Vol. 2 No. 1 (2026): Insights Spring 2026

Spring invites clarity as our landscapes emerge from hibernation and as systems come back into view with a refreshed vision of their importance. As light returns and activity resumes, the structures that shape public life become more visible, and the questions they raise feel both timely and necessary. In this issue of C’IR, we focus on how perspective, technology, and governance intersect in environments experiencing rapid change.

The Spring 2026 issue opens with an examination of drone surveillance in law enforcement. The article approaches drones as instruments of perspective, exploring how aerial technologies influence governance, legal boundaries, public trust, and institutional responsibility. As these tools become embedded in public systems, the conversation increasingly centers on integration, oversight, and ethical stewardship within complex operational environments.

This issue continues the intellectual scope introduced in our inaugural release. In our first issue, contributors examined the rising costs of higher education and their implications for access and mobility, offered applied guidance for dissertation chairs overseeing qualitative research, and introduced the Whacked-Out Environment (WOE) framework as a lens for understanding fear-driven organizational breakdowns. Together, these contributions reflected a shared interest in how systems function in practice and how decisions ripple through lived professional and civic spaces.

C’IR remains dedicated to thoughtful analysis grounded in experience, scholarship, and applied insight. We welcome contributions that deepen understanding, surface complexity, and advance meaningful dialogue. We are particularly interested in thought pieces, applied analyses, and reflective scholarship from emerging researchers, post-doctoral scholars, faculty, practitioners, and professionals working within complex systems. Perspectives from law enforcement and public service professionals are encouraged, especially those that add nuance, context, and firsthand insight to evolving conversations.

Spring is a season of renewed attention. It is a time to observe more carefully, to question with purpose, and to engage with the systems that shape our shared environments. C’IR continues to provide space for rigorous, forward-looking thinking that helps illuminate where we are – and where we may be headed.

— Editor in Chief, Dr. Michelle K. Preiksaitis