Lindell participates in Dutch
doctoral dissertation defense

Mike Lindell, a professor of urban planning at Texas A&M, got a firsthand look at the traditions of a doctoral dissertation defense in The Netherlands during a trip to the University of Twente in January 2010.

Lindell was on the Ph.D. committee for U.T. student Teun Terpstra, who he as worked with at Texas A&M was a visiting scholar December 2007 to March 2008. Lindell traveled to Enschede, The Netherlands, to attend Terpstra's defense.

In his Ph.D. project, Terpstra sought to understand factors determining people's risk perception in floods and water nuisances by applying a nonlinear theory known as Catastrophe Theory, which he said helps explain under which conditions such perceptions are stable and unstable, strong or weak.

This kind of knowledge, he said, is crucial for developing effective risk communication strategies.

"As in the U.S., Dutch doctoral candidates make a public presentation of their dissertation and later respond to committee members’ questions about their work," said Lindell. "Unlike the U.S., the Dutch student’s entire dissertation defense is limited to 45 minutes. Consequently, each faculty member has only 5-10 minutes to ask a few major questions. Moreover, Dutch students must answer the faculty’s questions in a public forum rather than in a private session—which adds to the stress."

Additionally, Lindell said, Dutch students have the assistance of two paranymphs, individuals who can take notes and provide assistance if needed.

"After 45 minutes of questions, the padel, a formally gowned academic official, marches down the center aisle of the auditorium and stamps an enormous staff three times to signal the end of the examination," said Lindell. "He then leads the faculty committee members into an adjacent conference room where they discuss the quality of the candidate’s answers."

When the faculty decides whether the candidate passed, the padel leads them back into the auditorium and the committee chair announces the committee’s decision, he said.

After some short speeches by college administrators and a longer one by Terpstra's faculty advisor, he was awarded with his Ph.D., said Lindell.

Lindell collaborated on a paper with Terpstra, "Citizens’ Perceptions of Flood Hazard Adjustments: An Application of the Protective Action Decision Model," in 2009.

- Posted: March 29, 2010 -