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This paper applies Bhabha’s concept of the third space to frame an understanding of Prem Sikka’s use of digital media to bridge the academic–activist binary. In doing this, the paper makes two contributions. First, it conceptualises Sikka’s engagement, and second, through the lens of the third space, it analyses it to establish whether, in the era of the neoliberal corporatised university, public intervention has the potential to generate new perspectives and new knowledge.

Sikka’s articles and blogs for the period 20 February 2002 to 15 April 2020 were analysed using Leximancer, a textual analysis software programme that displays the output visually. A discriminant analysis was used to identify where each year of the study is situated in the overall semantic analysis. Netnography, the examination of archived published texts, was then used to analyse the responses by members of the public, academics, accountants and auditors, tax experts, policy makers and regulators to Sikka’s digital media engagement.

As a third space practitioner, Sikka has overcome some of the shortcomings associated with academic research to challenge the activities of professional accounting firms, regulatory bodies and multinational corporations. Through extending the boundaries of accounting and accountability, he has facilitated new radical alliances aiming to create a just and equitable society. The paper also finds that by opening up a third space of engagement, academic activists’ work can play an essential part in social transformation and emancipatory change framed in terms of social justice and equity.

This is one of the few papers to provide an in-depth examination of the activities of an accounting activist over twenty years.

This paper seeks to begin a meaningful dialogue on the concept of third space, or “in‐between space”, within the marketing discipline. In the context of scholarly research, third space exists between the academy and places of research, and applies to research agendas involving businesses and consumers in emerging and/or subsistence markets, where study findings often carry significant implications for both theory development and social action. The paper therefore aims to facilitate discussion of defining third space in the context of marketing and to explore its implications for scholars and the academy as a whole.

By reviewing literature from diverse disciplines, the paper explores how occupying a third space may not always be momentary or short‐lived, as it is most often characterized. Instead, marketing scholars with enduring obligations both to the social action of their work in emerging markets and to the theoretical contributions of their work may enact a third space in ways that make it less transitory.

The paper introduces three areas (i.e. researcher identity, researcher context, research methods) and the corresponding themes of rediscovering the researcher, living in the global world, and (re)searching epistemologies, ontologies, and methodologies to begin an examination of third‐space marketing scholars.

The issues raised in the paper both respond and contribute to calls for a broader study of culture and business in transformative ways. Moreover, they provide a good starting‐point for further discussion and research on third space by highlighting that the very things one studies indeed affect current ways of theorizing and by reinforcing the need to understand the role of scholars in giving voice to the people and businesses they research.

Given the rise in popularity of festivals globally, the purpose of this paper is to examine two case studies to identify whether festival spaces could be identified as third places. This paper argues that third places are not vanishing but that new and emerging third places can be identified through applying the essence of third place theory.

The primary case study for this paper is The Falls Music and Arts Festival in Marion Bay, Tasmania, Australia that was the focus of a two year study into the interrelationships between informal leisure, social capital and place characteristics. 30 semi-structured interviews, participant observation and 937 surveys were conducted. To support this paper, findings from a smaller third place case study of six semi-structured interviews and participant observation at the “Festival of Lights” held in Pukekura Park in the New Plymouth, New Zealand are reflected upon.

Third place characteristics were elucidated in the Falls study. Essential characteristics of third places such as access to conversation, the evidence of “regulars”, the chance meeting of a “friend of a friend” and a playful mood were identified. The location was an important meeting place for users to create, maintain and strengthen relationships. Repeat visits to this place was found to be integral to social networking and a feeling of “home”. Insights from the Festival of Lights study support these findings.

Identifying festival spaces as third spaces contests traditional third place theory. It offers scope for festival organisers to explore more deeply the intangible aspects of the experiences they afford. More case study research needs to be conducted to explore this potential further as this is only a start at linking festivals to the essence of third place theory.

This paper pushes third place theory forward. It responds to calls for exploration of new and emerging third places in contemporary society. This research adds a new take on this exploration by affording an Australasian perspective.

The purpose of this research study is to extend the concept of third places, as explained by Oldenburg (2000), as being places designed as meeting places and as being dynamic rather than static.

The primary site for this paper is a neighborhood ritual of shared meals that has taken place every Wednesday for the past fourteen years. This was a 6 month study focusing on semi-structured interviews.

Characteristics of third places when compared to other arguments for the classification of third place supports the use of space instead of the purpose of a place as the main consideration for the classification of “third place”.

Defining social events within homes as third spaces pushes the traditional third place theory forward. It offers a way for rituals to be explored more deeply through the experiences they offer.

This study asks the reader to pay attention to the periphery where interaction takes place and consider how we frame concepts of third places.

Third places create an environment that allows individuals expressions of restraint (to keep the distance between yourself and others), relaxation (to be yourself), freedom (from judgment), reflexivity (when you look back at past events) and vulnerability (opening yourself up to the possibilities that come from interacting with others).

The distinction of third place is not so much in the categorization of the building but rather in the use for which the space serves. Extending these conversations into future research endeavors would be to continue and to extend the discussion/description of third places.

This paper explores the contextual factors that support the necessity of a diversified curriculum. The author draws on the findings of the author's doctoral research to consider the complexities underpinning the educational narratives of South Asian Muslim women. The paper critically examines South Asian Muslim women's position as migrant daughters and how South Asian Muslim women navigated colonial systems and the practices and behaviours inherent in these. Situated in a racialised inner-city area with a framing by policymakers as one that creates spatial anxiety, participants shared empowered and agentic narratives. These demonstrated a resistance to the othering and stigma that often ensues through stereotyping.

The project adopted a feminist participatory approach and made use of hauntology as both a theoretical and methodological framework. In keeping with this, four participants who had grown up in the area and still lived there were spoken in the form of research conversations, a walking tour and photographs of significant sites.

The paper provides empirical insights into how these four participants encountered education. By frequenting both formal and informal educational settings, these spaces became a crucial third space which alleviated unsettlement though allowing a more embodied occupation with learning. Teachers played a critical role in cultivating appropriate and supportive environments and were described and inferred to be moral agents and figures who assisted participants' navigation of a space, often embodying a more mentor-like disposition. Teachers proved to embody a practical wisdom, acting as anchors for offering spaces in and outside of the classroom that invited occupation and construction. Such spaces at school enabled the encountering of difference through recognising first the similarities with peers. Whether these commonalities were cultural or otherwise, those commonalities provided a firm foundation from which to imagine and push the parameters of the space and identity, and so school was likely another crucial space for hybridity.

The research approach is specific to the context(s), narratives and migratory moment of the participants, and although participants' accounts have been re-storied to honour participants' voices, the accounts may lack generalisability. The paper raises two key implications: first, by recognising educational settings as a third space for students to create a hybrid identity, and second, through familial, community and navigational capitals which have the potential to shift the pedagogical approaches underpinning the conditions created for students.

Pointing out that hybrid identities without the frequenting of space are hauntological is crucial, and hybrid identities cannot reconcile cultural differences because hybrid identities are out of place, and without location, hybrid identities remain troubled and alienated. This is a situation that the author describes as cultural hauntology – a condition which draws on both hybridity and hauntology to illuminate unsettlement long after colonisation. The native culture is never fully banished or forgotten. The native culture exists behind the closed doors of homes, within communities and perhaps even within the demarcation lines of a given geographical area. Cultural hauntology comes about as a deep-seated internal colonisation that appears as traces, marks and murmurs that cannot be deleted. Perhaps what alleviated the extent of what might have been more extreme in cultural hauntology's dissonance, were the teachers, mentors and role models that participants repeatedly referenced as agents that bridged and enabled the participants.

Buildings alone do not matter, it is only the ensemble of streets, squares, and buildings and the way they fit together that comprises the true principles of good urbanism and place making. One of the main rules of good urban design is the quality of the public space. This paper analyzes the importance of creating & maintaining a true public square in contemporary urban condition, as one of the built environments' pillars for sustaining social and cultural identity.

Criticism has been posed towards the (neo) romanticizing the importance of European squares (as some critics would call it “Postcard Squares”) in everyday life and contemporary town planning. Movements such as New Urbanism, which promote good urban design have not put squares that high on their urban design agendas. Also the usage of the historic European city's public realm model - the square - as the important ingredient for all urban places has not been forthcoming. To investigate this phenomena, and facilitate the discourse, The Square of the St. Blaise Church (Luza Square) and the Gunduliceva Poljana Square in the Old City of Dubrovnik, are analyzed and reflected upon through various data collection, theory reflections and urban design evaluation methods, such as Garham's Sense of Place Typology-Taxonomy.

If cities have livable and vibrant social spaces, do residents tend to have a stronger sense of community and sense of place? If such places are lacking, does the opposite happen?. This paper seeks out to answer these questions. Finally the paper also looks at how the phenomenon of creating good social spaces through creating ‘third places’ is achieved and confirmed in the squares of Dubrovnik.

This paper aims to examine the third-place phenomenon, within a fashion context, through the theoretical lens of servicescape and experiential retailing. It identifies third places’ typologies, evolution and adoption and explores the opportunities third places offer to retailers when attempting to connect better with consumers.

Taking a qualitative approach, research was conducted using secondary data sources, observation of 98 retail stores and the shopping-with-consumers technique with 42 informants. Manual thematic analysis and magnitude coding was conducted.

Third-place fashion practices are prevalent and growing. Their predominant functions include sociability, experiential, restorative and commercial. Variances inherent in third places are expounded and a third-place-dimensions model is proposed.

Due to the chosen research approach, the results are limited in terms of generalizability to other settings. Several research directions are elucidated, including exploration of fashion third places on consumers’ place attachment within specific sectors; the impact of differing age, gender and geographies on third place meaning; virtual and hybrid forms; retailer motivations; and third-place alliances.

The preliminary study serves to support managers to understand how consumers perceive and experience the fashion third place and the potential of the third place to enhance consumer engagement.

The research makes a valuable contribution to the dearth of extant literature on third place within the fashion field. It offers a new theoretical perspective on form, function and benefits of third places as a conduit of social-, experiential-, and commercial-experience consumption.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the notion of “Third Place” in an arts context by exploring the consumption of two arts venues, Tate Modern and the Southbank Centre (SBC) on the regenerated South Bank in London, UK.

An interpretative phenomenological approach was taken drawing on 45 qualitative interviews that were conducted in and around Tate Modern and the SBC during Autumn 2009.

Four audience groups were identified segmented by their motivations, experiences and feelings about the two buildings. The first group “Place to see” visit Tate Modern and the SBC to attend exhibitions and performances. The second meet friends and spend time in the cafes and bars using them as a “Place to hang‐out and meet”. The third group use the buildings as a “Place to drop‐in” on their way to somewhere else. The fourth group use the SBC as a “Third Place”, to study, for meetings, to read, escape and rejuvenate.

This was an exploratory paper. Further research is required to test the findings in other art museums, arts venues, libraries, parks and other public and private spaces within communities.

The paper fills a gap by drawing on the “Third Place” literature to explore the consumption of art museums and venues. It provides us with a better understanding of the meanings these public buildings have to individuals, the way they are used by the public and how arts managers might attract new audiences from their communities. It also provides insights for planners and town centre managers as to the types of places individuals are seeking during their daily lives.

This article adopts Ray Oldenburg's definition of third places and argues that the eight characteristics of third places are demonstrated in the tea houses of Masulih. In many vernacular communities, participating in informal public gathering places, or third places, is one of the daily routines of local inhabitants. The male inhabitants–including seniors and shopkeepers, as well as the shepherds who migrate seasonally with their herds from plateau of Gilan to Masulih–regularly visit and socialize in Masulih's tea houses. Recently, tourists also have become regular visitors of the tea houses. Qualitative research methods were conducted during extended field work in Masulih during 2008 to 2015. In-depth interviews with local inhabitants placed them as local experts. This allowes for a deeper understanding of the use of the tea houses as third places. In addition, research was conducted through visits to the tea houses at various times of the year in order to record their seasonal usage. While not every vernacular settlement in Iran is a tourist destination, Masulih, with its tea houses integrated in the bazaar, sees regular and steady tourist visitation. Masulih's rich cultural, architectural, and tourist landscape generates a complex research ground. This article suggests that tea houses, as third places, are vital for informal regular gathering of local Masulih residents, seasonal visitors, and tourists.

Educational facilities and their design have considerable impact on how students learn. Recent research indicates that modern university students are spending less time on campus and more time interacting with their peers through technology. This paper aims to examine the responses of a small number of first year university students, at RMIT University, Melbourne, to questions about the type of learning facilities they want on campus.

First year undergraduate students were interviewed about their engagement with university and in particular their learning styles in the physical environment. Although a small volunteer sample (n=12), they were all first‐time users of the university and its facilities. The average age of the sample was 19.8 years. The case studies were interviewed regularly (n=8) over a 12‐month period and their responses to learning needs and styles and university facilities recorded. The gender mix (m=8, f=4) reflected the enrolment patterns in the university school. The students were given a range of discussion triggers in semi‐structured interviews to promote discussion about their own learning styles and where and when they felt they learnt best at university.

The responses of these students indicate a number of features about their interpretation of the relationship between university learning and teaching expectations and facilities. These are: learning for these students occurred in both formal and informal settings; there was evidence that the timetabled facility dictated the teaching style used and the opportunities for collaborative learning; active learning occurred more often for these students away from the classroom, often in informal, ad hoc spaces; these students placed an important emphasis on the technology available throughout the university; and the students favoured collaborative, social spaces for learning and technology exchange. The conclusions drawn from their responses indicate that these university students want flexible learning spaces that can adapt to both individual and collaborative work with a strong emphasis on social learning and advanced technology. The responses also indicate a mismatch between existing lecture theatres and tutorial rooms and the third space learning that these students want. The results have implications for the design and construct of future teaching and learning spaces in universities and other learning institutions.

Fisher notes the importance of safety, security, natural ventilation, lighting and other physical features as conducive to effective learning. Students in this study also indicated a need for multi‐use spaces for intense work and learning opportunities. These spaces also need to allow for students to interact with the global environment through technology.

The changes in learning and teaching have been significant in the past 25 years and the role of features such as technology, collaborative spaces and third space learning have created pressure on universities and staff to meet the demands of a modern community of scholars. There is now a far greater emphasis on the learning needs of tertiary students and the relationship between learning and facilities. The responses of this small sample of first time university users indicate that this relationship is critical.