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The most important recent book about early cinema – or rather, early motion pictures, is The Kinetoscope: A British History. Based heavily on extensive original research it describes and explains t...

In golf, many parameters of the driver can be modified to maximise hitting distance. The main objective of this study was to determine whether drivers fitted with shafts having high and low kick points would alter selected swing parameters and related launch conditions. In total, 12 elite male golfers (handicap score = 1.2 ± 1.8) had three shots analysed for two drivers fitted with ‘stiff’ shafts with differing kick point location. Stiffness profiles of these shafts were also measured. Five swing and related launch parameters were measured using a real-time launch monitor. The locations of the low and high kick points on each shaft during the golf swing (the dynamic kick points) were confirmed via motion analysis. The driver fitted with the shaft containing the high kick point displayed a more negative (steeper) angle of attack ( p < 0.01), a lower launch angle ( p < 0.01) and an increased spin rate ( p < 0.01) when compared to a driver fitted with a low kick point shaft. It is possible that the attack angle differed between drivers due to the greater amount of shaft bending found late in the downswing (80% of the downswing and just before impact). Future work is needed in this under-researched area to determine why these differences occurred.

Exposure to natural environments can help restore depleted emotional and cognitive resources. However, investigation of the relative impacts of different natural environments among large samples is limited. Using data from 4255 respondents drawn from Natural England's Monitoring Engagement with the Natural Environment survey (2009–2011), we investigated feelings of restoration (calm, relaxed, revitalized and refreshed) recalled by individuals after visits to different natural environments within the last week. Controlling for demographic and visit characteristics we found that of the broad environmental categories, coastal visits were associated with the most restoration and town and urban parks with the least. In terms of specific environmental types two “green space” locations (woodlands/forests and hills/moorland/mountains) were associated with levels of restoration comparable to coastal locations. Urban playing fields were associated with the least restoration. Restoration was positively associated with visit duration (a potential dose–response effect), and visits with children were associated with less restoration than visits alone. There was little evidence that different activities (e.g. walking, exercising) were associated with differences in restoration. The data may improve our understanding of the “cultural eco-system services” provided by different natural environments and help decision makers keen to invest scare resources in those environments most associated with psychological benefits.

Background Recent findings suggest that individuals living near the coast are healthier than those living inland. Here we investigated whether this may be related to higher levels of physical activity among coastal dwellers in England, arising in part as a result of more visits to outdoor coastal settings. Method Participants (n = 183,755) were drawn from Natural England's Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment Survey (2009–2012). Analyses were based on self-reported physical activity for leisure and transport. Results A small, but significant coastal proximity gradient was seen for the likelihood of achieving recommended guidelines of physical activity a week after adjusting for relevant area and individual level controls. This effect was statistically mediated by the likelihood of having visited the coast in the last seven days. Stratification by region, however, suggested that while the main effect was relatively strong for west coast regions, it was not significant for those in the east. Conclusions In general, our findings replicate and extend work from Australia and New Zealand. Further work is needed to explain the marked regional differences in the relationship between coastal proximity and physical activity in England to better understand the coast's potential role as a public health resource.

www.victorian‐cinema.net In 1996, the British Film Institute published Who’s Who of Victorian Cinema: A Worldwide Survey. The book contained over 280 biographies of those who collectively could be ...