Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The universe is filled with a thermal glow called the cosmic microwave background that comes from the hot plasma which filled it early on. Measurements of this background made by the NASA satellite WMAP have determined the age, geometry and composition of the universe with new precision, determining that the universe today is dominated by a dark energy that is causing it to expand ever more rapidly. The mission has also determined that baryonic matter--the atoms and molecules we see around us--only form a few percent of the total energy density of the universe today, and has determined the epoch at which the first stars formed. Recent results give a tantalizing picture of the first very small fraction of a second in the "big bang". Six years after its launch WMAP remains healthy and the data continue to pour in. This talk will explain to a general audience what this experiment tells us about how the universe began and what it is made out of.

The adaptation of Shakespeare’s plays in England continues to be complicated by his canonical status. This has led to the authority and value of productions of Shakespeare’s plays being assessed in terms of their fidelity or otherwise to the text, original performance conditions, and even Shakespeare’s intentions. The growing influence of performance studies offers a new way examine adaptations by focusing on adaptation as a creative process as well as a product. This opens up opportunities to examine how such ideological constructions of Shakespeare’s textual authority impact on the adaptation process. Whilst productions of Shakespeare’s plays by national, building-based companies such as the RSC and Shakespeare’s Globe have received considerable analysis, those created by small, touring companies are less frequently considered. These small, non building-based companies have developed distinctive interdisciplinary artistic practices informed by creating and adapting a wide range of work for touring. This makes how such companies negotiate the dominant ideologies and dramatic conventions associated with performing Shakespeare in England at the beginning of the 21st century of particular interest. Employing textual and performance analysis, interviews with the adapters, and reference to reviews, this thesis examines the observable effects of constraints on three adaptations, understood here in both semantic senses as process and product. In doing so, it asks what are the observable effects of constraints on adaptation by the selected English touring companies, and how do these constraints interact with each company’s aesthetic approach to create meaning?