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62-617: Joshua Foer (born September 23, 1982) is a freelance journalist and author living in Brookline, Massachusetts , with a primary focus on science . He was the 2006 USA Memory Champion , which was described in his 2011 book, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything . He spoke at the TED conference in February 2012. Foer was born in Washington, D.C. He

124-781: A sukkah in 2010. A documentary film directed by Jason Hutt was also made to depict and commemorate the event. Foer is also a board member of the Jim Joseph Foundation for Jewish education. In 2013, Foer was awarded a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation . In addition, Foer founded the first Athanasius Kircher Society. It held only a single session in 2007, featuring Kim Peek and Col. Joe Kittinger . Freelance journalist Freelance (sometimes spelled free-lance or free lance ), freelancer , or freelance worker , are terms commonly used for

186-631: A $ 1.2 million advance for the book. Film rights were optioned by Columbia Pictures shortly after publication. The book was a finalist for the 2012 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books. Foer's works have appeared in the New York Times , the Washington Post , Slate , The Nation , and The New Yorker . From 2007 to 2009, the quarterly art & culture journal Cabinet published Foer's column "A Minor History Of." The column "examines an overlooked cultural phenomenon using

248-481: A 2016 study by the McKinsey Global Institute, 15% of independent workers used online marketplaces to find work. These marketplaces, including Fiverr and Lyft , have been criticized as exploiting workers. Many periodicals and newspapers offer the option of ghost signing, when a freelance writer signs with an editor but their name is not listed on the byline of their article(s). This allows

310-553: A Massachusetts law states that companies can hire independent contractors only to perform work that is "outside the usual course of business of the employer," meaning workers working on the company's core business must be classified as employees. According to this statute, a software engineering firm cannot outsource work to a software engineering consultant, without hiring the consultant as an employee. The firm could, however, hire an independent contractor working as an electrician, interior decorator, or painter. This raises questions about

372-627: A flexible basis in a range of creative, managerial, scientific and technical occupations; they are not a homogeneous group and as such, they cannot be considered or investigated as a whole. They are generally characterised by a large portion of autonomy, a high labour productivity, knowledge intensive performance, social commitment and a large dose of entrepreneurship and specialisation. In the U.S. in 2009, federal and state agencies began increasing their oversight of freelancers and other workers whom employers classify as independent contractors . The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended that

434-484: A form of gender pay gap . The Professional Writers Association of Canada report showed no significant difference between the earnings of male and female freelancers, though part-time freelancers generally earned less than full-time freelancers. Remote work is often cited as an attractive feature of freelancing, yet research suggests that it introduces new sets of constraints for the process of doing work, particularly for married women with families, who continue to bear

496-535: A large measure of independence in the accomplishment of the professional activities. This definition comes from Directive (2010/41/EU) on the application of the principle of equal treatment between men and women engaged in an activity in a self-employed capacity. The European Forum of Independent Professionals defines freelancers as: "a highly-skilled subset of self-employed workers, without employers nor employees, offering specialised services of an intellectual and knowledge-based nature". Independent professionals work on

558-416: A person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance workers are sometimes represented by a company or a temporary agency that resells freelance labor to clients; others work independently or use professional associations or websites to get work. While the term independent contractor would be used in a different register of English to designate

620-541: A place to eat one's meals). The roof covering, known as s'chach (סכך in Hebrew ), must consist of something that grew from the earth but is currently disconnected from it. Palm leaves , bamboo sticks , pine branches, wood and the like can all be used for s'chach , unless they were processed previously for a different use. There must be enough s'chach that inside the sukkah there should be more shade than sun. However, there should ideally be sufficient gaps between

682-622: A profile where they include a description of the services they offer, examples of their work, and, in some cases, information about their rates. Buyers register and complete a basic profile, and then post projects outlining their requirements. Buyers will then bid for these projects on a fixed price or hourly basis. Many of these websites have user review sections that affect the reputation of freelancers who list there, and which may be manipulated. Freelance marketplaces have globalized competition for some jobs, allowing workers in high- and low-income countries to compete with one another. According to

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744-418: A relationship with a publication. Some freelancers may provide written estimates of work and request deposits from clients. Payment for freelance work also depends on industry, skills, experience and location. Freelancers may charge by the day, hour, a piece rate, or on a per-project basis. Instead of a flat rate or fee, some freelancers have adopted a value-based pricing method based on the perceived value of

806-412: A roof made of organic material which has been disconnected from the ground for the purpose of the commandment (the s'chach ). A sukkah must have three walls. It should be at least three feet tall, and be positioned so that all or part of its roof is open to the sky. (Only the part which is under the sky is kosher .) Most authorities require its floor area to be at least 16 square cubits . In practice,

868-511: A staff journalist of similar age and experience level working full-time at outlets such as the Ottawa Citizen or Montreal Gazette newspapers, earned at least $ 63,500 Canadian dollars that year, the top scale rate negotiated by the union, The Newspaper Guild -Communications Workers of America. Given the gendered stratification of journalism, with more women working as freelancers than men, this disparity in income can be interpreted as

930-541: A sukkah to a master who receives a drink from his servant and then throws it back in the servant's face. The analogy is that through the rainfall, God is showing displeasure with the performance of the mitzvah by not allowing the Jews to fulfill their obligation of sitting in the sukkah. In Israel and other temperate climates (such as Florida , Australia , Texas , and Southern California ), observant Jews will often conduct all their eating, studying, and sleeping activities in

992-572: A timeline". Foer also has an interest in wildlife journalism, and has written articles for National Geographic . Foer is currently working on a book about his travels and experiences with the Mbendjele pygmies of the Congo Basin . Foer co-founded Atlas Obscura in 2009. The company's mission is to inspire wonder and curiosity about the world. Foer is also the co-author of the #1 NYT bestselling book, Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to

1054-556: A variety of reasons for freelancing, the perceived benefits differ by gender, industry, and lifestyle. For instance, the 2012 Freelance Industry Report reported that men and women freelance for different reasons. Female survey respondents indicated that they prefer the scheduling freedom and flexibility that freelancing offers, while male survey respondents indicated they freelance to follow or pursue personal passions. Freelancing also enables people to obtain higher levels of employment in isolated communities. The ability to pick and choose who

1116-497: A work's copyright arises when its author produces it on behalf of a client. The matter is governed by copyright law, which varies by country. The default ownership lies with the client in some countries and with the freelancing author in others. The degree to which either moral or economic ownership of a work for hire may be modified contractually varies by country. A 2018 McKinsey study found that up to 162 million people in Europe and

1178-499: Is also inexact; however, figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the proportion of remote workers rose from 9.2% in 2001 to 10.7% in 2011. It has been estimated, however, that there are approximately 1.7 million freelancers in the UK. Freelancing is a gendered form of work. The 2012 Freelance Industry Report estimated that more than 71% of freelancers are women between

1240-477: Is common for Jews to eat, sleep and otherwise spend time in the sukkah . In Judaism, Sukkot is considered a joyous occasion and is referred to in Hebrew as Z'man Simchateinu (the time of our rejoicing), and the sukkah itself symbolizes the fragility and transience of life and one's dependence on God. The halakha requires eating and traditionally sleeping in the sukkah. However, Jews are not expected to remain in

1302-569: Is commonly attributed to Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) in Ivanhoe (1820) to describe a "medieval mercenary warrior" or "free- lance " (indicating that the lance is not sworn to any lord's services, not that the lance is available free of charge). It changed to a figurative noun around the 1860s and was recognized as a verb in 1903 by authorities in etymology such as the Oxford English Dictionary . Only in modern times has

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1364-535: Is the younger brother of former New Republic editor Franklin Foer and novelist Jonathan Safran Foer . He is the son of Esther Foer , former Director of Sixth & I Historic Synagogue , and Albert Foer, founder and former president of the think-tank American Antitrust Institute . He was born in Washington, D.C. , and attended Georgetown Day School . Foer graduated with a B.A. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Yale University in 2004. In 2006, Foer won

1426-572: Is true. While most freelancers have at least ten years of experience prior to working independently, experienced freelancers do not always earn an income equal to that of full-time employment. Feedback from members suggests that web portals such as Freelancer.com tend to attract low-paying clients that, although demanding very high standards, pay ~$ 10 per hour or less. Low-cost suppliers frequently offer to work at rates as low as $ 1–$ 2 per hour. Because most projects require bidding, professionals will not bid because they refuse to work at such rates. This has

1488-538: The Freelancers Union estimated that 1 in 3 workers in the United States was self-employed (approximately 42 million), with more than four million (43%) of those self-employed workers as members of the creative class , a stratum of work specifically associated with freelance industries, such as knowledge workers, technologists, professional writers, artists, entertainers, and media workers. In 2016,

1550-461: The cognitive-cultural economy . According to the 2012 Freelance Industry Report compiled primarily about North America freelancing, nearly half of freelancers do writing work, with 18% of freelancers listing writing as a primary skill, 10% editing/copy-editing, and 10% as copy-writing. 20% of freelancers listed their primary skills as design. Next on the list was translating (8%), web development (5.5%), and marketing (4%). In 2018, freelancing

1612-401: The halakha doesn't obligate one to eat or sleep in the sukkah if it is raining, Lubavitcher Hasidim will still eat there. A popular social activity which involves people visiting each other's Sukkot has become known as "Sukkah hopping". Food is laid out so that participants will be able to recite the various required blessings. According to halakha , a sukkah is a structure consisting of

1674-472: The Freelancers Union estimated that 35% of the workforce in the United States was self-employed (approximately 55 million). This workforce earned an estimated $ 1 trillion from freelancing in 2016—a significant share of the U.S. economy. In 2017, a study by MBO Partners estimated the total number of self-employed Americans aged 21 and above to be 40.9 million. The total number of freelancers in UK

1736-583: The Internet to provide economical access to remote workers, and frequently leverage technology to manage workflow to and from the employer. Much computer freelance work is being outsourced to developing countries outside the United States and Europe. International freelancers use their skills in English to enable greater pay and flexibility in their work. Freelance marketplaces provide a marketplace for freelancers and buyers. Service providers or sellers create

1798-607: The Jewish faith. The organization recently announced plans to build similar website archives, starting with the preservation of central texts surrounding the American Revolution and United States democracy. Foer's other ventures include the organization of Sukkah City , a public art exhibition in Union Square, New York City that challenged artists and architects to reimagine the Jewish holiday tradition of building

1860-484: The Secretary of Labor have its Wage and Hour Division "focus on misclassification of employees as independent contractors during targeted investigations." The increased regulation is meant to ensure workers are treated fairly and that companies are not misclassifying workers as independent contractors to avoid paying appropriate employment taxes and contributions to workers' compensation and unemployment compensation. At

1922-556: The USA Memory Championship, and set a new U.S. record in the "speed cards" event by memorizing a deck of 52 cards in 1 minute and 40 seconds. Foer's interest in competitive memory started a year earlier (2005) when he attended the USA Memory Championships as a journalist. He then studied under a British grandmaster of memory, Ed Cooke . Foer credits his sharp memory to creating memory palaces and

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1984-471: The United States engage in some form of independent work. It represents 20-30 percent of the entire working age population. The total number of freelancers in USA is inexact, as of 2013, the most recent governmental report on independent contractors was published in 2005 by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics . At that time, there were approximately 10.3 million United States workers (7.4% of

2046-537: The World's Hidden Wonders. Foer has founded several organizations, several of them dedicated to preserving Jewish traditions. In 2013, Foer co-founded the website Sefaria with Google developer Brett Lockspeiser, in order to transcribe, translate and digitize the core texts of Judaism . Since then, the website has grown to include a full digitization of the Talmud with a focus on connecting links to related texts within

2108-449: The ages of 30 and 50. Surveys of other specific areas of freelancing have similar trends. Demographic research on Amazon Mechanical Turk revealed that the majority of its North American workers are women. Catherine McKercher's research on journalism as a profession has showcased that while media organizations are still male-dominated, the reverse is true for freelance journalists and editors, whose ranks are mainly women. Freelancers have

2170-997: The brunt of household chores and childcare despite increases in their paid work time. For instance, three years of ethnographic research about teleworkers in Australia conducted by Melissa Gregg, a Principal Engineer and Researcher in Residence for the Intel Science and Technology Center for Social Computing at UC Irvine , raises concerns over how both physical isolation and continuous access enabled with networked digital media puts pressure on homeworkers to demonstrate their commitments through continual responses by email and to conceal their family or home life. The Internet has opened up many freelance opportunities, expanded available markets, and has contributed to service sector growth in many economies. Offshore outsourcing , online outsourcing and crowdsourcing are heavily reliant on

2232-563: The case was eventually settled for the benefit of freelance writers whether or not they had registered their copyright with the Copyright Office. Copyright is rescinded only when a freelancer signs a contract specifying that they are " working for hire ," or if they are hired into employment. These rights are further specified in U.S. copyright law, Section 101 in the Copyright Act of 1976 (17 USC §101). The term freelancer

2294-404: The common practice of consulting, because a company would typically hire a management consulting firm or self-employed consultant to address business-specific needs that are not "outside the usual course of business of the employer." In the United States, where the federal constitution automatically grants ownership of the copyright only to the author, the contract agreement must explicitly use

2356-645: The day on which they visit. In Chabad tradition, an additional set of corresponding "chasidic" ushpizin enter the sukkah, beginning with the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezeritch and continuing with the consecutive rebbes of the Chabad Hasidic dynasty. In 2010, Bet Shira Congregation in Miami, Florida, erected a tent as a drive-through Sukkah, dubbed "McBet Shira Sukkah", in the parking lot of

2418-555: The effect of reducing the overall quality of the services provided. According to research conducted in 2005 by the Professional Writers Association of Canada on Canadian journalists and editors, there is a wage gap between staff and freelance journalists. While the typical Canadian full-time freelancer is female, between 35 and 55, holding a college diploma and often a graduate degree, she typically earns about $ 29,999 Canadian dollars before taxes. Meanwhile,

2480-465: The freelancer works with is another benefit. The freelancer interviews a potential client and they get to pick whether or not to work with that individual or company. Freelancing is also taken up by workers who have been laid-off, who cannot find full-time employment, or for those industries such as journalism which are relying increasingly on contingent labor rather than full-time staff. Freelancers also consist of students trying to make ends meet during

2542-419: The holiday, some Jews recite the ushpizin prayer which symbolizes the welcoming of seven "exalted guests" into the sukkah. These ushpizin , or guests, represent the seven shepherds of Israel: Abraham , Isaac , Jacob , Moses , Aaron , Joseph and David . According to tradition, each night a different guest enters the sukkah followed by the other six. Each of the ushpizin parallels the spiritual focus of

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2604-457: The interior walls with white sheeting, in order to recall the "Clouds of Glory" that surrounded the Jewish nation during their wanderings in the desert. The Chabad custom is not to decorate the sukkah, as the sukkah itself is considered to be an object of beauty. According to Jewish law, one must recite the following blessing when using the sukkah. The blessing is normally recited after the blessing made on food, such as on bread or cake: During

2666-477: The language, that the product is "work for hire", and that the copyright is transferred to the client. Otherwise, only the freelancer will own the right to reproduce the work. Registration of copyright is not required for ownership of these rights; however, litigation against infringement may require registration, as documented in the class action lawsuit, Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick . In that case, freelance writers sued publishers for copyright violations, though

2728-455: The normally stationary build of a Sukkah placed on the back of a mobile vehicle , usually a 3-wheeled bicycle . The pedi-Sukkah was introduced by Levi Duchman in 2009 and has since spread to at least 15 states and 5 countries. In Samaritanism , sukkahs are built indoors using fruit instead of wood. According to Samaritan historian Benyamim Tsedaka, Samaritans initially constructed sukkahs outside of their homes, as Jews do. However, during

2790-433: The pieces of s'chach so that one can see the sun or stars. Many people hang decorations such as streamers, shiny ornaments, and pictures from the interior walls and ceiling beams of a sukkah. Fresh, dried or plastic fruit —including etrogs and the seven species for which Israel is praised (wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates; see Deuteronomy 8:8)—are popular decorations. Some families also line

2852-450: The possibility of long periods without work. Additionally, freelancers do not receive employment benefits such as a pension , sick leave , paid holidays, bonuses or health insurance , which can be a serious hardship for freelancers residing in countries such as the US without universal health care . Freelancers often earn less than their employed counterparts, although sometimes the opposite

2914-515: The results to the client. By custom, payment arrangements may be upfront, percentage upfront, or upon completion. For more complex projects, a contract may set a payment schedule based on milestones or outcomes. One of the drawbacks of freelancing is that there is no guaranteed payment, and the work can be highly precarious . In order to ensure payment, many freelancers use online payment platforms to protect themselves or work with local clients that can be held accountable. The question of ownership of

2976-717: The same time, this increased enforcement is affecting companies whose business models are based on using non-employee workers, as well as independent professionals who have chosen to work as independent contractors. For example, book publishing companies have traditionally outsourced certain tasks like indexing and proofreading to individuals working as independent contractors. Self-employed accountants and attorneys have traditionally hired out their services to accounting and law firms needing assistance. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service offers some guidance on what constitutes self-employment , but states have enacted stricter laws to address how independent contractors should be defined. For example,

3038-452: The semester. In interviews, and on blogs about freelancing, freelancers list choice and flexibility as a benefit. Freelancing, like other forms of casual labor , can be precarious work . Websites, books, portals and organizations for freelancers often feature advice on getting and keeping a steady work stream. Beside the lack of job security, many freelancers also report the ongoing hassle of dealing with employers who don't pay on time and

3100-479: The slightest degree of swaying in the wind will disqualify the sukkah walls, and thus canvas cannot realistically be employed. Others, such as the Chazon Ish, permit motion to and fro of less than three handbreadths, thereby facilitating the usage of canvas walls which are anchored at all sides. The specific details of what constitutes a wall, the minimum and maximum wall heights, whether there can be spaces between

3162-491: The standard working day and working week. The European Commission does not define "freelancers" in any legislative text. However, the European Commission defines a self-employed person as someone: "pursuing a gainful activity for their own account, under the conditions laid down by national law". In the exercise of such an activity, the personal element is of special importance and such exercise always involves

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3224-471: The sukkah if they would be very uncomfortable there. For this reason, Jews living at northern latitudes will generally not sleep in the sukkah due to the low temperatures of autumn nights. Some Jews in these locales will spend some time in the sukkah eating and relaxing but go indoors to sleep. When rain falls on the sukkah, one is not required to stay inside. The Mishna in Sukkah 28b compares rain falling on

3286-447: The sukkah. Many Jews will not eat or drink anything outside the sukkah. Others will drink or eat fruit outside the sukkah. In Israel, it is a common practice for hotels, restaurants, snack shops, and outdoor tourist attractions (such as zoos) to provide a Kosher sukkah for customers to dine in. All Lubavitcher Hasidim and some Belzer Hasidim (especially outside Israel) do not sleep in the sukkah due to its intrinsic holiness. Though

3348-463: The synagogue. Sukkah City was a public art and architecture competition planned for New York City 's Union Square Park . The winning design was chosen as the City Sukkah, to stand, starting on September 22, 2010, for the requisite seven days of the harvest holiday. A committee of art critics and celebrated architects selected the 12 finalists from a field of entries. Pedi-Sukkahs see

3410-494: The tax and employment classes of this type of worker, the term "freelancing" is most common in culture and creative industries, and use of this term may indicate participation therein. Fields, professions, and industries where freelancing is predominant include: music , writing , acting , computer programming , web design , graphic design , translating and illustrating , film and video production, and other forms of piece work that some cultural theorists consider central to

3472-551: The term morphed from a noun (a freelance) into an adjective (a freelance journalist), a verb (a journalist who freelances) and an adverb (they worked freelance), as well as into the noun "freelancer". Sukkah The book of Vayikra ( Leviticus ) describes it as a symbolic wilderness shelter, commemorating the time God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness they inhabited after they were freed from slavery in Egypt. It

3534-461: The use of mnemonics , a learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval in the human memory. Foer participated only in the 2006 USA Memory Championships. Foer's first book, Moonwalking with Einstein , was published by Penguin in March 2011. The book describes his journey throughout the world of competitive memory and attempts to delineate the capacity of the human mind. He received

3596-512: The walls and the roof, and the exact material required for the s'chach (roofing) can be found in various exegetical texts. A sukkah can be built on the ground or on an open porch or balcony. Indeed, many observant Jews who design their home's porch or deck will do so in a fashion that aligns with their sukkah-building needs. Portable sukkot made of a collapsible metal frame and cloth walls have recently become available for those who have little space, or for those who are traveling (in order to have

3658-419: The walls of a sukkah can be constructed from any material that will withstand a normally anticipated terrestrial wind. If the material is not rigid and therefore will sway in the wind, the sukkah is not kosher (Talmud, Sukkah 24b). Accordingly, there is a discussion among contemporary halakhic authorities whether canvas may be used for walls: Some, such as R. Ovadiah Yosef (Shu"t Yechaveh Da'at 3:46) hold that even

3720-509: The workforce) employed as independent contractors of all sorts. In 2011, Jeffrey Eisenach , an economist at George Mason University , estimated that number of freelancers had grown by one million. While in 2012, the Aberdeen Group , a private research company, estimated that 26% (approx. 81 million) of the United States population was a part of the contingent workforce , a category of casual labor that includes freelancing. In 2013,

3782-630: The writer to receive benefits while still being classified as a freelancer, and independent of any set organization. In some countries this can lead to taxation issues (e.g., so-called IR35 violations in the UK). Ghost signing has little bearing on whether a writer is a freelancer or employee in the US. Freelancers often must handle contracts, legal issues, accounting, marketing, and other business functions by themselves. If they do choose to pay for professional services, they can sometimes turn into significant out-of-pocket expenses . Working hours can extend beyond

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3844-603: Was projected to grow to $ 20–$ 30 billion in the next 5–7 years in India , and the freelancers in the US will comprise 40% (approx.) of the workforce at the projected growth rate from the same time. Depending on the industry, freelance work practices vary and have changed over time. In some industries such as consulting, freelancers may require clients to sign written contracts . While in journalism or writing, freelancers may work for free or do work "on spec" to build their reputations or

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