It would not be possible to get to this point without the help of many people.
First and foremost, I wish to thank my principal advisor, Dr Andrew Mehnert, for his professional guidance and for his support, both professionally and personally, along the way. Also, I wish to thank Andrew for the top-up scholarships and for his help in making my family�s landing in Australia easier.
I would like to thank my associate advisors, A/Prof Andrew Bradley, for his guidance and for initially offering me this research project, and Prof Stuart Crozier, for his guidance and for offering me various professional opportunities.
Special thanks to Inbal Gal, Kimberly Nunes and Dr Michael Poole for reading parts of this thesis and providing useful comments.
I acknowledge the Australian Government for providing me with financial support through the Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) scholarship.
I wish to thank my parents for their encouragement and support throughout my studies.
Last, but by no means least, I thank my wife, Inbal, for standing by my side during this long journey.
