A survey of 158 rural special education teachers was conducted to determine the teachers' plans for remaining in or leaving their current teaching positions. Only 57% indicated that it was likely that they would return in 5 years. Data were analyzed to determine variables that differed significantly between those likely to stay in their positions. Select variables were entered into a logistic regression analysis to build a predictive model. The results of these analyses, along with teachers' written comments, suggested that administrative support and job requirements played important roles in teachers' 5-year plans.

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The identity of the transacting factor encoded by the 1,828-bp BamHI DNA fragment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) that suppresses the transcription of the human beta interferon gene was investigated. Each complete and partial open reading frame (ORF) present within the 1,828-bp BamHI HBV DNA fragment was cloned into a simian virus 40 expression vector, and the resulting gene products were assayed for their ability to inhibit the activity of the regulatory DNA region that governs the expression of the beta interferon gene. Only the proteins encoded by the C ORF inhibited the activity of the beta interferon regulatory DNA region; putative proteins encoded by the partial X, P, and S ORFs present in the 1,828-bp BamHI HBV DNA fragment had no effect. A plasmid encoding only the native HBV core antigen, but not one coding for a truncated core antigen, possessed this inhibitory activity. The inhibition by the core antigen was specific for the regulatory elements of the beta interferon gene; none of a variety of viral transcriptional elements was inhibited.

The purpose of this review was to identify competency statements specified in the professional literature for teachers of severely and profoundly handicapped students. Computer searches and hand searches of the literature of the past 10 years were undertaken. As a result, 59 competency statements were found. These competencies fell into nine categories: general knowledge, planning, assessment, curriculum, behavior management, instruction, physical/ medical, other personnel, and parents. An overwhelming majority of the statements were found to be based on opinion or opinion with limited substantiation. Implications for further work in this area are discussed.In the past few years much emphasis has been placed on the development of competencies for those who teach severely and profoundly handicapped (S/PH) students. Sontag, Burke, and York (1973) hypothesized that there is an inverse relationship between the developmental level of the students and the specificity of competence needed by the teacher. Accepting their position would require preservice and inservice training efforts of unusual breadth and depth to prepare teachers for their sundry instructional and related tasks. An initial step in the direction of comprehensive training is to establish an extensive listing of important competencies; such is the purpose of this article. An attempt was made to synthesize and provide a listing of pertinent competencies for teachers of S/PH students based on writings of the past few years.A secondary purpose of the paper is to report the data base or level of empirical validity of the competencies. In searching the literature for reports on competencies of teachers of S/PH students, variation was found in the writers' justification, expressed or implied, for suggesting that a particular competency or competency area was necessary. Four levels of validity were found. These were: o