Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Street vending is an integral component of urban economies around the world. It continues to expand as a source of affordable food and beneficial economic activity in developing countries. Street vendors are an integral component of urban economies around the world. Distributors of affordable goods and services, they provide consumers with convenient and accessible retail options and form a vital part of the social and economic life of a city. Street vending as an occupation has existed for hundreds of years (Bromley, 2000) and is considered a cornerstone of many cities’ historical and cultural heritage. The academic literature on street vending commonly treats street vendors broadly as those who sell goods or services in public space. This includes the full length of goods and services, traded on a wholesale or retail basis, in streets and other kinds of related public spaces — including sidewalks, alleyways, and medians. Street vendors may have fixed stalls such as kiosks, semi-fixed stalls like folding tables; they may operate from crates, collapsible stands, or wheeled pushcarts that are moved and stored overnight. Other vendors sell from fixed locations without a stall structure, displaying their merchandise on cloth/plastic sheets; mobile vendors walk or bicycle through the streets as they sell (International Labour Organization, 2002). According to DC Street vendor, street vending began with early entrepreneurs. These street venders profited from those milling around in the public markets purchasing other things. It was very popular and began to become quite common. Venders in current times have much the same philosophy as those from ancient times: take advantage of large gatherings of hungry people. One of the most influential times of history on the street vending business is that of Ancient Rome. During those times, there were many ways people had become aware of public entertainment. One of the ways that people entertained each other and themselves was during popular gatherings of the Roman Coliseum. Spectators would come to see different contests and competitions such as chariot races, sports, and circuses. While some visitors managed to bring their own goodies to eat, others didn’t. This was noticed and before long, tables were set up during competitions to feed and refresh those who were willing to pay. Breads and wines were often offered to those with an empty belly and plenty of money in their pockets. This became quite popular and many were becoming quite wealthy off of these spectators. Urban population growth has stimulated a rise in the number of street food vendors in many cities throughout the world. Migration from rural areas to urban centres has created a daily need among many working people to eat outside the home. Demand for relatively inexpensive, ready-to-eat food has increased as people, especially women, have less time to prepare meals. As with any type of business operation, a street vendor must obtain a business license in order to sell in public. In order to secure a street vendor’s license, the businessperson usually must comply with standards that would also apply if the business was operating indoors. For example, a vendor selling hot dogs on a street corner would still be held responsible for maintaining health code standards that would apply to any bar and grill that sold hot dogs. Health examiners in street vending have periodic inspections; are generally the one who conducted to make sure the street vendor remains in compliance with current regulations. If the vendor is found to be in violation, there may be a fine and a warning issued. Should the infractions not be corrected within a reasonable period of time, the street vendor’s permit can be revoked (Wise Geek). Street vending can involve the sale of a number of different products.  Street food vendors may offer commercially packaged snack items such as candy bars and bags of potato chips.  Street vendor food can also include hot dogs, siomai, fruits, fish and chips, chicken tenders, kwek-kwek, tempura, buko juice and many other foods that can be acquired and eaten while on the go. In most cases,  street vending businesses of this type work with the use of a cart that is mounted on wheels. At the end of the day, the street vendor carts can be stored in a secure indoor location, and then prepared for use the following business day. Most of the products they sell are food which is called street foods. The term ” street foods” describes different kinds of ready-to-eat foods and beverages sold and sometimes prepared in public places, notably streets. Like fast foods, the final preparation of street foods occurs when the customer orders the meal which can be consumed where it is purchased or taken away. Street foods and fast foods are cheaper than compared with restaurant meals and offer an attractive alternative to home-cooked food. In spite of these similarities, street food and fast food enterprises differ in variety, environment, marketing techniques and ownership. A street vendor may also sell items that have nothing to do with food. Newspapers and magazines may be sold from a cart parked on a city street. Souvenirs or items such as sunscreen and sunglasses may be sold through street vending near a public beach. In some cultures,  street vending is just as common as indoor retailing. While many locations impose strict regulations on any type of street vending activity, there may be little to no government monitoring on the operation of the business or the quality of items sold. However, countries such as Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and the United States tend to have exacting requirements that all street vendors must follow in order to keep their businesses open (Wise Geek, 2003). The employment situation of street vendors varies. They work for long hours from the same site on a daily basis. These vendors and their families typically depend on profits from vending as their primary source of household income. Other vendors go around among two or more sites, taking advantage of different types of clientele or customers and different patterns of urban movement over the course of the day. Some vendors also work on a more part-time basis, in weekly they rotate throughout markets or as seasonal vendors of specialty items. While some rely on street vending as a regular primary or secondary occupation, others vend only when an opportunity presents itself to earn extra income. (Wiego. org) A variety of employment statuses can be found among street vendors as well. Most vendors work as independent self-employed entrepreneurs, either with or without employees. There are also many vendors who work as contributing family members, and some work as employees of informal or even formal enterprises. Still others sell goods on commission for formal or informal firms. Although income levels vary, surveys have shown that the vast majority of street vendors lack access to social protection and are subject to a range of employment risks. This research studies about the daily survival of street vendors. Street vendors are businesspeople who sell their products in the open air rather than in a shop or store. They are small businesspeople struggling to make ends meet. This will study how they were able to sell their products chasing after their clienteles. They work long hours under harsh conditions, asking for nothing more than a chance to sell their goods and services on the public sidewalk. In many cases, the vendor either has a small stand that can be secured when not in operation, or makes use of a cart that can be removed from the street at the end of the business day. Sometimes referred to as a peddler the street vendor is commonly found in metropolitan areas, outdoor conventions and events, and sometimes at public beaches. The location of the study is in the outside of the campus. As observed that there are many street vendors along MSU-IIT. We see them selling peanuts, fruits, school supplies, rugs and the This study is very interesting because it is still very unusual to study the life of street vendors. We would be able to know how difficult their daily lives are and also the problems that they encounter. How they would interact with the people around them. This would also include their norms, practices and behaviours. On the next paragraphs of this chapter will talk about its statement of the problem, theoretical and conceptual framework, significance of the study and the scope and limitations. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM As observed, there are many street vendors outside in our campus MSU-IIT, who sell foods, school supplies and etc. This research will examine, “ What is the daily survival of street vendors? ” Specifically this research will study the life of being a street vendor as it is their main source of living, its socio-economic purposes and the existing problems they encounter. OBJECTIVES General: To study the life of street vendors along MSU-IIT. Specific: 1. To investigate the survival mechanisms of street vendor households. 2. To know the life condition of street vendors towards in different social institution: education, family as the unit of analysis, religion, health and problems that they encounter. 3. To study the purposes of street vending to the society and economy. DEFINITION OF TERMS * Mechanism — a habitual manner of acting to achieve an end; * Peddler — one who travels about selling wares for a living * Street vendor — a person who sells something in the street, either from a stall or van or with their goods laid out on the sidewalk * Survival — the act or process of surviving, the fact of having survived THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK This research is advised by the Grounded Theory Approach. Grounded theory (GT) is a systematic methodology in the social sciences linking the discovery of theory through the analysis of data (Martin & Turner, 1986).  It is mainly used in qualitative research, but is also applicable to quantitative data (Glacer, 1967). Grounded theory method is a research method which operates almost in a reverse fashion from traditional social science research. Rather than beginning with a hypothesis, the first step is data collection, through a variety of methods. From the data collected, the key points are marked with a series of codes, which are extracted from the text. The codes are grouped into similar concepts in order to make them more workable. From these concepts,  categories are formed, which are the basis for the creation of a presumption, or a reverse engineered hypothesis. This contradicts the traditional model of research, where the researcher chooses a theoretical framework, and only then applies this model to the phenomenon to be studied (G. Allan, 2003). Grounded theory method was developed by two sociologists,  Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss. Their collaboration in research on dying hospital patients led them to write the book Awareness of Dying. In this research they developed the constant comparative method, later known as Grounded Theory Method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The four stages of Analysis Stage | Purpose | Codes | Identifying anchors that allow they key points of the data to be gathered | Concepts | Collections of codes of similar content that allows the data to be grouped | Categories | Broad groups of similar concepts that are used to generate a theory | Theory | A collection if explanations that explain the subject of the research | In Strass and Corbin’s approach in general, grounded theory is an approach for looking systematically at qualitative data like transcripts of interviews or protocols of observations aiming at the generation of theory. Grounded theory is sometimes seen as a qualitative method, but grounded theory reaches father: it combines a specific style of research (or a paradigm) with pragmatic theory of action and with some methodological guidelines. This approach was written down and systematized in the 1960s by Anselm Strauss (himself a student of Herbert Blumer) and Barney Glaser (a student of Paul Lazarsfeld), while working together in studying the sociology of illness at the University of California, San Francisco. For and with their studies, they developed a methodology, which was then made overt and became the foundation stone for an important branch of qualitative sociology. Important concepts of grounded theory method are categories, codes, codings and etc. The research principle behind grounded theory method is neither inductive nor deductive, but combines both in a way of abductive reasoning (coming from the works of Charles Sanders Peirce). This leads to a research practice where data sampling, data analysis and theory development are not seen as distinct and disjunct, but as different steps to be repeated until one can describe and explain the phenomenon that is to be researched. This stopping point is reached when new data does not change the emerging theory anymore. In an interview that was conducted shortly before Strauss’ death (1994), he named three basic elements every grounded theory approach should include (Legewie/Schervier-Legewie, 2004). These three elements are: * Theoretical sensitive coding, that is, generating theoretical strong concepts from the data to explain the phenomenon researched; * theoretical sampling, that is, deciding whom to interview or what to observe next according to the state of theory generation, and that implies starting data analysis with the first interview, and writing down memos and hypotheses early; * the need to compare between phenomena and contexts to make the theory strong. In order to apply this theory, the street vending is the object of the study. This will be the basis of in all the data that will be gathered according the respondents. The daily lives of street vendors is the area of reference or discussion, it is the subject. With the use of codes, concepts, theories and categories these would facilitate the analysis and understanding of the study. This study needs a lot of observations and data that will be gathered in depth from the respondent in order to have a good grounded basis and there will be no biases in the study. The grounded theory fits to study because case study bring us to an understanding of a complex issue or object and can extend experience or add strength to what is already known through previous research, it is an intensive analysis of an individual unit (e. g., a person, group, event)  stressing developmental factors in relation to context. It needs grounded information from the street vendor households in order to make the research objective. It needs also to compare between phenomena and contexts to make the theory strong according to Strauss in one of his basic elements of grounded theory. This study investigates contemporary real-life situations and provides the basis for the application of ideas and extensions of methods. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK This schematic diagram shows what the framework of the research and what things that will measure to the study. As we can see on the diagram, we will measure its socio-economic purposes, what are their survival conditions in their family as our unit of analysis, education, health and religion and how they handle such inter-personal relationships. This will study also the historical, cultural and the social institutions of what they have of the informants. Socio-economic purposes Street Vendors along MSU-IIT The survival conditions sdveco Health Religion Education Family (unit of analysis) SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The study will be a significant endeavour in contributing the study as new knowledge, make findings and more conclusive. This study will help to know the survival setting among street vendors. Through this study, students and teachers will become aware of the survival conditions among street vendor and also to the government so that they would help these small entrepreneurs in our city. This will also serve as a future reference for researchers on the subject of survival conditions of low class community in the urban and basis of survival mechanisms. To rethink the minds of the people that street vending is not an easy job. This research wants to promote its market because street vending is the most visible segment of the urban informal economy, it is the indisputable that there are thousands — and in some cases, tens or hundreds of thousands — of the street vendors in most big cities of the developing world. This study will also help encourage those who want small business. The results of this study will provide some insights and information on how they handle such problems in everyday life and how they are going to face it. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS This study will cover those who are selling in the streets along MSU-IIT. These vendors should have been working as a street vendor for at least 5 years. This research will gather 5 respondents. These respondents must be 20 years old and above. The study will cover the life of street vendor; this includes their job situation, socio-economic purposes of street vending, and its survival mechanisms towards their family, education, health and religion and how they interact with the people. The study does not cover the vendors who are in the market and vendors who sell in built-in stalls. This study is limited to ask such situational experiences that does not involve to the study like behaviour, etc. and to ask some too personal questions. CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE This chapter presents survey of related literature and writings of recognized experts, both of which have significant bearing or relation to the problem under investigation. According to Dela Cruz (1998: 3) the sight of vendor can be an eye opening experience evoking a fascination, pity and sometimes shock. Some Filipino-Americans describe them as similar to carnival vendors who take to the streets. Street vending has been a tradition of us Filipinos; these jobs are common and have become a way of life of most people. “ The survival can be measured by low-level of living. These low level of living are manifested quantitatively and quantitatively in the form of low income, poverty, inadequate housing, poor health, limited or no education, high infant mortality, low life and work expectancy and in many cases, a general sense of malaise and hopelessness” (Todaro 1997: 27). As what Todaro stated above, it connotes that lower class are poor and have been experiencing poverty. We know that these people have not finish education and have no permanent job. Since they do not have permanent job, they tend to work on small business like street vending. Dora Katanova who had researched Russian street vendors said that, “ Oftentimes people tend to romanticize the adversities that street vendors suffer through in their day-to-day lives“ (Macaulay. cuny. edu, 2004). It means that people tend to think the romantic way of the hardships that street vendors suffered in their everyday lives. People might think that the work of the street vendor is just for fun. Well, people should scrutinize the behind story of different situations of the street vending. According to Frances Tran who studied Chinese street vendors, even though vendors have face difficulties they should overcome it in order to improve their working conditions and life. In recent years, vendors have been victims of aggressive ” quality of life” crackdown. They have been denied access to vending licenses. They have been swept from the streets by powerful business groups. They have been unjustly harassed, and their property has been illegally seized. As she said, “ Regardless of many obstacles vendors must overcome, they continue to combat abuses and struggle to improve working conditions” (Macaulay. cuny. edu). As with any type of business operation, a street vendor must have a business license in order to sell in the public. In order to secure a street vendor’s license, the businessperson usually must comply with standards that would also apply if the business was operating indoors (Wise Geek, 2012). For example, a vendor selling hot dogs on a street corner would still be held responsible for maintaining health code standards that would apply to any bar and grill that sold hot dogs. As a way of living, vending can be explained by Louis Wirth’s essay “ Urbanism as a Way of Life”, he stated that the city creates a distinct way of life called urbanization which is reflected in how people dress and speak, what they believe in a social world, what they consider worth achieving, what they do for a living, whom they associate with, and why they interact with other people (Palen 1987: 287) Street food sellers are attracted to this occupation because of the possibility of earning relatively high incomes. In Southeast Asia, the average earnings of a vendor may be three to ten times more than the minimum wage and they are often comparable to the wages of skilled labourers employed in the formal sector. In Malaysia, net incomes varying, from US$4 to $36 (with an average of $16 per day) are derived from daily sales ranging in value from $10 to $120 (Andringa and Kies, 1989). This explains that there are some street vendors have high income but some others do not have. The fairly low capital expenditures of street food businesses are also attractive for certain types of sellers. Furthermore, vendors can choose their work hours; they have few constraints on their movements and are self-employed. In spite of the benefits of street food trade, vendors may have to work long hours under difficult conditions and the risks are tolerate exclusively by the seller. Vendors can face problems with local officials and may also have to deal with criminals who try to extort ” protection money” from them. In. addition, their profession is often considered to be in low status. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY: RESEARCH DESIGN This chapter will discuss the methodology of the study. It is the procedures, and rules used by those who work in a discipline or engage in an inquiry. This is a way of proceeding or doing something, especially a systematic or regular one in orderliness of thought. Case study research excels at bringing us to an understanding of a complex issue or situation and can extend experience or add strength to what is already known through previous research. Case studies emphasize detailed contextual analysis of a limited number of events or conditions and their relationships. Researchers have used the case study research method for many years across a variety disciplines. Social scientists, in particular, have made use of this qualitative research method to examine contemporary real-life situations and provide the basis for the application of ideas and extensions of methods. Researcher K. Yin defines the case study method as an empirical inquiry that study a phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used (Yin, 1999: 23). Many well-known case study researchers such as Robert E. Stake, Helen Simons, and Robert K. Yin have written about case study research and suggested techniques for organizing and conducting the research successfully. This introduction to case study research draws upon their work and proposes six steps that should be used: * Determine and define the research questions * Select the cases and determine data gathering and analysis techniques * Prepare to collect the data * Collect data in the field (Interview two (2) street vendors households along MSU-IIT) * Evaluate and analyze the data * Prepare the report Step 1. Determine and Define the Research Questions The first step in case study research is to establish a firm research focus to which the researcher can refer over the course of study of a complex phenomenon or object. The researcher establishes the focus of the study by forming questions about the situation or problem to be studied and determining a purpose for the study. The research object in a case study is often a program, an entity, a person, or a group of people. This research object in a case is a group of street vendors. These vendors which is the object of the study is likely to be intricately connected to political, social, historical, and personal issues, providing wide ranging possibilities for questions and adding complexity to the case study. The researcher investigates the object of the case study in depth using a variety of data gathering methods to produce evidence that leads to understanding of the case and answers the research questions. Step 2. Select the Cases and Determine Data Gathering and Analysis Techniques During the design phase of case study research, the researcher determines what approaches to use in selecting single or multiple real-life cases to examine in depth and which instruments and data gathering approaches to use. When using multiple cases, each case is treated as a single case. Each case’s conclusions can then be used as information contributing to the whole study, but each case remains a single case. Excellent case studies carefully select cases and carefully examine the choices available from among many research tools available in order to increase the validity of the study (Soy, 2006). Careful discrimination at the point of selection also helps erect boundaries around the case. Step 3. Prepare to Collect the Data Since case study research generates a large amount of data from multiple sources, systematic organization of the data is important to prevent the researcher from becoming overwhelmed by the amount of data and to prevent the researcher from losing sight of the original research purpose and questions. Advance preparation assists in handling large amounts of data in a documented and systematic fashion. Researchers prepare databases to assist with categorizing, sorting, storing, and retrieving data for analysis. Step 4: Collect Data in the Field The researcher must collect and store multiple sources of evidence comprehensively and systematically, in formats that can be referenced and sorted so that converging lines of inquiry and patterns can be uncovered. Researchers carefully observe the object of the case study and identify causal factors associated with the observed phenomenon. Renegotiation of arrangements with the objects of the study or addition of questions to interviews may be necessary as the study progresses. Case study research is flexible, but when changes are made, they are documented systematically. Step 5. Evaluate and Analyze the Data The researcher examines raw data using many interpretations in order to find linkages between the research object and the outcomes with reference to the original research questions. Throughout the evaluation and analysis process, the researcher remains open to new opportunities and insights. The case study method, with its use of multiple data collection methods and analysis techniques, provides researchers with opportunities to triangulate data in order to strengthen the research findings and conclusions. Step 6. Prepare the report Exemplary case studies report the data in a way that transforms a complex issue into one that can be understood, allowing the reader to question and examine the study and reach an understanding independent of the researcher. The goal of the written report is to represent a complex problem in a way that conveys a vicarious experience to the reader. Case studies present data in very publicly accessible ways and may lead the reader to apply the experience in his or her own real-life situation.