significantly correlated with 24 h NIHSS. WAB scores at T3 were correlated with QoL (r = 0.618; p = 0.043). Conclusion: This exploratory study found the longitudinal performance of language, swallowing and cognition significantly improved over time and severity in the first‐week post‐ECR was correlated with 24 h NIHSS rather than the degree of reperfusion. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Randomised control trials have demonstrated the benefit of ECR in patients with ischemic stroke using global measures of disability and function. Limited research exists regarding the trajectory of specific clinical impairments including language, swallowing and cognitive deficits. There is also a reliance on screening assessments and a lack of consideration of the influence of co‐occurring impairments. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This prospective study is amongst the first to explore the longitudinal trajectory of language, swallowing and cognitive impairment using a standardised assessment battery. Twenty‐four‐hour NIHSS was significantly correlated with language, swallowing, global cognition and some measures of executive function. Language performance post ECR was correlated with domain‐specific cognitive assessment of attention, immediate memory and delayed memory, which differed from swallowing performance post ECR that correlated with measures of executive function. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: It is important for speech‐language pathologists and the wider medical team to monitor language, swallowing and cognitive performance post ECR regardless of treatment success. Stroke severity at 24 h post‐ECR influences the severity of language, swallowing and cognitive impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of COVID‐19 on everyone's lives has been significant. However, there is also another factor related to the well‐being of healthcare workers (HCWs) and that is how they are perceived by the general public. The aim of this study is to provide insight into the scope of this potential problem and describe how HCWs perceive community views and if this influences provision of patient care. A paper‐based survey was conducted within mental health wards and community services as well as medical and surgical wards of a large metropolitan hospital in Queensland. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to explore the dimensionality of the HCW stigma scale from the staff survey. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to assess validity and reliability. A total of 545 staff (67.9% nursing, 6.6% medical, 14.7% Allied Health and 10.8% Administrative) completed the survey between June and July 2020. Exploratory Factor Analysis showed that five factors explained 55% of the variance and represent factors of (i) Alienation, (ii) Social isolation, (iii) Perceived workplace harmony, (iv) Perceived job demands, (v) Clinical self‐efficacy. The survey displayed high internal reliability and discriminant validity was observed for all subscales. Australian HCW's reported feeling well supported at work and appreciated by society in general during the pandemic, possibly because Australian healthcare services were better prepared than those countries that first experienced COVID‐19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence supports the effectiveness of shared book reading for promoting language and literacy development, but it is known that families experiencing vulnerability may have reduced access to books and are less likely to share books regularly at home. Community hubs often provide support to families experiencing vulnerability and may provide an opportunity to create environments that support families to engage in shared book reading, especially if families are invited into the creation of these environments through co‐design. However, there is currently little evidence regarding the impact of co‐designing shared book reading environments with families in community settings. Aims: The current study is part of a broader project which used co‐design to develop a shared book reading environment in collaboration with stakeholders in a community hub. This small‐scale study aimed to provide a preliminary evaluation of the impact of this co‐designed shared book reading environment at the community hub on (1) the frequency of shared book reading at the hub; (2) participants' confidence and enjoyment of reading with children at the hub; and (3) participants' experiences of shared book reading at the hub. Method & Procedures: The co‐design project was carried out in four phases with families, staff and community partners at the community hub. A convergent mixed‐methods approach was used to collect and analyse quantitative and qualitative data in the first and last phase of the project to evaluate project outcomes. Quantitative data (environmental observations of reading at the hub and participant ratings of confidence and enjoyment of reading with children at the hub) were analysed using descriptive statistics and nonparametric statistical tests. Qualitative data (participants' responses regarding their experiences of changes implemented in the community hub) were analysed using inductive content analysis. Outcome & Results: An increased frequency of shared book reading was observed within the community hub after changes were implemented, and positive changes in enjoyment of book reading were recorded. Qualitative responses from participants following conclusion of the project were organised into three main categories, which showed that (1) children and families were reading more and enjoying reading activities that were happening; (2) children and families were borrowing more books; and (3) families had changed the way they were reading at home with their children. Conclusions & Implications: A co‐designed shared book reading environment within a community hub had a positive impact on shared book reading experiences for families in areas with high levels of vulnerability. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject: Community hubs provide a unique opportunity to support early language and literacy development in partnership with families in areas of vulnerability; however, there is limited literature investigating the impacts of these supports. A previous study utilised co‐design to develop a shared book reading environment with stakeholders at a community hub in an area where a high proportion of children are considered to be 'vulnerable' in terms of language and literacy development. It was found that co‐design enabled the development of collaborative changes to support shared book reading that were valued and owned by families, staff and community partners at the community hub. What this study adds: The current study focused on evaluating the impact of a co‐design project on the frequency of shared book reading at the hub and participants' experiences, confidence and enjoyment of reading with children at the hub. Analysis of pre‐ and post‐data provide preliminary evidence that a co‐designed shared book reading environment in a community hub can have a positive impact on increasing families' awareness and engagement with book borrowing, engagement in shared book reading activities in the community and at home, and participants' confidence and enjoyment of reading with children. What are the clinical implications of this work?: Speech pathologists have an important role to play in prevention and promotion. This study has shown that collaboration with families experiencing vulnerability can support the implementation of strategies to promote shared reading in a community hub and demonstrate increased quality and frequency of shared book reading. The utilisation of a community hub also highlights the opportunities for the speech pathology profession to deliver community‐based promotion and prevention initiatives as a strategy to address equitable language outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of the prescribed text list for senior school English (including English as an Additional Language or Dialect, EAL/D) in Queensland, Australia. Queer understandings about the normalization of cisgender and heterosexuality provide a framework to analyze prescribed texts for adolescent learners. Hetero‐cisgender norms are perpetuated through overrepresentation in endorsed texts. Representations of queer subjectivities or themes in the most highly promoted texts, those appearing on the examination list, are infrequent and minor. Reflexive justice thinking acknowledges the critique of merely identifying "who is missing" in the literature and extends the discussion to consider the complexities of the social, cultural, and political contexts that influence who gets to decide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the strategic interests that inform deforestation policies in Australia, and the variance in policy selections over time. A theory of deliberate policy disproportionality is used to analyse 20 years of regulatory reform in Queensland, focusing on the Vegetation Management Act (VMA) 1999. Application of the framework to this case suggests that political executives were prone to deliberately adopt (dis)proportionate policies as a strategic response to either manage or capitalise on stakeholder support or opposition to any proposed legislative change. The high variance in (dis)proportionate deforestation policies is attributed to how political executives respond to claims made by competing constituencies regarding the costs versus benefits of successive reforms. During key reform phases, policy under‐reaction was the norm, and political executives intentionally limited the scope and effectiveness of the VMA 1999 due to perceived impacts on the agricultural sector. Political executives were highly responsive to the emotional investment of rural constituents and averse to introducing policies that required difficult trade‐offs. Elections offered strategic opportunities for delivering more proportionate policies that balanced public environmental benefits with economic impacts, as evidenced by a conditional deforestation ban introduced between 2004 and 2012 and reinstated in 2018. Points for practitioners: Variance in Queensland's deforestation policy over time can be attributed to the intentional decisions by political executives to limit or expand the scope of regulations as a strategic response to stakeholder expectations.Political executives were responsive to the costs versus environmental impacts/benefits of any deforestation reforms, but prone to policy under‐reaction when the priority was managing the emotive reactions from rural constituencies.More proportionate regulations, such as the partial deforestation ban of 2004, aimed to balance environmental benefits with compensation for landholders but were only implemented when electorally beneficial.Stakeholders have a significant influence on disproportionate deforestation policy design and governments will need to manage competing claims to deliver more durable policy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platform‐mediated short‐term rentals (STRs) are a relatively new addition to the housing landscape, providing accommodation on a temporal scale that falls between hotel stays and long‐term rentals (LTRs). Given the potential for STR hosts to charge significantly higher nightly rates for the same property than they might through an LTR lease enumerated in months or years, many have asked whether a 'gap' exists between the two, and how persistent this may be over space and time. In this paper, we modify and validate classical bid–rent theory to investigate spatial variation in the rent gap between STRs and LTRs over time in two distinct contexts in Queensland, Australia. We conduct statistical analyses on STR data against LTR data from local property records in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, identifying a significant rent gap, particularly close to high‐amenity areas. We find strong evidence of distance decay in the rent gap, with rents converging with increasing distance in most cases, indicating that STRs only 'outcompete' LTRs near high‐amenity areas, which in this analysis are the central business districts (Brisbane) and the beach (Sunshine Coast). We also find that the rent gap increases as properties get larger in size, and over time. These findings carry implications for policy aiming to balance the needs of multiple stakeholders and political agendas against planning frameworks prescribing where short‐term accommodation is best situated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and Aims: Stroke survivors with aphasia (impaired language/communication) have poor outcomes and gaps in the clinical implementation of best practice contribute to this. Little is known, however, about speech pathologist perspectives on the touchpoints (key moments shaping experiences) in the clinical care pathway that have the greatest impact on service delivery nor how this varies by geographical location. We explored the experiences of speech pathologists who provide aphasia services to establish priorities for improvement and design. Methods and Analysis: This is the initial experience gathering and priority identification stage of an experience‐based co‐design (EBCD) project. Speech pathologists were recruited from 21 geographically diverse Hospital and Health Services in Queensland, Australia. Speech pathologists working in acute, rehabilitation and community services shared positive and negative experiences of delivering aphasia care in interviews and focus groups. Experiential data were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis to determine touchpoints. Priorities for service design were identified using an adapted nominal group technique. Results: Speech pathologists (n = 62) participated in 16 focus groups and nine interviews and shared 132 experiences of delivering aphasia care. Providing care in teams with poor awareness of the impacts of aphasia was identified as a key challenge, as poor patient‐provider communication was perceived to increase risk of adverse outcomes for patients. Speech pathologists identified areas for improvement related to their own professional needs (e.g., greater access to clinical supervision); collaborative health care (e.g., better coordination and interdisciplinary care to increase therapy time); and the service context and environment (e.g., psychological services able to support diverse communication needs). Conclusions: Speech pathologist delivery of aphasia services could be improved through increased access to clinical supervision, opportunities for peer debriefing and interdisciplinary care. Priorities for service design varied by geographical location and included: education to support care transitions (remote areas), improved referral pathways and service linkage (regional areas) and dedicated aphasia staffing (metropolitan areas). Patient or Public Contribution: A consumer advisory committee comprising people with aphasia (n = 3, authors K.M., K.D. and B.A.), their significant others (n = 2, authors J.D. and P.M.), and a Cultural Capability Officer (author G.B.) guided this research. The team: (1) reviewed participant information; (2) co‐designed surveys and workshop resources; (3) copresented research outcomes and contributed to publications. Research questions and study design (e.g., analysis methods and assessment measures) were developed by the research team (authors L.A., V.J.P., D.A.C. and S.J.W.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assess the impact of three bias correction approaches on present day means and extremes, and climate change signal, for six climate variables (precipitation, minimum and maximum temperature, radiation, vapour pressure and mean sea level pressure) from dynamically downscaled climate simulations over Queensland, Australia. Results show that all bias‐correction methods are effective at removing systematic model biases, however the results are variable and season‐dependent. Importantly, our results are based on fully independent cross‐validation, an advantage over similar studies. Linear scaling preserves the climate change signals for temperature, while quantile mapping and the distribution‐based transfer function modify the climate change signal and patterns of change. The Perkins score for all the values above the 95th percentile and below the 5th percentile was used to evaluate how well the climate model matches the observational data. Bias correction improved Perkins score for extremes for some variables and seasons. We rank the bias‐correction methods based on the Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE) score calculated during the validation period. We find that linear scaling and empirical quantile mapping are the best approaches for Queensland for mean climatology. On average, bias correction led to an improvement in the KGE score of 23% annually. However, in terms of extreme values, quantile mapping and statistical distribution‐based transfer function approaches perform best, and linear scaling tends to perform worst. Our results show that, except linear scaling, all approaches impact the climate change signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retracing past anthropogenic dispersal of culturally important taxa offers insights to the biogeographic history of species, as well as the history of the people who interacted with them. Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwillii Hook.) is a culturally and spiritually significant conifer tree for several Indigenous groups in eastern Australia. Sharing the edible nuts and attending Bunya gatherings is an important way for these groups to maintain their cultural connections and it has been hypothesized that prior to European colonization, Indigenous Peoples facilitated the dispersal of Bunya Pine as part of these ancient traditions.We used ethnohistorical information on the use of Bunya Pine by Indigenous Peoples to interpret genomic patterns within and between disjunct distributions of Bunya Pine.We found signatures of long‐term isolation within the Australian Wet Tropics (AWT) and extensive gene flow within southeast Queensland (SEQ) that does not fit models of faunal or passive dispersal. Within SEQ, we found greater population structure amongst sites known to pre‐date European colonization, than when colonial‐era planted sites were included in our analyses, suggesting that pre‐colonial translocation was sporadic or localized rather than systematic and widespread. Increased Indigenous translocations in conjunction with plantings by European settlers appears to have erased the natural pre‐colonial population structure of SEQ Bunya Pine. Our stairway plot models suggest sharp population decline of SEQ Bunya Pine in the early and late Pleistocene, though we did not find evidence that anthropogenic dispersal facilitated effective population size growth of the species in the Holocene.We concluded that pre‐colonial translocation of SEQ Bunya Pine was likely restricted by kinship‐based custodial rights, and that when Indigenous Peoples were displaced by European settlers, translocation was intensified to maintain cultural connectivity. This study is an example of how Indigenous Australian groups adapt plant management strategies to meet socio‐cultural needs and demonstrates the potential for plant genomics to supplement Indigenous Biocultural Knowledge that has been impacted by colonial dispossession. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In high‐income nations, multiple micronutrient (MMN) supplementation during pregnancy is a common practice. We aimed to describe maternal characteristics associated with supplement use and daily dose of supplemental nutrients consumed in pregnancy, and whether guideline alignment and nutrient status are related to supplement use. The Queensland Family Cohort is a prospective, Australian observational longitudinal study. Maternal characteristics, nutrient intake from food and supplements, and biochemical nutrient status were assessed in the second trimester (n = 127). Supplement use was reported by 89% of participants, of whom 91% reported taking an MMN supplement. Participants who received private obstetric care, had private health insurance and had greater alignment to meat/vegetarian alternatives recommendations were more likely to report MMN supplement use. Private obstetric care and general practitioner shared care were associated with higher daily dose of supplemental nutrients consumed compared with midwifery group practice. There was high reliance on supplements to meet nutrient reference values for folate, iodine and iron, but only plasma folate concentrations were higher in MMN supplement versus nonsupplement users. Exceeding the upper level of intake for folic acid and iron was more likely among combined MMN and individual supplement/s users, and associated with higher plasma concentrations of the respective nutrients. Given the low alignment with food group recommendations and potential risks associated with high MMN supplement use, whole food diets should be emphasized. This study confirms the need to define effective strategies for optimizing nutrient intake in pregnancy, especially among those most vulnerable where MMN supplement use may be appropriate. Key messages: Multiple micronutrient (MMN) supplementation during pregnancy is a common practice in high‐income countries.Participants who received private obstetric care, had private health insurance and had greater alignment to meat/vegetarian alternatives recommendations were more likely to report MMN supplement use.There was high reliance on supplements to meet intake guidelines for folate, iodine and iron, which also raised concern for excess nutrient intake.This study confirms the need to define effective strategies for optimizing nutrient intake in pregnancy, including the promotion of whole food diets and appropriate use of MMN supplements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]