Conceptualising cosmopolitanism and entrepreneurship through the lens of the three-dimensional theory of power

Purpose – The paper aims to conceptualise cosmopolitanism drivers from the third-level power perspective by drawing on Lukes’ (1974; 2005) theory of power. In addition, the paper aims to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurs’ cosmopolitan dispositions and habitus, i.e. a pattern of an individual’s demeanour, as understood by Bourdieu. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper makes use of Bourdieu’s framework (habitus) by extending it to the urban cosmopolitan environment and linking habitus to the three-dimensional theory of power and, importantly, to the power’s third dimension – preference-shaping. Findings – Once cosmopolitanism is embedded in the urban area’s values, this creates multiple endless rounds of mutual influence (by power holders onto entrepreneurs via political and business elites, and by entrepreneurs onto power holders via the same channels), with mutual benefit. Therefore, mutually beneficial influence that transpires in continuous support of a cosmopolitan city’s environment may be viewed as one of the factors that enhances cosmopolitan cities’ resilience to changes in macroeconomic conditions. Originality/value – The paper offers a theoretical model that enriches the understanding of the power-cosmopolitanism-entrepreneurship link, by emphasising the preference-shaping capacity of power, which leads to the embedment of cosmopolitanism in societal values. As a value shared by political and business elites, cosmopolitanism is also actively promoted by entrepreneurs through their disposition and habitus. This ensures not only their willing compliance with power and the environment, but also their enhancement of favourable business conditions. Entrepreneurs depart from mere acquiescence (to power and its explicit dominance), and instead practice their cosmopolitan influence by active preference-shaping.

Cardiorespiratory fitness and aerobic performance adaptations to a 4-week sprint interval training in young healthy untrained females

Purpose The aim of this study was to test the effects of sprint interval training (SIT) on cardiorespiratory fitness and aerobic performance measures in young females. Methods Eight healthy, untrained females (age 21 ± 1 years; height 165 ± 5 cm; body mass 63 ± 6 kg) completed cycling peak oxygen uptake ( V˙O2V˙O2 peak), 10-km cycling time trial (TT) and critical power (CP) tests pre- and post-SIT. SIT protocol included 4 × 30-s “all-out” cycling efforts against 7 % body mass interspersed with 4 min of active recovery performed twice per week for 4 weeks (eight sessions in total). Results There was no significant difference in V˙O2V˙O2 peak following SIT compared to the control period (control period: 31.7 ± 3.0 ml kg−1 min−1; post-SIT: 30.9 ± 4.5 ml kg−1 min−1; p > 0.05), but SIT significantly improved time to exhaustion (TTE) (control period: 710 ± 101 s; post-SIT: 798 ± 127 s; p = 0.00), 10-km cycling TT (control period: 1055 ± 129 s; post-SIT: 997 ± 110 s; p = 0.004) and CP (control period: 1.8 ± 0.3 W kg−1; post-SIT: 2.3 ± 0.6 W kg−1; p = 0.01). Conclusions These results demonstrate that young untrained females are responsive to SIT as measured by TTE, 10-km cycling TT and CP tests. However, eight sessions of SIT over 4 weeks are not enough to provide sufficient training stimulus to increase V˙O2V˙O2 peak.