This thesis is the result of team work and the following people directly or indirectly contributed in that Prof. Twan Basten, my promoter, directed me in this journey. His vision on the bigger picture was the key. Thank you Twan for patiently guiding me through this project and getting me to the desired outcome. I would like to thank Dr. Dip Goswami, my daily supervisor, for his advice on the technical aspects. The early steps towards this thesis and later shaping it would not have been possible without your contribution. As always, I felt blessed to have my lifelong friend, Hadi Alizadeh, next to me in the past four years. Thank you Hadi for your invaluable support. A big thanks to Dr. Marc Geilen. You always offered your help despite your busy schedule and the fact that you were not my official supervisor. I would like to thank Dr. Madjid Nabi who was a great support especially in the beginning of my PhD study. My heartfelt gratitude goes to my fellow PhD students, Rasool Tavakoli,