Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 248 / Friday, December 28, 2007 / Notices 73825 

of the Loewenstein group; and Karl 

Randecker, Jr., Cozad, Nebraska, 

individually and as a member of the 

Randecker group; to acquire control of 

Stamford Banco, Inc., Stamford, 

Nebraska, and thereby indirectly acquire 

control of Community Bank, Alma, 

Nebraska. 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, December 21, 2007. 

Robert deV. Frierson, 

Deputy Secretary of the Board. 

[FR Doc. E7–25158 Filed 12–27–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6210–01–S 

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 

Formations of, Acquisitions by, and 

Mergers of Bank Holding Companies 

The companies listed in this notice 

have applied to the Board for approval, 

pursuant to the Bank Holding Company 

Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.) 

(BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR Part 

225), and all other applicable statutes 

and regulations to become a bank 

holding company and/or to acquire the 

assets or the ownership of, control of, or 

the power to vote shares of a bank or 

bank holding company and all of the 

banks and nonbanking companies 

owned by the bank holding company, 

including the companies listed below. 

The applications listed below, as well 

as other related filings required by the 

Board, are available for immediate 

inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank 

indicated. The application also will be 

available for inspection at the offices of 

the Board of Governors. Interested 

persons may express their views in 

writing on the standards enumerated in 

the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). If the 

proposal also involves the acquisition of 

a nonbanking company, the review also 

includes whether the acquisition of the 

nonbanking company complies with the 

standards in section 4 of the BHC Act 

(12 U.S.C. 1843). Unless otherwise 

noted, nonbanking activities will be 

conducted throughout the United States. 

Additional information on all bank 

holding companies may be obtained 

from the National Information Center 

website at www.ffiec.gov/nic/. 

Unless otherwise noted, comments 

regarding each of these applications 

must be received at the Reserve Bank 

indicated or the offices of the Board of 

Governors not later than January 18, 

2008. 

A. Federal Reserve Bank of New 

York (Anne MacEwen, Bank 

Applications Officer) 33 Liberty Street, 

New York, New York 10045–0001: 

1. National Australia Bank Limited, 

Melbourne, Australia; to become a bank 

holding company, by acquiring 100 

percent of the voting shares of Great 

Western Bancorporation, Inc., Omaha, 

Nebraska, and thereby indirectly acquire 

voting shares of Great Western Bank, 

Watertown, South Dakota. 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, December 21, 2007. 

Robert deV. Frierson, 

Deputy Secretary of the Board. 

[FR Doc. E7–25157 Filed 12–27–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6210–01–S 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality, HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

intention of the Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request 

that the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) approve the proposed 

information collection project: 

‘‘Evaluation of the Effectiveness of 

AHRQ’s Grant-Supported Research on 

Healthcare Costs, Productivity, and 

Market Forces.’’ In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public 

to comment on this proposed 

information collection. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by February 26, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz, 

Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by Email at doris.lefkowitz@ahrq.hhs.gov. 

Copies of the proposed collection 

plans, data collection instruments, and 

specific details on the estimated burden 

can be obtained from the AHRQ Reports 

Clearance Officer. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports 

Clearance Officer, (301) 427–1477 or by 

E-mail at doris.lefkowitz@ahrq.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposed Project 

‘‘Evaluation of the Effectiveness of 

AHRQ’s Grant-Supported Research on 

Healthcare Costs, Productivity, and 

Market Forces’’

The proposed information collection 

will support AHRQ’s efforts to 

systematically review the effectiveness 

of its grant-supported research on 

healthcare costs, productivity, and 

market forces since the late 1990s. In the 

first phase of its ongoing evaluation, 

AHRQ determined it had funded 149 

grants in the area of cost, productivity, 

organization and market forces since the 

late 1990s (Krissik, Lake and Gold, 

2007). Prior to this proposed 

information collection, no evaluation of 

these grants and their effects has been 

conducted. Collecting such information 

through a survey of the 149 grantees 

will assist AHRQ in its mission of 

supporting the synthesis and 

dissemination of available scientific 

evidence for use by patients, consumers, 

practitioners, providers, purchasers, 

policymakers, and educators. The 

survey will provide information on 

grant activities that is not currently 

available, including up-to-date 

information on grantee dissemination 

activities and feedback on AHRQ’s role 

in supporting research and 

dissemination. 

A survey of the universe of grantees 

who were funded to carry out the abovedescribed health services research work 

offers a rational and scientific approach 

to collecting data on the impact of 

AHRQ’s research in this area that is 

otherwise not currently available. The 

survey will be an integral part of 

AHRQ’s overall evaluation, which 

attempts to describe the research and 

the pathways through which research 

findings that it has supported are 

disseminated and used. The survey 

interviews principal investigators about 

their grant research projects and will 

capture data that systematically track 

grant outcomes, providing information 

on: (1) The main substantive findings 

from the work and the ways they have 

been communicated; (2) known impacts 

of the work to date; (3) linkage of work 

to other research in the field; (4) grantee 

ratings of the support that AHRQ 

provided before, during, and after award 

and how AHRQ services for grantees 

could be improved; and, (5) grantee 

perceptions of AHRQ’s role in research 

funding in this area and how sponsor 

interest influences the topics that are 

addressed. 

Method of Collection 

A web-based questionnaire will be 

used to conduct the survey with AHRQ 

grantees. A self-administered mode was 

selected for this survey because 

respondents may need to look up 

information in order to answer some 

questions. A self-administered mode 

allows respondents to complete the 

survey at their own pace and schedule. 

If requested, a hardcopy of the 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

73826 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 248 / Friday, December 28, 2007 / Notices 

questionnaire will be mailed to the 

respondent. 

ESTIMATED ANNUAL RESPONDENT BURDEN

Form Name Number of respondents 

Number of responses per 

respondent 

Hours per response Total burden 

hours 

AHRQ Grantee Survey .................................................................................... 149 1 2 298 

Total ................................................................................................................. 149 na na 298 

ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED RESPONDENT COST BURDEN

Form Name Number of respondents 

Total burden 

hours 

Average hourly wage rate* Total cost burden 

AHRQ Grantee Survey .................................................................................... 149 298 $42.98 $12,808 

Total ................................................................................................................. 149 298 na $12,808 

*Based upon the mean of the average wages for teachers (college and university), National Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the 

United States 2005, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal 

Government 

The proposed information collection 

is part of a larger evaluation of the 

effectiveness of AHRQ’s grant-supported 

research on healthcare costs, 

productivity, and market forces, which 

includes a systematic review of the 

research that AHRQ has funded, indepth interviews with grantees and 

grant document review, case studies to 

assess the effects and dissemination 

pathways of market forces research, and 

preparation of reports and briefings. The 

cost to conduct the survey of identified 

grantees is $38,962. 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with the above-cited 

Paperwork Reduction Act legislation, 

comments on the AHRQ information 

collection proposal are requested with 

regard to any of the following: (a) 

Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of functions of the Agency, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of 

the Agency’s estimate of the burden 

(including hours and costs) 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 the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Comments submitted in response to this 

notice will be summarized and included 

in the request for OMB approval of the 

proposed information collection. All 

comments will become a matter of 

public record. 

Dated: December 17, 2007. 

Carolyn M. Clancy, 

Director. 

[FR Doc. 07–6187 Filed 12–27–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–90–M 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality, HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

intention of the Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request 

that the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) approve the proposed 

information collection project: ‘‘Focus 

Groups on Consumer Engagement in 

Developing Electronic Health 

Information Systems.’’ In accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public 

to comment on this proposed 

information collection. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by February 26, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz, 

Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by email at doris.lefkowitz@ahrq.hhs.gov. 

Copies of the proposed collection 

plans, data collection instruments, and 

specific details on the estimated burden 

can be obtained from the AHRQ Reports 

Clearance Officer. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports 

Clearance Officer, (301) 427–1477, or by 

e-mail at doris.lefkowitz@ahrq.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposed Project 

‘‘Focus Groups on Consumer 

Engagement in Developing Electronic 

Health Information Systems’’

This project will consist of focus 

groups to gain insights into healthcare 

consumers’ awareness and perceptions 

of Health Information Technology (IT), 

and how best to engage consumers in 

the development of these technologies. 

AHRQ has so far invested significant 

resources in initiatives to promote the 

planning and development of new 

Health IT that should improve 

healthcare, lower healthcare costs, and 

improve patient safety. For such 

benefits to be maximized, it is important 

to understand how consumers view 

Health IT and how to engage them in 

the design and implementation of future 

innovations. 

AHRQ will conduct 20 focus groups 

(in addition to two pretest groups) with 

healthcare consumers, that is persons 

who have visited a healthcare provider 

(either for their own health or the health 

of a family member) in the previous two 

years. For the most part, the groups will 

be homogenous with respect to the 

presence or absence of either of the 

following characteristics: (a) Managing a 

chronic health condition (or the 

condition of a close family member), or 

(b) Having visited at least three 

healthcare providers in the past two 

years. 

Participants will be covered by a 

range of health insurance plans, and 

persons not covered by health insurance 

will also be recruited. Some groups will 

include only persons enrolled in a 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES