Raw acceleration can be used as a proxy measure representing external forces experienced at the hip. Peak vertical acceleration at the hip was measured (ActiGraph GT3X+ - BT) in 30 premenopausal women during common exercises (walking, running, stairs and jumping) and while they went about their normal routine (7 days). Accelerations experienced during running and jumping activities were consistently ≥3.2g, whereas only accelerations during box jumps were greater than the higher recommended threshold of ≥ 4.9g proposed to improve bone mineral density in premenopausal women. Peak jerk experienced during jumping activities was greater than the recommended threshold of 100g/s. The median number of accelerations/day ≥3.2g was 30.4, whereas only 3.5 incidences/day were observed at ≥4.9g. Running and jumping resulted in vertical accelerations that met or exceeded the thresholds proposed to be beneficial for bone, however, participants rarely experienced high magnitude vertical accelerations during daily life. / October 2016

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 81 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-81).

Research has demonstrated a clear relationship between dynamic strength and vertical jump (VJ) performance; however, the relationship of isometric strength and VJ performance has been studied less extensively. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between isometric strength and performance during the squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ). Twenty-two male collegiate athletes (mean ± SD; age 21.3 ± 2.9 years; height 175.63 ± 8.23 cm; body mass 78.06 ± 10.77 kg) performed isometric midthigh pulls (IMTPs) to assess isometric peak force (IPF), maximum rate of force development, and impulse (IMP) (I100, I200, and I300). Force-time data, collected during the VJs, were used to calculate peak velocity, peak force (PF), peak power (PP), and jump height. Absolute IMTP measures of IMP showed the strongest correlations with VJ PF (r 0.43-0.64; p ≤ 0.05) and VJ PP (r 0.38-0.60; p ≤ 0.05). No statistical difference was observed in CMJ height (0.33 ± 0.05 m vs. 0.36 ± 0.05 m; p 0.19; ES-0.29) and SJ height performance (0.29 ± 0.06 m vs. 0.33 ± 0.05 m; p 0.14; ES-0.34) when comparing stronger to weaker athletes. The results of this study illustrate that absolute IPF and IMP are related to VJ PF and PP but not VJ height. Because stronger athletes did not jump higher than weaker athletes, dynamic strength tests may be more practical methods of assessing the relationships between relative strength levels and dynamic performance in collegiate athletes.

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AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF JACQUELINE BRIDGET GILLIAM, for the Master of Science degree in BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS AND THERAPY presented on October 26, 2014, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: IMPLEMENTATION OF PEAK RELATIONAL TRAINING SYSTEM FOR ADULTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Mark R. Dixon The first experiment sought to determine if a relationship did exist between two empirical assessment tools, the Inventory for Client and Agency Planning (ICAP) and the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced knowledge (PEAK) Relational Training System when assessing adults with developmental disabilities. The ICAP is tool that offers a service score for levels of support needed to adequately support the individual and is also used to determine rate determination for services. The tool does not offer suggestions for programming or teaching the individual skills in which they are lacking. The PEAK Relational Training System does offer an assessment and programming to train skills that an individual is unable to complete. The second experiment sought to determine if adults with developmental disabilities could learn new skills by using the PEAK Relational Training System. Assessments were conducted with 20 individuals with developmental disabilities and a relationship between the two assessment tools was found. Additionally, three individuals with disabilities were trained skills from nine programs in the PEAK Relational Training System and evidence of learning was shown in eight of the nine programs.

The current study examined the relationship between the relational abilities of 13 children (92.31% of which were diagnosed with autism) and their corresponding performance on a widely used language assessment tool. The relational abilities of the participants were assessed using the Prompting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Equivalence Pre-Assessment (PEAK-E) and language skills were assessed with the Oral and Written Language Scales- Second Edition (OWLS-II). The data indicated a strong, significant correlation between participant scores on the PEAK-E and the OWLS-II assessments (r = .888, p<.01) which is further analyzed in each of the four subsets of the OWLS-II Oral Expression (r = .861, p<.01), Listening Comprehension (r = .84, p<.01), Written Expression (r = .792, p<.01), and finally Reading Comprehension (r = .762, p<.01). Results further demonstrate the validity of the PEAK-E assessment in individuals with autism and other related disorders.

The present study evaluated the possibility of correlation between the results of the Language Processing Test (LPT3) and the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Relational Training System – Equivalence Module (PEAK-E). Thirteen participants with language disabilities were administered both assessments, and results indicated a significant linear correlation (r = 0.9268, p < 0.1) between the two measures. Implications for a greater understanding of human language and cognition are discussed.

The current study demonstrates the reliability of the Hindi translated version of the PEAK-DT assessment tool. The PEAK-DT has been found to be a reliable and valid tool to assess the skill level of children with disabilities. The Hindi translated version was scored and compared with the English version. The participants were parents and professionals who speak Hindi and English fluently and also have children with a developmental disability. A two tailed t test as well as the Pearson correlation found the scores to be highly correlated. The results of this study enables Hindi speaking parents who do not speak English fluently to assess the skill levels of their children to provide professionals with reliable scores from an assessment tool.

The purpose of this study was to teach 3 children vocal imitation and to compare dev words and random words. A multiple baseline design was implemented across three participants two with an expressive and receptive language delay and one with Autism where the participants were taught to vocally imitate several sounds using the PEAK Relational Training curriculum. The sounds were divided into 2 groups: first set composed of age appropriate sound in sequential order of suggested acquisition and the second set were random but age appropriate sounds. Trial blocks began with the child being asked to imitate a sound from their specific sound set. If the child correctly imitated the sound, child was given their chosen reinforcement (bubbles, surprise eggs or a book). After a trial block of 5 imitation requests, the child is given 5 minutes of free play where the child is able to pick an activity around their home. The results of the study show that children with a language disorders and Autism Spectrum Disorder increased the correct number of sound imitations during the PEAK Relational Training System – Direct Training module. Given both sets of sounds, the age appropriate sound sequence emerged first. Two participants showed an increasing trend at a high level during intervention. The third participant showed an increasing trend but at a low level.

The present study evaluates the criterion validity and efficacy of the PEAK-E Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Relational Training System Equivalence Module (PEAK-E) through a single case design across 3 individuals with autism. Validity, reliability, and efficacy were all addressed in the study. The study showed that the PEAK-E assessment was an effective measure for skills which were not in the individuals’ repertoires. All participants demonstrated derived responses using the PEAK-E curriculum. After training all three participants using the PEAK-E curriculum, there was an overall increase in the participants’ abilities to derive relations when reassessed again using the PEAK-E assessment.