ABSTRACT
This chapter covers some of the key ways in which sociology can inform holistic practice—that is, actual practices in real-life situations that can benefit from the wider perspective offered by helicopter vision. Change management is complex and often difficult, and so the holistic, critical approach of sociology can be a useful basis for developing a fuller understanding of what changes are happening or what needs to be done to make desired changes happen. Academic sociology helps to provide the helicopter perspective, the overview, and so applied sociology is about the second part, namely descending into the situation and using the insights gained to address the issues involved. One of the roles applied sociology can play is in making power relations visible and cutting through the ideological camouflage. Sociology can cast light on person-to-person interactions in a variety of ways. Community development is just one example of social amelioration strategies that can benefit from what sociology has to offer.
