this paper examines the historical development of operations research (or) and represents different or methods (methodologies) developed during its lifetime. then, considering thomas kuhn’s paradigm model of scientific development as a basis for our work, the former and current status of or are analyzed and the future trend is discussed.

For the past two decades, the postmodern debates dominated the cultural and intellectual scene in many fields throughout the world. In aesthetic and cultural theory, polemics emerged over whether modernism in the arts was or was not dead and what sort of postmodern art was succeeding it. In philosophy, debates erupted concerning whether or not the tradition of modern philosophy had ended, and m...

The past decade has seen the gradual emergence of what might be called a postmodern perspective on nursing research. However, the development of a coherent postmodern critique of the modernist position has been hampered by some misunderstandings and misrepresentations of postmodern epistemology by a number of writers, leading to a fractured and distorted view of postmodern nursing research. Thi...

The postmodern subjective representation of reality in our minds has two stages: 1) reconstruction of reality (rather than simple reflection) based on cognitive, emotional and behavioral mechanisms and 2) subjective evaluations of reality. The 20 century postmodern turn in science went straight to 2) without uncovering and quantifying 1). The need for a 21 century “postmodern turn in science ve...

Despite significant resistance, psychology is being dragged into the postmodern era. While many debate whether the postmodern era has officially begun, others argue that the postmodern era has already past by. This said, the emergent consensus is that these are postmodern times. Much of contemporary Western culture and academia is beginning to embrace this paradigm shift, though the field of ps...

This paper introduces hermeneutic philosophy and inquiry to postmodern therapists. Hermeneutic inquiry is an approach to research that posits that all understanding is interpretation, and interpretation is constructed in language. It shares a common view of language with postmodern therapies, and therefore is likely to be a congenial and accessible approach to research for postmodern therapists...