Dorothea Jacqueline (Dorien) DeTombe (born 1947) is a Dutch sociologist and former academic at the

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

and the Delft University of Technology, known for her contributions in the field of

methodology In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...

for societal complexity.Bal, Frans, and Peter Nijkamp. "In search of valid results in a complex economic environment: The potential of meta-analysis and value transfer." ''European Journal of Operational Research'' 128.2 (2001): 364-384.

Biography

DeTombe studied

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...

and

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

at the

. She received her

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in 1994 in the field of methodology for Societal Complexity on the COMPRAM Methodology under supervision of Harm 't Hart with the thesis, entitled "Defining complex interdisciplinary societal problems : a theoretical study for constructing a co-operative problem analyzing method: the method COMPRAM". DeTombe started her academic career at the Radboud University Nijmegen, and spent her main career as a scientist at

and at Delft University of Technology at its School for Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis and Management, and as a visiting professor abroad. She gives lectures on the subject of Methodology of Societal Complexity as visiting professor and at conferences all over the world. DeTombe has organized yearly conferences on the topic of Methodology of Societal Complexity. She built a multidisciplinary International Research Group on Societal Complexity in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. She has been president of the International Research Society on Methodology of Societal Complexity.

Work

DeTombe research interests concern the subject of how to handle complex problems in the area of Global safety. She has published over 100 articles and many books, some of them together with her colleagues

Cor van Dijkum Cornelis Johannes (Cor) van Dijkum (born 1950) is a Dutch sociologist, consultant and academic at the Utrecht University, known for his contributions in the field of methodology for complex societal problems. Biography Van Dijkum obtained his MSc ...

and Elmar Stuhler. DeTombe developed the methodology COMPRAM (Complex Problem Handling Methodology), a multi disciplined methodology for

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

decision making on complex societal issues like

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

s, large

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

problems,

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

, Sars and

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

affairs and

economic problem Economic systems as a type of social system must confront and solve the three fundamental economic problems:Samuelson, P. Anthony., Samuelson, W. (1980). Economics. 11th ed. / New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 34 * What kinds and quantities of goods s ...

s like the credit crisis. The COMPRAM methodology is advised by the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

(July 2006) to handle Global Safety.

Selected publications

* * * * Articles, a selection: * * DeTombe, Dorien J.
Complex societal problems in operational research
" ''European Journal of Operational Research'' 140.2 (2002): 232-240.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Detombe, Dorien 1947 births Living people Dutch sociologists Dutch women sociologists Utrecht University alumni Academic staff of Radboud University Nijmegen Academic staff of Utrecht University Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology