Applying data changes from one database to another
One way to do this is to ensure that all tables of properties, or metadata, have a date_created and date_last_modified date.  Then you can filter where the date created is in a time period and export the changes as inserts or updates.

What I do is harder. All changes to development properties are saved as a script of inserts/updates and I use a project/bug tracker to keep track of all the collection of changes.  I refresh development weekly so you see right away if you forgot something like a sequence or a grant.  A typical change could involve data inserts, package updates, grants, sequences and triggers so you have to keep it organized.

Edit: Luke asks how do you keep changes as scripts?
I do two things:


all properties and types are added by a package of procedures and functions.  This checks that the input is valid, updates any logging/audit tables and validates the changes against any business logic you may have in the database.  This is a lot of work to set up but allows you to have a consistent practice for adding new metadata.  Each time you use a procedure or function you can save your call as an sql statement.
I use Toad and this has the ability to filter a table for almost any criteria and export the results as Inserts.