Good Apples Research Articles

Good Apples / Bad Apples: Detection and classification of damage

Good Apples / Bad Apples: Detection and classification of damage

Does it matter how we ship the good apples out? On specific tariffs, transport modes, and agricultural export prices

AbstractFree‐on‐board (FOB) export prices for identical products from the same origin often differ across destinations, even when accounting for the trade costs and attributes of the destination country. One explanation for this observed price difference is per‐unit trade costs, and the ability of exporters to vary their markups and/or product quality. Using a novel dataset that details trade flows between countries by mode of transport, we estimate the transport mode‐specific effect of a per‐unit trade cost, specifically specific tariffs, on the FOB export prices of agricultural products. We find an elasticity of specific tariffs to export prices of 1.8%. However, the estimates are heterogeneous across modes of transport. The elasticity of specific tariffs to export prices is 2% for air transport, 5% for road transport, and .3% for sea cargo. Since the observed positive export price effect can reflect product quality differences or markups, we account for the quality element and find that for a given product quality, markups increase with increasing specific tariffs. This form of price discrimination is less pronounced for higher‐quality products that are predominantly shipped by air.

Monetary wisdom: Can yoking religiosity (God) and the love of money (mammon) in performance and humane contexts inspire honesty? The Matthew Effect in Religion

AbstractReligion inspires honesty. The love of money incites dishonesty. Religious and monetary values apply to all religions. We develop a formative theoretical model of monetary wisdom, treat religiosity (God) and the love of money (mammon), as two yoked antecedents—competing moral issues (Time 1), and frame the latent construct in good barrels (performance or humane contexts, Time 2), which leads to (dis)honesty (Time 3). We explore the direct and indirect paths and the model across genders. Our three‐wave panel data (411 participants) show that religious and monetary values are negatively correlated. Directly, religiosity consistently curbs dishonesty; surprisingly, the love of money has no impact on dishonesty. In the performance context, the two mediation effects reduce dishonesty. Across genders, this mediation effect is nonsignificant for males but significantly excites females' honesty. In the humane context, the two mediation effects are nonsignificant. Across genders, for the love of money, males passively curb dishonesty by omission, and females actively engage in honesty by commission. Decision‐makers must challenge people's moral issues, frame them in good barrels, and help people become good apples, choice architects, and moral and ethical decision‐makers, promoting the Matthew effect in religion. We offer practical implications to individuals and organizations.

Good guys with good apples. The moderating role of moral competence on the association between moral disengagement and organizational behaviours

ObjectiveConsistently with Bandura's theory of moral disengagement, we examined if moral disengagement predicted employees’ counterproductive work behaviours and organizational citizenship behaviours, also assessing moral competence as a moderator that, at higher values, could mitigate the positive association with counterproductive work behaviours and mitigate the negative association with organizational citizenship behaviours. MethodFive hundred eighty-three Italian employees completed a time-lagged online survey including the following measures: Work Moral Disengagement Scale (Fida, Paciello et al., 2015), Moral Competence Test (Lind, 1985), Counterproductive Work Behavior Checklist (Spector et al., 2006), Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale (Podsakoff et al., 1990). Associations between variables were examined via multiple linear regressions with bootstrapping, while the interactions were probed through the Johnson-Neyman technique. ResultsMoral disengagement is positively related to counterproductive work behaviours and negatively related to organizational citizenship behaviours. Furthermore, the association between moral disengagement and counterproductive work behaviours is moderated by moral competence, with a significant positive association only at lower levels of the moderator. ConclusionWe demonstrated for the first time the potentially significant role played by moral competence as a moderator that could reduce the negative effects of moral disengagement on deviant and unethical organizational behaviours, discussing our results in light of available evidence and theory, and elaborating on practical implications.

Feature Extraction and Naïve Bayes Algorithm for Defect Classification of Manalagi Apples

Apple is one of the trees that is widely cultivated and grows in subtropical areas. In Indonesia, there are many areas that cultivate apples, including Malang, Batu, Nongkojajar. One way to increase the economic value of apple farmers is by sorting them before sending them to the market. This is important to do in order to make it easier to determine the quality and selling price of manalagi apples. Most apple sellers will sort the apples manually which results in high costs, difficulty, and inconsistency in the sorting process. So far, the classification of defects in apples has been done using the naked eye. This also requires expertise or experts in distinguishing which apple defects are. However, experts have limitations, not all apple defects can be recognized or classified. In addition, each researcher only uses one image feature, namely the texture feature. In this study, using an image dataset of Manalagi apples totaling 337 images, where there are 184 images of good apples and 153 images of defective apples by extracting features on apples, it can be concluded that the nave Bayes method can be used to classify defects of manalagi apples based on texture.

Pride of France: The delicious palates

One can find 22 political areas in France, each with its own personality and environment. Nowadays, many French regions have names similar to those of the provinces that existed in pre-revolutionary France. Others are contemporary constructs that incorporate regions from various historical provinces. There are a few well-known areas in France that are not official regions. These places have a distinct identity in terms of tourism, whether geographically or historically significant. But when it comes to food several foods are popular nationwide. For instance, the preparation of apple tart varies depending on the region, but the basic principles of using good apples, light pastry, and a minimum amount of sugar. French fries, or ‘frites’, can be found all around the country, though depending on the region, they may be sliced in various ways or cooked in various oils. Consequently, this article contains a range of tastes from various French locations.

MCCLESKEY ACCUSED Justice Powell and The Moral Price of Institutional Pride

<i>MCCLESKEY</i> ACCUSED Justice Powell and The Moral Price of Institutional Pride

Good apples in spoiled barrels: A temporal model of firm formalization in a field characterized by widespread informality

Entrepreneurship scholars have devoted increasing attention to formalization (i.e., a firm's transition from informality to compliance with formal institutions). However, little is known about the actual process through which informal firms transition to pursue opportunities in a fully legally compliant way. This transition poses formidable challenges, especially in fields in which informality rather than formality is widespread. To understand how firms transition to full formality and manage the related institutional challenges in such contexts, we conduct a longitudinal, inductive case study of an informal firm, confiscated from the Mafia in Italy, and examine how it succeeded in operating formally in a field in which informality regulated transactions and was accepted across society. The findings suggest that formalizing in such contexts is a two-phase process that entails first extricating the enterprise from the influence of informal institutions and then cultivating formal institutions in the field to increase the firm's legitimacy. The study contributes to the literature on formalization, entrepreneurship, and institutional work by advancing the understanding of formalization as a dynamic and entrepreneurial endeavor that requires specific institutional work at different points in time to succeed.

Good Peers, Good Apples? Peer Effects in Portfolio Quality

Good Peers, Good Apples? Peer Effects in Portfolio Quality

Postscript for “A Letter to the Male Good Apples”

Postscript for “A Letter to the Male Good Apples”

Following up on “A Letter to the Male Good Apples”

Drawing on the Letter to the Male “Good Apples” recently appeared in this section, my letter has a twofold aim: to provoke all the Male “Good Apples” in academia and to offer them an olive branch. As I provide them with a few practical suggestions, I hope to illuminate their way forward to truly “getting it”. It’s time to stop talking a good game and to start playing a better game.

Inequalities and Institutions that Benefit Good Apples

I describe three types of inequalities that benefit “good apples” and harm women in Academe: inequality of recognition, inequality of effort required, and inequality in societal institutions around home and career. I then describe three hard things that “good apples” can do, focusing on the institutional level: building awareness, changing structures and adapting social norms.

A Letter to the Male “Good Apples” about How You May Be Viewed by Your Female Colleagues

A Letter to the Male “Good Apples” about How You May Be Viewed by Your Female Colleagues

Review: Good Apples: Behind Every Bite, by Susan Futrell

Review: Good Apples: Behind Every Bite, by Susan Futrell

Good apples in good barrels: Conscientious people are more responsive to code enforcement

Meta‐analytic findings suggest that strongly enforcing ethical codes of conduct reduces unethical behaviour. However, this conclusion is based on a limited number of studies, leading ethics scholars to suggest that we need to know more about the effects of codes. Furthermore, the importance of understanding how individual differences may interact with situational characteristics to influence unethical behaviour has long been recognized, but few studies have examined both personal and situational variables. Using norm focus theory as an organizing framework, the authors argue that enforcement of an ethical code of conduct and individual‐level conscientiousness interacts to influence unethical behaviour. In Study 1, participants attended a laboratory session in which a code of conduct was presented and the participants had the opportunity to earn additional compensation if they acted unethically. Participants engaged in less unethical behaviour after they observed strict enforcement, but this was qualified by an enforcement x conscientiousness interaction: Strict enforcement led to lower unethical behaviour only among those who were more conscientious. In Study 2, a survey of working adults showed that the relation between code enforcement and unethical behaviour was mediated by a focus on injunctive norms, but only among those who were more conscientious. The findings therefore indicate that there are important boundary conditions on the effects of codes of conduct.Practitioner points When people are aware of a code of conduct, but have no information about how strongly the code of conduct is enforced, they view enforcement as similar to a situation wherein they witness weak enforcement. Strongly enforced codes of conduct serve to (1) increase the importance of avoiding unethical behaviour, and (2) reduce the magnitude of unethical behaviour, but only among those who are more conscientiousness. To ensure reduction of unethical behaviour, organizations must strongly enforce codes and select employees who are highly conscientious. Alternatively, organizations may test different methods of enforcement to identify those that are effective in reducing unethical behaviour regardless of how conscientious employees are.

Detection of internal defect of apples by a multichannel Vis/NIR spectroscopic system

Abstract This paper reports on nondestructive detection of internal defect in apples by using a new noncontact multichannel spectroscopic system in semi-transmittance mode for the visible and near-infrared (Vis/NIR) range of 550-1,650 nm. The specially designed multichannel system consists of six optical fibers arranged in a 360-degree configuration for improved evaluation of each fruit. Spectra were acquired for 430 ‘Honeycrisp’ apples, 243 of which were good (defect free) and 187 internally defective. To assess the effect of fruit orientation on defect detection, each apple was measured in three orientations (i.e., the stem-end facing the light source (A), the calyx end facing the light source (B) and the stem-calyx axis being perpendicular to the light source(C)). Classification models based on partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA) were established for spectra of each detection fiber and mean spectra of the six detection fibers, to compare their performance for internal defect detection. Results showed that classification results varied with detection fiber and fruit orientation. Mean spectra for each fruit orientation gave consistently better classifications, with the overall accuracies of 91.5%, 89.2% and 93.1% for orientations A, B and C, respectively. Moreover, the best PLSDA models had lower misclassification rates for good apples (4.3%) than for defective apples (10.0%). Furthermore, significantly better classification results for mildly defective apples were obtained when using mean spectra than using spectra of each detection fiber. The multichannel Vis/NIR spectroscopic system is thus advantageous for detection of internal defects, especially those localized ones, in apples.

Apples

137 NATALIE WANG Apples  i have a mother as beautiful as an apple blossom. people used to pinch my cheeks saying that the apple never falls far from the tree and as a child i was the apple of my parents’ eyes always leaving apples on the teacher’s desk and teachers said i was a good apple while my grandmother taught me to peel apples with a knife parting skin leaving flesh whole so we could make pie and as i grew up people said i was becoming apple shaped too much apple pie they said so i eat an apple for breakfast each morning and nothing else hoping that it is enough to keep the doctors away wishing for powdery white flesh and watching my apple cheeks cave in. i dreamt of golden orbs falling from the sky and people running across oceans to chase them. i drew the fruit on my arms with black sharpie. when no one noticed i used the fruit knife parting skin from flesh but my mother said to stop. that i was becoming a bad apple. my father asked why i had to always be so difficult and shouted at my mother that the apple never fell far from the tree. good apples know that it is stupid to count your mouthfuls but i can only wish i was flower and not fruit. that i would brown and fall to pieces long before i became food for worms. ...

Finding a Middle Way to Sustainable Food Systems

First paragraphs: The premise of Susan Futrell’s Good Apples: Behind Every Bite is that by understanding the environmental, social, and economic issues affect­ing apples growers in America, the reader can better appreciate and support sustainable food systems. Futrell’s storytelling is grounded in her years of experience working in sustainable food distribution, which includes 25 years in sales and marketing for a cooperatively owned natural food distributor called Blooming Prairie Warehouse in the Midwest, and her current work with Red Tomato, a small nonprofit food hub based in Massachusetts, where she helped develop the Eco Apple® program. From the beginning, Futrell resists the pressure to simplify and dichotomize complexities. Chapter 1, At the Intersection of Apples and Local, establishes this tone with her contextual consideration of how the term local is defined. Chapter 2, Immigrant Apples, reviews the history of apples in America. In it she discusses key historical figures and the emer­gence of seedling nurseries, apple varieties, grow­ers’ associations, and land-grant institutions. . . .

Shipping the Good Apples Under Strategic Competition

Production runs suffer from inadvertent quality variation. There are good apples; there are bad apples (also known as “seconds”). The Alchian-Allen theorem states that a common per-unit charge on two goods differentiated only by quality, increases the relative export demand for the higher quality good leading to local consumers lamenting that they cannot find them locally. While usually stated for competitive markets, firms with market power also suffer from inadvertent seconds in their production. For example, brand-name retailers send their seconds to outlets, even though this undercuts the demand for their firsts. A model is presented of oligopolistic firms choosing production and what fraction of their first and seconds to export: a model of “shipping the good apples” with strategic competition. In this model an increase in the per-unit charge can increase the absolute fraction of high quality exported. Despite this, shipping the good apples may not hold, that is, an increase in the per-unit charge can decrease the quantity demanded of good apples relative to bad ones. Rather, shipping the good apples holds when the export market’s willingness-to-pay for high quality is greater (or greater value for “quality upgrading” (Johnson and Myatt, 2006)). Despite the consumers’ lament, domestic consumer welfare increases with exporting.

Apples

137 NATALIE WANG Apples  i have a mother as beautiful as an apple blossom. people used to pinch my cheeks saying that the apple never falls far from the tree and as a child i was the apple of my parents’ eyes always leaving apples on the teacher’s desk and teachers said i was a good apple while my grandmother taught me to peel apples with a knife parting skin leaving flesh whole so we could make pie and as i grew up people said i was becoming apple shaped too much apple pie they said so i eat an apple for breakfast each morning and nothing else hoping that it is enough to keep the doctors away wishing for powdery white flesh and watching my apple cheeks cave in. i dreamt of golden orbs falling from the sky and people running across oceans to chase them. i drew the fruit on my arms with black sharpie. when no one noticed i used the fruit knife parting skin from flesh but my mother said to stop. that i was becoming a bad apple. my father asked why i had to always be so difficult and shouted at my mother that the apple never fell far from the tree. good apples know that it is stupid to count your mouthfuls but i can only wish i was flower and not fruit. that i would brown and fall to pieces long before i became food for worms. ...