J. James Bono
J. James Bono is an alternate reality game enthusiast and Ph.D. student studying rhetoric and cultural studies in the English department at the University of Pittsburgh. He studies how the theories and practices of rhetoric are reconfigured by new discourse technologies, particularly those that engender massively networked telecommunications, ubiquitous computing, and digital games. His research and teaching interests include digital rhetoric, technocultural studies, critical theory, composition in networked writing environments, and the persuasive power of serious games. He has presented papers on these topics at annual meetings of the Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts; the national Popular Culture / American Culture Association; the Pennsylvania State University Conference on Rhetorics and Technologies; and the Conference on College Composition and Communication (for which he received a 2008 Chairs' Memorial Scholarship).
As a paramedic, Bono spent nearly a decade developing training programs in pre-hospital emergency medical services, mass casualty incident planning, and response to weapons of mass destruction for emergency services and public policy agencies in western New York State. That experience informs his interests in the rhetorical practices of disaster planning, management, and mitigation.
He is also a contributor to ARGology.org, a developing resource initiated by the International Game Developers Association Special Interest Group on Alternate Reality Games.