M. M. Gergen

The Broken Heart: Reality Or Myth?

The hypothesis that the death of a spouse results in high mortality risk for the remaining mate is gaining credence. Further, it is held, this risk recedes with the age of the couple, and is elevated in the male population. The validity of these views is assessed. Direct evidence for this “loss effect” has been derived from cross-sectional and longitudinal research. In the former case, plausible alternative explanations exist for virtually all findings to date. Cross-sectional research thus fails to establish the existence of a loss effect. Although many alternative explanations can be ruled out in longitudinal research, analysis reveals shortcomings in virtually every study. Thus, neither the loss effect nor its associated hypotheses concerning age and gender rest as yet on convincing evidence. At the same time, indirect sources of evidence support the loss effect and indicate the necessity for continued research of expanded scope.

Chapter 14 Polyvocal Organizing: An Exploration

Mary: To begin, I think it is important that we take into account some milestones in the development of multivoiced organizing. This will also set the stage for our extension into the realm of polyvocality. For example, we owe a debt here to work that Rene Bouwen did with Chris Steyaert (1999) on global organizing. They were among the first to promote multivoicedness in describing how an organization might be affected through the inclusion of many voices. They distinguished four metaphors that were useful in exploring how multivoicedness could influence global organizing: “building the Tower of Babel,” “dialogical imagination,” “polyphonic chorus,” and “strangers’ meeting.”