Support Me Once or Every Month - A Taxonomy of Traditional and Subscription-Based Crowdfunding

Subscription-based crowdfunding represents a novel crowdfunding approach, which can reduce the harmful ad- and algorithmic dependency that online creators are experiencing. By utilizing recurring payments and continuously running campaigns, subscription-based crowdfunding platforms enable creators to fund a stable income and democratize their content creation process. Subscription-based crowdfunding platforms are financially successful (e.g., Patreon, OnlyFans), offer tremendous potential for online value creation, and exhibit characteristics that significantly differ from traditional crowdfunding approaches. To better understand these platforms, we develop a theoretically and empirically grounded taxonomy of crowdfunding platforms, which specifically addresses the novel characteristics of subscription-based approaches. Thereby, we contribute to IS research by offering a standardized framework to organize previously disordered knowledge about crowdfunding platforms and enable the creation of hypotheses about the relationship between crowdfunding platforms’ characteristics. Additionally, we provide an overview of the current crowdfunding landscape and outline the beneficial characteristics of subscription-based crowdfunding for scholars and practitioners

Residual aphasia

We will present an empirical study on residual aphasia. In spontaneous speech of patients with residual aphasia slight deficits still seem to exist. This study aims at clearly defining residual aphasia based on spontaneous speech. Therefore patients with residual aphasia and healthy controls were tested with the Aachen Aphasia Test. Several additional aspects of spontaneous speech were chosen and evaluated in detail. Significant differences between the groups were observed for some parameters, e.g. lexical cohesion, word finding difficulties. Altogether, this study presents an important contribution to the diagnosis of residual aphasia

Neural correlates of grasping

Prehension, the capacity to reach and grasp objects, comprises two main components: reaching, i.e., moving the hand towards an object, and grasping, i.e., shaping the hand with respect to its properties. Knowledge of this topic has gained a huge advance in recent years, dramatically changing our view on how prehension is represented within the dorsal stream. While our understanding of the various nodes coding the grasp component is rapidly progressing, little is known of the integration between grasping and reaching. With this Mini Review we aim to provide an up-to-date overview of the recent developments on the coding of prehension. We will start with a description of the regions coding various aspects of grasping in humans and monkeys, delineating where it might be integrated with reaching. To gain insights into the causal role of these nodes in the coding of prehension, we will link this functional description to lesion studies. Finally, we will discuss future directions that might be promising to unveil new insights on the coding of prehension movements

Tuning Curves for Movement Direction in the Human Visuomotor System

Neurons in macaque primary motor cortex (M1) are broadly tuned to arm movement direction. Recent evidence suggests that human M1 contains directionally tuned neurons, but it is unclear which other areas are part of the network coding movement direction and what characterizes the responses of neuronal populations in those areas. Such information would be highly relevant for the implementation of brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) in paralyzed patients. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging adaptation to identify which areas of the human brain show directional selectivity and the degree to which these areas are affected by the type of motor act (to press vs to grasp). After adapting participants to one particular hand movement direction, we measured the release from adaptation during occasional test trials, parametrically varying the angular difference between adaptation and test direction. We identified multiple areas broadly tuned to movement direction, including M1, dorsal premotor cortex, intraparietal sulcus, and the parietal reach region. Within these areas, we observed a gradient of directional selectivity, with highest directional selectivity in the right parietal reach region, for both right- and left-hand movements. Moreover, directional selectivity was modulated by the type of motor act to varying degrees, with the largest effect in M1 and the smallest modulation in the parietal reach region. These data provide an important extension of our knowledge about directional tuning in the human brain. Furthermore, our results suggest that the parietal reach region might be an ideal candidate for the implementation of BCI in paralyzed patients.Psycholog

Decoding Movement Goals from the Fronto-Parietal Reach Network

During reach planning, fronto-parietal brain areas need to transform sensory information into a motor code. It is debated whether these areas maintain a sensory representation of the visual cue or a motor representation of the upcoming movement goal. Here, we present results from a delayed pro-/anti-reach task which allowed for dissociating the position of the visual cue from the reach goal. In this task, the visual cue was combined with a context rule (pro vs. anti) to infer the movement goal. Different levels of movement goal specification during the delay were obtained by presenting the context rule either before the delay together with the visual cue (specified movement goal) or after the delay (underspecified movement goal). By applying functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA), we demonstrate movement goal encoding in the left dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) and bilateral superior parietal lobule (SPL) when the reach goal is specified. This suggests that fronto-parietal reach regions (PRRs) maintain a prospective motor code during reach planning. When the reach goal is underspecified, only area PMd but not SPL represents the visual cue position indicating an incomplete state of sensorimotor integration. Moreover, this result suggests a potential role of PMd in movement goal selection

Ground-state modulation-enhancement by two-state lasing in quantum-dot laser devices

We predict a significant increase of the 3 dB-cutoff-frequency on the ground- state lasing wavelength for two-state-lasing quantum-dot lasers using a microscopically motivated multi-level rate-equation model. After the onset of the second lasing line, the excited state acts as a high-pass filter, improving the ground-state response to faster modulation frequencies. We present both numerically simulated small-signal and large-signal modulation results and compare the performance of single and two-state lasing devices. Furthermore, we give dynamical arguments for the advantages of two-state lasing on data-transmission capabilities

THIS IS HOW WE DO IT - A QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SUBSCRIPTION-BASED CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Subscription-based crowdfunding is an emerging type of crowdfunding that is characterized by enabling regular payments from supporters to creators and a creator-centric rather than one-time project focus. To create a successful subscription-based crowdfunding outcome creators can utilize managerial levers e.g., information control and relational labor. However, thus far, little is known about how creators employ the managerial levers at their disposal and the strategic considerations behind their use. To holistically capture the utilized managerial levers and strategic considerations, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 creators on the popular subscription-based crowdfunding platform Patreon. Our findings highlight four key managerial levers of subscription-based crowdfunding creators: information control strategies, supporter interaction strategies, supporter acquisition strategies, and supporter retention strategies. We contribute to IS literature by enabling further exploration of creators’ thought processes in managing their subscription-based crowdfunding campaigns