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This article examines the aesthetic and economic forms of judgment that guided the Japanese literature translation program at the American publisher Alfred A. Knopf Inc. in the 1950s—1970s. During these years, the editor Harold Strauss coordinated Knopf's ambitious translation program that made dozens of recently written Japanese novels available in English to an American audience. This article provides a fresh perspective on Knopf's well-known Japanese literature translation program by understanding it to be an illuminating case study that reveals how the practical business of cultural commerce mixes aesthetic and economic modes of valuation, producing provocative connections that link what might otherwise seem to be the antagonistic realms of art and the market. Guided by documents held in the Knopf corporate archive, the article shows how the aesthetics of modern Japanese literature and the economics of publishing each encountered the other in the transactional territory of translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Used correctly, assessments play a vital role in the success of a course: they provide valuable feedback to students regarding their knowledge gaps, encourage deeper understanding of the material, help students to develop critical thinking, and guide students to accomplish a course's learning goals. They also provide a signal to future employers, graduate programs, or future course instructors about the quality of a student's understanding of the material. Used incorrectly, assessments likely achieve none of these. To avoid the latter outcome, this article's author helps new instructors by (1) summarizing pedagogical theory of sound assessment design, (2) applying it to assessment design in economics courses, and (3) assembling examples of assessments from the economics literature for instructors who may wish to experiment with different assignments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generation IV (Gen-IV) nuclear reactor designs are receiving increasing attention because of their potential to achieve key goals in terms of sustainability, safety, reliability, and economics. One of the six technologies selected in the Gen-IV program is the lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR). This work focuses on LFRs, examining both pure lead and lead-bismuth eutectic designs. Through two systematic literature reviews, we consolidate the state-of-the-art in economics and finance for LFRs. The first review considers scientific literature and retrieves 12 articles. The second focuses instead on industrial literature, resulting in 12 additional documents. Economics literature is very scarce and sometimes of low quality. Economic estimations for the specific capital cost [$/kWe] and the cost of electricity [$/MWh] can vary by an order of magnitude (1500–25000 $/kWe and 30–350 $/MWh, respectively), while design organizations typically do not publicly share financial details. Finance literature is almost nonexistent. We report, in the final part of the work, notable knowledge gaps and further possible research areas. • Comprehensive economic evaluations for LFRs are missing. • Economic estimations for LFRs vary by an order of magnitude. • Reported LFR cost ranges are 1500–25000 $/kWe and 30–350 $/MWh. • Financial information of LFRs is rarely disclosed to the public. • A viable financial model description is missing for LFRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]