oral presentation winners

Garrett 
Mentor: Brian Zimmer, Bahrain 
FIRST PLACE

 Our first place winner was Garrett from Bahrain School with his research entitled Can Mathematics Predict Popular Music? He won the following for his achievements at the Regional level; a $2000.00 Scholarship, $250.00 in cash, and a trip to the National JSHS in Washington, D.C. to present his work on a National stage and compete for the following prizes. $16,000 undergraduate, tuition scholarships, awarded to each of the 1st place finalists in the National research competition, $6,000 undergraduate, tuition scholarships, awarded to each of the 2nd place finalists in the National research competition or $2,000 undergraduate, tuition scholarships, awarded to each of the 3rd place finalists in the National research competition.  

Can Mathematics Predict Popular Music?

The research was an examination of the mathematics behind popular Music Information Retrieval techniques and how effectively they predict popularity of songs, namely: do the numbers exhibit an identifiable pattern?  ScoreAHit, a company founded upon a similar goal, used mathematics and machine learning to compute an algorithm for predicting whether a song would become popular (i.e. make it to the top 10) following its release.  Their research paper outlined their methods and was a large influence on this work.  This research takes a step farther.  Their algorithm achieved approximately a 60% accuracy, likely because their data were limited to purely acoustical attributes.  However, songs’ lyrics, social media presence, and the previous popularity of their artists are also influential factors.  This paper quantifies these factors to be used in tandem with ScoreAHit’s algorithm in an attempt to produce even more accurate results.  By taking into account factors such as the repetitiveness of the lyrics, the uniqueness of the language used in them, the media buzz surrounding the artist at the time of the release and their relative popularities, as well as accounting for ScoreAHit’s predictions, it was found that even more accurate predictions are possible.  However, this was only achievable for recent songs.  This result could likely be refined through learning machines similar to that used by ScoreAHit in order to account for shifts in the popularity of various attributes over time, similar to the changing weights seen in their algorithm.

Leif 
Mentor: Kathleen Tierney, Rota HS
SECOND PLACE

 Our second place winner was Leif from Rota HS with his research entitled Lateral Line and Barbel Efficiency of Fish during Percussive and Electrical Stimulation. He won the following for his achievements at the Regional level; a $1500.00 Scholarship, $250.00 in cash, and a trip to the National JSHS in Washington, D.C. to present his work on a National stage and compete for the following prizes. $16,000 undergraduate, tuition scholarships, awarded to each of the 1st place finalists in the National research competition, $6,000 undergraduate, tuition scholarships, awarded to each of the 2nd place finalists in the National research competition or $2,000 undergraduate, tuition scholarships, awarded to each of the 3rd place finalists in the National research competition.  

Lateral Line and Barbel Efficiency of Fish during Percussive and Electrical Stimulation

This experiment was the third phase of a paradigmatic study done over three years, in which the ability of animals to predict earthquakes was tested. The researcher hypothesized that he would observe animal behavior useful for predicting earthquakes.  The animals, including fish and subterranean Animalia, were tested on their ability to sense percussive shocks and electrical impulses, which are precursors to impending earthquakes. Phase three tested for two things, how reactant fish were to percussive shocks and whether added electrical currents increased or diminished these said reactions.  The researcher tested which sensory organs were more sensitive to these stimulations, the barbels or the lateral line. It was discovered that the added electrical current during percussive shock altered stimulation, resulting in the reaction of the fish lasting longer.  The percussive shocks were simulated by dropping a three-pound weight onto the table upon which the fish tank rested. Added electrical stimulation was introduced by running a current through opposite ends of the fish tank. It was determined that the sensitivity of the barbels caused more aggressive reactions, while the sensitivity of the lateral line caused more elongated reactions. The findings support the hypothesis and have the value of potentially saving human life. 

Michael , Menwith Hill HS, England
Mentor: Michelle Harrington, Teacher, Menwith Hill HS
THIRD PLACE

Our third place winner was Michael from Menwith Hill with his research entitled Observing the effect of diet on heredity in regards to behavior, fertility, and cognitive memory using the medium of PoecillaReticulata. He won the following for her achievements at the Regional level; a $1000.00 Scholarship, $250.00 in cash, and a trip to the National JSHS in Washington, D.C. to present his work on a National stage in a poster format. 

Observing the effect of diet on heredity in regards to behavior, fertility, and cognitive memory using the medium of Poecilla Reticulata

Diet has been known to affect the Epigenome in significant ways such as differentiating queen and worker bees. Two different diets were tested, a processed and a natural one. The researcher defined natural diet as a diet which is similar to that which an organism would find in its habitat. The USDA defines processed foods as a food that has been combined with another substance. The effect of diet was measured using Poecilla Reticulata (guppies) they were used because of their short gestation period and short lifespan. A change in behavior and memory is considered a sign of significant epigenetic change (University of Utah). Fertility is considered one of the most important factors regarding whether a species will thrive or fail. Fertility was measured by counting offspring produced per birth. Memory was tested using a maze made out of plastic hamster tubing. Dried worms were used as an incentive for the fish. Skype was used on a laptop to view the fish remotely as the fish appeared anxious whilst humans were in the room.  The researcher concluded that a much larger sample size is required in order to determine a pattern, but that there is a pattern.

oral presentation finalist

Emily , Menwith Hill School, England      
Mentor: Michelle Harrington, Teacher, Menwith Hill HS

To Be Touched or Not? The Study of the Effect of Constantly Touching Hamsters that Hate it        

This study was done on the partial lobe in Roborovski hamster. All of the hamsters were females. The researcher spent three weeks trying to get the hamsters used to being touched. In the study, the researcher got four different people to touch four different hamsters every day at the same time. The researcher’s hypothesis was that if the hamster were constantly touched every day, then they would grow used to being touched and not run away, because they would be used to the feeling of someone touching them. These hamsters are naturally afraid of people and the researcher was looking to change that. The same people supported the researcher in gathering data each day while trials were being done. Based on the result, the parietal lobe was not changed during the experiment.  However the null hypothesis that even if the hamster were touched every day it would have no effect on the parietal lobe and they would still act the same was supported by the results of the experiment preformed. There has been no further research done on hamster and the parietal lobe. But there has been some research done pertaining to parietal lobes in humans.  

Laura, Bahrain School, Bahrain
Mentor: Brian Zimmer, Teacher, Bahrain School HS

To What Extent are Materials capable of Obstructing the Path of Sound Waves

In this experiment the researcher tested various materials to see how successful they were in blocking sound. The researchers used audacity to record and analyze the sound that passed across each material, a cellular phone to emit sine waves, and a wall to control the passage of the noise. The researcher also constructed one centimeter thick plates of each material, which was tested at three settings: single plate, double plate, and two plates with space in between. Each plate was one centimeter thick in order to allow an accurate comparison to be made between materials. The researcher used carpet, 100% cotton t-shirt, paper, synthetic wood, glass, aluminum foil, and cardboard. The controls of brick and nothing was also tested. The results indicated that the double plate with space in between was the most successful in obstructing the path of sound waves. Additionally, paper proved to be the most useful material. To further analyze the data, the researcher calculated the density for each material and plotted it against its ability to obstruct the sound for the one centimeter plate, generating the equation with a correlation of -0.85. Lastly, the researcher took the most successful material, paper, and tested it at different thicknesses, which generated the equation with the correlation of -0.97. 

Andrew, Menwith Hill School, England
Mentor: Michelle Harrington, Teacher, Menwith Hill HS

How true are online quizzes? Do personality quizzes really tell you who you are.

This paper described a study done to test the accuracy of personality tests. It describes the necessity of having accurate tests for research and job fitting organizations. The researcher was testing to see if personality tests are accurate and match the personality of the people taking the test. The hypothesis was that the personality test will be accurate and will describe the personality of the people taking the test. The independent variable was the subject taking the test and their personality. The dependent variable was that person’s personality and if the test matches. In the study the researcher used one particular personality test online (the color quiz) and 22 test subjects. After looking at the results of the study, and doing a statistical analysis, one can conclude that the majority of the subjects believe that the personality test is true and describes their personalities. The researcher’s hypothesis for this study was correct. The researcher sees promise from these results because it means that these tests are mostly valid and are a good way of analyzing a person. These results mean that using these tests are an accurate way for doctors and psychologists to learn about the people they are researching and advising.

Jessica, Ramstein HS, Germany
Mentor: Margaret Hess, Teacher, Ramstein HS

Is Life on Mars Possible?  An Experiment on the Effect of Plant Growth When Placed Under Living Conditions Similar to Mars

Researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands have found that growing plants in soil with similar soil composition to that found on Mars allows the plants to grow better than those grown with Earth’s soil. The research done in the Netherlands was associated with the “Mars One” project, which hopes to create the first settlement on Mars in ten years’ time. The researcher’s hypothesis was that if the growing conditions of a pinto bean plant were changed to simulate Martian growing conditions, then the pinto bean plant’s morphology would change from that grown under Earth growing conditions. The experiment was conducted in controlled terrariums. For this experiment, the independent variable was the growing conditions of a pinto bean plant and the dependent variable was the morphology of the pinto bean plants. The hypothesis proposed by the researcher was disproven, as the plants morphologies in the Earth terrarium and the Mars terrarium had undistinguishable differences.