The oil and gas industry makes up approximately 1% of Texas’s overall water use (TWDB, 2012), but assessing water use on a regional and county level could show that the impacts from the oil and gas industry can be greater on a local level. Water planners within in Texas are becoming more concerned with how regional and local impacts from upstream development of oil and gas. These areas are under water-stressed conditions due to drought. To better understand potential local use impacts this study conducted qualitative and quantitative analyses. The qualitative analysis gathered input from stakeholders including representatives in the oil and gas industry, regulatory sector, and Texas water planning entities. This study utilized two public databases called FracFocus to assess average water use trends over time for the Eagle Ford region in south Texas and the Spraberry/Wolfcamp formations in west Texas. According to the qualitative analysis conducted trends toward increasing use of brackish groundwater and some recycling and reuse techniques by some operators are occurring in both regions. Also, there were slightly increasing trends of average water use per a well over time for both regions between January 2011 and April 2013. This analysis can be misrepresentative of the cause of the change in water use by the oil and gas industry, and therefore requires more data. The FracFocus database lacks the direction of the well, the lateral length of the well, and the mass of the proppant. These inputs would allow for a holistic analysis by water planners. vii The oil and gas industry can have local impacts on water use in particular regions. An increasing importance for regional water planners to have access to accurate oil and gas water use data is apparent. Collaboration between the oil and gas industry and Texas regional water planners will be a key component in areas with heavier mining water demands. Conclusively, the need for a more robust data set for regulators, industry professionals, and other stakeholders to access will benefit the strategic assessments oil and gas water use on local levels. / text

The relationship between play gesture performance and language milestones was examined for 6 children with cleft lip and/or palate at 20, 24, and 30 months of age. Standardized measures of language development, language samples, and a play gesture protocol were administered and analyzed at each assessment. Results showed language delays for several of the children with cleft palate and displayed a complex relationship between play and language development. The results show parallels between single object use and vocabulary development as well as sequential play gestures and structural aspects of language use. Data from this study demonstrated slow play gesture and language development for children with cleft palate only.

This study proposes and tests a model for play development analysis, which offers a framework and a vocabulary for cataloguing the working parts of play development initiatives. When scholars analyze a completed play text, there are several useful categories available with which to organize observations, including space and time, character, dialogue, plot and story, genre, and spectacle. Such basic categories have been lacking in the analysis of play development and dramaturgy practice. In order to create a framework for analysis, the hourglass model for play development analysis proposes the basic categories of source, perspective, leadership, company modelling, choice of form, conditions of creation (including assumed theatrical conventions), design, given and anticipated consequences, and reception. The three case studies included in this project demonstrate the uses and limitations of the analysis model for new play development and its categories. The Whispering Pines play development process at Nightswimming and the processes experienced by the participants in the 2011 Tarragon Playwright’s Unit both fit easily into the hourglass, largely because they employ traditional roles in the play development process without challenging established hierarchies and because both resulted in play texts; Nightswimming’s Rough House, as a devised piece, challenges the model and demonstrates its flexibility in dealing with non-traditional forms of theatre-making. By providing grounds for comparison between these three markedly different models, the hourglass teases out a number of productive contrasts between text-based and devised theatre. The model which I propose and test in this study has been designed to introduce a formal, pragmatic methodology to the heretofore anecdotal field of scholarship on English-Canadian dramaturgy and new play development. Its formation is indebted to and embedded within the scholarship which has come before. The pragmatic model is proposed as a methodological framework for analysis that has yet to be employed in scholarship on dramaturgy practice and new play development in particular. In my analysis of three play development initiatives, I identify the common elements inherent in each development setting and, by using the same methodology to understand each process I uncover the formative elements unique to each process. The uniquely structured analysis contributes to existing scholarship by illustrating how new play development serves or does not serve the playwright, how the relationship between dramaturg and writer affect the process, and to what extent the realities of each development model in question do or do not serve the needs of each project. The thorough analysis afforded by the model tests the three tenets of play development identified by scholarship on development dramaturgy and illuminates the inner workings of the development initiatives which are particular to each case study.

This study proposes and tests a model for play development analysis, which offers a framework and a vocabulary for cataloguing the working parts of play development initiatives. When scholars analyze a completed play text, there are several useful categories available with which to organize observations, including space and time, character, dialogue, plot and story, genre, and spectacle. Such basic categories have been lacking in the analysis of play development and dramaturgy practice. In order to create a framework for analysis, the hourglass model for play development analysis proposes the basic categories of source, perspective, leadership, company modelling, choice of form, conditions of creation (including assumed theatrical conventions), design, given and anticipated consequences, and reception. The three case studies included in this project demonstrate the uses and limitations of the analysis model for new play development and its categories. The Whispering Pines play development process at Nightswimming and the processes experienced by the participants in the 2011 Tarragon Playwright’s Unit both fit easily into the hourglass, largely because they employ traditional roles in the play development process without challenging established hierarchies and because both resulted in play texts; Nightswimming’s Rough House, as a devised piece, challenges the model and demonstrates its flexibility in dealing with non-traditional forms of theatre-making. By providing grounds for comparison between these three markedly different models, the hourglass teases out a number of productive contrasts between text-based and devised theatre. The model which I propose and test in this study has been designed to introduce a formal, pragmatic methodology to the heretofore anecdotal field of scholarship on English-Canadian dramaturgy and new play development. Its formation is indebted to and embedded within the scholarship which has come before. The pragmatic model is proposed as a methodological framework for analysis that has yet to be employed in scholarship on dramaturgy practice and new play development in particular. In my analysis of three play development initiatives, I identify the common elements inherent in each development setting and, by using the same methodology to understand each process I uncover the formative elements unique to each process. The uniquely structured analysis contributes to existing scholarship by illustrating how new play development serves or does not serve the playwright, how the relationship between dramaturg and writer affect the process, and to what extent the realities of each development model in question do or do not serve the needs of each project. The thorough analysis afforded by the model tests the three tenets of play development identified by scholarship on development dramaturgy and illuminates the inner workings of the development initiatives which are particular to each case study.

This study proposes and tests a model for play development analysis, which offers a framework and a vocabulary for cataloguing the working parts of play development initiatives. When scholars analyze a completed play text, there are several useful categories available with which to organize observations, including space and time, character, dialogue, plot and story, genre, and spectacle. Such basic categories have been lacking in the analysis of play development and dramaturgy practice. In order to create a framework for analysis, the hourglass model for play development analysis proposes the basic categories of source, perspective, leadership, company modelling, choice of form, conditions of creation (including assumed theatrical conventions), design, given and anticipated consequences, and reception. The three case studies included in this project demonstrate the uses and limitations of the analysis model for new play development and its categories. The Whispering Pines play development process at Nightswimming and the processes experienced by the participants in the 2011 Tarragon Playwright’s Unit both fit easily into the hourglass, largely because they employ traditional roles in the play development process without challenging established hierarchies and because both resulted in play texts; Nightswimming’s Rough House, as a devised piece, challenges the model and demonstrates its flexibility in dealing with non-traditional forms of theatre-making. By providing grounds for comparison between these three markedly different models, the hourglass teases out a number of productive contrasts between text-based and devised theatre. The model which I propose and test in this study has been designed to introduce a formal, pragmatic methodology to the heretofore anecdotal field of scholarship on English-Canadian dramaturgy and new play development. Its formation is indebted to and embedded within the scholarship which has come before. The pragmatic model is proposed as a methodological framework for analysis that has yet to be employed in scholarship on dramaturgy practice and new play development in particular. In my analysis of three play development initiatives, I identify the common elements inherent in each development setting and, by using the same methodology to understand each process I uncover the formative elements unique to each process. The uniquely structured analysis contributes to existing scholarship by illustrating how new play development serves or does not serve the playwright, how the relationship between dramaturg and writer affect the process, and to what extent the realities of each development model in question do or do not serve the needs of each project. The thorough analysis afforded by the model tests the three tenets of play development identified by scholarship on development dramaturgy and illuminates the inner workings of the development initiatives which are particular to each case study.

Although play is a vital concept and a core element within early childhood development, it is quickly diminishing throughout our schools. It is critical to provide an awareness that play is important in the development of young children and allows . children the opportunity to grow socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively. This thesis provides some play strategies and implications for parents to ensure their children's optimal development.

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U.S. Theatre is often noted for its commitment to new play development. Since Eugene O’Neill, America has fostered a tradition of celebrating emerging playwrights and their bold, edgy new works through countless development programs such as festivals, new play readings, grant programs, workshops, and world premieres. Although in recent years new-play development has seen a steady decline in funding (Levitow 2), it remains a cornerstone of American identity and an essential medium for pushing boundaries in theatre, both culturally and artistically. New-play development is indispensable for keeping theatre relevant in our everchanging culture. For my thesis, I explore the process of developing a new play from an actor’s perspective. The role of the director, dramaturg and producer of a new play is often discussed; however the importance of the actor throughout the development process is sometimes overlooked. There are many configurations of artistic teams assembled to develop a new play; therefore, I do not suggest there is one type of team that is best or one type of role for the actor to play within the team. My aim was to collaborate with the playwright, director and fellow actors to discover what is required of an actor in all phases of new play development. I applied the principles learned to my own work in the World Premiere of The Exit Interview by William Missouri Downs at the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre in Partnership with The University of Central Florida. As I navigated my way through the artistic process of developing a new work, I discovered some ‘best practices’, which I employed throughout the rehearsal and performance iii process to further my own skills. I will discuss the development process I experienced, as objectively as possible, outlining the key best practices for an actor working in a collaborative team to develop a new play.

No description available.

In this scientific essay, I investigate how pedagogues are affected by working with the method of family stories, which the principal has decided that all young children´s departmens shouldwork with. The method includes many parts and is tightly controlled. What are the possibilities and limitations of the method? I start by designing the method through selfexperienced examples and then describe it briefly. I gather my empirical data by talking to pedagogues at the preschool where I work, talking to children and observing pedagogues and children. Previous conversations in various contexts with other pedagogues in the preschool area are also included in the documentation. I write in the field of practical knowledge and power and judgment become part of the survey. Who has the power over the methods we use and how they are used? Methods with strict control remove the possibility of using our judgment. I reason around these questions together with theories and my empirical data. Writing is part of the research process. I thematize the discussion with the empirics and theories by relating to the following: thoughts about the method in general, about cooperation with families, about the method as language development, play development, as support in the transition to the next department and what happens when reality goes beyond the manual. I have gained an in-depth understanding of how the method can be used and the importance of pedagogues knowing the theories behind the method but also their own practice theory. The family stories as a method contain great opportunities for many good pedagogical efforts if the pedagogue knows the theory behind the method, uses his own knowledge and is allowed to make decisions about the design with his own judgment. If, on the other hand, the description is perceived and used as a manual, the judgment is disconnected and there is a great risk that it will only be an action that does not lead to any development. The pedagogues must also relate to the needs of their own unique group of children and adapt the method accordingly.