FDI and manufacturing industry in Asia

The study finds that China’s manufacturing still maintained a growth level from 2003 to 2013. However, the growth has been declining. The rapid development of ASEAN economies led to the rise of the emerging manufacturing countries which have slowly adjusted and found their own advantages in challenging China. The main conclusions of this paper are twofold. First, China will soon lose her low labor cost competitive advantage and needs to look for new strategy or industrial upgrades. Second, the current pattern of international division of labor will last for a fairly long period that developing countries will continue to serve as processing base for developed countries

A Manifesto of Nodalism

This paper proposes the notion of Nodalism as a means describing contemporary culture and of understanding my own creative practice in electronic music composition. It draws on theories and ideas from Kirby, Bauman, Bourriaud, Deleuze, Guatarri, and Gochenour, to demonstrate how networks of ideas or connectionist neural models of cognitive behaviour can be used to contextualize, understand and become a creative tool for the creation of contemporary electronic music

In-between pleats: Pleats, pleating and 'pliable logic'

In-Between Pleats is a research project constituted by a series of case studies, historical research, a short intensive pleating apprenticeship, and live performances. The research objective emerged through the exploratory making of pleats. It is to create new thinking about pleats by examining the dynamics of handmade and digital technology, and the potential of those pleats on the body and movement, interrogating three research questions: ‘What is a pleat?’, ‘What is in a pleat?’, ‘What do pleats do?’. Pleating is a type of fabric manipulation and so this research refers to ‘textile thinking’ for analytical thinking. The research starts with an understanding of pleating history and techniques. A selection of materials, including cotton, silk, and synthetic fibres, are tested, recognising that the quality of pleats and pleating is directly affected by the specific fibre and forming structure. It is these differences that offer a range of perspectives to this study. These explorations, led by textile thinking, help to anchor my practice among other practitioners, and position this study in the research context. The experiments to reproduce Mariano Fortuny and Issey Miyake pleats establish a fundamental understanding of pleating techniques, which form the first layer of analysis for this study, and lead to a methodology for the next layer of research. I propose a new methodology: ‘pliable logic’, derived from my making and thinking, evolving from Pennina Barnett’s ‘soft logic’, Sarat Maharaj’s ‘think-speak-write’, and Gilles Deleuze’s concept of ‘plica ex plica’, to interrogate and revisit the research questions. A new pleating method – fabric mould – is originated from my research into materials and techniques; new types of pleats emerge from the application of 3D printing technology. Using these newly produced pleats in live performances, a space to rethink the relationship between garments, textiles, body and movement, offered new perspectives of what pleats and pleating are. Pliable logic provides innovation for both the creation and interpretation of pleats and pleating, through an oscillation between making and theory. The research proposes a new taxonomy of pleats based on my making experiences. A speculative proposition of what future pleats will look like and be made of, builds a perspective that reinvigorates the way in which pleats and pleating are perceived

Theatre Noise Conference

Three days of Performances, Installations, Residencies, Round Table Discussions, Presentations and Workshops More than an academic conference, Theatre Noise is a diverse collection of events exploring the sound of theatre from performance to the spaces inbetween. Featuring keynote presentations, artists in residence, electroacoustic, percussive and digital performances, industry workshops and installations, Theatre Noise is an immersive journey into sound