Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my closest supervisors TOM TOURWÉ, TOM MENS and THEO D'HONDT for guiding me in my work. Their to-the-point remarks have substantially helped clearing up the text.

Aside from my three immediate supervisors, I thank WOLFGANG DEMEUTER, JOHAN FABRY and DIRK VAN DEUN, who spent many hours together with me behind a text editor to improve the readability of this text. I enjoyed being in the same group with them and I hope that in the near future they will find the time and resources to finish their own work. If the time comes, I will be glad to be of assistance.

Furthermore, I thank JESSIE DEDECKER and JOHAN BRICHAU for proofreading this dissertation.

I thank the members of the jury, KOEN DE BOSSCHERE (University Ghent, Group PARIS), ANN NOWÉ (University Brussels, Group CoMo), DIRK VERMEIR (University Brussels, TINF), MADS NYGÅRD (IDI/NTNU), YOLANDE BERBERS (KUL/DISTRINET) for their feedback.

I thank MICHIEL RONSSE, DAVID URTING, TOM TOUTENEL, PETER RIGOLE, MARK CHRISTIAENS, KRIS LUYTEN, JAN VAN DEN BERGH, DENNIS WAGELAER and CHRIS VANDERVELPEN. I very much enjoyed working together with them at the SEESCOA research project the past 4 years.

I would also like to thank the people that have been helping on the Borg Project: JOHAN FABRY, DIRK VAN DEUN and KARSTEN VERELST.

And last, I thank my adviser THEO D'HONDT for giving me the freedom and possibilities to finish this work.