Dr John Hayward

BSc PhD FRAS

As Pastoral Tutor for Mathematics courses I have an active role with students from day one. Formally my role is to deal with student personal problems, giving support where needed and advice on applying for mitigating circumstances. Informally however I am there to help new students settle in, be someone any maths student can have a chat with, sell maths’ hoodies, and organise the Christmas party! I teach on all 3 years of the mathematics degree.

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 took another student group to Mbale in 2010.

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 1990s 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 two PhD students, both in system dynamics. Recently I have returned to my physics roots to investigate the use of thermodynamic concepts in the social sciences.

Main Teaching subjects

• System Dynamics
• Mathematical Modelling
• Further Calculus

Administrative Responsibilities

• Pastoral Tutor Mathematics Courses
• Coordinator of Education to Blind Mathematics Student

Papers

• John Hayward, Church Growth via Enthusiasts and Renewal. Appears in the Proceedings of the International Conference of the System Dynamics Society, Seoul, South Korea, July 2010.

• John Wyburn & John Hayward, A Model of Language-Group Interaction and Evolution Including Language Acquisition Planning, Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 34(3),167-200 2010.

• John Wyburn & 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.

• John Wyburn & John 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. 29(3), 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 Society, Bergen, Norway, 2000.

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

Other Publications

• Church Growth and Spiritual Life, (with Leanne Howells), Future First, 14, April 2011, published Brierley Consultancy.

• 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) 3-5, 2001. British Church Growth Association.

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

Conference Papers and Presentations

• The Dynamics of Religious Revival and Church Growth (supervision of Leanne Howells) 5th Research Student Workshop, University of Glamorgan, Mar 2010.

• 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 Rebecca 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.

• 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

Linked In
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/johnhaywardwales

• Mathematical Sociology & Social Dynamics.
• System Dynamics, theory and applications.
• Applications to church growth, spread of religion, political parties and activism, social and cultural diffusion, bilingualism.
• Teaching mathematics to the Blind Using Braille and Latex.

If you are a journalist on deadline and you need to speak with a member of university staff with a particular expertise please contact the Press Office on +44 (0)1443 483 362.