University of Glamorgan

John Hayward

Senior Lecturer
Advanced Technology
Computing and Mathematical Sciences
Tel 01443 654370
Room: G726

Qualifications

BSc PhD FRAS

About

As First Year Tutor for Mathematics courses and tutor for all Mathematics Major and Joint degrees I have an active role with students from day one. I coordinate the selection and recruitment process for Mathematics courses so potential students are likely to meet me before they even start their course.

I teach specialist courses of system dynamics and mathematical modelling and apply these subjects to the growth and decline of churches, political parties and a wide variety of other social phenomena. I frequently attend conferences and meetings in the line of my research but these could be in mathematics, physics, sociology, political science, history or religion. A good mathematical modeller has to be interested in every aspect of the world!

In 2008 I took a group of mathematics students to Mbale in Uganda with the local charity PONT. The students acted as classroom assistants in mathematics classes in number Ugandan schools and refurbished a teaching resources centre helping it back into service. I intend to return to Mbale with a student group in 2010.

Duties & Responsibilities

Main Teaching subjects

• System Dynamics
• Mathematical Modelling
• History of Mathematics

Administrative Responsibilities

• Admissions Tutor Mathematics courses
• First Year Tutor Mathematics courses
• Pastoral Tutor Faculty of Advanced Technology
• Tutor BSc Major/Joint Mathematics Degrees
• Coordinator of Education to Blind Mathematics Student

Experience

I studied at Queen Mary College, University of London, where I graduated with a BSc in Astrophysics and subsequently a PhD in general relativity and gravitation. Following that I conducted postdoctoral work at Glasgow University in solar physics and became part of the NASA solar maximum mission programme.

In 1982 I joined Napier Polytechnic in Edinburgh continuing my research on solar physics and teaching mathematical modelling. In 1989 I joined the University of Glamorgan as a senior lecturer in mathematical modelling and software engineering, specialising in formal methods. Throughout the 1990’s I developed a number of programming courses in Ada, C++ and the functional programming languages SML and Haskell. I conducted research in formal methods and the automated generation of computer code from the Z specification language.

Since 2000 I have concentrated exclusively on mathematical modelling in the social sciences and using the system dynamics methodology. I have successfully supervised four research students to PhD. I currently have three PhD students, two in system dynamics and one in the modelling of blast furnaces. Recently I have returned to my physics roots to investigate the use of thermodynamic concepts in the social sciences.

Research

• Mathematical Sociology
• System Dynamics
• Applications to church growth, political parties and activism, social and cultural diffusion, bilingualism
• Mathematical modelling of blast furnaces
• Teaching mathematics to the Blind Using Braille and Latex

Selected Publications

Papers

• J Wyburn & J Hayward, A Model of Language-Group Interaction and Evolution Including Language Acquisition Planning (with J Wyburn) to appear in the Journal of Mathematical Sociology 2010

• John Wyburn and John Hayward. “OR and Language Planning: Modelling The Interaction Between Unilingual and Bilingual Populations”, Journal of the Operational Research Society, 60 (5), 626-636, 2009.

*J Wyburn & J Hayward, The Future of Bilingualism: An Application of the Baggs and Freedman Model , Journal of Mathematical Sociology 32(4) Pages: 267-284, 2008

• John Hayward, A General Model of Church Growth and Decline, Journal of Mathematical Sociology. Vol. 29(3), pp.177–207, 2005

• John Hayward, A Dynamical Model of Church Growth and its Application to Contemporary Revivals, Reviews of Religious Research, 43 (3), 218–241, 2002

• John Hayward, Growth and Decline of Religious and Subcultural Groups, Appears in Sustainability in the Third Millennium – Proc. International System Dynamics Soc. 2000.

• John Hayward, Mathematical Modeling of Church Growth, Journal of Mathematical Sociology. Vol. 23(4), pp.255–292. 1999

Other Publications

• Can the Church be Tipped into Growth? Quadrant May 2006, published by Christian Research

• Passing on the Faith. Quadrant March 2002, published by Christian Research

• Modelling Church Growth – Mathematically, Church Growth Digest, 23(1) pp.3-5, 2001. British Church Growth Association

• Church Growth – A Disease! Quadrant September 2000, published by Christian Research

Conference Papers and Presentations

• Does religion spread like a disease?, International Medieval Congress, Leeds, UK, July 2009.

• Effective Evangelisation, Challenge to Change: exploring strategies for an effective Church in a post-Christian landscape, University of Glamorgan, May 2009

• Modelling Church Growth – Micro and Macro Models, COST MP0801 WG1 Competition of Beliefs, Paderborn, Jan 2009

• Modelling Church Growth using System Dynamics, Wales Mathematics Colloquium, Gregynog Wales, May 2008

• A Dynamical Model of Political Party Growth Based on Finance (supervision of R. Jeffs) 3rd Research Student Workshop, University Glamorgan, Mar 2008

• Modelling Church Growth – Strategies for Growing Churches, SD+50, London School of Economics Dec 2007

• A Dynamical Model of Strictness and its Effect on Church Growth, The Annual Meeting of the Religious Research Association /Scientific Study of Religion, Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov 2002

• Revival or Extinction – An Application of Systems Dynamics to Church Attendance and Membership Data, The Annual Meeting of the Religious Research Association /Scientific Study of Religion, Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov 2002

• A Dynamical Model of Church Growth and Global Revival, The Annual Meeting for the Scientific Study of Religion, Houston, Texas, Oct 2000

Professional Memberships

• Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Member of the System Dynamics Society
• Member of the Religious Research Association
• Member of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion