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 2006
The Effects of the 2006 Spraying of Deltamethrin for Tsetse Control on Aquatic Macro-Invertebrates in the Kwando/Linyanti River System, Botswana, Emily Lyczkowski, Colby College
Reproducing Social Identities: Employer-Employee Relationships Within Paid Domestic Labor in the Netherlands, Melissa MacDonald, Smith College
“Il Faut Manger” : Eating Disorders in Cameroonian Women, Jennifer Madowitz, Wesleyan University
Mediation in Morocco: Current Uses and Future Possibilities, Rachel Markowitz, University of Texas at Dallas
The Development of Environmental Consciousness and Identity in Surfing Subculture, Alex Mass, Bucknell University
Positive Living: Nutritional Realities and Interventions for People Living with HIV/AIDS in Northwest Province, Cameroon, Rachael Massell, Duke University
Migration as an Economic Activity: the Efficiency of Population Redistribution in Viet Nam, Megan L. Maurer, Kenyon College
Study of the Cultural Sexuality: A Matter of Honor and Shame, Alyssa McEachran, Wittenberg University
War Over Water: Water, Poverty, and Conflict, Tyker McMahon, Colorado College
Effectiveness of Cane Toad Eradication Methods: Arakwal National Park, Matthew Miller, Beloit College
Un Estudio de la Palma de Ramos, Ceroxylum alpinum, en la Zona Intag, Ecuador, Lupe Moscoe, Williams College
From Quilombo to Bairro: The Maintenance of a Permanent Afro-Brazilian Underclass, Calisha Myers, University of Virginia
Teaching with Systematic Phonemic Awareness: The Effects of Group Learning and Oral Instruction at the Operation Restoration Christian School, Laura Nichols, Bates College
Mujeres de Frente: Conciencia, Amistad y Voz en la Cárcel de Mujeres el Inca, Rachel Nordberg, University of Wisconsin - Madison
The Scholarship of Vietnameseness: The Dialectic of “National Identity” Between Self and Society in Vietnamese Education, Amber North, Northwestern University
Samoanizing My Fa’apalagi : The Indigenization of Language in Samoa, Cheryl Nunes, Swarthmore College
Accès aux Médicaments à Madagascar : L’Etat, La Pharmacie, et L’Usager, Peter Olds, Carleton College
Sex-Education and Preventative and Contraceptive Services: Educação-Sexual e Serviços Contraceptivos e Preventativos, Elizabeth M. Ortiz, Wesleyan University
Obstacles to Women’s Political Empowerment in Jordan: Family, Islam, and Patriarchal Gender Roles, Margaret Pettygrove, Macalester College
‘Like a Parrot Screaming in Its Cage’ Activism and Empowerment in Nepal’s Bhutanese Refugee Community, Elena Phoutrides, Boston College
Viviendo sin Bosques: Perspectivas en Disputa Sobre el Desarrollo y su Impacto en el Pueblo Mbya Guaraní, Maya Politis, New York University
Los Impactos Socio-Económicos del Proyecto de Desarrollo Sostenible en la Entrada Norte del Canal de Panamá en la Comunidad de Cativá, Carey Pulverman, New York University
Home on the Range: Case Study of Kham Nomadic Peoples and the Litang Region, Katelyn Ransom, Ithaca College
Development, Civil Society and the Conflict in Nepal, Shan Rehman, Hampshire College
Catholic Community Services in Fiji Solutions to Poverty Alleviation, Rebecca Richard, St. Michael's College
Contemporary Slavery in the Amazon of Maranhão: Reality and Response, Landen Romei, Washington University in St Louis
“Ahora Tenemos una Voz”: Transformaciones en la Vida Cotidiana de Mujeres Piqueteras en la Provincia de Buenos Aires = We Now Have a Voice”: Transformations in the Daily Life of Piquetero Women in the Province of Buenos Aires, Claudia L. Romeu Mejía, Washington University in St Louis
Something Fishy: Cultivating Children’s Sense of Place Through Literature, Anne Rone, Furman University
Food Item Coloration of the Common Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri sciureus): An Analysis of Color Vision Polymorphism at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Stefan Cooper Rosin, Macalester College
Making Space for Critical Discourse: The Daily Resistance of Acampamento Luiz Carlos, Nicholas Detlef Salmons, McGill University
Politics and Propriety in Oman: Omani Reactions to the Danish Cartoon Controversy, Averell Schmidt, Lewis and Clark College
A Promising Start in an Arid Region: Assessment of the Anaqeed Al-Khair Cooperative’s Impact, Jason Shenk, Earlham College
Searching for a Path: Evangelicals in Nicaraguan Politics, Jacob Siegel, Williams College
The Grass is Always Greener in Gated Communities: The Social Segregation and Construction of Difference in the Urbanizaciones Cerradas of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, Ben Simons, University of Washington - Seattle Campus
A Study of the Formative Factors of the Free Trade Agreement Between Oman and the United States, Gregory Smith, Miami University
Feminist Justice in Practice: Witness Experiences of Survivors of Wartime Sexual Violence in the Sud BiH, Brett A. Smith-Hams, University of California, Berkeley
Factors Affecting the Distribution and Health of the Intertidal Coral Goniastrea aspera on the Reef Flat in Geoffrey Bay, Magnetic Island, Julia Smith, Bowdoin College
“¿Quién le Compró la Tierra a Dios?” El Conflicto Territorial Entre los Mapuches y las Empresas Internacionales en la Patagonia, Lauren Smith, Claremont McKenna College
Soil Fertility and Changes in Fertilizer Use for Intensive Rice Cultivation in the Red River Delta and Mekong Delta of Vietnam, Jennifer Soong, Oberlin College
Visiting the Past, Reclaiming the Present: The Africanisms of Capoeira Angola, Juan Esteban Sosa, Oberlin College
Les Forêts, les Charbonniers, et l’Avenir Une Analyse de la Filière Charbon Dans le District de Fianarantsoa, Bronwen Stanford, Stanford University
Las Comunidades Judías en la España Moderna, Gesse Stark-Smith, Macalester College
Sydney’s Public Sculpture, Gabriel Strader-Brown, Beloit College
La Economía del Transporte Público en Santiago de Chile, Jacqueline Ann Strenio, University of Colorado at Boulder
Embracing the Demons Within: Spiritual Possession and Mental Health Support in Madagascar, Thomas Cody Swift, University of Puget Sound
El Arte Ngöbe de la Chácara: Su Significado Cultural y Potenciál Financiero en una Asociación de Artesanas, Danica Taber, University of Colorado at Boulder
Trazando Fronteras, Persiguiendo Sueños: La Realidad de la Migración del Campo en Nicaragua Hacia Costa Rica, Becca Telzak, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
The Human Ecology of a Disease: Dissemination of Resources and Information on HIV and AIDS in Can Tho City and An Giang Province, Lucas Thornblade, Hamilton College
Les Aspects Positifs et Négatifs Dans la Nudité Dans la Publicité Française, Caitlin Thornton, University of Texas at Austin
A Separate World: Conflicts Between Malagasy Society and the Mentally Handicapped, Jesse Travis, Austin College
Ley y Desorden: La Participación, la Política, y la Planificación en el Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro, Sage E. Trombulak, Wesleyan University
To Smear or Not To Smear? Evidence of a Failure of Implementation and Content Suitability of the 2000 National Guideline on Cervical Cancer Screening Program in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, Lee Trope, Stanford University
What about Sustainable Improvement? Current Efforts and Challenges in the Work of the Municipal Government to Improve the Rights of the Garbage Pickers in Fortaleza, Brazil, Shehzia Valiulla, College of the Atlantic
Arte en las Calles, Graffiti en Granada: Un Movimiento en Cambio, Alyson Virginia Visser, Hartwick College
Ethnic and Gender Identity in Hip-Hop Among Three Female Emcees in the Netherlands, Shoshana Walter, Mount Holyoke College
Cows and Colobus (Procolobus kirkii): Resource-Sharing Habits at Jozani National Park, Emily Walz, Swarthmore College
Piecing Together Social and Environmental Priorities in the Ongoing Process of Community Development In the MST Assentamento of Palmares II, Clara C. Ward, Duke University
The Complex Realities of Indigenous Health Care Delivery, Megan Waterman, Bowdoin College
Entrepreneurship and “Conscientious Capitalism”? Economic Solidarity Within the Banco Palmas Network, Caroline Whistler
Options and Aid: What the Future Holds for the Displaced Sugar Cane Families of Labasa, Fiji, Lieselot Whitbeck, Washington University in St Louis
El Movimiento Político Mapuche: Factores de División y Debilidad e Ideas Para el Futuro, Devon Kay Whitham, Scripps College
Les Catholiques Pratiquants en France, Erin Wilson, McDaniel College
Impacts of Salt Production on Pemba, Lauren Wolchok, Harvard University
Luta: The Story of the Movimento dos Atingidos Por Barragens in the Valley of Jaguaribe, Rachel Wood, American University
Assessment of Small-Scale Biogas Systems and Their Widespread Dissemination in Can Tho City, Viet Nam, Tracy Zhu, Mount Holyoke College
Interpreting Their Blood: The Contradictions of Approaches to Menstruation Through Religious Education, Ritual and Culture in Rabat, Morocco, Nitzan Ziv, Wesleyan University
Submissions from 2005
La Ornamentación de la Alhambra de Granada y su Proyección en la Cultura y la Religión = The Ornamentación of the Alhambra of Granada and its Projection in the Culture and Religion, Alyssa Anderson, Carleton College
Assessment of Ecuadorian Viewpoints Concerning the Gutiérrez Administration and Current Political Issues, Alissa Barrett, University of the Pacific
Finding a Sexual Dialogue with Children: A Dutch Model, Cassandra Baxter, Wheaton College
Non-Formal Education and Autonomous Spaces: CideCi’s Independent Alternative and the Regeneration of Indigenous Cultural Spaces in Chiapas, Rachel Beatty, Susquehanna University
Gender Based Violence in Jordan: Domestic Violence and Honor Crimes, Danielle M. Becknell, Westminster College
Comparing Rural and Urban Primary Education in the Mekong Delta, Helen Behr, Carleton College
L’Enseignement de la Guerre d’Algérie en France : La Liberté et l’Objectivité, Ayora G. Berry, Portland State University
El VIH en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires: Obstáculos en el Acceso al Tratamiento en el Sector Público, Erica Tai-le Bliss, Claremont McKenna College
Feministica: Creating Feminist Consciousness in the Former Yugoslavia, Meghan Boone, Trinity College
¿Qué MAS?: Una Mirada a las Posibilidades de un “Instrumento Político.”, Rebecca Bor, Barnard College
Avoid Cold: A Brief Look at Tibetan Medical Practice and Ideals Compared to Modern Allopathic Medical Treatment Through a Study and Analysis of the Essential Tremor, Graham Brant-Zawadzki, Stanford University
As Filhas de Oyá: Warriors in the Eye of the Storm, Sheela Bringi, Mills College
Fire Management in the Top End and the Kimberley, Katie Brownson, Tulane University of Louisiana
Towards Delivery and Dignity: Community Struggle From Kennedy Road, Jacob Bryant, Harvard University
The Survival of the Central American Squirrel monkey (Saimiri oerstedi): the habitat and behavior of a troop on the Burica Peninsula in a conservation context, Liana Burghardt, Carleton College
“To Be a Doctor” The Hopes and Aspirations of the Children Attending Namu Elementary School, and the Obstacles That Block Their Paths to Obtaining Them., Lauren Burke, Connecticut College
¡Dame un Ritmo (y Sueldo)!: La Sustentabilidad Económica de los Artistas Callejeros en el Gran Santiago, Zachariah Smith Cheema, Macalester College
Identities in Dialogue: Deconstructing the Dynamics of Bošnjak-Muslim Identities in Novi Pazar, Christine M. DeBacker, Mount Holyoke College
Est-ce que le Droit d’Asile Est Menacé en France ?(Is the Right to Asylum Being Threatened in France?), Ralph DeLouis, Connecticut College
Hope: An Ethnography of an Alternative Orphan Care System in Mgange Dawida- Taita; A Case Study of the Isuwirio-Tumaini Self-Help Group, Malaika M. DosRemedios, University of Vermont
A Falta de Voz Quilombola no Canto Brasileiro: As Conseqüências da Desvalorização da Terra Quilombola Pelo Estado Brasileiro, Maíra Dos Santos, Pitzer College
Post-Velvet Jazz Baby, Jack Elkin
El Servicio Militar Obligatorio en el Marco de la Democracia, Meagan Michelle Elliott, Southwestern University
“Oh Uncle Pema!” The Role of Musical Agency in the Creation of a Modern Tibetan Identity, Tracy Ellwanger, New York University
“Apparently, I am a Pedophile:” Living and Coping as a Child-Lover in the Netherlands, Andrew Extein, Pomona College
The Role of Malagasy Women in Community Development: Analyzing the Potential for the Creation of a Women’s Association for Alternative Livelihoods in Ifaty, Amanda Fencl, Tufts University
El Árbol De la Vida: El Mito de Wuanámei de la Comunidad Nativa Huachipaeri de Queros, Emily Fisher, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Concientious Cinema: Senegalese Cineastes as Preservers of Cultural Identity and Promoters of Social Change, Paula Fortner, Tufts University
Agroecology of the Naso-Teribe: The Management and Conservation of Traditional Agroecological Systems, Maisie Ganz, Tufts University
Le Développement Durable : Un Etude de Cas de l’Agenda 21 à Toulouse, Cailey Gibson, Carleton College
“Sacar a la Familia Adelante:” El Impacto de la Emigración en la Comunidad Salvadoreña de Nuevo Amanecer, Elisabeth Golub, Macalester College
Playback Experiments Using Regional Duets and Solos: Territoriality in the Grey-Breasted Wood Wren in Eastern Andean Ecuador, Arathi Govind, Scripps College
Buscando el Cusco: Análisis del Turismo en la Ciudad de los Incas, Nicole A. Grant, Yale University
K’oando: La Mesa Urbana en Cochabamba, Erin Hatheway, Whitman College