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the advancement of technology, convenient dividuals in the society currently have be-
forms of transportation, continuous socio- come more preoccupied with the use of elec-
economic development, and increased migra- tronic devices than in the past. Do they
tion. Moreover, modern rapid communication really need them? People are often referred
makes the connection between people simple to as lonely creatures with no ties, lacking
compared with that in the past and is now a social participation. They spend a lot of time
daily practice. on maintaining their lives, becoming com-
petitive and making personal commitments
Awareness of folk healers about the impact
that may create problems and adversely
of AEC and globalization
affect the quality of life, with the reality that
Disscusion of both positive and nega- their physical and mental health disintegrates.
tive effects
Preparedness of folk healers for the impact
Positive impacts: First, the rapid growth
of globalization and AEC
of technological development has triggered
better quality and speed of communication. The folk healers indicated that they
Second, these have been useful for agricul- realize the importance of preparing for pro-
turalists in harvesting and making things run blem-solving. First, people should strive to
faster than before. Third, there have been in- the fullest in order to preserve and/or restore
creases in the use of medicinal herbs. essential natural resources, which should be
Negative impacts: First, with regard to protected under copyright/patent laws.
the depletion of natural resources in areas Second, the wise use of natural resources and
with an abundance of such resources and preservation of community forests will further

herbs, the advance of technology, in order to enable the legal preservation of folk wisdom.
raise production levels and improve harves-
Perception of massage practitioners about
ting procedures, may cause grave losses. For
AEC and globalization
example, people plow over çTa Mok Sa Raeé
(a large anthill on a field with a variety of Based on a focus group discussion with
herbs and food that could be utilized). This eight masseurs in total, the findings show
could lead to unhealthy lifestyles and prac- that they did not know exactly the details of
tices, and result in chronic diseases, such as AEC and its relationship with themselves.
diabetes and high blood pressure. As globali- Some of them heard about it when their chil-
zation takes effect, daily life may change ac- dren did school assignments or from com-

cording to new trends, including the con- ments on television programs. Nevertheless,
sumption of improper food and neglect of they seemed to be uninterested in and inac-
health maintenance. Third, there can be ad- tive concerning the topic itself. Although they
verse impacts on agriculture and society. In- said that changes were seen clearly within