Hodges model: What is it [1] house of ideas or ship?

Of all the questions about Hodges' model “What is it?” probably tops the list. One response - that Hodges' model is a house of ideas is very appropriate. Unlike the play school depiction of a house, with a door and windows 1-4 on the front, this model house is 3D. It comes with windows that provide a vista of the four points of the compass. For Hodges these are the four perspectives required to fully apprehend a given situation whether past, actual or future.

Like any home, people can arrive there by various routes. There is more than one entrance (health & safety!) and the further you have travelled the greater the welcome and the desire to explore. Rather than continuously running from room to room to combine the views (data, information and knowledge) Hodges' model can help you take these separate and distinct views and combine them. They are combined by virtue of the two continua INDIVIDUAL-GROUP and HUMANISTIC-MECHANISTIC that impose structure on the model. Rather like a mast when you think about it. So, you could say that in addition to the four horizons, Hodges' model also provides the rigging for a four-ply sail. Where would you like to go?