The business problem facing the director of broadcasting operations for a television station was the issue of standby hours (i. e., hours in which unionized graphic artists at the station are paid but are not actually involved in any activity) and what factors were related to standby hours. The study included the following variables: Standby hours (Y)— Total number of standby hours in a week Total staff present (X₁)— Weekly total of people days Remote hours (X₂)— Total number of hours worked by ­employees at locations away from the central plant Data were collected for 26 weeks; these data are organized and stored in Standby. 

a. State the multiple regression equation. 

b. Interpret the meaning of the slopes, b₁ and b₂, in this problem. 

c. Explain why the regression coefficient, b₀, has no practical meaning in the context of this problem. 

d. Predict the mean standby hours for a week in which the total staff present have 310 people days and the remote hours total 400.

e. Construct a 95% confidence interval estimate for the mean standby hours for weeks in which the total staff present have 310 people days and remote hours total 400.

f. Construct a 95% prediction interval for the standby hours for a single week in which the total staff present have 310 people days and the remote hours total 400.

g. What conclusions can you reach concerning standby hours?