Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2013. / The purpose of this study was to examine the attitude and perception of grade 9 mathematics teachers to CTA (common task assessment) 2009 as well as their understanding of the role of CTA. Six secondary schools in Pietermaritzburg area in the province of KwaZulu-Natal were selected as cases for an in-depth qualitative study. Two schools were African schools and the other three were multiracial school and one private school. Fourteen (14) teachers were interviewed and were observed teaching mathematics. The study utilised participant observation, interviews and relevant documents as source of data collection. The main finding of the study was the frustrations expressed by teachers not clearly understanding what is expected of them and also the lack of official support for meaningful implementation and general lack of teachers understanding of the role of CTAs. Most teachers raised their concerns about the lack of mathematics content in grade 9 mathematics CTAs. Most teachers raised concerns about CTAs content favouring or geared towards mathematical literacy and leaving out pure mathematics and failing to prepare learners to be competent in mathematics and failing completely to prepare learners for grade 10 pure Mathematics.

Stimulus preference assessments have determined high and low preferred items that increase the rate of frequency of responding for various skills. Within applied settings, high preferred items may not attain the same reinforcing value across tasks which might decrease responding. The preference of the task might have an effect on reinforcer efficacy that is being presented. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate changes in reinforcer efficacy as a function of preference for the task. Three children diagnosed with ASD participated in the study. HP/LP items and HP/LP tasks were identified through paired-choice assessments, and each item was presented as a consequence for each task in a counterbalanced multi-element format. Results indicated that preference for the task had little effect of the rate of responding across items.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds transformative potential for many fields including the finance sector. However, identifying suitable tasks for artificial intelligence implementation remains a challenge. This study proposes the artificial intelligence readiness task assessment tool, empowering finance professionals to assess task suitability for AI implementation from a bottom-up perspective. Artificial intelligence adoption often encounters barriers such as costs, compatibility, and skill gaps. The proposed tool addresses these challenges by allowing finance professionals to gauge artificial intelligence suitability for specific tasks without requiring extensive AI knowledge. The tool follows a design science research approach, ensuring it is user-friendly and effectively addresses real world challenges. The proposed tool is comprised of three sections: task framing, task assessment, and results interpretation. Unlike existing methodologies that focus on organization wide artificial intelligence readiness, the proposed tool centers on task specific readiness. This innovative approach provides practical guidance for finance professionals seeking to leverage artificial intelligence and helps organizations realize the potential of AI more effectively.