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I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my advisor, Prof. Michael C. Caramanis, for his guidance and persistent help throughout my doctoral studies. He has been very supportive not only about my research but also about every critical decision I made about my life during my years at Boston University. I would also like to thank my committee members, Prof. Ioannis Ch. Paschalidis, Prof. Christos G. Cassandras and Prof. Pirooz Vakili for their collaboration and helpful comments on my dissertation. I am particularly grateful for the assistance given by Elizabeth Flagg for infinite number of official procedures over the last four years. My labmates, Justin Foster, Evgeniy Goldis, Elli Ntakou and Bowen Zhang have been very good friends. I have no doubt that they will succeed at anything they attempt in life. The years I spent in Boston were terrific, of course because of very special friends. Ahmet Agirman, Enver Bayazit, Ahmet S. Yilmaz, Fatih Cakir and many others have left unforgettable memories. I will miss every moment we spent together. I am also indebted to my new manager Mehmet F. Candas for his welcoming me to a new life in Austin. He has been very tolerant of me as I have been taking away from the jo