The thesis is divided into two sections. Section 1 explores the psycho-social and legal constructions of family, parenting and children that have influenced judicial decision-making in parenting disputes following separation and divorce. Particular attention is paid, first, to the circumstances surrounding the shift from paternal to maternally-based presumptions about the parenting of children; and second, to the more recent and somewhat puzzling shift to a presumption of gender neutrality. The extent to which fault has continued as a less overt decision-making criterion is also considered. In Section 2, judgements in recent closely contested parenting cases in the Family Court of Australia are analysed as contemporary socio-legal narratives. A systematic, in-depth examination of a heterogeneous sample of publicly accessible cases revealed that gender-based assumptions continue to dominate judicial thinking about parenting and family structure. In particular, it was found that outcomes that favoured mothers correlated with perceived evidence of conformity to a maternal stereotype of self-sacrifice on behalf of the child(ren). Outcomes favouring fathers usually resulted from situations in which mothers were judged to fall short of these stereotyped expectations. Fathers� roles, even in cases in which their applications were successful, generally continued to be equated with breadwinning and support. Their capacities as nurturers to their children were either not mentioned or treated with scepticism. In the light of the findings, tensions between continuing gender-based roles in families, public attitudes to parenting and preferred family structure, and recent changes in our scientific knowledge base regarding gender and parenting are reviewed. Implications of the persistence of the breadwinning/nurturing dichotomy both within the Australian culture and family court judgements are discussed. Particular attention is drawn to the impact of the confused circumstances in which gender-neutral parenting principles came about in the 1970s.

The thesis is divided into two sections. Section 1 explores the psycho-social and legal constructions of family, parenting and children that have influenced judicial decision-making in parenting disputes following separation and divorce. Particular attention is paid, first, to the circumstances surrounding the shift from paternal to maternally-based presumptions about the parenting of children; and second, to the more recent and somewhat puzzling shift to a presumption of gender neutrality. The extent to which fault has continued as a less overt decision-making criterion is also considered. In Section 2, judgements in recent closely contested parenting cases in the Family Court of Australia are analysed as contemporary socio-legal narratives. A systematic, in-depth examination of a heterogeneous sample of publicly accessible cases revealed that gender-based assumptions continue to dominate judicial thinking about parenting and family structure. In particular, it was found that outcomes that favoured mothers correlated with perceived evidence of conformity to a maternal stereotype of self-sacrifice on behalf of the child(ren). Outcomes favouring fathers usually resulted from situations in which mothers were judged to fall short of these stereotyped expectations. Fathers� roles, even in cases in which their applications were successful, generally continued to be equated with breadwinning and support. Their capacities as nurturers to their children were either not mentioned or treated with scepticism. In the light of the findings, tensions between continuing gender-based roles in families, public attitudes to parenting and preferred family structure, and recent changes in our scientific knowledge base regarding gender and parenting are reviewed. Implications of the persistence of the breadwinning/nurturing dichotomy both within the Australian culture and family court judgements are discussed. Particular attention is drawn to the impact of the confused circumstances in which gender-neutral parenting principles came about in the 1970s.

This study examines the construction of children and children’s rights in the context of corporate responsibility. Businesses often work with children in their philanthropic work, but have not been expected to integrate children’s rights in their core activities. The relationship between businesses and children is therefore poorly understood. This study aims to develop a better understanding of this relationship by studying the construction of children in corporate responsibility policies and website presentations. The point of departure for the analysis is that children are a minority group, meaning that they share certain characteristics and face shared problems. In order to do this, CSR theories and previous CSR research is presented from a children’s rights perspective, which provides a theoretical framework for the empirical analysis. The analysis examines cases of current relationships between businesses and children. This is done by analyzing the construction of children in the corporate responsibility policies of six companies. In order to structure the analysis, a categorization system is used which defines six distinct relationships between business and children. The study found that the internal disagreements within the field of CSR has significant implications on children’s rights and their resolution is necessary for true integration of children’s rights into CSR. Further, the children were constructed vastly differently between the companies as well as between the categories. The relationship is also contingent upon the general recognition of responsibilities by a company.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:31:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Dayse Cesar Franco Bernardi.pdf: 585553 bytes, checksum: 243789876da115755a3c17cf23b5fa50 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-12-01 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Abstract This study s aim is to contribute to the understanding of the social construction of childhood and adolescence in Brazil. It is integrated in the research line developed by NEGRI Nucleus of Sutdies of Gender, Race and Age, from the Pontificia Universidade Católica de São Paulo. The object of this investigation is the apprehension of the conceptions of childhood underlying the psychological reports that integrate the edicts of Judiciary Power in the processes about sheltering of children and adolescents. The empirical material analyzed gather 60 psychological reportsabout 18 cases involving 42 children and adolescents, produced by 15 psychologists who work at the Varas da Infancia e Juventude de Santo Amaro e Santana in São Paulo, during 2004. The theoretical basis is linked with the new paradigms to the study of childhood that constitute a new disciplinar ambit - Studies on childhood as named by English speaking authors, or Sociology of Childhood , as named by French speaking researchers. The results point out that the children and adolescents s voices at the psychological reports , that sustain the judiciary decisions, are rarely listened to and they do not take part on their own sheltering and unsheltering. What prevails is the speech of relatives and technicians. This shows that childhood is still a subordinated category. The contradictions about keeping the right of family life and that of protecting children and adolescents in asylums throw light at the tension between the protective and the autonomist tendencies present at Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente. The results point out the situations of human suffering and the deep social unevenness to which children and adolescents are submitted. / Esta dissertação tem como objetivo geral contribuir para a compreensão da construção social da categoria infância e adolescência na sociedade brasileira. Nesse sentido, integra-se à linha de pesquisa do NEGRI Núcleo de Estudos das Relações de Gênero, Raça e Idade da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo. O objeto da investigação é a apreensão das concepções de infância subjacentes aos relatórios psicológicos que integram autos do Poder Judiciário relativos a processos de abrigamento de crianças e adolescentes. O material empírico analisado consiste em 60 relatórios psicológicos inseridos em 18 autos judiciais relativos ao abrigamento de 42 crianças e adolescentes, nas Varas da Infância e Juventude de Santo Amaro e Santana na Comarca de São Paulo no ano de 2004. O referencial teórico empregado se vincula aos novos paradigmas para o estudo da infância que vêm se forjando em novo campo disciplinar - Estudos sobre a infância (expressão promulgada pelos autores anglo-saxônicos) ou Sociologia da Infância (expressão adotada pelos autores francófonos). Os resultados mostram que a voz própria das crianças e dos adolescentes encontrou um reduzido espaço de expressão nos relatórios psicológicos, que embasam as medidas judiciais de abrigamento. Crianças e adolescentes são representados por adultos que decidem sobre suas vidas, sem considerá-los como atores sociais capazes de opinar sobre seus próprios interesses. Eles não participaram das decisões judiciais sobre seu abrigamento e desabrigamento, expressando sentimentos de dor e sofrimento pelas situações de separação e desamparo a que são submetidos. Há predominância do registro da fala das mães e das profissionais para as quais a infância se mantém como uma categoria social subordinada. A pesquisa evidencia paradoxos entre os dispositivos legais e as práticas de abrigamento, bem como a tensão entre as tendências protecionista e autonomista do direito, presente no Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente. Os resultados salientam as situações de sofrimento humano e as profundas desigualdades sociais às quais as crianças e adolescentes são submetidos em função do fator etário.