Dedicated to my Dora "If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?" -Albert Einstein Acknowledgements As with all acknowledgement lists there will be people not listed who should be, but there is definitely no one mentioned here who does not thoroughly deserve it. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, professor William Leithead. His help and guidance kept me motivated and without him, this work would not have been

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... ossible. I will also like to express my gratitude to my good friends and colleagues Alex Giles and Eddie Corr. They have been of great help to me.