Impact of Audit Quality of Real Earnings Management

Impact of Audit Quality of Real Earnings Management Abstract This study aims to evaluate the influence of audit quality (auditor size and auditor tenure), political connection, and institutional ownership toward real earnings management. Purposive sampling was conducted and 83 manufacturing companies registered in Indonesian Stock Exchange during 2010-2014 were acquired as the samples. For testing the hypotheses, panel data regression random effect model was used. The results showed that auditor size and institutional ownership had positive influence toward real earnings management, while audit tenure and political connections did not influence real earnings management. The control variable testing showed that   leverage and loss had negative influence toward real earnings management, while cash ratio had positive effect towards real earnings management. These result have implication for the investors to pay attention to operating cash flow average, because there is still a possibility of real earnings management, although the company audito rs were from the big-4 auditors. Keywords: real earnings management, audit quality, auditor size, audit tenure, political connections, institutional ownership.. INTRODUCTION Managers can apply accrual earnings management and real earnings management to achieve the desired profit (Fisher and Rosenzwig, 1995; Roychowdhury, 2006). The real earnings management is impose bigger long-term costs, because it has negative consequences toward future cash flow which reduce firm value (Roychowdhury, 2006; Cohen et al., 2008; Cohen and Zarowin, 2010). Graham et al., (2005) and Cohen et al., (2007) clarify that the reasons why a company using real earnings management is to avoid auditors and regulators detection. The real earnings management is more difficult to detect because it is almost similar to a companys operational activity (Kim et al, 2010). Becker et al. (1998); Johnson et al.( 2002); Balsam et al.,(2003); Chen et al. (2011), and Inaam et al. (2012)   showed that audit quality (auditor size and auditor tenure) reduce accrual earnings management. Therefore, companies that want to conduct earnings management will shift from accrual earnings management to real earnings management (Chi et al., 2011). Auditor size positively affect real earnings management (Chi et al., 2011; Inaam et al., 2012). Meanwhile, Nihlati and Meiranto (2014) showed that the auditors size negatively impact real earnings management. Chi et al. (2010) found that auditor tenure had positive influence toward real earnings management. While Inaam et al.(2012), Herusetya and Pujilestari (2013) found that auditor tenure did not affect real earnings management. Inaam et al., (2012) conducted a research about the influence of audit quality toward the real earnings management in Tunisia and suggested that the future research can include political connection and institutional ownership as independent variables. Pollitically connected companies have bad reporting quality (Chaney et al., 2010). Meanwhile, Batta et al. (2014) found that political connection positively affect the reporting quality. The phenomena of pollitically connected companies in Indonesia is state-owned enterprises became disorganized after were interfered by political parties (Muqoddas, 2012). Indonesian Corruption Watch data showed that there were 48 legislators who were entrepreneurs that were exposed for corruption case (Gabrillin, 2014). Shleifer Vishny (1986); Bathala et al. (1994); Velury Jenkins (2006); Mehrani et al. (2016) showed that institutional ownership reduce accrual earnings management. The institutional investors monitoring toward managerial process and accounting information accuracy are stronger. For avoiding detection by the institutional investors, companies will shift from accrual earnings management to real earnings management. The aim of this research is to evaluate the influence of audit quality, political connection and institutional ownership toward real earnings management. This study contributes in adding political connection and institutional ownerships as independent variables, as suggested by Inaam et al. (2012). Up to now, studies about real earnings management in Indonesia are rarely conducted and, if any, they have not correlated political connection and institutional ownerships toward the real earnings management study yet, so this study will fill in that gap. As the structure of this paper, literature review and hypotheses development will be discussed on the next part. The research method will be discussed in the third section. This is followed by result and discussion and the final section concludes the study. LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT Auditor Size and Real Earnings Management Earnings management can be applied through accrual and real activities (Roychowdhury, 2006; Zang, 2007; Cohen and Zarowin, 2010). The methods of real earnings managements are sale manipulation, overproduction, and reducing discretionary expenses (Roychowdhury, 2006). DeAngelo (1981), Becker et al. (1998) and Krisnan (2003) found that big size auditors   have better audit quality   than small auditors.   The Big-4 auditors is considered to be more competent than the non Big-4 auditors if seen from their education, training, and experience (Amijaya and Prastiwi, 2013), their independencies (Zou and Elder, 2003) and their good reputation (Christiani and Nugrahanti, 2014). Big-4 auditors competency will ease the earnings management detection. Therefore, companies tend to choose real earnings management, so it will be more difficult to be identified. Cohen and Zarowin (2010), Chi et al. (2011), Inaam et al. (2012) found out that auditor size positively influences real earnings manag ement. H1: Auditor size has positive influence toward real earnings management. Auditor tenure and Real Earnings Management Auditor tenure is the number of years of an auditor being assigned by a company (Myers et al., 2003). The longer engagement duration, the higher auditors knowledge about that company, so it ease in detecting earnings management (Giri, 2010). The company will shift from accrual earnings management to real earnings management so that it will not be detected easily. The real earnings management tends to be out of the auditors supervision (Chi et al., 2011) and it will be hard to detect because it is almost the same as companys daily operational activity (Kim et al., 2010). Cohen and Zarowin (2010) and Chi et al. (2011) found that auditor tenure has positive influence toward real earnings management. H2: Auditor tenure has positive influence toward real earnings management. Political Connection and Real Earnings Management A company can be called politically connected if the biggest shareholder (has minimum 10% of voting rights) or top officers serves as the parliamenterian, minister, or has close relation with a politician or political party (Faccio, 2006). A company which has political connection will get the benefit such as capital allocation (Fisman, 2001; Goldman et al.,2010), better business opportunities (Fisman, 2001), and bailouts from the government (Faccio et al., 2006). If a company is not able to maintain its reputation and profit, It will loose special previlege from political connection (Braam et al., 2015). For increasing their performance, the companies tend to perform real earnings management. Earnings management detection would lead decreasing in companys reputation, increasing in political cost and the companys external interventions (Watss and Zimerman, 1990; Faccio, 2006; Ramanna and Roychowdhury, 2010; Kothari, 2012). For avoiding that detection, the company will shift the accrual earnings management to real earnings management. Chaney et al.,   (2011) found out that politically connected companies tend to conduct earnings management. H3: Political connection has positive influence toward real earnings management. Institutional Ownership and Real Earnings Management Institutional investors generally have a big number of shares, so they carry out strict monitoring to the companies performance and   companies information quality (Velury and Jenkins, 2006; Pound, 1988; Shleifer and Vishny, 1986). Bushee (1998) and Potter (1992) found out that institutional investors were too focus on the short-term performance, so they force the managers to achieve that short-term profit. For improving their performance and for avoiding the detection from institutional investors , the managers will prefer real earnings management than accrual earnings management. H4: Institutional ownership has positive influence toward real earnings management. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Samples and Source of Data This study used the manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2010-2014 periods. The criteria for purposive sampling method are the companies published annual report sequentially during that periods and the annual reports were finished on the December 31st. There were 83 companies were selected as the samples, so there were 415 firm year observations. The annual reports acquired from the Indonesia Stock Exchange website. The political connection data were acquired from (1) annual report and tracing down the Board of Directors and Board of Commissioners biography from the sites in Google, (2) the Indonesian Republic National Portalwebsite (indonesia.go.id), the Indonesian Republic House of Representative website (www.dpr.go.id), and Tokoh Indonesia Indonesian Leaders (www.tokohindonesia.com). Variables Real Earnings Management (Dependent Variable) Abnormal Cash flow from operation will be used as proxy of real earnings management. When the companies apply real earnings management, the average of   CFO will be negative (Roychowdhury, 2006; Chi et al., 2011., Inaam et al., 2012 and Ratmono, 2010). CFOt= operating cash flow of company i in year t At-1= the total asset of company i in t-1 year St= the total sales of company i during year t ÃŽÂ µt= abnormal cash flow from operation (regression residual, real earnings management proxies, REM) Independent Variables Political connection, auditor size, auditor tenure and institutional ownership are the independent variables. Table 1: Independent Variables Measurement Independent Variables Measurement Political Connection ( Political connection variable will be measured by calculating the number of Board of Directors and Board of Commissioners, both the chiefs and the members who are also the House of Representative members, ministers or vice ministers, or related to prominent politicians and political party members (Braam et al., 2015) Auditor size (AUDSIZE) A Dummy variable, 1 if the firm was audited by a Big 4 auditor, 0 otherwise (Chi et al., 2011; Inaam et al., 2012.,Christiani and Nugrahanti, 2014). Auditor Tenure (TENURE) The number of engagement years or auditing period assigned in which the auditors from the same Public Accountant Firm conduct audit engagement to the auditee during 2010-2014 periods (Chi et al., 2011; Inaam et al., 2012) Institutional Ownership (INSTOWN) The percentage of shares owned by the institutional investors (Velury Jenkins, 2006; Mehrani et al., 2016; Wiranata and Nugrahanti.,2013) Control Variables Leverage, company loss and cash ratio were used as control variables in this study. Leverage/ LEV (the total debt/ the total asset) positively influence the REM (Herusetya and Pujiletari, 2013). The loss of the company is measured using a dummy variable, 1 if company has net loss and 0 otherwise (Herusetya and Pujilestari, 2013). One of the reasons why a company applies real earnings management is to cover up the company loss (Roychowdhury, 2006). Cash ratio (CCE) is the ratio of the cash and cash equivalents toward the total asset (Herusetya and Pujilestari, 2013). The higher CCE ratio, the faster companys cash flow, so it will ease the manager in utilizing the available cash to have earnings management (Herusetya and Pujilestari, 2013). Regression Model Panel data regression analysis was chosen to perform the hypotheses testing because this study used data combination of time series and data cross section (Winarno, 2015). Hypotheses H1, H2, H3, H4 and control variable in this study will be tested using empirical model as follows: RESULT AND DISCUSSION Descriptive Statistics Table 2 below showed descriptive statistics used in this study. Table 2 Descriptive Statistics (Pooled Sample, n= 415) Variable Mean Maximum Minimum Std .Deviation REM -0.006352 0.659900 -1.217470 0.188328 POLCN 0.245783 2 0 0.468655 AUDSIZE (dummy variable) 1 0 0.485552 TENURE 2.554217 5 1 1.381844 INSTOWN(%) 70.4841 100 0 19.61332 LEV 0.470906 4.189190 0.000265 0.321157 LOSS (dummy variable) 1 0 0.339475 CASH 0.102345 0.500295 0.000078 0.122287 From 415 firm years, 157 companies (37.8%) used the big-4 auditors and 258 companies (62.2%) used the Non-Big 4 auditors. Besides, there were 55 companies (13.3%) reported a loss. Real Earnings Management (REM) Testing Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test was conducted to confirm whether REM are validly applied in the sample companies.   The result of this test are presented in appendix 1. If the average abnormal CFO was negative, the companies were assumed to apply REM in operating cash flow (Oktorina Hutagaol,2008). The Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Testing result showed that the mean of abnormal CFO was -0.006352 and its significance value was 0.046, so it was confirmed that those companies applied REM through operating cash flow. Panel data Model Testing Chow Test and Hausman Test for determining the appropriate estimation method were presented in appendix 2. Based on the Chow Test and Hausman Test results, the estimation method applied in this study was panel data regression using random effect model. Hypotheses Testing The results of hypotheses testing using panel data regression random effect model within 5% alpha level were presented in Table 3. Table 3 Hypotheses Testing Results Variable Expected sign Coefficient Probability Conclusion Intercept -0.077146 0.0997 AUDSIZE + 0.084373 0.0031*** H1 accepted TENURE + -0.008594 0.0968 H2 rejected POLCN + 0.001902 0.9380 H3 rejected INSTOWN + 0.001100 0.0372** H4 accepted LEV + -0.075769 0.0071*** LOSS + -0.067431 0.0083*** CASH + 0.268174 0.0043*** Dependent variable        Real earnings management (REM) R-squared                           0.119266 Adjusted R-squared 0.104118 F-statistic                           7.873503 Prob(F-statistic)              0.000000 **significant on alpha 5% ***significant on alpha 1% Auditor Size and Real Earnings Management The H1 testing shows that auditor size positively influence REM. This result is in line with Chi et al. (2010), Cohen and Zarowin (2010), Inaam et al. (2012), Nihlati and Meiranto (2014). The big-4 auditors are assumed to have better skills compared to non big-4 auditors, regarding from their educational backgrounds, trainings, and experiences (Amijaya and Prastiwi, 2013), their independencies (Zou and Elder, 2003) and their good reputation (Christiani and Nugrahanti, 2014).   The big-4skills will ease the auditors in detecting the accrual earnings management. Hence, companies will cover up the earnings management from the   auditors and prefer to apply real earnings management. Real earnings management is harder to be identified than accrual earnings management since it is almost the same as the companies daily operational activity (Kim et al., 2010, Graham et al., 2005; Gunny, 2010; Badertscher, 2011). Auditor tenure and Real Earnings Management The H2 testing result shows that auditor tenure did not had an effect toward REM. This result consistent with Inaam et al.(2012), Herusetya and Pujilestari (2013), Nihlati and Meiranto (2014). Gul et al. (2009) categorized the audit placement period into three categories, the short term (2-3 years), medium term (4-8 years), and long term (9 years).   Table 2 show that auditor tenure average is 2.5 years, and the short auditor tenure had not been able to influence real earnings management. By limiting auditor tenure, there will be a gap between the auditor and the company. In order to verify a company, auditors had to identify in advance the companies characteristics and managements, and it usually took quite a long time (Kono and Yuyetta, 2013). Amijaya and Prastiwi (2013) stated that why audit tenure did not have any influence toward earnings management was the auditors incapability in identifying earnings management. Political Connection and Real Earnings Management Based on Table 3, it can be seen that political connection did not had an effect toward REM. This result is in contrast with Braam et al. (2015). Political connection did not had an effect toward real earnings management because the numbers of political connections in the samples was few, which was 27.71% (23 out of 83 companies). There were only one person in board of directors and board of commissioners that were involved in political connection, so political connections did not influence real earnings management. Institutional Ownerships and Real Earnings Management The H4 testing result indicates that institutional ownerships positively influence REM. The institutional ownerships mean was 70.48%. Institutional investors who had a big number of shares will strictly monitor companys performance and companys information quality (Velury and Jenkins, 2006; Pound, 1988; Shleifer and Vishny, 1986). The strict monitoring made the companies that want to apply earnings management shift from accrual earnings management to real earnings management. Institutional investors were too focus on short term performance, so they urged the managers to fulfill that short term profit (Bushee,1998; Potter, 1992). For increasing their performance and for avoiding institutional investors detection, the managers would prefer real earnings management to accrual earnings management. Leverage, Company Loss, Cash Ratio and Real Earnings Management The testing results of control variables show that leverage negatively influenced REM. If a company has high levels of debts, it has to pay principal and high debt interest. The obligatory of those payments limit managers in using cash flow, including for real earnings management (Zamri et al.,2013).The company loss negatively influences REM. This finding is in line with Herusetya and Pujilestari (2013) and Roychowdhury (2006). When the company reported positive earnings, the company was assumed that they were covering up the loss through REM. If the company reported negative earnings, the company would be assumed that they did not apply REM, and the company was considered to not cover up the loss (Herusetya and Pujilestari, 2013). Cash ratio positively influence REM. The higher cash ratio, the better companys liquidity, so it would ease the managers in utilizing the provided cash for real earnings management (Herusetya and Pujilestari, 2013). CONCLUSION Although a study about audit quality and real earnings management has been conducted before, this study contributes in adding new independent variables, which are political connection and institutional ownerships. The testing results show that the auditor size and institutional ownerships can increase real earnings management. Meanwhile, audit tenure and political connection do not influence real earnings management. The testing toward control variables showed that leverage and company loss negatively influence real earnings management, while cash ratio had positive influence. The applied implication of these result is the investors need to see the operating cash flow average , because there is still a possibility of real earnings management, although the company auditors were from the big-4 auditors. The limitation of this study was a few number data of political connection although depth investigation had been carried out by looking at the name of legislative members/ ministers and vice ministers/ kinships to members of political parties. For the future study, the political connection criteria can be added by including the Indonesia National Forces retirees or ministry officials (for example the secretary general, directorate general, staff member of ministry, assistance of ministry). The future study may also add corporate governance mechanism as independent variables, such as managerial ownerships, auditing committee, and independent board of commissioners. REFERENCES Amijaya, M, D., Prastiwi, A., 2013. The impact of audit quality towards earnings management. Diponegoro Journal of Accounting 2 (3), 1-13. Ahsen, H., 2011. Audit firm industry specialization and audit outcomes: insights from academic literature. Research in Accounting Regulation 23 (1), 114-129. Badertscher, B.A., 2011. Overvaluation and choice of alternative earnings management  mechanisms. The Accounting Review 86 (5), 1491-1518. Balsam, S., Krishnan, J., Young, J., 2003. Auditor industry specialization and earnings quality. Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory 22 (2), 71-97. Bathala, C. T., Moon, K. P.,   Rao, R.P., 1994. Managerial ownership, debt policy, and impact of institutional holdings: an agency perspective. Financial Management 23 (3), 38-50. Batta, G., Heredia, R., Weidenmier, M., 2014. Political connections and accounting quality under high expropriation risk. European Accounting Review 23 ( 4), 485-517. Becker, C., DeFond,M., Jiambalvo, J., Subramanyam, K.R., 1998. The effect of audit quality on earnings management. Contemporary Accounting Research 15 (1), 1-24. Braam, G., Monomita N., Weitzel, U., Lodh, S., 2015. Accrual-based and real earnings management and political connection. International Journal of Accounting 50 (2), 111-141. Challen, A. E., Siregar, S. V., 2011. The Effect of Audit Quality on Earnings Management and Firm Value, Working paper. Chaney, P.K., Faccio, M., and Parsley, D., 2010. The Quality of Accounting Information In Politically Connected Firms. http://paperas.ssrn.com, accessed 10.11.2016. Chen, H., Chen, J.Z., Lobo,G., Wang,Y., 2011. Effects of audit quality on earnings management and cost of equity capital: evidence from China. Contemporary Accounting Research 28 (3), 892-925 Chi, W., Ling L.L., Pevzner, M., 2011. Is enhanced audit quality associated with greater real earnings management? Accounting Horizon 25 (2), 315-335. Christiani, I., Nugrahanti, Y. W., 2014. The effect of audit quality towards real earnings management. Accounting and Finance Journal 16 (1), 52-62. Cohen, D., Dey, A., Lys, T.Z., 2008. Real and accrual based earnings management in the pre- and post sarbanes-oxley periods. The Accounting Review 83 (3), 757-787 Cohen, D., Zarowin, P., 2010. Accrual-based and real earnings management activities around seasoned equity offerings. Journal of Accounting and Economics 50 (1), 2-19. DeAngelo, L. E., 1981. Auditor size and audit quality. Journal of Accounting and Economics 3, 183-199. Faccio, M., 2006. Politically connected firms. American Economic Review 96 (1), 369-386. Fischer, M., Rosenzweig, K., 1995. Attitudes of students and accounting practitioners concerning the ethical acceptability of earnings management. Journal of Business Ethics 14 (6), 433-450. Fisman, R., 2001. Estimating the value of political connections. The American Economic Review 91 (4), 1095-1102. Gabrillin,A., 2014. Indonesia corruption watch: 48 legislators were exposed for corruption case. www.kompas.com accessed 10.12.2016 Graham, J., Harvey, Rajgopal, 2005. The economic implications of corporate financial reporting. Journal of Accounting and Economics 4 (1), 3-73. Giri, F. E., 2010. The effect of auditor tenure and auditor reputation towards audit quality. Proceding National Conference Symposium XIII, 1-26. Goldman, E., Rocholl, J., So, J., 2010. Political connection and the allocation of procurement contracts. Review of Finance 17, 1617-1648. Gul, F. A., Fung, S. Y. K., Jaggi, B., 2009. Earnings quality: some evidence on the role of auditor tenure and auditorss industry expertise. Journal of Accounting and Economics 47, 265-287. Gunny, K., 2010. The relation between earnings management using real activities manipulation and future performance: evidence from meeting earnings benchmarks. Contemporary Accounting Research 27(3), 855-888. Herusetya, A., Pujilestari, R., 2013. The impact of audit quality toward real earnings management- revenue recognition strategy. Accounting and Finance Journal 15 (2), 75-85. Inaam, Z., Khmoussi, H., Fatma, Z., 2012. Audit quality and earnings management in the tunisian Context. International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting 2(2), 17-33. Jensen, M.C., Meckling, W.H., 1976. Theory of the firm: managerial behavior, agency cost and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics3 (4), 305-360. Johnson, V., Khurana, A., Reynolds, K., 2002. Audit-firm tenure and the quality of financial reports. Contemporary Accounting Research 19 (4), 637-660. Kim, B. H., Ling, L., Pevzner, M., 2010. Debt covenant slack and real earnings management. Working Paper. Kono, F.D.P., Yuyeta, E.N., 2013. The impact of fre cash flow, auditor size, auditor specialization, auditor tenure and auditor indepency toward earnings management. Diponegoro Journal of Accounting 2 (3), 2337-3806. Kothari, S.P., Mizik, N., Roychowdhury, S., 2012. Managing for the moment: the role of  real activity versus accruals earnings management in SEO valuation. Working paper. Krishnan, G., 2003. Audit quality and the pricing of discretionary accruals. Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory 22(1), 109-126. Mehrani, S., Moradi,M., Eskandar, H., 2016. Institutional ownership type and earnings quality: evidence from iran. Emerging Markets Finance Trade 53, 54-73. Muqoddas, B., 2012. State-owned enterprises in Indonesia became disorganized after were interfered by people from political parties. Tempo.co accessed 10.12..16. Myers, J., Myers, L., Omer,T., 2003. Exploring the term of the auditor-client relationship and the quality of earnings. The Accounting Review 78 (3), 779-799. Nihlati, H., Meiranto, W., 2014. The effect of audit quality towards earnings management. Diponegoro Journal of Accounting 3 (3), 1-10. Oktorina, M., Hutagaol, Y., 2008. Operating cash flow analysis for detecting real earnings management and this impact toward market performance. Proceding National Accounting Symposium XI, 1-28. Pound, J., 1988. Proxy contests and the efficiency of shareholder oversight. Journal of Financial Economics 20, 237-265. Ramanna,K., Roychowdhury, S., 2010. Elections and discretionary accruals: evidence from 2004. Journal of Accounting Research 48 (2), 445-475. Ratmono, D., 2010. Acrual and Real Earnings Management: can qualified auditor d

An assessment of the first section of the 1992 film Essay

English Media Coursework: An assessment of the first section of the 1992 film â€Å"Of Mice and Men†, including some comparisons with part one of John Steinbeck’s novel In section one of the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ written by John Steinbeck, begins with a description of the pool and its surroundings in order to familiarize us with the setting, using poetic imagery to describe the â€Å"golden foothill slopes† of the Salinas river valley and the pool on the bank of which â€Å"the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering if he runs among them†. Some rabbits sit in the sand. â€Å"There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores† leading to the sandy rivers edge. The description conveys an idyllic peace to the scene which is disturbed as the novels two main characters emerge from the woods. The rabbits scurry into the scrubs and a heron flies from the pool before George and Lennie enter the clearing. George and Lennie are described as physical opposites, George being â€Å"small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features† while Lennie is described as a huge man, shapeless of face, with large pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders, and he walked heavily† but despite the difference in physical appearance John Steinbeck stresses the similarities of dress â€Å"Both were dressed in denim. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls†, this suggests that Lennie maybe trying to copy George as he looks up to him and wants to be like him, as also imitates George actions at the river bank. In the following pages George and Lennie’s conversation and behaviour helps the reader learn that the two are migrant ranch workers, on their way to one job to another. They are going to work on a ranch in Soledad and George makes it clear he is to do all the talking when they arrive; George angrily discovers that Lennie has been concealing a dead mouse (â€Å"I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along†) This informs the reader that Lennie likes to pet soft things, which is to be carefully noted in light of future (and past) events, George has beans for dinner and when Lennie childishly sates he likes ketchup with his beans, George gets angry and muses on the life he could live if he wasn’t with Lennie: â€Å"I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time†¦ You do bad things and I got to get you out†. Through George’s anger we learn about one of the â€Å"bad things† which occurred at their last job, in Weed, when Lennie wanted to pet the girls dress because it was pretty and held on when she tried to jerk away. The two had to flee the town in the night as the town people were looking for them, Lennie responds to George’s anger with self-pity and uses a guilt trip, sorrowfully saying that if George doesn’t want him around, he could go off and live in the hills by himself. This softens George into saying that he wants Lennie to stay, so we know these threats are not serious and that George does genuinely like Lennie as a friend. Lennie urges George to tell â€Å"about the rabbits†, this is when we are first introduced to the dream that George and Lennie share, that they will get their own piece of land and the money and means by which to live off of it. George describes how he and Lennie are different from other ranchers who drift from town to town, who â€Å"don’t belong no place†. Lennie and George are different according to George, because they have future and each other. One day they will have enough money and â€Å"live off the fatta the land†. This shows the reader that George needs Lennie as a Friend so not to be lonely â€Å"I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you† this shows the loyalty and friendship which exists between George and Lennie, and the dream of a better life. All though George does become angry with Lennie resulting in some tension during this section of the novel, the atmosphere at the end is very peaceful and pleasant leavening the reader to feel positive and happy; this is the same in both the film and the novel. The 1992 film version â€Å"Of Mice and Men† opens with white on black credits which are simple and stand out clearly. Gradually sound effects of a wagon/train are added and lighting effects are faded in slowly to show the inside of an old fashioned goods wagon. There is also background music which is very atmospheric, building tension. This is followed by a slow fade and a close up shot of a man’s face, which we later come to realize is George, played by Gary Sinise who is also the director. George pensively, sadly sits alone in a railway car, the shadows of the car’s slats partially covering his face. At the end of the film the same shot is repeated, therefore the audience realise the film is in fact a flash back from George’s memory, The gentle and eerie background music and use of dark, gloomy colours convey a sense of mystery adding interest which makes the audience want to watch on to see what’s going to happen; they also illustrate a mood of sadness along with the miserable expression stressed in the close up shot of Gary Sinises face. At the start of the narrative in the film, the camera jumps to a sequence of a woman in a vivid red dress, running though fields apparently in desperate escape of some undefined terror, She runs towards the camera, As she gets closer to the camera the audience can picks out details in which give clues about the woman such as the tear in her dress and her panicky face which is stressed in a close up shot but the mystery is continued when she runs past the camera and out of the audiences sight. The sound effects of the woman’s gasped breath are very frantic, adding drama and tension to grab the audience’s intention and the red of her dress stands out clearly in contrast to the green fields. The director immediately makes the camera jump to a sequence showing two men, being chased by a group of men on horses armed with rifles and led by hunting dogs. The camera follows this chase, panning along to show the men running though long grass. The camera angle then changes to show the chase from the point of view of the men who are being chased, showing the dogs and men running towards the camera which makes the audience feel as if they are being chased and allowing them to see things from the men’s point of view. Water from the horses splashes on the camera, showing the audience how close they are, adding tension and making the audience feel more involved, helping them to feel how the men are feeling by showing things from the men’s point of view. The two men jump into an irrigation ditch. The man from the start of the film jumps in first, front view and then the other man jumps in after but from a side view. The camera is used as one of the men’s view, to the audience; it helps them to feel how the men are feeling. It creates confusion because at first the audience may not know whose view it is and what they are looking at, since the men are in hiding and the viewer can see the weeds overhanging in front of them; this also creates suspense as the audience can see the two men’s point of view of the situation. The opening film sequence has a very dramatic and tense start in order to grab the audience’s intention, making them want to watch on. In comparison to the novel â€Å"Of Mice and Men† which is very different as it opens with a peaceful, happy and serene scene, making the reader build up hope and creating a joyful atmosphere. The camera jumps from the irrigation ditch to the two men (George and Lennie) hitching a freight train at night in order to escape. Another jump follows to a studio location of a 1930’s Californian town (Salinas); this scene is added to show the audience the time in which the film is set in and giving them an idea of George and Lennies surrounds and their way of life. While they are in the town Lennie asks George were they are going George said â€Å"were going to a ranch to work† this dialog has been added to inform the audience of were they are going and of there current situation. George and Lennie take a bus to the ranch but they are dropped off in the countryside a few miles from the ranch. The serene and tranquil scene was probably set on location. The dialog they use is almost the same as the book, the camera pans along while they walk and talk setting them both in frame emphasizing that they have a close relationship. As the bus goes by George and Lennie, George realises that they have been dropped off in the wrong place and yells out â€Å"son of a bitch† to the bus driver, Lennie copies George and also yells â€Å"son of a bitch† this is improvisation as it is not in the book, it has been added to show how Lennie copies George and what he does suggesting that he looks up to him and wants to be like him, showing the audience a bit about his character. Lennie’s (played by John Malkovitch )voice is very child like, portraying Lennie like a child trapped in a mans body, which makes sense but at times also seem over the top as in the book I felt that Lennie was just very simple minded, but in the film Lennie seems to be seriously retarded. While George and Lennie are sitting by the pool Lennie decides to drink from the pool then spit the water out of his mouth in a child like fashion, again this is improvisation to show how child like Lennie is, George reacts to this by laughing at him showing he is used to Lennie and his childish behaviour almost to like how a parent would laugh at a child. The camera uses close up shots of Lennie’s face in order to emphases his odd facial expressions and medium close-ups to show George and Lennie’s body language especially Lennie who tends to use various funny hand jesters in order to help express himself which he cant do very well. During George and Lennie’s argument about ketchup the camera is shot in separate frames to show they are now separate, because they are angry. The camera also uses medium close ups of George and Lennie while George is kneeling and Lennie is standing up to show how much bigger Lennie is compared to George and their differences in physical appearance, it also shows that Lennie could be seen as a treat to George. The camera tilts up when showing Lennie to make him seem taller and he probably has used padding in his clothes to make him appear bigger, while when the camera is on George it tends to tilt down to make him appear smaller. During the argument George doesn’t mention the girl in the red dress which he does in the novel, he just said â€Å"you do bad things†, he doesn’t mention it because he doesn’t need to explain this to the audience as the girl in the film as this has already been shown at the start unlike the novel. The argument shows the audience that George and Lennie do fall out sometimes. When the augment is over Lennie uses a guilt trip on George, the guilt is empathised in close up of George’s face. The camera jumps to George and Lennie sitting by a camp fire, this is the last sequence of this section of the film. It is set outside in the dark but the lighting effects make it light enough to see what’s happening, the light from the fire reflects on there faces in order to emphasis them there are many off screen natural sound effects such as cricket noises and other types of bugs and birds. Lennie asks George to tell him about the dream and as George begins to tell the dream background music gradually comes in which is very soft and genital to create an dream like atmosphere. The camera puts both George and Lennie in the frame while telling the dream maybe to show that they both share this dream and to show the friendship between them. When George stops telling the dream he saids â€Å"oh the hell with it† at this point the background music suddenly stops showing that they have come out of the dream and are now back to reality. At the end they are both in frame, lying by the camp fire, the atmosphere is quite and peaceful with the natural sound effects of bugs est. off screen in the background leaving the audiences feeling happy and positive. Overall, I thought the first section of the â€Å"Of Mice and Men† film was good and very well done by Gary Sinise. In the movie you can actually see and hear things that you probably would not catch on to in the book. For example there are the facial expressions of George and Lennie. The music soundtrack to the film â€Å"Of Mice and Men† is very well composed; I especially liked how the music is classical, which is very appealing to all age groups and genders. The music was important as it set the mood for the scene the audience was seeing. The landscaping and camera work was also very good. The setting of the pool was just as it was described in the book. Also, the clothing worn by Lennie and George fitted the time frame allowing the audience to feel that they are back in that time period by watching, and also showed that they were not well off. In many ways the first section of the film is similar to the novel such as the dialog they use is almost identical to the novel and the appearance of the characters in the film are almost exactly like how they are described in the novel, Lennie is very big and bulky, while George is small with a tanned face. The director changed the order of the story at the beginning by starting with the girl in the red dress, this was probably changed in order to grab the audience intension at the beginning of the film so then they would want to watch on to see what’s happening. Right from the start of the movie you can see that Lennie has a mental illness, and George is taking care of him like a father the same as it is with the novel. Also, you can tell that George gets impatient with Lennie numerous times and that he gets frustrated very easily. I thought the role of George was played very well by Gary Sinise who seems to bring out the role of George perfectly as he coveys Georges caring side as well. As for Lennie this role is probably more of a challenge as he is difficult to convey without sounding cartoonish, John Malkovich didn’t work wonders for the role as he used such a silly voice, though if he had used a normal way of speaking the audience would probably find it difficult to see him as mentally handy capped.

Reasoning for Animal Extinction: a Zoo Essay

Zoo Essay Reasoning for animal extinction There are many reasons for animal extinction in the wild, here are some of them: Some animals due to adaptive radiation can become more effective in hunting and reproducing which increases their chance of survival and their ammount of offspring which means the other animals become more prone to decline in numbers. However, there are reasons for animal extinction as a result of human action: Habitat Destruction – Animal Habitats are often destroyed in construction of homes, roads etc.Tree's (deforestation), ponds and other types of habitats are removed in order to make room for this type of construction. Pollution – Pollution and climate change have seen a lot of animals become endangered. Acid rain has caused many marine animals to become extinct due to the change in pH of their habitat. Melting ice caps due to changes in C02 levels has resulted in many animals in the north/south pole become extinct. Hunting/Fishing – Man y animals have become endagered due to excessive human hunting of the animals for their fur, meat, bones etc.Why are the species of the Philippine Islands endangered? The species of the Philippine islands have become endangered due to mass deforestation. The majority of the forestry in the Philippines has now been lost, eliminating habitats for species present there. There are also low population numbers of species in islands due to a limited geographic range and animals are limited to a small space so potential for finding better land for a habitat is very small. Are there any endangered British species? Yes, the European otter is endangered due to habitat destruction and pollution. Also, the door mouse has become endangered because of destruction of woodland habitat. The Giraffe and the Okapi The giraffe and the Okapi are both examples of Adaptive Radiation. They both have a common ancestor but both have very different sized necks. A mutation has cause some of the offspring of the ir common ancestor to either have a very long neck, which is ideal for reaching food in tall trees, or a very small neck to reach small shrubs near the ground. This mutation has allowed the organism to become more successful in feeding and therefore in survival and so has become a better adaptation for the organism.Zoo's responsibility in conservation of animals Zoo's have an important role in conservation of animals as a part of the income of the zoo's is used for animal conservation such as building habitats for animals and educating locals around the world on the endangerment of these animals, mainly in places where these animals are succumb to poaching for skin, meat and bones etc. Some people may consider keeping animals in captivity cruel but if the animal is endangered it can be protected in captivity so they can produce offspring that could be released into the wild to boost population numbers.

The Epic Of Gilgamesh Essay - 991 Words

The epic of Gilgamesh is a tale that displays multiple didactic messages throughout the course of the story. These morally oriented instructions that shape the epic’s characters are very much applicable to our current lives. Messages like: the importance of perseverance, that drive that pushes you to excel, the down side of sexual passion when not tempered, and how we need to keep our pride under control, not letting it cloud our judgement. These principled themes, among others, are clearly visible to the eyes of the audience. The epic of Gilgamesh exhibits a beautiful look at what a person with strong perseverance had do. The fact that Gilgamesh after the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s greatest friend, he mourns for a while and then goes on a quest to the edge of the world in an attempt to find the key to immortality, is incredible. Gilgamesh’s journey takes him to Mashu, the twin-peaked mountain where the Sun rises on one side and sets on the other. The mountain that is guarded by two scorpion like creature that had no intentions of permitting Gilgamesh to pass through the tunnel that lead to the other side, but his passion persuaded them to. After traveling for hours in the darkness he emerges and proceeds to meet Siduri, the tavern keeper, who tells him that his desire for immorality is futile, but seeing how determined he was to reach Utnapishtim, the only immortal man. He then advances to Urshanabi, the ferryman, who takes Gilgamesh to Utnapishtim, but not afterShow MoreRelatedThe Epic Of Gilgamesh Essay1721 Words   |  7 PagesMany texts, both ancient and modern, explore the possibilities of living forever. The Epic of Gilgamesh is just one of the stories examining this theory. The Gilgamesh tablets discuss many such issues pertinent to much of today’s population: what is the meaning of life? How will I be remembered? This age old topic is explored through many popular mediums today such as graphic novels and in the film industry. Additionally the immortal question is further studied in some scientific industries, toRead MoreEpic of Gilgamesh Essay1021 Words   |  5 PagesEpic of Gilgamesh . Mesopotamia, current day Iraq, derived its name from words meaning, the land between the rivers, which refers to the Tigris and Euphrates. This land was inhabited during the fourth millennium B.C.E. and throughout time transcended into political and military organizations. The significance of these cultures revolved around important warrior figures and their impact on society. The most important figure that will be discussed is the protagonist from The Epic of GilgameshRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh Essay998 Words   |  4 PagesThe Epic of Gilgamesh has many important female characters, and from them we can learn how females were viewed in ancient Sumerian society. The women are not typecast with simply one personality and role but instead are shown with many facets. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, women are shown as essential beings who can be either loving and nurturing or incredibly powerful and scary. Ways to combat mortality is a main motive for Gilgamesh and he could do it simply through his children as most men do withRead MoreEssay on Epic of Gilgamesh971 Words   |  4 PagesTitle: Gilgamesh Type: Epic Author: Anonymous Theme: The central idea of Gilgamesh was the greed that he had to receive eternal life. Gilgamesh was a selfish person who was half god and half man and wanted to keep his youth after seeing Enkidu die. Gilgamesh knew his destiny was not to receive eternal life because he was half man. He decided to go against the odds to fight against not having eternal life searching for the secret despite what the Gods told him. Exposition: The storyRead MoreEssay The Epic of Gilgamesh905 Words   |  4 PagesEgypt and Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, were such rulers. They were powerful and cunning individuals, yet they let their own selfish nature ruin the ability to be a great leader. Gilgamesh was said to be the spawn of a god and a human woman. His handsome features, great strength, and cunning intelligence were supposedly the best in the land. Yet, he did not rule his kingdom with justice. He often took advantage of his citizens for his own personal pleasures. The following quote, â€Å"For Gilgamesh, the KingRead MoreThe Epic of Gilgamesh Essay1245 Words   |  5 Pagesfantastical places, lies the narrative of a profound friendship between two men. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian literary masterpiece, all of its events are centered around the development of the friendship between Gilgamesh, the tyrannical and stubborn king of Uruk, and the man created by the Gods to both complement and challenge his nature: Enkidu. Each of the three dream sequences in the epic represent different stages of Enkidu’s life – one portends his birth, another foretellsRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh Essay Essay982 Words   |  4 PagesThe Epic of G ilgamesh is an epic poem from four thousand years ago, from ancient Mesopotamia. It was written on clay tablets, and even if some part of sentences were not able to be recovered, the tale is understable. It is the oldest Epic found, and still one of the most famous too. While the stories are made of different Gods, cows talking, King with perfect strength, giant monsters, it seems hard to find similarities between the Epic and the 21st century. Yet by reading closely the passage fromRead MoreThe Epic of Gilgamesh Essay1139 Words   |  5 Pages nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In the epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh embarks upon a quest seeking immortality as a means to peace, meaning, and joy in life. He tries to reach it in many different ways, each as unsuccessful as its predecessor. The two main types of immortality are physical and through the actions or achievements of ones life. Gilgamesh tries first through his actions, but then undergoes a transformation which leads him to next attemp t physical immortality. He eventually comes back toRead MoreEpic of Gilgamesh Essay915 Words   |  4 PagesThe Epic of Gilgamesh is one of earliest known pieces of literature. Through years of storytelling and translation, The Epic of Gilgamesh became a timeless classic. This story is believed to have originated from Sumerian poems and legends about the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh. Throughout the epic, many themes arose about women, love, and journeys and the one I would like to discuss is the theme of death. Also, I will discuss if Gilgamesh accepts morality at the end of the story and the development ofRead MoreThe Epic of Gilgamesh Essay1522 Words   |  7 PagesThere are many vices and virtues displayed in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a tale from ancient Babylon. Its hero, Gilgamesh the king of Uruk, is two-thirds god and one-third man. Throughout the epic, which consists of three stories, the character of Gilgamesh is developed. This is accomplished by changing the vices he possesses at the start of the epic, and replacing them with virtues he receives by its completion. â€Å"A virtue is a quality of righteousness, goodness, or moral