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20 BizEd MAY | JUNE 2015 research+insights FAMILIARITY AND RACE Racial attitudes can be significantly influenced by close contact between people of di«erent races, according to a working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The paper's findings are based on the unique process of roommate selection at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado. As freshmen, cadets at the academy are assigned to 35-man squadrons, with their roommates chosen for them. Throughout their freshman year, they seldom interact with any students outside their squadrons. At the end of the year, cadets are reassigned to new squadrons; as sopho- mores, they choose their roommates themselves. Authors Scott Carrell of the University of California Davis, Mark Hoekstra of Texas A&M University at College Station, and James West of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, exam- ined USAFA roommate selection data. They found that after increased exposure to black peers, white male sophomores were more likely to room with black students. The researchers looked specifically at what happened when white cadets were assigned black roommates. They found that the higher the black cadet's academic perfor- mance, the more likely it was that the white cadet would choose a black roommate as a sophomore. The most profound di«erence occurred when white cadets from the Southern U.S.—where racial divides are especially preva- lent—were assigned black roommates with grades in the top 25 percent of black students at the academy. As sopho- mores, these cadets were more than 35 percent more likely to choose black cadets as roommates than statistically identical Southern white males exposed to black students with grades in the lower 25 percent. "The Impact of Intergroup Contact on Racial Attitudes and Revealed Preferences" is free to NBER subscribers at ssrn.com/abstract=2562231. ILLUSTRATION BY ISTOCK books DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION AT WORK Do you feel "frazzled, frantic, and feckless"? Do you blame the constant onslaught of new information or the incessant lure of your electronic devices? Physician Edward Hallowell calls this "attention deficit trait" (ADT), and he believes it's exacerbated by the modern always-on work environment. He identifies six workplace distractions—including addiction to electronics, multitasking, and hopping from idea to idea—and o©ers practical suggestions for people who want to regain control of their lives. Many workers will recognize themselves in Hallowell's descriptions and will be game to try his solutions. (Harvard Business Review Press, US$26) NO ONE UNDERSTANDS YOU AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT We're all guilty of making snap judgments, relying on first impressions, and assuming that other people feel just like we do. We don't always realize that others—including our bosses, our employees, and our clients—are assessing us by the same metrics. "Without the ability to consistently and accurately telegraph our thoughts and intentions to others, none of us can succeed—no individual, no team, and no organization," writes Heidi Grant Halvorson of Columbia Business School. "Communication is vital, but the great irony is that human beings have a surprisingly di–cult time when it comes to knowing what exactly they are communicating." She o©ers tools that help every reader show others who they truly are. Interesting, informative, and genuinely useful. (Harvard Business Review Press, US$22) THE TRAVELS OF A T-SHIRT IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY Georgetown's Pietra Rivoli adds a preface and epilogue to this updated second edition of her classic look at international trade, as told through the story of a souvenir T-shirt purchased in Florida. The writing is lively, the insights wide-ranging, and Rivoli herself a perfect tour guide. As she unravels the nuanced tale of her T-shirt, she finds herself unable to be blindly pro-globalization or hotly anti-free market. But she does think balance is possible: "As market forces push ap- parel production to lower and lower wage locations, forces