This edition of Alert! is about human issues - in the context of Mind, Body and Spirit. It addresses some of the many physiological and psychological factors that can affect the ability of the mariner to do his job.

The global nature of our business is such that the maritime workforce is multinational and multicultural, which can lead to differing interpretations of international guidelines and inconsistent standards in lifestyle, training and education, working environments and habitability. In our central feature, we examine the many and varied physiological, psychological and spiritual needs of the mariner.

The articles in these Bulletins are written by, and for, maritime professionals from a broad interdisciplinary cross section of the maritime industry. They are deliberately brief and, in many cases, are linked to longer articles, papers and presentations, which are held in the Alert! website database at www.he-alert.org, or to other websites.

The Alert! project offers a forum for likeminded people to share ideas and solve problems and, through the website, a reference resource for study and information. Contributions to the Bulletin and to the website database are always welcome, as are letters to the editor, which will be published on the website.

The Editor Alert!

The Nautical Institute

202 Lambeth Road

London

SE1 7LQ

editor@he-alert.org