Spectroscopic study of the elusive globular cluster ESO452-SC11 and its surroundings

Globular clusters (GCs) are amongst the oldest objects in the Galaxy and play a pivotal role in deciphering its early history. We present the first spectroscopic study of the GC ESO452-SC11 using the AAOmega spectrograph at medium resolution. Given the sparsity of this object and high degree of foreground contamination due to its location toward the bulge, few details are known for this cluster: there is no consensus of its age, metallicity, or its association with the disk or bulge. We identify 5 members based on radial velocity, metallicity, and position within the GC. Using spectral synthesis, accurate abundances of Fe and several $\alpha$-, Fe-peak, neutron-capture elements (Si,Ca,Ti,Cr,Co,Ni,Sr,Eu) were measured. Two of the 5 cluster candidates are likely non-members, as they have deviant Fe abundances and [$\alpha$/Fe] ratios. The mean radial velocity is 19$\pm$2 km s$^{-1}$ with a low dispersion of 2.8$\pm$3.4 km s$^{-1}$, in line with its low mass. The mean Fe-abundance from spectral fitting is $-0.88\pm0.03$, with a spread driven by observational errors. The $\alpha$-elements of the GC candidates are marginally lower than expected for the bulge at similar metallicities. As spectra of hundreds of stars were collected in a 2 degree field around ESO452-SC11, detailed abundances in the surrounding field were measured. Most non-members have higher [$\alpha$/Fe] ratios, typical of the nearby bulge population. Stars with measured Fe-peak abundances show a large scatter around Solar values, though with large uncertainties. Our study provides the first systematic measurement of Sr in a Galactic bulge GC. The Eu and Sr abundances of the GC candidates are consistent with a disk or bulge association. Our calculations place ESO452 on an elliptical orbit in the central 3 kpc of the bulge. We find no evidence of extratidal stars in our data. (Abridged)Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

From quantified to qualculated age: the health pragmatics of biological age measurement

There is growing interest, within the social sciences, in understanding self‐quantification and how it affects health practices in contemporary society. There is, however, less research on how ageing and health measurement relate, even though this relationship has become more pertinent with the growing availability of services and devices offering biological, personalised age measurements, from simple online questionnaires to telomere length quantification. Little is known about who uses these devices, why they use them and the socio‐technical implications of such uses. To explore these issues, we conducted semi‐structured interviews and focus groups with users of measurements of biological age (BA) in Denmark. We found that participants engage with the measurements with a degree of scepticism regarding their technical validity, reliability and sensitivity. Rather than seeking an exact biological quantification, participants use measurements as a pragmatic, rough indication of individual health. We develop a conceptual model to understand participants’ engagement with BA measurements, which suggests that, instead of a substitution of chronological age for BA, users gauge the difference between the two to qualify their present and future individual trajectory in a lay model of the relationship between functional capacity and age

Folkeskolens første møde med folkeskolereformen – et stormfuldt møde

A new Danish primary and lower secondary school reform was adopted in 2013 and entered into force in August 2014. The question is how the text of the reform is translated and transformed into pedagogical practice in an ordinary Danish primary and lower secondary school. The theoretical framework for the analysis is translation theory. The study is a case study, and the empirical data for the analysis are documents, observations, interviews and recordings from meetings held at a school during the autumn of 2014. The results of the analysis show that the reform affects management and teachers at the school with great force and challenges them on their professional knowledge and competence