Search

ObjectiveBy computerized analysis of writing ability assessment data, to accurately assess the quality and proficiency of writing among primary school students, and to provide data support for accurate screening and assessment of those with writing difficulties.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the writing ability of 1 085 students from grade 1 to grade 6 in the Experimental Primary School Affiliated to Minjiang Teachers College, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, using the smart handwriting analysis recognition platform (SHARP). The assessment indicators included writing speed, writing control, writing integration, time-on-paper ratio, accuracy of writing outcomes, and overall writing performance.ResultsGirls outperformed boys in writing control, writing integration, time-on-paper ratio, accuracy of writing outcomes, and overall writing performance (PPPPP>0.05). 2) In terms of writing control ability, the overall trend of grades 1 to 6 showed a gradual development, with the performance of writing control ability in grade 3 being better than that in grade 2 (PPP>0.05). 3) In terms of the writing integration ability and time-on-paper ratio, as the grades increased, the higher grades developed better than the lower grades between adjacent grades 1 to 4 (PP>0.05). 4) in terms of the accuracy of writing outcomes, grade 2 was better than grade 1 (PPP>0.05); 5) In terms of overall writing performance, grade 2 performed better than grade 1 (PP>0.05). There was a significant negative correlation between writing control, writing integration and writing outcome accuracy and overall writing performance (r>-0.5), a highly positive correlation between time-on-paper ratio and overall writing performance (r=0.575), and a highly negative correlation between time-on-paper ratio and writing integration (r=-0.999). Writing outcome accuracy explained only 39.1% of the variation in overall writing performance, and writing outcome accuracy, time-on-paper ratio, writing control, and writing integration together explained 71.8% of the variation in overall writing performance.ConclusionAt the primary level, girls generally outperform boys in writing ability, but sex and dominant hand still do not predict overall performance in writing. As the grades increase, students' writing abilities tend to mature. Writing speed reaches a plateau around grades 4-5, writing control develops more rapidly in grades 2-3 and 4-5, and writing integration and time-on-paper ratio enters a relative stable plateau after about grade 4. Accuracy of writing outcomes alone is not suitable as a predictor of overall writing performance; writing control, writing integration, and time-on-paper ratio have strong effects on overall writing performance and can be combined as predictors of overall writing performance.

Two laboratory studies have investigated how handwriting ability and holding a cup of liquid depend on the characteristics of whole-body vertical vibration. The effects of vibration magnitude (0.16 to 2.5 ms−2 r.m.s.), vibration frequency (0.5 to 10 Hz), and vibration duration (2 cycles to 10 s) on handwriting were studied with 20 subjects. Subjects were asked to copy letters of the alphabet by writing on a hand-held surface. Writing speed decreased and subjective ratings of writing difficulty increased with increasing vibration magnitude, particularly in the frequency range 4 to 8 Hz. Writing difficulty also increased with increasing duration of vibration. A 10 s exposure to 5 Hz vibration at 20 ms−2 r.m.s. resulted in subjective estimates corresponding to ‘extremely difficult’. The effects of vibration magnitude (0.63 to 1.6 ms−2 r.m.s.), vibration frequency (0-5 to 10 Hz), and vibration duration (2 cycles to 10 s) on the spilling of liquid from a hand-held cup were also investigated in a group of 20 subjects. The probability of spilling the liquid, the quantity of liquid spilt, and subject's estimates of the probability of spillage were determined for all conditions. Greatest interference with the task occurred at 4 Hz, with the lowest vibration magnitude (0.63 ms−2 r.m.s.) causing measured and estimated spillage probabilities of approximately 85%. The interference was much less at other frequencies, with 0.63 ms−2 r.m.s. causing less than 10% measured probability of spillage below 3 Hz and above 5 Hz. The estimated probability of spillage was generally greater than the observed probability of spillage when the spillage probability was low, but less than the observed probability when the spillage probability was high. Increasing the duration of vibration increased the probability of spillage, and also increased the volume of liquid spilt. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]