S t u d e n t R e s e a r c h E x c h a n g e C o l l e c t e d P a Student Research Exchange Collected Papers 2017 p e r s 2 0 1 7 IS B N /E A N : Student Research Exchange Collected Papers 2017 This is the digital version of the UAUCU 2017 Student Research Exchange Papers. Due to editorial motives, blank pages for final print have not been removed from this document. UAUCU Student Research Exchange Collected Papers 2017 UAUCU Student Research Exchange Collected Papers 2017 Louisa Maxwell Yun Lee Tanya Kirchner Melany Llocclla Zita Ngizwenayo Rachel Tromp Rotem Zilber Larisa Leeuwe Ben Bultrini William Cruice Rodolfo Rodriguez Nayla Yarzagaray Introduction to the third edition of the UAUCU Student Research Exchange Collected Papers This volume presents academic papers and personal Some of the student-researchers are still working on the reflections written by the twelve participants of the UAUCU interpretation and presentation of their findings, and will student research exchange project 2017. The texts in this later finalize project papers, or bachelor or master theses, volume reflect a wide diversity of academic disciplines based on results of fieldwork presented. and approaches, as well as the wide diversity in cultural background of this year’s participant cohort. The program, Our 2017 multidisciplinary team is also remarkably which offers students from the University of Aruba multicultural: it includes students with personal connec- (UA), University College Utrecht (UCU) and University tions not only to Aruba, but to Belgium, Colombia, Utrecht (UU) the opportunity to conduct research in a Curaçao, Holland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Myanmar, Russia, multidisciplinary international student team, has already Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and proven to be a successful formula: work presented in the Venezuela. The cultural and ethnic diversity of the group has 2015 and 2016 volumes led to international publications, contributed to an extraordinarily rich social environment and several program alumni received thesis awards. We for this year’s participants. All of them have written anticipate similar achievements for contributors to the 2017 individual pieces reflecting on their personal experiences. edition. These reflective texts show how strong the collaboration and mutual support within this diverse group has been. The The academic works included here treat culture, language, texts reveal much about the core of this project: it is not psychology, policy, law, environmental sciences and only about doing meaningful research as a student; it is also sustainability. The scope of the research ranges from pilot about the realization that we can achieve more in the world projects, to theoretical explorations verified with respondent when we approach problems from several perspectives at data, to in depth sociocultural and psychological studies the same time, and when we work together by building on that explore fundamental issues confronting society. The each other’s complementary strengths. Here, too, the whole diverse papers show a common interest in sustainable is greater than the sum of its parts. societies, reflecting a strong sense of community awareness, and providing research findings that are meaningful for This third year of the project has involved many people Aruban society. The papers further demonstrate how the crucial to its success – it is impossible to name them all. student researchers’ collaboration in a multidisciplinary But to all who have been part of this project as (guest) team has influenced their approach to their topics. The lecturer, supervisor, manager, initiator, facilitator, student, papers here are products of peer-to-peer learning: the interviewee, respondent, guide, coach or mentor: thank you program participants provided each other with feedback on very much for your contribution to this greater whole. content, method, style, language and structure. In general, the papers appear here as they were submitted by the student-researchers -- including the odd spelling mistake, Eric Mijts & Jocelyn Ballantyne grammatical error, raw opinion or hasty generalization. Project coordinators UAUCU