YEOTY JUNIOR CYCLE PROJECTS 2015

Young Economist of the Year 2015 Junior Cycle Projects

 

Young Economist of the Year - Junior Cycle Winner 2015

 

Teacher / School Students   Project Link

Helen Finn,

Claregalway College , Corporate Park,

Galway.

Louise Mahoney

Project Description: Tory Island

Is about how outside influences can affect our income, expenditure and household budgets. I thought a great way to explain this theory is to use a strong example. I used the crisis on Tory Island during the first few weeks in January 2015. Due to adverse weather conditions the Island was completely cut off from the Mainland. The Island ran out of vital supplies. This then led to having an impact of income, expenditure and household budgets.

Project Feedback: 

This entry deals with an exogenous shock to a local economy taking into account a number of interactions and secondary effects on income and expenditure. This represents a very innovative way to think about these issues and the judges also felt there was significant work in the visual presentation of the material.

 

 

BELOW ARE THE WINNERS OF THE JUNIOR CYCLE PROJECTS SUBMITTED  IN 2015 IN EACH CATEGORY 

 

 

Video Section Winners

 

 

Teacher/School Student Project Link
1st Prize

Michelle Griffin,

Tullamore College,

Co. Offaly.

Tara Doyle

Lydia Coyne

Project Description: Keeping up with the Economists
Our video was designed to highlight to students how the study of economics affects their everyday lives. Our video looks at the different forms of income, our expenditure habits, false economies, inflation, opportunity cost and the allocation of our scarce resources. .

Project Feedback:

Excellent entry. The two winners made a very informative and enjoyable video that seamlessly worked a number of key concepts (impulse buying, false economy, inflation etc) into the narrative.

 
2nd Prize

Miss Tegeler,

St. Brigid's Vocational School,

Loughrea,

Co. Galway.

2nd Year Class 

Project Description: Barter in business
Our project is illustrated through a short film where class members enact scenes or explain what barter means and its limits as a means of exchange.

Project Feedback:

This entry does a very good job of introducing the history of money starting from the inefficiencies of barter (double coincidence of wants) and moving to the efficiency of money as a universal means of exchange. The film is also lively and engaging.

 
3rd Prize: 

Cathy McCarthy,

Loreto College,

Mullingar,

Co. WestMeath.

Caoimhe O’Brien

Sarah Treacy

Marie Louise Walshe 

Sarah O’Brien

Sophie Jocye

Dolly Azeez

Ursula Regazzoli

Aoife Gorman

Anya Broughan

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Project Description: Buyer Beware
Our project is about a consumer who purchased a faulty good and tries to work out how to solve her problem. She learns many new things like the three R’s. Refund, Replacement , Repair. We learned more about the sale of goods and supply of services act and the national consumer agency during the production of this video

Project Feedback: 

Visually this project was excellent. The actors were very engaging and they discussed the key concepts of impulse buying and caveat emptor (buyer beware) in a very interesting way.

 
Highly Recommended

Helen Finn,

Claregalway College,

Galway.

Matilda Wing

Rachel Scarry

Project Description: The demand for the Elsa Doll in 2014

We are doing the demand on the Elsa doll we are doing this because we thought it was crazy and it interested us a lot and we wanted to look into  it more. 

Project Feedback: 

 

Kathryn Clarke,

Our Lady's Secondary School,

Castleblayney,

Co. Monaghan.

 

Emma McMahon,
Sinead Murphy,
Gabriele Bunyte
Project Description: Economic Growth
Our project is about economic growth in Ireland and the contribution of exports, with particular reference to the expected increase in beef exports to the USA.
Project Feedback:

 

Prezi Section Winners

 

 

Teacher/School

Student

Project Link

1st Prize

Michelle Griffin,

Tullamore College,

Co. Offaly.

Jade McCoy

Dylan Boland

Tyler Quinn

 

Project Description: Rosie Posie
We devised a Prezi presentation on our Enterprise ‘Rosie Posie’ that we set up to sell roses on Valentines Day. We used this opportunity to illustrate the four factors of production, which is a topic we enjoyed studying and relates to economics.

Project Feedback:

The chief merit of this entry was its link to real world activity. The students actually used the concepts of factors of production and linked these to an actual entrepreneurial venture to sell roses prior to Valentine’s day. They made profit as demand for their product was higher than supply.

 
2nd Prize: 

Helen Finn,

Claregalway College,

Corporate Park,

Galway.

Rachel Flaherty

Katie Finnerty

 

Project Description: Pros and Cons of the Water Charge

Project Feedback: 

Unsurprisingly given the current political context there were a number of entries focused on water charges. This presentation is short and snappy but its primary merit lay in the fact that it went into the pros and cons of the charges rather than merely documenting that they were being introduced.

 
3rd Prize

Padraig Doherty,

Moyne Community School,

Moyne,

Co. Longford.

Niall Gray

Project Description: The Economics of Silage
An examination of the causes and economic consequences for farmers of the 2013 fodder crisis. 

Project Feedback:

This presentation takes an important event in rural Ireland and explains it using the concepts of supply and demand and price inflation.

 
Highly Recommended

Helen Finn,

Claregalway College,

Corporate Park,

Galway.

Sarah McHale

Kaitlin Kearney

Nicola KIng

Project Decription: How Shops Make us Impulse Buy
Is about what impulse buying is, ways in which shops make us impulse buy, and how to stop impulse buying and save money!
Project Feedback: 
 

Helen Finn,

Claregalway College,

Corporate Park,

Galway.

Andrea Glenane

Aoife McGrath

Project DecriptionIncome & Expenditure
A case study of Bob and his families income and expenditure.
Project Feedback: 

 

 

Powerpoint Section Winners

 

 

Teacher/School    Student Project Link
1st Prize for Second Year
Kathryn Clarke,

Our Lady's Secondary School,

Castleblayney,

Co. Monaghan

Ethan O’ Gorman

Ciaran McKearney

Project Description: Demand & Supply
Is based on the relationship between demand and supply and the effect this relationship has on prices and the economy. We used oil as an example. 

Project Feedback:

This is an excellent presentation of the key concepts of supply and demand linked to the economics of oil. It takes a current event and links very well to economic categories.

 
1st Prize for First Year

Helen Finn,

Claregalway College,

Corporate Park,

Galway.

Matthew Mohr

Simon Coyle

Eanna Kelly

Project Description: Healthy v Unhealthy Food
The advantages of buying healthy food as opposed to unhealthy food. How much money can eating healthy food save you?

Project Feedback: 

This is a very useful look at the economic effects of food choices. It makes the valid point that the cost of unhealthy food is not merely the direct monetary cost but also the indirect heath costs over the long term.

 
2nd Prize for First Year

Helen Finn,

Claregalway College,

Corporate Park,

Galway.

Emily Wall
Project Description: Expenditure
There are a few short clips on different parts of expenditure, and an example of a budget.
Project Feedback:
 
2nd Prize for First Year

Helen Finn,

Claregalway College,

Corporate Park,

Galway.

Alex Rafferty

Abigail Walsh

Mark Hughes

Project Description: How Shops Encourage Impulse Buying

Project Feedback: 

Takes a key concept from economics and applies it to real examples of shop behaviour in a very interesting way –shows how shops manipulate consumers to make purchases against their better judgement.

 
2nd  Prize for Second Year

Michelle Griffin,

Tullamore College,

Co. Offaly.

 
Cian O' Mahoney
 
Project Description: Foreign Trade - Food
I examined why we import and export various foods. I researched these under 6 categories i.e. Dairy, Horticulture, Beverages, Meat and Livestock, Prepared Foods and Seafood, give examples, facts and statistics.

Project Feedback:

This entry was based on a significant amount of secondary research. The statistics presented are impressive and the topic is relevant.

 
3rd Prize for First Year

Helen Finn,

Claregalway College,

Corporate Park,

Galway.

Liam Molloy

Ethan Kaya

Killian Goaley

Project Description: What makes the best selling videogame?
Is about what makes the best-selling video game and what kind of videogames different audiences play.

Project Feedback:

This is a very topical issue given the size of the games market globally. In the end the evidence seemed inconclusive but the merit of asking the questions meant that this work was highly commended.

 
 
Highly Recommended for First Year

Helen Finn,

Claregalway College,

Corporate Park,

Galway.

Christopher Sokunbi-Walton

Project Description: Expenditure
Is about two people who have a deficit and they need to work hard in order to pay their phone bill.
Project Feedback:
 

Helen Finn,

Claregalway College,

Corporate Park,

Galway

Teigan O'Rourke

Rebecca Reilly

Project Description: Income & Expenditure for a Nurse
Project Feedback: 

 

Mindmap Section Winners

 

Teacher/School Student Project Link
1st Prize

Helen Finn,

Claregalway College, Corporate Park,

Galway.

Irene Ciobanu

Project Description: Income of Farmers

Outlines what affects the income of Irish farmers.

Project Feedback:

This mind map charts the various factors that have influenced the economic fortunes of farmers over the last number of years including the weather, demand from overseas government grants etc. There is clearly a lot of work on statistics and visual presentation attached.

 
2nd Prize

John Lowndes,

Tullamore College,

Co. Offaly.

James Dunne

Nathan H Gragnic

Tomás Griffin

Josh Donaghue

 

Project Description: Household Budgeting
Looks at the various items we need to plan for in our budget including local property tax and water charges.
 

Project Feedback:

This is a nice poster done by artistic students to show the various sources of income and expenditure a modern Irish person may have to grapple with.

 
3rd Prize: 

Ms. Malone

Colaiste Bhaile Chlair,

Corporate Park,

Claregalway,

Co. Galway.

 

Anna O'Leary

Lucy Murray

Project Description: Expenditure

Our project is on Expenditure. It covers the general knowledge you need to know about expenditure, what it is, opportunity cost, financial cost, false economy and impulse buying. It also covers the three main types of expenditure, an invoice and delivery note.

Project Feedback: