John A . Hamman - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by John A . Hamman

American Political Science Review, Mar 1, 1991

Carbondale he conventional wisdom about presidential campaigning in midterm Senate elections is t... more Carbondale he conventional wisdom about presidential campaigning in midterm Senate elections is that presidential efforts lack impact or have negative impact. We discuss conceptual problems with the conventional view and offer an alternative that views presidential campaigning as strategic. We test this alternative and find support for it. Further, we find that presidential campaign efforts have a positive impact on the vote through the mobilization of nonvoters. Finally, in a significant number of cases, presidential campaigning may have been the margin of victory for candidates of the president's party. We discuss the implications of these findings on assessments of the president and relations with Congress during the second half of the term.

American Politics Quarterly, Nov 23, 2016

We discuss circumstances whereby presidents dispense distributive benefits to enhance their reele... more We discuss circumstances whereby presidents dispense distributive benefits to enhance their reelection chances and cultivate congressional support. Presidents do this by influencing bureaucratic decision making within those subsystems to strategically time federal project announcements to coincide with presidential and congressional elections. We test these conten tions and find support for them. We conclude that the traditional theory of distributive politics is not so much invalid as incomplete. Our findings show that presidents can play more strategic roles within the distributive policy arena than existing theory suggests.

Late in 1994, investigators from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, conducted a survey of ... more Late in 1994, investigators from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, conducted a survey of based-users and transient-users of Palwaukee Municipal Airport of Wheeling, Illinois. Palwaukee is designated as a reliever airport by the Federal Aviation Administration and thereby eligible for federal funding. The purpose of the study was to determine user satisfaction with the airport, its services, and its facilities. The study appraised among other areas, whether or not and to what degree users were satisfied with Palwaukee and if they were considering a move to another location. The survey detailed user rationale for satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction with Palwaukee and the potential for relocation. The survey takes a comprehensive approach to identifying based-user and transient-user levels of satisfaction at Palwaukee. The full range of aircraft operators permanently based there as well as transient aircraft operators passing through were considered in the survey.

Illinois has hundreds of small municipal governments Just in the nonmetropolitan areas of the sta... more Illinois has hundreds of small municipal governments Just in the nonmetropolitan areas of the state, there are almost 700 incorporated villages and cities with populations of less than 5,000 apiece. Serving a total of more than 600,000 residents, these small and largely rural municipalities are a major part of the local government apparatus in Illinois, Rural governments resemble in many respects municipal operations in larger and more urban communities. They have similar basic programs and responsibilitiespolice and fire protection, water supply, streets, wastewater treatment, economic development, parks and recreation, etc. They are also AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 1201 WEST NEVADA STREET / URBANA, ILLINOIS 61801 Non-Proflt Org.

International Review of Public Administration, 2017

Abstract A substantial body of research finds local governments use financial incentives to promo... more Abstract A substantial body of research finds local governments use financial incentives to promote economic development despite mixed evidence of the incentives’ effectiveness. Using Missouri county data from 2004 to 2013, the ensuing analysis assesses the extent to which diffusion processes help explain this conundrum. While concurring with previous research that it is difficult to empirically sort out the impacts of different diffusion mechanisms, this analysis finds that economic competition affects local governments’ adoption of TIF in conjunction with county-level characteristics. The article concludes by discussing the implications of these findings in regard to TIF effectiveness.

Public Opinion in State Politics, 2006

Review papers are occasional nonacademic papers of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Sout... more Review papers are occasional nonacademic papers of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. These papers examine and explore policy issues within the scope of the Institute's mission and in the tradition of the University.

Resumo: A Sociolinguística e o Funcionalismo constituem teorias que se unem por reconhecerem a he... more Resumo: A Sociolinguística e o Funcionalismo constituem teorias que se unem por reconhecerem a heterogeneidade da língua e por priorizarem seu uso real como ponto basilar para explicar processos de variação e mudança. A interface entre essas teorias e a articulação dos seus princípios são estudadas por alguns pesquisadores com a denominação de Sociofuncionalismo. Neste trabalho, apresentamos as confluências e divergências na interface dessas teorias, mostrando que esse hibridismo é capaz de trazer grandes contribuições para descrição e análise da linguagem a partir dos pontos afins de suas epistemologias, como também, através da constituição de um diálogo entre as diferenças existentes entre alguns de seus conceitos aparentemente incompatíveis. Palavras-chave: Sociolinguística. Funcionalismo. Convergência/divergência teórica. Sociofuncionalismo.

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research, 1994

Public Budgeting & Finance, 2017

Studies find minimal evidence that general†purpose local governments draw down slack resources ... more Studies find minimal evidence that general†purpose local governments draw down slack resources set aside during prosperous times to contend with economic downturns; although they maintain, in some cases, unrestricted fund balances well in excess of professionally recommended levels. Replicating divergence from the trend methodology in the state of Illinois that provides greater discretion to create and use savings, the analysis finds counties budget slack resources counter†cyclically (in downturn but not in upturn years) when controlling for political/institutional, revenue, economic, and demographic factors. This article discusses plausible alternative explanations for non†findings to explore in future studies.

Public Opinion in State Politics, 2006

The Social Science Journal, 2014

Review of Public Personnel Administration, 1993

This article analyzes recruitment practices in a variety of local governmental contexts in Illino... more This article analyzes recruitment practices in a variety of local governmental contexts in Illinois. The analysis is based, in part, upon a statewide survey of cities with populations over 5000. As is the case for the public service at higher government levels, the study finds that budget constraints hinder the ability of local governments to attract qualified applicants, particularly administrative personnel. Retention is not yet a serious problem for cities, but accommodating work place diversity is seen as a continuing challenge.

Public Administration Review, 1994

Presidential Studies Quarterly, 2003

A small but important literature has found that major presidential speeches may improve the level... more A small but important literature has found that major presidential speeches may improve the level of public approval toward the president under certain conditions (Ragsdale 1984, 1987; Brace and Hinckley 1992). (1) Ragsdale (1984, 980) reports that each major speech lifts presidential approval by about 3 percentage points. In a refinement, Brace and Hinckley (1992) find that major speeches during a president's first term will boost his popularity by about 6 percentage points (p. 56) but will display no impact during the second term (p. 60). Ostrom and Simon (1989) and Simon and Ostrom (1989) argue that speeches will have an impact on approval under limited conditions and find that the public responds with greater levels of approval for the president only when an approval-enhancing event accompanies the speech. All agree, though, that when popularity boosts occur, they are short-lived, disappearing almost as fast as they arrived. (2) This influential literature has laid an important foundation for understanding the impact of presidential speeches on public opinion but leaves important terrain on the topic unexplored. First, published studies may not have paid enough attention to how major speeches should be classified. We argue below that different types of speeches may have different impacts on public opinion. Thus, while Brace and Hinckley (1992, 95) distinguish between foreign policy and non-foreign-policy speeches, they bundle foreign policy speeches with other foreign policy activities; they do not compare the impact of foreign policy speeches on public opinion with other types of speeches, which we do below. Simon and Ostrom (1989, 76) offer a more refined categorization of speeches, five types based on their content, but they do not suggest why one would expect the different types of speeches to affect public opinion differently. In any event, they detect no differences in impact on public opinion across their speech types. Theoretically, more work needs to be devoted to conceptualizing the linkages between speech type and public opinion. We argue that foreign policy speeches will have greater impact on the public than other types, for instance, economic or domestic policy speeches, because foreign policy ones are better at portraying the president as a strong leader, a public image that is necessary for presidential leadership of public opinion. Also, current studies focus almost exclusively on public support for the president as the dependent variable. Boosting public support is important to presidents, but it is not the only aspect of public opinion that presidents would like to influence. Speech effect studies may benefit by exploring the effects of speeches on other aspects of public opinion important to presidents. As Kernell (1993) argues, presidents also "go public" to alter public thinking about policies or to influence public impressions of the president. Hinckley (1990) stresses the symbolic aspects of presidential speech, and Cohen (1995, 1997) shows that presidential speech may be used to influence the public's agenda. Presidents may also speak to affect the public's mood, such as its orientation toward the future, its sense of optimism or pessimism, our topic in this article. Finally, analyses may benefit from conceptualizing popularity other than as the dependent variable or ultimate end of speech making. Critics often complained that Ronald Reagan, for instance, tried to instill a "false" sense of well-being and future optimism in citizens. However, one may argue that Reagan might have calculated that an optimistic public would allow him greater latitude in policy choice and would be more likely to follow his lead. He might have further calculated that his ability to foster a sense of optimism would be greatest when he was popular with the public. Hence, instilling an atmosphere of optimism was part of his overall leadership strategy, and he used his popularity to instill such optimism. …

Political Research Quarterly, 1993

This article investigates whether elections provide bureaucrats with a means for accommodating po... more This article investigates whether elections provide bureaucrats with a means for accommodating political pressure from Congress and the White House. Specifically the article tests: (1) whether bureaucrats shorten the time they take to process applications from districts important to the agency and the White House in election years, and (2) whether such preferences are reflected in the resulting geographical distribution of assistance. An analysis of the administration and distribution of federal mass transportation discretionary capital assistance grants from 1966 through 1984 finds that agency officials adapted to White House but not subcommittee pressures in this way. The article concludes that the marginal influence of the presidency in the bureaucratic allocation of federal assistance needs further theoretical consideration.

Legislative Studies Quarterly, 2000

American Political Science Review, Mar 1, 1991

Carbondale he conventional wisdom about presidential campaigning in midterm Senate elections is t... more Carbondale he conventional wisdom about presidential campaigning in midterm Senate elections is that presidential efforts lack impact or have negative impact. We discuss conceptual problems with the conventional view and offer an alternative that views presidential campaigning as strategic. We test this alternative and find support for it. Further, we find that presidential campaign efforts have a positive impact on the vote through the mobilization of nonvoters. Finally, in a significant number of cases, presidential campaigning may have been the margin of victory for candidates of the president's party. We discuss the implications of these findings on assessments of the president and relations with Congress during the second half of the term.

American Politics Quarterly, Nov 23, 2016

We discuss circumstances whereby presidents dispense distributive benefits to enhance their reele... more We discuss circumstances whereby presidents dispense distributive benefits to enhance their reelection chances and cultivate congressional support. Presidents do this by influencing bureaucratic decision making within those subsystems to strategically time federal project announcements to coincide with presidential and congressional elections. We test these conten tions and find support for them. We conclude that the traditional theory of distributive politics is not so much invalid as incomplete. Our findings show that presidents can play more strategic roles within the distributive policy arena than existing theory suggests.

Late in 1994, investigators from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, conducted a survey of ... more Late in 1994, investigators from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, conducted a survey of based-users and transient-users of Palwaukee Municipal Airport of Wheeling, Illinois. Palwaukee is designated as a reliever airport by the Federal Aviation Administration and thereby eligible for federal funding. The purpose of the study was to determine user satisfaction with the airport, its services, and its facilities. The study appraised among other areas, whether or not and to what degree users were satisfied with Palwaukee and if they were considering a move to another location. The survey detailed user rationale for satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction with Palwaukee and the potential for relocation. The survey takes a comprehensive approach to identifying based-user and transient-user levels of satisfaction at Palwaukee. The full range of aircraft operators permanently based there as well as transient aircraft operators passing through were considered in the survey.

Illinois has hundreds of small municipal governments Just in the nonmetropolitan areas of the sta... more Illinois has hundreds of small municipal governments Just in the nonmetropolitan areas of the state, there are almost 700 incorporated villages and cities with populations of less than 5,000 apiece. Serving a total of more than 600,000 residents, these small and largely rural municipalities are a major part of the local government apparatus in Illinois, Rural governments resemble in many respects municipal operations in larger and more urban communities. They have similar basic programs and responsibilitiespolice and fire protection, water supply, streets, wastewater treatment, economic development, parks and recreation, etc. They are also AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 1201 WEST NEVADA STREET / URBANA, ILLINOIS 61801 Non-Proflt Org.

International Review of Public Administration, 2017

Abstract A substantial body of research finds local governments use financial incentives to promo... more Abstract A substantial body of research finds local governments use financial incentives to promote economic development despite mixed evidence of the incentives’ effectiveness. Using Missouri county data from 2004 to 2013, the ensuing analysis assesses the extent to which diffusion processes help explain this conundrum. While concurring with previous research that it is difficult to empirically sort out the impacts of different diffusion mechanisms, this analysis finds that economic competition affects local governments’ adoption of TIF in conjunction with county-level characteristics. The article concludes by discussing the implications of these findings in regard to TIF effectiveness.

Public Opinion in State Politics, 2006

Review papers are occasional nonacademic papers of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Sout... more Review papers are occasional nonacademic papers of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. These papers examine and explore policy issues within the scope of the Institute's mission and in the tradition of the University.

Resumo: A Sociolinguística e o Funcionalismo constituem teorias que se unem por reconhecerem a he... more Resumo: A Sociolinguística e o Funcionalismo constituem teorias que se unem por reconhecerem a heterogeneidade da língua e por priorizarem seu uso real como ponto basilar para explicar processos de variação e mudança. A interface entre essas teorias e a articulação dos seus princípios são estudadas por alguns pesquisadores com a denominação de Sociofuncionalismo. Neste trabalho, apresentamos as confluências e divergências na interface dessas teorias, mostrando que esse hibridismo é capaz de trazer grandes contribuições para descrição e análise da linguagem a partir dos pontos afins de suas epistemologias, como também, através da constituição de um diálogo entre as diferenças existentes entre alguns de seus conceitos aparentemente incompatíveis. Palavras-chave: Sociolinguística. Funcionalismo. Convergência/divergência teórica. Sociofuncionalismo.

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research, 1994

Public Budgeting & Finance, 2017

Studies find minimal evidence that general†purpose local governments draw down slack resources ... more Studies find minimal evidence that general†purpose local governments draw down slack resources set aside during prosperous times to contend with economic downturns; although they maintain, in some cases, unrestricted fund balances well in excess of professionally recommended levels. Replicating divergence from the trend methodology in the state of Illinois that provides greater discretion to create and use savings, the analysis finds counties budget slack resources counter†cyclically (in downturn but not in upturn years) when controlling for political/institutional, revenue, economic, and demographic factors. This article discusses plausible alternative explanations for non†findings to explore in future studies.

Public Opinion in State Politics, 2006

The Social Science Journal, 2014

Review of Public Personnel Administration, 1993

This article analyzes recruitment practices in a variety of local governmental contexts in Illino... more This article analyzes recruitment practices in a variety of local governmental contexts in Illinois. The analysis is based, in part, upon a statewide survey of cities with populations over 5000. As is the case for the public service at higher government levels, the study finds that budget constraints hinder the ability of local governments to attract qualified applicants, particularly administrative personnel. Retention is not yet a serious problem for cities, but accommodating work place diversity is seen as a continuing challenge.

Public Administration Review, 1994

Presidential Studies Quarterly, 2003

A small but important literature has found that major presidential speeches may improve the level... more A small but important literature has found that major presidential speeches may improve the level of public approval toward the president under certain conditions (Ragsdale 1984, 1987; Brace and Hinckley 1992). (1) Ragsdale (1984, 980) reports that each major speech lifts presidential approval by about 3 percentage points. In a refinement, Brace and Hinckley (1992) find that major speeches during a president's first term will boost his popularity by about 6 percentage points (p. 56) but will display no impact during the second term (p. 60). Ostrom and Simon (1989) and Simon and Ostrom (1989) argue that speeches will have an impact on approval under limited conditions and find that the public responds with greater levels of approval for the president only when an approval-enhancing event accompanies the speech. All agree, though, that when popularity boosts occur, they are short-lived, disappearing almost as fast as they arrived. (2) This influential literature has laid an important foundation for understanding the impact of presidential speeches on public opinion but leaves important terrain on the topic unexplored. First, published studies may not have paid enough attention to how major speeches should be classified. We argue below that different types of speeches may have different impacts on public opinion. Thus, while Brace and Hinckley (1992, 95) distinguish between foreign policy and non-foreign-policy speeches, they bundle foreign policy speeches with other foreign policy activities; they do not compare the impact of foreign policy speeches on public opinion with other types of speeches, which we do below. Simon and Ostrom (1989, 76) offer a more refined categorization of speeches, five types based on their content, but they do not suggest why one would expect the different types of speeches to affect public opinion differently. In any event, they detect no differences in impact on public opinion across their speech types. Theoretically, more work needs to be devoted to conceptualizing the linkages between speech type and public opinion. We argue that foreign policy speeches will have greater impact on the public than other types, for instance, economic or domestic policy speeches, because foreign policy ones are better at portraying the president as a strong leader, a public image that is necessary for presidential leadership of public opinion. Also, current studies focus almost exclusively on public support for the president as the dependent variable. Boosting public support is important to presidents, but it is not the only aspect of public opinion that presidents would like to influence. Speech effect studies may benefit by exploring the effects of speeches on other aspects of public opinion important to presidents. As Kernell (1993) argues, presidents also "go public" to alter public thinking about policies or to influence public impressions of the president. Hinckley (1990) stresses the symbolic aspects of presidential speech, and Cohen (1995, 1997) shows that presidential speech may be used to influence the public's agenda. Presidents may also speak to affect the public's mood, such as its orientation toward the future, its sense of optimism or pessimism, our topic in this article. Finally, analyses may benefit from conceptualizing popularity other than as the dependent variable or ultimate end of speech making. Critics often complained that Ronald Reagan, for instance, tried to instill a "false" sense of well-being and future optimism in citizens. However, one may argue that Reagan might have calculated that an optimistic public would allow him greater latitude in policy choice and would be more likely to follow his lead. He might have further calculated that his ability to foster a sense of optimism would be greatest when he was popular with the public. Hence, instilling an atmosphere of optimism was part of his overall leadership strategy, and he used his popularity to instill such optimism. …

Political Research Quarterly, 1993

This article investigates whether elections provide bureaucrats with a means for accommodating po... more This article investigates whether elections provide bureaucrats with a means for accommodating political pressure from Congress and the White House. Specifically the article tests: (1) whether bureaucrats shorten the time they take to process applications from districts important to the agency and the White House in election years, and (2) whether such preferences are reflected in the resulting geographical distribution of assistance. An analysis of the administration and distribution of federal mass transportation discretionary capital assistance grants from 1966 through 1984 finds that agency officials adapted to White House but not subcommittee pressures in this way. The article concludes that the marginal influence of the presidency in the bureaucratic allocation of federal assistance needs further theoretical consideration.

Legislative Studies Quarterly, 2000