ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This thesis is dedicated to many people, for without them it would have never been completed. I thank Dr. Xigen Li, who brought tremendous patience and understanding to every phone call and every long office visit. I thank Dr. Ralph Izard who was my mental cheerleader throughout the process and helped me immensely with administrative tasks and deadlines, who without his encouragement this would not have come to completion. I thank Dr. Jack Hamilton for being an excellent professor, though tough, he was and still remains an inspiration. I also thank my family for their support and love throughout the entire experience. My mother, Andrea for her unconditional love and support; my father, Gorst for his pressure in making me realize how important it was to complete; my brother, Andre for his hospitality while I took sabbatical from work to focus on finishing; and to the Grande, for whom has been the “grandest ” throughout. I would also like to thank all my friends and co-workers for their support and strength through this process, but most of all for their sense of humor which allowed me to keep mine throughout. Without that, I feel I would have little