R.W. Dyson

Injection moulding is one of the most important methods of manufacturing plastics products. Through the development of sophisticated micro­ processor control systems, the modern injection moulding machine is capable of producing precision mouldings with close tolerances in large numbers and with excellent reproducibility. This capability, however, is often limited by the lack of a proper appreciation of mould design. The mould, or tool as it is often called, is at the heart of the injection moulding process. Its basic function is to accept the plastic melt from the injection unit and cool it to the desired shape prior to ejection. It is not, however, simply a matter of the mould having an impression of the shape to be moulded. Many other factors have to be taken into account - for example, the ability to fill the mould impression properly and efficiently without inducing weaknesses in the moulding and the efficient cooling of the moulding in order to maximise production rates without diminishing the quality of the moulding. In addition, the type of mould, gate and runner system, and ejection system which will best meet the needs of a particular job specification have to be determined. In our experience lack of attention to such factors leads to the mould limiting the ability of the injection moulding machine and preventing the process as a whole from achieving its true potential.

Fifty Major Political Thinkers introduces the lives and ideas of some of the most influential figures in Western political thought, from ancient Greece to the present day. The entries provide a fascinating introduction to the major figures and schools of thought that have shaped contemporary politics, including:AristotleSimone de BeauvoirMichel FoucaultMohandas GandhiJurgen HabermasMachiavelliKarl MarxThomas PaineJean-Jacques RousseauMary Wollstonecraft.Fully cross-referenced and including a glossary of theoretical terms, this wide-ranging and accessible book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the evolution and history of contemporary political thought.

Fifty Major Political Thinkers introduces the lives and ideas of some of the most influential figures in Western political thought, from ancient Greece to the present day. The entries provide a fascinating introduction to the major figures and schools of thought that have shaped contemporary politics, including:AristotleSimone de BeauvoirMichel FoucaultMohandas GandhiJurgen HabermasMachiavelliKarl MarxThomas PaineJean-Jacques RousseauMary Wollstonecraft.Fully cross-referenced and including a glossary of theoretical terms, this wide-ranging and accessible book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the evolution and history of contemporary political thought.

This second volume completes the author's account of natural law and political realism as historical traditions of political thought. In it, the development of those traditions is traced from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries, with special emphasis given to theories of human nature and the 'natural' or 'human' rights doctrines that have been derived from them. These things are examined also in the context of the comparatively recent internationalisation of political theory. The final chapter addresses the question of whether the modern rhetoric of human rights and humanitarian intervention rests upon a coherent philosophical foundation.

St Augustine of Hippo was the earliest thinker to develop a distinctively Christian political and social philosophy. He does so mainly from the perspective of Platonism and Stoicism; but by introducing the biblical and Pauline conceptions of sin, grace and predestination he radically transforms the 'classical' understanding of the political. Humanity is not perfectible through participation in the life of a moral community; indeed, there are no moral communities on earth. Humankind is fallen; we are slaves of self-love and the destructive impulses generated by it. The State is no longer the matrix within which human beings can achieve ethical goods through co-operation with other rational and moral beings. Augustine's response to classical political assumptions and claims therefore transcends 'normal' radicalism. His project is not that of drawing attention to weaknesses and inadequacies in our political arrangements with a view to recommending their abolition or improvement. Nor does he adopt the classical practice of delineating an ideal State. To his mind, all States are imperfect: they are the mechanisms whereby an imperfect world is regulated. They can provide justice and peace of a kind, but even the best earthly versions of justice and peace are not true justice and peace. It is precisely the impossibility of true justice on earth that makes the State necessary. Robert Dyson's new book describes and analyses this 'transformation' in detail and shows Augustine's enormous influence upon the development of political thought down to the thirteenth century.

This is the first volume of a detailed history of the traditions of natural law and political realism in western political thought. It elucidates the ways in which the relation between politics and morality was understood by major thinkers from classical antiquity to the Renaissance. Emphasis is given not only to the exegesis of texts, but to the intellectual and historical contexts in which those texts must be read if they are to be properly understood. The second volume continues the analysis through the twenty-first century and addresses the question of whether the modern natural law rhetoric of human rights can be given a respectable philosophical basis. This two-volume set is a valuable resource for scholars working in the fields of history, international relations, philosophy, and politics.

St Augustine on the human condition, justice, the State, slavery, private property and war: essential sourcebook for historians of late classical and medieval thought. The political and social ideas of St Augustine of Hippo are of central importance to the historian of late classical and medieval political thought: Augustine offers a penetrating critique of the moral and political claims of imperial Rome, and he is one of the founders of the Christian political thought of the middle ages. But the student's task is made difficult by the fact that Augustine did not write a single, systematic political treatise. His political remarks are always incidental to his theological and pastoral concerns; they occur in many different contexts; they have to be dissected out from a great variety of works. In this volume, Dr Dyson brings together an extensive selection of primary sources and provides a detailed commentary on them. The result is a full and wide-ranging narrative account of St Augustine's thinking on the human condition, justice, the State, slavery, private property and war. This comprehensive sourcebook will be of value to students of St Augustine at all levels.Dr R W DYSON lectures in the department of politics, University of Durham.

In recent years various industries have demanded not only greater use of polymeric materials but also the development of polymeric materials with specific properties. Major users include the automotive and transport industries, electrical and electronics industries, and the packaging industry. Following the success of "Speciality Polymers", Dr Dyson's book provides an overview of the main types of polymeric materials used in engineering, and discusses their applications - both practical and potential.