The Ulysses observations have charted the heliosphere around the minimum in the 11 year cycle of solar activity, revealing the large scale properties of the heliospheric medium and its micro-scale characteristics. This book presents for the first time, a comprehensive review of the results of the Ulysses mission.The first chapter provides an overview of the region, introducing the heliosphere prior to the Ulysses mission, and the objectives and characteristics of the mission itself. Subsequent chapters discuss in detail specific areas of the heliosphere, including the solar wind, large and small scale features, cosmic rays and energetic particles, and the observations of interstellar gas and cosmic dust. Each of these chapters is written by members of the Ulysses science team, concentrating on their own areas of expertise, and is written in a clear and accessible way.In this book, the authors aim to summarise our understanding of the heliosphere near solar minimum and to provide the basis for understanding the more complex state of the heliosphere around solar maximum, which will be observed during the next phase of the Ulysses mission.
What happens when the CEO of the world's largest telecommunications company decides that reality is no longer acceptable, and simply orders his accountants to magically erase billions of dollars in losses? The WorldCom scandal of 2002 exposed an $11 billion fraud that actually dwarfed the infamous collapse of Enron. Under the aggressive leadership of Bernard Ebbers, WorldCom expanded ruthlessly during the dot-com boom. When the market cooled and revenues plummeted, Ebbers refused to admit defeat. Instead of reporting massive operating expenses (specifically the fees paid to lease other companies' network lines), WorldCom's accountants illegally classified them as long-term capital investments. This blatant, elementary accounting trick instantly turned billions of dollars of bleeding losses into phantom profits, keeping the stock price artificially inflated while the company rotted from the inside out. This rigorous financial autopsy dissects the arrogance of the telecom era. It explores the heroic persistence of internal auditor Cynthia Cooper, the complete complicity of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm, and the devastating bankruptcy that wiped out thousands of pensions. Look behind the polished quarterly reports. The WorldCom disaster proves that the most devastating corporate crimes are often executed with nothing more than a spreadsheet and a terrifying level of executive hubris.
