Operational research
from past imperfect to future subjunctive
pp. 141-146
in: Robert L. Flood, Michael C. Jackson, Paul Keys (eds), Systems prospects, Berlin, Springer, 1989Abstract
The title of this paper links past and future through two grammatical terns, one of which is improperly used. "Past imperfect" is employed only in the everyday sense of the words, while 'subjunctive" carries the technical meaning of could/would/may/might…. The message behind the compressed headline is first, that Operational Research's past, viewed from almost any perspective, exhibits deficiencies; and, second, that a variety of differentiated options for the future is now evident.