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In nearly all young people's books, historical and social processes are viewed from an individualistic perspective; thus it is assumed that racial problems can be solved on the individual level only. This is usually done by appealing to pity and charity, thereby degrading the coloured people to mere ob jects. The Negro-African is often associated with ani mal behaviour and instinct. Both the Negro- African and the Afro-American are rarely por trayed as autonomous, independent human beings; initiative and activity are the domain of the white. The Afro-American is not allowed to display a value system of his own, he appears as a human being who has completely internalized the value system of white America. Together with several other media with racist overtones, these kinds of young people's books legitimize subtle forms of neo-colonialism.

Children's & young people's literature is frequently viewed as if it were isolated from other literature; however, it reflects the values & ideology of a given society just as much as other literature, & should be viewed from this perspective. In most children's & young people's books, social problems are often viewed in an individualistic context rather than in a social one, thus leading to the assumption that racial problems are solved by appealing to pity & charity, & the accompanying vision of colored people as objects of degradation. The Negro-African is frequently associated with animal behavior & instinct. Both Negro-Africans & Afro-Americans are seldom portrayed as autonomous human beings; initiative is a white domain. Further, the Afro-American is seen as having internalized the value system of white American culture. A more serious consequence of the racism in children's & young people's literature, coupled with other media images that promote racist assumptions, is a legitimization of subtle forms of neocolonialism. Modified Author's Summary.

PurposeBusiness process management (BPM) networks have become an important theme in both research and practice. Drawing from governance theory, this paper seeks to provide a theoretical understanding of BPM networks and introduce three types of BPM governance: market, network, and hierarchy. Subsequently, it aims to study the impact of BPM maturity, organization size, and financial stress (independent variables) on the three types of BPM governance (dependent variable).Design/methodology/approachAfter a thorough literature analysis a quantitative study is conducted. Comprehensive data of 538 local public administration in Germany and Japan is comparatively studied by means of a PLS (model and multi group) analysis.FindingsThe empirical study provides evidence for the significant dependence of BPM governance on contextual variables: the configuration of the BPM network relies on the BPM maturity and the perceived financial stress. Also, such dependence does vary between the two countries. Higher financial stress leads to more higher network sourcing in Germany and to higher market sourcing in Japan, respectively.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that the role of process managers changes over time. In immature organizations, process managers appear to work alone and struggle for resources. However, once organizations start to mature, the role changes to that of an "orchestrator of different actors." Process managers in future public organizations (assuming a positive development of capabilities), both in Asian and European settings, must be able to collaborate with actors from different governance mechanisms.Originality/valueFirst, the paper provides a governance‐theory based understanding of BPM networks. It introduces market‐type, network‐type, and hierarchy‐type BPM governance and thereby provides greater conceptual and theoretical clarity of this important phenomenon. So far, this research area has been under‐theorized. Second, the paper provides a theory that explains BPM network governance. Here, relevant contextual variables are taken into account, including the BPM maturity of an organization. Third, the paper contributes comprehensive empirical insights into BPM networks structures, governance mechanisms, and their dependence on contextual variables (especially the BPM maturity of an organization). Fourth, it provides an ample comparative theory‐based analysis of BPM networks in two different countries. Such an endeavor, as to the author's best knowledge, has not yet been undertaken so far.

Purpose
– Business process management (BPM) is a key concept in information systems (IS) research that helps to connect business strategy with the use of technology in an organization. Contemporary BPM research is no longer only about methods, procedures, or tools for managing or modeling processes but about assessing and developing BPM capability in organizations. For this purpose, a vast collection of maturity models has been designed by practitioners and scholars alike. Such models are used to assess the status quo and benchmark it against other organizations, and, most important, to guide the development of BPM capability. With this study, the paper challenges the maturity model perspective of such development models.


Design/methodology/approach
– In this study, methods of qualitative IS research are employed to address the research objectives.


Findings
– The paper shows that maturity model-based guidance would be inadequate. Instead, other concept-external factors resulting from organizational and environmental characteristics appear to be important indicators. The theory discussion introduces alternative takes on BPM capability development, lays out implications for BPM practice, and presents potentially fruitful paths for future research in the area of BPM capability development.


Originality/value
– This paper challenges the current perspectives and contributes a new direction for conceptualizing BPM capability development.

PurposeTo provide guidelines in the form of a procedural model for e‐government‐indicated business process reengineering (BPR) projects in public administrations.Design/methodology/approachA range of recently published works, which aim to provide practical advice for process‐oriented e‐government projects, were analysed. Additionally, experiences from several practical e‐government projects were taken into account. The procedural model developed was then tested and evaluated.FindingsThere is a lack of process orientation in public administrations. Additionally, existing processes are regularly not applicable to e‐government. Therefore, e‐government projects in practice are not always able to fully implement transactional processes. Part of the value potentially added by e‐government is hence not exploited. One of the main reasons for the lack of process orientation is that there are few BPR methodologies applied and verified in public administrations.Research limitations/implicationsThe procedural model has not been tested for all different political and administrative systems. Certain national characteristics might lead to additional adaptations of the model which have been suggested.Practical implicationsThe procedural model is very useful and has been validated in several practical projects.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an identified need for BPR methodologies in public administrations, especially in the move towards e‐government.