I would like to thank both Exeter Physics Department and the EPSRC for providing resources and funding for my research assistantship throughout this PhD.
There are many people to thank for their support and encouragement, without whom this thesis would not have been possible.
Firstly my supervisor, Dr. Bob Jones, whose enthusiastic cry of `Any Progress' will haunt me for the rest of my days - his unquenchable curiosity and love for the subject are probably the most valuable lessons I have learned from this PhD, and his continual support and encouragement have kept me going over the last three or so years.
Thanks also to Malcolm for my brief stay in Sussex, and all the other AIMPRO group members, particularly Jon Goss for loaning me `Burn the World' and putting me off Roy Harper for life and Paul Leary for his `Spudman' caricatures. Also Antonio, Ben, Bernd, Sven, Chris, Steve, John, Joachim, Gerd and others - I hope I'll see you all down at the New Inn some time! Also to the many collaborators I've worked with, particularly Jo Miro, Tomas Hallberg, Frank Berg Rasmussen, Brian Bech Nielsen, Bernard Pajot and Peter Deák, whose suggestions and/or guidance around their local pubs was always much appreciated.
Next there's all the friends I've made, the list is too long to mention but their friendship, drinking or dancing skills helped to make my stay in Exeter a really happy one, and hopefully I'll be able to make use of their floorspace from time to time in years to come. Thanks also to Julia for some great times and a close race to finishing our theses, one bet that I may have just won!
Finally my family, who have been great over the years and never raised an eyebrow when I claimed my thesis would be finished in the `next two weeks' for nearly a year...
Oh, 'tis jesting, dancing, drinking
Spins the heavy world around.
If young hearts were not so clever,
Oh, they would be young for ever:
Think no more; 'tis only thinking
Lays lads underground.