Aim of the meeting

• Pocket Observer: new solutions for mobile observations. Which handhelds can you use? What are their advantages and disadvantages? We will also show a number of other new tools that can make life easier, including special keyboards and cameras. (Hans Theuws, Noldus Information Technology)

• Educational tools: how to familiarize students with systematic observation, direct recording of behavior into the computer and important data analysis techniques. (Mara Roosjen, Noldus Information Technology)

• The Observer XT: new features and hardware developments. How to build a coding scheme on the fly? How to link physiological data or other external stimuli to your video? How to use multiple video streams in your observation? This item will include a demonstration of The Observer XT. (Albert Willemsen, Noldus Information Technology)

• Case studies presented by users of The Observer, coming from different research disciplines. Subjects are the type of research or tests users are doing with The Observer, problems encountered, and solutions that have been found:

• Helen Ball (University of Durham, Durham, UK) and Lane Volpe (University Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, USA). Observing mother-infant sleep behaviour.
  

• Greg Cronin (Animal Welfare Science Centre, Australia). Behavior around oviposition by hens in cages with and without nest boxes.

• Stefania Balzarotti (Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy). Analysis of the human multimodal emotional singals to an interactive computer.
  

• Discussion about possible directions for new developments (e.g. analysis of integrated data from multiple sources, different analysis methods, graphical representation of analysis results).