This thesis is the product of the help and contributions from a lot of people who made themselves available in many capacities in particular, Jaap Zevenbergen and Rohan Bennett. Jaap's inspiring guidance and foresight as the promoter got this work started and greatly helped in shaping it into its robust form. After pestering Jaap from the first day I met him during my MSc period that I want to do a PhD, it was through his encouragement that I applied for and received the Twente Graduate School (TGS) grant. Unfortunately, when I couldn't access the grant, he was very instrumental in me getting funded for a four year AiO/PhD candidate contract with University of Twente, to start this work. Whilst I was applying for the TGS grant, Rohan became my daily supervisor. Rohan is both a superb supervisor and teacher, who challenges his students to think outside their preconceived notions and look at the different sides of an issue. Together they formed an exceptional and complementary team, and I am very appreciative of their efforts.