Contra Cabal 204-01-00 - The Rebus Principle

The Rebus Principle: Abstract

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Abstract

Rebuses form part of visible language. Signs primarily represent phonetic sounds, not by abstract alphabetic signs, but by graphics of the word or words that the sound signifies. Rebuses may convey direct meaning, especially to inform or instruct non-literate people, or they may deliberately conceal meaning to inform only the initiated.

Subtle use of typographic representation, considered a graphic form, has two dimensions: its semantic and syntactic meaning based upon language and its perceived meaning based upon the style of representation and placement. The traditional use of pictorial representation when teaching very young children to read and write exemplifies this phenomenon.

The term “rebus” means any graphic representation that replaces spoken words - a picture puzzle that represents words or syllables. The term includes: pictures of objects and their names which when spoken in sequence form a sentence; a heraldic device that graphically puns the name of a bearer or a vocation; a puzzle comprised of pictures which represent syllables and words that allow decoding of a message; a visual pun in which a sign has a different meaning when two words sound alike; and, the use of pictographs to represent word syllables.

Many rebuses represent the sound of one word by the graphic representation of another, and although a rebus may represent several words, it remains as a representation of the words describing itself. Conversely, the alphabet, although it probably derives from graphics, has lost all connection with words as artifacts, and represents sound, by transforming evanescent sound into typographic images in permanent space.

Internet usage and SMS text messaging have expanded the rebus vocabulary with acronyms like “ROFL” for rolling on the floor laughing and “CU later” for see you later. The use of smileys has added another dimension. ;-)

After 60 years in retirement, Mr. Chad, an all-time rebus image, has reappeared. This comical little man with wide-open eyes and a huge U-shaped nose peering over a wall, appeared all over Britain during WWII and became internationally famous. The author still remembers the hiding that he received for chalking a Chad graffiti on the sidewalk. Crime and punishment have certainly changed since in loco parentis.

Rebuses signify meaning either logogrammatically, phonogrammatically, or semogrammatically. Logograms signify in either figurative or symbolical modes and represent the object that they name. Phonograms signify in homonymic, phonetic, or translational modes and stand phonetically for one or more syllables within a word. Semograms signify in figurative, symbolic, or translational modes through the addition of determinatives. Determinatives (mute reading aids that possess no phonetic value) aid the reader by leading to the correct interpretation of meaning. All modes have rhetorical significance.

An early form of rebus occurs with the representation of non-depictive abstract words by pictures of objects pronounced the same way. Common in Sumerian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Greek and Roman numismatics, medieval heraldry, aenigmata, modern promotional logotypes, directional signs, concrete poetry, and allegory, rebuses throughout history have become particularly prominent as instructional or informative symbols in religious art and architecture. These graphics illustrate the transformation from an ancient petroglyph to a modern logotype.

Academic Harassment and Sabotage

The graphic originally intended for this spot disappeared for one or all of the following reasons. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), University of Washington (UW), and Council House unlawfully destroyed or misappropriated research data in attempts to harass and sabotage the author, a former professor and retired CEO, while he worked on a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree at RPI and a Special Doctor of Philosophy (SPhD) degree at UW.

Later, a thief stole several binders which contained original graphics and the master hard copies of doctoral research and dissertations from an apartment in Seattle while the author languished in solitary confinement in King County Jail for publishing details of crimes similar to those reported at RPI and UW. The apartment contained valuable stone lithographs and original art yet the thief stole only the binders containing the research data and graphics. One can only surmise that theft related to the cover up of unlawful activity at UW.

Washington supreme court reversed all trial and appellate court decisions regarding that imprisonment; however, the perpetrators have yet to mitigate the damage that they caused. Similarly, Shirley Ann Jackson and Mark A. Emmert, respectively presidents of RPI and UW, have done absolutely nothing to ameliorate academic harassment and sabotage by their employees. They continue to deny due process of law despite their liability under the legal maxim: whoever knows that a subordinate has committed an offense and remains silent to hinder or prevent prosecution or punishment becomes an accessory after the fact.

Academic harassment (1) and sabotage (2), both criminal offenses, define as behavior by any person that:

1. Harasses with intent to unreasonably interfere with an individual's educational performance: distributes verbal, written or electronic communication with intent to annoy; causes unlawful arrest; creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment; directs personally offensive remarks with intent to demean, belittle, or cause personal humiliation; and threatens, intimidates, or coerces.

2. Sabotages any academic endeavor: vandalizes or steals research data; frustrates individual or group efforts; impedes access to equipment used in teaching or research; denies library or computer access; tampers with computer programs or systems; destroys computer files; crashes computer systems; causes atypical computer behavior; and infects systems with any kind of invasive program.

Case studies show a pattern or practice of harassment by faculty members and administrators. They also describe Easy Rider PhD programs and Easy Rider ways to promotion and tenure through psychotic dysfunction.

204-01-01. Ancient Petroglyph. (Norskog 1992).
204-01-02. Computerized Raster Image. (Norskog 1992)
204-01-03. Modern Logotype (Norskog 1992)

Modern society continues to become less literate and, as a result, more visually dependent than prior generations. It increasingly communicates through the use of signs based upon symbols rather than signs based upon the alphabet. However, the computer fulfills a need to accurately and quickly process large amounts of data and rebuses play an important role by providing a means of presenting chaotic databases in understandable graphic form. Consequently, computerized visible language signs invariably allow the more efficient assimilation of complex data by non-literate audiences because they represent familiar symbols.

Endnotes and citations appear in the PDF and bibliography.

Web Edition of a peer-reviewed doctoral dissertation
presented and published as
Seminar EDC 589.
The Rebus Principle: International Electronic Publishing and Educational Technology
College of Education, University of Washington
(24 November, 1993)

Paul Trummel PhD (RPI ABD), PhD (UW ABD), MS (RPI), MSc (UK), BSc (UK)
UK degree equivalencies in graphic communication recognized by
Boston University, Northeastern University, Rochester Institute of Technology,
Fitchburg State College, San Jose State University,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and University of Washington
with comparability twice certified by International Education Research Foundation (IERF),
a credential evaluation service accredited by US Department of Education

Associate Professor, Communication and Rhetoric (Retired)
Special Doctor of Philosophy Program (SPhD), University of Washington
Fellow, International Society of Typographic Designers (FISTD)
Fellow, Institute of Paper Printing and Publishing (FIOP)
Member, Society of Authors, London

International Federation of Journalists, Brussels (International Press Card)
National Union of Journalists, London (UK Press Card)

© Copyright 1993 by Paul Trummel
All Rights Reserved: 24 Nov 93/15:00 GMT
Edition: #204-01-00/07-0930-11:23
Feedback: Webspinner+ContraCabal.org

Rensselaer and
University of Washington

History of Abuse

The author compiled a body of academic work (now in process of restoration on this web site) during more than a decade of doctoral research.

The data resided on mainframe computers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY) and University of Washington (WA) as text and graphics.

Ronald A. Johnson, Vice President, Computing & Communications, UW and
S. Michael Halloran, formerly Chairperson now Professor, LL&C/H&SS, RPI, arbitrarily closed computer accounts in breach of contract and without due process of law in violation of university regulations.

Johnson and Halloran then maliciously destroyed or otherwise denied access to the content of those databases in attempts to "disappear" the author.

University officials later forged or destroyed official transcripts to support their false and misleading contentions.

Wilfully blind, presidents of two universities continue to do nothing about the abuse.

Shirley Ann Jackson, President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Mark A. Emmert, President, University of Washington

Shirley Ann Jackson, Rensselaer and
Mark A. Emmert,
University of Washington
hold ultimate responsibility for multiple violation of civil and human rights.

Whoever knows that a subordinate has committed an offense and remains silent to hinder or prevent prosecution or punishment becomes an accessory after the fact.

Reconstructed databases containing all of the required work for two PhD degrees (all of it published and most of it peer-reviewed) will appear in due course.

Due to the small capacity of personal computer hard drives and accessories of a previous era, no independent backup data exists except some incomplete original drafts.

The author will reconstruct graphics as far as possible.

Meanwhile, scanned images occupy some pages pending retyping or reformatting text and redrawing graphics.

Many of the originals reside in special archives in Europe to which the author does not now have access because of removal of his academic status, library privileges, and computer access.

Many illustrations will need replacement which means establishing new sources.

The publications list also contains some interesting documents selected from probably thousands produced using cutting-edge technology in more than sixty years of writing, graphic design, and systems invention.

In some cases, the author developed the technology to meet the need for specialized digital publication.

Several of the document paradigms resulted in typographic encoding which later supported desktop publishing systems.

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About the Author

Paul Trummel (Nmesis)

Paul Trummel, published since 1944, uses the pseudonym Nmesis and openly declares personal or conflicting interests.

These conflicts may relate to topics or to opinion, especially when the content draws upon advocacy, experience, conclusion, or interpretation.

As an accredited journalist, he conforms with the code of conduct and ethics of the journalism profession, tested by courts in both Great Britain and the USA.

Since 1947, he has worked as a journalist, an editor (commercial and academic peer-review), a technical communicator, an associate professor (visual communi-cation and rhetoric), and as an administrator at several leading universities.

He has held international press credentials since 1959 and holds two elected international graphic arts fellowships.

He earned professional letters in the UK that translated into two baccalaureate degrees and a terminal graduate degree in the US.

He has also earned a Rensselaer graduate degree and two US PhD degrees (now ABD).

[Sherking Responsibility]

He taught graduate level students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Northeastern University, Fitchburg State College,
San Jose State University, Massachusetts Bay Community College, and a private institute of graphic design.

He held an administrative post at University of Massachusetts, Boston, and has lectured at universities in US, Europe, and Japan.

In 1957 (London), he founded and operated the first full-service technical communication organization, a group of publishing and technical/graphic communication companies where he held the position of chief executive officer.

In 1973 (Connecticut), he designed and marketed the first typesetting system driven by a minicomputer, the precursor for today's desktop publishing systems.

He has won an international silver medal for his satire and a US city award for his educational programs for disadvantaged people.

Since 1992, he has investigated and written several hundred articles on bureaucratic and elder abuse.

He founded Contra Cabal, one of the first electronic magazines to appear on the web, for which he develops the site, writes articles, designs pages, and produces graphics.

http://ContraCabal.org

Contra Cabal has now published for almost fifteen years.

Earlier, it published as email for six years. The hits/month now range between 100,000 and 150,000 with more than a million hits during the past twelve months.

Articles cover ongoing criminal activity by bureaucrats and elder abuse.

They describe the actions of corrupt judges and gross misconduct by lawyers who file frivolous law suits against tenants in government financially-assisted housing.

They outline how managers use unlawful retaliatory measures and propaganda to destroy the reputations of people who report illegal activity and racism.

Washington Supreme Court unanimously reversed a lower court decision that effectively allowed prior restraint and defined journalism inquiry as surveillance and harassment.

Repeatedly, lawyers who could find no fault with content instead personally attacked the author or his genre.

A corrupt judge imposed prior restraint and jailed him for contempt when he challenged the court decisions as a basic violation of constitutional and human rights.

To further coerce him, in consort with other jurists, the judge then arbitrarily transferred him to solitary confinement among murderers and rapists.

His published work in the print media for more than sixty years has received no challenge relating to accuracy.

People, among them elected judges and lawyers upon whom the public should be able to rely, have tried to stop him publishing information on politically sensitive issues.

That prior restraint, and restrictions on personal mobility, has now become a matter of international concern.

American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU - Seattle),
International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ- Brussels),
National Union of Journalists
(NUJ - London),
American Society of Authors and Editors
(ASAE - New York),
and Seattle Weekly
have all filed amicus curiae briefs with Washington Supreme Court in support of his successful First Amendment stance.

Credential validation upon request by journalists and other responsible parties from: