First and foremost, I'd want to thank my supervisor, Prof Kim Hye Kyung (Kay). You always answer my questions with kindness, encouragement, and respect. Just talking with you taught me so many valuable lessons. Your dedication to every paper and every student has always amazed me. This thesis would not be possible without your assistance and guidance. I can't wait to continue working with you for the next four years. I'd also like to thank the fantastic QE reviewer and thesis examiner teams. You've made various excellent suggestions for this paper. I must admit, I was truly intimidated by 10+ pages of single-spaced & not-all-sweet comments from you guys. For a split second, I honestly thought there was no way I would graduate on time (no kidding). But as I continued to polish my work, I slowly but steadily learned and grew as a scholar. That is one precious lesson to learn.Thank you, Wee Kim Wee School. You make me feel so special.Thank you to my friends back home. I really miss you guys. Even if we cannot meet as regularly as before, I know we are out there thriving and trying to find our place in this world. May the odds be ever in our favor! A special thank you to my soulmate, Liu Junfeng. You are my best friend in this world. I've never run out of things to talk to you. You were there with me through the ups and downs and cured me along the way. Home is whenever I'm with you. I love you.Last but not least, a huge thank you to Mom and Dad. I couldn't possibly do all this without your love and support. I'm the luckiest person to be born into this family. I love you guys to the moon, to Mars, to Venus, to Pluto, and back. I'm truly so proud to call myself your daughter. You are always my heroes and my role models. Please know that you guys can count on me now.