"The Japanese refer to the creation  of trust trought time as nemawashi. Originally a horticultural word that means "to turn the roots" prior to replanting -or, by implication, "laying the groundwork" -nemawashi has come to mean the process by which groups in Japan develop the shared understanding without which nothing gets done"

Kayoko Ota "Tokio" in Workspheres" Design and Contemporary Work Styles, ed. Paola Antonelly

Good morning all. I have the dubious honour to be the last to post. I had actually created a podcast but the message “access denied” has persuaded me to text enter. I had fun making it in any case!! To answer the questions my opinion of trust is that it is a reflective activity. I can look back to something and say there is trust but only because of history. I cannot in honesty say that I trust something or someone as I am evaluating and building relationships that I can reflect on and then say I trust... So I might want to trust but that will only be an intention to allow a state to develop. As to being part of the research team, I don’t think anyone can ever have too many believing mirrors in their life. Each person and relationship highlights and reveals another angle of not only them and their life but you and your life. That is always exiting. I am looking forward to learning from everyone and the opportunity to grow. By the end of December I would like to be able to contribute meaningfully to some type of reflection and what happens after December will be just as interesting... what will we all do with what we have gained... ? :-)

Good morning all. I have the dubious honour to be the last to post. I had actually created a podcast but the message “access denied” has persuaded me to text enter. I had fun making it in any case!! To answer the questions my opinion of trust is that it is a reflective activity. I can look back to something and say there is trust but only because of history. I cannot in honesty say that I trust something or someone as I am evaluating and building relationships that I can reflect on and then say I trust... So I might want to trust but that will only be an intention to allow a state to develop. As to being part of the research team, I don’t think anyone can ever have too many believing mirrors in their life. Each person and relationship highlights and reveals another angle of not only them and their life but you and your life. That is always exiting. I am looking forward to learning from everyone and the opportunity to grow. By the end of December I would like to be able to contribute meaningfully to some type of reflection and what happens after December will be just as interesting... what will we all do with what we have gained... ? :-)

Hi Everyone

My response to the question of (1) trust (2) interest (3) Goal

In my oponion, in order one to trust a team or an individual, the first question is do we have a common goal or interest? If the answer is yes, it means that we can trust with each other. of course this is the staring point to establish the trust. In the course of the time, we have to evaluate each other how we contribute to our goal. If we are committed and working for the achievement of our goal, our trust gets more stronger and stronger. If it is in the other way, our trust gradually fades away. Therefore, I trust the team as we are working for the common goal and consequently individual benefit.

Regarding my interest - it is an international team who has diversified experience all of which don't have the chance to have all that experience due to time and distance constraint. I expect that we all learn from the experience of each other. Especially me, who don't have a previous experience to work in an international team, I learn a lot in multicultural education and transfer that knowledge to my university.

Goal: At the end of this research project, I am expecting that I learn a lot in research and that will develop my research career. Besides our research output will be also published on reputable journal and that is another credit I get working in this international research team.

Temtim, Ethiopia

IN MY OPINION, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO TRUST?

All of your answers truly echo my own. Trust is an essential ingredient in all relationships (private, public, business) and yet it is a component quite easily "dissolve-able". Many factors are involved for trust to be given, returned, and maintained, but I think that most fall under "character", such as reputation, willingness (to share, to collaborate, to listen, to critic), presence (staying in contact, support). It becomes obvious that for this team, the "characters" of the members will be established based on their social presence through the distance via this web-based tool and possibly other technologies (Clint mentioned possible phone conferencing in the future). But the basic assumption we all start with is still to trust each other's words, so that we can trust each other's bio (reputation), and extend the trust to group work responsibility. I think that "to trust" means "to give a chance."

WHY DO I WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS RESEARCH TEAM?

I want to be a part of this research team because I believe that this cross-cultural, multilingual and multidisciplinary team will identify essential elements for successful international distance collaboration. I have a direct interest in such results as my dissertation work is geared toward observing and analyzing 3D distance learning and teaching (via the Second Life platform) of foreign languages and cultures. I believe that the research team could provide answers or suggestions to best practices for educators' training for online distance teaching.

Risking to sound idealist (perhaps naive), I also believe that the Team's work can lay out the basis for an effective revision of Education (programs, curriculum, teacher training, scholar exchange, professional development and more). I am convinced that the work done by this team is visionary, making this team an agent of change quite necessary to allow for the educational paradigm shift to be better understood.

WHAT ARE MY PERSONAL GOALS FOR WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ACCOMPLISHED BY THE END OF THIS RESEARCH PERIOD (in December)?

To study and better understand global virtual collaborative teams and cross-cultural online instruction were goals laid out by Clint and these are the reasons why I am in the team. So I am also appropriating them as my own goals. Being able to articulate the dynamics of a multinational team of multidisciplinary researchers and develop cross-cultural implementations would complement my education and training as an aspiring expert in international education and collaboration.

I hope to translate what I learn from this experience in publishable articles, for professional reasons (job hunting is one reason), and for intellectual reasons (the satisfaction to participate to the academic/research conversation and reach a global audience for example).

Hi,
my name is Esko. I live in Vantaa, Finland, and work in the University of Helsinki as a project coordinator. Research is something I do sometimes as part of my job but mostly in free time. However, since I have a family with two small kids, my time for carrying out studies is limited. Still I find this initiative an interesting opportunity to enagage in collaborative work with you and try to do my best to contribute as expected.

In my opinion, what does it mean to trust?

I agree with you, Clint, on the promises. Moreover, I think that trust depends on the quality of the relationship with another person. If a person feels that both s/he and another person respect each other, s/he can trust her/him. Furthermore, I should also feel that the other person trusts me (mutual trusting) in order to trust him/her. I trust my wife, because I believe that she respects me and trusts on me.

Why do I want to be a part of this research team?

I'm only taking my very first steps with my PhD project. My initial plan was approved by the University, but now I consider the plan poor and wish to renew it. Since I haven't been involved in any research team, I would love to discuss with you and learn from your thinking on these issues. It's also a great opportunity to get experience of cross-cultural collaboration online!

What are my personal goals for what you would like to have accomplished by the end of this research period (in December)?

I wish I had found a new focus for my study. I also hope to have established good relationships with all of you and contributed to our understanding of cross-cultural collaboration and instruction online.

Kind regards,
Esko

In my opinion, what does it mean to trust?

  Although I recognize this is a tough question, I wanted to address it up front, so we could get a better idea what this means for everyone. For me, I think trust means that you can rely that someone will do what they say they will do. I think there it also means that I know someone is not selfish - by that I mean it is easier for me to trust someone who I know has my best interest in mind, they care about me and want me to succeed.

Why do I want to be a part of this research team?

  I want to be a part of this research team because I believe that much of the work of the future will be done by international, cross-cultural virtual teams. I believe that I will learn a lot from each of you and from the experience of being a part of this research team. I also believe we will be able to publish valuable research that can help others with similar efforts.

What are my personal goals for what you would like to have accomplished by the end of this research period (in December)?

  Well, I think I have outlined pretty clearly what I think are two good objectives for this research initiative: To study and better understand:
1. Global virtual collaborative teams
2. Cross-cultural online instruction

I hope to learn more about each of these research areas as we read, discuss, experiment with, and write about them. 

What I would really like more than anything, however, is to be able to contribute in some way to the success of each of you personally and professionally. I want to do all I can to help each person who has committed time to this research to succeed, and in whatever way is most valuable to them (e.g. publishing, networking opportunities, personal growth, etc).