0
Your cart

Your cart is empty

Browse All Departments
  • All Departments
Price
  • R100 - R250 (11)
  • R250 - R500 (5)
  • R500 - R1,000 (13)
  • R1,000 - R2,500 (14)
  • -
Status
Brand

Showing 1 - 25 of 43 matches in All Departments

Retaining Your Best College Professors - You Worked Hard to Recruit Them; Now How Do You Keep Them? (Hardcover): Jeffrey L.... Retaining Your Best College Professors - You Worked Hard to Recruit Them; Now How Do You Keep Them? (Hardcover)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R2,041 Discovery Miles 20 410 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Faculty recruitment is a major expense for colleges and universities, and schools devote a considerable amount of their resources to the hiring process. But many of these institutions fail to devote the same attention to retaining college professors. We've learned through many studies that it's far less expensive to retain a student you have than to recruit a new one. Why is this lesson not also applied to the college faculty? This book addresses why higher education currently has a faculty retention problem and then explores the strategies needed to address that problem. But now all faculty members are alike. Minority faculty members have their own retention challenges, as do highly competitive researchers, part-time and temporary faculty members who excel at teaching, and other ley groups. The best ways to retain the junior faculty are not necessarily the best ways to retain mid-career and senior faculty. By examining best practices currently in place in higher education, and then combining those insights with research conducted in the corporate world, the book encourages colleges and universities to develop a culture of retention that applies to students and faculty members alike.

Retaining Your Best College Professors - You Worked Hard to Recruit Them; Now How Do You Keep Them? (Paperback): Jeffrey L.... Retaining Your Best College Professors - You Worked Hard to Recruit Them; Now How Do You Keep Them? (Paperback)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R878 Discovery Miles 8 780 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Faculty recruitment is a major expense for colleges and universities, and schools devote a considerable amount of their resources to the hiring process. But many of these institutions fail to devote the same attention to retaining college professors. We've learned through many studies that it's far less expensive to retain a student you have than to recruit a new one. Why is this lesson not also applied to the college faculty? This book addresses why higher education currently has a faculty retention problem and then explores the strategies needed to address that problem. But now all faculty members are alike. Minority faculty members have their own retention challenges, as do highly competitive researchers, part-time and temporary faculty members who excel at teaching, and other ley groups. The best ways to retain the junior faculty are not necessarily the best ways to retain mid-career and senior faculty. By examining best practices currently in place in higher education, and then combining those insights with research conducted in the corporate world, the book encourages colleges and universities to develop a culture of retention that applies to students and faculty members alike.

Free Speech and Campus Civility - Promoting Challenging but Constructive Dialog in Higher Education (Hardcover): Jeffrey L.... Free Speech and Campus Civility - Promoting Challenging but Constructive Dialog in Higher Education (Hardcover)
Jeffrey L. Buller, Robert E Cipriano; Foreword by Charles J. Russo
R1,239 Discovery Miles 12 390 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Manycolleges and universities are struggling to strike a balance between protecting free speech as a way of supporting their goal of academic freedom and promoting civility as a way of creating an environment where students can learn and faculty members can teach and conduct research. There have been numerous recent incidents of audiences shouting down speakers, burning books, and demanding that specific students be expelled or faculty members be terminated. In this highly fractious environment, schools are wondering "What works?" when seeking to attain the twin goals of permitting unrestricted speech but insisting on rules of decorum for debate and the exchange of perspectives. This book explores what schools have actually attempted, in some cases successfully and in some cases not successfully, to address these issues. It concludes that there are three primary strategies that tend to be effective: treating challenges to free speech and campus civility as "teachable moments"; exploring hypothetical scenarios with students, faculty members, and administrators before there is a serious incident; and approaching free speech and campus civility across the curriculum. The book also surveys United States case law on the topics of free speech, academic freedom, the right to protest, and similar subjects so as to provide faculty members and administrators with a concise resource filled with practical and accurate information.

Free Speech and Campus Civility - Promoting Challenging but Constructive Dialog in Higher Education (Paperback): Jeffrey L.... Free Speech and Campus Civility - Promoting Challenging but Constructive Dialog in Higher Education (Paperback)
Jeffrey L. Buller, Robert E Cipriano; Foreword by Charles J. Russo
R606 Discovery Miles 6 060 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Manycolleges and universities are struggling to strike a balance between protecting free speech as a way of supporting their goal of academic freedom and promoting civility as a way of creating an environment where students can learn and faculty members can teach and conduct research. There have been numerous recent incidents of audiences shouting down speakers, burning books, and demanding that specific students be expelled or faculty members be terminated. In this highly fractious environment, schools are wondering "What works?" when seeking to attain the twin goals of permitting unrestricted speech but insisting on rules of decorum for debate and the exchange of perspectives. This book explores what schools have actually attempted, in some cases successfully and in some cases not successfully, to address these issues. It concludes that there are three primary strategies that tend to be effective: treating challenges to free speech and campus civility as "teachable moments"; exploring hypothetical scenarios with students, faculty members, and administrators before there is a serious incident; and approaching free speech and campus civility across the curriculum. The book also surveys United States case law on the topics of free speech, academic freedom, the right to protest, and similar subjects so as to provide faculty members and administrators with a concise resource filled with practical and accurate information.

Managing Time and Stress - A Guide for Academic Leaders to Accomplish What Matters (Hardcover): Jeffrey L. Buller Managing Time and Stress - A Guide for Academic Leaders to Accomplish What Matters (Hardcover)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R1,508 Discovery Miles 15 080 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The book provides a concise guide to how academic leaders can manage their time more efficiently and thus better cope with the stresses of their position. Rather than focusing on theory or the "causes" of time and stress pressures for college administrators today, the book focused on field-tested approaches for achieving more of one's priorities and for dealing with the pressures of academic leadership positions. (Academic leaders already know why they're running short of time and feeling stressed; they don't want more analysis and theory, but rather insights into how they can make things better.) The book is designed for use by individual academic leaders, administrative teams in a retreat, leadership workshops or training programs, and courses in higher education leadership.

Managing Time and Stress - A Guide for Academic Leaders to Accomplish What Matters (Paperback): Jeffrey L. Buller Managing Time and Stress - A Guide for Academic Leaders to Accomplish What Matters (Paperback)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R881 Discovery Miles 8 810 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The book provides a concise guide to how academic leaders can manage their time more efficiently and thus better cope with the stresses of their position. Rather than focusing on theory or the "causes" of time and stress pressures for college administrators today, the book focused on field-tested approaches for achieving more of one's priorities and for dealing with the pressures of academic leadership positions. (Academic leaders already know why they're running short of time and feeling stressed; they don't want more analysis and theory, but rather insights into how they can make things better.) The book is designed for use by individual academic leaders, administrative teams in a retreat, leadership workshops or training programs, and courses in higher education leadership.

Authentic Academic Leadership - A Values-Based Approach to College Administration (Paperback): Jeffrey L. Buller Authentic Academic Leadership - A Values-Based Approach to College Administration (Paperback)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R887 Discovery Miles 8 870 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The book explores how to build an approach to academic leadership based on your own personal values, convictions, and principles. Rather than trying to assert that only certain values (or even virtues) are essential for good leadership, the approach taken is to begin with who you really are, "your true self," and then to build a leadership framework consistent with that identity that makes your institution or program stronger. We explore why hypocrisy is damaging to any form of leadership, but particularly so in higher education where values of scholarship and research are based on the confidence we have in others' integrity. As a result, authenticity, even more than such commonly promoted "traits of leaders" as vision, courage, and compassion, becomes the core of effective leadership in the academy today. Through hypothetical case studies and thought experiments, the book challenges administrators to identify a small set of core values that truly define who they are as academic leaders and then to use those values as the basis for a philosophy of leadership that guides them through the turbulent changes occurring in higher education today.

Authentic Academic Leadership - A Values-Based Approach to College Administration (Hardcover): Jeffrey L. Buller Authentic Academic Leadership - A Values-Based Approach to College Administration (Hardcover)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R1,646 Discovery Miles 16 460 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The book explores how to build an approach to academic leadership based on your own personal values, convictions, and principles. Rather than trying to assert that only certain values (or even virtues) are essential for good leadership, the approach taken is to begin with who you really are, "your true self," and then to build a leadership framework consistent with that identity that makes your institution or program stronger. We explore why hypocrisy is damaging to any form of leadership, but particularly so in higher education where values of scholarship and research are based on the confidence we have in others' integrity. As a result, authenticity, even more than such commonly promoted "traits of leaders" as vision, courage, and compassion, becomes the core of effective leadership in the academy today. Through hypothetical case studies and thought experiments, the book challenges administrators to identify a small set of core values that truly define who they are as academic leaders and then to use those values as the basis for a philosophy of leadership that guides them through the turbulent changes occurring in higher education today.

Hire the Right Faculty Member Every Time - Best Practices in Recruiting, Selecting, and Onboarding College Professors... Hire the Right Faculty Member Every Time - Best Practices in Recruiting, Selecting, and Onboarding College Professors (Hardcover)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R1,449 Discovery Miles 14 490 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Hire The Right Faculty Member Every Time is a concise guide for hiring authorities at colleges and universities. The book provides insight into the state of faculty hiring at colleges and universities today, advice on the best way to design positions, recommendations on how to conduct an interview, guidelines on how to make a decision about whom to hire, perspectives on what to remember when closing the deal, and hints about providing the right kind of orientation and onboarding services to new hires.

Hire the Right Faculty Member Every Time - Best Practices in Recruiting, Selecting, and Onboarding College Professors... Hire the Right Faculty Member Every Time - Best Practices in Recruiting, Selecting, and Onboarding College Professors (Paperback)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R741 Discovery Miles 7 410 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Hire The Right Faculty Member Every Time is a concise guide for hiring authorities at colleges and universities. The book provides insight into the state of faculty hiring at colleges and universities today, advice on the best way to design positions, recommendations on how to conduct an interview, guidelines on how to make a decision about whom to hire, perspectives on what to remember when closing the deal, and hints about providing the right kind of orientation and onboarding services to new hires.

World-Class Fundraising Isn't a Solo Sport - The Team Approach to Academic Fundraising (Hardcover): Jeffrey L. Buller World-Class Fundraising Isn't a Solo Sport - The Team Approach to Academic Fundraising (Hardcover)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R1,535 Discovery Miles 15 350 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

An African proverb says, "If you want to travel fast, travel alone. If you want to travel far, travel together." World-Class Fundraising Isn't a Solo Sport is about how to travel far in the world of academic development. It provides practical, field-tested strategies for building strong academic development teams. Using realistic case studies and innovative tools designed specifically for use in higher education, the book serves as an operations manual for how faculty members, academic administrators, or development officers can best work together to achieve their fundraising goals.

World-Class Fundraising Isn't a Solo Sport - The Team Approach to Academic Fundraising (Paperback): Jeffrey L. Buller World-Class Fundraising Isn't a Solo Sport - The Team Approach to Academic Fundraising (Paperback)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R880 Discovery Miles 8 800 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

An African proverb says, "If you want to travel fast, travel alone. If you want to travel far, travel together." World-Class Fundraising Isn't a Solo Sport is about how to travel far in the world of academic development. It provides practical, field-tested strategies for building strong academic development teams. Using realistic case studies and innovative tools designed specifically for use in higher education, the book serves as an operations manual for how faculty members, academic administrators, or development officers can best work together to achieve their fundraising goals.

Going for the Gold - How to Become a World-Class Academic Fundraiser (Hardcover): Jeffrey L. Buller Going for the Gold - How to Become a World-Class Academic Fundraiser (Hardcover)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R1,534 Discovery Miles 15 340 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

What do faculty members, academic administrators, or development officers need to know if they want to be successful fundraisers in higher education? Colleges and universities are such complex institutions that it is difficult for those who work in development to understand how the academic side of the institution operates and difficult for college professors and administrators to understand the technicalities and legal requirements that affect the development side of the institution. Going for the Gold demystifies these worlds for anyone interested in higher education fundraising and provides practical, field-tested tools that everyone involved in academic development will want in his or her toolkit.

Going for the Gold - How to Become a World-Class Academic Fundraiser (Paperback): Jeffrey L. Buller Going for the Gold - How to Become a World-Class Academic Fundraiser (Paperback)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R880 Discovery Miles 8 800 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

What do faculty members, academic administrators, or development officers need to know if they want to be successful fundraisers in higher education? Colleges and universities are such complex institutions that it is difficult for those who work in development to understand how the academic side of the institution operates and difficult for college professors and administrators to understand the technicalities and legal requirements that affect the development side of the institution. Going for the Gold demystifies these worlds for anyone interested in higher education fundraising and provides practical, field-tested tools that everyone involved in academic development will want in his or her toolkit.

A Toolkit for College Professors (Hardcover): Robert E Cipriano, Jeffrey L. Buller A Toolkit for College Professors (Hardcover)
Robert E Cipriano, Jeffrey L. Buller
R1,780 Discovery Miles 17 800 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A Toolkit for College Professors is designed to give new and established faculty members the skills they need in order to do their jobs more effectively. Combining case studies, scenarios, practical advice, and problem-solving activities, this book offers college professors a valuable resource for excelling in the classroom, lab, studio, library, and beyond. From teaching effectively to promoting student success, facilitating collegiality with their peers, conducting research, applying for tenure and promotion, and many other areas relevant to academic life today, A Toolkit for College Professors helps faculty members achieve their goals and avoid common pitfalls along the way.

A Toolkit for College Professors (Paperback): Robert E Cipriano, Jeffrey L. Buller A Toolkit for College Professors (Paperback)
Robert E Cipriano, Jeffrey L. Buller
R1,019 Discovery Miles 10 190 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A Toolkit for College Professors is designed to give new and established faculty members the skills they need in order to do their jobs more effectively. Combining case studies, scenarios, practical advice, and problem-solving activities, this book offers college professors a valuable resource for excelling in the classroom, lab, studio, library, and beyond. From teaching effectively to promoting student success, facilitating collegiality with their peers, conducting research, applying for tenure and promotion, and many other areas relevant to academic life today, A Toolkit for College Professors helps faculty members achieve their goals and avoid common pitfalls along the way.

A Toolkit for Department Chairs (Hardcover): Jeffrey L. Buller, Robert E Cipriano A Toolkit for Department Chairs (Hardcover)
Jeffrey L. Buller, Robert E Cipriano
R1,614 Discovery Miles 16 140 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A Toolkit for Department Chairs is designed to give academic administrators the skills they need in order to do their jobs more effectively. Combining case studies, scenarios, practical advice, and problem solving activities, the book offers chairs a valuable resource for negotiating the real-life challenges they face as academic leaders. Many of the case studies and scenarios included in this book have been field tested by the co-authors in over thirty years of administrative training workshops. Current and aspiring department chairs will discover many new tools that they can include in their administrative toolkits from this practical, accessible book. A Toolkit for Department Chairs works well as a personal resource as well as a training manual for leadership programs and textbook for pre- and in-service education for department chairs. Some additional key features of this book include: *Practicality in that it offers specific strategies to address the many challenges faced by department chairs. *Adaptability for use as an individual study guide, textbook for leadership programs, or discussion guide for groups of academic administrators. *Utility in that it fills a demonstrated need in the field of higher education since 96-97% of current department chairs have received no formal training in their administrative responsibilities. *Easy of use through short, sometimes humorous scenarios and case studies that cause readers to reflect on their own administrative approaches.

A Toolkit for Department Chairs (Paperback): Jeffrey L. Buller, Robert E Cipriano A Toolkit for Department Chairs (Paperback)
Jeffrey L. Buller, Robert E Cipriano
R880 Discovery Miles 8 800 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A Toolkit for Department Chairs is designed to give academic administrators the skills they need in order to do their jobs more effectively. Combining case studies, scenarios, practical advice, and problem solving activities, the book offers chairs a valuable resource for negotiating the real-life challenges they face as academic leaders. Many of the case studies and scenarios included in this book have been field tested by the co-authors in over thirty years of administrative training workshops. Current and aspiring department chairs will discover many new tools that they can include in their administrative toolkits from this practical, accessible book. A Toolkit for Department Chairs works well as a personal resource as well as a training manual for leadership programs and textbook for pre- and in-service education for department chairs. Some additional key features of this book include: *Practicality in that it offers specific strategies to address the many challenges faced by department chairs. *Adaptability for use as an individual study guide, textbook for leadership programs, or discussion guide for groups of academic administrators. *Utility in that it fills a demonstrated need in the field of higher education since 96-97% of current department chairs have received no formal training in their administrative responsibilities. *Easy of use through short, sometimes humorous scenarios and case studies that cause readers to reflect on their own administrative approaches.

Evaluating Boards and Administrators - Promoting Greater Accountability in Higher Education (Hardcover): Jeffrey L. Buller Evaluating Boards and Administrators - Promoting Greater Accountability in Higher Education (Hardcover)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R1,298 Discovery Miles 12 980 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Accrediting agencies and legislatures have become increasingly insistent that governing boards and upper administrators undergo regular evaluation at colleges and universities. Institutions of higher education have a long history of evaluating faculty members and are familiar with best practices for doing so. Offices of human resources include employees with experience in how staff members should be evaluated because these processes are well developed in the corporate world. But how does a college or university effectively evaluate its governing board, and who performs that process? How are administrators, particularly the chief executive officer and vice presidents, evaluated fairly and effectively? Since a majority of institutions are now required to perform these evaluations, they're seeking advice and examples of best practices, but there aren't resources available to provide these insights. The proposed book will address that critical need. The target audience is college faculty and administrators, particularly those who need to develop or improve a system for evaluating governing boards or administrators because of accreditation requirements or legislative mandate.

Evaluating Boards and Administrators - Promoting Greater Accountability in Higher Education (Paperback): Jeffrey L. Buller Evaluating Boards and Administrators - Promoting Greater Accountability in Higher Education (Paperback)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R751 Discovery Miles 7 510 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Accrediting agencies and legislatures have become increasingly insistent that governing boards and upper administrators undergo regular evaluation at colleges and universities. Institutions of higher education have a long history of evaluating faculty members and are familiar with best practices for doing so. Offices of human resources include employees with experience in how staff members should be evaluated because these processes are well developed in the corporate world. But how does a college or university effectively evaluate its governing board, and who performs that process? How are administrators, particularly the chief executive officer and vice presidents, evaluated fairly and effectively? Since a majority of institutions are now required to perform these evaluations, they're seeking advice and examples of best practices, but there aren't resources available to provide these insights. The proposed book will address that critical need. The target audience is college faculty and administrators, particularly those who need to develop or improve a system for evaluating governing boards or administrators because of accreditation requirements or legislative mandate.

Mindful Leadership - An Insight-Based Approach to College Administration (Hardcover): Jeffrey L. Buller Mindful Leadership - An Insight-Based Approach to College Administration (Hardcover)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R1,368 Discovery Miles 13 680 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book applies the concept of mindfulness to the challenges faced by academic leaders such as department chairs, deans, provosts, presidents or chancellors, and faculty leaders. In addition to instructing academic leaders how to become more mindful, the book also provides clear and practical explanations about what mindful leadership means in the setting of higher education. Unlike other books on mindfulness, this work does not assume that the only pathway to becoming more mindful is meditation. Although meditation is discussed as a technique, the book also presents numerous others strategies for becoming a more mindful leader without a meditation practice. The book is designed for use by individual academic leaders, administrative teams in a retreat, leadership workshops or training programs, and courses in higher education leadership.

Confronting Today's Issues - Opportunities and Challenges for School Administrators (Hardcover): Chad Prosser, Denise... Confronting Today's Issues - Opportunities and Challenges for School Administrators (Hardcover)
Chad Prosser, Denise Spirou, Jeffrey L. Buller
R1,646 Discovery Miles 16 460 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book examines some of the most important challenges facing administrators and other professionals in PreK-12 schools today: safety and security, hiring and evaluating members of the faculty and staff, dealing with students’ academic and behavioral challenges, assessing student performance, responding to disengaged or overly engaged parents, and handling external pressures from the community. It also explores ideas for how to design the types of school our students will need in the future and cope with the realities of trying to develop these schools in a difficult educational environment. Preferring practical advice over unsupported hypotheses and adopting clear, instructive language rather than educational jargon, the authors draw upon their own experience as well as some of the best research currently being conducted in the field of educational leadership. The book is suitable for self-study, workshops, education courses, and in-serve programs. The target audience is current and prospective PreK-12 administrators, teachers, student teachers, and staff.

Confronting Today's Issues - Opportunities and Challenges for School Administrators (Paperback): Chad Prosser, Denise... Confronting Today's Issues - Opportunities and Challenges for School Administrators (Paperback)
Chad Prosser, Denise Spirou, Jeffrey L. Buller
R885 Discovery Miles 8 850 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book examines some of the most important challenges facing administrators and other professionals in PreK-12 schools today: safety and security, hiring and evaluating members of the faculty and staff, dealing with students’ academic and behavioral challenges, assessing student performance, responding to disengaged or overly engaged parents, and handling external pressures from the community. It also explores ideas for how to design the types of school our students will need in the future and cope with the realities of trying to develop these schools in a difficult educational environment. Preferring practical advice over unsupported hypotheses and adopting clear, instructive language rather than educational jargon, the authors draw upon their own experience as well as some of the best research currently being conducted in the field of educational leadership. The book is suitable for self-study, workshops, education courses, and in-serve programs. The target audience is current and prospective PreK-12 administrators, teachers, student teachers, and staff.

Mindful Leadership - An Insight-Based Approach to College Administration (Paperback): Jeffrey L. Buller Mindful Leadership - An Insight-Based Approach to College Administration (Paperback)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R744 Discovery Miles 7 440 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book applies the concept of mindfulness to the challenges faced by academic leaders such as department chairs, deans, provosts, presidents or chancellors, and faculty leaders. In addition to instructing academic leaders how to become more mindful, the book also provides clear and practical explanations about what mindful leadership means in the setting of higher education. Unlike other books on mindfulness, this work does not assume that the only pathway to becoming more mindful is meditation. Although meditation is discussed as a technique, the book also presents numerous others strategies for becoming a more mindful leader without a meditation practice. The book is designed for use by individual academic leaders, administrative teams in a retreat, leadership workshops or training programs, and courses in higher education leadership.

Classically Romantic - Classical Form and Meaning in Wagner's Ring (Paperback): Jeffrey L. Buller Classically Romantic - Classical Form and Meaning in Wagner's Ring (Paperback)
Jeffrey L. Buller
R499 Discovery Miles 4 990 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Free Delivery
Pinterest Twitter Facebook Google+
You may like...
1 Recce: Volume 3 - Onsigbaarheid Is Ons…
Alexander Strachan Paperback R360 R309 Discovery Miles 3 090
Biko - Philosophy, Identity And…
Mabogo Percy More Paperback  (3)
R220 R172 Discovery Miles 1 720
Precarious Power - Compliance And…
Susan Booysen Paperback  (4)
R350 R273 Discovery Miles 2 730
1 Recce: Volume 3 - Through Stealth Our…
Alexander Strachan Paperback R360 R309 Discovery Miles 3 090
First Things - a Series of Lectures of…
Gardiner Spring Paperback R574 Discovery Miles 5 740
Nuclear - Inside South Africa's Secret…
Karyn Maughan, Kirsten Pearson Paperback R360 R309 Discovery Miles 3 090
The French Right Between the Wars…
Samuel Kalman, Sean Kennedy Paperback R866 Discovery Miles 8 660
On the Principles of English University…
William Whewell Paperback R449 Discovery Miles 4 490
Mandela - His Essential Life
Peter Hain Paperback  (1)
R305 R244 Discovery Miles 2 440
Stellenbosch: Murder Town - Two Decades…
Julian Jansen Paperback R335 R288 Discovery Miles 2 880

 

Partners