Background:Intensive behavioral intervention programs are recommended for children with autism. However, in resource-constraint settings, such programs are largely inaccessible, and there is an urgent need for development of low-cost interventions.Aim:To evaluate the efficacy of a parent-based behavioral intervention program in Indian autistic children.Materials and Methods:Sixteen children with autistic disorder undergoing the intervention for at least six months were enrolled. The mean development, social, expressive, and receptive language quotients, and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) scores were compared before and after the intervention.Results:The average duration of therapy was 19.5±11.78 months. There was a significant improvement in the development quotient (P=0.015), social quotient (P=0.004), expressive language quotient (P=0.03), CARS (P=0.001), and ABC (P=0.014) scores.Conclusion:Parent-based behavioral intervention programs have a promising role in management of children with autism in resource-constraint settings.

Purpose This paper aims to build upon the various studies conducted on the ecosystem and expands the understanding of the ecosystem of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India. The discussions in this essay entail a literature review that analyzes the discourse on the ecosystem of MFIs, and based on this an attempt has been made to conceptually design a model for the ecosystem of MFIs in India. Design/methodology/approach The authors design the “Indian microfinance ecosystem model” based on the actors in the broader financial ecosystem (Bloom and Dees, 2008; Ledgerwood and Gibson, 2013) and the capital infrastructure and the context-setting factors of the social entrepreneurship ecosystem (Dees et al., 2008) that best describes the Indian MFI scenarios. Findings The ecosystem of MFIs in India is found to be very complicated. The interactions among numerous actors – who are core product or service providers, facilitators, client, beneficiaries, resource providers, competitors, complementary organizations, regulators, opponents and influential bystanders. The authors also observed that the capital infrastructure and context-setting factors such as policy, politics, media, economic and social conditions are equally crucial for the MFIs to survive and flourish. Moreover, the ecosystem is also dynamic and could change with the environmental conditions and entry of new entrants into the ecosystem. Research limitations/implications Understanding the ecosystem of MFIs from the strategic perspective would also be of interest to stakeholders such as donors, investors, banks, government and so on. For MFIs, knowing their place in the ecosystem is an essential step in determining their strategy. Practical implications Understanding the elements of the ecosystem would help MFIs to assess whether they have achieved the minimum critical environmental conditions in the ecosystem for their business model to succeed. Social implications Better understanding of the ecosystem will help create social benefits through better service delivery to the low-income population. Originality/value Expands the existing business ecosystem literature by extending it to the social policy, social entrepreneurship and more specifically to the microfinance sector. Fills a void in ecosystem literature by designing a comprehensive ecosystem model of MFIs in India. Understanding the ecosystem would help market system actors and facilitators to understand what they have to do to achieve their objectives of participating in the ecosystem. Knowing their place in the ecosystem is an essential step in determining what they should do and how they should do it. In addition to MFIs, it could have important implications for policymakers, particularly the government, that are trying to achieve financial inclusion.

RESUMENLa reciente explosión de las herramientas y servicios de comunicación, durante las últimas dos décadas, ha planteado nuevas preguntas más allá de la comprensión de la pedagogía actual en los estudios de comunicación en la India. La sociedad india ha sido testigo de una muy extensa proliferación de tecnologías mediáticas, a tal grado que se han vuelto ubicuas en el entorno social. Sin embargo, la educación en medios en India sigue siendo un área de estudios casi inexplo rada. Esta contribución plantea la necesidad de una educación mediática desde una perspectiva no elitista al mismo tiempo que propone su posicionamiento como una nueva pedagogía aun reconociendo que los resultados de la investigación sobre la efectividad de la educación mediática son prácticamente inexistentes. ABSTRACTThe recent explosion of communication tools and services within last two decades has posed new questions that are beyond the comprehension of existing pedagogy in Indian Comm unication Studies. Indian society has witnessed a widespread proliferation of media technologies to such an extent that they have become ubiquitous in society. Media education, in In dia, however, remains an almost unexplored area of studies. This contribution puts forward the need for Media education far from a non-elitist point of view and proposes this Media education as a new pedagogy although its efficiency has not been proved convincingly yet.

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