Seventy-Five Percent of Calls Arriving at a Help Line Can

question 32

Essay

Seventy-five percent of calls arriving at a help line can be handled by the person who answers the phone, but the remaining 25% of them will need to be referred to someone else. Assume that every call requires one minute of attention by the person who answers the phone (either to answer the question or to figure out how the referral should be handled). Calls that are referred need an additional amount of time, as given in the table below. $$\begin{array} { c c } \text { Time Required } & \text { Probability } \\\hline 3 \text { minutes } & .25 \\5 \text { minutes } & .35 \\10 \text { minutes } & .40\end{array}$$ Callers are served on a first come, first served basis, and are put on hold until the line is free. Use the random numbers to simulate what happens to 10 callers. (Use the random numbers in order -- from left to right, first row first -- as you need them.) What percentage of your callers needs to be referred? Of those who had to be referred, what is the average referral time? $\begin{array} { l }.82&.39&.16&.79&.56&.62&.13&.04&.42&.81\\.85&.32&.64&.90&.73&.02&.76&.03&.86&.67\end{array}$

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Definitions:

Vaginal Infections

Health conditions involving inflammation or infection of the vagina, often caused by bacteria, yeast, or other organisms.

Douching

A practice of rinsing or cleaning out the vagina with water or other mixtures of fluids, often discouraged by healthcare professionals due to potential health risks.

Transgender

A term describing a person whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Social Issues

Problems that influence a considerable number of individuals within a society, typically requiring collective action or policy change for resolution.