Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 148 / Monday, August 3, 1998 / Notices 41259

www.ftc.gov/os/actions97.htm.’’ A

paper copy can be obtained from the

FTC Public Reference Room, Room H–

130, Sixth Street and Pennsylvania

Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580,

either in person or by calling (202) 326–

3627. Public comment is invited. Such

comments or views will be considered

by the Commission and will be available

for inspection and copying at its

principal office in accordance with

Section 4.9(b)(6)(ii) of the Commission’s

Rules of Practice (16 CFR 4.9(b)(6)(ii)).

Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To

Aid Public Comment

The Federal Trade Commission

(‘‘Commission’’) has accepted for public

comment an agreement containing a

proposed Consent Order from Nortek,

Inc. (‘‘Nortek’’), which is designed to

remedy the anticompetitive effects

resulting from Nortek’s acquisition of

NuTone Inc. (‘‘NuTone’’). Under the

terms of the agreement, Nortek will be

required to divest M & S Systems LP

(‘‘M & S’’), its wholly-owned subsidiary,

to a Commission-approved buyer.

The agreement containing proposed

Consent Order has been placed on the

public record for sixty (60) days for

receipt of comments by interested

persons. Comments received during this

period will become part of the public

record. After sixty (60) days, the

Commission will again review the

proposed Consent Order and the

comments received, and will decide

whether it should withdraw from the

agreement and proposed Consent Order

or make final the proposed Order.

On March 9, 1998, Williams Y&N

Holdings, Inc., NuTone’s parent

company, and NTK Sub, Inc., a whollyowned subsidiary of Nortek, entered

into a stock purchase and sale

agreement whereby NTK Sub, Inc.

agreed to acquire all of the outstanding

shares of the capital stock of NuTone for

approximately $242.5 million.

According to the draft of the complaint

that the Commission intends to issue,

the acquisition, if consummated, would

violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act, as

amended, 15 U.S.C. 18, and Section 5 of

the Federal Trade Commission Act, as

amended, 15 U.S.C. 45, in the market for

the manufacture and sale of hard-wired

residential intercoms.

Hard-wired residential intercoms are

electrical devices that are installed in

residences to provide room-to-room or

room-to-entrance audio communication

or monitoring functions through in-thewall low voltage wiring. These

intercoms often have the capability to

provide background music from built-in

AM/FM radios and/or cassette and CD

players. In the United States hard-wired

residential intercoms market, NuTone is

the leading seller with about 56% of all

sales, and Nortek, through its whollyowned subsidiaries, M & S and Broan

Mfg. Co. Inc., is the second largest

competitor with about 31% of sales.

Together, the merged firm would

control approximately 87% of all U.S.

hard-wired residential intercom sales.

The proposed merger would increase

the Herfindahl-Hirschmann Index

(‘‘HHI’’), the customary measure of

industry concentration, by over 3400

points and produce a market

concentration of over 7600 points. By

eliminating competition between the

top two competitors in this highly

concentrated market, the acquisition

would allow Nortek to unilaterally

exercise market power, thereby

increasing the likelihood that prices of

hard-wired residential intercoms will

increase and that services and

innovation will decline.

It is unlikely that the competition

eliminated by the proposed acquisition

would be replaced by new entry into the

U.S. hard-wired residential intercoms

market or by expansion of sales by the

remaining small competitors. A new

entrant would need to undertake the

difficult, expensive and time-consuming

process of developing and marketing a

competitive product, creating brand

recognition among consumers,

wholesalers and installers and

establishing a viable distribution

network. Because of the expense and

difficulty of accomplishing these tasks,

new entry into the U.S. hard-wired

residential intercoms market is not

likely to occur even if the merged firm

were to increase prices significantly

after the merger. Likewise, the

remaining small competitors would not

be in a position to replace the

competition eliminated by the merger

because of the difficulty they would

have in expanding their sales.

The proposed Consent Order requires

that Nortek divest its M & S subsidiary

to a third party approved by the

Commission. The assets to be divested,

in addition to hard-wired residential

intercom assets, also include all assets

relating to the M & S central vacuum

and wholehouse stereo products. The

purpose of this is to ensure the

continued viability of the M & S

business and to maintain its presence in

the channels of product distribution.

The divestiture is required to be

completed within six months after

Nortek signs the Consent Order. If

Nortek fails to divest M & S within the

six month period, the Commission may

appoint a trustee to accomplish the

divestiture. An Agreement to Hold

Separate signed by Nortek and M & S

requires that they preserve and maintain

the competitive viability of all of the

assets to be divested in order to ensure

that the competitive value of these

assets will be maintained, and provides

further that until the required

divestiture is completed, M & S will be

operated separately from Nortek. To

further ensure the competitive viability

of the assets, the proposed Consent

Order also requires Nortek to provide

technical assistance to the acquirer, at

the acquirer’s request, for up to one year

following the divestiture.

By accepting the proposed consent

order, the Commission anticipates that

the competitive problems alleged in the

draft complaint will be resolved. The

purpose of this analysis is to facilitate

public comment on the proposed Order.

It is not intended to constitute an

official interpretation of the agreement

and proposed Order or to modify in any

way their terms.

By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–20656 Filed 7–31–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

[INFO–98–23]

Proposed Data Collections Submitted

for Public Comment and

Recommendations

In compliance with the requirement

of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for

opportunity for public comment on

proposed data collection projects, the

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic

summaries of proposed projects. To

request more information on the

proposed projects or to obtain a copy of

the data collection plans and

instruments, call the CDC Reports

Clearance Officer on (404) 639–7090.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the
41260 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 148 / Monday, August 3, 1998 / Notices

use of automated collection techniques

for other forms of information

technology. Send comments to Seleda

Perryman, CDC Assistant Reports

Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road,

MS-D24, Atlanta, GA 30333. Written

comments should be received within 60

days of this notice.

Proposed Project

1. Evaluating an Alert to

Firefighters—New—National Institute of

Occupational Safety and Health

(NIOSH)—The mission of the National

Institute of Occupational Safety and

Health is to promote ‘‘safety and health

at work for all people through research

and prevention.’’ NIOSH not only

investigates and identifies occupational

safety and health hazards, the Institute

also develops recommendations for

controlling those hazards and in some

cases, distributes those

recommendations directly to affected

workplaces.

One way that NIOSH accomplishes

this kind of intervention is through the

Alert. The Alert is usually a six to ten

page document that outlines the nature

of the hazard, the risks to workers, and

the recommendations for controlling the

hazard. Again, the Alert is mailed to

workplaces potentially affected by the

hazard.

It is unclear, however, whether the

Alert is effective in communicating the

need for and methods for adopting

NIOSH’s recommendations for

controlling the hazard. To-date, none of

the Alerts have been rigorously

evaluated, but preliminary research

indicates that the Alert could be more

effective at encouraging safer workplace

practices.

The Alert has traditionally followed a

standard format that does not reflect

current ‘‘best practices’’ in applied

communications. In this study, NIOSH

proposes incorporating several

alternative communication strategies

into an Alert and evaluating the

effectiveness of these alternatives.

The Alert chosen for this study is

concerned with firefighters and the

injuries and fatalities that result from

structural collapse. In 1998, Congress

appropriated funds for NIOSH to

conduct research and proceed with

interventions that will reduce the

number of fatalities among firefighters.

Congress further instructed NIOSH to

evaluate the effectiveness of any

interventions. This Alert is intended to

be directed at the 36,000 fire stations

and 1.2 million career and volunteer

firefighters across the country.

NIOSH will vary the content of the

Alert and add channels of information

to inform, educate, and help fire stations

adopt safer work practices. The goals of

the study are twofold: (1) To reduce the

risks of injury and fatality among

firefighters, (2) identify the more

effective ways to deliver vital health and

safety information in NIOSH Alerts. The

study design will allow NIOSH to

minimize costs while identifying the

most effective strategies. The total cost

to respondents is $0.00.

Respondents Number of

respondents

Number of

responses/respondent

Avg. burden

per response

(in hrs.)

Total burden

(in hrs.)

Fire Chiefs ........................................................................................................ 960 1 20/60 317

Total ................................................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 317

2. Customer Information Survey for

Internet Users of the Self-Study

Modules on Tuberculosis for the

Internet—NEW—National Centers for

HIV/STD/TB Prevention, Division of

Tuberculosis Elimination,

Communications and Education

Branch—The National Center for HIV/

STD/TB Prevention, Division of

Tuberculosis Prevention proposes to

survey Internet users of the Self-Study

Modules on Tuberculosis for the

Internet. The print-based Self-Study

Modules on Tuberculosis remains one

of most popular educational and

training resources produced by the

Communications and Education Branch

(CEB) of the Division of Tuberculosis

Elimination (DTBE). The Self-Study

Modules on Tuberculosis for the

Internet has far reaching potential as

access to Web-based training (WBT)

increases. WBT may be particularly

useful in training non-traditional TB

health care providers such as managed

care staff and private physicians.

Furthermore, WBT provides quick

access to TB training materials for

geographically diverse and isolated

populations.

The development of the Self-Study

Modules on TB was a joint effort

between CEB and the Division of Media

and Training Services (DMTS). In order

to continually enhance our web-based

training, as well as assess who we are

and are not reaching we propose to

collect information from individuals

who is access the Self-Study Modules

on Tuberculosis for the Internet site.

This information will include assessing

why people are interested in the course,

what their profession is, employment

setting, country, how they heard about

the training course, computer

capabilities, education, age, and

location. This information will assist in

enhancing the training for future

Internet users. It will target marketing

efforts to promote this training activity.

There is no cost to the respondent. We

are requesting approval for a three year

period.

Respondents Number of

respondents

Number of

responses per

respondent

Average burden per response

(in hrs)

Total burden

(in hrs)

Internet Users—Health Care Providers and others involved in the Prevention

and Control of Tuberculosis .......................................................................... * 900 1 .03 27

Total ........................................................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 27

*Based on 75 requests/month currently received for Print-based course. Projected for a 1 year period.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 148 / Monday, August 3, 1998 / Notices 41261

3. The Second Longitudinal Study of

Aging (LSOA II)—(0920–0219)—

Revision—National Center for Health

Statistics (NCHS) The Second

Longitudinal Study of Aging is a

second-generation, longitudinal survey

of a nationally representative sample of

civilian, non-institutionalized persons

70 years of age and older. Participation

is voluntary, and individually identified

data are confidential. The LSOA II

replicates portions of the first

Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA),

particularly the causes and

consequences of changes in functional

status. In addition, the LSOA II is

designed to monitor the impact of

changes in Medicare, Medicaid, and

managed care on the health status of the

elderly and their patterns of health care

utilization. Both LSOAs are joint

projects of the National Center for

Health Statistics (NCHS) and the

National Institute on Aging (NIA).

The Supplement on Aging (SOA), part

of the 1984 National Health Interview

Survey (NHIS), established a baseline on

7,527 persons who were then aged 70

and older. The first LSOA reinterviewed

them in 1986, 1988 and 1990. Data from

the SOA and LSOA have been widely

used for research and policy analysis

relevant to the older population.

In 1994, 9,447 persons aged 70 and

over were interviewed as part of the

National Health Interview Survey’s

Second Supplement on Aging (SOA II)

between October of 1994 and March of

1996. The first LSOA II re-interview

wave was conducted between May 1997

and March 1998. The LSOA II will reinterview the SOA II sample two

additional times: in 1999 and 2001. As

in the first LSOA, these reinterviews

will be conducted using computer

assisted telephone interviewing (CATI).

Beyond that, LSOA II will use

methodological and conceptual

developments of the past decade.

The LSOA II contains substantive

topics on scientifically important and

policy-relevant domains, including: (1)

Assistance with activities of daily

living, (2) chronic conditions and

impairments, (3) family structure,

relationships, and living arrangements,

(4) health opinions and behaviors, (5)

use of health, personal care and social

services, (6) use of assistive devices and

technologies, (7) health insurance, (8)

housing and long-term care, (9) social

activity, (10) employment history, (11)

transportation, and (12) cognition. This

new data will result in publication of

new national health statistics on the

elderly and the release of public use

micro data files. The total cost to

respondents is estimated at $106,275.

Respondents Number of

respondents

Number of

responses/respondent

Avg. burden

per response

(in hrs.)

Total burden

(in hrs.)

Sample adult ..................................................................................................... 9,447 1 .75 7,085

Total ........................................................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 7,085

Dated: July 23, 1998.

Charles W. Gollmar,

Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning

and Evaluation, Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC).

[FR Doc. 98–20576 Filed 7–31–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

[Program Announcement 98100]

Grants for Minority Health Statistics

Dissertation Research; Availability of

Funds

A. Purpose

The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) announces the

availability of fiscal year (FY) 98 funds

for a dissertation research grants

program for the Minority Health

Statistics Grants Program of the National

Center for Health Statistics (NCHS),

CDC. This program addresses the

‘‘Healthy People 2000’’ priority area(s),

Surveillance and Data Systems. The

Minority Health Statistics Grants

Program was established to award grants

for (1) the conduct of special surveys or

studies on the health of racial and

ethnic populations or subpopulations;

(2) analysis of data on ethnic and racial

populations and subpopulations; and (3)

research on improving methods for

developing statistics on ethnic and

racial populations and subpopulations.

Grants for Minority Health Statistics

Dissertations advance these purposes by

supporting research and by improving

the quality of minority health statistics

dissertation research projects. These

grants will enable doctoral students to

undertake significant data gathering,

analytic, and methodological research

projects. The students will also gain

invaluable training and research

experience that will be beneficial to

future careers in minority health

research. The use of data from the

National Center for Health Statistics is

encouraged. More information about

NCHS data systems may be obtained via

the Internet at http://www.cdc.gov/

nchswww/.

B. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants may be public or

private nonprofit institutions that will

administer the grant on behalf of the

proposed Principal Investigator

(doctoral candidate). Examples of public

and private nonprofit organizations

include universities, colleges, research

institutions, hospitals, and other public

and private nonprofit organizations,

State and local governments or their

bona fide agents, and federally

recognized Indian tribal governments,

Indian tribes, or Indian tribal

organizations.

The proposed Principal Investigator

must be a registered doctoral candidate

in resident or nonresident status. All

requirements for the doctoral degree

other than the dissertation must be

completed by the time of the award.

Students seeking a doctorate in any

relevant research discipline are eligible.

A student enrolled in a doctoral

program in a research discipline which

requires a dissertation based on original

research may apply through their

institution for support to complete the

research and dissertation. The

dissertation must examine and/or

develop some aspect of statistical

research on racial and ethnic

populations or subpopulations. It

should focus on one or more of the

following research program areas:

community-based research, methods

and theory development, health

promotion and data standards

development, and data analysis and

dissemination.

Prior to submission of the application,

the dissertation proposal must be

approved by the dissertation faculty

committee and certified by the faculty

advisor. This information must be

verified in a letter of certification from

the thesis chairperson and submitted

with the grant application.