Pursing my Ph.D. degree in Canada was an exciting and amazing journey for me, and it started when I wrote my first email to my supervisor, Prof. Chung-Horng Lung. Hence, I would like to begin this section by expressing my deeply heartfelt thanks and gratitude to him, not only for his wholehearted guidance on my life as a student, but also for his profound influence on my values as a human being. From him, I learned how to perform research with rigorousness, and how to treat others with patience. Without his encouragements and supports, I would not have such a wonderful study. I would also like to thank my co-supervisor, Prof. Marc St-Hilaire, for his valuable comments and guidance. The academic writing skills and research methodologies he taught me helped me during my entire Ph.D. study and will continue to benefit my future work. More importantly, his rigorous attitude to academic is the most valuable treasure that I learned from him. Special thanks to Prof. Ioannis Lambadaris for offering me the internship opportunity at Ericsson. Besides, his immense knowledge and kind suggestions not only improve the quality of the research but also broaden my mind for my future career. I would also like to thank the committee members, Prof. Amiya Nayak, and Prof. F. Richard Yu for their helpful and insightful questions and suggestions. Many thanks also go to my friends Andy Yin,