The ISP, or Independent Study Project, is written by students from the undergraduate programs of SIT Study Abroad and relates to a program theme. Using primary sources students choose topics with a manageable focus that can be carried out in a variety of settings, such as schools, nongovernmental organizations or field research stations. During the independent study period students work closely with a project advisor and other key contacts in the field. The ISP is typically a 20- to 40-page paper presented to student colleagues, the academic director and, often, the advisor and other interested host-country individuals.
Copyright permissions have been obtained by all contributors to this collection.
Submissions from 2009
“There are Beasts!” The Relationship Between Humans and Elephants in Xishuangbanna, Hannah Larson, Bowdoin College
Monkeying Around: Spatial Differences in Riverine Habitat Utilization by Vervets, Sykes, and Baboons, Sondra Lavigne, Harvard University
Grey to Green: The Wolf as Culture and Profit in Mongolia and the Importance of Its Survival, Samuel LeGrys, Goucher College
Redrawing the Walls: Street Art in Belgrade, Emily Levitt, Washington University in St.Louis
Rising Buddhism in Vietnam, H. Rebecca Lockwood, Hartwick College
Pomacea Canaliculata in Tram Chim National Park: An Examination of the Golden Apple Snail within Local Vegetation Populations, Justin Loiseau, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Perceptions of Microfinance in Cameroon: A Case Study of UNICS, Yaoundé, Ian Long, Vassar College
Comparative Medinas: Complexity and Contradiction in Tourist Spaces in Tunisia, Maxwell E. Loos, Macalester College
Street Culture of Mombasa: Are the Survivors Really Surviving?, Danny Low, Pomona College
La Calidad del Agua Potable en Arica, con Respecto a la Salud, Emily Lubell, University of Vermont
“The Womb People” : Detection, Treatment, And Prevention Of Cervical Cancer With The Khayelitsha Cervical Cancer Screening Project In Khayelitsha, South Africa, Kirsten Lynch, Brown University
“I Didn’t Feel Like Living”: The Prevalence, Perceptions, and Prevention of HIV/AIDS Among Tibetan Refugees in Kathmandu, Caitlin MacLeod-Bluver, Wesleyan University
The Beauty of Arabic Script: Tracing the Artistic Significance of the Arabic Letter in Morocco, Sarah C. Malin, Northwestern University
Sponges on Chumbe Island, Emily Marshall, University of Richmond
Moving On From the War: The Factors That Influence Contemporary Perceptions of Former Enemies, Erin Martin, Beloit College
Public Health Ethics: Establishing “Durable Solutions” Within the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in Nigeria, Tiffany T. Mason, Yale University
Selective Filtration in the Tropical Marine Sponge Rhopaloeides Odorabile: Impacts of Elevated Seawater Temperature on Feeding Behavior, Andrew Massaro, University of Richmond
Lessons From CIdeCI Las Casas : The Potential for Non-Directive Learning Spaces in the United States, Gideon Mausner, Yale University
The Role and Potential of Businesswomen in Morocco’s Civil Society, Teresa Mbagaya, Yale University
How to Build a Health Clinic: Disease Burden, Health Seeking Behavior and Clinic Structures in the Kibera Slums, Samuel McGowan, Brown University
“Voter Sans Voter?”: A Study of Voter Participation in Bamako, Samantha McLean, George Washington University
Survey of Anthropogenic Vegetation Changes on Uzi and Vundwe Islands: A Study on Deforestation and Its Implications for People and Wildlife, Lindley Mease, Stanford University
Know Your Enemy: Tibetan Perceptions of and Approaches to Chinese Studies in Exile, Katherine Mechling, Wesleyan University
Learning the Kora in Two Senegalese Contexts: As a Tradition vs. As a Religion, Emily Merkert, Alfred University
India’s Role in Mongolia’s Third Neighbor Policy, Brandon Joseph Miliate, University of Southern California
A Sociological Analysis of Crimes of Honor: Examining the Effects of Higher Education on the Concepts of Honor and Notions of Gender Equality in Jordan, Alex Miller, Illinois Wesleyan University
Dwog Paco: Tackling the Challenges of Reintegrating Ex-LRA in Kitgum District, Takako Mino, Claremont McKenna College
Integrating Identities: Negotiating the Religious Lives of Homosexual Christians in the Netherlands, Scott Mitchell, University of Notre Dame
Vital Correspondence: Analyzing Local and International Media Coverage of Armed Conflict, Marissa Moran, The George Washington University
Mental Health in Mali: An Analysis of the Expression of Major Depressive Disorder Across Different Cultures, Ashley Morris, Emory University
The Economic and Social Development of the Moroccan Sahara: An Analysis of the Development of the Southern Provinces in the Context of Morocco’s Political Future, Rohini Muralidharan, Brown University
Diagnostique sur la Santé des Récifs Coralliens à Nosy Tanikely et la Baie d’Ambanoro, Chelsea Nahill, Colby College
The Cost of Progress: Failed Development and Community Response on Pulau Serangan, Julia Nakad, Oberlin College
The Birds & the Bees of the West Usambaras: Family Planning & Population of Sagara & Kizanda Villages, Melissa Neville, University of Puget Sound
Mangroves and Crabs as Ecosystem Engineers in Zanzibar, Charlie Nicholson, Skidmore College
Outside the Black Box: “Found-Transformed” Czech Theatres, Michele O'Brien, Vassar College
‘They Have to Know That They Are Moroccan’: A Sending Country’s Perspective on the Second Generation of Emigrants Abroad, Olivia Paquette, Harvard University
Tuberculosis por los Ojos de La Vida Aymara: La Correlación Entre Estilo de Vida y Tuberculosis en los Aymara del Norte de Chile, Sam Percy, University of Colorado at Boulder
The Price of Water: Assessment of the Current Water Situation and Recommendation of Technical Methodology for the Community of Shirati, Tanzania, Max Perel-Slater, Wesleyan University
Putting Trees Back in the Hands of Malians: L’Association Malienne Pour La Conservation de la Faune et de L’Environnement and the Balance between Using and Protecting Local Forests, Cara Peterson, niversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The Elusiveness of Light: The Difficulty With Harnessing the Omnipresent Solar Energy in Africa, Hai-Vu Phan, Yale University
“Mangra”- Exploring the Organization of an Environmental Education Curriculum in a Village Equipped for Sustainable Development, Abigail Phillips, University of Puget Sound
Colorful Nothing: Mind & Matter in the Madhyamaka, Jimmy Pianka, Tufts University
Conocimientos, Percepciones, y Prácticas de Mujeres Jóvenes Acerca del Papiloma Virus Humano, Michelle Marie Picón Ruiz, Duke University
Grita. Erga-se : Colonial Cycles of Violence in Domestic Labour in Salvador, Bahia, Jessica Nina Pine, Occidental College
Gendered Perspectives on Holland’s Prison Programs: Statistics and Practices, Amanda Pisetzner, Lafayette College
Ending Violence…Creating Peace? Rediscovering the Connections Between The Women´s Movement and a Culture of Peace in Nicaragua, Sami Poindexter, University of Redlands
The Phoenix, Catherine Jean Pond, Skidmore College
Weathering a Different Kind of Storm: Vietnam's Reaction to Financial Disaster, Rebecca Price, University of the South
Kibera Community Unconscious of the Silent Disease: STI, Sindhya Rajeev, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Tibetan Carpets…Or Are They? An Analysis of the Carpet Industry in Kathmandu, Nepal, Swetha Ramaswamy, The George Washington University
Black & Red The Impacts of Development on Culture: A Case study of Dogon People of Sangha, Mali, Kathleen Remington, Middlebury College
Spiny Forest Heterogeneity: Implications for Regeneration and its Detection, Catherine Reuter, Macalester College
Chinese Painting: Philosophy, Theory, and the Pursuit of Cultivation Through the Dao, Elizabeth Reynolds, Barnard College
Testing the Baobab’s Mettle: An Evaluation of the Sustainability and Economic Potential of Harvesting Adansonia digitata, Benjamin Rhodes, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
History of Tibetan and Exile Radio, Irene Richardson, Tufts University
“Toliki taa ub’ookin.” “Tell Them Everything.” The Changing Sexual Practices of the Maasai Women of Engare Sero, Adrienne Rosenberg, Harvard University
Democracy and the Tribal System in Jordan: Tribalism as a Vehicle for Social Change, Jennifer Rowland, Duke University
Cool Head, Warm Heart: Governance and the Mission of Microfinance in the Case of MC2 Micro-Banks, Cameroon, Claire Ruffing, Boston College
Mandatory Measles Vaccination Program: Is There a Place for one in Switzerland?, Anne Rushman, Washington University in St. Louis
Responsibility for Disease Management on Rusinga Island: Reconciling the Limitations of External Aid and the Role of Community-Based Initiatives, Allyson Russell, Brown University
Implications of the Monck Head Boat Launching Facility on Adjacent Intertidal Sessile Assemblages (Coral Bay, Western Australia), Megan Sabal, Miami University of Ohio
A Study of the East African Slave Trade in Bagamoyo, Jake Salyers, Wake Forest University
Global Discourse, Local Context: Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights in Morocco, Christine Sargent, Pomona College
Seeing is Believing: How the U.S. Government and American News Networks Spun the Iraq War, Sarah Schenter, Brandeis University
The Modernization of Fiji ’s Food System and the Resulting Implications on Fijian Society: A Synthesis, Brian Schultz, Lewis and Clark College
“Leur Rêve et Leur Vie Sont Ailleurs:” University Student Attitudes Towards Migration and Domestic Opportunity in Morocco, Annie Seibert, Washington University in St. Louis
Naši Narodi? Moji Identiteti: Four Youth Perspectives on National Identity in Post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jacob Seigel-Boettner, University of California at Berkeley
VIH y Alcohol en Arica, Chile: Percepciones de Portadores y Profesionales, Lena Sessions, Macalester College
La Crisis Financiera de 1982-1983 en Chile: Orígenes, Intervención, Efectos y Implicancias Para el Modelo Neoliberal, Luke Shoemaker, Connecticut College
Bromeliads as a Breeding Site for the Dengue Vector Aedes aegypti, Eva B. Shultis, Brown University
Conflicting Loyalties: Changing Roles and Relations of Labor Unions in Vietnam, Jan Slezak, University of New England
“Samoanizing” Human Rights: A Generational Comparative of Views on Human Rights in Contemporary Samoa, Margaret R. Smith, Hamilton College
“Edutainment”: The Role of Mass Media in the Development of an Effective HIV/AIDS Youth Awareness Campaign in Viet Nam, Carmin Smoot, University of Puget Sound
A Multidimensional International Examination of the Impact of GMOs: A Biological, Economic, International Trade, Intellectual Property, and Geopolitical View, Kevin E. Soubly, Hope College
Guardians of the Grassland: A Qualitative Assessment of the Success of Community-Based Wildlife Conservation in Mongolia’s Eastern Steppe, Alexandra Sprague, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Supplying Clean Water to Jaipur: A Study of Two Current Government Projects, Jenna Stearns, Whitman College
“But Who Can I Talk to?” Psychological Services for the Parents and Children of APDK, Jessica Steinke, Wesleyan University
Lamu Sensitive Aid: Barriers to Distribution, Acceptance, and Use of Malaria Prevention in Lamu District, Kelan Stoy, University of Denver
Behind Your Beach Vacation: A Review and Evaluation of EIAs as a Legal Framework to Regulate the Environmental Impacts of Tourism in Zanzibar, Mahima Sukhdev and Ayelet Singer, Yale University, Oberlin College
Children on the Margins: A Case Study of I Care's Hope Centre for Street Children in Durban, South Africa, Morgan Sullivan, St. Michael's College
Breaking the Silence: Professionals of Hera Speak Out About Lesbian Battering, Janelle Thompson, Lafayette College
Changing Chalk and Talk: The Reform of Teaching Methods in Vietnamese Higher Education, Jessica Thompson, George Washington University
Breastfeeding: A Landmark in Global Public Health, Melissa Tinling, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Miti Iko Wapi II ?, Taylor Tully, Colby College
Environmental Conscience and Comportment of Youth in Dakar, Elizabeth Van Brocklin, Duke University
The Heart of Forgiveness, in Light of Unforgettable Hurt: A Multi-Faceted Perspective on Reconciliation in Northern Uganda, Barbara Vi Thien Ho, University of Notre Dame
Guide Accreditation in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area: A Study of the Practices, Attitudes, and Concerns of Small Tourism Operators, Nora Vogel, Wesleyan University
‘These Things Are Simply Very Difficult’: An Exploration of the Existence of and the Relationship Between Sectarianism and Racism in Present-Day Northern Ireland, Coreen Walsh, Point Loma Nazarene University
The Legend of the Almas: A Comparative and Critical Analysis, Nathan Wenzel, George Washington University
Relájate y Disfruta: Lecciones de una Vida Musical y Temporal en el Zaidín = Relax and Enjoy: Lessons about a Temporal Musical Life in Zaidin, Granada, Laura Westman, George Washington University
A New Kind of Middle Man: Looking at Fair Trade in Nepal, Julia Wilber, Hamilton College
Doctors and Imams: Investigating the Integrated Schools of Mombasa, Kenya, Beth Ann Williams, Wake Forest University
The Ties That Bind: Urban Migration, Family Networks, and Cultural Change in Modern Mongolia, Christopher R. Williams, Indiana University
Vietnamese Resistence Mentality, Michael Williams, Hamilton College
The Significance of Music Education in the Primary Curriculum, Mina Won, George Washington University
El Desarrollo Sostenible: Las Aplicaciones de un Sendero Ecológico y una Farmacia Verde al Progreso Ambiental de Pucará, Ecuador, Matthew Woods, Kenyon College
Creating a Category V: Conservation Perceptions and Cultural Changes in the Anjozorobe-Angavo Forest Corridor, Kate Wright, DePauw University
El Carácter Militar de los Carabineros y Cómo Influye su Relación con el País, Joseph Francis Wyer, Occidental College
The Material Remains of World War II on Viti Levu: A Historical Archaeological Inventory, Allison Young, The College of Wooster