Ca II triplet spectroscopy of RGB stars in NGC 6822: kinematics and metallicities

We present a detailed analysis of the chemistry and kinematics of red giants in the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 6822. Spectroscopy at 8500 Angstroms was acquired for 72 red giant stars across two fields using FORS2 at the VLT. Line of sight extinction was individually estimated for each target star to accommodate the variable reddening across NGC 6822. The mean radial velocity was found to be v_helio = (52.8 +/- 2.2) km/s with dispersion rms = 24.1 km/s, in agreement with other studies. Ca II triplet equivalent widths were converted into [Fe/H] metallicities using a V magnitude proxy for surface gravity. The average metallicity was [Fe/H] = (-0.84 +/- 0.04) with dispersion rms = 0.31 dex and interquartile range 0.48. Our assignment of individual reddening values makes our analysis more sensitive to spatial variations in metallicity than previous studies. We divide our sample into metal-rich and metal-poor stars; the former are found to cluster towards small radii with the metal-poor stars more evenly distributed across the galaxy. The velocity dispersion of the metal-poor stars is higher than that of the metal-rich stars; combined with the age-metallicity relation this indicates that older populations have either been dynamically heated or were born in a less disclike distribution. The low ratio (v_rot/v_rms) suggests that within the inner 10', NGC 6822's stars are dynamically decoupled from the HI gas, possibly in a thick disc or spheroid.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, includes tabular dat

A Review by Jesse G. Swan of Lessons of the Masters, by George Steiner

Lessons of the Masters, George Steiner\u27s published version of the Charles Eliot Norton lectures he gave in 2001-2002, is to be a lesson in the value of conceptualizing, fostering, and admiring highly idiosyncratic individuals engaged in teaching, be it teaching live, present persons or future, absent generations. The theme and style are familiar, as is the abiding sense of nostalgia and impending elegy: Having taught for half a century, and in numerous countries and systems of higher education, Steiner announces in the first sentence of these melancholic reflections, I have found myself increasingly uncertain as to the legitimacy, as to the underlying truths of this \u27profession\u27 (1). In the libertarian climate of our own day (2), Steiner finds very little appreciation of Masters, always dignified with the majuscule, and their role in forming disciples, always rendered with the minuscule, except at the beginning of a sentence. There is some hope, but only of the most reserved, almost petulantly reserved kind

Losing Oneself and Manufacturing Bureaucracy in Contemporary Elite American Higher Education [A Review of Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite & the Way to a Meaningful Life, by William Deresiewicz]

Commentary about higher education can seem confused and wrongheaded. There are many reasons for this, but a common problem is that the general topic is usually poorly specified. One of the great virtues of William Deresiewicz’s description of the defilement of American higher education and of his proposals for its purification is that Deresiewicz’s description and proposals are concentrated on his cogently specified topic: the effect of elite education, specifically traced to the admissions process of the most exclusive American universities, on the people subjected to it. Much flows from Deresiewicz’s humane consideration of the topic, including a discussion of the degrading effects that the adulteration of elite education has had on American society at large through, among other things, the effects such adulteration has had on American leadership, but all is always cogent, because of the masterful literary grounding of the topic

Editor\u27s Introduction

Appearance, physical presence, perception, and interpretation and reaction or response feature prominently in our contemporary national and global moment. From generating violence to promoting healing, from disparaging the vulnerable and dispossessed to uplifting ourselves by humanely caring for those hurting or otherwise in need, individuals, groups, nations, and international enterprises perceive and react to people and social and environmental circumstances. This volume of UNIversitas provides some compelling and heartening contributions to this contemporary state of affairs

Editor\u27s Introduction

A culture can be known by the mental and emotional associations of its people. A true guide to a people’s abstract and sentimental associations is the set of stories that are significant and meaningful to the people. The history of a culture can be profitably made by understanding the history of powerful stories and their duration. A moment in time and a location in space can be known by the stories the people in the time and place tell

Editor\u27s Introduction

Integrity and compassion drive the contributors to this volume. From promoting free and encompassing elections to maintaining and advancing knowledge of monstrous corruption and inhumanity, this volume presents practical reports and suggestions as well as theoretical criticisms and speculations by numerous people important to UNI. 1. Integrity and compassion drive the contributors to this volume. From promoting free and encompassing elections to maintaining and advancing knowledge of monstrous corruption and inhumanity, this volume presents practical reports and suggestions as well as theoretical criticisms and speculations by numerous people important to UNI