Video conferencing has been a part of many communication platforms over the years. Over the last decades users have moved from dedicated telephony networks to the Internet, and recently to the Web. With the introduction of Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) it is now possible to make voice- and video calls simply by visiting a web page, without having to install any additional software. Services that enable multi-user conferences are quite common. However existing solutions such as the Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) inherently do not scale and can be a single point of failure, due to its centralized architecture. This can lead to high maintenance costs and poor service availability.To solve the scalability- and availability problems of video-conferencing services, a decentralized alternative to the MCU is proposed. A decentralized conferencing system uses the distributed resources of its users instead of relying on a central server. This means that the system can handle an increasing number of users without having to upgrade any server infrastructure. Additionally, failures are only partial and can happen regularly without affecting the rest of the system. This report presents the development of a protocol built on top of WebRTC that enables completely decentralized multi-user conferencing. It includes a distributed algorithm for voice-activated switching to reduce the computation and network resources used. A load-balancing technique based on media stream relays is used to distribute the resource requirements of the conference participants. The protocol is implemented as a Javascript library that can be included in a web application. A proof-of-concept web application is developed using the library and its performance is evaluated. The performance data is analyzed and the results are used to make incremental improvements to the protocol and implementation. Although not all features of the protocol are implemented, the tests show promising results. The application allows multiple users to participate in high-definition video conferences, with no server infrastructure aside from a Mini PC that hosts a web server and a WebRTC signaling server. / Videokonferenser har varit en del av många olika kommunikationsplattformar genom åren. Tekniken har yttats från dedikerade telefonnnät,, till Internet, och på senare tid till webben. I och med introduktionen av WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) är deti dag möjligt att enkelt deltaga i röst- och videosamtal genom att gå till en webbsida utan att behöva installera någon programvara annat an en webbläsare. De flesta existerande konferenstjänster är byggda med en centraliserad arkitektur, vilket kan leda till tekniska problem när antalet användare ökar eller när fel uppstår i systemens centrala servrar. Dessa problem kan leda till driftstopp och skada tjänstens tillgänglighet för användarna. Den här rapporten täcker utvecklingen av ett protokoll som tillsammans med WebRTC kan användas för att bygga en helt decentraliserad konferenstjänst. Målet är att tjänsten ska vara oberoende av centrala servrar, och på så vis lösa problemen med skalbarhet och tillgänglighet. Protokollet implementeras i en webbapplikation som testas och utvärderasöver flera iterationer för att hitta nya förbättringar. Testerna visar lovande resultat. Slutsatsen dras det är fullt möjligt att bygga en konferenstjänst på detta sätt, och möjligheter för framtida optimeringar och testfall föreslås.

The advance of the internet and Web 2.0 technologies continue to drive a dramatic change in the way people access and share information through various channels of communication. In the education sector, several learning management systems have been integrated into teaching and learning activities. To increase more interactivities between teachers and learners, tools for synchronous video conferencing are implemented in universities to enable online education. Prior studies indicate that the adoption and use of the tools in higher education institutions have been substantially expanding, more particularly in developed countries. Therefore, understanding the state of integrating synchronous video conference tools to support teaching and learning activities is important for scholars and academicians as this innovative communication technology is proven to have a substantial impact on quality education and effective learning. In Rwanda, before COVID-19, research on the adoption and use of video conference systems is still scarce. The objective of this study was therefore twofold: (1) to understand the adoption and use of synchronous video conference technologies for teaching and learning purposes and (2) to propose a strategy for effective implementation and value addition of video conferencing tools (VCT) at University of Rwanda. A qualitative method was adopted and case study was used as a research strategy for this research. Meanwhile, the Social-Technical System theory was applied in this research for data collection, analysis and reporting of results. 17 responses from participants (teachers and eLearning Officers) were collected using an online internet-based survey questionnaire. Key findings indicate that the adoption and use of video conference systems was found to be at a lower level and the associated contributing inhibitors were identified and reported in this research. Based on the empirical findings and on the responses from participants, this study proposed a contextual strategy for effective integration of video conference systems at the case study institution. Overall, this study concluded that for an effective delivery of live lectures through webinars enabled by the web-based video conference tools, the 10 elements composing the proposed action-oriented strategy for integrating video conference systems should be taken into consideration by the case study institution. Practical and scientific contributions of this research are reported in this thesis and recommendations for further research in connection with the current one have been also put forward.

This Master’s thesis deals in detail with the SIP protocol – a method of communication between two entities, various types of transmitted messages and their content. Few SIP libraries are introduced and two of them are used for development of an application for audio/video conference-calls. Compilation of OPAL and PTlib libraries for Windows 7 Professional (64bit) is described, and problems resulting from lack of information provided by authors. New improved “how to build” is presented. At the end, paper focuses on several ways of development of mentioned application.

Under pandemin COVID-19 har hälsovården tvingats till hastiga anpassningar i form av användning av vård via videolänk för kontinuitet, vilket berör även psykoterapi. Trots omfattande evidens för effektiviteten av terapi via videolänk finns fortfarande myter hos kliniker att den terapeutiska alliansen äventyras i det digitala forumet, vilket kan försvåra implementeringen. Studiens syfte var att utforska psykoterapeuters upplevelser av psykoterapi via videolänk, med särskilt fokus på den terapeutiska alliansen (TA). Genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer undersöktes psykoterapeuters föreställningar, anpassningar samt erfarenheter av denna omställning. Data analyserades utifrån kvalitativ innehållsanalys och resulterade i tre kategorier; Kommunikation, Den bärande relationen samt KBT-interventionerna. Huvudresultatet indikerar att klinikerna har behövt anpassa behandlingen kontextuellt, kommunikativt samt innehållsmässigt för att främja alliansen, och att TA går att utveckla över videolänk. Detta sammanfaller med tidigare internationella studiers resultat.  Utvecklingsområden som framkommit är aspekter självexponering som nytt fenomen och förändringar i maktstrukturen inom terapin. Omställningen har gått över förväntan positivt och delvis förändrat respondenternas inställning till videolänkterapi. Inom begränsningarna för denna studie beskrivs konsekvenserna och framtida forskningsriktningar. / During the pandemic COVID-19 the health care has suddenly been forced to adjust their work and start using video conference to keep the continuity, which also impacts psychotherapy. Despite extensive evidence of the efficiency of video conference psychotherapy there are still myths among clinicians that the therapeutic alliance can be endangered by the digital format, which can complicate the implementations. The aim of this study is to examine the psychotherapists' experiences of psychotherapy via video conference, with particular focus on the therapeutic alliance (TA). Through semi-structured interviews we examined the psychotherapists conceptions, adaptations and the experiences of this readjustment. Data were analyzed based on qualitative content analysis; Communication, The solid relation and the CBT-interventions. The main results indicated that the clinicians needed to adapt the treatment contextually, communicatively and in terms of content to frame TA, and that TA can be developed via video conference. This coincides with previous international research. Areas of development is the new phenomenon self-exposure and transformation/change of equalization of power.  The conversion has positively exceeded the expectations and has partly changed the respondents attitudes to therapy via video conference. Within the limitations of this study, implications and further directions for research are described.

Even before the spread of COVID-19 video conferencing software has seen a steady rise in use. Due to their convenient way of offering a way of seeing the other participants live while talking to them, it is quite easy to see why this kind of software became more and more used throughout the years. Now, during the pandemic, video conferencing software is more used than ever before, especially in learning environments. Nevertheless, studies show that student engagement is rather low with university students who take part in online learning. Throughout this paper, we venture into discovering the reasons behind this lack of engagement and how it can be improved from a User Experience Design standpoint. With findings resulted from several previous studies and identified student problems and needs from those papers we created a prototype to test which features and design elements affected student engagement.

ISTDP (Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy) är en psykodynamisk behandling som intervenerar på ångest och försvar. Metoden innebär aktivering av starka känslomässiga processer hos patienten varför det är relevant att undersöka om detta kan uppnås i terapier som sker på distans - en särskilt relevant fråga i samband med covid-19-pandemin. Frågeställningarna undersökte hur ISTDP-terapeuter upplever terapi via digitala mötestjänster samt upplevda skillnader av distansterapi med sköra respektive motståndskraftiga patienter. Studien hade en concurrent, embedded mixad-metoddesign. Kvantitativa data med bekvämlighetsurval samlades från svenska, CORE-utbildade ISTDP-terapeuter [n=38] genom en webbaserad enkät. Inbjudan skedde via facebookgrupp. Frågorna eftersökte deskriptiv information såväl som upplevelser av digital ISTDP och besvarades på en likertskala 1-7. Kvalitativa data med bekvämlighetsurval samlades genom separata, semi-strukturerade intervjuer med fyra [n=4] terapeuter från samma målgrupp och bearbetades med tematisk analys. Inbjudan skedde via mejlkontakt. Korrelationsanalyser av kvantitativa data visade på ett samband mellan lägre upplevd digital kompetens och sämre upplevd funktionalitet av digital ISTDP. Upplevda svårigheter med digital ISTDP-terapi korrelerade med svårigheter i arbetet med både sköra och motståndskraftiga patienter. I den kvalitativa undersökningen framkom två huvudteman: möjligheter och begränsningar med digital ISTDP. Huvudtemat möjligheter innefattade undertemana: ett portabelt terapirum, terapeutens egenpåverkan samt patientens strukturerande jag. Huvudtemat begränsningar innefattade undertemana: ett sårbart terapirum, patientens konflikt mot plattformen och skärmen - en begränsning bland flera. Sammanfattningsvis tyder resultaten på att ISTDP-terapeuter upplever såväl fördelar som nackdelar med digital terapi. Upplevelser av det digitala formatets funktion hade också ett samband med upplevelser av arbetet med digital ISTDP. / ISTDP (Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy) is a psychodynamic treatment that addresses anxiety and defenses. The method’s reliance on in-session emotional processing raises the question whether this can be achieved remotely - especially in connection to the covid-19-pandemic. Research questions explored how ISTDP-therapists experience therapeutic work through video conferencing as well as their perceived differences of remote therapy between fragile and resistant patients. The study used a concurrent, embedded, mixed- methods design. Quantitative data, using convenience sampling, was collected from Swedish core-trained ISTDP-therapists [n = 38] through a web-based questionnaire. Invitations were made through a facebook group. Items explored descriptive information, experiences of digital ISTDP and could be answered on a likert scale between 1-7. Qualitative data, using convenience sampling, was collected separately through semi-structured interviews with four [n = 4] participants from the same target group and processed using thematic analysis. Invitations were made via e-mail. Correlation analysis of the quantitative data showed a relationship between low digital self-efficacy and experienced difficulty performing digital ISTDP. Difficulties with digital ISTDP therapy had same-size correlations with both fragile and resistant patient difficulty. In the qualitative study, two main themes were found: possibilities and limitations with digital ISTDP. The main theme possibilities included the underthemes: a portable therapy room, and effects on the individual therapist and the patient’s structured self. The main theme limitations included: a vulnerable therapy room, the patient’s conflict against the platform and the screen – a limitation among others. In conclusion, ISTDP-1therapists experience advantages as well as disadvantages with digital therapy. Experiences of the digital format function also had a relationship with the digital ISTDP working experience.