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What’s the Difference Between UPF vs SPF Protection?

What's the Difference Between UPF vs SPF Protection?


What’s the Difference Between UPF vs SPF Protection?

You need to protect your skin and the skin of your family members. Either in the sweltering summer heat or the cool, snowy rays of winter, the sun is a silent danger. But with so many methods of sun protection and ratings on the market, how can you decide which is the best for you?

When it comes down to UPF vs SPF, what is the difference and which is best? We help you decide our quick and handy guide.  

What is UPF?

UPF stands for Ultra Violet Protection Factor and is a relatively new sun protection measurement designed for sun protective fabrics. It is a grading system that states how much of the sun’s UV radiation can penetrate fabrics and reach the skin. The UPF standard is still a voluntary measure and may not be found on some products. 

UPF is measured on a scale of 15 to 50. The higher the scale number, the less of the sun’s rays can penetrate through the fabric. UPF also takes into account the amount of UVA and UVB rays that can reach the skin, whereas SPF does not. 

Do you need more information on quality UPF products? Are you still trying to figure out UPF vs SPF? This UPF guide is handy, informative, and can help protect you and your family starting today.

What is SPF?

SPF is a measurement that stands for Sun Protection Factor. It is based on the amount of time the sun takes to burn your skin. The number given on a bottle is a determining factor in how much time you can stay out after your average burn time.

The higher the value, the more protection it offers. For example, the average person takes 10 to 20 minutes to burn in the sun. A factor 30 SPF sunscreen would allow you to stay out 30 times longer than your normal burn time.

It is recommended that when purchasing a sunscreen SPF 30 is the standard protection factor. A factor of 50 only actually blocks out 1% more of the sun’s rays than a factor 30 and is commonly believed to be falsely advertised. 

UPF vs SPF and Which Is Best?

Clothing will always be the best form of protection against the sun. This is for a number of reasons. The first is that by blocking the sun with clothing, particularly UPF fabrics, the harmful rays are further away from the skin and less likely to reach your body. 

Another reason is that in daily activity, particularly when traveling or in outdoor pursuits, it can be too easy to forget the reapplication of sunscreen. Sweat from the body, water, and wear on the skin can all remove the protection afforded by lotions.

SPF also fails to measure UVA and UVB rays. UVA is responsible for the aging of the skin while sunburn comes from UVB rays. Both of these are also responsible for skin cancer, so it pays to have a measurement that protects you against these.

How Do I Get More Protection?

So, when looking at UPF vs SPF, how can you ensure you’re protected? One of the best ways to protect your skin is to use a combination of both. A high SPF factor sunscreen such as factor 30 should be combined with quality UPF fabrics and clothing. 

Protect your skin today by checking out some of the handy online UPF fabric guides today! 

Lifestyle

Psychology Explains the Difference Between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Psychology Explains the Difference Between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation


Motivation drives us to get out of bed every day to accomplish something important to us. These goals might involve work, school, or training for a marathon. We all have different reasons for choosing specific goals. And we are each driven by both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Below, we’ll break down the various definitions for you.

  • Intrinsic motivation – This mindset involves doing something because you get a personal reward out of it. Think of it as enjoyment or eagerness to learn a new skill.
  • Extrinsic motivation – doing something because of an external reward. Consider scenarios such as a raise at work or losing weight from exercising. You may also be extrinsically motivated to avoid punishment, such as losing your job or gaining weight from not exercising.

You can sum these up by saying that intrinsic motivation arises from within, while extrinsic motivation comes from influences outside oneself. By looking at these definitions, you might think that intrinsic motivation matters most. However, both of them have their importance in shaping our society. For example, if you only did what brought you happiness and joy, you wouldn’t have the drive to accomplish tasks at work which involve other people.

For example, you wouldn’t care about pleasing your boss or coworkers. That’s because you’d only pay attention to your desires.

So, we’ll delve a little further into the psychology behind motivation and the significant differences between both types of it.

The Differences Between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Now that you know where each type of motivation comes from, let’s get into some more examples of both:

Intrinsic:

  • getting involves in sports or other hobbies that you enjoy
  • cleaning up your room because you like keeping it organized
  • studying a subject like astrophysics simply because you want to learn new things
  • exercising because it makes you feel better.

Extrinsic:

  • finishing your work because you don’t want to get fired,
  • taking on the extra workload at your job because you want a promotion
  • cleaning your room because you have guests coming over
  • studying a subject because you need to pass a test at school.

As you can see, we need both types of motivation in our society to keep it functioning correctly. If everyone only did things to please others or avoid punishment, we would lose what makes us human and act more like robots. However, if we only did whatever we wanted all the time, we couldn’t maintain the products and services that keep our society running. So, we should strive to maintain a reasonable balance between what makes us personally happy and what we need to accomplish for societal obligations.

How Each Type of Motivation Influences Behavior

 Some studies have shown that offering too many rewards for a behavior that already gives intrinsic satisfaction can decrease internal motivation, otherwise known as the overjustification effect. For example, in this study involving 20-month olds, researchers found that their altruistic tendencies decreased when they were given too many external rewards, such as praise or toys. Another study found a similar outcome in those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, discovering that their intrinsic motivation decreased as external rewards increased.

Why does this phenomenon happen? According to the American Psychological Association, people tend to focus more on external rewards than internal satisfaction, despite their natural desire to do what makes them happy. Another factor influencing this behavior involves punishment or bribery. If people feel like they must do something out of fear or coercion, they will focus more on extrinsic motivation since they believe they have something to lose.

The studies:

Research also shows that if people get external reinforcement for doing a good job, the overjustification effect won’t have as much influence on them. For example, if you do well on a test because you studied for it, this won’t cause your internal motivation to decrease. Since your performance on the test depends on how hard you studied, getting a good grade drives your studying behavior. In the cases listed above with the children, the external motivation didn’t depend on their performance, so they lost their desire to keep up the behavior.

Another study found that parents should use moderation in giving their children praise. Children who receive praise for their efforts in completing a task rather than for their inherent talents or personality traits believe that success depends on how hard they work, not how smart they are. Children who develop this mindset also tend to persist in the face of struggles. That’s because they know that hard work will carry them through tough times. If children just believe that intelligence matters, they won’t have the external motivation to keep going in the face of adversity.

This makes sense because every parent wants to believe their child possesses some unique or otherworldly personality trait or intellect, which will get them ahead in the world. However, the research consistently shows that children have more success when their parents raise them to work harder for whatever they want to achieve in life. If parents reward their children too often for good behaviors, this enforces the idea that they will not have to put in very much effort to obtain rewards.

When to Use Each Type of Motivation

 This applies mostly to employers or parents who have to motivate others to accomplish tasks. Extrinsic motivation can come in handy in the following types of situations:

  • External rewards can help others become interested in a subject or activity that they had no desire to learn before.
  • Extrinsic rewards can motivate people to acquire new skillsets and knowledge. Once they learn the skills, they may have more internal motivation to pursue a job or activity.
  • External rewards can also help people know where they stand in their job or schoolwork. It serves as a way to give people feedback and let them know when they’ve done a good job.

In cases where people already enjoy an activity, parents or employers should refrain from giving external motivation. Basically, it boils down to moderation. Giving too much praise makes the individual less likely to keep up the good behavior. On the other hand, too little praise causes the person to become resentful and disinterested in the activity.

When motivation becomes more important:

External motivation helps in cases where people have no interest in an activity or task. Think about the kids doing a school assignment or an important task at work. You don’t want to give too many rewards. Offer just enough to get people motivated to complete the job. Researchers have drawn the following conclusions about how intrinsic and extrinsic motivation work:

  1. Unexpected rewards usually don’t curb internal motivation. For example, if you actually enjoy your job and you help the company bring in more money, your boss may reward you with a gift card or a promotion. This won’t affect your intrinsic motivation because you genuinely enjoy your work. However, if people start expecting rewards every time they accomplish something, this can become problematic.
  2. Praise can boost your internal motivation in some cases. Researchers have found that giving people positive feedback when they perform a task better than others can improve their internal motivation for doing that task.
  3. Internal motivation will decrease when people receive rewards for doing what’s expected of them or for simple tasks. For example, if parents give their children $5 every time they make their bed, it will lower their motivation for doing their chores every day.

How to Use Each Type of Motivation in Your Life

Think about what goals you have or what duties you’ve been given in your daily life. No matter if you go to school or have a full-time job, you can learn what motivates you and how to use this to your advantage. Let’s say, for example. You have your own business running a travel website. Now, think about what makes you motivated to keep growing this venture.

You probably have both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to maintain your business. That’s because your work keeps people coming to the website each day, which generates monetary rewards. However, you obviously picked that line of work because you get personal satisfaction from teaching people about the finest places to travel around the world. We all get motivated by external and internal factors. Moreover, both of them are necessary for a functional society.

Final thoughts about extrinsic and intrinsic motivation

As you’ve learned in this article, extrinsic motivation comes from anything outside yourself that keeps you working toward a specific goal. Usually, people get motivated by other’s opinions of them, monetary rewards, or positive praise. For example, if you hope to lose weight for external reasons, you may care about looking better to attract someone’s attention or because you want to feel better. However, you may not personally enjoy working out.

Intrinsic motivation comes from anything that we do because we get pleasure out of it. This may pertain to certain hobbies you have. Or, in some cases, it may involve your job. (Although, unfortunately, most people go to work just to pay the bills). As you can see, both types of motivation have a place in society. And we can use both of them to our advantage.

Business

What is the Difference Between MSDS and SDS?

What is the Difference Between MSDS and SDS?


What is the Difference Between MSDS and SDS?

Are you a bit confused about the documentation you need to include when moving hazardous materials? Or are you not sure what sort of documentation has been provided to you?

If you’ve answered yes to either of these questions, then chances are you have also asked a third question: What is the difference between MSDS and SDS?

MSDS and SDS are both documents that accompany hazardous chemicals. But there are some key differences between them. 

These differences are not superficial. They can have impacts on business relations as well as create legal issues. So, it’s best to really wrap your head around the differences between the two. 

Let’s dive straight in then and check out what SDS and MSDS are, as well as how they are different from one another.

What Is MSDS?

MSDS stands for material safety data sheet. The datasheet is a document that is usually very long and outlines the safety concerns associated with hazardous materials.

When hazardous materials are moved from one place to another, an MSDS document is sent with them. Sometimes, the document is also sent in advance. 

The main purpose of an MSDS is to inform the receiver of the hazardous material exactly what precautions they need to take in handling it. It is important that MSDS documents are prepared properly to avoid legal issues.

The type of legal issues associated with MSDS documents may involve both civil and criminal law. If the MSDS is improper, you may be in breach of government regulations. 

Even worse, if someone is harmed by the hazardous materials, a lawsuit may be brought. If it can be shown that the MSDS was not properly written, you may have to pay a lot of money in damages to the injured party. 

You can use an MSDS database to see what documents have already been published for specific hazardous materials. This is useful in creating new MSDS documents, or when dealing with chemicals yourself. 

What Is SDS?

SDS stands for safety data sheets. It is somewhat confusing to work out the difference between SDS and MSDS because their names are so similar. 

SDS is basically an updated version of the MSDS. The reason for the update was that the old MSDS documents could be quite different from one another. 

The idea of the SDS is to have a uniform set of standards that companies adhere to around the world. Any SDS document must follow a step-by-step order of headings. 

The major benefit of this is that safety communication has become standardized. Also, there is greater accountability in the process of using and moving hazardous materials.

The SDS was created according to specific guidelines laid out by the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). It has now been adopted by the United States’ Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). 

What’s In an SDS?

Any SDS must follow 16 specific sections. They must also be presented in the correct order using the exact headings specified by GHS. 

The 16 sections of the SDS are:

  1. Identification
  • The name of the hazardous material

Hazard identification

  • Any hazards related to the particular material

Composition/ information on ingredients

  • The specific chemical ingredients

First-aid measures

  • Particular measures relevant to the hazards

Fire-fighting measures

  • The correct response in the event of a fire hazard (e.g. some chemical fires will not respond to water)

Accidental release measures

  • Guidance on recollecting spilled materials (i.e. when released in open water)

Handling and storage

  • Specific requirements (i.e. sunlight, temperature, etc.)

Exposure controls/ personal protection

  • Necessary equipment to handle the material (i.e. gloves, glasses, etc.)

Physical and chemical properties 

  • Properties such as acidity, odor, viscosity, etc.

Stability and reactivity

  • Known chemical interactions (i.e. oxygen or hydrogen)

Toxicological information

  • Human response to ingestion and other exposure

Ecological information

Disposal considerations

  • Where and how the material can be disposed of

Transport information

  • Guidance on modes of transportation and related concerns

Regulatory information

  • Regulations from relevant jurisdictions

Other information

  • All other necessary information to prevent and mitigate the hazard

Not all hazardous materials will be applicable to some of these heading. However, according to SDS guidelines, all headings must be included anyway. 

Since the SDS is formal and uniform, there is SDS software available to help create and store SDS sheets. SDS documents can also be found on SDS/MSDS databases. 

What Is the Difference Between MSDS and SDS?

The most important difference between an MSDS and SDS is uniformity. Under the MSDS system, there were a number of templates that could be used. The simple development of the SDS is that there is only one template. 

It is actually possible that an MSDS was created that satisfied the criteria of an SDS. So, in effect, an SDS is really just a particular type of MSDS. 

The other major difference between an SDS and an MSDS is their legal implications. An SDS is a safer document to use because it adheres to all of the major regulations on hazardous material.

If you want to learn more about when an SDS is specifically required, check out this article from online-msds.com. 

So, an SDS and an MSDS are more or less the same things, but an SDS will always contain the same information and adheres to international standards and regulations. 

Know Your SDS/MSDS Rights and Responsibilities

You should now know the answer to the question ‘What is the difference between MSDS and SDS?’ But now you really need to spend the time getting to know your datasheets.

This is important whether you are sending or receiving hazardous materials. Seeing an SDS will give you confidence in dealing with the material. But you also need to make sure that if you are sending hazardous materials that you follow the SDS guidelines clearly. 

You have both rights and responsibilities surrounding hazardous materials. So, don’t take chances. Get to know the SDS guidelines back to front and stay safe!

If you have found this information useful, why not read up on some other tech developments with our great selection of articles?

Technology

Understanding the Difference Between Automation and Service Orchestration Software

Understanding the Difference Between Automation and Service Orchestration Software


Both automation and orchestration have the ability to make complex and repetitive business processes seamless, regardless of whether your data is stored in the cloud or an on-site server. However, many confuse orchestration and automation, but there is a big difference between the two. If you understand what each term means and how it can help your business, you will be more likely to make the right choice.

Understanding Automation

Automation is used for a single repetitive task that a bot completes without human intervention. Generally, automation is used for manual processes that are laborious and time-intensive. It helps to make the processes more efficient and reliable.

In the world of IT, automation can be used for a wide array of tasks and processes. Whether it is deploying or integrating an application, creating service tickets, or securing endpoints, automation can prove to be of great assistance. You can use automation for cloud and on-site tasks.

Understanding Orchestration

While automation is used for a single task or function, service orchestration software is used for the entire workflow. It can help you manage large-scale networks and the virtual environment. It is possible to use the software to integrate as well as schedule automated tasks between complicated and complex services and distributed networks. It enables you to simplify and streamline connected workflows, workloads, and processes that are repetitive.

With the help of orchestration, it is possible to automate the management, arrangement as well as the coordination of complex services, middleware, systems, and networks within the computing environment. It also aids in directing automated processes to support bigger and more complex workflows.

A majority of IT teams manage hundreds, if not thousands, of applications. Hence, it is not feasible to administer these applications manually. An RPA orchestrator is required to ensure you have access to available, performing, and dynamically scaling applications and systems so that the IT team is not weighed down by heavy burden.

The Difference Between Automation and Orchestration

Now that you know what is automation and orchestration, it is time to look at the difference between the two.

In simple and layman’s terms, automation is used for a single task while orchestration is used to automate multiple tasks within a workflow with the aim to streamline it and make it less laborious and time-consuming. In doing so, orchestration helps to optimize workflows.

A good example to explain orchestration is an app. When you use orchestration, it not only helps to deploy the app but also aids in connecting the application to the entire network so that it can communicate not just with the user but also apps in the network.

When you use orchestration for cloud computing, you can rest assured that the software will ensure automated spin-up activities, such as auto-scaling, occurs in the right order, and also follows the necessary security protocols and also makes certain that the permissions are in place.

Importance of Orchestration Software

In the modern IT landscape, automation plays an important role. It can handle repetitive workflows, deploy applications, and even manage the lifecycles of multiple applications. It works to facilitate enterprise-level security and also offers flexible monitoring as well as visualization.

In case you are wondering why organizations are embracing orchestration software, here are some of the benefits that you should know:

  • It helps to minimize human error by automatically handling the setup as well as the execution of tasks that you automate
  • Ensures users get the right permissions, thereby preventing unauthorized access to the automation system
  • Minimizes virtually all human intervention for managing automatic tasks
  • Makes the process of setting up data integration simpler by handling the governing policies related to the integration
  • Provides a generalized infrastructure that takes away the need to build ad-hoc tools
  • Offers wide-ranging diagnostics that enable you to debug and audit more quickly
  • Integrates easily with existing data management systems

There you have it – the difference between automation and orchestration, and why companies are moving from manual orchestration to orchestration software. 

Lifestyle

How to Tell the Difference Between High and Low Quality Clothes

How to Tell the Difference Between High and Low Quality


How to Tell the Difference Between High and Low Quality Clothes

The fashion world is ever-changing. That’s what makes it so exciting — there are new trends and new patterns being introduced to the fashion arena every day, propelling the industry forward at a fantastic rate.

However, one thing remains constant in the industry. There are low quality clothes and there are high quality clothes. The gap between the two is often significant. The problem, however, is that it isn’t always the easiest thing in the world to know at first glance whether a piece of clothing is of good quality or not.

In this article, we’ll teach you the telltale signs that distinguish between good and bad clothing.

Natural Materials

Synthetic materials are far more susceptible to wear and degradation over time than natural materials. This includes piling, ripping, stitches going out, and more.

What’s more, natural fibers will also feel cooler and provide better ventilation as you wear them. This will ensure that your body temperature is regulated at a safe level for your optimal performance.

Metal Zippers

Nothing is quite as annoying as zipping up a jacket all the way only to have the zipper break halfway up the line. With plastic zippers, this is an everyday occurrence. The low strength of plastic makes it extremely easy for you to accidentally exert too much force and ruin the zipping mechanism.

The solution, therefore, is using metal zippers. The strength of metal allows it to remain far more durable in the long-term, no matter how poorly you treat your zippers.

Strong Stitching

Another way to tell the quality of a piece of clothing is to take a look at its stitching. If the stitching is strong and binds the folds in the fabric together well and holds them, then you’re likely handling a high quality piece of clothing.

If, on the other hand, the stitching in question looks weak and subpar for the folds and creases that it has to keep in line, then chances are that those stitches will rip before you know.

Better Fits

Good clothing designs know that fit is the most important thing when it comes to clothing. They’ll offer a range of sizes for every body type, rather than just giving clothing in a single size that needs to be further tailored to fit your body well.

Trendy Patterns

Quality clothes have trendy patterns that are at the top of the fashion industry. If it looks like something out of your grandmother’s closet, why would you wear it?

If you ever decide to make clothes on your own, then an essential step to learning the fundamentals is taking a pattern making course. You’ll learn about how to create whatever pattern you like, allowing you to implement the many changing trends that you see in the industry.

Quality Clothes Are the Way to Go

High quality clothes are definitely the way to go. Armed with this info, you now know what sets that standard of clothing apart from that which you want to avoid.

For more lifestyle advice, be sure to check out the rest of the website!

Business

The Only Difference Between SEO and SEM in Digital Marketing

The Only Difference Between SEO and SEM in Digital Marketing


The Only Difference Between SEO and SEM in Digital Marketing

You know that your company can’t survive today’s ultra-competitive market without a solid digital marketing strategy. 

You’ve come up with awesome email campaigns, you’ve mastered all things social media, and you’ve even created highly shareable video content that you know will make your target market tick. 

But you’re still not rising in the search engine rankings. So, what gives? 

For many, it’s a lack of understanding about the difference between SEO and SEM. 

So, what’s the difference between these two effective forms of search engine marketing? 

Read on to find out. 

What Is The Main Difference Between SEO and SEM?

So, what’s the difference between SEO and SEM? 

SEO experts from BearFoxMarketing.com explain that SEO generates organic traffic to your website, while SEM creates paid traffic. Both are essential tools for increasing your search engine rankings. 

While the goal of both SEO marketing tactics is the same, the way they go about it is quite different. 

Organic traffic (SEO) is when visitors naturally end up on your website because they’ve entered search terms that match with your keywords, clicked a link on another article and ended up on your site, or just typed it into their address bar on their own. 

Paid traffic (SEM) is also referred to as “pay-per-click” or PPC marketing. 

If you use paid traffic to increase your search engine rankings, then users who search for the keywords you’ve targeted end up on your website because you’ve paid for ads directing them to your website. Your site also appears at the top of search engine result pages. 

You’ll then pay a fee every time that someone clicks on an ad for your website and is redirected to your site. 

What Do SEO and SEM Have in Common?

In spite of these differences, SEO and SEM marketing tactics still have much more in common than you might expect. 

Both of them revolve mostly around conducting thorough keyword research and targeting the keywords that will get you the most traffic. 

They both also require you to do some serious research on your target market, and both are all about getting you more web traffic so that you can climb higher in search engine results. 

Perhaps most importantly of all, to have effective SEO and SEM strategies, you will need to constantly conduct tests on effective keywords, optimization tactics, marketing trends, and even current market demand. 

Which Form of Search Engine Marketing Is Right for Your Brand?

Now that you know the major difference between SEO and SEM (organic vs. paid traffic to your website) it’s time to start weighing your options. 

Remember – you don’t have to commit to one side here. In fact, most businesses use a combination of SEO and SEM to get the best possible results. 

Looking for more advice about how to grow your current digital marketing strategy? 

We’re always bringing you the latest news in all things SEO and SEM, so bookmark our blog today to learn about the next big search trends, tools, and much more.