Global Realities
A Study of the Lived Experiences of a Cuban Street Vendor as a Social Cultural Phenomenon
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session YiShan Lea
This is a phenomenological case study of a Cuban merolica (informal street vendor in Spanish). The research data was gathered from June 2022 to 2023 through participant observation in the initial stage and followed with electronic media chat in the next. The research period is critical as lives in Cuba have traversed through the aftermath of the pandemic COVID 19, have confronted acute scarcity, withstood extreme inflation, and sustained an energy crisis, etc. Grounded in the daily routines and activities, the research explicated the social economic conditions of the informant and the recent contexts of Cuba. The analysis teased out subjective perceptions and exigences in meeting the essential needs. The lived experiences of the informant as social cultural phenomena are interpreted to make sense of the informant’s world, and her worldviews are gleaned in this phenomenological case study.
Cultural Identity Changes in Ukraine
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Irina Ustinova, Viktoriia Kisil
This research investigates the shifts in the cultural identity of Ukrainians. The patterns of people’s behavior are aligned with four dimensions of cultural variability, presented by William Gudykunst and Hofstede, such as individualism-collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and masculinity-femininity. In Western individualistic cultures, an independent self-construal predominates. In collectivistic cultures, group goals take precedence over individual goals. Traditionally, Ukraine has been influenced by collectivistic cultural values due to its historical ties with Russia but even then, there were differences between cultural identity of those two nations. In Ukraine, with its warmer climate and fertile soil, individual farms, not collective farms, were more typical, and individualistic features in Ukrainian identity are becoming even more prominent nowadays. Cultures differ in power distance or the degree to which prestige and wealth are distributed in a society. In the 21st century, Ukraine is transitioning from an authoritarian to a more democratic society. The masculinity in cultures is correlated with the segregation of women in education and absence of equal job opportunities and nowadays Ukrainian culture has a blend of gender orientation traits. These shifts indicate a dynamic evolution in the cultural identity of Ukrainians, influenced by historical and socio-economic changes.
