BEHA001: Behavioral and Social Sciences Joshua Benzon

Train a Happy Brain!
: A Human Behavioral Study on the Emotional

Perception of Happiness BEHA001
Behavioral and Social
Joshua Benzon
Sciences
Canterbury School, Fort Myers, FL
It’s important to understand if a demonstration of questioning one’s definition of “happy” and “content”
can change one’s perception of being “happy.” Through an educational video, I hypothesized that the self-
assessment scores correlated to perceiving happiness will decrease, because they will recognize a
difference in their perceived emotional state.
All prepared surveys and videos are part of the Mental Health Monday EQ Initiative at Canterbury
School. Voluntary participants filled out anonymous happiness ratings in the “Perception of Happiness
Survey (Part #1)." The participants watched a ten minute video titled “Perception of Happiness." The
participants filled out anonymous happiness ratings in the “Perception of Happiness Survey (Part #2)."
The experiment was repeated with the Middle and Upper School students and the Post-Graduate faculty.
Data was analyzed using a two-tailed t-test between the two surveys.
When comparing the self-reflection questions, the average ratings decreased from the first and second
surveys in the Middle and Upper School. When comparing the scores of ambiguous photographs, the
average ratings increased from the first and second survey in the Middle and Upper School. The Middle
and Upper School ratings were statistically significant, but none of the Post-Graduate ratings were.
With at least a 95% confidence, there’s a significant amount of data to overcome the idea that there will
be no significant difference between the two survey ratings. The change of perception shifted their focus
on how they viewed themselves and others. The observed self-perception shift may be perceived as
healthy, as focusing on contentment may reduce anxiety. Whereas, the focus on others may shift
perception to a more optimistic outlook.
1. In this research project, the student directly handled, manipulated, or interacted with (check ALL that apply):
✘ human participants potentially hazardous biological agents
vertebrate animals microorganisms rDNA tissue
2. I/we worked or used equipment in a regulated research institution or industrial setting (Form 1C): YES ✘ NO
3. This project is a continuation of previous research (Form 7): YES ✘ NO
4. My display board includes non-published photographs/visual depictions of humans
(other than myself): ✘ YES NO
5. This abstract describes only procedures performed by me/us, reflects my/our own independent
research, and represents one year’s work only: ✘ YES NO
6. I/we hereby certify that the abstract and responses to the above statements are correct and
properly reflect my/our own work. ✘ YES NO
The stamp or embossed seal attests that this project is in compliance with all federal and state laws and regulations and that all
appropriate reviews and approvals have been obtained including the final clearance by the Scientific Review Committee.
Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:41 PM

Identification of Auditory Biomarkers for Neurological Disorders
BEHA002
Shreya Ramesh
Sciences
Milton High School, Milton, GA
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects the nervous system,
affecting millions worldwide. However, the early diagnosis of ALS is difficult since symptoms are often
confused for other disorders. ALS patients have a hard time completing simple tasks due to their neuro-
motor disruptions, making them dependent on automatic speech recognition (ASR) software for day-to-
day tasks. Unfortunately, the strained or hypernasal voices of ALS patients results in a 78% failure rate in
such software. This research proposes an innovative solution to identify auditory biomarkers for early
diagnosis and a novel voice compensation method to improve voice recognition accuracy. To identify
biomarkers, auditory features were extracted and frequency topography images were generated through
the Mel-Frequency spectrogram to map frequency in time representation. The auditory features and the
spectrogram images generated were processed using Machine Learning algorithms. The optimized Neural
Network algorithm classifies voice files with an accuracy of 91% (auditory features) and 88% (spectrogram
images). A new voice compensation algorithm was developed to adjust and compensate for a word's
duration, frequency, pitch, and energy in order to improve the ASR recognition rate. This method
successfully increases the voice recognition accuracy and allows ASR systems to understand voice
commands from ALS patients easily. The methods in this research can be applied to other neurological
disorders as well to identify auditory biomarkers and create a novel voice compensation algorithm. With
the expanding field of machine learning, efficient diagnosing ALS patients and better novel voice
compensation algorithms can now be a reality.
human participants potentially hazardous biological agents
(other than myself): YES ✘ NO

Fighting Executive Function Disorders via Artificial Intelligence with
Facial Movement Data BEHA003
Ronald Bohan Xu
Sciences
Winter Springs High School, Winter Springs, FL
Executive functions (EF) belong to cognitive processes that focus on cognitive control of behaviors.
EF skills are inhibition, shift, emotional control, initiation, working memory, planning, organization of
materials, and self-monitoring. A lack of EF skills can lead to EF disorders, or executive
dysfunctions. Because different types of executive dysfunctions are treated differently, an accurate
diagnosis is vital. Compared to current clinical practices, my anticipated research outcome is a
convenient, accurate, and low-cost approach in predicting a particular type of executive
dysfunction. My key hypothesis is that high frequency facial/eye movements have a strong
indication of executive function disorders. The research methods are composed of facial
recognition in finding action units, EF calculations for all training data, and a neural network model
relating action units and EF disorders. Furthermore, a low cost software was designed and
programmed to simplify functionalities such as video recording, video processing, and prediction of
EF disorders. To the best of my knowledge, this tool is the first of its kind. It is convenient (with
current treatment limited by the number of available medical professionals) and low-cost (current
private sessions can easily be a couple hundred of dollars per hour). With lots of data used in the
training, validation, and testing of the software, the accuracy of the model is high; thus, the
relationship between facial movements and the predicted occurrence of an EF disorder is high.
3. This project is a continuation of previous research (Form 7): ✘ YES NO

The Effect of Social Media on Mental Health and Academic
Performance BEHA005
Lucy Jean Richardson
Sciences
St. Joseph's Academy, Baton Rouge, LA
The effect of social media on mental health (depression, anxiety, loneliness, eating disorders) and
academic performance will be determined. Additionally, the differences between male and female
responses will be compared. People who use social media will have a worse mental health
(depression, anxiety, loneliness, eating disorders) and lower academic performance than people
who don’t use social media. The responses of males and females will differ. High school students
at a variety of different school take a survey sent to them. The survey includes questions that allow
for the data collected to show how social media affects the students. The independent variable is
the age and gender of the respondents and the dependent variable is grades and mental health
issues. The results show that the hypothesis is correct. The analysis shows that almost all of the
factors that go into the effects of social media, are statistically significant. In conclusion, social
media does affect mental health and academic performance in a negative way including distraction,
sleep problems, self-consciousness, delayed homework or studying, and negative mood.

The Effect of Increasing Sensory Modalities on Retention Rates
BEHA006
Dante Amadeo Martinez
Sciences
Westminster Christian School, Palmetto Bay, FL
While many think of virtual reality (VR) as a technology that is only used in video games, its
interactive features and multi-sensory experience may make it an ideal learning tool. To justify the
development and implementation of educational VR applications, research needs to be done to
establish whether it effectively increases student learning and retention of the material presented.
To determine whether engaging multiple sensory modalities through VR applications improves
student learning and retention, participants of varying ages were assigned to one of three study
methods to learn about the cardiovascular system. The study methods used were Quizlet
flashcards (visual only), a PowerPoint presentation (visual and auditory), and ShareCare VR
(visual, auditory, and kinesthetic). After taking a pre-test, students had 20 minutes to study their
assigned method. They took a post-test, immediately following the study session and then again at
one-week intervals for the following month. Learning gains and retention over time were compared
between the 3 study methods. Students in the VR group preformed significantly better (p <0.05)
than either of the other two study methods both in initial learning and in retention of the material
over the 4-week period. This research indicates that VR can be effectively used in the classroom to
increase learning gains and retention and suggests that future developments in VR educational
platforms may revolutionize our current educational system.

Gender and Sexuality at School: Pedagogical Practices Reported by
Teachers against Prejudice and Dropout of Young LGBT BEHA007
Fabricio Pupo Antunes
Sciences
Colegio Novaescola, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
Prejudice on the experiences outside of heteronormativity may produce the teachers silencing thus
collaborating with violence occurrence and dropout of young LGBT. In Brazil where the levels of
violence are alarming, 60% of young people feel insecure when it comes to experiencing their
sexual orientation in school. Due to this reality 82% of young transgender that leave school are
high schoolers. In this sense the present research aims to analyze the teachers’ perceptions and
challenges on the production of identities through gender and sexuality in Brazilian schools. I have
used the post-critical perspective from the theoretical and methodological point of view in this
qualitative study accomplished from the correlation of the following; recent survey data of
Reprolatina, ABGLT, UNESCO, theories of philosophers such as Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze
and Judith Butler, apart from the teachers’ reports collected through the Transidentidades blog
where they had access to a questionnaire with five questions providing opportunities for the
description of their daily life, challenges and insights on the production of dissident identities.
According to the collected data the teachers pointed the issue of gender and sexuality in the school
curriculum as a guarantee in dealing with the topic and they mentioned the need for more school
investment in training. The threat of conservative movements on the approach to the subject was
pointed out in some reports. Being the data presented here it is my intend to contribute to the
discussion over gender and sexuality education, themes that are important and crucial in the
teachers role when hosting and producing identities in school.
2. I/we worked or used equipment in a regulated research institution or industrial setting (Form 1C): ✘ YES NO

Getting Crossed: Does Hand/Eye Dominance Affect Basketball Free
Throw Shooting Percent? BEHA008T
John Loyd Singer, Kaylee George
Sciences
McGregor High School, McGregor, TX
The purpose of the experiment "Getting Crossed" is it will provide coaches with a tool to help players
evaluate and adjust their skills and thus improve their free throw percentage and inevitably their record of
games won.
In order to complete the project, 15 males and 15 females shot 20 free throws each and all went through
an eye dominance test to see which eye was dominant. Then, the scorebooks were evaluated and each
player's free throws were calculated and transformed into percentages. The percentages were all written
down on pieces of paper that include tables, dominant eye, dominant hand, and game status.
If the basketball player has uncrossed hand/eye dominance, they're more likely to make free throws than
crossed hand/eye dominance players. The results showed that the percentage of the baskets made with
crossed hand/eye dominance was 33.01 % and the percentage of baskets made with uncrossed hand/eye
dominance was 64.71%.
The conclusion is that if a basketball player has an uncrossed hand/eye dominance, then their free throw
accuracy will be better than basketball players with crossed hand/eye dominance. It was predicted that
the uncrossed basketball players' free throws would be more accurate than crossed basketball players,
but the percentages of accuracy were not correct based on the hypothesis.

What Is the Best Auditory Atmosphere for Taking a Math Test?
BEHA009
Ezra Michael Stegemoller
Sciences
Stegemoller Academy Homeschool, Valley Mills, TX
"Multi-tasking ruins productivity, causes mistakes, and impedes creative thought," says Earl Miller, neuroscientist
at MIT. Auditory distractions are one form of multi-tasking that may hinder students' performance on academic
work. Does the auditory atmosphere of a classroom affect students' performance on a five-minute written math
test? This project examines the performance of 42 male and female students, ranging in ages from 12-18 on 3
five-minute basic arithmetic tests. Each test was conducted with different levels of auditory distraction. The first
test was administered with no background noise. The second test was administered with classical music playing
at 82 dB on a Bose speaker. The third test was administered with lyrical music playing at 82 dB on a Bose
speaker. My hypothesis was that students' performance would be worst with lyrical music playing, better with
classical music playing, and best in silence. The experimental results did not support my hypothesis. My
conclusion is further supported by the results when I compared different ages and genders. Overall results on
which I base my conclusion are as follows:
1. The average exam score for tests taken in quiet was 65.7%.
2. The average exam score for tests taken with lyrical music was 68.6%.
3. The average exam score for tests taken with classical music was 69.8%.
Although there were not enough subjects to confirm or deny the optimal auditory atmosphere for test-taking, the
results are substantial enough to draw the general conclusion that students perform best with classical music
playing.

The Dangers of Viewing the News:
How News Event Priming Affects Subject Bias and Memory of BEHA010
Witnessed Events
Kaitlynn Elena Weiss
Sciences
Kalaheo High School, Kailua, HI
It is possible to see the same event on two news channels, and receive differing opinions, positive
and negative, about the same event. How much does exposure to negative priming and bias news
affect memory of events and personal bias? To answer this I conducted a 2 phase experiment. In
phase one I looked at how 300 subjects, who viewed news events, were affected by negative,
positive and neutral priming. In Phase two, I measured the amount of biased news 100 subjects
were exposed to and measured their personal bias and false memory rate. To measure personal
bias I created 20 blended Ekman Friesen faces to measure a person’s negative bias. To measure
false memory I combined a subjects self measured news viewing time and a ranking of the bias in
the news shows they watched to give a bias news exposure score. In phase one, I found a
significant increase in negative personal bias and rate of false memory when subjects were given
negative priming statements as opposed to neutral or positive. Phase two found a significant
increase in negative personal bias and rate of false memories with increasing bias news exposure.
Negative bias is associated with anxiety and depression, false memories affect decisions and
attitudes. This is the first study to measure the effects of news biasing on the viewing public.

Parent Perceptions of Social Skill Development of Adolescent
Cochlear Implant Recipients: A Comparative Study across Various BEHA011
Populations
Megan Cantwell
Sciences
Veritas Academy, Austin, TX
Approximately 38,000 children with severe-to-profound hearing loss in the United States use a cochlear
implant. Research demonstrates that adolescent cochlear implant recipients experience double the rate of
peer victimization as compared to the national average and four times the rate of coercion and intentional
social exclusion. Adolescent cochlear implant recipients frequently struggle to understand social nuances
and nonverbal cues. Youth with clinical diagnoses of High Functioning Autism (HFA) or Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experience increased peer victimization along with deficits in social
cognition and difficulties understanding social nuances. To understand similarities in social skill deficits
across communication disorder diagnoses, the clinically validated Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-
2) and the normed Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were administered to 313 parents of
adolescents with ADHD, HFA, or typical development. Parents of adolescent cochlear implant recipients
(N=82) completed a modified version of the SRS-2, the Social Communication Questionnaire, and the
SDQ. Parents of adolescents with HFA, ADHD, and cochlear implant recipients all reported that their
adolescents had significantly more difficulties in social cognition, communication, and restrictive and
repetitive behaviors than parents of typically developing adolescents. Parents reported that typically
developing adolescents had the least difficulty, followed by adolescent cochlear implant users, then
adolescents with ADHD, and then adolescents with HFA. Further research should investigate intervention
efficacy that targets social cognition, communication, and restrictive and repetitive behaviors for
adolescent cochlear implant recipients.

Prediction of Chronic Stress through a Computational Linguistic
Machine Learning Model BEHA012
Siddhanth Pachipala
Sciences
College Park High School, The Woodlands, TX
Chronic stress, a disorder marked by dangerously prolonged stress levels, is becoming increasingly widespread,
and current diagnostic methods are inadequate to address the issue. The sole public tool to predict chronic stress
is the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), which is not administered during routine psychological checkups. This project
aimed to produce an alternative tool to determine whether an individual was experiencing chronic stress. To this
end, the researcher sought to employ machine learning to recognize patterns between an individual's writing
characteristics and their self-reported stress score.
To record respondents' writing, the researcher developed a positive prompt and a negative prompt. The
researcher hypothesized that chronic stress patients feel constant psychological pressure, which manifests in
writing patterns, especially in negative situations. Thus, the researcher predicted that the negative prompt would
produce a more accurate tool than the positive prompt to predict chronic stress. To test this hypothesis, the
researcher administered the PSS and the two prompts to 500 participants. The researcher then utilized the
Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count program, a sentiment and semantic analytic software, to extract numerical data
from participants' responses, employing machine learning to identify data correlations and generate a predictive
tool autonomously.
Analysis of the predictive tool's efficacy revealed that the model based on responses to the positive prompt
achieved 98% accuracy in predicting chronic stress in males and females based solely on writing samples
(p<0.00001). Hence, the study created a predictive tool that can be self-administered and does not require
extensive experience, unlike current predictive means.

Effect of Chronic Treatment with Metformin on Adult Male Mouse
Autism Relevant Behavior BEHA013
Connie Yu Zhang
Sciences
Health Careers High School, San Antonio, TX
Autism, a developmental disorder, has been linked with gestational diabetes. Management of
gestational diabetes may decrease the chance that an offspring develops autism. Metformin is a
promising agent for this purpose. It is important to know if metformin has any negative effects on a
mouse's social behavior. Prenatal exposure and postnatal exposure to metformin causes opposite
behavioral changes of male adolescent mice. The goal of this study was to investigate if chronic
treatment of metformin can affect male adult mouse’s social behavior. Water containing metformin
(dose) was given to BTBR mice and its control group, C57BL/6J mice, by the lab staff for three
weeks. The mice were evaluated by the lab staff for social interaction preference, social novelty
preference, as well as impulsive behaviors three weeks after the treatment. The student
researcher analyzed the behavior via videos. Compared with C57BL/6J mice (n=12), BTBR mice
(n=4) showed reduced social interaction preference and social novelty preference but a normal
performance in impulsive and anxiety behavioral tests. Metformin reversed BTBR mouse’s social
interaction preference and social novelty preference (n=4), however, it did not affect C57BL/6J
mouse’s social behaviors that were tested (n=11).
human participants potentially ✘ hazardous biological agents
vertebrate animals microorganisms rDNA ✘ tissue

A Hope for All: Reducing PTSD Symptoms in Refugees through a
Physiologically-Driven Adaptive Home-Based Virtual Reality BEHA014T
Exposure Therapy Treatment
Omar Bashar Dababneh, Aseel Mohammad Alrazem
Sciences
Jubilee School, Amman, Jordan
This study aimed to examine the efficacy of A Hope for All System on reducing post-traumatic stress
disorder symptoms in refugees with combat related traumas through a physiologically-driven adaptive
home-based virtual reality exposure therapy treatment. The study’s methodology contained three phases.
First, two different screening instruments were used to screen a sample of 120 refugees aged 7 to 15 for
symptoms of depression and PTSD. Those who have fit the criteria were given a third instrument for
trauma analysis. 50 patients were worked with under the supervision of a team of psychologists. Second,
AHA System included the exposure simulations for each patient individually according to the stages of
exposure in an application that is connected to a device that operates under specific body rates
associated with the physiological and emotional arousals. If the rates became abnormal, required
measures would be taken to calm the patient down. Third, the patients were given the PTSD screening
instrument post-treatment and after a 1 month follow-up. The results showed that PTSD symptoms have
been reduced in all patients from pre-treatment to after follow-up. Also, there was a statistically significant
moderate relationship between the severity of PTSD symptoms and the average maximum pulse rate
reached, which was (r = 0.72), and between the severity of PTSD symptoms and the average time needed
for the pulse rate to go back to normal, which was (r = 0.5). Finally, according to Cohen’s d Effect Size,
there is a statistically significant large effect size from pre-treatment to after-follow up equal to (4.22) at a
level of significance equal to (0.5), with an improvement rate equal to 55.24%. As a conclusion, AHA
System was a high effective method at reducing PTSD symptoms.

Computational Analysis of Music Evolution and Melodic Expectancy
BEHA015
Eric Lian
Sciences
Oregon Episcopal School, Portland, OR
Melody has always been the quintessential focus of musicological analysis, and its different
intervallic structures are related to the listener’s psychological expectancy according to the
Implication-Realization model (Narmour, 1990). Although theoretical melodic analysis is prevalent,
few focus on the evolution of melody through time in relation to the listener’s expectancy. To
investigate whether melodies have become increasingly unexpected in Western Classical music
history, a corpus analysis of music from the 14th to 20th centuries under the IR framework was
done. 2649 pieces of music were encoded into vectors of conditional and joint probability
distributions of frequencies of 625 unique melodic bigrams. An HDBSCAN clustering algorithm was
applied. Four clusters were formed, displaying significant intercluster differences in the years of
music composed (p<0.05), and the average years were roughly in line with periods of Baroque,
Classical, Romantic and Contemporary. Principle features in the IR model were revealed in
clusters. IR principles were quantitatively encoded to analyze the expectancy level in 3 different
dimensions, altogether showing a general trend of melody becoming increasingly expected
(p<0.05). The expectancy level was also proved to be effective at locating similar music using an
N-gram algorithm for similarity measurement.

Iconographic Interpretation of the Rock Paintings of the Quilcay de
Singa Complex BEHA016
Jhocelyn Nohelia Coaquira
Sciences
Miguel De La Mata Beraun, Singa, Huanuco / Huamalies, Peru
In this qualitative research work we perform an iconographic interpretation of the rock

manifestations of the Quilcay de Singa complex, based on the iconographic characteristics
represented in the rock shelters. In that sense, the topics addressed mainly were rock art and its
basic concepts, iconography as a methodology for approaching the explanation of these artistic
expressions.
For the central stage of information gathering, two work phases were carried out, first it was an
exhaustive analysis of the existing documentation, then study visits and data collection were
carried out in situ by the Quilcay de Singa complex. The iconographic interpretation was made
through a comparative chart of the figures found in Singa's cave paintings with other figures
present in other archeological sites.
Representations of anthropomorphous, zoomorphous, phytomorphous, geometric and represented
objects have been identified, which constitute an invaluable heritage for the entire community. This
type of research cannot be converted into one more text, but rather it allows to open paths for
future studies. This must continue, due to the urgent need and importance of preservation and
dissemination of archaeological studies in the area.

Connections in Chromesthesia: Analyzing Note Vibrations and Colors
Perceived from Sound BEHA017
Camille Autumn Blake
Sciences
West Salem High School, Salem, OR
Synesthesia is a condition in which a stimulation of one sense causes a response in another

sense. This study focused on chromesthesia, a form of synesthesia where affected people
visualize colors when prompted with a sound. There has been minimal research on the processes
behind chromesthesia, leading to limited understanding of the condition. The goal of this research
was to find connections that would lead to better understanding of chromesthesia. Part of
understanding the condition is understanding why this condition occurs. Although there has been
research on the neurology behind synesthesia, no research has explored connections between a
physical representation of sound and the corresponding audio. This research aimed to determine if
there was a connection between a color perceived from a note vibration pattern and the color
perceived from the same pitch. Participants recorded colors seen from certain pitches and colors
seen in note patterns. By analyzing and comparing the results, the researcher determined that the
data was inconclusive. Although the numbers pointed to certain patterns and connections, the
sample size was too small to make any larger conclusions. This study did not adequately answer
the research question because of the limitations regarding sample size. Future research should be
conducted to improve this study to obtain more accurate results, as well as explore other avenues
in explaining processes behind chromesthesia.

Developing an Application to Measure Stroop Interference in
Bilinguals BEHA018
Cameron Ryan Neidhard
Sciences
Carroll High School, Dayton, OH
Stroop Interference can be used to measure one’s fluency, relative to other individuals, in a specific
language. The goal of this project was to design an electronic application that could measure one’s
Stroop Interference. Firstly, individuals from Spain, France, Germany, Israel, and Russia were
contacted. Each individual would work with a group of participants that were bilingual in their home
language, as well as English. Next, each participant’s (at least 9 per language) Stroop Interference
was calculated with a paper test. This was done to ensure that each group’s Stroop Interferences
resembled normal models when placed into histograms. After this, the development of the
application began, using GameMaker Studio 2 to build the app. Each language has a specific
“room,” accessed from a main menu, where each Stroop Test would be conducted. The Stroop
Test consisted of a singular word being flashed upon the screen, and the individual pressing the
correct key (up, down, left, right) to match the colour of the word text. After 15 words, the
individual’s time to complete the task was calculated. The app was then sent back to the contacts
for distribution to the participants. From there, histograms were made measuring their Stroop
Interferences, and they appeared unimodal and symmetric. These histograms, also resembling
normal models, suggest that the app works as intended, as it matches the normality of the paper
test. This application can serve as an inexpensive method to measure an individual’s fluency, and
has a potential use in an educational environment.

A Machine Learning Approach to Identify Socio-economic Factors
Responsible for Patients Dropping Out of Substance Abuse BEHA019
Treatment
Prateek Gautam
Sciences
Marquette High School, Chesterfield, MO
This study will help determine whether certain socio-economic factors emerge as common threads
between patients dropping out of substance abuse treatment, which would help healthcare providers
administer more targeted and equitable treatments that meet the needs of all patients. This study uses
patient level data from the Treatment Episode Data Set - Discharge (TEDS-D) 2017 because we can be
sure it includes almost all public treatment facilities, which are the ones the government can control and
affect if needed based on the results of this study. A multiple logistic regression was run in R coding. 70%
of the data was used to train the model and 30% was used to test. The model was found to be accurate in
predicting a patient dropping out of opioid abuse treatment 68% of the time. 22 out of the 30 independent
variables chosen for the analysis were found to be significant predictors. Next, Random Forest
Classification was run. For the Random Forest Classification, 200 trees were generated. Within each tree,
at every single node 5 different variables were evaluated to determine what the best way to split the data
was. The resulting prediction was 89% accurate, and a smaller number of variables were determined to
be significant. Comparing the analyses indicates that the Random Forest Classification method is a better
predictor of dropping out of opioid abuse treatment, with the Length of Stay, State/Region a person gets
treated in, Age, and Employment Status being the most significant variables found. The MLRM was not
as accurate as the Random Forest; however, the Analysis of Maximum Likelihood Estimates gives us the
ability to generate an equation using the “significant” variables that can predict the likelihood of a patient
dropping out of opioid abuse treatment.

A Machine Learning Approach to Help Autistic Individuals Recognize
Emotions in Vocal Conversation BEHA020T
Arjun Barrett, Alexander Lan
Sciences
The Harker School, San Jose, CA
One in fifty-nine Americans suffers from autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and, as a result, has trouble with
everyday social interaction. Without the ability to accurately read the emotions of their peers, they often
appear abrasive, rude, or callous, so they struggle to build relationships, are excluded from social events,
and face difficulties in the workplace. To help autistic individuals overcome these challenges, we
developed a ConvLSTM neural network to recognize emotions in vocal conversation. We used the
RAVDESS dataset, which contains audio recordings of voice actors emulating 8 core emotions
(happiness, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, fear, calm, and neutral) to train and test our models. We
extracted mel-frequency cepstrum coefficients (MFCCs) from the audio signal to determine the salient
features of the vocal tract characteristics in the recordings. The MFCCs were split into training and testing
sets to more accurately represent a real-world scenario during evaluation. We generated 14 models with
varying layer configurations and tweaked their hyperparameters for a total of 84 combinations using the
Keras API for TensorFlow in Python 3.6. The best model configuration achieved 94% accuracy in
classifying audio samples into one of four emotional categories. To collect real-world data, we created a
web application for non-ASD individuals to record themselves emulating certain emotions to simulate
situations ASD individuals face. Our model reached 93% accuracy on this real-world data relative to non-
autistic people. In summary, our high-performance model has the potential to change the lives of millions
of ASD individuals by determining emotion from speech nearly as accurately as normal people.

Brave the Crave
BEHA021T
Aria Lakhmani, Suyash Lakhmani
Sciences
Mission San Jose High School, Fremont, CA; Irvington High School, Fremont, CA
Current programs for teen vaping cessation focus primarily on educating teens about negative
health impacts; however, the U.S. Surgeon General reported that such programs have not proven
to be effective in reducing the teen vaping epidemic. The objective of this research is to determine
whether an app, based on cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, can be used as an effective
quit tool for teens who are aware of the negative health impacts of vaping. To test the efficacy of
the app, seventy teens struggling with e-cigarette addiction were selected to either use the app or
be in a control group. Analysis was conducted on data collected including the number of times
participants craved e-cigarettes and number of times participants resisted their craving or gave in.
Amongst those who used the app, 62% showed 50% or more increased resistance to their
cravings, and on average, there was a 48% increased resistance to their cravings. Results also
demonstrated a strong positive correlation (r=0.9064) between the number of days vape-free and
the number of times participants used healthy alternate activities in the app. Additionally, results
showed a significant increase in understanding of vape triggers after using the app. A two-sample
t-test showed that the average percentage of times participants resisted the urge to vape was
significantly higher among those who used the app versus the control group. The results
demonstrate the efficacy of the app as a quit tool, making it a viable resource to prevent the next
generation of nicotine addicts.

Analyzing the Foundation of Rhetorical Gender Inequality through
Competitive High School Debating during Adolescence and the BEHA022
Connection to the Workplace
Megan Gole
Sciences
Half Hollow Hills High School East, Dix Hills, NY
This project focuses on the prevalence of gender disparity in competitive debate, and how disparity affects
how successful females are and their perception in comparison to men in professional forums. Debate
simulates the transition from academia to the workforce to see if attributional rationalization exists in
competitive Lincoln Douglas debate. Previous studies analyzing high school debate tournaments display
underrepresentation of females as both competitors and judges at the tournament on the local, state, and
national level where women were less likely to win against men and received disproportionately lower
speaker points. Implications of these results, both theoretical and practical, are explored in the
experimental debates conducted with 22 nursing students at Hunter Business School where debates are
conducted and judges analyze the debate, where the two debaters are one randomly chosen male and
female who. Judges must attribute characteristics to debaters to describe competence by deciding the
winner of the debate round, ranking them on a speaker point scale of 1-30, and choosing one debater to
hire at a hypothetical law firm. Judges also attributed performance characteristics to each debater from a
bank of gendered adjectives. They also filled out likert scales ranking each debater on professionalism,
persuasiveness, and aggressiveness. A correlation between women and being attributed to more negative
gender stereotyped words was found. Similarly, women received significantly lesser speaker points, wins,
and were less likely to be hired. Female debaters self-ranked themselves as less confident.
Aggressiveness and persuasiveness were correlated for male competitors whereas aggressive females
were more likely to be ranked as less persuasive.

The Effects of Blue Light and AREDS 2 on the Vision and Cognitive
Function of Drosophila melanogaster BEHA023
Ava Ewing
Sciences
Greens Farms Academy, Westport, CT
The average human spends approximately four to 11 hours viewing electronic screens daily, which
may have severe impacts on the human body. This research observed the impact of blue light on
the cognitive function and eyesight of male, wild-type Drosophila melanogaster, an applicable
model to humans. It was hypothesized that blue light would slow cognitive function and lead to eye
degradation in fruit flies. Group 1 fruit flies were exposed to 24 hours of full brightness blue light
while group 2 flies were exposed to the same amount and time of red light from an iPad. Group 3
flies experienced the same conditions as group 1, but the AREDS 2 vitamin, an antibody known to
help prevent eye degradation, was added to the food. Group 1 flies suffered behavioral decline the
most as their flight patterns were more erratic with shorter flight durations than the control flies not
exposed to light. Furthermore, they were stationary and rested near the iPad screen by the end of
the 24 hour period. Group 2 flies had flight patterns and durations relatively similar to the control.
Group 3 flies had less erratic flight patterns, but demonstrated more mobility than group 1.
Microscopic observation of the eyes of the flies may further elucidate the extent of damage. The
results stated indicate that blue light is negatively impacting the vision and cognitive function of fruit
flies, but reduced under the influence of AREDS 2, which could have similar effects on humans.

Multidisciplinary Study of Texao (Tropaeolum Majus) as a Source for
the Construction of the Historical Knowledge and Cultural Perspective BEHA024T
of Arequipa
Ruben Dario Huillca Loaiza, Estefany Tatiana Manrique Calle
Sciences
40222 Diego Thomson, Arequipa, Peru
The research focused on Texao (Tropaeolum Majus), a typical Arequipa plant characterized by
having no stem and crawl through the walls of the Arequipa-style platforms as a climbing plant. The
laziness of the authorities, the scarce information handled by the population that resides in the city
of Arequipa, added to the latent threat due to an evident reduction of the specimens due to the
destruction of their habitat, has served as inspiration for the development of this work which was
the product of an innovative methodological experience based on a documentary analysis of
primary and secondary sources of great historical and cultural connotation as well as direct
observation, interviews with specialists and the general public, in addition to the use of videos,
photographs, publications on social networks of some Arequipa companies. Thanks to all this, it
was possible to demonstrate that Texao is a source of historical knowledge and a basis for
Arequipa's cultural and regional identity. This project proposes involving competent authorities,
private companies and the general population in the preservation and study of Texao since
research works on this typical Arequipa flower are scarce and isolated.

ABC: The Interactive Lego Game- A Great Investor in Children's
Brains and Futures BEHA025
Raneem Awni AlDalaeen
Sciences
Al-Hasaad Al-Tarbawi School, Amman, Amman, Jordan
The early years are the best opportunity for a child’s brain to develop the connections they need to be
healthy, capable, successful adults. The use of electronics has become extremely widespread in recent
times. Childhood is a very suggestive age for electronics to have an impact on a person’s brain
development. Not only is excessive electronic use generally unhealthy, but it is also linked with ADHD
symptoms during childhood. The most vital reason behind the lasting negative effects screen viewing
,even of educational programs, has on children is that children experience limitations in flexibility of
transferring information learned from 2D media to corresponding 3D objects referred to as the transfer
deficit phenomenon. For overcoming the transfer deficit phenomenon, in the ABC Interactive Lego Game
the child uses all senses and moves his/her muscles while building with Lego, accomplishing our goal of
making the child connect and apply what is seen on screen to real life. ABC will use a socially meaningful
character for the child to interact with by communication and instructions, which educate and entertain the
child. As well, ABC holds interactive conversations with the child by asking rhetorical questions,
conducting a coherent narrative the child can interpret easily. Thereupon, the transfer deficit effect can be
ameliorated; resulting in a complete successful learning process for the child. In conclusion, ABC the
interactive Lego game is a smart alternative for parents who tend to educate their children through modern
ways that cater to their needs and learning styles in a safe as well as beneficial and effective way.

Comparing the Effectiveness of Two Types of Equine-Assisted
Therapy in Reducing Anxiety in Teens BEHA026
Mya Lauren Barger
Sciences
Kamiah High School, Kamiah, ID
This study compares the effectiveness of two types of equine-assisted therapy on reducing anxiety
in teenagers. Equine-assisted therapy is a therapy method that involves working with horses to
promote physical and mental health in humans. To test this, I conducted experiments with student
volunteers at a riding facility. The participants were randomly split into three groups: a riding group,
a ground work group, and a control group. Each participant was given one hour to work with their
horse in their designated therapy type and was given a pre- and post-survey to measure anxiety.
After experimentation, I measured changes in anxiety. My results show that both the riding-based
and groundwork-based therapies were both effective in reducing anxiety when compared to the
control group. However, there was no significant difference in the effectiveness of the two types of
therapy when compared to each other. This supports the hypothesis that equine-assisted therapy
is beneficial but does not indicate which is most effective. I would like to continue this research by
expanding the number of participants and exploring whether participants receive greater benefit by
either gender or age.
✘ vertebrate animals microorganisms rDNA tissue

Social Media vs Streaming Services and Their Effect on GPA
BEHA027
Lauren Taylor Lund
Sciences
Farmington High School, Farmington, UT
Two hundred high school students were surveyed to examine the correlation between the amount of time
they spend on various forms of entertainment and their GPA. The survey sought to correlate the student’s
success in school and their chosen form of online entertainment. Survey results were separated into
groups of students by how they self-reported if they primarily spent their time using social media and those
students who chose to spend the majority of their time using streaming services. That data was then
analyzed further to determine trends among gender and the student’s year in school. Results were then
compared to their self-reported GPA. Students were found to dedicate far more time to streaming services
as compared to various forms of social media. The average time spent per day on social media was 151
minutes, whereas the average for streaming services was 202 minutes. Findings indicated that there was
no statistical significance between the type of media the students were choosing to spend their time on
and their GPA. The average GPA of both groups was 3.4, indicating there was no difference between the
type of media used and the student’s GPA. While the type of media did not affect GPA, a correlation was
found between the amount of time spent using either social media or streaming services on GPA. The
relationship between GPA and time spent on various platforms as indicated by a statistically significant
negative correlation of -.316 between minutes spent on social media and GPA, and a negative correlation
of -.315 between minutes spent using streaming services and GPA. These results show that the more
time a student spends using either form of entertainment, the lower their corresponding GPA.

"Vinnie": A Solar-powered Talking Clothing Donation Bank
BEHA028
Molly Dixon
Sciences
Wenona School, North Sydney, NSW, Australia
The site of overflowing charity clothing bins has been a daily concern to me. As well as being an
eye sore. These once-loved donated items are being left to be damaged by the elements.
Through my research, which included attending the 2018 National Association of Charitable
Recycling Organisations (NACRO) conference, I was shocked to find it costs Australian charities
$13 million to dispose of 60% of the 1M tons of donations which are poor quality. This is a concern
not just economically, but environmentally, considering 85% of textiles go to landfill.
After investigating all aspects of supply chain, I identified a disconnect between user experience
and responsible donation, learning the bins had not been innovated since 1937. My
experimentation with design and technology aimed to improve quality of donations, logistics
impacting illegal dumping and reduce costs to charities through public education and engagement.
Vinnie, a solar-powered talking clothing donation bank, addresses the issue of user behaviour by
changing the shape of the collection point along with sorting at the source with the Rags and
Riches banks. It humanises the donation experience through facial graphics and an audio-chute
educational message. Technology empowers user engagement with QR codes linking to mobile-
first websites with information on quality and recycling. Infrared photodetectors identify capacity
transmitting measurement by wireless communication to the charity’s operational platform for
collection efficiency and to prevent illegal dumping. Even the names, “Vinnie” and “clothing bank”,
change perception about how we view and invest in the work of charities.

Increasing Sales and Customer Satisfactions in Rakuten Market by
Understanding Customers Desire and Shops Marketing Strategies BEHA029
Kanade Shiono
Sciences
Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya High School, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
How can we assess customer satisfactions with online shopping? In this research, I conducted
multiple analyses, including regression analyses, network analysis, frequency analysis, and structural
equation modeling, with the sales data of lipsticks from Rakuten Market. My goal is to clarify what affects
customer satisfactions and how to make attractive advertisements.
I first made two fish bone diagrams as my hypothesis, aiming to increase customers satisfactions and
increase shops’ sales.
Regression analysis between cost and age based on the heading “cost-effectiveness” showed that
customers purchase the cheaper products, costing approximately 2000 yen regardless of their age. To
find the reason for the first result, I made two groups depending on the product price customers bought
and carried out multiple regression analysis with several variables I made. I found two groups in Rakuten
Market: those who had already chosen the products they wanted and searched for the cheapest product
of that brand, and customers who searched online for good quality products. To investigate the effects of
brand names and customer incentives like “free delivering” written in product names, I gathered customer
reviews by specific sales words contained in product names and conducted network analysis and
frequency analysis. This analysis reveals that there is a difference between what shops intend to advertise
and what customers are attracted. Finally, structural equation modeling was used to find how each factor
contributes to increasing customer satisfactions.
I believe this research can improve shops’ sales efficiency by considering customers desire.

Subliminal Messaging in Audio: A Study of the Subconscious
BEHA030
Marlea Martens
Sciences
Elko High School, Elko, NV
Subliminal messages are messages passed to the human mind without the mind being consciously
aware of it, as, for example, in advertising. To test the efficiency of these messages, teenagers
from Elko High School were examined in immediate choices following the listening of auditory
subliminal messaging. The group of participants were divided in half; each half getting a different
treatment. The first half got a custom made track with auditory subliminal messages, while the
other half were given the original track with no alterations. The subliminal messaging were calling
for the subjects to choose ‘green’ or ‘562’. The group without the treatment were found to have
chosen green (6.7%) and 562 (13%) of the time. Comparatively, the group with the subliminal
stimulus chose green (60%) and 562 (6.7%) of the time. There was no correlation between the
numbers chosen between groups. However, when given subliminal stimulus, green was chosen
(53.3%) more than the group without the treatment. Together, these findings show that simple
auditory subliminal messages can affect immediate choices (that don’t have a major impact on the
subject) of participants.

Implementation of Novel Sector Weight and Google Trends Data
Objectives Using MOEA-D Curtails Systematic Risk for Quintessential BEHA031
Investors
Abishek T. Ravindran
Sciences
W. Tresper Clarke High School, Westbury, NY
The Markowitz Mean-Variance model provides a computational framework for developing optimized
portfolios but fails to account for the risk associated with human behavior. This study proposes an
extension of the model by incorporating sector-weights and Google Trends data as objectives to bolster
the model's applicability to retail investors. As the complexity of the problem renders an exact solution
unattainable, a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition (MOEA-D) was
implemented for its efficacy in creating a diverse population of solutions in a single run. The purpose of
this work is two-fold: (1) the implementation of MOEA-D was optimized through parameter fine-tuning with
36 combinations of parameters and (2) the efficacy of the supplementary objectives was tested discretely
through two experimental groups and one control group: Google Trends, sector-weights, and a standard
bi-objective model, respectively. These simulations suggest that the following parameters were effective
for the specificities of the problem: population = 230, mutation rate = 0.03, crossover rate =0.6, and
number of iterations = 120,000. The behavioral objective showed promise in developing portfolios that
minimized losses during the depth of the financial crisis with an out-of-sample loss of -0.00043 as
opposed to the losses of -0.00051 for the bi-objective model, while the model with sector-weights
exhibited the lowest variance of 0.000502675 in the out-of-sample data set. While frequent rebalancing
would be necessary to ensure favorable results due to greater variance over the out-of-sample data set,
Google Trends data exhibits great promise as a supplementary objective for portfolio optimization,
warranting further analysis.

Novel Perspectives in Academic Practice Strategy: Designing and Exploring
Gamification Classroom Practice Approaches that Strategically Target Cognition,
Student Motivation, and Engagement to Improve the Academic Performance of
BEHA034
Underperforming Elemen
Junwei Tan
Sciences
Lee Virtual Instruction Program, Fort Myers, FL
When it comes to students with low academic performance, repeated low scores can negatively contribute
to social identity and form an inferiority complex leading to low motivation. This results in a negative
recursive cycle of poor academics and low self-esteem that can last for the entirety of a student’s
education. However, contrary to what may seem to be the obvious source of this issue, the inhibitors of
academic progression are not just simply a lack of capability. In fact, many elements responsible for a
student’s low performance are attributes also linked to engagement and cognition. These elements
include attention to detail, focus, confidence, and eagerness to learn.
The purpose of this study is to design and determine the effectiveness of alternative gamified math
practice strategies aimed at academically underperforming students that target student motivation,
engagement, and cognition. An immersive and competitive gamified environment was designed for
students to enter. This environment was supported by online software as well.
Students with the bottom 25% of math scores were pulled during their normal math practice time to
complete exercises such as digital worksheets, cognitive training games, and collaborative/competitive
activities. This occurred over a 6-week period.
It was concluded that the implementation of gamified practice strategies designed in this study increased
academic performance in mathematics for underperforming 4th-grade students by a factor that was
statistically significant. This was measured in classroom test scores and engagement with school
instructional software. It was also concluded that as students’ exposure to the gamified strategy increased,
the degree of improvement over the control group increased as well.

Going Up in Vapor; The Effects of Vaping on Mental Capacity
BEHA035
Liam Hiroyasu Wisner
Sciences
Bartlesville High School, Bartlesville, OK
This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of vaping in teenagers/adolescents on mental
acuity. To test this, a mock Stroop Test was implemented and was used to test three different
groups; the test is designed to give the brain a mismatch of information and uses multiple parts of
the brain in order to evaluate overall . The Control Group consists of non-vape users; the infrequent
group consists of participants who have vaped before, but not frequently; the Frequent Group
consisted of participants who did vape on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis for an extended period
of time. Another facet of the experiment was a crucial survey that was used to evaluate the data,
ensure there was not a significant skew that could influence results, and look for contributing
factors. Before experimentation, it was predicted that there would likely be a decline in mental
acuity for participants who had vaped previously due to the effects of nicotine as well as other
chemicals found in the vapor of electronic cigarettes and/or vapes. The reason this study was
conducted was because of the outbreak of the teenage vaping epidemic that reached its peak in
2019, after a large increase of vape use likely due to advertising that inadvertently targeted
younger audiences as well as flavors that would appeal to teenagers. The hypothesis was affirmed
because of a statistically significant difference between the group of non-vape users and frequent
vape users showing a correlation between vape use and a decline in mental capacity.

Investigating Problem-Solving Behavior in Different Ethnic Students
BEHA036
Bing-Hong Chen
Sciences
Concordia Middle School, Chiayi County, Taiwan
Since Taiwan Education Bureau passed the “Three Types of Experimental Education Act”,
many Indigenous Experimental schools have sprung up. Seeing the advocacy of "Culturally
Responsive Curriculum & Teaching" has been operating positively in America, Canada, New
Zealand and many other countries, this study will hence first take the "Arithmetic Progression &
Arithmetic Series" as the core concept to design the "Mathematical Contexts with Tous People
Culture Connotation" and "Mathematical Contexts with Han People Cultural Connotation"
separately. Second, exploring four groups of students’ different mathematics problem-solving
strategies through "Eye Tracking Technology." In this study, each group of students is required to
read through and complete the problems of two different well-designed "Mathematical Context with
Cultural Connotation" tests. It is expectable to attain to an effective analyze through three aspects -
-- studying peers’ the mathematics problem-solving performance and exanimating their "overall eye
movement index" and "the eye movement index of the course analysis" at the same time.
Hopefully, the result can anticipate the right route for further education direction and benefit our
aboriginal education policy in the future.

The Effect of Sexual Frustration on Drosophila Ethanol Consumption
BEHA038
Danielle Hardeman
Sciences
Palm Beach Central High School, Wellington, FL
In the United States there are over 15 million people who struggle with alcohol addiction. This issue
has become increasingly large over the years in the United States, especially in Florida where
overconsumption of alcohol is common, which is why I chose this project. Drosophila are key
model organisms that are used heavily in human biology studies due to many shared genes. In
this project the drosophila were exposed to three different conditions to induce different levels of
sexual frustration to see how this would affect their ethanol consumption. The results of the
experiment showed that the group that consumed the most ethanol was the group that experienced
the condition where the drosophila were required to watch a video of other drosophila mating as
well as watch a previously mated female that would continuously reject the males. Whereas, the
group that consumed the least amount of ethanol was as predicted, the group that did not
experience any of the conditions throughout the trial. This project supported my hypothesis that
the more sexually frustrated a drosophila becomes, the more ethanol they are likely to consume,
which is also the reasoning to why many humans consume alcohol. Therefore, in the future
drosophila could also be used to test different treatments and medications to help humans who
suffer from the same disorder.

Projectile Points: Our Key to the Past
BEHA039
Madalyn Irl Johnson
Sciences
Carbon High School, Price, UT
In this project, a dichotomous key developed by archeologist David Hurst Thomas for the classification of
projectile points from Monitor Valley, Nevada, was used to classify points from the Carbon/Emery county
area of Utah. Point attributes such as shouldering, weight, length, thickness, base characteristics,
notching, and stem characteristics were measured and compared to the key to determine each points’
respective grouping.
The points can be classified into ten different groupings, or types. These groups are the Cottonwood
Triangular, Cottonwood Leaf-Shaped, Humboldt Series, Desert Side-Notched, Large Side-Notched,
Rosegate Series, Elko Corner-Notched, Elko Eared, Gatecliff Split Stem, and the Gatecliff Contracting
Stem classifications. These groups correlate to matching time periods in history.
From the number of points in each time-sensitive grouping, we can determine rough population estimates
for the area in which the points were collected. The significantly larger number of points in the Elko Series
shows that there was a higher human population during the period between 1,500 cal B.C. and 650 cal
B.C. relative to that of the other periods.
Eighty-one percent of the points in the collection were able to be typed using Thomas’ key. This tells us
that the key is applicable to other Great Basin points outside of Monitor Valley, Nevada.
Also indicated in the data is a high percentage of projectile points relative to more domestic artifacts, such
as drills. From this, we can infer that many of these tools reflect the importance of hunting in the region
where the artifacts were discovered.

Solving the Problem of Overweight People by Choosing Dishes for
Serving the Food BEHA040
Anastasiia Kyslova
Sciences
Higher Grade School #33, Kyiv, Ukraine
The goal is to make recommendations on how to choose the utensils for people who want to adjust
their weight. It is planned to conduct an experiment, which will practically establish the connection
between the dishes which a person eats from and change of the person's weight.
Research methods: analysis of literary sources, experiment, questioning, comparison of research

results, synthesis. Computer network resources, human resources, information processing
resources were used.
The survey is based on the collection of the following information:

1) The shape and color of the utensils used by the person.
2) Age, height and weight of a person. We expect results that will link the weight of the person to
the shape and color of the dishes.

A Novel Predictive Paradigm for Pediatric ADHD Behavior through
Thalamocortical White Matter Analysis BEHA041
Kreena Totala
Sciences
Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, Plainview, NY
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is marked by persistent deficits in hyperactivity/attention

that impede daily function. Since the discovery of its existence, there remains a lack of understanding on
the neurophysiological implications of ADHD. Therefore, the current study examined the detrimental
impacts of ADHD on neurophysiology in a pediatric population. Given that previous research has
emphasized the role of thalamocortical white matter tracts in early cognitive development, the current
study had two main hypotheses: (1) pediatric ADHD patients would demonstrate significantly impaired
thalamocortical integrity when compared to age-matched controls and (2) these structural deficits would
significantly correlate with neurocognitive data on behavioral disruptions associated with ADHD. MRI and
behavioral data on 44 subjects (22 pediatric ADHD patients and 22 age-matched controls), were obtained
through an open database: The Child’s Mind Institute. A DTI tractography analysis revealed significant
differences in the integrity of three thalamocortical tracts in the frontal, parietal, and paracentral regions
that significantly correlated to behavioral disruptions observed in the patient population. Comparative
analysis between the ADHD and control populations was also conducted on the data through a standard
receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The resulting curve yielded an AUC of 0.82, indicating
that DTI analysis can accurately predict ADHD status, which has the potential to improve the diagnosis of
ADHD. The present study offers novel insight into the pediatric ADHD pathology from a neurological,
rather than behavioral perspective and takes a first step towards developing therapeutic interventions that
utilize a more holistic approach.

A Mobile App for Resolving Conflicts between Students
BEHA042T
Niveditha Subramanyam Iyer, Anantharaman Subramanyam Iyer
Sciences
National Public School - Koramangala, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Conflicts often arise between two people when they work or stay together, due to perceived
incompatibility and interference from each other. Conflicts are complicated. There are no clear,
simple rules for how they should be handled and people in a conflict tend to be clouded by
emotions. Therefore conflicts usually require third party mediation by a perceived authority figure,
for whom such mediation efforts are a time-consuming and unpleasant distraction. We present an
automated means of resolving two-person conflicts, without third person intervention, using a
mobile app. Besides enabling an early resolution to conflicts, it also eliminates a stressful
distraction for the would-be mediator. The app converts the conflict into a cooperative game to
lighten the tension and implements a point based system to incentivise the players to continue the
game. Through the app, one of the persons in the conflict invites the other for the game, played in
four separate rounds, each lasting about 10 minutes, over several days. The players take turns to
play the rounds in the app, which uses the Thomas-Kilmann grid and aspects of kinesics and
Gestalt approaches. They play separately and privately, in their own time, allowing each player to
reflect on their own conduct. Much like with human mediation, the game yields an action plan for
each person that the other recognises, to take their partnership forward. The points can be
converted into a small reward. We present test data from 34 school student users in grades 9 -12,
to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.

A Comparison of the Benefits of Meditation and Nature Using
Electroencephalography (EEG) and Blood Pressure (BP) Analysis BEHA043T
Max Peyton Green, Reed Elias Karman, Rhiannon Abbey Smith
Sciences
Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, Hot Springs, AR
Meditation and nature have both been demonstrated to reduce stress levels, however, a
comparison in teenagers using electroencephalography (EEG) and blood pressure (BP) has not
been made. This project aims to create such a comparison in Hot Springs National Park. It was
hypothesized that being in nature would reduce stress more, as measured by relative gamma and
BP, than mindfulness meditation by novices. Eight novice meditators were recruited and tested
twice. Three EEG tests were conducted, each consisting of a five-minute EEG recording: control,
meditation, and the Park. BP was recorded once during the control and before and after the
meditation and Park tests. For EEG analysis, the average prefrontal relative gamma was calculated
and the mean for each test was compared. For BP analysis, the percent change between the
control and Park test for diastolic and systolic pressure before and after meditation tests were
compared, and the average between the systolic and diastolic values reported. Results showed a
decrease in blood pressure overall and a corresponding increase in RG during both nature trials.
This was interpreted to indicate that stress was correlated to BP in most trials, reduced by nature
trials. In contrast, RG does not appear to be correlated to stress in this scenario. It appears from
this data that RG is instead a correlate of attention being paid to one’s surroundings. This calls into
question the usefulness of RG as a correlate of stress.

Double Track: An Analysis of the New Public School Enrollment
Policy in Ghana BEHA044
Veenaa Agrawal
Sciences
Lincoln Community School , Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana
This study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the new government policy (the Double-Track System
(DTS)) from stakeholder point of view and the impact the policy is having on students, parents and
teachers. I administered test surveys and interviews (in person and over the phone) with around 30
students, parents and teachers each, all involved in the double track system. The surveys contained
mainly multiple choice questions with a few open-ended questions. After, the quantitative data was
processed (converted into percentages) and analysed for any statistically significant results and important
ideas were extrapolated from the interviews. Findings showcased that 56% of students felt that benefits of
the DTS outweighed the negatives and 85% confirmed that the DTS has reduced financial burden on their
families. 67% and 50% of the parents and teachers respectively feel that the benefits of the DTS outweigh
the negatives. 80% of the teachers feel that the DTS had made parents less responsible towards their
child’s education, while 71% of students in Accra assert that their schools do not have enough
infrastructure to effectively support learning. Additionally, 70% of parents feel that the gaps in the
academic calendar affects their child’s education and 74% of teachers claimed that the shorter academic
period due to the DTS has negatively affected their ability to teach effectively as 60% of the teachers
asserted that it has resulted in adjustments in their teaching including skipping topics and their lessons.
This study found that while the majority of the stakeholders in the Double-Track System believe that the
advantages of the program outweigh the disadvantages, there are still several factors holding back the
system from being truly successful.

The Education of Haitian Immigrants in Brazil: Mapping the
Conditions of Schooling of Haitians in Brazilian Basic Education BEHA045
through Educational Indicators: Phase II
Ana Ferreira Meletti
Sciences
Colegio Interativa, Londrina, Parana, Brazil
For having the biggest regional influence, Brazil has become the main destiny of immigrants who left Haiti
after the massive earthquake in 2010. This movement to Brazil characterized the largest migratory
phenomenon of the decade in the country. After arriving in Brazil, these immigrants face a reality of limited
employment opportunities, jobs often unrelated to their qualification, and extensive working hours.
Likewise, their access to education can be limited and precarious. Thus, this research aims to map the
conditions of schooling of Haitian immigrants in Brazil. To do so, I used three main references: the UN
Refugee Agency (UNHCR), for data about migratory flows; the Brazilian Federal Police, for registers of
residencies provided for Haitian immigrants; and the Education Census, for microdata related to registers
in the Brazilian educational system. The Phase II of this research aims to map the school trajectory of
students whose age-grade gap is of three years or more. To achieve this, a total of 22 variables from the
Education Census are used. The results of this research raise evidence of precarious conditions of access
to school and permanence in basic education. They also point out significant differences in schooling
according to the country region, sex, and age. Most students are in elementary school or in the EJA
(Brazilian system of education of adults and young adults) system, and all in regular classes. Very few
students have been registered in complementary activities. As to the gap between age and teaching stage
among Haitians, 8.97% of students have a gap of three years or more, which is related to exclusion within
the school environment. The results from Phase II, point out schooling conditions which need more public
and governmental attention.

A 360° Video-Based Virtual Reality Aid for Social-Emotional Skills for
Individuals with Developmental Disabilities BEHA046
Anika Mistry
Sciences
Scotts Valley High School, Scotts Valley, CA
Individuals with developmental disabilities such as Autism and Down Syndrome experience
difficulties in social environments. This is due to deficits in social-emotional skills which results in
an inability to recognize emotion through indicators in social settings. Deficits in social-emotional
skills create complications for the individuals as they are unable to express their needs to others.
To learn social emotional skills, children consult traditional therapists, but traditional therapy is not
always accessible to all individuals. Traditional therapy is extremely expensive and costs about
$47,000 a year, which is unaffordable for many families. Older patients also experience additional
difficulties when finding a therapist because traditional therapists mostly cater to children. To allow
for individuals of all ages to receive therapy in an accessible circumstance, I developed a 360
degree video-based Virtual Reality application designed to teach emotion recognition skills in a
social setting. The game provides a realistic interface and practical environments allowing the user
to easily apply the skills they learned through the application in their daily life. To determine the
feasibility of the application I asked individuals with developmental disabilities to test my application
and provide feedback. I utilized the feedback to improve further iterations of the application.

Using Natural Language Processing and Linguistic Insights to
Combat Cyberbullying and Toxicity in Social Media BEHA047
Arjun Neervannan
Sciences
University High School, Irvine, CA
With the proliferation of social media, hateful or toxic content and cyberbullying in online forums have only
grown. AI-driven algorithms deployed to moderate and reduce hateful content often exhibit bias,
associating racial, gender, and other identity terms with toxicity and unduly censoring productive
discussions. The censorship undermines trust and deters users that use these terms in genuine non-toxic
ways. Bias-free or less biased AI models that moderate better by classifying toxic comments fairly can
regain the trust of the users and facilitate safer online discussions. Current debiasing approaches are
limited in their scope, not scalable due to manual feature selection, and not interpretable. While the
method used in last year’s paper accomplished those objectives, it introduced many noisy terms, which
caused the model to overcorrect its biases and reverse some of the debiasing process. This paper is a
follow-up on that. The novel method used in this project addressed these issues by using an interpretable
hierarchical attention-based neural network model, using the FastText embedding network to reduce
noise, adopting a linguistic-driven criteria that increased scope of important identity terms, grid-searching
the metaparameters, and finally de-biasing by augmenting the dataset with the appropriate number of
counter-examples. The method achieved accuracy (AUC) of 0.98 and identified several hundred more
identity terms than a prior paper, while also reducing the number of noisy identity terms when compared to
the GloVe model and debiasing significantly better when compared to the control set. Unlike prior
approaches, this model does not have comment length limitations, while being more scalable with its use
of attention networks to select and debias identity terms.

Conflict Prevention in Middle School and High School Group of
Students as a Tool of Bullying Prevention (Using Example of Netishyn BEHA048
Secondary Schools )
Yeva Maliarchuk
Sciences
Netishyn Secondary School No. 2, Netyshin, Kiev, Ukraine
Kids today spend a lot of time exactly at school. School is one of the most important places of the personality’s
socialization. To produce the right strategy of behavior in different conflict situations it is important to know what is
conflict and how people come to the agreement with themselves, other people and society.
Based on the statement that the first reason of bullying is conflict and with aim to learn a school group it was
proposed to evaluate psychological atmosphere in high school groups. These methods allow to evaluate
psychological atmosphere in a group and to predict potential conflictogenesis and tendency to occurrence
and escalation of conflict. Elaboration of methodology was accomplished anonymous which increases its safety.
The research shows that student inability to communicate with each other in conflict situations is spreading in
education institutions. It was suggested to application Restorative practices (Meditation, Kolo). They cope with this
problem effectively. Their using in educational institutions is possible if School Understanding Organizations are
created.
A year later the psychological atmosphere in these groups was reassessed once again. It was discovered that
there is increase favorable psychological atmosphere in these groups. If the level of conflict is low, the
corresponding risk of bullying is minimal. If you prevent a conflict, you won’t have bullying!!
research, and represents one year’s work only:
YES ✘ NO
properly reflect my/our own work.
YES ✘ NO

BEHA001: Behavioral and Social Sciences Joshua Benzon

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Train a Happy Brain!

: A Human Behavioral Study on the Emotional

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:41 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:41 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:41 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:42 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:42 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:43 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:43 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:43 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:44 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:44 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:44 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:44 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:45 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:45 PM

In this qualitative research work we perform an iconographic interpretation of the rock

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Synesthesia is a condition in which a stimulation of one sense causes a response in another

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Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:46 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:46 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:47 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:47 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:47 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:48 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:48 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:48 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:49 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:49 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:49 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:50 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:50 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:50 PM

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Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:51 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:51 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:52 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:52 PM

Research methods: analysis of literary sources, experiment, questioning, comparison of research

The survey is based on the collection of the following information:

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:52 PM

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Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:52 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:53 PM

Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:53 PM

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Official Intel ISEF 2020 Abstract and Certification 5/16/2020 5:29:54 PM

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