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Abstract: In this talk, I review attempts to
build a self-consistent model for the dynamical state of the ISM in
star-forming galactic discs. Ideally such a model would incorporate
star formation, stellar feedback, gravitational instability, the
maintenance of turbulence, and perhaps the transport of gas through
the ISM, into a unified framework, simultaneously explaining the
relation between gas content and star formation (the Kennicutt
relation), the observed correlation between galaxies' star formation
rates and velocity dispersions, and a variety of other observations. I
summarise the various ways that theorists have attempted to fit
together physical ingredients to reach this goal, the differing
physical pictures behind these models, and the strengths and
weaknesses of each when it comes to reproducing the observations. I
then show that it is possible to combine the best elements of these
models into a single, unified picture that successfully reproduces
most of the major observations. I suggest future observations and
numerical experiments that can be used to test this unified model.
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