The science of handwriting and drawing constitues a new, burgeoning field of research. Its multidisciplinary approaches have recently been brought together under the label of 'graphonomics'. Here, computer science, behavioural science, cognitive science, neuroscience, education, and forensic science converge and cooperate. Advances over the past decades have greatly increased our insight in the human graphic processes and in their effective analysis: Researchers and practitioners are now able to implement and improve algorithms for the automatic recognition of script and sketches, and/or to devise instruments for their comparative and diagnostic use in forensic, educational, and clinical settings. Dealing with similar phenomena from different angles, the scientists and professionals in each area have essential contributions to make, also across the borders of their own discipline. This is the special feature of the book: It brings together what is usually spread out over a wide range of journals and monographs. The 550-page volume contains 38 chapters, well representing current progress in the major areas of fundamental and applied handwriting research, in four parts. They cover (1) behavioural and cognitive science; (2) development, education, and neuroscience; (3) computer analysis and recognition; and (4) forensic document examination. Readership: researchers and professionals in the fields of computer science, pattern recognition, A.I., human-computer interaction, movement science, cognitive (neuro-)science, experimental psychology, communication, education, neuropsychology, and forensic science.
