Dat het Isla-terrein in de belangstelling staat van wetenschappers is bekend. Een recent voorbeeld hiervan is Jerry Gumbs (oud-leerling van Maria Immaculata Lyceum) met zijn scriptie: “Discourse analysis on the Isla refinery issues specified on governance and inter-kingdom relations”. Hij beschouwt hier de Isla-problematiek vanuit een sociaalwetenschappelijk perspectief onder supervisie van Dr.ir. Bas van Vliet (Environmental Policy Group). De scriptie is hier te lezen: Thesis Jerry Gumbs. Hieronder staat de abstract uit zijn scriptie:

,,Throughout history the constitutional relation of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands and Curaçao have, made it complicated for governance. The oil refinery
issue is walking a line between being a Kingdom affair or a national issue for
Curacao. This thesis reveals the discourses from relevant actors in The Netherlands
on the Isla refinery issues specified on governance and interkingdom relations by
conducting a discourse analysis. Additionally, the thesis also reveals the impact
governing the Isla from 1985 onwards has on the separate discourses. By using the
Three-dimensional model and the Historical Discourse approach as a theoretical
basis, the analysis revealed the Own Responsibility, the “Kingdom Intervention
Based on Charter” and the “Kingdom intervention based on Moral principles”
discourses. From all these discourses, the “Kingdom Intervention based Moral
principles” discourse is mostly affected by the history of governing the Isla from
1985 onwards, followed by the “Kingdom Intervention based on Charter” and lastly
the “Own Responsibility” discourse. This thesis has helped prove that the different
perspectives and isolated arguments used in the Isla refinery issues in The
Netherlands are part of a bigger wave of thinking. Communication and language,
especially in policy, plays an important role in creating the discourses and different
ways of thinking. History also has an undeniable impact on some of the discourses.
To limit the wide range of different interpretations, a clearer definition should be
given in policy to the terms that cause confusions.”