Mathematics and Education Research

Centre

An Introduction - Vol. 1

Table of Content:
What is M. E. R. C?.............................................................................................................................. ...(1)
Mission Statement.................................................................................................................. .................(1)
Research..................................................................................................................................................(1)
Maths Modelling and Simulations........................................................................................(2)
Analytics.................................................................................................................................................(3)
Solutions.................................................................................................................................................(4)
Leadership............................................................................................................................................ ..(5)
Management................................................................................................................... ........................(6)
Teaching..................................................................................................................... ............................(7)
Parenting................................................................................................................................................(8)

What is M. E. R. C?
M.E.R.C stands for Mathematics and Education Research Centre.
M.E.R.C is an independent research business.

Mission Statement:
M.E.R.C aims to promote application of Maths in real-life and importance of quality education in Pakistan through
research based approach.
M.E.R.C also aims to provide Business Information, Education Information, and Software Solutions.

Research:
Maths research is divided into:
1.

Maths Modelling and Simulations

2.

Analytics

3.

Solutions

Education research is divided into:

Leadership

2.

Management

3.

Teaching

4.

Parenting

Mathematical Modelling:
Mathematical modelling is the process of applying mathematics to understand the real world problem. The modelling
process may or may not result to solving the problem entirely but it will shed light to the situation under investigation.
A model embodies a hypothesis about the study system, and lets you compare that hypothesis with data. A model is
often most useful when it fails to fit the data, because that says that some of your ideas about the study system are
wrong. Mathematical models and computer simulations are useful experimental tools for building and testing theories,
assessing quantitative conjectures, answering specific questions, determining sensitivities to changes in parameter
values and estimating key parameters from data.
At M . E . R . C Mathematical Modelling we research on the formulation, development and application of innovative
mathematical and statistical models and associated scientific softwares.
Modelling is an important activity at M . E . R . C, helping us to design and better understand measurement systems.
Often, a mathematical model is used to characterize the relationship between a number of variables in the system. The
complexity of the model function can range from a simple polynomial function to requiring the solution of a differential
equation. Given both the model function and information about the inputs to the system, the response of the system may
be predicted.
Mathematical and numerical techniques researched by M . E . R . C include: differential and algebraic equations;
probabilistic analysis; statistics; pattern recognition; non-linear mathematics; optimisation; fuzzy logic; rough sets;
genetic algorithms; time-series analysis; finite-element, finite-difference and finite-volume analysis; sensitivity and
uncertainty analysis; and agent-based modelling.
Mathematical modelling approaches can be categorized into four broad approaches:
1. Empirical Modelling:
Empirical modelling involves examining data related to the problem with a view of formulating or constructing a
mathematical relationship between the variables in the problem using the available data.
2. Simulation modelling:
Simulation modelling involve the use of a computer program or some technological tool to generate a scenario based on
a set of rules. These rules arise from an interpretation of how a certain process is supposed to evolve or progress.
3. Deterministic modelling:
Deterministic modelling in general involve the use of equation or set of equations to model or predict the outcome of an
event or the value of a quantity.
4. Stochastic modelling:
Stochastic modelling takes deterministic modelling one further step. In stochastic models, randomness and probabilities
of events happening are taken into account when the equations are formulated. The reason behind this is the fact that
events take place with some probability rather than with certainty. This kind of modelling is very popular in business
and marketing.

Analytics:
Analytics is the scientific process of transforming data into insight for making better decisions. At M . E . R . C
Analytics we research on discovery and communication of meaningful patterns in data.
The zetabytes of data generated at ever-increasing speed in our digitized world have created an urgent business
analytics imperative. Organisations are tapping into increasingly sophisticated analytics techniques to improve
opportunities for growth, innovation and competitive advantage.
Applying analytics technologies, tools, techniques and talent can transform dry facts and figures into strategic insights
that deliver intelligence in moments. You can now solve specific and complex problems on reliable intel, not gutinstinct. Analytics Equip organisations to make fact-based decisions, increase overall performance, differentiate, gain
profitable growth, and mitigating risks.
Data-savvy leaders are using analytics techniques to increase their decision-making speed and sophistication.
Executives who unlock the full potential of data and integrate it into their decision-making culture can help their
company become more consumer-centric, reduce risk, increase security, and guard against competition and new players.
The 7-Step Analytics Process:
1. Defining the needs:
The first stage in the business analytics process involves understanding what the business would like to improve on or
the problem it wants solved.
2. Explore the data:
This stage involves cleaning the data, making computations for missing data, removing outliers, and transforming
combinations of variables to form new variables.
3. Analyse the data:
At this stage, using statistical analysis methods such as correlation analysis and hypothesis testing, the analyst will find
all factors that are related to the target variable.
4. Predict what is likely to happen:
At this stage, the analyst will model the data using predictive techniques that include decision trees, neural networks
and logistic regression.
5. Optimise (find the best solution):
At this stage the analyst will apply the predictive model coefficients and outcomes to run what-if scenarios, using
targets set by managers to determine the best solution, with the given constraints and limitations.
6. Make a decision and measure the outcome:
The analyst will then make decisions and take action based on the derived insights from the model and the
organisational goals.
7. Update the system with the results of the decision:
Finally the results of the decision and action and the new insights derived from the model are recorded and updated into
the database.

Solution:
A business solution is a combination of ideas used to help a company achieve its objectives. A business solution comes
in terms of marketing, payroll, auditing, accounting market research and analysis, among other essential business
activities.
Businessmen set up companies to solve specific business problems. They specialize in a given niche depending on the
problems in the market. A business problem is a need that a company strives to provide.
Businesses solutions correct the deficiency of the missing needs in a society. Businesses develop strategies that are
action-oriented to expand the international and domestic markets. Businesses need to identify and manage new property,
identify opportunities for growth and leverage technology to serve the customers. Companies restructure their
operations and implement changes within their management and operation structures in order to provide business
solutions efficiently.
Another benefit of business solutions is generating jobs within the economy. Having the necessary manpower saves
companies a lot of money in addition to aiding in the expansion process.
Additionally, companies discover new opportunities and enter into new markets that position them at a competitive edge
among fellow companies. An increase in business activities leads to growth.
M . E . R . C Solutions specializes in researching business services that include strategic planning, technology
evaluation and planning, and complex business information synthesis.
We research action-oriented strategies of domestic and international markets, new mergers and acquisitions,
opportunities for growth, leverage technology and government contracts.
Our research is also based on how businesses grow their revenues through expansion, targeted marketing, acquisitions,
strategic reorganization, and partnerships.

Education Leadership:
Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he/she wants to do it. Leaders are
people who do the right thing. Leaders help themselves and others to do the right things. They set direction, build an
inspiring vision, and create something new.
Educational leadership is the process of enlisting and guiding the talents and energies of teachers, pupils, and parents
toward achieving common educational aims.
At M . E . R . C Leadership we research on leaders in education industry, their leadership styles, their management
skills, their decision making and how they run and grow their organisations.

Leadership Styles
Lewin's Leadership Styles:
Psychologist Kurt Lewin developed his framework in the 1930s, and it provided the foundation of many of the
approaches that followed afterwards. He argued that there are three major styles of leadership:
1. Autocratic leaders
Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their team members, even if their input would be useful.
2. Democratic leaders
Democratic leaders make the final decisions, but they include team members in the decision-making process. They
encourage creativity, and people are often highly engaged in projects and decisions.
3. Laissez-faire leaders
Laissez-faire leaders give their team members a lot of freedom in how they do their work, and how they set their
deadlines. They provide support with resources and advice if needed, but otherwise they don't get involved.
Transformational Leadership:
Transformational leadership motivate people with a shared vision of the future, and they communicate well. They're
also typically self-aware, authentic, empathetic, and humble.
Bureaucratic Leadership:
Bureaucratic leaders follow rules rigorously, and ensure that their people follow procedures precisely.
Charismatic Leadership:
Charismatic leaders rely on charisma, often focus on themselves and their own ambitions, and they often do not want to
change anything.
Servant Leadership:
A "servant leader" is someone, regardless of level, who leads simply by meeting the needs of the team. The term
sometimes describes a person without formal recognition as a leader. These people often lead by example. They have
high integrity and lead with generosity. Their approach can create a positive corporate culture, and it can lead to high
morale among team members.
Transactional Leadership:
This style starts with the idea that team members agree to obey their leader when they accept a job. The "transaction"
usually involves the organization paying team members in return for their effort and compliance on a short-term task.
The leader has a right to "punish" team members if their work doesn't meet an appropriate standard.

Educational Management:
Educational management is the theory and practice of the organization and administration of existing educational
establishments and systems.
At M . E . R . C education management research is a continuous process. We research on areas such as leadership,
institute management, staff management, teachers training, law, and parental engagement in educational contexts. The
overall intention of our research is to develop new, substantive, theoretically grounded insights and understandings of
national and international significance.
Management implies an orderly way of thinking. It describes in operator terms what is to be done, how it is to be done
and how we know when have done. Management is not a mystique. It is a method of operation. Management should
result in an orderly integration of education and society.
Thus educational management is a comprehensive effort dealing with the educational practices. It is the dynamic side of
education. It deals with educational institutions - right from the schools and colleges to the secretariat. It is concerned
with both human and material resources.
The human elements include: (i) Children, (ii) parents, (iii) teachers and (iv) other employees in general - university of
Board of Education at local, state and National levels of Governments.
On the material side there are (a) finance, (b) buildings and grounds, (c) equipment and instructional supplies. Besides,
there are ideas, laws and regulations and so on, having a bearing on the educational process. The blending of these
'parts' into a 'whole' is educational management.
In a democratic country like ours, educational management is a necessity. The purpose of educational management is to
bring pupils and teachers under such conditions as will more successfully promote the end of education. Superior
educational management, in fact, is basic to the satisfactory functioning of democracy.
As education is a major area of governmental and public management involving millions of schools, teachers and
pupils, it is imperative that it should have an excellent infrastructure in line with socio-political aspirations of a people.

Teaching:
A teacher's role involves more than simply standing in front of a classroom and lecturing. In fact, even though a teacher
spends the majority of the day in the classroom, the actual teaching component is only part of the job. An effective
teacher understands that teaching involves wearing multiple hats to ensure that the school day runs smoothly and all
students receive a quality education.
At M . E . R . C Teaching we research on areas such as teaching methodologies, students performance management,
lesson planning, curriculum planning, event planing, employment rights, class management, physical education, special
education, ethics and compliance.
Planning
At the planning stage, teachers play multiple roles. They are learners, constantly taking classes and attending
professional development sessions to learn the latest best practices and strategies for effective teaching. Many teachers
regularly collaborate with one another to gain new ideas for teaching, planning grade-level instruction and combining
subjects to enhance the learning experience. They analyse test results and other data to help determine the course of
their instruction and make changes in their classrooms. Teachers also design lesson plans to teach the standards and
provide engaging activities, while taking into account each student's interests and instructional needs.
Instruction
Instead of just lecturing in the classroom, teachers are facilitators of learning, providing students with the information
and tools they need to master a subject. At times, teachers act like tutors, working with small groups of students or
individual students within the classroom or after class. Teachers also play the role of evaluators, constantly assessing
students' abilities through formal and informal assessments, providing suggestions for improvement and assigning
grades.
Student Interaction
Perhaps the most important roles teachers fill involve interacting with students. Teachers must be leaders in the
classroom and in the school, earning the respect of students and setting a positive example. They must be
disciplinarians, doling out fair and consistent punishments to students who break the rules. At the same time, teachers
must show care and concern for students. A teacher has the power to build up or tear down a student's self-esteem and
make a student's day or ruin it in an instant. When interacting with students, a teacher must fill the role of a counsellor, a
surrogate parent, a nutritionist and someone who has the best interests of every child at heart.
Other Professional Duties
Throughout the school day and over the course of the school year, teachers take on other roles, as well. They are
chaperones at school functions and coaches of school sports. They are monitors at lunch and recess and serve as
fundraisers for field trips and school supplies. Teachers also play the role of interior designer, making sure their
classrooms are set up to support learning and act as artists when they update their bulletin boards and other displays.

Parenting:
Parenting encompasses literally hundreds of activities that parents engage in either with or for their children.
M . E. R. C Parenting Research is divided into seven categories of behaviour- nurturance, discipline, teaching, language,
monitoring, management, and materials.
Nurturance
Nurturing behaviour involves ways of expressing love, affection, and care. High nurturing behaviours include
expressing warmth, being responsive to a child's needs, and being sensitive to changes in a child's behaviour. Low
nurturing behaviours include detachment, intrusiveness, and negative regard.
Discipline
Discipline involves parents' responses to child behaviours that they consider appropriate or inappropriate, depending on
the child's age and gender and on parental beliefs, upbringing, and culture. Observers sometimes measure discipline
from what they see during the course of a home visit. They would describe discipline as harsh or punitive if the parent
spanked, slapped, or yelled at the child during the visit.
Teaching
Teaching typically includes didactic strategies for conveying information or skills to the child. Observers set up
interaction situations such as putting together a puzzle that is slightly difficult for the child; drawing a complex figure;
learning a skill such as tying a shoe or buttoning a coat; or sorting building blocks by shape or colour, and then observe
teaching behaviours. Often, they rate the strategies in terms of quality of assistance.
Management
Management encompasses scheduling events, completing scheduled events, and the rhythm of the household. Most
studies of young children either do not measure management at all or assess it with only one or two short questions,
even though management tasks consume huge amounts of parenting time. Sometimes studies note the appearance of the
child (dirty, not dressed, clothes do not fit) as a possible indicator of child neglect. Studies do not always assess taking
children to scheduled activities outside the home (even though time diary studies suggest that fathers spend the greatest
proportion of their weekend time with their preschoolers in such activities), but often do assess taking children to the
park and to visit relatives.