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on this list. I would never have been able to complete this thesis without your dedication, inspiration and wisdom. I wish you all the best and thank you from the bottom of my heart! I would first like to thank the supervisory committee, for their guidance, support, endless patience and direction through the winding path that finally led to this work. Brian, I want to thank you for your patient support and for all of the opportunities I was given to further my research. Bruce, you provided me with the vision that I needed to choose the right direction to successfully complete my dissertation. Eric, your insightful feedback pushed me to sharpen my thinking and brought my work to a higher level. I would like to acknowledge my colleagues from the Computer Science Department at the University of Victoria. In particular, Lucky and Robert Steacy, your feedback and assistance helped me time and time again. Thank you to Jerome and Tyler from the Coast Capital Innovation Centre for your support and guidance. In addition, I would like to thank my parents for their for endless love, support, patience and faith in me. You are always there for me. Finally, I could not have completed this dissertation without the support of my friends who provided stimulating discussions as well as happy distractions to rest my mind outside of my research.