The surge of United States high-tech firms offshoring operations to China was driven by economic incentives of the early 1990s, low costs of labor, and ample access to an abundance of resources required in high-tech manufacturing. The dawn of the 21st century served as the advent of technological advancement and innovation in congruence with China’s rapid ascension as a prime high-tech manufacturing hub. However, increased allegations of foreign intellectual property (IP) infringement in outsourced research and development (R&D) and manufacturing on behalf of China’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) have evoked concern amongst international speculators, who allege China of weakened intellectual property enforcement and collusive tactics with state-owned enterprises in the cultivation of an anti-competitive marketplace. This thesis applies a trilateral approach to determine the optimal legal, supply chain management, and business strategies to safeguard the intellectual property of high-tech firms with outsourced operations in China.<br/><br/>Firstly, this thesis explores China’s rapid acceleration of manufacturing capabilities in tandem with nationalist initiatives, historical background, and subsequent influence cultural notions; aspirations in attaining global dominance as a high-tech innovator via nationalist programs and incentives. Succeeding is a comparative analysis of intellectual property between the United States and China, associations between intellectual property protection and economic development, and global intellectual property agreeance as set forth by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Following is a legal analysis of China, which assesses legislation, judicial structure, and litigation. Lastly, is an assessment of supply chain management in China, which assesses high-tech outsourcing practices, the vulnerability of intellectual property in research and development, instances of patent infringement, unfair licensing practices, and trade secret misappropriation.

The history of Arizona is filled with ambitious pioneers, courageous Natives, and loyal<br/>soldiers, but there is a seeming disconnect between those who came before us and many of those<br/>who currently inhabit this space. Many historic locations that are vital to discovering the past in<br/>Arizona are both hard to find and lacking in information pertaining to what happened there.<br/>However, despite the apparent lack of history and knowledge pertaining to these locations, they<br/>are vitally present in the public memory of the region, and we wish to shed some much-needed<br/>light on a few of these locations and the historical takeaways that can be gleaned from their<br/>study. This thesis argues the significance of three concepts: place-making, public memory, and<br/>stories. Place-making is the reinvention of history in the theater of mind which creates a<br/>plausible reality of the past through what is known in the present. Public memory is a way to<br/>explain how events in a location affect the public consciousness regarding that site and further<br/>events that stem from it. Lastly, stories about a place and event help to explain its overall impact<br/>and what can be learned from the occurrences there. Throughout this thesis we will be discussing<br/>seven sites across Arizona, the events that occurred there, and how these three aspects of study<br/>can be used to experience history in a personal way that gives us a special perspective on the<br/>land around us. The importance of personalizing history lies in finding our own identity as<br/>inhabitants of this land we call home and knowing the stories gives us greater attachment to the<br/>larger narrative of humanity as it has existed in this space.

The privatization of prisons within Arizona has been a hot button issue and needs to be further analyzed to determine their benefits and expenses. To begin this investigation into the effectiveness of private prisons within Arizona and possible steps that need to be taken for its rehabilitation certain definitions and prior research need to be understood. Following this explanation, areas such as costs analysis across different types of prisons, liability rates across differing types of prison guards, and the differing psychology of different types of prisons can be examined to gain an overall assessment of the current performance of privatized prisons within Arizona. After this in-depth analysis of the current private prison system within Arizona, the flaws of the system will become abundantly clear and the solutions that should be implemented to alleviate these problems will be discussed.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, and has caused a ripple effect of global supply disruptions. The United States, Canada, EU and other allies have responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by sanctioning imports from Russia in an attempt to isolate their economy. However, some countries that have not placed trade sanctions on Russia are taking advantage of the opportunity to import from Russia. By integrating import data from Panjiva into a geospatial mapping tool, ArcGIS, global trade patterns can be visualized to understand how global trade is impacted, the effectiveness of Western sanctions on Russia, and potential substitution effects on trade flows from one country to another. First, six key commodities and three countries were identified based on preliminary data analysis. After further analysis, it can be concluded that the Russian sanctions were not effective at isolating their economy for two reasons: certain commodities are critical to our modern lifestyles and some countries took advantage of Western trade sanctions on Russia and increased global trade. In an attempt to diversify their supply, many firms sourced from countries other than Russia, but oftentimes commodities are still sourced from Russia. Lack of supply chain visibility prevents business leaders from making the most efficient supply networks that are in alignment with government regulations.