James R. Beniger

James Ralph Beniger (December 16, 1946 – April 12, 2010) was an American historian and sociologist and Professor of Communications and Sociology at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, particularly known for his early work on the history of quantitative graphics in statistics, and his later work on the technological and economic origins of the information society.

Biography Beniger was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and received his BA in history from Harvard University in 1969, his MA in statistics and sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, where in 1978 he received his PhD in sociology.

In the development of statistical graphics over the centuries, according to Beniger & Robyn, innovators had to tackle four problems:

Developments in Statistical Graphics The 1978 paper by Beniger & Robyn is complemented with an appendix on the developments in Statistical Graphics which starts with: c. 3800 B.C. Oldest known map (of Northern Mesopotamia) extant on clay tablet And ends with: 1977 "Cartesian rectangle" to represent 2 x 2 table, experimentally tested against other forms Wainer and Mark Reiser, U.S. ; Ad Hoc Committee on Statistical Graphics, American Statistical Association. This timeline is further developed into Michael Friendly's "Milestones in the history of thematic cartography, statistical graphics, and data visualization" (2008).

Selected publications James R. Beniger. Interorganizational Response to Social Change: Professional Control of Drug Abuse by Youth in 2 Cities, 1972 - 1973. University Microfilms, 1980 James Beniger. The Control Revolution: Technological and Economic Origins of the Information Society, Harvard University Press, 1989/2009

Articles, a selection: Beniger, James R., and Dorothy L. Robyn. "Quantitative graphics in statistics: A brief history." The American Statistician 32.1 (1978): 1–11. Darley, John M., and James R. Beniger. "Diffusion of Energy‐Conserving Innovations." Journal of Social Issues 37.2 (1981): 150–171. Beniger, James R. "Personalization of mass media and the growth of pseudo-community." Communication research (1987). Beniger, James R. "Toward and old new paradigm: The half-century flirtation with mass society." Public Opinion Quarterly (1987): S46-S66. Beniger, James R. "Communication—Embrace the subject, not the field." Journal of Communication 43.3 (1993): 18–25.