The Number of Bank Relationships of SMEs: A Disaggregated Analysis for the Swiss Loan Market

The present paper investigates the number of bank relationships of small and medium-sized enterprises in Switzerland using survey data from 1996 and 2002. We differentiate between overall bank relationships and lending relationships and disaggregate the loan market with respect to firm sizes, industries and banking groups. On average, bank lending declined, while the role of housebank relationships increased in 1996-2002. The development of the number of bank relationships seems to have been demand-driven as well as supply-driven for medium-sized firms, but only supply-driven for very small and small firms. Supply-side reductions resulted from the merger between two big banks and changes in credit risk management at major banksrelationship lending, housebank, loan market structure, multiple banks

The public sphere as a dynamic network

This article proposes to conceptualize the public sphere as a dynamic network of actors and contents that are linked with each other by communicative actions. This perspective allows us to theoretically derive and empirically describe the entire range of small to large network structures and their evolution over time. First, we will define the elements of these networks, which include the actors, content, communicative actions, and content relations. Based on these entities, four communicative roles (producer, recipient, curator, isolate) will be distinguished. Second, we will summarize how these actors perceive the communicative situation and how they select from behavioral options. Third, we will show how this combines with the network dynamics and outcomes that are discussed in the different lines of research. This provides not only the basis for understanding the link between the communicative actions on the micro-level and macro-level structures, but also new avenues for normative discussions

Development of social media opinion leaders during international periodic events

Social networks like Twitter are a central communication channel, where people share their opinions, emotions, and views with the world which is also true during live TV events. These opinions are able to start a discussion and influence the opinion of others. This influence is able to impact the results of televised events such as the Eurovision Song Contest. In the process of sharing information, key groups could be able to be more effective and have a bigger reach at different points of an event. Therefore, their identification is relevant for research, event operators, participants, and fans. We aim to create an understanding of how groups and opinion leaders change over the event period of the contest by conducting a social network analysis based on Tweets. Word clouds will be used to confirm findings from the social network analysis as well as to identify topics within tweets for further research

The digital transformation of knowledge order: a model for theanalysis of the epistemic crisis

In a proclaimed age of ‘post-truth,’ scholars have raised concerns about the spread of false information and the questioning of epistemic authorities. In this paper, we develop an analytical model to capture the digital transformation of knowledge order. Drawing on insights from social epistemology, sociology and history of knowledge, and media history, we identify epistemic practices as basic elements of knowledge order. We then analyze how epistemic practices are organized into an overarching structure of knowledge phases, contexts, roles, and hierarchies. Digital media tend to destabilize the traditional knowledge order. This destabilization is characterized by a more flexible order of phases, a dissolution of boundaries between contexts, an opening of professional roles to new actors, and a flattening of hierarchies

Peace Journalism in the Digital Age

The advent of modern means of communication opens up a wide range of possibilities for individual users, organizations, and governments to connect. This paper argues that the concept of peace journalism can leverage the potential of digital developments to maintain relevance in current times. Five areas of peace journalism’s possible synchronization with media digitalization are deduced and elaborated from a pragmatic perspective to facilitate conceptual advancement: (1) digital distribution, (2) utility of the potential of two-way communication, (3) exploration of new forms of digital storytelling, (4) curation of various digital sources of conflict actors and fact-checking, and (5) incorporation of virtual training and digital skills into journalism curricula. By addressing these aspects of media digitalization, peace journalism outlets can receive acclaim within modern journalistic circles while also attracting wider audience support

Editorial

Joseph Weizenbaum would have been 100 years old on January 8, 2023. This anniversary was a welcome occasion to remember the life, work, and impact of the great computer scientist and public intellectual at the Weizenbaum Institute.  This special issue compiles a series of articles directly or indirectly related to his work. Contributions center on Weizenbaum as an individual and his public role as a progressive intellectual, encompassing contemporary viewpoints on ethics in digital technology